No Phone?

Our phone line is out. I don't spend much time on the phone anyway, but with it out I'm feeling kind of isolated. So....I got our costume bucket down. It holds all the treasures of costumes I've gathered over the last few years. Right now Parker is dressed up as a pumpkin pirate, and Apollo is dressed up as an elephant ninja. I think Halea will be the chicken that each of my three youngest have been when they are two. It's just such a cute costume and I'm pretty sure this will be the last year I can use it. I know I always love dress up, so I'm sure the kids are enjoying it as much as I do.

Salty's 1/2 marathon

I don't have any pictures to post (yet), but I want to blog about the 1/2 marathon I ran this morning, while it's still fresh in my mind.

I am sick and on antibiotics for a sinus infection, so that part kind of sucks. I've been taking sudaphed and that makes a world of difference. Originally Ryan and I signed up to run this together, but he sprained his ankle playing softball a few weeks ago, so he had to back out. When I got sick, it would have been easy to back out as well, but after placing so poorly in the bikini competition, I felt like I needed to do this for myself ~ kind of to build my self confidence back up.

Ryan packed the van with our portable DVD player this morning, and took his study materials to hopefully get some studying done with the kids in the van while I ran (that never panned out). I wanted a cinnamon roll at the finish line, so he went and got that and got the kids some breakfast.

My plan was just to run the race and see how it goes. When it was time to begin (@ 8:30) I was toward the front, the only woman in a sea of men. As we took off, I noticed that I was keeping up pretty well with the men at the front. I continued that pace throughout the entire race. I maintained my lead until the last two miles when a really tall red haired lady over took my lead. I passed her once, but she passed me again and I couldn't force myself to pass her again. So I finished 2nd with a time of 1 hour 44 min. and 34 sec.

Ryan passed me in the van as I was finishing my last block before the finish line. The kids got to see me finish the race. When I realized at the beginning of the race that I had a chance at doing well, I kept thinking that I wanted to show my kids what all of the training has been for. I wanted them to see their mom win. I'm not bitter that I didn't win, there was just nothing else I could give. I feel great about how well I did. And they're proud of me.

We got some finisher pictures with my commemorative Salty's crab with our whole family. I'll post them when I get them. My cinnamon roll was still warm when I ate it in the car. I feel so blessed to have a husband who is so supportive and lets me live out my dreams.

Pumpkins Galore

Ryan took Apollo and Halea to a pumpkin patch this morning. Apollo's preschool sponsored this event, and since I had to teach my cardio sculpt class, Ryan took the kids. He's such a good dad! They had a great time with the kids from Apollo's class. Ryan noticed that Halea tends to be on the shy side (where did that come from)?

The head of the ghost is teacher Eric ~ he's not gay, just a really nurturing man teacher.

Competition Prep

Here's my new swimsuit for the next competition. It's shiny and red. I've been playing with my makeup ~ including fake eyelashes that are really hard to put on. I've also been playing with my poses to get a feel for what looks best. I'm trying to do it without a mirror because when you're onstage, there are no mirrors. I'm pretty happy with where my body is right now. My weight is at 116, but I'm trying not to let that get me down, because I can tell my butt is firming up and so are my abs (muscle is heavier). Im running a 1/2 marathon on Saturday. After that I'm going to tone my cardio way down and focus on resistance training. I'm excited to push myself hard for this next competition and then enjoy the off season until next April.

Inspiration Quotes

Dreams become a reality, one choice at a time.

Nutrition counts for 80% of what you look like: training counts for 10% and genetics count for the other 10%

Work like it's all up to you and pray like it's all up to God

More fun with Parker

I had an interesting conversation with Parker this morning as I was getting him in to his "reverent suit" before church.

He asked, "Mom, when did you buy me"? I said, "I didn't buy you, Heavenly Father gave you to me". He kind of gave me a confused look that said he wanted more of an explanation, so I went on. "You asked Heavenly Father to send you to me because you wanted me to be your mom". His response was "DARN IT"!

The funny thing is that sometimes the feeling is mutual. I've thought about our conversation all day, and every time I do, it makes me laugh. I love that boy, even if he doesn't know how much he loves me.

Family Photo

I just wanted to share this AMAZING picture with everyone. We never get pictures of all of the kids smiling at the same time. With our children they take turns being the disgruntled one, so there's usually at least one grumpy one.

We had some extra time before church, so I put all the kids on the couch and Ryan went down the line and tickled each one of the kids while I waited for him to get out of the way and take the picture. It worked out so well!

When I see all of them together, it's hard to believe they're all mine. And I wouldn't have it any other way!

P.S. I just realized the red eye reduction worked a little too well on Apollo. Oh well, it's still a good picture.

CDP

Ryan is covering pediatrics in nursing school right now and yesterday he brought home a really cool handout about child directed play. It's where you allow the child to lead the parent in whatever activities they want. It allows that child to be in control and to have their parent's undivided attention (which is a rare thing in our house), and it's supposed to build their self esteem. So I tried it out with Halea this morning.

First, she took me outside to visit grandma. She sat on grandma's bed and smiled at her as she snored, soundly sleeping. Then she wanted to look at all of grandma's creams and soaps. Then we came inside. She took me to her room and got some clothes out of her dresser (picking out her own outfit). I figured she wanted me to dress her, so I took her pajamas off, and she pulled a fast one and decided staying naked would be more fun. I allowed her to remain that way because she's calling all the shots. She brought me her "babies" and then took them back as quickly as she had give me them. Then she decided she would like her shirt (that she has recently outgrown) put on, but that was it, no diaper, no pants. She started playing with her activity table and was having a great time! I think the music from it was so inspiring that she decided to poop on her floor. That was the end of child directed play for today.

Cinderella

Today I'm feeling like Cinderella, after the ball. Saturday was SO great! Even though I didn't win, I had a great time and I can't wait to do it again. And now I'm back to my regular life of cleaning, cooking, changing diapers, etc. I haven't taken a shower or changed my clothes today, but it's a cleaning day. It's a good life and I can't complain.

I WON (sort of)

I won ~ ok, I didn't actually win the competition (or even place in the top five), but I did win in some other ways.

Yesterday morning I woke up at 3:30 am and couldn't sleep anymore, so I got up figuring it would work to my advantage because I would sleep great the night before the competition. I was wrong. This morning I woke up at 2:30 am and couldn't get back to sleep, so I had plenty of time to clean the house, make breakfast for the kids, get Leslie's morning routine taken care of, do my own spray tan (saving $100), etc. I said goodbye to the family and left. When I got out to the van, there was a tiara sitting on the dashboard and a letter from Ryan. The letter made me laugh and cry all at the same time ~ I do have the best husband.

When I got to the competition, I was surprised at how dark everyone was. White and Asian girls looking like they had baked themselves in Jamaica for seven years. Although my home spray tan made me look dark, I was pale compared to the other girls. Lesson #1: find an alternative to home spray tan, probably just spend the money.

Everyone was SO kind and considerate of everyone else. Everyone was beautiful and starving and dehydrated, but we all managed to be courteous toward each other. The show offered free makeup by a professional makeup artist, so of course I took advantage ~ it was free, why not. Most of the other girls took advantage, too. I noticed that if you have a flat iron, spray glue, or hairspray you're pretty much a rock star among the ladies. I had spray glue, so I rocked. Lesson #2: remember my flat iron and hair spray next time and Lesson #3: Do my own makeup ~ I know my face better than anyone else and my makeup ended up looking pretty messy.

I felt at peace from the moment I got in the van and read Ryan's letter. My nerves did not get to me. As other girls were shaking and wishing for the experience to be over, I was just thankful that I wasn't at home changing diapers. Lesson #4: Next time get nervous earlier. It wasn't until the finals (after the judging had been done) that I really got nervous and put my best foot forward and could taste how badly I wanted to win.

When I was called on to stage for the last time, I enjoyed my moment, sure that it wouldn't be my last. At the end we had a parade for us to go through the audience and display ourselves one last time. I was shocked when I went backstage and was not "called back" to go back out on stage to receive my tiara. I was SHOCKED! Comparing myself to the other girls, they were pretty, and dark tan, and have fake boobs (and don't have four kids) and had bright sparkling diamonds on their suits. I didn't have anything bright and sparkly on my flat black suit. Lesson #5: Get a sparkly, shiny bikini.

Ryan, his friend Ollie, and our friends Reggie and Edwin were there to cheer me on. I was so grateful for their support. We went to eat at the buffet in the facility afterwards. I ate a vegas-style feast. I started out with mongolian grill and a side of bacon, and ended up with a sampling of every dessert they had. Since then I've binged on mini candybars, a scone, and veggie delite pizza.

I'll be back on my diet tomorrow, but I'm enjoying my binge tonight. I have a 1/2 marathon in two weeks and my next show in November!

So I won a reaffirmation of how great my husband is, a new confidence that I can parade around in nearly nothing and enjoy it, and I'm pretty sure I will win a great night's sleep tonight.