Dirty Girl Mud Run 2011

After months of training and not training my big 5k obstacle race was here. I fancied myself up and prepared for the worst. Jade, Alex, Kato, and my FIL Keith tagged along as my entourage! It wasn't the best decision to bring the kids and next year I will find a babysitter. We had to be there a hour and a half prior to my waves start time which was 3:15. It had rained earlier that morning and since the weather guys around here can not seem to get the weather straight I was thinking it was going to be crummy all day. It wasn't. We arrived, I got checked in, and we glanced around and I met up with my team, eventually. We all trickled in about the same time. From the walk up to the starting line I could see the Barn Burner, Wall Climb, Cargo Net, and finish line. Many ladies were covered in mud but all had big smiles. It was nice to see that considering the ambulance had just left with a customer a few minutes prior to that. We got situated and took some before shots. That way we could see our cute outfits before the mud got to them. We had to wait some time before it was our turn and we got off to a late start. The announcer said it was for safety. Once we were all in the pin ready to go the adrenaline started pumping. I had been training for this for awhile and I really was excited. The announcer blew the horn and we were off. Up a slight hill, down a hill, bumpy muddy road, stinky port a potties to the right and the first obstacle up ahead. We climbed to the top of the Barn Burner, hay bales stacked 30 feet high, gave a quick wwoooooo whooooooo and off we went. Tires, more tires, mud, ropes in mud, more hay, more mud, crawl crawl crawl, run up run down and a quick stop after each mile for some water, a pond full of muddy water, more hills up, hills down, hay, and then the 8ft wall no problem, then the cargo net. A 15 minute wait in line and up and over we went. We finished with a mud pit and mud slide followed by a shot of cosmo. It was one of the best adventures I have had that was me, I did it. I ran, I walked, I climbed, I crawled, I laughed, I finished and I was proud. So worth the wait!! Six thousand women became Dirty Girls that day and I was lucky to be one of the firsts. After all it was the first Dirty Girl Mud Run EVER!! Can't wait for next year!!! Thank you to Kato, Alex, Jade, and Keith for being there. Thank you to my family for letting me train and be away from you and thank you to my Dirty Divas Team who ROCKED IT!!! thanks for reading xoxo

Jades EXACT words...

I got big big boobs like daddy!!

Ella Beez

My little baby is growing up so fast. She is one and has four molars, no longer drinks from a bottle, and runs everywhere. Jade calls her Ella Beez and it has kinda stuck. She has finally moved from her bed in my room to her crib in her room. She sleeps great and eats great all on her own. Her one year check up went well too. Her head is shaping up like her sisters, nice and big in the 74% range, she measures up to 28 1/2 inches putting her in the 26% range, and her weight is at 20 whopping pounds putting her at 41%. She loves the sand box, playing outside, being allowed to climb the stairs, sitting on the couch like a big girl, and every once in a while I will have her eat breakfast in a booster seat up at the table with Alex and Jade. Last night we went to Pizza Hut and she cleaned house! I miss her when I am away from her and love it when she snuggles me. She blows kisses like no body's business and high fives like a champ. I thought I would really miss having her be that little baby but more and more I am becoming ok with it. It doesn't hurt as much and I am learning to appreciate the time I had with all my kids as babies. It could be that I am really enjoying the me time I am getting now and the fact that it is getting a little easier to go and do things without an infant. Whatever the case its wonderful just being able to be home and watch my kids grow and learn and be able to kiss and hug them whenever I want and tell them I love them every 5 minutes. I don't understand why a parent wouldn't want it but to each their own. Thanks for reading xoxo

Rock Walls and Cow Pies

My running is back on track and I am getting anxious for the Dirty Girl Mud Run in a couple of weeks. We have been busy getting ready for our garage sale too so I am surprised I have been able to keep my running schedule. I had lost 10 minutes on my time but have since been able to get that back. Now I run the 3 miles needed for the race and call it good. Its all I have time for these days. I have dropped 20 pounds since April which is a struggle because with long weekends and summer fun with friends its easy to pack on 4-5 pounds in a weekend. Today I had my annual physical and decided to go ahead and take my grandmothers advice and get my thyroid checked. Sometimes it feels like with all that I do to drop weight it should come off easier but then again I had taken several weeks off for my knees to stop hurting. Monday, was a cross train day, I ran 3 miles in the morning and went rock wall climbing at night. I thought I would be good at it but man did I get a slap in the face with reality!! Its hard. The muscles you use to pick up kids and lift them in their carriers are not the same that you use when climbing. My arms felt like jello after only 2 climbs. I am worried now about the obstacles in the Dirty Girl. At this point I am going to be happy just to get through it. I signed up for the Cow Chip 5k in September, I am glad there are no obstacles in that one, except for maybe the cow pies!! thanks for reading xoxo

Scrawny yet Brawny

Summer always goes by so fast. I think we can all agree on that one! I have tried to get the kids to the pool as much as possible but if its rainy or looks like a storm is rolling in we don't go. Jade really enjoys it as does Ella. Alex is a fish in water and this is the first summer I have allowed him to go into the big pool without me right there to watch him. They have lifeguards on duty and he can swim the length of the pool so I trust the situation. For the most part he hangs out in the little pool with us. Jade likes to do whatever Alex does so if he wears goggles, she wears goggles, if he says something so does she, and if he does something she is right there doing it too. So, much to my dismay she has been pretending to go potty standing up. She holds herself like Alex does and even makes the psssssss sound like she is actually going. Yes, I am trying to get her to stop but she has a mind of her own. She sometimes lets me french braid her hair and also has been enjoying getting her toes painted and wants to do that almost every night. She loves her olives, pizza and applesauce! I think we have created a monster, a cute sassy feisty and always loved monster. She is a nice combination of tomboy and girly girl and for the most part if she keeps up her daily beatings on Alex we won't have to worry about boys cause she will probably be able to beat them up too. thanks for reading xoxo

Brewers Game and Getting back to Running

Getting back into the swing of things, once you've been gone awhile, isn't always easy. I haven't been keeping up with my running since I went on vacation and last night when I went, lets just say it was sad! My plan is to go every other day until the race. By then I will be back to where I need to be to finish the 5k without killing myself. I have also decided to sign up for the Wisconsin State Cow Chip 5k. So the training will continue. I have a goal in mind for that one and it involves picking up my pace so we will see how it goes.

We are a blessed family with all that we have and when we get special gifts from our AWESOME friends like Ellen we feel even more blessed! So when she gave us tickets to a Brewer game I just about cried. I resisted the urge to give her the biggest hug ever but the thoughts were there! So last Sunday we headed to Milwaukee to watch the Brewers take on the Astros and much to our delight the Brewers won! It was a hot day but we had awesome tickets that allowed us to go into the club house area where they had air conditioning. Alex got a new hat and time away from his sisters and Kato got to see one of his favorite closers pitch, The Ax Man. It was a great time and we very much appreciate Ellen for it! thanks for reading xoxo