Arf! The Musical!

Featuring Marley Franklin as Boxer #3

5K

In order to change up my workout routine, and keep myself motivated, I signed up for the West Seattle 5K  on Sunday.  I don't really enjoy running, but I do enjoy goal-setting and progress monitoring (teacher much?). So I've been using the Couch to 5K app, which has me doing walk/run intervals and slowly increasing the amount of running so that after 8 weeks of training - Voila! - I can run the whole 5K!  Except that I got a little behind and am only on week 7.  Oops.

During one of my first runs, a guy across the street called out to me, asking if I was looking for my dog.  I was kind of offended.  As if the only reason I could possibly be running was because I was chasing after my lost dog!  I'm sure the reality was that he'd seen a dog go by and I was the only person in the area.  But STILL.

Having an upcoming race AND a training app isn't quite enough to keep me motivated.  I've also been using an app called Map My Ride.  It's the app Jeff uses to track his bike commute, but it can also be used to map your walk or run.  I even use it to keep track of my Zumba and Rizzmic workouts.  It doesn't usually map those, though one time it said I Rizzmic'ed a mile and half:)

The other great thing about Map My Ride is that it's a social network, and Jeff and I are "friends".  He can see when I've had time to do my workout during the day.  When I haven't, he gently encourages me to get out there in the evening after he gets home.

I don't know if I'll be able to run the entire 5K.  I'll be spending the entire day before the race moving, (Did I forget to mention that we bought a new house and are moving in on Saturday??).  So I might be a little sore. Plus I've only had to run 4K so far in my training app.

Even if I have to walk a little, I'm still feeling pretty good about it.  I think I have come a long way since my early 'dog chasing' workouts. The other day when I was out, a mom pulled her little toddler to the side telling her, "Watch out, honey, a runner is going by."

Monterey, CA

We met my family for a week in Monterey back in February.  We rented an awesome house in Pacific Grove that was walking distance to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Cannery Row, and just a short drive to so many other beautiful sites.  We drove down and stopped in San Francisco along the way. Golden Gate Park was a big hit!  It was so much fun being on vacation with my family.  I'm ready to plan the next one!

Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco

Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco

Sam commandeering another little boy's tee ball set at Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park

Matt and Lilyana at Lover's Point in Monterey

Sarah rocking Ashlynn to sleep

Amelia and Lilyana watching some bed time iPhone

Sam hammering out a tune

Dennis the Menace Park

Playing at a nearby park

The whole gang watching the sunset at Big Sur

Giant Jenga!  Fun night out with my sibs <3 td="">

Amelia at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Marley and Amelia checking out the jellies at the aquarium

Sam liked the aquarium, too

Under the giant wave!

Marley reading to Lilyana and Amelia

Sunset at Big Sur

Grandkids!

Sarah at Point Lobos State Park

Grandma and Lilyana at Point Lobos

Exploring Point Lobos

Sarah walking sleepy Sam through the Cypresses at Point Lobos

Getting a drink

Spring Breakin'

We're half a day into spring break, and so far, I think it's going really well!  I decided I would celebrate this success now since one never can tell how long these things will last.  My goals for the week were to get us outside as much as possible while still giving the kids plenty of down time to do as they please, and to not go crazy.  Sounds easy enough, right?  We spent the morning at the beach playing with some preschool friends.  When we got home, I put Marley in one shower and Amelia in the other. I was able to get Sam down for his nap before either of them ran out of hot water!  AND they have been playing together beautifully ever since.  Granted, they're still in their underwear, but having everyone be dressed was not one of my goals, so I'm letting it slide.  

This picture is from our Saturday evening trip to the Olympic Sculpture Park.  Sam and Amelia need to work on their running poses:)

Lego Building

Okay, I will warn you that this is a really long video.  Probably only grandparents will make it to the end.  But, I decided to share it because it illustrates, really well, each of my children's developmental levels, and shows quite a lot about their personalities, too.  Plus, it's Legos, which are still pretty much the most awesome toy out there.  Enjoy!

Ghosts of Holidays Past

I grabbed the camera card to pull off photos from our family vacation to Monterey, CA last month (blog post in progress, but don't hold your breath).  I realized that it contained pictures all the way back to the fall - none of which have been shared.  Until now!  I present to you...Halloween and Christmas 2013! Consider yourselves up to speed.  Well, except for that family vacation update. (Here's a preview: It was fun!)

Totally Tubular

Sam's surgery was scheduled for 7:30 am last Friday, which meant we had to check in at the hospital at 6 am.  Yikes!  Luckily Diane agreed to come to our house the night before to see Marley off to school in the morning and stay with Amelia.  It was definitely nice that Jeff and I could both be at the hospital with Samuel.  

I was really worried about how our night would go because he needed to stop having breast milk at 2 am.  Usually he lays in bed with me and nurses/dozes during the early morning hours.   But, he only woke up once during that time and went back to bed pretty quickly with only a little complaining.  Hmm...perhaps night weaning is in our near future.  

Sam wasn't really happy to be up so early, but he was a trooper and hardly complained.  He kept pretty busy playing with toys in the waiting room.  When it was time for the surgery, Jeff had to stay in the waiting room while I put on scrubs and headed back to the OR with Sam.  I'm pretty proud of myself because I only cried for a second when he was going under.  It was just so weird (and scary!) watching him fall asleep like that in less than 30 seconds.  

Then, I headed back to the waiting room to sit with Jeff while the doctor placed the tubes, which only took about 10 minutes.  Afterward, we both got to go back and wait for Sam to wake up.  He was pretty sleepy, so after a while we just had to get him up.  

In recovery, he got to have graham crackers and apple juice.  And lots of snuggles, of course.  We were headed home within about an hour after the surgery.  He was running around like normal from the moment we got home.  He never needed any pain meds or anything, just some antiseptic ear drops for the next week or so.

We go back next month for another hearing check and to make sure everything looks good. Hopefully this is the end of Samuel's ear problems!