Friends, Weekends, Plans

I don't think Kari is going to come to again Memphis anytime soon.  Bobby's marathon was cancelled (which I am sure didn't feel great after months of training, airplane tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals, etc).  It was freezing the whole weekend, which made it tough to get outside and explore.  And to top it off, her flight home was cancelled after getting to the airport at dawn.   It seriously sucked for them.  I hope she is still my friend!

At LEAST she got to meet Isla.  Not all was a wash.  :)  And we did plan our race schedule for 2014, which includes maybe some AG Nationals action together.  We will redeem our bad weather meetings!

My little diggles is still waking up at LEAST 4 x a night minimum.  Usually more.  Exhausted?  Check.  I keep thinking we will turn a corner here.  6 months is just ahead.  That sounds like the magic month to me.  (I hope!!!!)

Getting my training done early in the morning is a little harder than I expected.  Either I didn't get any sleep, or Isla is awake and I can't figure out how to slip away.  It is such an extreme change from the "get it done/no excuses/scheduled life" I used to have. 

But I think despite all of the challenges, I am still making some progress.  The running times are slowly getting faster and the bike is feeling a little easier.   The one place where I am not seeing as many tangible results is the pool.  I am about as slow as when I first started swimming.   But, the reality is- 2 x a week is not going to cut it for me.  So, when Isla starts to sleep more, I plan to hit the pool hard!!!

Okay, time to get this little girl to bed.  She just pulled herself up to sit (first time to see that) and is eating the computer.  

xo

Some Combination!

It is time for my annual get-together with the non-blogging Kari.  It seems that we always plan a good combination of drinking, running, football, and weather.  Not always together or in that order. 

We started our annual meeting with a half marathon in 2011 - planned, mind you- and neither of us showed up in shape. 

 We spanked lions, drank too much, and cheered the Saints on to a win. 

Then I got preggo, and we drank nothing and sat in the freezing, cold, rain for a Steelers game the following year.  

This year it seems that neither of us will be in running shape, although we both swore we would sign up and do the St Jude Half Marathon together.  Funny how both of us "conveniently"  didn't get in.    Instead, we will have multiple drinks but no football.  And it will be freezing, cold rain and ice....again.  Yay to our annual party!

Building The Village

So many things have gone by the wayside since having Isla...yard work especially!  We used to have the best yard on the block.  No more!  Yesterday I told Isla she just had to help me do it. 

Not that we accomplished much, but we sure had fun trying! 

But guess who was out there this morning at 7am, in the rain, trying to rake all of the leaves from the yard before the freeze?  Crazy neighbor Damie.  My neighbor came out and asked me "What in the hell was I doing?"  I responded, "you know I have a baby and can't get this stuff done like a normal person!" 

I was thinking about the juggling act that I often have to do on an hour to hour basis to accomplish the minimum.  What really helps me is to keep a positive attitude and to surround myself with great support.  That has meant adding and reinforcing supporting people in my life.

It is true that it takes a village to raise a child.  Too bad we don't have that village mentality anymore in today's society.  Everyone is so busy, spread out, and independent!  I would have never known any different until I needed my village.  

An extension of our village has been daycare.  Isla has been going 2 x week now while I work, but we are upping it to 4 x week in January.  I tossed and turned with the decision at night to send her more frequently to daycare, but, if I am going to work, someone has to take care of Isla.  I felt better about my decision when I picked her up from daycare yesterday and she was all smiles.  I am so grateful her teachers are loving and positive.  Being a stay at home mom is one of the hardest jobs in the world that you can't comprehend till you do it, but it is so wonderful too.  I love spending time with my daughter.  My goal that I am determined to make happen is blending the stay-at-home mom with working mom so that I get to spend as much time as possible with my daughter while still working for my family. 

Another big acquisition to the village was a professional dog sitting service for when we go out of town. It is expensive.  When people say kids are expensive, it is not really what you buy or do for the kids.  It is the way you have to change your life that may involve some different expenses to keep things running.  But, when the dog sitters came over, they were so great that I knew it would alleviate a whole level of stress from us when we go out of town.  Now we have the freedom (at a cost) to take Isla places.  It helped that one of the girls was in the class below me in high school! 

And thank you to my friends this week for being another great part of our village.  I wanted to go to book club this week and see my friends, but Dave wasn't going to be home until 8:00pm.  So, I just took Isla to book club with me, and my friends were wonderfully receptive to having a new member. 

Isla was clearly thrilled with her new book club membership as well. 

So, we are continuing to build our little village here...ideas are appreciated.  And babysitter referrals are great too!!!!!