Frustration and elation ... I guess

So, I did it ... hit over 300 miles on my running app. 301.9 in fact. Whoohoo, feels pretty darn good. I did it doing a few different intervals on the treadmill this morning. Not my favorite way of running, but until it hits 35 degrees outside I'm stuck indoors cause I hate running in cold weather. I started with what they call rabbits. You do each speed for a minute. I started at 5 went to 5.5 and then to 6. I went through that three times. Then I went to speed work. I alternated by minute again between 6 and 5. I alternated for about 15 minutes with that and then moved on to hill running. I was at a 3% incline and alternated again every minute from 4 to 5.5 for about the last 15 minutes and then walked to cool down for a couple of minutes. I need to revise the workout a bit. The 5 mph is just a bit too slow, so I need to up that a bit and I'd like to build up my stamina on the hill work, which I absolutely hate, so I never run hills outdoors. But, sometime soon I'd like to start trail running, so I've got to get so that I can do it for sustained periods of time.

 

 

 

Frustration time ... I don't share this with tons of people, but our youngest, Carter, is an IEP kid. He's had developmental delays since he was an infant. It started with muscular issues and when those where finally up to par he was behind in speech and language and other academic areas. We've had genetic testing and other things done and everything always comes up normal. I'm thinking it's time to get him in to see a developmental pediatric specialist that has opened an office downtown and see if he can give us any ideas in what we can do to help with his academic and social problems. So the frustration came to a head on Friday. His teacher, who does her best, has at least 4 IEP kids in her class. One pretty severe, and no help in the classroom. So, Carter spends a lot of time on the computer doing reading and math work at his level since he can't keep up with the in class stuff that the other kids are doing. His teacher does a good job keeping him on task, but he's and IEP kid, if no one checks to see what he's doing, he's going to try and get away with not doing it and just playing the learning games. So, there was a substitute on Thursday and of course he tried to get away with not doing what he was supposed to be doing. I really don't think the subs even check to see if he's doing what he's supposed to be doing. I don't think that they keep track of these kids very well. Yes, he should be able to stay of task, but really, we all, everyone involved in his IEP team, knows that this is part of his issues and that he needs to be kept on task. So it frustrates the heck out of me, when there is a sub one day and I get e-mails and notes home that next day about everything he's done wrong the day before. Come on, we all know it's coming, can we try to be a little more proactive and have the sub check with him a little more frequently. I'm at the point I don't know if we are going to be able to send him to middle school or if I'm going to have to home school him full time. What to do, what to do??

 

I finished the shawl that I was working on, not just to find something to where it with. I might just have to go shopping, which is not my favorite thing to do, unless it's buying workout or running shoes. I know, super weird huh?? Now I'm working on another baby blanket, this time for a little boy.

 

 

Almost 300

So after my run at the gym this morning I checked my Nike running app ... I'm about 3.6 miles away from hitting the 300 mile mark since I started running in March. I guess I can say that I'm a runner now, not something I ever though I'd say about myself. I hit 16.something miles last week. I'm trying to convince myself that I can train for a half marathon and run one in May. We'll see if I manage to delude myself enough into trying it.

I started running after I dropped a bunch of weight, but still needed to lose more. I'm happy to say that as of the last time I stepped on the scale I weigh half of what I did in May of 2012. I'm pretty psyched about that. It's been a long road, but it's been good for me and my family. We are all eating a lot healthier and exercising more. I need to get Carter on the exercise bandwagon a bit more, but we're working on it slowly.

I have to say, I love my DVR for my Dish Network. The Australian Open started last week and I've been able to record and watch all of the tennis that I want and not have to stay up all night to do it. As a result, I've parked my behind on my bed in the afternoons and watched tennis and knitted to my heart's content. I've managed to finish a few baby blankets, three slouch hats and am working on a shawl.

Let's Try This Again

I'm going to try and get back on the bandwagon with the blogging. Not too much probably, but I want to try and keep track of my running on here and do some family updating as well. Hopefully I can get with it.

I ran for the first time this morning since before Christmas. It was pretty rough. I hate running on the treadmill, but I really hate running outside when it's below 30 degrees. I need to get some better cold weather gear and something to cover my face if I'm going to do it.

I did a run/walk mix and kicked up my pace every time I started running again. Not my best time, but I did about 5.4 miles in about 65 minutes. Skipped my strength training. I was completely wiped. Yuck.

My baby turned 7

Carter turned 7 in November. We insisted that he wanted a cake that looked like a fish aquarium that was in a cake book I bought on clearance at Barnes and Noble. So, I gave it my best shot. We had a little party at our house with our family and Grandma Polly and Grandpa Pete. He’s always bummed about not having a “friend” party, but his birthday is always around Thanksgiving and we are always on track break, so it’s hard to have those kinds of parties.

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He said he loved the cake … hopefully I won’t have to do too many more because I am definitely not that creative on my own.

Carter’s Y-ball season

I love the YMCA basketball program right now. The boys are all at the age that they still don’t care if they win or lose and just love to dribble the ball down the court and shoot it. Carter gets so excited about the whole thing. I enjoy it sooooo much more than watching him play soccer. That’s the former athlete in me getting frustrated ;-). We also really like this coach, he has been really great for all the boys playing.

New pics of the Kids

We had some new pics taken of the kids last fall, so definitely need to be redone again. They were pretty darn cute though.

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Let’s try this again

I’ve decided that I really am not a good blogster. I can’t seem to make myself sit down and update. I know I should be better, but life seems to get away from me. I have a bit more time on my hands right now for a variety of reasons … Ryan decided not to play football, Kennedy’s soccer coach decided to be a complete dipstick loser and disbanded their team instead of letting the other parents coach … yes, Jeremy Canning, I am talking about you, you idiot … hopefully you Google your name sometime and this post comes up. So, I’ve decided to try and start updating stuff from the last year, at least so the family can see pictures if they don’t have Facebook. That, I’ve been pretty good at updating.

Back to the daily grind

Once we got home from our Oregon Coast vacation we started back into the regular fall schedule that seems to be the most crazy time of our year. Carter started first grade about three days after we returned home and all the kids jumped into their sports seasons. Carter played soccer, Kennedy decided to play both soccer and volleyball, and Ryan was on the Mountain View freshman football team, which is way more intense than I had anticipated. So, we were running everywhere and I was helping with pre-game meals for the football team, with Young Women’s on top of that. It makes for a crazy three month period, but, everyone had a great time and I enjoy watching the kids play their sports, so I don’t mind the craziness too much.

Getting ready to head into the building.

At his first desk. Woohoo, I now have no kids at home, all day long. That’s probably bad of me to admit it, but I kind of enjoy the alone time.

Carter getting his trophy after the last soccer game this fall. He had a pretty good season, scored a few goals.

Kennedy decked out in her cold-weather gear. We played in some nasty conditions during the season-ending tournament. It snowed and rained and was down right cold.

She had a lot of fun with this team though. They played pretty good and the although she hates playing forward, the one time coach put her there this season, she did score. Way to go sis.

Ryan had a great time playing football this fall. The team ended up tied for first at the end of the year. He met lots of new guys and got in really good shape. Now I’m just trying to get him to keep lifting weights throughout the winter.

Getting his D-line sweatshirt at the football banquet at the end of the year. I love that they have to dress up for the banquet.

We also got to get in a 4 day camping trip at Ponderosa State Park in McCall over Labor Day weekend. There is a huge group that always goes that weekend, probably about 10-15 families or so. Normally we stay at my in-laws condo and go to the campground and hang out and then we can sleep in beds when we leave, but the kids really wanted to tent-it for the weekend, so we did. It was actually a lot of fun and I remembered that I love dutch-oven food and just being outdoors. There was also a 1-2 year old bear running around the campground all weekend. Made for some interesting adventures for Ryan and his YM leader Chris Freeman. They followed it around on their bikes for awhile.

Our camping set-up. It was nice to have the screen tent set up for shade and for keeping the bees away from the cooking area.

Carter at Payette Lake. It’s just a few minutes walk from where we were camping. It had a roped off swimming area.

Kennedy at the lake with the two younger girls she hung out with Shelby and Samantha. She had a good time with them.

Carter trying to get on the raft with the girls.

Not any pics of Ryan in these. He was off with his buddies or just wandering between camps the whole weekend.