Half Marathon Training - Day 1

Well, I'm officially signed up for my first half-marathon.  gulp.  It's not until the end of October, so I'm not totally absolutely insane, but still.  Right?
I signed up for the Whistlestop Marathon that takes place right here in town every year.  You might remember that last year, I did the 10K race in the same setting.  Doing the 10K again seems like I'd just be at a standstill in my running progress and I'm pretty sure I'm physically capable of running 13 miles (at what pace is an entirely different matter).  Brian is also signed up for the same race, so I have a constant running buddy.  I'm going to attempt to go off the schedule set in Runner's World for a beginner to do a half marathon (which I can't find on their website, so I don't really feel comfortable posting, but you'll see it as I go along....if I keep up with the blogging on it....).
Yesterday's run was a 2 miler.  Since I hurt my hip early this spring, I had taken a huge break from running and just started back up last week.  I had done a 2 mile and a 2.25 mile last week, so yesterday was back to the beginning.  Because of this, I decided I'd try out my five fingers for the first time.  I've worn them around town but not yet running in them.  Let me tell you, that was something else.  It didn't hurt but I definitely had to adjust the way I was running.  As soon as I started, my right heel was sore.  Odd.  Maybe that is why my right hip had been hurting?  Had I been heel striking on just one side and didn't realize it?  That's the beauty of these shoes.  You have to run correctly or it hurts right away.  Besides my feet feeling hot, it wasn't too bad.  Until this morning.  Can you say sore calves????  But sore in a good way, not a bad way.  I'm definitely going to keep using them for short runs and use my Brooks for the long runs.
I'm supposed to do three miles tomorrow and 4 miles Sunday.   I'm still trying to decide if I make Sunday's run part of our town summer festival, which has a 5 and 10K on Saturday.  If I do, I should probably only do the 5K which makes me feel like a slacker.  We shall see.

The amazing Callum aka the 16 month post

Some days I find myself noticing all sorts of things that Callum can do and just smiling about it. Two such things happen this morning. The first was my ever-hungry child coming into the kitchen where I was drinking my coffee, in search of more food. He noticed his brother's plate on the table and grabbed it. Upon realizing the plate was empty, he took it over to the drawer where we keep kid dishes, pulled open the drawer, popped the (dirty) plate inside, and shut the drawer, saying "ahhh" as he did so. I nearly died from cuteness overload.
The second was more of me just marveling at his learning. I gave him some pistachios for a snack, figuring he could gum them to mush. Well, my molar and canine-less boy did not gum them. He strategically held them in between the teeth he has (3 on bottom, 4 on top) and chewed them.
Callum is starting to copy and attempt a lot of new words. He still doesn't say much, but he is a boy, after all. He does consistently say bye-bye, out, shoes, mama, dada, Everett, ball, play, water, juice, kitty, woah and tractor. See? Priorities.
He got his first real summer haircut this week and looks so big.

He can run, throw, hide, stand on his head and look under his legs, climb, and reach for anything he shouldn't have. He is only nursing once per day now and really cutting down on the length of that nursing too. The boy devours fruit, meat, and crackers, still isn't a huge fan of milk, and guzzles water.
He is so sweet (and rough) to his brother and they have great fun together. Everything Everett does, Callum must try too. Everett watches out for his baby brother though, and always tells us if he starts getting into tooooo much trouble.

Making Strawberry Jam

On Friday, we drove up to Bayfield and picked a big flat full of delicious, huge strawberries.  Obviously, the first thing we did was eat a bunch, then make strawberry shortcake.  THEN, we make jam.  That was today's task.  Everett was our sous chef.

Mashing

One pot of smushed strawberries, one giant pot of water.

Strawberry soup

Ahhhh.

Oh yeah, and Callum's teething/growing/being a 16 month old (TODAY!!!! Eek!!!).  So he was doing a lot of this:

Toddle Along Tuesday: Letter to my boys

This week's Toddle Along Tuesday is a letter to your baby addressed 10, 15, or 20 years in the future.  Since I just so happen to have two "babies," I thought I'd just go ahead and write two letters for 15 years in the future.

Dear Everett,
Well my child, you are 18 years old.  I know you did well in high school with your friendly personality and eagerness to learn.  I hope that you have found a great fit for college and are excited to attend  I hope that you made wonderful friends and had great, care-free times in your high school years.  I hope you don't yet have serious girlfriend.  :)
Don't be afraid of going far from home for college.  It's the perfect time in your life to branch out and see a new place.  Don't try too many stupid things.  I'd like you to come back for vacations in one piece.  Work hard, don't forget to relax and play.  I love you.

Dear Callum,
16 years old and I'm sure you're always trying to drive the car everywhere.  I hope you're not as clumsy driving as you are running/walking at 16 months.  :)
Remember that high school grades actually do matter.  Not just to keep you from getting grounded, but for college admission and life in general.  Don't forget to keep doing extracurriculars too.  It seems that is where a lot of kids meet their best friends for their teen years.  I know you're going to miss your big brother dreadfully in the fall, but we'll make sure you get to visit with him every chance you get.  Don't get into too much trouble little guy.  I know you have an adventurous streak but you should try to keep it in check and be careful!  I love you.

Father's Day

Today marks Brian's 4th Father's Day, and I thought I'd mention a few things about the husb as daddy.

-Brian was totally present and involved for both boys' births.  (I would have killed him if he weren't ;).)

-Every time he walks into the house, two squealing little boys go running from opposite corners of the house and grab onto his legs.

-Everett begs to go mountain biking any time Brian leaves to do so.

-Although he's not allowed to go mountain biking, he DOES get to go build trail with him on some Monday evenings.

-All three love their "daddy dates."  Yesterday I had things going on all day, so the boys had a guy day.  Brian took them to the farmer's market, on a run, then on a bike ride to the farm, and stayed home with them that evening while I went out with my friends.  (Now he gets to take today to go biking.)

-Brian has never once complained when I have asked if he could take care of the boys for some reason or another.

-He will always offer to entertain the boys right after work because he knows I'm nearing "lock children in closet" phase.

-Every night, Brian will sit on the boys' bedroom floor and both will plop on his lap for stories.

-He's never complained when I handed him a poopy baby and asked him to change it.

 -He teaches the boys every opportunity he gets.  About the world, nature, society, etc.

 -He is a baby-wearing daddy.  Ergo, bjorn, even wraps.  He likes wearing his babies.

 -Brian teaches his boys to be loving and polite.  He's somehow taught Everett to always tell me I'm pretty and to thank me for "yummy food you made."

 -He is intent on making sure the boys have money saved for their college in the future.  Honestly, I probably would have put very little thought into it on my own and made them savings accounts.  Because of Brian's research, each boy has an awesome 529 and we add money to them quarterly.

 -Besides being able to nurse babies and working during the day, he is pretty much an equal co-parent and I couldn't imagine a better Dada for these boys.