Continual State of Becoming

Wow, I passed the 50 mile mark this May (quick perspective before my head gets too big... Dad runs that amount in a single race every year)...  51.1 miles run this month.  Not too shabby.  It would have been a little bit more, but I've had to take this week off due to crappy mastitis.  Blah.  Hoping to start back up with a gentle run tomorrow, but that won't count because it will be JUNE. So interesting running info for May: -Ran a total of 51.1 miles (which I know because I finally started a real running log) -Increased my comfortable but challenging running pace on the treadmill from 4.7-5.0 mph to 5.5-6.0 mph (sometimes even with a .5% incline) -Longest distance:  7.2 miles with a 12:30 pace (that's the pace I'm shooting for when I do the 20k) -Two races this month, a 5k and a 4 miler. -BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT:  Ran a mile in 9:55 on the treadmill.  First time I've ever broken the 10 minute mark! Wow, those every-other-day runs don't really see

In case you were wondering why I don't wear make-up anymore.  I can barely get myself dressed these days because I'm constantly chasing a little one who is getting into everything! Thanks to some poor planning on the builder's part, Aaron can turn the bath water on, and of course the hot water is the easiest knob to reach. All of this was super organized...  and will be again some day, but for now there's just no point.  Drawers and cabinets, his 2 favorite things at the moment. Ooops, I think he forgot I was in the room with him. He's especially fond of the nail polish (don't worry I made him take it out of his mouth right after this picture). Now that we're done in the bathroom he's doing his thing with the clothes in the dresser.  Total time spent actually getting myself dressed:  less than 2 minutes.  Times spent putting everything away:  7 minutes.  Seems counterproductive.

To be sick.  Everyone else was sick a few weeks back, but I was spared.  Apparently though, my time has come.  But I didn't get the stomach bug, oh no, instead lucky me, I got mastitis .  I've dreaded getting this ever since I heard about it.  I had started to wean Aaron (he's not crazy about it) and thought I was doing it gradually enough that mastitis wouldn't be a problem, but I guess I was wrong.  Ugh.  Anyway, I'm on antibiotics and starting to feel better, but it still sucks. In other less sickly news, I finally got extension tubes for my camera!  Wahoo...  macro-mania time for sure :)  Now to start plotting my next camera purchase.  I'm trying to decide between an 85mm, a 35mm, or a 17-55 lens.  A lot of my decision will be based on cost.  I would love the 17-55 because it would be a better functioning and more adaptable lens, but it's CRAZY expensive.  I'm obsessed with my brother's 85mm, especially when I use it for macro stuff, and it'

Wow, what a busy week.  Actually all of May has been busy.  I'm really looking forward to a much more laid back June.  Hopefully.  A few highlights: 1- Dylan finished preschool!  It's hard to believe that he is done with this phase of his life. 2- I beat a 10 minute mile!!!  Wahoo!  Only by like 7 seconds and it was on the treadmill (I did use an incline for most of it to compensate), but it's still a big accomplishment for me.  My new goal is to get down to a 9 minute mile by the time I run the 20k.  I'm hoping that will force me to work on speed in addition to distance. 3- I joined Google+ for photography feedback.  So far I'm enjoying it, I want to improve my art and this seems like a better outlet for that than facebook.  I'm still learning the ins and outs though, it's a bit more complicated than other social networking sites I've used (which would only be facebook and pinterest since I'm not a big social networking person). Shot of the

Aaron loves this blue car as much as Dylan did. Love this moment of my boys. Aaron found some goodies (yes, he has a toy gun... it happens earlier when you have a big brother)  The rabbits in our neighborhood are EVERYWHERE and barely afraid of people. Our usual Welcome Home from Eve.

The kids and I wound up at a little children's garden here in Leesburg this afternoon.  I got a few good shots of Dylan, who become obsessed with climbing this cute little apple tree.  He's never really been a climber before but lately he's been getting more and more into it.

Earlier today I ran a 5k.  This was the race I signed up for to ensure that I got back in to running.  And it worked.  It was a great race overall.  I finished in a great time, my fastest yet... 34:56 (and 11:16 pace), which is awesome for me!  Especially since last week at the 4 miler I did an 11:58 pace.  My only negative has nothing to do with the event itself, but with the fact that I decided to run the day before... 5.5 miles.... in the rain.  And while that run was great (minus my socks getting wet and giving me blisters), and even though I felt fine for the whole day, as soon as I started running this morning, my legs felt tired, really really really tired.  But I pushed through and was able to find my rhythm.  I still think I maybe over did it (not just this weekend, but in pushing myself a little too much all week) because the outside of my right ankle is SORE, it started really bothering me about 20 minutes after I stopped running.  I think it's a tendon.  So I've bee

He's awake  He's ready to come out, but I love his little peeks over the crib rail And he's off... First stop:  Big brother's room... to play with all the off limit toys.  This is his serious toy study face. I love his little eye lashes. Every once and a while I catch glimpses of him looking like a little boy. On the move again.  A very brief pause to examine another toy. He is always on the move, so I see him from this angle a lot. Tiny toes.  He found something interesting. Jackpot!  And another baseball fan is born.  I'm sure it won't be long before he is playing catch with Dylan outside. I love it... Aaron gave me the stink eye.  Too many pictures for one day, time to put the camera down and start playing with him!

I am putting this in here as a record, in case I want to look it up again sometime in the future. Today I ran the Mother's Day 4 miler in Reston.  I finished in 47 mins 27 secs.  That's good for me :)  It comes to and average of 11 mins 51 sec mile.  Usually on my long, slow runs I have been averaging 12-13 minute miles, so I'm happy with that.  I tried to look up my old 4 mile race time from 4 years ago, because I thought I would have written a blog entry about it, but it isn't here.  So I have no idea how I compare.  Boo.  But that's alright, I know this time was faster. Next week a 5k.  I wonder if I can beat my pace since it will be shorter?  We'll see... it could be tough because I typically don't hit my stride until like 2 1/2 miles into my run and by that point I'll be nearly done.

I feel like I am entering a new phase of mothering.  Dylan is 5.  That's a big milestone.  And so much comes with it. I know there are lots of parents out there who think they have the greatest kids ever, but the truth is, that  they are wrong.  They can't possibly have the greatest kid ever because I do.  Dylan is becoming quite an amazing kid.  Dylan is full of personality, interests, passions (baseball, zombies, metallica, science, magic tricks, counting to 100... I could keep going), humor, kindness, and intellegence.  And he's just fun. He's super well behaved, both at school and at home.  He even understands now that there are things he's allowed to do at home but are inappropriate for school... The other day after I picked him up from school we hung around outside while Dylan ran around with his school friends (the usual)... they played a game of what can best be described as Zombie Tag.  Basically the kids were all chasing each other around with their arms

Feeling a little discouraged today.  I went to Aaron's 1 year check up and while he is overall healthy (though still anemic), he is also very underweight.... not even on the growth charts.  Which means that both of my kids are underweight and are going in for weight checks.  At least they can go in together now.  But it does make me feel like a little bit of a failure as a mother.  I am, afterall, the one with the primary (shared with matt) responsibility of making sure their needs are met... shelter, food, sense of security.  It's not like we can't afford to feed our children and they have to go hungry, so I just don't know why we have this problem.  But now we are on operation eat high calorie foods in this house (high calorie doesn't need to be junk food though).  Lots of high fat dairy, protein, and carbs for the kids (while I struggle to stick to my high veggie and lean protein diet--good luck me)  I go back in 6 weeks and we'll see how they are both doing

Whoa, May arrived way before I was ready.  I didn't even start thinking of my new resolution for this month until after the 1st.  I managed to do sort of okay with my April resolution, which was to start blogging.  I was hoping for 3 posts a week, but that's been a little harder than I thought.  So I'm doing it when I can, hopefully once a week.  And I enjoy doing it, so I'll keep it up. Now on to May.  I had a few ideas and ultimately am going with the following:  Go to sleep by 10pm every night (unless I have something fun planned, but on a typical average night I should be asleep by 10).  Not just bed, but sleep.  I am not getting anywhere near enough sleep these days.  By a LOT.  So far I just keep telling myself to suck it up and keep going anyway.  And I am, but I know it's making life hard on me.  Time to prioritize sleep.  It's not terribly exciting, but I think it will help out in many ways... attitude, energy level, running (I ran 6 miles today, but

Two conversations with Dylan today. This morning, the boys are playing in the living room while I make breakfast~ Aaron: Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah Matt:  What, Aaron? Aaron:  Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah Matt:  What's up, Aaron?  What do you want? Dylan: Yeah, So what-cha, what-cha, what-cha want? (Beastie Boys lyric, used appropriately) After school later the same day, while walking to the library to return a huge bag of books~ Me:  How was school today?  What did you guys do? Dylan:  We had science time. Me:  Oh, fun!   What did you do during science time? Dylan:  We worked with science tools.  But I'm already a scientist (he says this a lot), so I know how to do things already? Me:  Cool. Dylan:  What kind of scientists are there? Me:  There are lots (begins to list some of them) Dylan:  Dad's a scientist because he's an engineer. Me:  Yup, he is. ******Return library books, begin to walk back to the car****** Dylan:  I think I'm going to be a book s