Alaska....Here I Come!

Our TNT team will depart Atlanta tomorrow am at the unearthly hour of 6:05am. After a 2.5 hour flight to Minneapolis, we will take another 6 hour flight to Alaska. Then we get to hang out in Alaska on Friday, run our race on Saturday morning, hang out on Sunday and take the red-eye flight late that night.
This summer has been so packed that I am just starting to get excited as I pack for the event. Now I am really looking forward to this race and only wish that my family was going to be there too. I promise many gorgeous pictures upon my return!

It's How He Rolls

Actual Conversation: Sunday, February 15th 1:30pm

Mom: OK, kids time for a nap.

Ava: No nap, no nap, no nap!

Kate: Awwwwwwwwww!!!!!

Jackson: Mom, I don't take naps. It's how I roll...

What?

Barracuda Swim Season

You know that I have been busy because we have already had our 3rd swim meet and I haven't posted a single picture yet. I figured that I'd better get to it before the season ended!

Jackson is doing a great job on his backstroke, freestyle and butterfly. He has also been competing in the IM races this year. The IM (individual medley) is a length each of backstroke, butterfly, breastroke and freestyle. It is painful to watch (Jackson says it's more painful to do) but he has gotten first for the last 2 meets and beat his best time by 23 seconds during the last one! We are so proud of him!

Kate is also a super duper backstroker, coming in first or second each meet. She swims freestyle too and is really getting her breathing down. She cut all of her times in half from last season to this one. What an amazing change in one year!

Peachtree City Youth Triathlon

Jackson had so much fun at the triathlon last year he wanted to participate again. He swam 100 meters in a pool, followed by a 5K bike ride and finished up with a 1/2 mile run. Jackson definitely exceled in the running, finishing 2nd with a pace of 7:42. Not too shabby, eh? (I am quite sure that I would have been hard pressed to keep up with him!)

There is another youth triathlon in July at Six Flags and he is trying to convince us to go to that one, too. (I am sure that is has nothing to do with a secret hope that we'll stay at Six Flags for the day.)

As I watched Jackson particpate, I felt a pang of sadness that Jason and I wouldn't be competing in the Peachtree City triathlon together this year. We had a great time doing that last year but I'll have to just cheer him on from the sidelines this time. I leave for Alaska on Thursday and it will be my last race until this little one arrives. So that I don't go crazy during the last half of my pregnancy, I have begun planning my races for next year. It will be here before I know it!

Good-Bye Palmers

One of the very sad things about living in a college town is that we have to say good-bye to friends each year. Today was a sad one for the Hansen family as we said goodbye to the Palmer family. This picture was taken today as they loaded up into the moving truck and headed out for Connecticut. They are driving on to a new adventure and we are missing them already!

Here are just a few things that I will miss about our friends:

1) Running at Stone Mountain with Clairon. How many other friends would put up with increasing their mileage from 5 to 10 miles because I was training! She was pure motivation for me and I loved our talks while we ran.

2) Seeing her sweet boys at Primary and having them give me hugs.

3) Having a friend for Jason that enjoyed talking science with him. Trust me, those are rare and Jason will surely miss Matt!

4) Knowing that Ava was always loved and taken care of while I was at the hospital with Kate. Clairon has taken her nearly each visit since Kate's diagnosis.

5) Having Clairon there at book group. I really appreciated her perspective on nearly everything.

6) Christmas Caroling Party at their home each holiday season.

7) Easter dinner with them - kind of became a tradition for the past 3 years.

8) Friends to call on and count on. It's pretty neat to have someone that you know you can count on and vice-versa.

Good luck Palmers!

12/11/2008

It's true... :)

Ava's 3!

Between Kate and Ava's back-to-back birthdays our family has had enough cake to last for the year! We had barely put away the wrapping paper from Kate's gifts before we had to bust it out again for Ava. I am so very glad that the next celebration won't be until October!

We had a really fun day and enjoyed celebrating Ava's birthday as a family. Mostly to appease Ava, the entire family had a special lunch date with Jason at our favorite Mellow Mushroom pizza joint. Ava's repeated questioning of, "We go party now?" and "I have party, ok?" precipitated that idea. We thought we could hold her off until evening if she had a lunch out with Daddy. It worked - well, partially the lunch and largely letting her open one present while we were there. Ava really got that she was 3 years old today and understood that that accomplishment necessitated presents and cake.

I think that we lived up to her 3 year old expectations and threw her a wild family party complete with dancing to Mylie Cyrus. In Kate's words, "it was rockin'." Ava loves her talking/moving baby doll and Winnie the Pooh telephone (thanks Aunt Shauna!) and we love our 3 year old big girl!

These are a few videos from the party. The first is of us talking to Ava and the second is singing Happy Birthday to her. They are too cute!

Kate Turns 6!

We can't believe it but our Kate is 6 years old today. The day was entirely as she requested beginning with Lucky Charms cereal. Then on to the pool where we spent 7 hours playing in the sun and eating popsicle after popsicle. She said on more than one occassion, "It's my birthday Mom, so can I ________. " Smart little girl, eh? As each hour passed, she begged for "one more hour" at the pool. I couldn't refuse the birthday requests.

After the pool we came home and had the family party. Kate's meal of choice-spaghetti and meatballs with a side of strawberries and sourdough bread. How lucky am I? It's a good thing it was quick to prepare as we were all famished from the day in the sun.

Everyone had fun watching Kate open her presents but Jackson and Ava really enjoyed feasting on Carvel ice cream cake. For my family members reading this, I know you are totally jealous as you imagine me eating those chocolate crunchies! Kate's favorite gifts were a Hannah Montana/Mylie Cyrus CD, Tiny Ponnieville My Little Ponies and The Last Unicorn DVD.

All in all, this was a wonderful day to celebrate Kate and to remember that very special day when she joined our family.

A Patriotic Performance

All 5 kindergarten classes at Kate's school put on a Patriotic Performance yesterday. Words fail me (I know that is a rare event, but it's true) as I try to describe just how amazing the performance was. Every one of those kids learned each word to the six songs that they performed and one of the songs was even done in sign language! One boy in Kate's class recently had his father leave for a 14 month tour in Iraq. They dedicated the event to him and those kids sang their little hearts out. I am pretty sure that there wasn't a dry eye in the auditorium!

The first clip is of Kate leading the Pledge of Allegiance and the second is of the signing song. The quality isn't great because we were using my camera but you'll get the idea.

Father and Sons Campout

A week ago, Jackson and I went on the annual Church Father and Sons campout up in Lake Alatoona, which is about 45 min north of Atlanta. Unfortunately, it started by getting lost and driving around for an extra 90 min but wefinally made it.

We had plenty of time to cook our hot dogs and chow down on some s'mores (a lot of s'mores). Jackson had never had one before and his first was not his last. After a short program by the Church leadership, we headed off to our luxurious two man tent for bed. I realized that when camping, an 8 year old's clock gets kind of messed up as Jackson stayed awake until at least midnight (probably longer, but I drifted off). At 3 a.m., it started raining very heavily. This, of course, woke Jackson up, who then woke me up to tell me that he was awake and it was raining. After an hour of heavy rain, we both went back to bed, only to wake up again as soon as their was daylight at 5:45 (did I mention an 8 year old's clock get kind of messed up?). We headed to breakfast, which consisted of eggs, pancakes, bacon and cereal. After the whole evening, we were pretty exhausted (okay, at least I was pretty exhausted).

Still, Jackson said, 'Dad, this was one of the best days of my life.' While, sleep derived, I could only say the truth, 'Me too, buddy.' I wouldn't have it any other way.

My Buddy

This blog is not about bragging. It is merely an expression of awe over my 3rd child. I am by no means declaring her my favorite mind you, but she has been the easiest of my three, hands down! When Jackson and Kate were 3 years old, both they and I were ready for a few days of preschool each week. Against my better judgement, I enrolled Ava in preschool this year and then withdrew her when one month I realized that I'd paid a month's tuition and only taken her twice. I'd only taken her twice because she slept until 9am every morning and was then much fun that I hated to part with her.

One day last week, Ava and I went to a Mommy and Me swim class, followed by a trip to the gym and then we rounded out our afternoon by sharing a salad on the patio at Chipotle. (That's right, she even likes to eat salad for lunch - sounds too good to be true doesn't it?) My other children would have complained about my lunch selection ad nauseum, until I finally caved and went next door for some chicken nuggets but not Ava. As I sat on the patio chatting with her, I realized that I couldn't have asked for a more perfectly suited little buddy. Her good natured temperment allows her to go with the flow and tolerate so much of the running around that we do. I just love that she is happy to hang with me and I am so lucky to be able to spend most days enjoying her company. I am especially grateful to have the mornings with her because once Jackson and Kate get home from school she often has to take a backseat to them and their activities. I know that if I have more children there is no chance to duplicate this little spirit so I am going to enjoy every minute I still have her at home with me. From experience, I've seen that the time goes by WAY too quickly!

Lest I forget, here are a few things that I have recently thought, "I love it when she does that".
* She says, "I snuggle you", when she wants me to hold her.
* Answers "Sure" or "I help you" and smiles whenever I ask her to come help me with a chore.
* She loves to cuddle up and read a story.
* She howls like a wolf (will add a video clip of this soon) when she wakes up in the morning and giggles when we howl back. For the life of us, we have no idea where she got this from!
* She sucks her thumb and rubs her "lovie's" ear when she needs comfort. I know that I should care that she is still sucking her thumb but I really don't.
* She greets me with an ear to ear smile when I open her door after she gets up.
* She can tell when I'm tired or sick and suggests that we "go sleep".

Evolution of Dance

This is such a fun one. Hang in there for the first minute, it gets funnier by the second!

Whoo-Hoo!!!

Next to the day you give birth and maybe the day your child graduates from high school, I think that there are few other days that give you as much joy as the day your child is potty trained!
Ava decided in the last 3 days that she wanted to wear Dora underwear and has been doing great ever since. She is basically accident free and even gives me advance notice that she has to go. Those of you without children can laugh all you want, but I feel like it is a little miracle to see my toddler embrace this new found life skill. It feels like a miracle because I had absolutely NO control over her desire or time frame for this process. I am just jumping for joy that she has decided to and that I don't have to change any more stinky diapers though!

Now, what should I spend that extra $50 a month on....

Ava, Ava, Ava

I forgot about this story but was reminded when I downloaded the pictures from my camera. Because Kate was admitted to the hospital on Jason's birthday we weren't able to celebrate as a family on the 29th. By the time things settled down it was a few days later and we decided to just wait until Aunt Kristine was in town. While Jason was at a church meeting the kids helped us bake the cake. I frosted it while they were sleeping and we planned to decorate it the next day before his party.

Well, we woke up and got ready for church. I called to Ava to come upstairs and get her dress on but she kept saying no. When I finally walked downstairs to get her, this was what I saw.

In a few minutes time Ava had licked around the entire cake and poked dozens of holes in the top nearly taking all of the icing off. When she saw my open jaw stare she promptly said, "Sorry, Mom". But in truth, I don't think the girl felt bad at all. I think that Jason won't soon forget his was birthday cake masterpiece - compliments of Ava. Pretty fancy wouldn't you say?

Good Day Gone Bad

Today was a perfect spring day in Atlanta. We had blue, sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 70's. The kids are on spring break so the day began very leisurely. After hanging out we packed a picnic lunch and headed to the train park. We had the best time all together. Jackson and I tore it up with the aerobie for over an hour. Then he played on the swings until his legs were all worn out. Ava and Kate spent quite a bit of time in the sandbox and followed it up with swinging. I had a Zen moment in the park, watching my kids playing so happily and full of pure joy. Do you know what I mean - when the moment feels perfect?

Almost immediately after that perfect moment, I felt a flicker of worry. Kate complained that she was cold and then kept rubbing her arms. Toward the end of our time there she laid down on our picnic blanket and rolled herself up in it. She said that she wasn't feeling sick and she didn't feel warm to me (probably because I was sweating) so I didn't press it and just let her relax while the other kids finished playing. After a fun 3 hours we headed home for naps. Kate requested a nap (which further concerned me but I pushed it out of my mind). When I checked on sleeping Kate, I noticed that she was breathing very rapidly - 48 times a minute. I busted out the thermometer and she was at 104 degrees! Ughhhh. The moment I read that temp all of those serene feelings dissolved and were promptly replaced with anxiety.

Kate was much more upset this time too. (I mean the poor girl just left the hospital 9 days ago!) She even cried on the way to the hospital and told me that she just wanted to be at home. My eyes too, filled with tears for her sadness.
So here we are again. Kate's ANC is 430 and she has a fever so we're in the hospital for at least 2 days. Hopefully the blood cultures will come up negative in the next 2 days and they'll let us go. This is most decidely not the way to spend spring break!

Mo Willems

I don't know about your kids, but mine LOVE Mo Willems. I have a hard time reading these books aloud because I can hardly keep from laughing outloud. There is something so basically hilarious about his writing and illustrations that I can't help it.

My friend Angela called yesterday and told me that Mo himself, was going to be at a local bookstore signing books and promoting his new book, The Pigeon Wants a Puppy. (This book is as great as his previous ones).

So Angela grabbed Jackson and Kate and took them with her boys to meet Mo. They had a lot of fun and were way excited to meet "a real live author". Thanks Angela!

Budding Photgrapher?

When I went to download the latest pictures from my camera, I found a whole ton by Kate. Here are a few of my favorite comments by Kate on her photos.

Me: "Why did you take this picture?"

Kate: "So we could see what show was on."

Me: "Why did you take this picture?"

Kate: Giggle...giggle... "Look, those are my knees". (Look carefully at the bottom of the photo).

Me: Why did you take this picture?

Kate: "I wanted to take a picture of her and then cut it out and put it in a picture frame. Then I wanted to hang it on my wall."

Me: Why did you take this picture?

Kate: "Because I knew Ava would love it."

The Family Room

Slowly but surely is my motto, as far as decorating goes. I am working on it a little here and a little there because if I try to tackle it all at once I get stressed out. We are getting there though and this is the latest update- our family room mantle.

I love the painting that a friend, Cathy, helped me find and so I kind of worked around that. I recently purchased the doors for the walls from Pottery Barn (we had planned built-ins there originally but ran out of $ building) and found the vases and Pussy Willows at Pier 1. (I especially like the Pussy Willows.) Our kitchen, on the other side of the room, has very dark cherry cabinets so I think that the doors and picture frame help to balance out the room. Now I want to get our flatscreen hung up on the wall and work on that wall!

For a Limited Time

You can donate to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!!! Well okay, not really. You can always donate but I am only going to run one more marathon this year (I swear) so for a limited time you can donate through me.
Clicking on THIS will get you directly to my webpage. From there all you need is a credit card and a desire to make a difference in the lives of others (laying it on kind of thick aren't I?). Seriously, Team in Training is hoping to cross the billion dollar fundraising mark this year and we need your help to do it! Thanks for considering the cause. We love you!

2 Little Mamas - Shout Out

One of my good friends, Sarah, is an amazingly creative woman. (For those of you that know Carly, she is the Atlanta version of her) :)
Sarah recently started an Etsy shop called 2 Little Mamas with her sister and you should definitely check this site out. If I can be so bold, I would also recommend that you return often to see what fun new things she has created. One of my favorite inventions is her Baby Bundle - wipes and diaper holder. It is way cute! Let me know what you think.
While I am on the subject of tres talented friends, you should also check out Carly's Etsy site - Chuckles and Grins. You will be very impressed, I have no doubt.