challenge of tapering

I know in my last blog I said spring was still far away ( last April definitely still felt like winter..), but I can honestly say I think it's actually HERE! This week's forecast gets up to the upper 60's (!!),  no colder than 29 (yes…that sounds quite cold to some, but trust me- 33 feels SO NICE up here!) and I can actually smell spring in the air. Oh…and the snow is FINALLY gone!! Todd and I bet how long it would take for the mountain of snow in our driveway to be gone and no kidding- I said June…HA! He was right- it's gone! YAY!! I seriously feel like people have a whole new respect for you once you've endured a few winters. They will usually ask- "were you here last winter?" and when they find out we were they seem to have some common ground with us. :) The winters are very grey, depressing, bone-chilling cold, but once you get past it- spring brings the most fantastic feeling in the world!! And then it will be summer, and then fall (My favorites!!) I am a little nervous about the weather in 2 weeks (Marathon Monday), because 2 years ago it got up to 86 which in Boston feels more like 95…after training in 20-30 degree weather, I don't know if I would be up for running 26 miles in that kind of heat….so even though it sounds so selfish and minor-please say a prayer that the weather turns out nicely (no rain either…it usually rains a lot here in April…), because I don't think there will be another opportunity for me to run in the Boston Marathon so I'd like for it to turn out perfectly. :)

After my 22 mile run last week, I kind of mentally shut down. The job I mentioned in my last blog may not actually pan out which makes me kind of sad. I wanted a part time job so I could have a little extra $$ to pay off some debt, and so I could have some separation from home/work. Being a stay at home mom is very hard work- but I truly enjoy having my own purpose to help me feel fulfilled.  The marathon training seriously got me through the winter, and I get emotional thinking about how it's coming to an end soon. The biggest thing I've learned on this journey- I am always seeking ways to improve myself (which comes out sounding a lot more like whining/complaining sometimes…but the more I think about it- it's a healthy thing! Never a bad thing to seek improvements in all areas of life and to challenge yourself). After the Ragnar relay, I either wanted to find a part-time job or figure out how to go back to school so I can earn my graduate degree. It looks like God is leading me more towards the education path because like I said- I don't know how the job (which was at my gym as a babysitter in the playroom/working the front desk) is going to work out with my schedule (I want to be the person that takes Andrew to school and drops him off and that doesn't seem to work with the times they want me at work). So we will see if I can figure out how to get myself back to school.

As far as my babes- they are getting so big and fighting playing with each other so much lately :) Andrew has been learning nursery rhymes at school so we made a little nursery rhyme book at home and he really loves learning them all. We have a book called "Aggie Goose" and it ties in a lot of traditions from Texas A&M with traditional nursery rhymes so Andrew really likes that book now. :) Abby is getting to be quite a talker and too smart for her own good. :) We were FaceTiming with my in-laws yesterday and trying to get her to put on her dramatic face/voice by asking her, "Abby, did you get an owie today?? Oh no…what happened??" When she responded with- "yea..YOU hit me!" while pointing at me and smiling. :) Just for the record- I did NOT hit her. I'm telling you- it was as if she knew it was her Nani and Pop pop and she was trying to get me into trouble! HA! She promptly started laughing and ran over and gave me hugs when I said, "What?? Mommy didn't hit you!" :) A few of my other favorite quotes this week- Andrew- "mommy, the stove is on fire!!!" which caused my heart to jump and for me to run down the stairs while loading laundry to find the macaroni boiling on the stove...no fire thank goodness! Abby-" I want to ride in daddy's "red" car (all cars are "red cars" according to Abby") 

Andrew- "Abby's hair is turning white!!" hmmm...blonde you mean? :) 

We had 2 playdates over at our house last week and that was lots of fun. My training was very lazy this week. As I said-I've kind of mentally shut down after my long run…it's as if my body said- "We're done, right??? Wasn't that it??" I'm getting so nervous because the next few weeks are referred to "tapering phase" which means you still need to be training enough to keep the stamina but not so much where your body is wearing down..and for me-that can be very misleading (and usually leads to putting off my workouts almost everyday this week..) Luckily I got in over 9 miles with some girls from my Ragnar team, and it seriously felt like nothing. It was so nice to have people to talk to while running. I wanted to get in another 9 miles yesterday, but Todd went out of town today so I really didn't want to leave him. The weather is going to be perfect this week, so I'm trying to figure out how to find someone to watch my kids so I can run outside and not in the gym (I am so…tired…of running on the treadmill). Luckily-because I slacked on my running, I got a lot done around the house (my energy level the rest of the week was awesome), played with the kids more, cleaned the car, cleaned out/organized clothes (maybe it was that "spring cleaning" message that got to me…). So that felt good. Here are some fun pics of the kids playing in the car while I was cleaning. :) They are too cute. Have a good week!

         taking baby out to the car 

 Abby looks adorable with her hair pulled back!! 

         sleeping like an angel 

              playing at Toys r us

Riding in "daddy's red car" She also stole my Sonic drink (the day I found out there was a sonic 20 minutes away was such a successful day) :) Apparently on my 9 mile run, the kids "won the battle with daddy" on the way to swimming lessons and got to ride in daddy's car :) Todd said- "yep...I had to let them win.."