On Monday morning my trusty bike and I covered 10 1/2 miles in 55 minutes. I felt pretty smug.
On Tuesday morning my trusty bike and I rode the same route but I drafted behind the Rizz and managed to shave almost 11 minutes off my time. I felt real smug.
This morning my trusty bike and I rode the route alone again and I beat our time but 22 seconds. The climb up 44 is horrid, my legs are on fire, but I am real, real smug with myself.
Next week's goal? 15 miles in under an hour. Wish me luck!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Summer In Pictures, Part 1
The big kids wanted Austin's cake to look like a watch since it's one of his very favorite things to play with. I took the easy way out and did this...Austin and big kids were thrilled. (The time is set to 1:30 since that's when he was born. Aren't I a genius???)
The day after Austin's birthday was Brad's birthday so we headed to Red Robin to celebrate. Austin was clearly worn out from the previous day's activities.
That night was the Father-N-Son's camp out, so while the boys were away, the girls did play. We had a few friends over for some quality girl time, complete with homemade pizza, pedicures, Barbie movies and ice cream sundaes.
On Saturday night, to commemorate the Rizz hitting his mid-thirties, I had some friends over to celebrate. My plan was to take pictures of everyone who came, the food that was made and the good times that were had. This is the only shot of the night, taken before everyone arrived and before my hair had been done. Maybe next year?
In between all the fun stuff we've been up to, whenever we have down time, our kids can be found doing this. I love it!
Summer is definitely off to a great start!
The day after Austin's birthday was Brad's birthday so we headed to Red Robin to celebrate. Austin was clearly worn out from the previous day's activities.
That night was the Father-N-Son's camp out, so while the boys were away, the girls did play. We had a few friends over for some quality girl time, complete with homemade pizza, pedicures, Barbie movies and ice cream sundaes.
On Saturday night, to commemorate the Rizz hitting his mid-thirties, I had some friends over to celebrate. My plan was to take pictures of everyone who came, the food that was made and the good times that were had. This is the only shot of the night, taken before everyone arrived and before my hair had been done. Maybe next year?
In between all the fun stuff we've been up to, whenever we have down time, our kids can be found doing this. I love it!
Summer is definitely off to a great start!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Thity-Five.
To my adorable husband, who after I told him that our surprise golf outing was canceled because of the rain (Rain! In June!) said, "why don't we finish working on the yard? I don't care what we do as long as we do it together," I wish you the happiest of birthdays. You are stellar in every aspect of your life and I thank you for challenging me to keep up. I love you.
Love,
Kiz
Love,
Kiz
Thursday, June 18, 2009
One.
Dear Austin,
To the boy who has completed me as a mother, showed me what I'm good at and all I have yet to learn, happy birthday. Every inch of you makes me proud...proud to have an able body that could carry four children, proud to have been given the opportunity to be a mother, proud of what we're doing as a family, proud that I listened to the not-so-gentle nudge that told me you needed to come. I love you in every way imaginable. Happy Birthday, sweet boy.
To the boy who has completed me as a mother, showed me what I'm good at and all I have yet to learn, happy birthday. Every inch of you makes me proud...proud to have an able body that could carry four children, proud to have been given the opportunity to be a mother, proud of what we're doing as a family, proud that I listened to the not-so-gentle nudge that told me you needed to come. I love you in every way imaginable. Happy Birthday, sweet boy.
Love,
Mama
Monday, June 15, 2009
The First Trip Of The Summer
Wanna know why we look like this?
Because the rest of the car looked like this:
Because the rest of the car looked like this:
After racing out of school on Friday, we surprised the kids with a quick trip to Portland with their favorite cousins. Rich and Tiff and their crew and Matt and Jen and their two met up with us for a fun filled weekend to celebrate a few big happenings in our family: 1) Great Grandpa Jim's 85th birthday and his first trip to the temple 2) Uncle Matty's birthday 3) Lily's first birthday 4) Austin's first birthday and finally 5) Brad's 35th birthday! We basically celebrated all weekend long and ate our weight in cake. The kids swam every spare second and we laughed and loved our time together. Our kids adore their cousins and it is so fun to see them all together. Grandpa Jim was thrilled that we all made the trip to be with him and it made for a fantastic weekend. I hope we can make it an annual event!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Because Once Just Wasn't Enough...
I'm off to see the Wizard again, this time with one of my favorite little munchkins in tow.
She's been completely obsessed with the soundtrack since I listen to it day and night and sings all the songs by heart. My mom and original BFF are coming as well and I cannot wait. This year's culture experience? Done.
Now we just have to wait until October. Don't mention it to the munchkin if you should see her. I'm waiting until, say September to break the good news or else we'll have a VERY long summer on our hands....
She's been completely obsessed with the soundtrack since I listen to it day and night and sings all the songs by heart. My mom and original BFF are coming as well and I cannot wait. This year's culture experience? Done.
Now we just have to wait until October. Don't mention it to the munchkin if you should see her. I'm waiting until, say September to break the good news or else we'll have a VERY long summer on our hands....
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
The View From Two Wheels
I've been wanting to up my game a bit this week and do some special things for the kids to commemorate the last week of school. In years past, this would ALWAYS mean an edible sort of treat or special thing, but since I am trying to think like a skinny person now, I needed some new ideas.
At about 7:30 this morning, I got the brilliant idea that we should all ride our bikes to school. My kids LOVE to ride their bikes and spend most every afternoon cruising around the neighborhood. Even Sienna, with her little legs and "Let's Go! Barbie Go!" bike pedals away the afternoon. I told the kids my plan and they were ecstatic. Since my kids don't attend our neighborhood school, this meant we had a 20-25 minute ride to look forward to.
Just before 8, I went out to the garage to get everything ready. My bike was still on the rollers where I usually ride each morning and I needed to hook up the trailer to it.
This is where my plan started to tank.
I twisted and pulled and reefed and yanked on those silly knobs and I COULD NOT get them to loosen so I could unlatch my bike. I got out the pliers and pulled harder. I put on some gloves and twisted stronger. I called my husband for some words of encouragement. I could not budge those stupid knobs!
This is also where my kids started to freak out. They were SO EXCITED at the idea of riding up to school. They had gotten ready in record time and had done everything I had asked them to do. Spence was trying to help with the knobs and Hannah was taking care of Austin. She disappeared into the house for a minute and when she came back, I was finally able to loosen the knobs and free the bike. (She later told me she had gone inside to say a quick prayer that we could ride to school and that I would be strong enough to loosen the knobs. Such a sweet girl.)
Next thing you know, we're off! Austin and Sienna are in the trailer, Hannah and Spence are leading the way and I am feeling like mother of the year. We made it to the end of the street before Spencer's shoelace got stuck in his pedal and down he went. He hopped right back up (after tucking in his laces) and rode on.
About halfway through our ride, Hannah started to lag behind. At first I encouraged her to keep up but found it odd and she's usually the leader of the back. That girl is built just like her Mama which means her hind quarters are powerful and she never has trouble staying with the pack. I kept slowing down and she kept falling back and when I finally stopped to wait for her, I saw the problem.
Her back tire was completely flat. And we were no where near the school. Or our house.
Sweet.
Spence had circled back to see what was going on and Hannah decided to keep plugging away. I was so proud of her determination! And since I'm the idiot who forgot the pump, we really didn't have much choice. Spence rode behind Hannah and cheered her on the whole way.
"You're doing great Hannah! We're almost there! You are so strong!"
I rode in front with tears running down my face.
About a half mile from the school, Hannah couldn't go any more. Her little legs had ridden the bike as far as they could and she was exhausted. While I tried to figure out how to get Hannah and her bike into the trailer along side Squish and The Captain, Spence came up with a solution.
"I'll ride Hannah's bike to give her a break Mom and she can ride mine." He hopped down, lowered the seat for Hannah and away they went.
I watched them for a moment in complete awe at my children. Spence selflessly helped his sister in her literal hour of need, not caring that he was now going to ride up to the school in front of all of his friends on a pink ladybug bike and Hannah graciously took her brother's help. "Thanks Spence," she called, "you are the hero of the day!"
We pulled up to the school a few minutes late and after parking his bike, he came to help Hannah. They got their backpacks out of the trailer and walked hand-in-hand into the school. I followed behind with the little ones completely in love with my kids.
Today's treat was indeed the most special of all. I think I'll make some homemade peanut butter cups and celebrate my children all day long.
At about 7:30 this morning, I got the brilliant idea that we should all ride our bikes to school. My kids LOVE to ride their bikes and spend most every afternoon cruising around the neighborhood. Even Sienna, with her little legs and "Let's Go! Barbie Go!" bike pedals away the afternoon. I told the kids my plan and they were ecstatic. Since my kids don't attend our neighborhood school, this meant we had a 20-25 minute ride to look forward to.
Just before 8, I went out to the garage to get everything ready. My bike was still on the rollers where I usually ride each morning and I needed to hook up the trailer to it.
This is where my plan started to tank.
I twisted and pulled and reefed and yanked on those silly knobs and I COULD NOT get them to loosen so I could unlatch my bike. I got out the pliers and pulled harder. I put on some gloves and twisted stronger. I called my husband for some words of encouragement. I could not budge those stupid knobs!
This is also where my kids started to freak out. They were SO EXCITED at the idea of riding up to school. They had gotten ready in record time and had done everything I had asked them to do. Spence was trying to help with the knobs and Hannah was taking care of Austin. She disappeared into the house for a minute and when she came back, I was finally able to loosen the knobs and free the bike. (She later told me she had gone inside to say a quick prayer that we could ride to school and that I would be strong enough to loosen the knobs. Such a sweet girl.)
Next thing you know, we're off! Austin and Sienna are in the trailer, Hannah and Spence are leading the way and I am feeling like mother of the year. We made it to the end of the street before Spencer's shoelace got stuck in his pedal and down he went. He hopped right back up (after tucking in his laces) and rode on.
About halfway through our ride, Hannah started to lag behind. At first I encouraged her to keep up but found it odd and she's usually the leader of the back. That girl is built just like her Mama which means her hind quarters are powerful and she never has trouble staying with the pack. I kept slowing down and she kept falling back and when I finally stopped to wait for her, I saw the problem.
Her back tire was completely flat. And we were no where near the school. Or our house.
Sweet.
Spence had circled back to see what was going on and Hannah decided to keep plugging away. I was so proud of her determination! And since I'm the idiot who forgot the pump, we really didn't have much choice. Spence rode behind Hannah and cheered her on the whole way.
"You're doing great Hannah! We're almost there! You are so strong!"
I rode in front with tears running down my face.
About a half mile from the school, Hannah couldn't go any more. Her little legs had ridden the bike as far as they could and she was exhausted. While I tried to figure out how to get Hannah and her bike into the trailer along side Squish and The Captain, Spence came up with a solution.
"I'll ride Hannah's bike to give her a break Mom and she can ride mine." He hopped down, lowered the seat for Hannah and away they went.
I watched them for a moment in complete awe at my children. Spence selflessly helped his sister in her literal hour of need, not caring that he was now going to ride up to the school in front of all of his friends on a pink ladybug bike and Hannah graciously took her brother's help. "Thanks Spence," she called, "you are the hero of the day!"
We pulled up to the school a few minutes late and after parking his bike, he came to help Hannah. They got their backpacks out of the trailer and walked hand-in-hand into the school. I followed behind with the little ones completely in love with my kids.
Today's treat was indeed the most special of all. I think I'll make some homemade peanut butter cups and celebrate my children all day long.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Recipe For A Perfect Weekend
*Lifelong friends
*A deserving birthday girl
*Asparagus
*Wrongly spelled words that say just the right thing
*Late nights
*Later mornings
*Brisk walks
*An adorable newborn
*Cheesy chick flicks
*Movie theater popcorn
*Laughing til it hurts
*Crying til it's better
*Raisinettes
*A gracious host
*Four silly girls who still think they're 15
*A friendship that transcends all and is worth everything
Thanks ladies for another weekend that gave me everything I needed and more.
I love you all.
*Asparagus
*Wrongly spelled words that say just the right thing
*Late nights
*Later mornings
*Brisk walks
*An adorable newborn
*Cheesy chick flicks
*Movie theater popcorn
*Laughing til it hurts
*Crying til it's better
*Raisinettes
*A gracious host
*Four silly girls who still think they're 15
*A friendship that transcends all and is worth everything
Thanks ladies for another weekend that gave me everything I needed and more. I love you all.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Progress
Do you see that?
That's me, turning my head to the left, something I haven't been able to do since Saturday. Hooray for chiropractors and seriously buff massage therapists. I still have one isolated spot of pretty decent pain, but for the most part, I am up and at em.
In other news, The Captain has entered the world of big boyness and now rides facing forward. The older kids have been acting like it's the greatest accomplishment of all time.
"Good job Witt! You've finally managed to eat your weight in cottage cheese and now you can roll like the rest of us!"
(Witt is Austin's official nickname and the kids rarely call him anything else. It is derived for Little Man, which became Wittle Man, and now, because the planets aligned and my kids played limbo under Saturn's rings, he is now Witt, or more commonly The Witt. I have no control over these things.
Brad is often the worst offender. I'm more partial to The Captain but usually call him Buzz. What is it with our family and nicknames?)
Brad is often the worst offender. I'm more partial to The Captain but usually call him Buzz. What is it with our family and nicknames?)
Tomorrow morning I leave for The West Side to spend 2 1/2 glorious days in the glow of my dear friends and mother. Erica is the last of us to turn 34 and we will be celebrating all weekend in style. No kids (except the adorable Maya who is about 2 seconds old and a ball of perfection) no husbands, no schedule. Cannot wait. The weekend should provide me with enough blogging material for weeks to come.
See you next week!
See you next week!
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
A Literal Pain In The Neck
Here's the thing about pain: it's really freaking painful.
Do you feel enlightened somehow?
Ah! Flexeril! How I love thee! You saw me through my last two pregnanices when mondo belly was out of control. You loosened me up and made me sleep. You are my very own Holy Grail of Pharmaceuticals.
Do you feel enlightened somehow?
And I don't really understand pain. It has no rhyme or reason. For example, you can birth a baby and go through the most horrendous pain of your life and then be almost completely over it once you hear the words "the shoulders are out!" But you can have the tiniest little hangnail on your ring finger that will drive you batty for days and will cause you to beg for mercy from the Good Lord above.
It makes no sense.
So my back. It's been killing me for days now. I can't really look to the right. I can't really look to the left. I certainly can't look down and don't even get me started on looking up. And you know what I did to cause this? This feeling of having an elephant park it's badonkadonk on my neck and poke at my shoulder blades with a 275 degree hot dog skewer?
I glanced at the clock.
I woke up Saturday morning, listened to my quiet house for a moment and wondered what time it was. I know! I thought. I will risk life and limb by glancing at the clock! So I did, and as I turned to the right, my upper back went snap-crackle-pop-crunch-crack-bing-bang-walla-walla-bingbang. And then I couldn't move.
Brad was out for an early morning ride and I laid in bed trying to figure out how to A) get out of bed, B) how to get my jammies on (oh-la-la) and C) how to lift Captian Weighs-A-Ton of the Peanut Butter Gang out of his crib.
And I didn't really have time to have a non-functioning back on Saturday because we were booked solid all day long. Baseball followed by school picnic followed by colleagues birthday dinner. So I layered on the Icy Hot and tried to go throughout the day.
By Sunday, it was worse. ( Hooray!) But my step-mother-in-law (say that three times fast) who is also a nurse visited for a few hours and she spent some time trying to massage the boulders out of my neck. It felt delightful while she was doing and felt horrible once she stopped. I hadn't slept much the night before due to the heinous pain so by Sunday night, after heating and icing and rubbing and lathering, I turned to the big guns: HYDROCODONE. It has always worked like a charm for me because it A) takes away the pain and B) knocks me out.
It did neither.
Monday morning found me calling the doctor begging for a muscle relaxer. At first they wanted me to come in but I told them I didn't think it was safe for me to get on the freeway since the range of motion of my head was approximately .2 degrees. They agreed and sent Flexeril to my rescue.
It makes no sense.
So my back. It's been killing me for days now. I can't really look to the right. I can't really look to the left. I certainly can't look down and don't even get me started on looking up. And you know what I did to cause this? This feeling of having an elephant park it's badonkadonk on my neck and poke at my shoulder blades with a 275 degree hot dog skewer?
I glanced at the clock.
I woke up Saturday morning, listened to my quiet house for a moment and wondered what time it was. I know! I thought. I will risk life and limb by glancing at the clock! So I did, and as I turned to the right, my upper back went snap-crackle-pop-crunch-crack-bing-bang-walla-walla-bingbang. And then I couldn't move.
Brad was out for an early morning ride and I laid in bed trying to figure out how to A) get out of bed, B) how to get my jammies on (oh-la-la) and C) how to lift Captian Weighs-A-Ton of the Peanut Butter Gang out of his crib.
And I didn't really have time to have a non-functioning back on Saturday because we were booked solid all day long. Baseball followed by school picnic followed by colleagues birthday dinner. So I layered on the Icy Hot and tried to go throughout the day.
By Sunday, it was worse. ( Hooray!) But my step-mother-in-law (say that three times fast) who is also a nurse visited for a few hours and she spent some time trying to massage the boulders out of my neck. It felt delightful while she was doing and felt horrible once she stopped. I hadn't slept much the night before due to the heinous pain so by Sunday night, after heating and icing and rubbing and lathering, I turned to the big guns: HYDROCODONE. It has always worked like a charm for me because it A) takes away the pain and B) knocks me out.
It did neither.
Monday morning found me calling the doctor begging for a muscle relaxer. At first they wanted me to come in but I told them I didn't think it was safe for me to get on the freeway since the range of motion of my head was approximately .2 degrees. They agreed and sent Flexeril to my rescue.
Ah! Flexeril! How I love thee! You saw me through my last two pregnanices when mondo belly was out of control. You loosened me up and made me sleep. You are my very own Holy Grail of Pharmaceuticals.
Just to be sure my good friend Flexeril would have some support, I slid more hydrocodone into the mix and waited. Waited for the pain to go away. Waited for sleep to come. Waited for my back to once again be a part of my body.
Yeah, about that. Nothing ever happened.
(Insert expletive here.)
I repeatedly rolled from side to side thinking that at some point, I would relieve the pressure and pain and fall fast asleep. But I didn't. At four this morning, I hauled my exhausted back busted body out of bed and watched The Bachelorette. (Is it just me or does everyone want to punch Wes and Dave in the face?)
At 8 am sharp, after being awake for four hours, I called the doctor's office and begged to be seen. Something had to be done because the pain was horrifying and my lack of sleep was equally horrifying. While I waited for them to call me back, I swung by a local chiropractors office to see what they could do.
Now I've never been to a chiropractor. They kind of freak me out. I've always thought that I would be that one person who tenses up at the exact moment they crack your back and I would end of paralyzed. But I was desperate.
They worked me in almost right away and I have to say, it helped. He did an x-ray and discovered that two bones of my rib cage are smashed together which is causing the concentrated spot of pain. Dr. Chiropractor said "do you carry anything heavy on your left side?"
Um, Captain Weighs-A-Ton? He's talking to you.
After much pushing and deep breathing and cracking and rubbing, and a few minutes with the "jackhammer" he sent me home. No more heat, he said. Lots of ice, lots of ibuprofen, lots of rest. I returned later in the afternoon for a repeat exam because the pain was so intense and I'm off again to see him in the morning. He said it may take two weeks for it to be completely better to which I replied "Hey Captain! LEARN TO FREAKING WALK."
The good news? Well, I can't think of any at the moment but I do hope that I'll sleep tonight. I'm upping the Flexeril and hydrocodone and praying that this elephant will find another neck to perch on. Wish me luck.
Yeah, about that. Nothing ever happened.
(Insert expletive here.)
I repeatedly rolled from side to side thinking that at some point, I would relieve the pressure and pain and fall fast asleep. But I didn't. At four this morning, I hauled my exhausted back busted body out of bed and watched The Bachelorette. (Is it just me or does everyone want to punch Wes and Dave in the face?)
At 8 am sharp, after being awake for four hours, I called the doctor's office and begged to be seen. Something had to be done because the pain was horrifying and my lack of sleep was equally horrifying. While I waited for them to call me back, I swung by a local chiropractors office to see what they could do.
Now I've never been to a chiropractor. They kind of freak me out. I've always thought that I would be that one person who tenses up at the exact moment they crack your back and I would end of paralyzed. But I was desperate.
They worked me in almost right away and I have to say, it helped. He did an x-ray and discovered that two bones of my rib cage are smashed together which is causing the concentrated spot of pain. Dr. Chiropractor said "do you carry anything heavy on your left side?"
Um, Captain Weighs-A-Ton? He's talking to you.
After much pushing and deep breathing and cracking and rubbing, and a few minutes with the "jackhammer" he sent me home. No more heat, he said. Lots of ice, lots of ibuprofen, lots of rest. I returned later in the afternoon for a repeat exam because the pain was so intense and I'm off again to see him in the morning. He said it may take two weeks for it to be completely better to which I replied "Hey Captain! LEARN TO FREAKING WALK."
The good news? Well, I can't think of any at the moment but I do hope that I'll sleep tonight. I'm upping the Flexeril and hydrocodone and praying that this elephant will find another neck to perch on. Wish me luck.
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