The 5K Experience

I did it! I actually ran a 5K. I amaze myself sometimes. I was doubting myself the few days leading up to the run. I hesitate to call is a "race" because it's not like I'm trying to win. Let's face it, just finishing the race is enough for me.

So the day was perfect. My run started at 7:15am so it was still cool and low humidity. I had been worried that it was going to be super hot and super humid even that early. Running in humidity isn't fun. I feel like I can't breathe! Not a good feeling. I was planning on getting to the race about 6:30 so I'd have time to go pee and stretch. However, after getting lost in downtown Minneapolis after dropping off Joel, Aaron, and Salli at their 1/2 marathon starting spot, I didn't get to the starting line until 7:00am. Luckily, I still had time to pee. Stretching, not so much. I made sure to be near the back of the crowd so I wouldn't get trampled too early on. And off I went. The first 1/2 mile wasn't too fun because my muscles were a tad tight. After that it was pretty good. Until mile 2.5. Someone moved Mt Everest to Minneapolis. I turned a corner and WHAM. There's it was. Mt. Everest. And who should be there squatting at the bottom of the mountain? A photographer. Seriously? Who wants to be photographed while hot and sweaty. It was like a bad paparazzi. He wasn't even trying to hide. As I was contemplating the best way to scale the mountain, the guy snapped my picture. (I was e-mailed the picture later. I look annoyed. However, I was wearing my super comfy ESPRIT t-shirt circa 1994 so that was pretty awesome to see) About 1/2 way up the mountain/hill I realized my feet were moving but I wasn't going anywhere! So I had to walk up the dumb thing. Once I got past that, it was just another 1/2 mile or so to the finish line.

My time was pretty good, for my first race. I had a goal in my head of what my time would be. I beat it by 3 minutes. My next run is in October but I'm going to try to run another one in September. There's always random 5K races going on every weekend. I still can't say I love running. I don't, nor do I think I ever will. However, I'm getting a little better at it. I ran 3.5 miles the other day and I didn't die. That's quite an accomplishment for me! :)

Iowa State Fair

Let's just get this out in the open. I hate the State Fair. To me, it's a bunch of smelly rednecks and smellier animals thrown together in the August heat to ferment and cause even more smelliness. And the fried food? What the heck? Does America really need more obesity? Ok...I'm off my rant. This year my employer gave all of us free admission tickets to the fair as well as some free activity tickets. In years past when they've done this, I've given my tickets away. Joel and I hate going to the fair (see above rant for reasons why). This year however, Hannah is 4 and loves animals so we thought we'd give it a try. Even Noah being 1 is a trooper and will tag along anywhere as long as there's food involved. The day started out a little rocky. Our camera batteries died so we had to buy some there. $3.50 for 2 batteries! Had to be done though. Then my flip flop broke. Seriously, the strap that goes between your toes just came right through the shoe. Darn cheap Old Navy flip-flops. Of course I had had them for eons so I guess they'd done pretty well for a $2 shoe. So what to do when your shoe breaks? Go do the medical tent! Yep, I walked right in and asked if I could have some medical tape to fix my shoe. They didn't even blink. Just went to a drawer and pulled it out. I made a joke about using their medical training to fix a flip flop and he said he's fixed many shoes since the fair started! Seriously!? In the mean time, Joel scored some duct tape from the general store so between the 2 tapes, I was back in business. After that the day got much better. The kids absolutely LOVED everything we did which made it so much more enjoyable for me. The weather was really nice so it wasn't too smelly :) I don't know if we'll go every year but this was definitely the first year I've not wanted to bring scissors and cut off a mullet. :) Here are some pictures from the fun...

You can just see Noah's brain working. He's trying to figure out how to grab the butterfly and put it in his mouth...or demolish it.

She riding the pony. She seriously thought this was the best thing ever

Hannah riding the pony.

I seriously thought the camel was going to spit on us. He had disgusting teeth! Good thing Noah was keeping an eye on the situation.

Hannah and Noah kept running through the shooting water thing. They both got soaked but had a great time.

Attempting to get a good family picture. This is actually the best one. Poor Hannah was a smidge too short

Joel and Hannah going down the giant slide. She LOVED it!

Grandma and Hannah riding the sky glider.

Noah was tuckered out by the time we left

A Three Stooges Moment...

I'm sure everyone remembers the 3 stooges skit "Who's on First". Well, we had one of those moments in the Jernstad household tonight. A little background...

Hannah and Noah go to a wonderful in-home daycare on the days I'm working. One of the other girl's name is Morgan, who I think just turned 2. Morgan's niece, Lexie also goes there. Yes, I said niece. Morgan's mom, Gia was pregnant at the same time as her 17-year-old daughter. I can't remember her name so we'll just call her "baby mama", BM for short. :) Sometimes Gia will pick up both Morgan and Lexie from daycare, other times BM picks them both up. Here comes the confusion...

Hannah: Daddy, you need to go get another mommy.

Daddy: What??!!

Hannah: Yea, you need another mommy. Like Morgan and Lexie have 2 mommies.

Me: Hannah, do you think that Lexie's mommy and Morgan's mommy are both their mommies?

Hannah: Yea!

Me: Well, actually Lexie's mommy is Morgan's sister. So Morgan is Lexie's aunt.

Hannah: No she's not.

Daddy: Hannah, you know how Aunt Salli is mommy's sister? That's why you call her Aunt Salli. She's your aunt. Morgan is Lexie's mommy's sister so she's Lexie's aunt.

Hannah: What?

Me: Yes, Hannah. Just like Aunt Salli is your aunt, Morgan is Lexie's aunt.

Hannah: Mommy, an ant is a bug!

Me: *sigh*

Sometimes I hate the English language.

Update on running...

I'm done with my Couch to 5K training! So does that mean I can run 3.1 miles? Oh, heck no! I'm pretty darn close though! I'm still trying to run 3 times a week for a minimum of 2.5 miles. The kicker is trying to get outside to do the running. So far, it's been mostly on the treadmill at the Y. The weather here has been terrible for running outside. It's either raining, super hot, or so humid you start sweating just walking to the mailbox. My big 5K race in August is, of course outside so I need to start getting out there. I can never remember the actual name of the race so I've nicknamed it "my race of death". I'm really hoping I don't die during the race but you never know. :)

There are still plenty of things I hate about running. Namely, the way my face turns bright red every time I run. Seriously, I look like my head is going to explode. And here's a huge pet peeve of mine...When the Y is busy so most of the treadmills are being used, it's fine to come and take the treadmill right next to me. But when it's not busy and there are several free treadmills, don't come and park yourself in the treadmill next to mine. It's annoying. It makes me want to throw things at you. It's like going to the movie theater and sitting right next to a stranger even though the entire theater is empty. Dude, it's creepy.

The difference between boys and girls...

OK, I understand that there is an anatomical difference between boys and girls. My mom gave me that talk long ago. But besides just the anatomy, I really think boys are wired differently than girls! Now that Noah is getting a tad older (he's a whole whopping 15-months now, practically a toddler!), he's developing such a distinct personality. From day 1 we could tell that he was a go-getter. He was constantly on the go. Even in sleep, he'd be all over that crib! It was funny to watch him sleep. He'd do circles around the crib. Now that he's walking, he just has a bigger play ground.

Hannah is my tender-hearted, sweet baby girl. She's always wanting to read a book, snuggle in my lap, always making sure to ask if we're happy. She's very thoughtful.

Noah loves to tackle Hannah. He'll just walk up to her and pounce. It makes me laugh every time. Today, Hannah had her 4-year check-up at the doctor (a tad late but what can ya do?) Hannah HATES going to the doctor with a passion. I think it's because she thinks doctor=shots. Granted, there is some truth to that. Up until now just about every doctor's visit has included a shot...or 4. So today, Hannah was sitting on my lap crying her eyes out as the doctor checked her over. Noah was walking around the room and realized he was missing out on the fun and wanted to be included. So over he comes and wants up on my lap also. Good thing I have plenty of lap space :) I see Noah reach over to comfort Hannah and I think "wow, my son is so sweet". Nope, he pulled her hair. That just made Hannah scream even louder. Nothing like kicking her when she's down!

Everything is a throw toy to Noah. It could be a shoe and suddenly it goes flying across the room. He's in Kindermusik class for the first time this summer. He's a serious social butterfly! All the other kids sit in their mom's laps or may crawl a foot away but come right back. Not Noah. He's all over the place. If another mom's lap gets vacated, he's right there to hop on. And when it's "relaxation time" when the lights are low and the teacher puts on soft music for us to snuggle, Noah would rather walk around and scare the other kids. One class she passed out little drums for the kids to beat on. Noah hit it one time then decided he'd rather throw it. He'd crawl over to it then throw it again. I put the ca-bosh on that pretty quickly.

Hannah always asks permission before she does anything. Noah just jumps right in. I have a feeling Noah's teenage years are going to give me some gray hair. We'll have to enroll him in some sports to give him an energy outlet.

An Abundance of Blessing

Today is dedicated to me and my kids. I love them so much but there are days I wonder why the heck I had 1, much less 2! This morning while Joel and Hannah were gone for a few hours, I took some time and just played with Noah. I got down on the floor with him and we played peek-a-boo, rolled a ball back and forth, and chased after each other. Hearing his giggles and excitement made me remember how blessed I am to have 2 beautiful children. It seems like every time I watch the news or get on the internet news sites, there are stories of abuse and neglect. It angers me. How could anyone look at their child and want to harm them? There are moments in every parent's life when their child pushes all the right buttons and you can feel your patience run out. I've had many of those moments. Still, I'm so blessed to be their mother.

Here are some things the kids have done recently:

~Noah is walking! He looks like a drunk sailor but he gets around. He falls constantly to there is always a little bruise in the same spot on his forehead.

~Hannah insists she wants to grow up and be a boy. When asked why, she responds that she wants to be like daddy. It's cute.

~Noah got mad the other day because the toy he wanted was stuck between the fridge and cabinet. When I got it out for him, he put it on the floor and pushed it right back where it was, then clapped.

~Noah is taking a Kindermusik class this summer. Most of the kids are still pretty clingy to their mommies. Not Noah. That boy crawls right up to the teacher and grins waiting for her to start an activity or music. He's a little social butterfly.

~Hannah has been watching Barbie movies lately. (Thanks Piper for getting her hooked on those!) She likes to run around the living room pretending like she's the dragon from one of the movies.

All in all, I'm completely blessed and so fortunate to have 2 amazing kids and a wonderful husband. We have our bad days but luckily we're still trudging through.

Update on the 5K training...

I've been "in training" now for about 6 weeks. The training is set up that at the end of 9 weeks, you should be able to run a 5K. Ok, whatever. In reality, it's going to take a little while longer than that. That being said...it's going well! I still can't say I love running. I don't. I don't see myself ever loving running. But it's such a stress reliever and it's a sense of accomplishment that I can even run at all. I'm up to 2 miles now. It's funny to remember the start of the training when I had to run 60 seconds at a time and I thought I was going to die. :) Just goes to show that I have no sense of my own mortality.

I've also started doing kick-boxing at the Y twice a week. On those days, I run first then head straight to kick-boxing class. By the time class is out, I'm sweaty, tired, and stinky. Hannah likes to tell me I need a shower. Believe me, I know I smell after working out that long.

The kids are doing well. Noah's molars are so close to breaking through and he's a bit on the fussy side. Ok, A LOT of the fussy side. Luckily, the fussiness comes in waves. He's still a happy boy most of the time. Hannah loves watching Barbie movies, which is hysterical to me. She'll go around the living room and recite lines from whichever movie she watched. She likes to pretend she's a dragon and make Joel be the witch from one of the movies. Joel actually does a good job! He's very multi-talented. :)