And Speaking of Santa...

When we got home from the mall, Cortlan realized that he forgot to mention a very important present.

He sat down and wrote this very important note to Santa and gave clear instructions to Caische to deliver it.

I love this kid.

Loving the Holidays

Occasionally, it seems as though Christmas is a lot of work - and it is: decorating inside and out, addressing Christmas cards, shopping for gifts, cooking and baking, etc.  And that's not to mention the additional travel that happens for me during the month of December, as well.

But the work is well worth it - Decorating the tree with the kids gets better every year as they are able to do more independently.  Bringing out all of the meaningful and memory-filled ornaments is a highlight.  I love my house decorated for the holidays and seeing the soft glow of the Christmas lights on the tree in the living room as I cook dinner.  And a change in decor is nice every now and then, even if it is relatively short lived.

I enjoy getting Christmas cards in the mail, and because I do, I assume that others do as well.  So I am happy to send mine along and wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Fighting the crowds and standing in line at stores while shopping for gifts is not fun at all, but the internet has made my life much easier in that regard, and I do love being able to (finally, hopefully) find just the right gift for someone.  And I love giving them.

Baking cookies has become a fun activity to do with my kids, and we love the taste-testing afterwards.  I used to try to make a ton of the same cookie all at once (like 8-10 dozen) and join in a cookie exchange.  Now I have found it to be much more enjoyable to make a few dozen cookies at a time of a variety of types over several weeks.  Maybe the cumulative time is longer, but it is much easier to find 30 minutes here and there to make some cookies than several hours in a row.  And I actually look forward to it.

Perhaps the best part of Christmas is seeing it through my kids' eyes.  It is magical.  Yes, the pictures were expensive (and we won't be paying for them in the future) but watching as Cortlan and Everly told Santa their Christmas wish list was so sweet.  I enjoy hearing their reaction to the Christmas lights that are slowly appearing around the neighborhoods.  Watching them search for our Elf, Caische, is as exciting for me as it is for them, and watching them talk to him is even better.

Sometimes it is far to easy to become Grinchy at this time of the year, but it is so worth it to find the magic and spirit of the season, and as always, enjoy the moments.

After the Concussion Center

This was a Facebook post I just wrote after returning home from the Concussion Center for anyone who is interested and may not see it there:

I feel the need to post an update as to how things have been going with me since my car accident last week. Skip right on past this very long post if you aren't interested, but in the hopes of disseminating this information in an efficient way to a number of people who are, here goes:

My accident was Tuesday 10/1. On 10/2 I saw my PCP who diagnosed me with a mild to moderate concussion. My symptoms included fatigue/exhaustion, headaches, feeling "foggy," some balance issues, feeling "out of body" at times, and some sensitivity to sounds, among others. I did not go to work on doctor's orders for the rest of last week. 

By Sunday, my symptoms had improved enough to be, in my opinion, manageable. I was very interested in getting back to work, so I gave it a shot on Monday. It was a disaster. My symptoms were back full force by 4th period. I made it through the day and after school went to the ER where they did the CT Scan of my neck and head that everyone had been urging me to get. It was clear. They confirmed my concussion diagnosis and referred me to the UPMC Concussion Center.

I stayed home from work yesterday. I made an appointment with the Concussion Center. I just got back from one of the best experiences I have had in my entire life with any medical personnel for any reason. I saw an amazing doctor. I took the ImPACT test, which is the same concussion test currently used in the NFL and is also the same test that they require our school athletes to take prior to playing any sports so to have a baseline in case of concussion. I was honestly shocked at the results. I scored in the 3rd percentile on one portion of the test. I don't think that I have scored in the 3rd percentile on anything in my entire life. And I tried HARD on this test.

When the doctor reviewed the results with John and me, he was amazingly informative and on point with everything that I was experiencing. He predicted symptoms that I hadn't even mentioned and even went so far as to say that "you were probably doing ok until about the third period you had to teach" (exactly - that was 4th period). A few more tests with my vision, along with my account of feeling pressure behind my eyes and trouble focusing, confirmed that I have an ocular/vestibular concussion, which will require therapy for a full recovery. Apparently, the anxiety that I felt when I walked through the locker area at school on Monday is a prime symptom of issues with the vestibular system due to mixed signals between the eyes and brain. (He did one test on me where I had to focus on his finger while moving my head back and forth, and I started shaking with an overwhelming nervous/anxious feeling...that was what he thought would happen. I had no clue. The human body is amazing...and crazy.)

So - no more work for me this week. I start back on Monday and will start vestibular therapy next week. I am allowed on the computer and allowed to watch TV but only with frequent breaks. I am allowed to drive, but only on familiar roads for a while (which makes sense...I told john that I needed him to drive me to the appointment in the city today, yet I feel no problem driving around home or to work and back.)

I feel so relieved that I am not going crazy, that there is a name for all of this and that I am a "typical case" with all of the typical symptoms and that this doctor knew exactly what I meant anytime I said a word. We are so fortunate to have such excellent facilities here and I am happy to say I have a plan in place for a full recovery!!

Car Accident

Ok, so I thought I would just say a few words here about what happened to me last week.

Rather than include the picture that shows the bulk of the damage to my vehicle, I decided to put this on on here, because it does not show my licence plate number.  I don't feel like doing what it would take to edit the picture to blur it out.

Bottom line: I was sitting at a standstill waiting to turn left into my neighborhood when a pickup truck rear-ended me at full speed.  I was seen by paramedics at the scene and released, my car was totaled, and life has been crazy ever since.

Go Everly!

Never to be outdone by her big brother, shortly after the start of the school year, Everly requested that we take off her training wheels.  While she was a little wobbly at first, it didn't take long before she was off and riding.  These days, she is often leading the pack through the neighborhood, speeding around with the boys.

The Night Before First Grade

There is a post I wrote a couple years ago, though it seems more like days ago.  It was about Cortlan starting preschool.  I read it and could hardly believe how much has changed since then, and how much has stayed the same.  (Read it here.)

Tomorrow, my little boy starts first grade.

Many parents do the whole "I can't believe my son/daughter is going to Kindergarten!" thing.  I got to put that off for a year, as Cortlan attended Kindergarten at the same school he had gone to for years.  There wasn't much new about it except the advancing curriculum and a different teacher.  There was no bus.  There was no buying/packing lunch.  His same friends were there.  It was the same drop off procedure...the same routine.

Tomorrow, Cortlan starts first grade.  And everything is going to be different.  And he is entering a whole new world.  And I am doing the whole "I can't believe my son is going to first grade!" thing.

I went to his "Meet the teacher" night yesterday.  I sat in his little desk, the one with his name attached.  I looked around and took it all in.  His teacher seemed so nice.  In the folder on his desk were papers that I needed to complete.  What bus number is he?  (I texted John to look on the fridge to find out.)  Would you like to sign up to be a guest reader?  (I would love to.)  What are Cortlan's strengths and weaknesses?  (You only gave me three lines to tell you?!)  And included in the folder was a poem with a baggie of magic confetti attached to it:

I started to tear up a bit when I read it and I thought about what a huge change this is going to be in so many ways.  When asked (and sometimes when not), I have mentioned that Cortlan is nervous about starting first grade.  But, maybe it is just me.  Maybe, I am not quite ready.  But he is.

Today, I showed him the papers that he had to fill out before his first day, fully anticipating that they would be met with resistance.  He enthusiastically completed them.  I read to him about the project that he had to do.  He quickly found five objects that would help him tell about himself to put in a brown bag:  A lego man holding a beaker and wearing a sign that says "I love science," a picture of our family, a cork, a rock, and a lego pizza (because that is his current favorite food).  

He excitedly (and with great precision and as if he had years of experience) made his own lunch, an idea that I proposed without much hope, an idea that he jumped on with more enthusiasm than I could have imagined:

And as I watched him carefully spread the peanut butter from edge to edge and scoop the yogurt into a container without spilling a drop and pick out just the right grapes and fold his napkin just so, I realized that he is far more ready for this than I will ever be.

Tomorrow, we don't get to put him on the bus and wave goodbye with tears in our eyes.  We will instead drop him at the school quite a while before the rest of his classmates will get there.  (And that is ok with me.  I will cherish that four minute drive and walking him into the building and the hug goodbye for as long as I possibly can.)

Tomorrow, we will be the ones anxiously and proudly waiting at the bus stop with a camera to see our first grader step off of the bus for the first time, with what I am guessing will be a huge, yet exhausted grin on his face.  I hope I can capture it.  And I am sure there will be tears in my eyes.

Tonight, Cortlan went to bed with Magic Confetti near his pillow.

I wish I had some.

When life gives you lemonade...

Cortlan has been asking to have a lemonade stand for quite a while.  I keep telling him that it is something that takes work and preparation; you can't just wake up one day and decide that you will have a lemonade stand in an hour...especially if you also want to sell cookies and you are depending on your mom to have lemonade in the house.  Last week, we finally got on the same page and got all our ducks in a row.  The most important step - I bought the lemonade.  Once that happened, everything else fell into place.

The kids made their signs.

We made chocolate chip cookies...on a 92 degree day.  And the next day, we made the lemonade.

Soon, we were ready for business.

The kids worked well together as a team, which I was happy to see.  They asked, "Would you like ice?"  And they said, "Thanks for coming!"

They sold most of the cookies...and ate the rest.  They sold about three gallons of lemonade...and drank the rest.

What are they going to do with the money?  They already put it in an envelope...they are saving in hopes of a trip to Disney.

10 weeks...

I have been quite the slacker when it comes to writing these posts.  Somehow, I always feel like I am going to have so much more time to do things like this in the summer.  But that just isn't the case.

Sometimes, I feel that we put our lives on hold for 42 weeks of the year and we have to live it all in these 10 short weeks of summer.  Considering all that we do and accomplish in the school year, I realize that isn't true, but the contrast of feeling like everything is a balancing act (and a tough one at that) during the school year versus the freedom to just do things in the summer is a stark one.  And we always seem to put things off until the summer.  And then most of those things don't get done, anyway, because, well, it is only 10 weeks, after all.  And when you spend your time at the pool, at the zoo, at family picnics, at the museums, riding bikes, running, going to gymnastics, and catching fireflies, it is hard to tackle those major projects.

I just haven't figured out how to maintain this casual and free feeling into the school year, when I have about 50+ hours a week less time to do all of the things that I am enjoying these days, plus the things I don't enjoy so much, like cleaning and grocery shopping.  And this year is going to be a doozy...with Cortlan and Everly in two different schools, with two different days and times for gymnastics and soccer, with my fall play stuff, with John's federation stuff...and then Cortlan's allergist recommended that he get allergy shots once a week. (I am still trying to figure out which day that would work.)

But the bottom line is that we are having a great summer and we are so lucky to have these 10 weeks to spend together and make great memories.  The kids spent a good bit of time arguing and making me crazy for a while, but that has lessened considerably in the last week.  We still have a great beach vacation to look forward to, and plenty more time to enjoy the summer life.

And enjoy, we will...

Summer reading...and loving.

I finally picked up a book this summer.  It has been a while, and boy do I miss the days of laying around and reading whenever I felt like it.  We have been on the go quite a bit and have been having a ton of fun (more to come on all of that).

Anyway, I am reading Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, simply because I found it recently on my shelf and remembered that a friend had lent it to me last year.  I should give it back, but there is a reason that I have it.  I am a bit more than halfway through, and am not 100% sure how I feel about it yet...I find it intriguing and somehow personal.

But I just read a line that caught my attention, and I just wanted to write it down.  I want to think about it some more later.

"It's the tragedy of loving, you can't love anything more than something you miss."

Thought-provoking.

Well worth the 30 tickets

Cortlan has not shown much interest in learning to ride a bike.  Whether he was nervous, intimidated, or just plain didn't care, I don't know.  But it took no time at all with the promise of 30 tickets (and the thought of redeeming them for a trip to the Children's Museum) for him to get it all figured out.

We started him off with some practice at just coasting down the driveway and getting a feel for balancing the bike with no training wheels.  With his seat lowered so that he could easily reach the ground, and his pedals removed, all he had to do was enjoy the ride down hill.  Once he got that figured out, we replaced the pedals and told him to just use them to rest his feet on them as he coasted.  He instinctively pedaled them anyway.  The final challenge was getting it all to work on flat and then an uphill grade.  In one day, Cortlan was riding his bike without training wheels.  Way to go, buddy!!

Taking it to the park...next time, I will have to have a scooter or bike; I couldn't keep up!

Summer Learning Ticket System

Knowing my shortcomings, I decided to let my kids hold me somewhat accountable for their learning this summer.  Yesterday, we implemented a Summer Learning ticket system.  My theory is this: If they know they are getting something out of it, they will have the motivation to initiate the process, whereas I would otherwise forget, blow it off, or seem like a nag about yet another thing.

The kids each decorated their ticket envelopes and journals, and we were on our way.  There are many ways to earn tickets: 1 ticket for writing a journal entry or reviewing sight words or completing a worksheet from the summer bridge book.  1 ticket if they clean up after themselves before bed without needing to be reminded.  30 bonus tickets for learning to ride a bike with no training wheels (a one time offer).  And a few more, as well.

Deciding what they could "purchase" with their tickets was much more challenging.  Seeing what they decided to do with their tickets on Day 1 was somewhat enlightening.

An incomplete list of examples of what can be purchased: 2 tickets will buy a 30-minute television program.  8 tickets gets a movie and popcorn at home.  15 tickets may be traded in for a Build a Bear outfit (hand-me-downs that are like new from someone we know) or Lego figurines or a trip to get ice cream.  30 tickets gets a trip to the Children's Museum or Chuck E. Cheese.  (We figured that learning to ride a bike was worth that reward.)

What did I think would happen?  I thought the kids would each earn 4-5 tickets.  I thought they would spend 2 and save the others in hopes of earning a bigger prize someday.

What happened?  The kids each earned 3 tickets in the morning.  Cortlan promptly spent 2 so he could watch Phineas and Ferb.  Everly's eyes lit up when she realized that she could spend hers on Band-Aids (if there was an actual boo-boo, she wouldn't get charged) and she promptly spent 2 on a Band-Aid that she plastered across her forehead.

Later in the afternoon, they each earned 1 more ticket as we did a "Sink or Float" activity.  They chose objects and wrote down in their journals whether they thought the objects would sink or float.  Then we tried the experiment and they recorded the results.  They enjoyed the activity.  Cortlan now had 2 tickets - enough for another TV show - and he spent them.  Everly now has 2 tickets in savings.

Cortlan asked to have his training wheels off and is now more motivated than ever to learn to ride his bike.  It will be interesting to see what he does with the 30 tickets...a trip to the Children's Museum (which he has been begging for) or 15 TV shows.  Tough call.  Everly is not much into TV.  I guess I better stock up on Band-Aids.

Weekend recap

Friday was the last day of school for the kids, but the first day that John and I had off for the summer.  We took full advantage and had a great day together...we needed that.

Saturday was full of fun.  The group that I co-sponsor at school had raised money for Alex's Lemonade Stand (to help fight childhood cancer) in the spring.  Our local Alex's hosted a great event full of fun for the whole family, at which the president of the Actors' Society accepted a very nice award for our fundraising.  I had to be there for that, so why not bring the whole family?  Pizza and rides, face paint and Storm Troopers.  And raising funds for a wonderful cause.  What more can you ask for?

We ended Saturday with a family birthday party, also full of fun.  The kids donned their swimsuits and got to go down a huge inflatable slide that was made into a water slide.  They jumped on the trampoline.  They got balloon animals made for them.

Sunday wasn't quite as much fun...I shrunk two of my favorite shirts because I forgot to lay them to dry and instead tossed them in the dryer.  I butchered my bangs.  (It was bound to happen at some point, but did it really have to happen just before I need to get my driver's licence taken?  Guess I will eek that one out til the end, hoping that the bangs will grow back quickly.)  I realized that my kids aren't big fans of yard work, which is going to be a problem, because they will be helping around here.  And they did, after a while and much frustration.

But Sunday ended on a high note...a nice dinner on the deck, a bike ride around the neighborhood.  Smiles and laughter as Everly told us we can call her "Miss Beautiful."

And today is our family's official start of summer.  And I am ready to squeeze everything I can out of it...

Let's go summer!!

Tomorrow is a new day.

• It is nice to have someone in your life that truly knows you.  It is even better when that person is your husband.  (I love you, John.)
• These days, I am a little sad about time passing and my kids growing up.  I miss looking at them in the back seat holding hands instead of grabbing things from each other and bickering.  I knew that those days were going to be short lived...I just was wishing we could beat the odds.
• Some teachers say that their favorite days of the school year are the first and last...as a person bad with change, those happen to be my least favorites. 
• Parenting challenges of the past seem so easy now.  I remember the stress of trying to figure out how to get my babies to sleep through the night, and what to feed them, and potty training...and I wish I could go back to those issues.  Things seem so much harder now.  But maybe that is simply because I lived through those problems already and came out on the other side.  If I could do it once, I could (probably) do it again.  But now I am in uncharted territory, and I am not enjoying it.
• I am looking forward to having coffee on my deck on a weekday at 6am.  I think I may get up early on my first day of summer break just so I can enjoy that peace and the knowledge that the whole summer is ahead of me.  
• Some days are tough.  Sometimes things snowball.  Sometimes things throw me for a loop, completely out of the blue and I don't know how to react or respond without making things worse.  Fortunately, those days are few.  And fortunately, I have people to lean on when those days come around every now and then.

Cortlan's birthday gift to me

He ran out of bed in the morning, and the first thing he did was tell me happy birthday and hand me this gift.

He had made it, found a box in which to place it, decorated the box, and wrapped it himself...with no help and no encouragement needed. He was dying to have me open it.

I will treasure it always.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is one of my favorite days of the year.  Perhaps it is because my kids say things like, "Everly, it's Mother's Day!  Do you really want to fight??!" to each other.  Perhaps it is because I get heartfelt homemade gifts and the possibility of sleeping in.  Perhaps it is because what I say goes.  Or perhaps it is because I give myself the day to not stress about anything...not the laundry, not the dishes, not a meal plan or cooking.  I even refuse to let myself think about my to-do list for the week.  Granted, sometimes this backfires, but I don't care.

This Mother's Day, I did sleep in.  When I came out of the bedroom, I was greeted with choruses of "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!" and a delicious pancake and strawberry breakfast.  I had been given my hand made gifts and cards on the Friday prior and wore then proudly to school that day.  On Mother's Day morning, I received perfectly selected gifts that my kids bought with the Kohl's Cash that we had.  They have pretty good taste - I got a shirt and a dress that I love.

In addition, I got flowers in decorated holders that the kids had made at at Home Depot and more cards, including some that they had made completely by themselves and a very special one from Everly:

My family appeased me and we took a trip to my favorite state park, where I hoped to have a picnic lunch and a hike.  Unfortunately, it was a bit cold.  We shivered through our lunch, played on the playground a bit, and then when we saw a snowflake in the first 10 yards of our hike, we decided to bag it.  

Definitely one of my favorite keepsakes from the day was the song that Everly sang for me...

...which I absolute adored, even though after she was done, the kids immediately started singing about "stinky old toots."

You can't win them all, I suppose.  But I will take what I can get.  And what I've got are two very good kids and a full heart.

Random recap in photos

I am perpetually behind these days.  Mother's Day has come and gone.  Someday, I will post something about that.  But for now, here are some photo recaps of recent times:

Cortlan recovered from his surgery at home, but his friends didn't forget about him:

Neither did family and friends.  His aunt and cousins sent him a couple of special gifts in the mail:

Cortlan was getting a lot of special attention, which had Everly feeling a bit left out, so she and I went on a Mommy and Me trip to the mall, where we used a gift card for Build a Bear that she received for her birthday:

While he was out of school, Cortlan lost his first tooth (April 27th, 2013).  He may or may not have been disappointed with the $1 that the tooth fairy left him.  I may or may not have felt bad about that:

A robin decided that our window looked like something worth attacking, and did so repeatedly.  It became so annoying that we had to bring in Spiderman to save the day.  The robin has since avoided our window, but moved on to our neighbor's:

This was weeks ago, but Spiderman is still protecting our window.

About that race...the finish!

Between the lack of bathrooms without huge lines, some (minimal) navigation issues, and the uphill and trail runs that some of us had, the second half of our 77.7 mile run was definitely a little bit more challenging than the first.  But it was no less fun.  And it was amazing how quickly the many hours flew by.

By the time I got to my second leg of the race, the sun had warmed things up enough for me to brave removing a layer or so of running gear.  I felt the pain for runner 4 (who had the hardest leg of the race - a huge and pretty steep uphill climb) as I ran for a little less than a mile downhill and then the remaining almost 4 miles uphill.  I was glad for the many miles I had run around my house, with the rolling hills of the area serving me well for the uphill climb.  But still, my pace slowed and my calves screamed as I made my way up.  And up.

The first (and easiest) part of my second leg...I can definitely learn a few things about my running form from this pic.

Unlike my first leg, when I had passed no one and no one had passed me, there were many more people around for this 4.8 miles.  The hill did many people in; I passed 8 or 9 people but I also got passed by a few people.  I worked hard.  I had to force myself to look around and enjoy the scenery.  I was so happy to see the exchange point and I was so proud of my average pace for the difficult run: 8:16/mile.

The lake was beautiful.  The sky was clear.  The route took us through a state park and past many more wineries and distilleries.  Amanda's leg of the race took her past the winery where she was married.  The evening was upon us.  With an 8 am start, our projected time of finish was 7:03 pm if we were to hold to the 8:30 pace chart.  With some legs we would gain a minute, but with others we would lose a couple.  The uphills were challenging.  The fatigue of getting up at 6 am and running twice already was catching up to us a bit.

My third leg was my shortest leg, and despite my legs having already carried me over nine miles, it was the most fun.  I actually still felt pretty good.  I was really enjoying the day and was definitely excited to see what I could do, having never run three times in the same day before.  As Amanda ran in for the exchange, I lived up to our team name (70's Seven - You Should See Us Dance!) and danced her in.

Then I took off.

I had a great deal of confidence as I left, knowing I had nothing to lose, that I didn't have to save anything, and that we had all done our best.  I knew the worst was behind me and that this was it.  I enjoyed my music.  I enjoyed the fresh air.  I enjoyed the scenery.  As I approached my last hill of the day, I enjoyed the steady pace that I found.  I passed a few people who had slowed to a walk, and got passed by one or two, as well.

One of the people I passed was not happy about it.  She was walking when I passed her going up a hill, but I felt her right behind me as I came to the crest of the hill.  I wasn't sure how far the exchange point was from there, but when I crested the hill, I saw it.  I started to speed up.  So did she.  I sped up more.  She did, too.  By the time we got to the exchange, we were both in a full sprint, with teammates cheering us on.  Unfortunately, we would have to cross paths to get to our teammates.  We got a little tangled, but my teammate took off first.  I finished the leg with a 7:59/mile average...slower than my first leg, but I was thrilled to have broken 8:00 on my third run of the day.

The next stop would be the end of the race, where we would all reunite and cross the finish line together.  There were many start times for the race, with some people starting as early as 7 am and waves leaving every half hour until 9:30 am.  The 9:30 groups were the fastest.  Their goal was to pass everyone along the way and finish before the 7 am groups.  So, as we jubilantly crossed the finish line, we had no idea how we really did in comparison to everyone else.  But, it didn't even matter.  We couldn't have been prouder of ourselves.

Initially, we weren't sure if we would finish by 8 pm.  Then we set our sights much higher.  We ended up crossing the finish line at 7:12 pm...11 hours and 12 minutes after we had begun our race.  Our average pace was 8:38/mile.  When we woke in the morning, we discovered that we had placed 5th (out of 35) in the all-women groups and 87th (out of 209) overall.

Our team finish!

This was definitely a race that I will never forget.  I met some awesome women, laughed my butt off, and ran my heart out.  We exceeded our own expectations and had an amazing day filled with memories and experiences that will last a lifetime.  Thanks, girls, for a great race.  For a great day.

About that race...part 2

As runner three took off, we all got in the car, with runners five, six, and seven thinking of coffee more than anything.  Fortunately, not far along the drive to the next checkpoint was a little gas station.  I ran in quickly, and it was like a scene from an old movie - the sheriff sat at the counter enjoying his cup of coffee and some small-town conversation with the owner.  I filled three cups, and the owner asked, "Are you involved with this running thing that is going on?"  Yep.  I am running around the lake as part of a team of seven women.

We got to the next checkpoint with about ten minutes to spare, and then off went runner four.  Our short term goal became to find bathrooms that didn't have a long line before quickly heading to the next checkpoint.  Fortunately, there were several port-a-potties at this stop, which was one of many wineries along the way.  Unfortunately, port-a-potties without lines would not to be the norm for the next many hours.

Runners 7, 5, and 6

I began to get a touch nervous as runner five (Amanda) sped off.  There would be another bathroom trip necessary.  I was worried about what I had eaten (and not eaten).  I was definitely not used to running in the late morning. As my turn approached, I was glad that a teammate had packed some energy chews.  I ate a few and downed some water.  My adrenaline started and I anxiously awaited as Amanda flew in to the exchange point.  I grabbed the slap bracelet, slapped it onto my arm, and went.

Heading out for my first leg of the race...

It was cold.  Only in the upper 30's at best, I was not quite sure what to wear.  But once I got moving, I warmed up quickly.  Starting off, my legs felt wobbly and unsure, and I had to mentally move them for a while before I felt them calm down and I was able to find a comfortable stride.  I was excited when my team drove by, honking the horn, ringing the cow bell, and cheering me on.  I would see them again soon.  The rolling hills were much like the roads I run around my house.  I could handle them.  I ran along a relatively isolated road with but one person ahead of me, just out of reach.  I focused on him, and, for a while, thought I might be able to catch him.  I did close a bit of distance, but never did reach him.  I passed no one, but no one passed me, either.  I passed the slap bracelet to the last runner on our team.  My pace on this 4.6 mile leg: 7:42/mile.

Just finished my first leg and made the hand off

I stretched for a minute or two before we took off in the Yukon again.  My next focus was to eat.  Never have an avocado smeared on bread and a hard-boiled egg tasted so good.

We would do the whole thing twice more.  Getting out of the car, cheering one runner in as the next went off, getting back into the car, passing by our teammate, honking and yelling and ringing the cow bell, finding bathrooms (or sides of roads), sneaking in food when and where we could (the pit stop halfway through for pizza was one of the best decisions).  We were pretty close to being on our lofty-goal average pace of 8:30...at least for the first half of the race, which was predominately down hill.  The second half proved to be more of a challenge, as it was just as much uphill to get back to where we started.

Mmmm...pizza!

To be continued...

About that race...part 1

One year ago, I was getting ready to run a half marathon in the city.  I am not running it this year, but the weekend immediately before Cortlan's surgery escapade was another running adventure for me...

That Saturday morning, I headed out for a five hour drive to meet up with two members of a seven member team that I would be running with on Sunday.  It was April 20th, and less than 45 minutes away from my house, I hit the first of many snow squalls of the drive.  Beyond the snow, the drive was uneventful and easy; I enjoyed  listening to the radio stations of my choice.

When I got to my destination, I headed to the salon where my friends were and where I got a great new look with a new haircut.  We headed to lunch, went back home to pack our running gear and get situated for the next day, stopped at the grocery store for a few items, and then we were off to the lake house owned by one of the other members of our seven member team.

The lake house was beautiful and spacious.  The three of us were assigned a bedroom that had three twin beds in it.  We dropped our stuff and headed back downstairs for some introductions and socializing; eventually, we made dinner and ate at around 9 pm.  Many laughs and discussions of when we were going to get up and out of the house later, we made our way to bed a bit before midnight...definitely a late night for me, and far later than I have ever stayed up the night before a race.  But we had a great time, and I didn't drive five hours to just sleep!

The rules said that we were to arrive by 7 am to pick up our race packet.  Our entire team had to be there to sign something; the race started at 8 am.  Not everyone in our group agreed that we should abide by this rule.  In fact, by the time we left the lake house, it was 7 am.  I was quite worried that we would miss the opportunity to pick up our packet or that we would somehow be disqualified.  Those fears intensified when I realized the lake house was almost 40 minutes away from the starting point.

The third car in a three car caravan, we nervously watched as the lead drivers spoke out of their windows to race officials and police officers.  They were given instructions and information.  A couple of people got out of the car.  One shrugged her shoulders at us.  I was sure our race was over before it even started.

We finally were able to find a parking space and reconnect with our group.  I was amazed and relieved when I was asked to sign a paper and our team leader was told where to pick up our packet.  We quickly got our bibs pinned on and headed back outside.  We attempted to get a group picture, but the race was minutes away from starting.  The first runner made it to the starting line with no time to spare; the second runner ran after the shuttle that would take her to the first checkpoint as it drove past us.  The remaining five of us got in the Yukon and drove to the second checkpoint.  The adventure had begun.

The race was around a long, skinny lake - Seneca Lake in New York - and was 77.7 miles long.  There were seven of us that would cover that distance as a team, each with three legs of a total of 21 legs.  I was runner six.  Being that I had no coffee or breakfast to speak of, I was quite happy to have a bit of time before I had to run and was hopeful that somewhere along the route I could get a cup.

After we waited in line for quite a while for the bathroom at the second checkpoint, we saw a shuttle arrive and our first runner get off.  Now a group of six, we anxiously awaited our runner #2 and cheered her in as runner #3 took off.  We had a couple of loose goals:  first, to finish the race; second, to not get kicked off the course or picked up by the sweeper van because we didn't finish by the 7:58 pm race cut off.  Our third and most lofty goal was to keep up with the time estimator in the back of our map book.  It told us when to arrive at each check point if we were to average an 8:30 pace.  Our group was composed of women with a wide variety of experience and training - one was training for a marathon and had missed qualifying for Boston last year by 35 seconds, one had gone to college on a cross country scholarship, one had just run her first race in March and it was a five-miler.  Our paces ranged from the mid-7's to the mid 10's.

To be continued...

Everly's reaction

And what was Everly's reaction to Cortlan's surgery?  Well, she was very happy to spend some time at Grandma and Poppy's house on Tuesday.  She tells me that she rode on the swings, that she and Poppy put a bunch of stuff on Cadi (my parent's dog), and that Poppy held her by her feet so that she could reach stuff from behind the couch.  I will have to confirm, but I feel as though this is probably pretty accurate.

She also told my parents that she would do Cortlan a huge favor by eating a Popsicle with him because it is way more fun if you don't have to do it by yourself.  So kind that she is willing to make such a sacrifice for her brother.

When I picked her up from school yesterday, she hadn't seen him since early morning the day before.  She said she missed him.  She also said, "I can't wait to see Cortlan!  Does he look the same?"

Cortlan's surgery update

What a whirlwind the past week has been!  From getting observed by my principal on Friday to prepping for a sub to cover my classes for six periods; from trying to figure out what to pack for a weekend away that included a 77.7 mile relay race in who-knows-what weather to driving to the race, running the race, and driving home; from stocking the house with popsicles and applesauce to waiting for hours to be called back to surgery...I have been busy.  And a little stressed.  But here I sit, at 10pm, in room 718B while Cortlan sleeps peacefully.

I hear a baby crying not far outside our room.  I have been told that we may still get a roommate tonight.  I expect that the nurse will be arriving around midnight to bring Cortlan his next dose of Tylenol.  I don't expect to have a restful night's sleep.  But I am thankful.

Upon arriving at the hospital this morning at around 11am, we checked in and sat down to wait to be called to our next destination.  Shortly after, a woman and her son came in and sat nearby.  Her son looked to be about nine months old; he had on glasses; he had Down's syndrome.  I said, "Look at those awesome glasses!  What a cutie pie!"  And he truly, truly was absolutely adorable.

I talked to John a bit about whether Everly was going to be able to come to visit.  The woman told me that they are great with siblings here; she and her other two sons have spent quite a lot of time here.  In fact, her husband and she had tried to total up the number of hours and came to at least six solid months worth of hours.  The conversation led to the fact that this baby is her second special-needs child.  That one of his older brothers was born normal but at about 15 months old developed some problems and that they came to discover that he has a rare and incurable disease; he is four now.  That this little guy is actually 15 months old, not the 9 months as he looks, and that he is about to have his second open heart surgery.

I tried to hold it together as best as I could as we continued to talk.  She was a beautiful woman and smiled through our entire conversation.  She was calm and matter of fact and hopeful as she explained to me some details.  I had to turn away to wipe a tear at one point.  I was amazed and inspired by this mom, whose name I will never know.

As we waited for several hours more than anticipated before being called for surgery, I was astonished that Cortlan never once mentioned that he was hungry or thirsty.  It had been at least five hours since his last drink of water and his last food was almost 20 hours prior.  I was starving and had to sneak down to the cafeteria.  He calmly found things to do in the activity room - he watched TV for a bit, we played a game, he made a bracelet, and more.  The time didn't bother him in the least.

I kept wondering what had happened that got them so far behind schedule.  I prayed that everything was alright, knowing that somewhere in the hospital, a beautiful little boy with the cutest Baby Gap outfit was having open heart surgery.

We finally got called back.  Cortlan was given the option of walking or riding the bed back to the surgery room; he preferred to walk.  I immediately got changed into my snazzy white coveralls, cap and booties, and walked back with him.  He climbed up on the table and the anesthesiologist gave him some choices of where he wanted to go on his imaginary trip today.  He chose to go to space, and the anesthesiologist proceeded to  put on Cortlan's "astronaut mask" and tell him a great story about flying to space and about the planets.  I held his hand while he slowly drifted off to sleep.

In no time at all, we were told that the surgery had ended and that it had gone very well.  Soon enough, the doctor was with us, showing us pictures that were taken during the scopes and explaining how things had gone.

His trachea was narrow enough to warrant a smaller-than-typical breathing tube for the intubation, but not quite as narrow as in December.  His adenoids, which have always been expected to be large but have never actually been scoped, were blocking 80% of the nasal passage.  They are now gone.  His tonsils, which were visibly huge, were ranked on a scale of 0-4+ as a 3+ at the time of surgery.  They are now gone, too.  We anticipate the sleep apnea will be eliminated by the surgery and that his breathing and drainage and speech will all be markedly improved.

It is morning now, and we are waiting to hear when we can be discharged.  Cortlan ate a nice meal of mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, jello, and applesauce last night, and we watched Hotel Transylvania.  At midnight, he got some medicine to help with pain.  At 3am, we got a roommate who seems to have appendicitis.  At 4:30am, he got more pain medication.  At 6am, a doctor spoke to me, and at 7am, Cortlan woke for the day.

He is having some pain, but is tolerating it well.  We went to visit the playroom, where he made a sun catcher and fed the fish.

We are thankful to be under such great care in such an amazing facility.  We are thankful that it was only tonsils and adenoids that brought us in.  We have the adorable baby boy with the glasses on, and everyone else we have encountered here, in our thoughts and prayers.  We are headed home shortly.