Wet

Our swimsuits are worn out from this summer....which is a good thing! We got wet nearly every day. Some days it was just playing in thunderstorms (and in buckets!)

Other days we wet to the beach because it was the only cool place. (Cool is a relative term here....it just wasn't over 100!)

We also did swimming lessons this summer and all the girls were awesome. Emily was the youngest and smallest in her swim class, and also the most advanced! She was diving and retrieving toys in the deep end, and treading water for a few minutes. She swam the whole length of the pool and treaded at the end. Nathalie learned how to float on her back and got a ton better at swimming by herself. She also learned to dive and retrieve things in the shallow end and can hold her breath for a long time. Charlotte also learned how to swim a few feet by herself, which is HUGE. At the beginning of the summer, she wouldn't even let me put her down in the shallow end on the steps. By the end, I would stand about 10 ft away and she would swim to me with her face in the water by herself!

I love summers of swimming!

Waiting for school

The girls school started at the beginning of August, but Charlotte's preschool didn't start til the end.

Longest month EVER.

We practiced letters, shapes and colors, played with play dough, painted, glued and cut things, read books and sang songs to pass the time.

I even let her play with my phone.

FINALLY she started preschool two mornings a week with resounding success! She adores it. She wants to go every day. She has not missed me once and walks through there like she owns the place. She loves her teacher, her playground, and everything else. And I love the two mornings a week I'm only running errands with one child!

Overcoming Hurdles

I've been gearing up for my half marathon is less than a month! I'm running 12 miles for my long run this week. I had a long, hard summer with running. I was getting more and more injured and I couldn't figure out why. The heat and the sun down here were incredibly difficult to run in, and I felt so discouraged I just stopped for an entire month.

                    

I did a lot of research and bought a new, minimalist pair of shoes. I did more research and changed my running form. I did research on speed, diet, cadence, breathing, etc. And all of it has paid off. In the beginning of August I was able to start running seriously again. It took 3 months, but I was able to start training again!

 

 

I put this quote on my iPad to remind me that little by little I could train and heal. Matt gave me a blessing to counter my discouragement. One step at a time I made it back. I'm excited and nervous for the BIG DAY. But I'm ready. I'm in awe of this incredible physical body my Heavenly Father gave me. It can do so many things, and I feel blessed.

 

Here are a few things I learned about running:

 

--Diet does matter. It's different for everyone, but I have realized that I feel and perform best on days where I eat whole grains, fruits and veggies. I can put a little meat in there, but meat makes me feel sluggish. The summer heat helped me realize that I needed to drink a lot more water. I'm also noticing that the more chemicals in a food, the more I am affected. So we have cut out most processed things, including mac and cheese! I can't believe it! We still buy Goldfish though....but we have really tweaked our diet and it has made a huge difference. My favorite running snack is a peanut butter cocoa oat ball, from Mel's Kitchen Café. It's really good, although I use olive oil instead of coconut (Lydia can't have anything coconut related because of MCADD, so we just got rid of everything.) I made the changes to my diet after reading "Eat and Run" by Scott Jurek who is an ultramarathoner and a vegan. I'm not going vegan, or even vegetarian, but it did help me realize what makes me feel best.

 

--Running form matters too. I went to a physical therapist clinic at the local running store and he told me I needed a neutral shoe with an orthotic to combat by injuries. Even though he said that, I noticed that if I experienced pain while I was running, I could make the pain go away by taking off my shoes. When I realized that I had no pain going barefoot, I looked into other shoes. I found a pair at a different running store that I loved, called Topos. With these shoes, I had a midfoot strike and faster cadence, thereby reducing the force per footfall. This has made a huge difference. I discovered this way to run by reading "Chi Running" which sounds like a ridiculous book, but is actually very good at teaching form.

 

-- I have to mentally prep and get adequate sleep to run. I have started going to bed earlier now and that has also made a huge difference. If I go to bed after 10:30, I have  a hard time running the next day. Naps help, but I can't always take a nap, and I really need good rest the nights before my long runs.

 

I am so excited...and starting to get a little nervous! Have any of you run a half marathon (or longer) before? Do you have any advice?

8 is GREAT!

Happy Anniversary to the love of my life.

I love you. My life is never dull with you.

(P.S. This is the secret to a happy marriage...)

Happy 7th Birthday!

Wow, this is pretty delayed. But anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY EM!

Her 7th birthday happened right as we got a few days of extreme heat warning so, luckily for her, we headed to the beach.

She played with her new kite. We had so much fun! The only bummer from her birthday was that on the actual day, Matt had to work and I had to go to a church meeting....so we didn't actually have a cake and candles. But she still got presents, her favorite dinner and a snack delivered to her class! We also made treats for the kids in the neighborhood, and we had had a party for her a few days before with her church friends. So I'm pretty sure she felt remembered!

We sure love this girl.

Funny moments with Nan

A few weeks ago Nathalie was hungry. She's hungry a lot and she will also eat when bored. Matt and I kept offering her healthy food options. She kept rebutting with junkier or sweet options. After about five minutes of this kind of discussion she became very frustrated and said, "You never let me eat unhealthy food!" and stormed off.

This morning I was making the girls do Saturday morning chores. They have daily chores, but on the weekend they do extra. Nathalie had a hard time listening and after many reminders, she finally starting loading the dishwasher. Charlotte, who should have been doing chores, came along and said, "Want to play?" and Nathalie said in a very despondent voice, "I can't. I'm too busy working."

We must be doing something right!

Funny moments with Emily

Two days ago Emily and I were talking and she said, "Mom, we've lived in Georgia forever. When are we going to move?!?" She struggles with the heat, just like I do and I guess it was getting to her!

She wasn't very happy when I told her we have at least a couple more years, and maybe even more than that!

And then yesterday evening, we went to the park. She found a group of kids to play with and for an hour she had a really great time. I told her it was time to go and she said, "Thanks for playing y'all!"

that was funny