the time has come

Let's rewind back to January of 2012.

I found out I was pregnant.

One week later, found out I was having twins.

Well, then came on the morning sickness, 40-45 lbs. in weigh gain and multiple stretches on strict bed rest.

Of course all of this meant absolutely no exercising for this soon-to-be momma.

Now August of 2012 arrives, along with my two bundles of joy... and a longer than normal recovery time and nearly no free time for myself.

October 11th came and somehow in my mind I thought it was a good time to sign up for my first half-marathon.

I'm not a runner. I like to run, but I'm not a runner.

The thought of accomplishing such a long run, pushing myself to new strengths and having a great time was just what I thought I needed.

Silly, silly me.

I have not been able to train. I've had a few runs on the treadmill scattered throughout the past few months (11 specifically, none being more than 3 miles at a time), but it can't qualify for training, by any means.

Most everyone I have told thinks I am crazy, making a bad move, am going to hurt myself, or won't be able to do this, but

I could have just given up and said, forget the money I put into this, forget the desire of really wanting to do this and listened to them. I could have listened, told myself I couldn't do it and I wasn't ready.

But instead, I am going through with it.

I am going to run my first half marathon tomorrow morning, bright and early in this freezing cold Florida weather.

It's very possible that my seven hour long play list on my iPod won't be long enough. It's possible I am going to do a lot of walking. I may not cross the finish line. There are a lot of possibilities that could scare me away from trying. That is all I want to do. Just try. I want to give it my all and do my best. Worst I can do is prove everyone right. But I am hoping to prove everyone wrong this weekend and run my little heart out, accomplish this goal of mind and go home with a medal around my neck and a huge smile on my face.

My dear friend, who is a runner, who has done many of these before, is going to run beside me, coach me along and enjoy this experience with me! I can't wait to do this with her!

she never ever disappoints

I was tired and it was late, but as we pulled up to our driveway after a long day, I opened the dark mailbox and pulled out the envelopes, magazines, ... and a shiny silver tube. When I saw the tube, I immediately thought Megan. It just looked like her. It looked like something amazing she would do. And sure enough, it was from exactly who I thought. Though, I had no idea what it could possibly be!! What would she be sending me? In February? 

Well, leave it to Megan, it was a Valentine's Day treat. For me! What a surprise! Though, being Megan, I shouldn't be surprised.

She's creative.

Gifted.

Talented.

Generous.

Sweet.

And most definitely, thoughtful.

The words I can use to describe her could go on and on.

She never, ever, ever disappoints. Ever.

Whether it be her photographs, her tablescapes (she sets an amazing table), her thoughtful gifts, it is all always just right.

She sent out a few of her Valentine's Day favorites to people and I was one of the lucky recipients!

Simple and sweet and just right. Though, it was a bit of a tease with that cupcake front and center on the picture. I wanted to eat it right off the paper! My nails were painted right away, I popped one of those amazing chocolates into my mouth (there had been four candies there), and her adorable photo/card was put in my planner as a happy reminder of sweet friends... and sweet things, like cupcakes!

Sweet and thoughtful friends are such a delight! Thank you, Megan, for your never ending thoughtfulness!

breaking news: the good kind

The boys took a nap. Together. For three hours. Yes, three hours, together! This is a first. Their naps are never together and never more than 20 minutes at a time. 

I wish I knew this was going to occur because there is so much I would have done and planned to do. Instead, I kept thinking hmmm, 20 minutes, they'll be up soon. Gosh, 45 minutes. They will be up any minute. An hour and a half, are they alive? An hour and forty-five minutes, no really, are they alive? I would have run, showered, did a crafty thing or two, written out some thank you cards that I still have to write... there is just so much I could have done. Though, I can't complain. The house was quiet, and I did get a lot of house work accomplished, while still enjoying the downtime.

I am in complete disbelief with what just went on in this house! There is one very, very happy Momma in this house! I feel the need to celebrate! Okay, or just go keep cleaning the house. Let's hope this is a February tradition. And March, April, May, June, and so on..... Thank you boys!

 

the reward

yes, i do reward myself sometimes... with chocolate milk. i'm not really sure if reward is the right word. sometimes i just have to give myself something to keep me going. i have a million and one things i could be doing right this second, but while all three (jimmy included) of my boys are sleeping, i am sitting, enjoying one of my very favorite drinks! sweet tea is my other fave. yesterday was a long and pretty tough day. i ended up leaving all the dinner prep on the counters, food out, and dishes in the sink, put my two crying babies in the car and went for a ride. the purpose was to calm me down, and to quiet them. they needed to be put to sleep by the smooth ride of the car. it didn't put them to sleep, but it quieted them down. mono and i are trying to exercise a bit more this year and so after work, he headed for a little workout. he called to check in to make sure all was well at home and i told him to go for his swim. i didn't want him to pick up on the fact that everything was far from well at home. i knew if he knew that, he wouldn't have made that time for himself at the pool. and he needed it. there is not much time in the day for me to work out and being that things done quiet down here until 9:30 at the earliest, but i do hope to eventually figure my day and life out to squeeze something in. do you ever set aside even 5 minutes to give yourself a break or a treat?

Oh Christmas Tree

We bought our beautiful, real tree back on the weekend after Thanksgiving and kept it up until today. Believe it or not, we never got a family picture on Christmas or with our tree before last night. Before we took it down, I wanted to be sure to get a nice picture of the four of us.

The tree was as dry as dry can be and we couldn't even turn the lights on because we didn't want to risk the heat from them and the super dry branches. We turned them on for the picture, then while we were out and Mom and Dad were watching the boys, Mom took down the ornaments. Today Dad and I took the thousands of lights off and brought the tree outside. There were pine needles everywhere!! It still smelled so good though!

friendship and sweet tea

We left the boys for the second time ever tonight. The first time was on our one year anniversary. Yes, on our one year anniversary we already had two kids, and needed a babysitter. Mami and our grandparents were here to watch them for us. Tonight we went out with friends... and I may have drank a little too much... sweet tea that is! We went to Dreamland Barbecue and their sweet tea is like taking little sips of heaven. I may have had a few too many glasses and was tempted to take one for the road, but remained in control. Some people are foolish and drive under the influence of alcohol, I on the other hand tend to overdose on sweet tea. Thankfully it's not dangerous or hazardous to anything but my waistline.

Our friend, Austin and his mom came out with us for ribs. Dreamland has amazing ribs. A little on the spicy side, but if I can handle their heat, anyone can. I must say, going out with them is always a joy. We caught up on all of our recent travels, them to Florida, along with a visit from their family to our town and us to the northeast. We shared Christmas memories, stories of Mono's new job, Austin's recent absolutely amazing accomplishments at therapy... since the time we saw him last (right before our trip up north), he can now walk on his own with a walker for quite a period of time! The guys talked sports and computers. Us girls talked pinterest and babies. I shared with them the fact that I have passed the level of insane that I signed up for a half marathon. And yes, Gus may have included a little piece of information that had he and Austin laughing quite hard... cough - a purse is involved at the finish line - cough. Gus claims the only reason I signed up for this was for the purse. And while that is incentive, it is not my main reason. Truth. Now, if it was this bag, his statement would be completely accurate. We ate yummy ribs, drank lots of tea, shared many laughs, and realized even more how grateful we all our for our friendship.

Austin has overcome a monumental challenge and works with such dedication each day to return to a complete recovery. I personally do not think many people, myself included, could be where he is today, mentally and physically. He has amazing strength and determination. It is nothing short of an amazing miracle. Gus and I are a bit selfish. Of course we wish he could be back to his day to day life, outside of rehab, but we really love the fact that he has to be in rehab... right by our house! If only he could stay this close after he completes rehab and have his sweetheart of a girlfriend move to town too. The four of us would be the best of friends.

As we were sitting there and I was listening to the two of them share stories of their days when they lived together, I thought of how life has changed so much, and how we are all back together again, in a completely new way.

their new routine

we have a new routine for the boys. it started a few nights ago. tonight will be night 3 i believe following this new trend. i pray it sticks because it is lovely. i clean up the house, making sure everything is nice and tidy (for the most part) and then at 9:00 we turn the lights down low, tv off (if it is on), and have a quiet and calm atmosphere. then we feed the boys, pray our family rosary while we are feeding them and then put them to bed by 9:30. it is truly wonderful because it gives me quiet time to get things done. my goal is to have everything in the day done by then so i can have that time to myself. whether i use it to run, organize a few things, write some e-mails, blog... whatever it may be, i am hoping i can use that time to relax, catch up on some shows, etc...

eventually, hopefully the 9:00 hour will get even earlier, but for now, this is a huge break from what we had been doing previously. i'm still learning this whole mom thing. i'm enjoying each and every second, even the sleepless ones.