tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-325361182024-03-07T11:09:24.135-08:00A Brand New Life as a Runner"I believe it's jogging or yogging. It might be a soft "J." I'm not sure, but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It's supposed to be wild."
-R. BurgundyLaurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.comBlogger156125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-19891118772491838372010-03-04T13:45:00.000-08:002010-03-04T17:18:53.761-08:00Introducing...<center>Introducing:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Quinn Mary Harrish Jordan<br /></span><br />aka, <span style="font-style:italic;">Quinn Jordan, The Mighty Quinn</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Bean.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kPU3jmJvjaLRX9znn9LiFQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ5YYp24QwCqstKUDp9oPQIIiBlS__nfiWRS1qEXwYlQmKSrZYIPPIsO26vkQQ_ljwNd6qQATQ-7hiNRjdHPCEnDk8MVBu1hNBfSfmNSBagqDAAm3RCNpH0dMgtT9SZuRk6vqFcA/s400/bean.JPG" /width=500></a><br /><br />Born March 1, 2010<br />6:21pm (during a beautiful sunset)<br />6lbs 15oz<br />20" long<br /><br />She's perfect and amazingly healthy.<br /><br />As soon as I get my head on straight, I will upload the race report.<br /> It's a good one. My best race yet ;)<br /><br />Love, L, J + Q<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/hkYG53pP0mPa5hA9ohpZog?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/S5Aq86iV6aI/AAAAAAAABlU/cyDHTpyHpXs/s400/first_born.jpg" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kjAszbmlxoNqNTE4KZ09jQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgowtXdoQLAPk5jHa6ougoKS6a3K5gF3kunP8PxkDY0uZkEr15SyXqnagG5OOv88Vc6nDn0oayU8aQyW413_I3tjhaFXQ-ZGJBUnpnNVCC4iR80rygAZpElKvVv0S0RlA7FLa_THg/s400/firstborn3.jpg" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yvxq1mpmBiMmjXhO3BQHdQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfCuauKA17jVc2cP4pECvjiYg2Hc6qmPBgqvVvQXj9eh1H2tbz1xP2LvWo4B8cbDeinrqQWcIN6s3woRvRmIeWP7o3_t7Zb5-OnWb1rXO7-QG-ZJYGVRXYyVBC4_ea4MtajTe-Q/s400/firstborn5.jpg" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0fIIkQQ3gaukBTwB29rrgw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV7_d_TrgKrCCczQ6JFCehZPh0qCymkazpJMufeWZwArsyHaHj_rbgppoRQKT8ncWlcd_hj6DfGwMWpjLOdq-MPnVsIwQUwlIWZP92U_kUkF8-efGXTvXBa18kZ0wJUtgRmhtjHA/s400/screamer.jpg" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/632vP0uIlG1RLlcOt97MXg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrbCyp5XwfnPw_8soNXythfnHY9vg2D9wdszGVtx7fQDPXBAVaKXcBHYCjC9C3eH1WcxPK1LVWmkp_oIeuFRPtYmSwtdlU-N5QN4Nb3WG9PPcKs8fsWCqkPXiafYPdAQ-2Kyin5Q/s400/bathtime2.jpg" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/_G76Z534DRNzPvo-bsFw1Q?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqPU4tVAtp3ZSVJ1IJOHAzUxAZlgr_OdJb4P_ilXYthOod8fCoGaKB6wOVf18A5u40NxdOlIbS1oabGdG5-nDR-RguRVkb4AX5WvKukN8KZ-NTmmLn_s-BSmjAuoRoPpUQpxCdpQ/s400/toe.jpg" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ID280G5BWn39CGoySntJRg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYWcINfDyJPfhWPUPWtta_1PUBrH7YewbHsHLaF8tzt4O5rooCUREvUGG3leIForEi7QPAYzSVP9K55cXcEDlWnGMnBteZ5htneM15stqYDdkdV-tY9Xd4BlWIgsXnanPo3OS2Q/s400/footprint.jpg" /height=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NKAh7SZcBm9CDiKeNcernQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVbc_dtRi0XrJFqFpLBCYVNg0D0d7o1BG_RGCQV1Go4ScxUFNzTLCHmfquTcSazZdKc8gvTpVmxBsA6RLIR-mWSCNRdtFHoZphL1HyxWw6OsZ_iQuGiqzlYOZyb8WXh99uuFneQ/s400/new_hat2.jpg" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/SfLMDvDeGWcWrZEBWWp8iA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/S5ArZCFgRxI/AAAAAAAABl0/QnxADKif_6E/s400/piggy_nose.jpg" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/4nGP6IxuGkp3t-CbbWjRog?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMc7o2D3M7OIg9MBcdFnZBamZpeEfy-lgCvQd7NlmekXI4Vp181UtpZB7g-GIpbpYPhsd1doc-zENBn_Lo96Xc1sCT-EnoM3360ejH9GmA1kgbLj10lymM1klFD7GcnEaHX-D5Iw/s400/new_hat5.jpg" /height=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/aFriBfXpK5utNr70Xlbwug?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/S5Aq95q26gI/AAAAAAAABlc/OQHu7Xg3FdE/s400/mommy_bean2.jpg" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dHMAqch1Gbs-KH6fkJa9XA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/S5Aq9EytkQI/AAAAAAAABlY/45efd9_h708/s400/first_family_photo.jpg" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RiCGK86cnALPx55SINt9hw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhApy9WaHnBRK_AZpv-Q3ajk3IW2vVm1wJCEU4CZGF5YWIVKQiy7T35yFCIXmE0bJv5Hy1fgSxLL_ogptFEBqUks-h1T3D8iYCa4QDn5FPPMwTFslpbtrD7_7jlfqcJddf_PAOgSQ/s400/daddy_bean2.jpg" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2TmgLjjiZaTolh6vRi3WOA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDghEABN21rHDCrk29b8YJFDWEDSXPv3CzuXpDUg0F2ccSD5AGELnPfcKLk7F2U2S-AkFc9Ti35OAAYHvGYQf7V29C0zmYFEJSGYYy6OuO7vrEknklmgVvbtuMP7TRD32wb3Wrew/s400/going_home2.jpg" /height=500></a></center>Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-55672013423707952372010-02-22T17:28:00.000-08:002010-02-22T17:53:21.964-08:00A Surprise for BeanLast week, my boss came into my office with a huge ear-to-ear grin on her face and asked me to come up to the 7th floor with her because the Dean wanted to get my opinion about a mural they wanted to create up there.<br /><br />Confused, I agreed, but asked her what “mural” she was talking about.<br /><br />Apparently, she hadn’t thought her lie through enough to come up with an answer in case I had questioned her about it, and after a long pause, just muttered/giggled something about how she wasn’t sure and that I should just come up as soon as possible to talk to him.<br /><br />As we wandered through the Dean’s suite, I realized that NO ONE was in their office and suspected something may be up.<br /><br />Sure enough, as we walked into the room, everyone jumped out and yelled “SURPRISE!!!!”<br /><br />As sure as I calmed down and made sure my water hadn’t broken, I realized everyone was there for a surprise shower for the Bean and I. YAY!<br /><br />They had a beautiful cake, cupcakes, cookies, flowers and gifts!<br /><br /><center><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/J9b8tQSDhgE14uiCKk3s-g?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKyBBHfIaTFmNOTqvt-_f1IUv_iyl4EvtRUs9iChZYQsvMuunWXV2hjrF9QeqkVI_H7lXYIIm5Fqm6ogW56_JAlg3T8p3VfHsNmrgeTABbAeJrRtmT1J-aDSnsGMf-xTZyO5GfiA/s400/tumblr_ky2j0qXEHa1qah5ww.jpg" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/M7Gg6dm6SdQBZU5ncN7Zkw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-6ykbY74-lStPQ9gEEUVn1fLgP9op9d4TE49E5FjVk6LvziGsGJMNYv8mAMTqR_lykqk20nrvanjd0kLS5KGOMAqc0SRLL_29xpU_TQgIQC1XE0ykN8UoVabM6tOnvVdSx5low/s400/tumblr_ky2j05Iz7H1qah5ww.jpg" /width=500></a></center><br /><br />Actually, it was for Jeremy too, but he was in a never-ending faculty meeting. Finally, one of the Deans went in there to end it so he could come out and everyone could surprise him too. Then the party was underway.<br /><br />We got some great gifts, including a huge bag of clothes, a fun crib toy -soother/projector thingy, some other small baby toys and a super-cute diaper cake that our friend Courtenay made for us.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nAOqaCrXhyYQ8MA6LxhkvA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PK_EFp56bKgU-7i84Y7n1i_eBMdQuG14ckZve9eS70nwSWN-XF2FRyIKni4d4cC1qMEeLhjrefVe_cDzyJzvvffCsRXnbFjXfAyjOf8AwMTcxLli1HDoa9MviyBxwdU7ynGgPA/s400/tumblr_ky2k3dYxt31qah5ww.jpg" /height=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/QlMIPkD2Ks_AymlmYDTFWQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_dD69yNNG59nh-zzXRYDvjtXUlb_vU_D4xiz4EA556RR1eLc4ZAaai24cDed_d8khB6ZGlzJIBj4jgXp3Z1pFzFc9Z4VCy9PWR4Xnxlga8pPYIlSlxMMLajUpkNYRffw1dwttug/s400/tumblr_ky2k44oKgv1qah5ww.jpg" /height=500></a></center><br /><br />But the best surprise of all was the extremely generous gift that everyone pitched in together to get for us.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.bobgear.com/strollers/stroller.php?product_id=4">The Bob Revolution Jogging Stroller!<br /></a><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/srfIMtibDPWxOV3o7-gvRA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2VvyzHCPmINa2kEIc4RxYYf9K8TOXfR8U5B6U_fLJsXup67mNKWt4-g9OJAPuZeCH75TZGosXs2BxVOua2Gpfcmu88Z1o6djrrWLnURHqxTIGGHOFXFzAEuloEFYsxU_qZKeYGA/s400/tumblr_ky2k9xKbV41qah5ww.jpg" /></a></center><br /><br />Jeremy and I had bought most of the big items on our registry ourselves and only had a jogging stroller left to get, but were planning on waiting a few months after she was born to get it since we didn’t need it right away and needed to save up for it.<br /><br />While they didn’t get us the actual stroller, they got us a gift card with more than enough money to get it. Way more than we EVER expected anyone to get us. We were completely floored and overwhelmed.<br /><br />We had such a great time and the whole shower was a wonderful surprise. We are so lucky to work with such an amazing group of people who have embraced us, taken us in since we moved here and been a source of strength through this entire pregnancy, especially in the beginning when we were having such a rough time.<br /><br />We are so excited at the thought of being able to go out and enjoy the trails in Fairmount park together in the summer and do our runs together as a family when marathon training season comes around again. We can't wait to share our love of running with Bean.<br /><br />So here is my question to all you running moms out there. I originally thought I would get the Bob Ironman, but after testing out the Revolution and talking to a father at the running store (who had a Baby Jogger and a Bob Ironman) he suggested for us, we may want to go with the Revolution with 16" wheels since we will be doing a lot of walking/running on trails.<br /><br />Does anyone have on opinion on the <a href="http://www.bobgear.com/strollers/stroller_accessories.php?product_id=9">Ironman</a> vs the <a href="http://www.bobgear.com/strollers/stroller_accessories.php?product_id=4">Revolution</a>? Really, it seemed like the only major difference where the wheels and the fact that the Ironman has a fixed front wheel. I am worried about the Ironman's wheels on the trails in the parks around our house, but I obviously want something fast and slick on a flat surface (any help I can get to become faster is always appreciated). Decisions, decisions...<br /><br />Oh, and here is a pic of me at 37 weeks since I haven't posted one in awhile. Of course, I'll be at 39 weeks on Wednesday. Eek! So close!<br /><br /><center><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/C0YNPs9YWZ2Q-scCZi4gNw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/S4MwtvZkEWI/AAAAAAAABj8/Jt3gnqAmsQE/s400/Picture%202.png" /width=500></a></center>Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-16674249674219890392010-02-15T17:01:00.000-08:002010-02-15T18:37:28.109-08:00Nursery TourThere is nothing like a couple of days of being snowed in to make you get some stuff done around the house.<br /><br />The nursery is finally complete. It's great to be able to walk into the room and finally feel like there is nothing else that needs to be done before she is born. It's a great load off my shoulders.<br /><br />The funny thing is she probably wont even sleep in there for months since we plan on having her sleep next to our bed for a month or two. But at least I know I don't have to worry about finishing the room once she's here and I have zero time to do it. I love checking things off the list.<br /><br />As far as the nursery goes, there is no overall look. It's a really small space so I didn't have too much to work with. I am not into themes and can't even settle on a color scheme. I love trees and owls, so it's inspired by that, but the rest is kind of a hodgepodge. I just like collecting things that I think she will enjoy looking at and had fun finding some of my favorite toys packed away from when I was a little girl. I hope she will enjoy some of them as much as I did.<br /><center><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/TqpShBkRhYhot0uiG4L6Tw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4sQRl2PChDbDzqooHeTNAghnmUQSPr3evrqr5ccBKa_PHSD17iJamtdxUbVAlVyjkGQ1OMBWff8GuvnpFVKt5nWAL8LJXucGDp1OXh8_AVYbnIjyYidVVh7ksfKDzAiExphF_AA/s400/Picture%2012.png" /height=600></a><br /><br />Wall color "Lime Rickey", Sherwin Williams. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Babyletto-Modo-Convertible-Crib-Espresso/dp/B002HORL1I">Crib</a> by Babyletto.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7HCc-nsEL1RSBH7trtUZIg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf7dQmSZbuwJIYaoPJv6DGNpDQQVyl1gIcoX76GCdx6PgTBMdJvipYAnXzX8EJiDRL7cCsFmZC5XvZN7KSvjVO-lHmncjMrqJ6J__-u3tK-Y3ZA7mME8V0GrNyyu0Utim-w-KJyw/s400/Picture%2016.png" /height=600></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=32422030&ref=sr_gallery_15&&ga_search_query=wall+decal+tree&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=1&order=date_desc&includes%5B%5D=tags&includes%5B%5D=title">Tree decal</a> by walldecors.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rlQ31lgWN2sSS6nKCCCAsg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbJykc6cTOZDCbObNJ5TpY6CJUZhKBHCE-I62D9cAt1gGY-1I-d96JCp2C5DuyuhrF7_IDGl-nRFcnmvuk5OLXjfyUChY9I2lzJ3zlqoE2Vsj3KxdWBhxs0I9Mb-olinVYhBVNA/s400/Picture%2015.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/39LNBishcHIlLIc1NWbsnA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1Xxos00WBwIPrJAe4IL9w4ux6DROSQ_BHgccPUlFN_qL_3hKebz-YyXQLLVKdwehl5cA1ldE_BJ-ijeKCIIYf8QVJxICG89gmrBN83tNoHf28bK546IEGJ-FvyN3p9JU-xQ8AQ/s400/Picture%2018.png" /height=600></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/vW05c6if5r0ZhcMCXUMvUQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRe3ehioK18tj9smzGyJaQwOZk05TVeNuOl8zMrGXKAN9XrNstN00snVOO8-2is6jsYiXEAsrht1YwIFJoMREjFxPHm9jDYAcXBMBFBKSuDULSZvvsp0cYuqsVDiWJjlu1raNvw/s400/Picture%2019.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Blanket embroidered with "Bean". :)<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Ur9E0dfyPti19C6qe3IV_A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpAMMh0opWcEVsmw3EcpqKgkDHqJ9SKBMwbJ7rryHQtjIU8V3HTZzzd3zGOH4MDQp6kDqY4HKvVWAz8hT3290VE5Xt3iWwUiLURqY6bajGOeS5FRMlFpvc-Pfdmol5MaoBUBU2LQ/s400/Picture%2050.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />My mom made this wall hanging after being inspired by one she saw on etsy.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LACAe310R-r7vVxNkLm8aQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/S3noaFAPwwI/AAAAAAAABdE/hhCAR7b5jDo/s400/Picture%2010.png" /height=600></a><br /><br />Switchplate by etsy seller <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33127076&ref=cat3_gallery_6">funkychickendesign.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lGIok6PPaR5_APUQXBKlcw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKRxbJGG6hcrpHVDELn2yfhSFWXbE_fjkq5NQhc2MQOpzRr4x7rkbWGqu_wxMj5RIW184VBMn3uqoRhnhVaqYIEZqaCdE0qQmz-T-hc6rawMZisyuTPosuyurZkICCVZFc5-1Bw/s400/Picture%209.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/H9BXEYpG0yxA8RsqepKOkQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxFDZkYmaatXhxEdVXt8aAmFnNupetcGQyE9qrFg6-KuAtOOEDk1viYu-CiKFPT9uG-HvGP5jn7ym4IsLL_IKpC1qVo9da6uoPKwpTxvxECBExIW4FGR5c02oTRU5ezj-MUI4NOg/s400/Picture%2040.png" /height=600></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/WW8FlwIXLs5VlmADsQWz5w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pKapVYFLd0ehnjej3RRhHl1n8gDagSqEs24HP2lkFCJYOzgNLgBgKg6-aTSWd5h1UPZBtT533VFgxgIVmjKlB7dS-poLOf4ipkR5rhqKqCVsxtXSHHNU74hw2ATDdY9NbE2m1A/s400/Picture%2013.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rNM1lMNpmWYxM0KOcuqjGw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxnlcv7nxEBFA20tWPXxWRYyV8206JWaH6eVyX13a1BIAqL9hE-MY0w1wF3JMmJ3nM0_QfDIxfEIqmMH1CP8gOPoHvbYeArnAXkSbr3spdJtqigdAAiicJYGfDDvybaL-IkLiXOA/s400/Picture%2014.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zSda-FHU-zCVwcDjW31bNw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Za4gqisa0yAoPo6R6QMBdCJfxf2fy5OOrJJmxx0LA6gi8X_psDkIlSZWCmohEMydjVOR78m3ifZm3345icO-m468OOL6iOohhXfoq-_Hp5zKQkrpytQd7h2SiwrW3V7R0-jwow/s400/Picture%2020.png" /height=600></a><br /><br />Lyrics to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYwvJbkaDs0&feature=related">one of my favorite Beatles songs</a> that I laid out in inDesign, had one of my awesome print vendors from work print for me and then framed with an inexpensive Ikea frame.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mJb6abSuuQqBWSaNb62M8A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqEVjP5D3t9iIh_XmEFRYitqCgk02Yx1CfU_SEEe1ZBrAYaZ7Ge3X4Cn2Mn-0m3tQGaf5EAF8dQOn6wGXz0JWcfvrKFjt_a1fHsHMRN4CGVwhi4V8oMPQLL1tkn_uLGdNPwR3kw/s400/Picture%2021.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Blizzard number three outside. <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90115327">Lamp</a> and <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70141681">curtain panels</a> from Ikea.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FmZSgFkIcDSKJKNW9-no0w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpKdWIJjwCK5i0Rc2v9u0wvL0eBxcjNAv2RrKpJUxx5HnVXJPaKb4ajenomckOprKQGYaXNAdieMGmW24AeLFYSSTYHbHjmrpd22F63x_tkVhyvRYyKDqXEieJDHHRF92VUQUM1A/s400/Picture%206.png" /height=600></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Jvf9biNMEaXcAaiGme2EzQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8clQNHQVKiAPKediWjb8KSYvIfwY0faM2T6N637A4FvXb1WgN-9JTm1vi0RNvEbAWlXSC5q9oe49d8YuUkiEZVe4GwjMUmjGHa21oKO8wH8WPuKWMoYqDAGSvoBN7vTibjOoRWA/s400/shelf6.jpg" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/46v07GDlUpzef05vrrz4xQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMSi8hhARi6TlOFG2Uwf0AFwr16rd37NatEhdZ5O52_pU6yfs_O2IVQqXfj6bDg13oCVWoT-2yXMrzQUPRE7wM1jFJFezg-5esfH0gHbaC8U3Ggftc9YE9X1KW8PD-pxG0fY2vqA/s400/Picture%2022.png" /height=600></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-bI4Z15cPEEY4iWV2WFZTg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/S3nqFk3ZXlI/AAAAAAAABe0/zpzgPTaPaSU/s400/Picture%2035.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />My grandmother made this heart for me years before she passed away with her and my grandfather's old buttons, pins and cuff links.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5fkZobXjqGEbfidxdrJ-Lg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gjiV3qpMx-CoX3TMPSSczGRGFgAe25y2ZdsPVSLi56vRWQieDHDE0xiAE2iDvlN7rzlFZhCyoyKP2RIU_HX2RCuPGKgoDJ4yz475tjhyrFp81qG8BG6uiq9WLhkhdv0psmNtaA/s400/Picture%2036.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/XTrxiv0B4eDcq4Mli50CMw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD32jXZ-4DO4abiiuniMMY9dpp5sF5UYWIuwhlPHY85Fy2Zp4Tke3pFrr1lUnKDOstkfbLCSIBbnqV3gtm1Idw8fPUORADlVpvv-p0aesHOhsPmxJ45U73iKPHyT3WSTS0R_dNuA/s400/Picture%2034.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/vVAtlZn10X2NEH33_jJifw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/S3npMLGU3uI/AAAAAAAABd4/EMHaMamV0o4/s400/Picture%2023.png" /height=600></a><br /><br />My favorite Little People from when I was a little person.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/N0ni0GEkODM6ruL0RAwvIA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCemFXREk0etPD-CrkWDaxh7UQNAUCGWlXP71IVsKwK-_7qdlgyred0VJXqNSK426mZahTCLyI1b_37bL7kPCU79lrGgtDs5pz2wNIaeRSJbA7mZgWSDXd6dI06klsNQQcj1tbHA/s400/Picture%2026.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RPHQfwKUfUnVTjpuuDLsYw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/S3npM2XkW0I/AAAAAAAABd8/6xpWeBMQEkM/s400/Picture%2024.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tUHHUv5ARMqRNe5cYU-1Ww?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizVFMKwyLHhJKg8fvxezHTY4pMJE-Xb9nhtfwgpPwF8zWt-jWfQIzeNgNAiuMt0b4F02Mqxvdiibm6MXp9gWdhRvzpSMWG8XGbcKLtqQQWcZ5emPDlVLFqY89vxeasw2qBkkGW6g/s400/Picture%2025.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />The orange Fisher Price stuffed toy was mine from when I was a baby.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wJETYG_VQ5FTxBcLZFQLrA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/S3npzAXkLkI/AAAAAAAABek/3NIoyUdRd78/s400/Picture%2033.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70153805">Changing table</a> by Ikea.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/JS_Q_hnJ9KmgKt-TK1V6ig?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLNZh8oaA_m5suk19qb8PZEDl-6Qw-z6YpLC3w7qu7xhsqWt6B9QovCwcL4Y08XjtaLaelp6SvizZ9oAJhM1_C1m5MrKaj_8SEg9RJGSfK3DJQlOMGkY-6Hf__AIYDYyA2Yr2RZw/s400/Picture%2037.png" /height=600></a><br /><br />The Pink Panther was my FAVORITE stuffed animal when I was a kid.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8QsB7bhXEPYKfbnv1vTC8Q?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq8xQcwEcmJc2FEKeWa-3QMxjxkPns57saYeVT29l0hA1eORHPzWrq0j0LT8VldJsJFbARYYneW6W6sA5GsPZny7ZTVlEecbHzEno9VsibVJ0pENu4SVrzYpo5LHKP-XlL2o2Hng/s400/Picture%2029.png" /height=600></a><br /><br />Elephant Jeremy bought Bean in Amsterdam.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/_vQEBJ3mBK1ikDhLkIceTg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2rA9mU3cJWjjuaJS9L1oiSQ_OeSsETU6Yj2RJBBBLBVAmW64jtpBcVEWrXu1V345lMHmQYp1_LORCVcdL0ZAweTPc2mPQHiMYrVzHd4Rkm3TDkQKOF_8Br0X7vsQ03jvMSeDbGg/s400/Picture%2053.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kQX_p9ThZ7_QSu4Jc69FSg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFj2ScHeLHLfLloRFEDYVrQHgAy1134yH3ljWu_jQxZdxJOlseNHYYnT11Lqf6bfF5BwgBTdUQk709SbiI5ME4nQAeFlIf_dBV5LLOXQpNa283SdTdkbLkqB_T3fqthvZwIo2SA/s400/artwork.jpg" /width=500></a><br /><br />Baby pictures of mommy, daddy and big bro, Dakota.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-9UK9kHkWgUvYsJkOt_r3g?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOYSXfF1PBrdWAFXz4Pmr8N9-opLX9GJzJHdAN8LnPlPZ8rkWx6HJhy-dhjelY1YfGKqM1ZbdojCFMxsxXX38ahrBdisLwnYxzcRkUzTtBFvcaGst2hsW3JduzU5ZjRPMiUJ-Y4A/s400/Picture%2032.png" /height=600></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HgTL_49EAOwGlx0NeA92Zg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUVPfRwVK0vdsFO9apZW-chDnwZu6DxnGoZmlWX6sTfL6Lt0ord76iVmZu8qUCY0EYrMssWP4vRQmMCNn2ewFQhdf7-QKIjONsypWoplvmORBDR7AatDQjdgYSMnEh3mjiLlMRAg/s400/Picture%2042.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/vZF3WXSlWcSD62HOyD3fYg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUbJcRLGGMrodnZjNsHNaRgkh9oukydxkM2KNdn2nrdPspLTkviE2ja-m73kxKFuecWCg549GULTZPMuZPHOgPUMTk9EFtO9hraqz6tDByybw_qbxfszjEI3LHu1QyTMamKGBW8Q/s400/Picture%2039.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RLDYgJ5KqgRP-4CHx6b60A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6-6hEpIuG6Ly-nqyzOIa_v27VZMYlx9Z0GVzTUZ5qnK6JhwudD3rYzlK3nqm1H6ddvyiRhqVlBo8EOU-1n_Uu3QueBTJN48WVva6EIRp9MTK8B6Yj_oeeWA0fcaKpoS3S3HV-A/s400/Picture%2027.png" /height=600></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0Oku71h2I7BtnUhWIXGLuw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj3R-0_ewhh41y2qik7tBuClQjeP_yuW_TXkyB0py7zUkEZgg4gHwp9K0hz9lS8x8RCftwRzzM8JwEYgWmWDr5vhV3hyrYRO4a8h3gNYHZ6x-efSwaWp_sQdNN2rRXbEIi6YLCQA/s400/Picture%2051.png" /height=600></a><br /><br />Details of quilt my mom made for Bean :)<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8ThCqN8VO97JyfvGxFdStQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTc8MWdFXPprDMOW5cI50wZsCIlFhdXlPHwKka4ZhaBozi4kH-YD9jDv_mQLAPztrMUan694tkxKXyWXHqqrHzqCr2Y8KaWvyVEinMt62D_jNNUQ_okc5EqwHwRnEPSigvEB8-mw/s400/Picture%2048.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />My mom started to knit this when she was pregnant with me, but ran out of yarn with only a small patch to go. When I got pregnant, she found someone to finish it for her with the same yarn she had used 34 years ago.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/EI7SFlnhNBwSXkGsquuHiA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOtUhr97N4pCJOnw2f_7kNr1a2NUI_Xlmat7_eNDCawjlCP7iF0YudLN63Fu20-AhtQxrhONBFovWDicmS9s1NSnnLqZCESPMf9HIiI-5sx78WMnZd8neZtjksbEmJjDXNKVbnYA/s400/Picture%2028.png" /height=600></a><br /><br />Beautiful homemade blanket made by Jeremy's cousin, Carey.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jK0AKRvJ8dhumH_yLk3dXA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQxTPEBW7kUqotlLqPjerN9cc0K64XFAeNlaOlLBakESrUMh_fMLBOmGiDJsrjor-VSFUYoceU0EjHGEeYVCSO4JkBJpz2M_04BFuCyoL9vaEnvUjCZyvS2aR-OqqkouVK5eXYA/s400/Picture%204.png" /height=600></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/BUnaryuI_r0Yt19CfSEoXQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/S3nrX6GaUJI/AAAAAAAABgA/MfkYbsaGH7A/s400/Picture%203.png" /height=600></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dznIAbX6JivYcgDKA46GwA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BtaP7NDOSxIRtmngCRh2nUwOH45tcdISZ2HO8fYHOYJYjIKlgqgW8aCGWztcCPI-KBudWSqBWE9Zwh4sEnoR_Db7Y9l3gS3m6bsPgekgslCbxQq7SekfY4xPlLFeEq5sRkJKQQ/s400/Picture%2043.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />My mom made these burp cloths for Jeremy...<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5NiH2V5iWc_ylNcSE4Fheg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIgIZjDNoOJjYb2oprGK-BLhlc9-t33T8JCXatO8c4PungkFOExldNS9sWUcKQVIS7hm8Uw0AjqCyeVZeCuhCZrZZKkxioSYivAy7iQkRl9fnUC1TeArxlAhmIbl0xGTwT82n8lg/s400/Picture%2045.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />...and these for me :)<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7eBWL5cyPA15dVPdbQ4fkA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/S3nrl_V0DLI/AAAAAAAABgM/n0r0sH1fBXE/s400/Picture%2046.png" /height=600></a><br /><br />Fortune I got when I was in my first trimester.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/CATV8i9lSN0dohPcDmkW8g?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfuMmIgiedbvN-CBW18gA6WJAAah7C-GagYbDwwpXnY_WJS4cQxBmMe7AifszdtBefY6rPCYkAQjyIUQ7ITLTxcLj2N5QzOVrS-Db-fep0mATunWMn9yCSF9jO6Ua78TW9CzSINQ/s400/Picture%2052.png" /width=500></a></center>Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-66429443327918481082010-02-08T19:01:00.000-08:002010-02-08T19:30:14.043-08:00Marathon Training vs. Labor TrainingLast Sunday, one of my very best friends ran her first marathon. She trained diligently for over five months for the perfect race experience, only to end up with an injured IT band 4 weeks before the big day. She went to PT every other day in the remaining weeks, did all her stretches and exercises, discussed all her options with her therapist, mentally prepared herself and in the end, decided to just run the full, get out there and see what happened. <br /><br />What happened was four miles into the 26.2 mile journey, her knee started bothering her and she went from her 9:30-10:00minute/mile pace to a 13:00-14:00 minute/mile pace. She ended up finishing about an hour and half slower than she had trained for all those months and cried pretty much every step of the way.<br /><br />But when she called me afterwards to tell me about her race, she still had that sound of amazement and joy of someone who just ran her first marathon. Sure, she said she was never going to run another one again (who hasn’t said that after their first marathon?). Sure, she said it was the most painful, strenuous, exhausting thing she could ever imagine doing. But even still, you could tell she was amazed by her will, astounded by her body and proud of her accomplishment and the fact that she didn’t give up, even though it really, really, REALLY sucked. I know in a few months or maybe even weeks, she will have fleeting thoughts of her next big race. She knows she could’ve done it better if the situation were different. She put in all the training and was doing great for weeks. But no matter how much preparation you put into it, you just never know what you’re going to get on race day.<br /><br />Which reminds me of something my wise husband said to me a few weeks back.<br /><br />One afternoon, I was sitting there listing off all of the things I wanted and did not want for the delivery of Bean and the endless ways I was going to make sure these things happened. Jeremy just lovingly smiled and then gently reminded me that preparing for labor and delivery (and parenthood for that matter) is like training for a marathon. You can train and prepare all you want for the perfect race experience, but when the big day comes, you only have so much control over what cards you are dealt and you have to be mentally prepared for many different game plans.<br /><br />How did my husband become so smart all of the sudden?<br /><br />It really is funny how true this statement is. And all runners/parents can relate to it. <br /><br />As soon as you sign up for the big race or see that positive pregnancy test, the first thought through your head is:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"> “What the hell did I just get myself into?”<br /></span><br />When that wears off, it’s time to prepare. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">First you get a ticker.</span> <br />(marathon ticker/pregnancy ticker)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Then, you need to figure out what kind of outcome you want.</span> <br />(run for fun, a new PR/ natural childbirth, epidural, c-section)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What plan do you need to adopt to make sure you meet your goal?</span> (Galloway, Higdon/Lamaze, Bradley, Hyponobirth,)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Then there is the need to read everything you possibly can on the subject</span>. <br />(<span style="font-style:italic;">Born to Run</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Runners World</span>/ <span style="font-style:italic;">What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Ina May’s The Guide to Childbirth</span>).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Not only in print but online.</span> <br />(Running Lounge, running blogs, running forums, weather.com/the bump, baby blogs, pregnancy forums, babycenter.com)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">There is the change of diet.</span> <br />(Eating healthier to lose weight, finding something that wont upset your stomach on a run, loading up on carbs/eating healthier to gain weight, finding something that wont upset your stomach in the first trimester, loading up on everything for no good reason)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">There is endless product comparison and shopping for your new obsession.</span><br /> (running shoes, running clothes, gels/ strollers, car seats, diaper rash cream)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">There are the friends who can relate to you and LOVE to talk about their experiences.</span> <br />(marathon runners who will tell you how AWESOME it is and how you should follow their training plan, marathon runners who only want to talk about their horrible race experiences and try to scare you/ mothers who will tell you how AWESOME labor and delivery are and how you are dumb if you do it any other way, mothers who only want to talk about how horrible their labor experience was and try to scare you)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">And friends who totally cannot relate to you.</span><br />(Why would you EVER want to run a marathon? /Are you sure you’re ready to have kids?)<br /><br />Then, it's time to taper. And the real obsession begins...<br /><br />This Wednesday, I will be 37 weeks. That's officially full-term. My taper is about to begin.<br /><br />And no matter how much I've prepared. No matter how perfect I want everything to be, I know I can only obsess so much. Because on that day, it's out of my control. I just need to show up prepared and focused, but with an open mind and ability to trust myself if I need to switch game-plans at the last minute.<br /><br />No matter how the race unfolds, this time I'm coming home with the best medal yet. A definite PR.Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-32982963691654796602010-01-22T17:21:00.000-08:002010-01-23T20:59:01.682-08:0034 Weeks<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/AyVgrJkC36pM938zJkvHow?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP-wiYJtIPsuR8OEw9kV8YEe0y5nhaYspfVNRnoltP5tPjpRsjDB3kFdoP7ZZ0ib1SRi176oNSITIiKSHpjTldSr_w-VCZI7tgJsSFoy2mo_Di_06fuxw8fEplQKGHpg5kJ_gF5Q/s400/34_weeks.jpg" /width=500></a><br /><br />I feel bad coming out and saying it, but I think you have all been replaced.<br /><br />I still read your blogs and am inspired by all your running, but I have to admit, not running for 26 weeks has made it difficult to read about it. Not only because I am extremely jealous, but also because I have just kind of lost interest in it. It's hard to admit, but in a way I am enjoying the mental and physical break. I mean, I hate the fact that I haven't been able to do it for so long and hate that it's going to SUCK when I try to start up again, but in a way, I love that it's just one other thing I don't have to check off my list of things to do.<br /><br />Especially when I am less than 6 weeks (hopefully) from having my first child and obsessing over all the things that I still have to learn: pain coping during natural childbirth, pros and cons of interventions, breastfeeding, vaccinations, what to do with a baby when she actually gets here, what to pack in a diaper bag, what to pack in a hospital bag, what the numbers on diaper boxes mean (I thought the 1, 2 and 3 were for ages, much to the amusement of my co-working mamas). Go ahead and laugh at me, it's fine.<br /><br />I'm TOTALLY clueless I tell you and lately it seems, I clueless about EVERYTHING. And no matter how much time I have left, it will never be enough time to learn all the things I feel I still need to learn. I still have about 2-3 books I want to get through and everyday I find a new, fascinating website that provides more information than anyone could ever possibly need to know.<br /><br />But I have to admit, the one thing that has been taking up most of my time the past few weeks has not been educating myself on pregnancy, childbirth and parenting. It's about something much more important...<br /><br />NURSERIES!!!<br /><br />OK, so decorating a nursery is obviously NOT more important than those other things, but when you are deep into the "nesting like a mofo" chapter of your pregnancy, cleaning and organizing the house and getting the nursery all set up and ready (even if it's still 6 weeks before your due date) seems like the ONLY THNG THAT MATTERS RIGHT NOW!!<br /><br />So, that's what I've been doing the past two weeks. Lots of nesting, decorating, cleaning, shopping (<span style="font-style:italic;">"YES JEREMY, WE NEED TO HAVE A BOX OF DIAPERS AND BABY TYLENOL IN THE HOUSE RIGHT NOW, JUST IN CASE"</span>) and obsessing. And in the course of all my googling nurseries online, I have found some pretty amazing blogs out there from super-creative moms and the amazing spaces they have created for their little bundles of joy.<br /><br />So there you have it. You have been replaced with blogs on nurseries, pregnancy, child-rearing and baby craft projects. Never thought I would be <span style="font-style:italic;">that girl</span>, but I am. <br /><br />Don't worry though. I'll be back to obsessing over Gu flavors, running shoes, <a href="http://www.weather.com/">weather.com</a> and 20 milers again in no time. I've already got the Philadelphia Distance Run and Marathon on my radar in the fall. :)<br /><br />Other than that, things at 34 weeks are good. I'm slowing down, but still feel alright. I'm much more tired and feel like I have grown SO much in the past two weeks. Actually. I know I have since I suddenly gained 3lbs in the past week. This makes for a grand total of 28lbs so far. Not so bad, but the sudden growth spurts do tend to hurt a bit and I'm starting to notice a few more aches and pains. <br /><br />For example, when I get up any of the 32 times a day I have to walk to the bathroom from my office, I actually have begun to waddle a little because it feels like my pelvic bones have spread apart while I've been sitting there. I can't believe I'm a waddler. People actually laugh at me as I walk by their desks. Sigh.<br /><br />Thursday night, I had my 34 week appointment and everything was great. Bean is measuring perfectly and her heartbeat is strong. Her noggin is down and her feet are up, already making mama proud. Keep up the good work Bean! <br /><br />Finally, tomorrow, Jeremy and I have our childbirth class. We signed up for an amazing, one-day intensive <a href="http://www.maternalwellness.org/index.php/programs_and_services/childbirth_education/">Birthworks</a> class at the <a href="http://www.maternalwellness.org/">Maternal Wellness Center</a> that is literally a 5 minute stroll from our house. Very convenient and I love the fact that we do not have to spend 3-8 weeks taking a class. My midwife assured us we will get all the information we need about of the one day, 4.5 hour course as we would the one that spans a few weeks. I'm really looking forward to the class and am excited and nervous in a way to see how J reacts to it. <br /><br />I'm sure as soon as we leave the class, the obsessing over the nursery will quickly change back to obsessing over birthing. After all the research I have done, I am fully committed to having a natural childbirth, but get many, many, <span style="font-style:italic;">many</span> fleeting thoughts about how difficult and painful it is going to be to push a human out of my body. <br /><br />Of course. I run marathons. It shouldn't hurt that much, right? ;)<br /><br />Don't worry. I am fully aware of how that statement is going to come back to bite me in the ass.Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-34116784347011271052010-01-10T17:35:00.000-08:002010-01-10T18:42:34.328-08:0032 Weeks and yep, more photos...I should just turn this into a photo blog already.<br /><br />I hope you all had a great holiday and a Happy New Year! Mine was busy, even with a whole week and a half off of work. We did get a couple of days alone while our houseguest left for a few days to see his sister, but then he came back with his girlfriend for over a week, so we were busy hanging out with them. We had a great time, but I have to say, when they left on January 3rd, I was SO happy to have an empty house. We have had house guests or been out of town EVERY weekend since HALLOWEEN!!!! I'm ready to be a loner for a little while.<br /><br />Jeremy and I did have a nice Christmas eve. We ventured out to Babies R Us because I had a coupon I wanted to use thet expired that day. By the time we got out there, Jeremy informed me we were NOT coming back out there again, so we needed to get as much stuff off of our registry as we could. So the Bean made out like a bandit that day with a new crib mattress, a carseat, a snap-n-go and a Maclaren stroller (with anti-finger chopping kit attached). Once we get the Bob jogger (not for a couple of months), we will be one of those couples with THREE strollers. Never thought I would become that person, but I have. <br /><br />Christmas day, J and I spent the entire day indoors eating and watching TV alone. It was great. He spoiled me to death (new camera, snow boots, sling for the bean, <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38228959">awesome baby book from etsy.com</a>, a new fuzzy bathrobe, slippers) he's way too good to me.<br /><br /><center>Posing by the tree.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/o_q08VXtzQWRa3lEJQm6lw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/S0p7cyGlScI/AAAAAAAABZc/KCCX21uzxG0/s400/Picture%2017.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Making me Christmas breakfast.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jvC6JSKZU3IW9J8SZUrAgQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0ZIFHajKadPmBRbbhBYNvPNzngsv270J1kmNu9k49RwCH4o3BAjppGZa4mMECCNASyq-iznKNAQk9sIsDwNRerx_S5n4XmTVvhA0jCCmH5csF1hZuXJjZ2TcG8oPFB3Tk99_Iw/s400/Picture%205.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Buckeye helping me test out my new sling.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3s9FKY3qMQl6rlj3A2uwpg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8AUtvMx73Z5mEpNzCmF5vpyTCTDq1Ignq4tZfPls9gcb3vUFt1bmV78-O36Z2bMCpSf9jOYILowgZinTvGuvE6UzFid5n1uqf-WRILAayQn6Tb2W6TtKqUGFALP-SjhZZM4oeIg/s400/Picture%2016.png" /height=500></a><br /><br />Zero with her Christmas gift.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/YPbS6uJCfzSkYtg1ghgTXQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwA_mlYFqcCWK7IKAOvwgGDDEb-Vl0mbdxRAPDEENf6oi9zx-NPVaD5QtK-ZaAgduztwrOuIv-X-yzCQhbALDwBZGzGZkc_C2gn0ltMMC7GYa2lTVn050bU5sVeHVhpku93L57g/s400/Picture%2013.png" /height=500></a></center><br /><br />Two days after Christmas, we met our friends up in NYC for a one night, two day quick trip to the city. It was my first time in the Big Apple, and even though it was one of the coldest, windiest days of the year, we still had a great time. Although I was exhausted by the time we were done.<br /><br /><center>Our first moments in NYC.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KSt3mDtuSz5AR0r3-B50Yw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7q-sfkZRQZMIpU9HC0UTByd8f-UTvWkgrJ6Y2VxcZnejBRz9GNkG2d29N4JyxBEcLTEWyVcMiHA2QIdyhqqQLpT031qDcszXkMcCz7KW9E62fYuc8GT07uSuLpfXd0Bbau8i24g/s400/Picture%209.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />I really need to invest in a maternity coat.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5zWu5LDZIurDd5qM8M8DEw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRSNWBzeB7wfIx10iRl4D6GASKqYMaua3R0SbftYeXXE0SQ7EWounk2YZoZqwOS03rwRZKmbsvEL6YzG8FUU7VqJWQIx8eTlWv5boDeYi9bJhyPWyz0yisgun0z8QsyWpBp63TQ/s400/Picture%2013.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MFJBSeXnrMVhPv866cgHqA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/S0p6PSaz2zI/AAAAAAAABYI/1stB0BvjdJE/s400/Picture%2015.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/_hGmX2bM1Hm_bgTw4th8Nw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LG63k9Q1sktzujYc1JScNrRaopepCNbIDcU7-jjps6LrAcwW3-T1COQxp9KRWc658tYlcbaNzDx3tvEGAL4Gc8C2wP6uW1Mop4GVjM_0MqqASJq3ihf49VeZz6sGHSRQ3osKEg/s400/Picture%2014.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Qris-Je5CuDLUaKqppxrfg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqRa-nt_bUHokGp331jlERpAsDfM90TFjEjtRVryx9ydN8oMxb1E0PSCMt_MQJBm8EMOKI6Z_wBDJd7GmCNLiH4c0GAPX4kliFfezbAN_3TW5k4mrBi_PNKTrRTl8n5eTc9Q3XjQ/s400/Picture%2025.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/YUuAXigpT3_eEXPGuivHBg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4A9J4T_eM67KoqcuzHiuu_TeW99beyshl-jtvdUUWAAOd8xJcsxAlVIEzqzDRkYgmPCcfwddoBDY7h_V5c_8zTP5YByuqLHljaaDv3EQ_4KBf6gnOMJvd-gKideqY8i9SKoiBSQ/s400/Picture%2011.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Freezing our butts off in Times Square.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/JMDMfMpC7O1Va7zI7RutkQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7Ogg086-bTrdHBG6D5Jb4mr7pj6jehZFvWgVzwApHWECRmb45r37LIFl9YXNSNGKqjneDHBC0OmES0DGLvx5hGg4yJl_KVkHejEnj8gYsrBGpy1PCrCpIpEwspLatY51BnFpmg/s400/Picture%2036.png" /height=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bWhpgikxzmgeSXivj3vPrw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_9axMyhNUuLHXpQL0QB4kbfAKCTICTdOEqbxtJcah57n-YfVD3Fe3s1M9a75eDp415bbU9QOoi1VnqM2JmUzF06EheiF69MTedjSz05A8aNOnsdMyoe6jL-oRLEuhhG1DbiRbg/s400/Picture%2039.png" /height=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fNvEPb5059O9IMu7wp_CMw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUn8kqUm4m1SQ8hqhd5ToWBs-GvzmrUCrAk_1R7aE01RTemDEoiMRDAVnuIMhjhiiP5UtwGD4cp-oPJo_1nkF1_4b_862BpCyusc5JBZLHanHsRBqsjW0sajVVKWVPyFd4Eribw/s400/Picture%2046.png" /height=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7J5H5iGcywgVYNixXwVAfA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/S0p69GkWi8I/AAAAAAAABYw/nVZHRprUpqU/s400/Picture%2054.png" /height=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MLrfxNXeeX3xhAZHNCeuWg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjfm5kwv_G5pVebcFR4NarC9vCoz_UeISp-Vv8OHOfnmwA81WXSzcbAs8AwuXGcfEls-j-KRZlGyQGJ5ePMI0DqA4-Xqq_L4FsDRzeDs8gWDeIxRrd_-JBmkMSkWcqhSPYSgEbQ/s400/Picture%2048.png" /height=500></a><br /><br />On top of Rockefeller Center.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/XaZrGuq7KZfkp1PTEnnTQg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBET06IJgQsa6POI6O_IGWqnXuAXRkVmeYaUEvKVLx0O0q7qwv_fTVkuJqDO_McqY7W9_fcrdhmL5bVCPvjdZPpP7jTFwizATPQZAh70IWIoebQ2_vMz86Wi7bNXaRnykOFjFZdQ/s400/Picture%202.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Central Park.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ouSISjM7HwnbWI3oBnRRlg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/S0p690sT5fI/AAAAAAAABY4/DlRYpNC8Aic/s400/Picture%2012.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Empire State.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jJPa1K6ncd2rQ2UlgRaWMg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ZO8A3jhz35PiC8XW6QhLFOBSfKRvEf77xfsAxcvBLgozvd_2DAye7TCSGuOs4NGIMqGezB44hjpAszriGfpFFtcAOfKnKUtpl5o5kB6bi7Bdjk78-GA5M7nfiKygLBZrVuCyJQ/s400/Picture%2016.png" /height=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/G_ysu6c8o5zkeU__3_CoRA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUnO282J4jWpIityrP-1h9Y499MC0vPV98QLtYN2ltRUco7LoH4b-g_rWpXDRBcZ2GVUmdu-3FS9EjjGFliINWtBLxqyIvs10WBtUTqHS9mfYj5IBbyfP3io5sH3X_cjKYzJyQ_A/s400/Picture%2019.png" /height=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/TT_RUuXwplO19bT4UIc-1Q?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsf9n0_JZ6vi0MDXfGzmillApQ3IJaIAmAoypkxjvYgbp41Bzs5VuXmnYDgQqluY7UFs7UemnqpTI49QEhxnuMutpVvA2cZvnsXdDbodrvwDgGlgfNXsw9FHVYmgVLjc2ohwPClQ/s400/Picture%2031.png" /height=500></a></center><br /><br />Of course, there are a million more pictures, but I'll keep it short.<br /><br />The next few days we just hung out at the house with our friends. I did manage to get a little more of the nursery accomplished, I'll post pictures of that later. Unfortunately, we didn't do anything for New Years eve since we all got sick after running around New York in the cold weather. I've found out that a cold takes a lot longer to get over when you are 8 months pregnant.<br /><br />Other than that, just back to work, which is starting to take a lot out of me. It's getting to the point where I am looking forward to the 12 weeks of maternity leave almost as much at meeting the Bean. Not quite, but almost. :)<br /><br />I'm still feeling good. I'm just getting to the point of feeling uncomfortable lately, but it could be a lot worse. I haven't taken any good belly shots for a couple of weeks. Here is my last one from 2 weeks ago.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jCDjHiw_ZIsUETdBUMbXJQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkX4fURFoHHA7eQEY977f6bkVQySpj_fXE7zfrTZtKiF9n8PZdkI5qrH63hYcVFu2OM3sgfvknbIouyxibuOsF7dYS5XnKqTtGbzFeDPF2R7VJa1kyM40PmVKZTHR5AQlXkPf3g/s400/Picture%203.png" /width=500></a></center><br /><br />Hope you are all having a great New Year!!! My only "resolution" right now is to try and update this thing more often.Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-54065306383023975462009-12-22T18:48:00.001-08:002009-12-22T20:19:01.514-08:00Recent Fun - PhotopoloozaThe past two weeks have been a whirlwind but SO much fun. Between flying to Florida, having a fantastic baby shower, visiting my family and friends, flying back home, going right back to work, having another visitor stay in our house (J's friend), getting ready for the holidays and the "record-breaking blizzard of 09" (for Philly in December anyway) blowing through last weekend, it's been nuts!<br /><br />Instead of hashing it all out, I figure I will do a photo post. Who has time to read anyway? :)<br /><br />First off to Florida where my mom threw us a wonderful baby shower/party. I say party because it wasn't your typical shower. There were finger foods, gifts and one quick game, but it was co-ed and there was a LOT of alcohol flowing (not for me, sadly). We had some of my local friends from high school there as well as friends who drove up from Miami and stayed in a hotel. A lot of my mom and dad's friends were there too. The party went well into the night (almost 2am) and fun was had by all. The Bean also made out like a bandit. She is all set in the clothing department, especially the fuzzy pj with footies department. :)<br /><br /><center>Here I am!<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/SzzebiVj_ZXvqvh3l7_wNg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG37LWebg3IHkSQxYSNN5l0JQQSfm_xLTn-bG0o3-Vk1F3M3bJOYFqS7EM6_Df3aX4HGmOOC7ntrnmhPMCYaBWyNDtp5OWRyoe9XxxNT5Gav1i854pbLcpMKbfHXYg-a-YvNlrIg/s400/Picture%205.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Food!<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/q7WhyByC3eI9qZNat_6WZw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SzF-9Kr-hrI/AAAAAAAABQQ/Y1LReQ3JAzQ/s400/Picture%2022.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />The goods!<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7XnXJwWLrvD5HRDyTO94vQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-0yWbdamr9KuwLs-JuWs0y3Hn0d35BRKkUcSkU63l3Fz2TsaMZiE9gB7o_ld3td_FHD-szrHTGYK1UdByDeqT4z3NXiCdvPrvF4XyGR8FcUKLpei8S2DnKT8F8mW8cwDo1YOVdA/s400/Picture%2024.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jM-4nzgXj0V6IUlxp1g12A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcADNSEHyIfNRMju4V8RyFE3B2SL4AH08pHU7k_fVgDewLGpIChYoOM00uQbkv0YOXQ-QIR-qiMJWOYF058JJROedZFjDeOnGlusgBqaDogiMqnt064Kx4BGpr9CsF_iuyrBwGnA/s400/Picture%20109.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Our one game - "Guess the baby" from baby photos of some of the guests.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/maT4FQKakc41U0zLrwSCAw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SzF-8G_6B0I/AAAAAAAABQI/8nsV5y8XPSc/s400/Picture%202.png" /height=500></a><br /><br />Everyone trying to figure out who's who.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fCojE3BoOOjYJaHCbAHNtw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQR8dkBEEaonpr-vy5qYlGbGT0G1f5n_CGc3Z2ELV_znW_c8mXBm7VAG96KHCAfZwf0I4og1_sNaeGaJHw9rTgrUUGiipozKknrYmokqRtm_aXerLYMLh5aZ9rZWMEsJ-bZl1yvw/s400/Picture%2026.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />My friend Mark and I comparing bellies (with Jeremy's head getting crushed in between).<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NmiCXwwJtQ3eyged1md8yA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MoDluzq0XCgFYhcJUC5xVbcyA_KGwZoq8ddFpF1h9l34Xp_fPMNuZ9Mn8LkImYkLgE9AMuAfjOK-oeSxCyQNGwrLOUrqwCnjsLLkq_sFIci7aPJ4iKvHL6HFdaoXdosLWKB6fA/s400/Picture%2030.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Giving the answers.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nhIDfmloQhJi-UJDxEy_IA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBOuzdT-mSjsvBNmco_C55jDzck5zfwkplUPRODVxMwPmHrDMnT6OsbA6Qd2oxoZYvqjaQFg-Q_7VPn05Y2w9iaQwtxHnPhN5_fkBQ1pg5Pg5G53rLvvd-3odQwp6efCV4Yn9GLg/s400/Picture%2036.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />That's my mom in the pink. The best shower host ever!<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NcSTfzP-8DlGBO5DX-chXA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFsOGX7SA5nqGCm9sEt7E-yq7zBGwxO8YM4RLT7_10nQI_NOBHmzGFCfL1nj4juN5T5P2fZI5hnBXSnKB0O9p3HY5oNeQsrZPft8LVS6YEZWKg15KzryF_9Ir1TGZo4RO_4klp9w/s400/Picture%2038.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />My reaction after a friend of mine from middle school brought a HORRIBLE picture of the two of us from 1986 - NOT a good year for me. Notice Jeremy trying not to crack up at seeing it.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/A50hR_rCY6K5Cf_cUrz0PQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQpuRw3m1VcmPdeee-KljmhYATdFbXoOLrHHGhZY4U2fRgBQD7fksuDAbn-qgW2G_nsd_eyGjlrbJllHpx6hZq8x67W5RMOg88s1mUHJcU9b4qGiy9a_EDmLKBHxSa2fIhcdAEog/s400/Picture%2041.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Lots of cute clothes :)<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wslp2EJrsU9QalhZCz7Ubg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwywiPpALnhFWa3S75-6XjnWCjlyDt2pnoUPBNyK6CM9ZLIG6GM2vjqM7xNrYffZbpr__Hi06cHM1zdZeA3-gKTaP89-Bh2EvHt5ZGZMw4WxJnjKsKrhhlrsKj0ywr0cy1ZbdvGQ/s400/Picture%2051.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />The beautiful quilt my mom made for Bean. It looks GREAT in the nursery with the green walls too!<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rtooWXSi9CkJAc7QynoccA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5RoxNZSt_1KHNREwTYSCtn5PtklIt4LlXKGPjhuRyb8fVptg7XCERLwgix61uoBVNz4pdnB1pc7_kqfP82fuTSUm_tjYYMadfNeXz1Wi-mHa-1tMaumSXrpPZdVLSqBzQBhyphenhyphen3Pw/s400/Picture%2052.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Me rolling my eyes at Jeremy getting Ohio State socks. Look how happy he is. :)<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rEu0sSVUg8LkCfew2YdBvA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzs8BQm7WKzoEZJ0H-me60O7AdFnW1gV_BHijt5een_e9queCQOG2U7atg6h1P0yy6YLSAigS_2JcHTyPoF7xsxJyXZTUai8iEOmSKb60iXTWASyb0HxBYWbiAR2LB1iwzfVViOA/s400/Picture%2059.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />I have no idea why, but this is one of my favorite gifts. A Carter's set of Ducky fuzzy jammies with footies. For some reason, it melts my heart. And it's SO soft. I can't wait for her to wear this so I can snuggle her!<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oaQlJJg5diReasV8jrUb0w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLwBy0-OybHDKb3upG1QD8kfSUc0ZYgulQZ_qspRahGt6JqEHjjwywhzmHFrq-HSQJSXF8XLYFJJ1GETIaD8rH4T6mN8UYFluXfNDZkXQ1D3KI1n417HdGPo0zzGJ6uyUygVPRQ/s400/Picture%2063.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Jeremy trying to figure out what a "Boppy" is.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2sT3YD8qPK7gfAGipDbyqA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SzGAGzkHqjI/AAAAAAAABRI/Na9UWSpNiPI/s400/Picture%2071.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Two of my very best friends from high school, Wendy and Angie.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dekDmBvUfipJt5ftUbqdEA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHehMvljZBvrq7NuftHlE0tIsHVfci_FF6AUIIdwjVBiiARUT5yQtvMi9XvwZjgEDFHd87sUR2WQxKN8szPcCzNRiPUCoB7MszALq49w2-FGtRaMHI_sHX-9DO5c3Xxu2fFsGLQ/s400/Picture%2076.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Our good friends from Miami (and old running buddies) Kevin and Marissa.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DGVb4v-d2bUpfAkRK8Z79w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXi1nYQixzEH9hJAhDUK4N0wFou763nYyrMzh259uFhf0IPwa4Eq4Pq8wvnvMQQENAGXau7SqlXwLogYqXh5-ti0hiKPkTnscFsIdXYV4XNErkVyf_anWnhYJTq83Aqv_G2grZ6g/s400/Picture%2085.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Another one of my best friend's from high school, Mark and his beautiful wife Andria. We are the Godparents to their wonderful son, Hamish.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Nj8NMDtdjETu8vYag9bcVQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjztcbIs7rstUVBVoR1sjV1pRQp6eTHvj_00vp9sm9XO6mw6ySiWnSNF7GGWoaJFR-3dRE0FrsDOIWoTqULbM8NGS5whSFt19hnvBlWParuNqJbCk8qVxHjIAYThpRPRziMvevyZA/s400/Picture%2086.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Another one of my favorite running buddies (and best friend) from Miami, Mercy and her hilarious hubby Sergio.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/73bxLvaFSBw6Xu8HUxavpw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SzGAqwfab1I/AAAAAAAABRg/L9hr1KExY14/s400/Picture%2084.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />J and I the next morning at the Sunday brunch my mom had at the house for eveveryone.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/6Wc5k1xT-mQ8EqAU_lFy2A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi153A1SEKlsGdhHsUkHXU2QSpQuOCdJwbzdanXISXPr0Zi2mX7B9NLH5ofKmo5JlAxS71U2VOcPrJ-k4rCfsKIFqf-vj7UlOo7Ro-H1682-c6auh0FQeV7kRt6gCOx0oN8sJbcJA/s400/Picture%2091.png" /height=500></a><br /><br />There's our boy Hamish! And in his new Batman shirt we bought him! :)<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dxwsTqFR55A0INuB29N5_w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoUn99RXx_-Y8GvCSslZKMDYeoZIVWNiq4AsjgVMwwfWuXW33wwIASK1rC8FCsWygFMNLdGjfMiM9x8KJ2L9QCEL1bBfH4syWMbUiJuftmStTE9laGVuVIHaT-cPeOfOFAzQYOaQ/s400/Picture%2092.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Group shot!<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qfC5lnzm7-6oQEeyL-rwCw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SzGBKLHnXnI/AAAAAAAABRw/gNKLnJRP9eg/s400/Picture%2093.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cmMTRfu48DxzBS4Qv06Wkw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwmsEuBKPGltlV-k1K0woHml7st8ABXwjSSJq_m4zv3vilVDLDREuExnSNzj22UuQS6qf7RcncKtSmhTQRNHO3OC3eCjofuSNgjiisWoWVdrux2wU0HCF32g6U7-YeDXhkSgBunw/s400/Picture%20116.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />My awesome parents.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LrRa2aA7YlwU9VTZ1tBJzw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SzGBKigqfqI/AAAAAAAABR0/tRYdP-TQKB0/s400/Picture%2094.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Later, on our way to go watch the sunset (one of the things I miss most about Florida).<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1oIx_3HmUY_i6zBCsWShdA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzR1WdEXd4wVtkGm-BQeYkfN0oEy_DUikFkb6VcMprBsSxIIsVzQ9aKhlyOqgZ3y_gVK0dqJLmCg0npnlcxXoahSqa8qGb0-PF-klVIL0g_WSWjJAkJqIe8nhyphenhyphen8izH50C2hX3oVg/s400/Picture%201.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Pelican and Dolphin.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oEdxeT43qVpVAZ9idTr5IA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SzGBfbr-z4I/AAAAAAAABSU/XAfV8Aq63Xo/s400/Picture%2012.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />I miss these sunsets...<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/TY_6k6qmGIaqo4s8U2LuiA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNzNjtgItLywDKtMNJJmjhAaz7iTt0f4k1MdHNF7n3cQqmrbV5beH9dUhMGM5dQpNz3tDq2a4-vAhbDJO6bC9lWQwW5l1S-N3ny_TUjZciX7hxhrYhY0N0nP1M-3huvXhRPDQTlw/s400/Picture%2014.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />And less than a week later...back to reality. A snowy afternoon.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pSgG6rYZuGVKc2_Tc1nQFw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUyuW-hfDqM99OZye3pjgwzWySoUe4Qq6dDmjfcB8JFikbCNNdVA192Ll0xVLTUpecWOwIbRRgfVNBIAMyw036VDKYd0ShSTGEO-1V3RCx4owUUQLNpEOF_iICcCwNnL9WzLi3w/s400/13539_211131524705_646384705_2827757_1532667_n.jpg" /height=500></a><br /><br />My girls settling down for a long, winter's nap.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/6P1XgD51aWfQyhpJcdaPfw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRlcXEqmhqDGHdaMLlbRj_T9OXAhJp58ahHcB9_MY2ijXjgQBMhoxwfryCxF2j1UgdfbXrzaYdiCoNi7abuODRno-4jjWk6BvLOAR4qXfCfY_lUK_pLJcxzvaP3seXr4isgondw/s400/13539_211131519705_646384705_2827756_7376667_n.jpg" /width=500></a><br /><br />Snowed in,<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yEkecRQ2OULonZax459xtg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2XFFMbkFxA1nS4UsVPM58tfEM-7b7WwEspICd1kzjL5f9teCs9yolXpUs96cHomCQr7NiTepryfTne4ej6YKXpXI83oxoHqw48uttwpCmw8s6tpyzhu_bJP_lOO6VTWcKbfT01A/s400/Picture%201.png" /height=500></a><br /><br />That's a lot of snow for a Floridian.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GiujhOUhPmg6szdEy1jpJw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGSaixOh-EksfwtpPBCdtcDj8CIdInQKa73nejTaXkEZfQs6RHgrF-fEQepD45tkENipe5K-aXCmA2OdPJQaVueUg-psPLP8p99PpBxmX3asNTD-g67SckgBgxY8ykUqsQmzL-w/s400/Picture%202.png" /height=500></a><br /><br />13" on the table.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LsAeDuTwR4S4r18B010m2g?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1k3Q42VnrlBT9BWEFUU9Rt2ahdMUcCVJx1eT87QwlNQ5bOYl0ArHRz76uQw-_V7QWc_A_hHMLBCSU_o35DyuUnWNoDL4ND7RDQt56Tr-Qajb8GYinPmeiXS2ezgj0HYNAwY85BQ/s400/Picture%208.png" /height=500></a><br /><br />Jeremy so proud of his new shovel.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9roZsBpUdmfMFZ_K64LUIQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWiMgFh-dVFf5yQ4-O49IhA5LX9W2zhS7BeCIs_y9uhi-8vIPPVKDOrb762ViHp9qdQ9wi1x7Cw4bSIjd7n9oHKlONZNGNirM1sjq8VTlfE1Na8940kxWprskFk9ibu7qFGbUVHw/s400/Picture%207.png" /height=500></a><br /><br />Our snow covered house!<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dsaNe-94usEfahwVeJbiYQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffqxijQFzIK4Sva9I3R8nZ1gS35-j80QEJq4nd7CRzHOlLGE60FSnQCZbIo0p6eZi2fGGLz3kk_tq5Y2ASXZKbell0c8UCRm6mkvg4iiCZOhIHcdJ8mhSO6q5rI8vftns_mevMg/s400/Picture%2011.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />I need Santa to bring me some snow boots.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kLMDVXJ_bfZe7IYw3okmqw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEzx8L9iak3pAa5TFB2iy9Nih4J8UtjUdehSpQfSTOxFR1FhuLoK2t1G_1Kv7gTPgRpQLUW_m_Tzn09Bt5c6KQLHlVl7ptFPNlVeI_hM5r988BOqW2QILs3eDPoWaHzgCWEi5vw/s400/Picture%2013.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Winter Wonderland.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MrxdYNvtXcpboRnNqf2Y_A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhVeDOKj4fJ3T8WgxtCBvQbfOYTm-WAiyi0J_p3HB2om_0RDGDB-mNsbQm0d3h6RzVyc-FGj1IaEPqJRtCFEL2UBVZBJXM-H2IwKVGvw0hHvwSUnZlM2YpumOf20Q_R210AXiQqw/s400/Picture%2026.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nl9YD4sk0UUiYAqejeMhZg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiXu6dm72S3sMlK1UjQLu5wz5-lwXygJcaFFBiZQMgBZgWyyFxvJRl0irb4iLiezMROnksxdsj4EMmdRKC_JT9U1rtf0Bb8zA0K2yHTw8DNMTC7t2gjHorxwztUBshyphenhyphenPVcwZ6V5Q/s800/Picture%2029.png" /height=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/r02QP8LtMVSYNheu2Dr_Rg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62RHS6zKbakwWfdUz0OcH7h4lhoXDpp53VjibF3bao29gCdLfPCaAqRBYRsj_A-66OxH1UgRbkbCzvCm3EuiQOu5bUvLyPQ9jTlai1sV8D5u9Wh5ZeZDpaFtQapmH0PPoKIuJBg/s400/Picture%2047.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LKUTbk3rvKF6APBg_a2fpA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcRIJm3rViKOM6h9NVKZ8NDk-ZzejQbQnM1OlmPSJAda592AePlwVwrW2X-RsX1jLIl4ZcDSuzvhqiIwx3mpUu_CcROBff-BQ9zuvdvcO7M1S-DWsqXsYnit-ftWapS5xQh2vRng/s400/Picture%2052.png" /height=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FETDPQlFkdjy85zaQ1G-FQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Qb4veclBaVFYTSjAlJ8m7-aNLxlXHzy44E-VRWOySdAHGvLStHB6ABNCEMwubi-4S9yIYFkq6rrJgh2IcAEVdN6OKTJIb_S2WHz49H-XhHVuQiDmLWPhGNGxJYHEcXYYAgXSMQ/s400/Picture%2060.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0QZNLDWdrUHtW9EuAben6A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SzGC1LvshiI/AAAAAAAABTg/ItAK76wo57Y/s400/Picture%2067.png" /height=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1jlNfzeMH8lw0cbJHwR-rQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-H9RhiAt8_MrWL4YJwY00cMwVugU9rrzsqRIdoD6RrgpSO34rPbtkoJT0h2onKvEidA5Hp4vWLeCKW2GQyRJcTjjVyfkTnZnjFkoQpnpXinRKuWOC_jlKlLagS2SAuONXwJg_Gw/s400/Picture%2065.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/aMGzI_BMylQi64a1jc3sXQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8oHzl9ezkkmJxsDNJrgthKywxidyvf76s1vgSD_2OECxVMwfAdD0tOyymzyrwHxuzNCfiIvKmpbISAaQ4OqFsb0vcwLK15_HOqVXSGeZVkD-HYYMuGCk9DzTM8LYEcjSMI8C0qw/s400/Picture%2069.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />So jealous of this guy!<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/OUl887BoSZWWO7niUcmVYA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcKOXKkBLLMFAa-Wr0cCUJwJ3rEZ-gdkoqEPibqAdc1NUIRgXGgrTU2VBVLhwPj4ZNAFM_9gUwr30JjhiTYngsNcvNEGFygvvhKK3__cXyBZ1qCLDVNCVgQr0bxcrNbdt7XIctKQ/s400/Picture%2075.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />My studly shoveler.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PIYqTACw2eLsqTkvO7eAiQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcjsqyjcbDEK_fLuOVamgnGvb62uP_Fa7reMEJmJuOD0ivC1TMzLc3pLMvcZ7bCHqnsL6EkNY3Hl1UJs2LyVkyvUz9SqFazKL_Fuer0bEaJi7P3AWcRd6RhP0n5F9wc-s_Tua9g/s400/Picture%2036.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Me pretending to shovel (when really I just walked around and took pictures).<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/K4_vyhR5_UnObiYoY16-Eg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SzGEK7lIXKI/AAAAAAAABT8/n7Bun98i5Lk/s400/Picture%2037.png" /width=500></a></center><br /><br />Now, it's one more day of work then I'm off for a week and a half!!! While we will have visitors for some of it, we will have a few days alone over Christmas to just sit back and relax. I can't wait to do NOTHING except maybe put together some of the nursery and catch up on some running blogs. :)<br /><br />Have a GREAT HOLIDAY!Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-89113029558748040052009-12-09T20:01:00.000-08:002009-12-09T21:00:19.088-08:0028 WeeksWelcome to my 7th month of pregnancy. Also known as my third trimester.<br /><br />Today I am officially 28 weeks pregnant. I know I say this often, but I never thought I'd see the day.<br /><br />This picture was taken last week, but you get the gist. I'm getting HUGE! 20lbs so far and feeling great. She's kicking up a storm and staying pretty drama-free. Just like mommy likes.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RUFTIk2bOsDHfabc2EARcw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzh2heTXb_Gsbuq3KYVvKN3_NZUjchM433yJhlCdEmSn22QryJO0pL0DmDp9WtNMTPYnLms-tFCe_Jkfwukkzu7YpY4x_lEw68LYxYg993T65cwKZRijhTTAy-NJ9IdPXJDEFSZg/s400/Picture%203.png" /width=500></a><br /><br />Things have been good around here, but super busy. I've been feeling pretty great the past few weeks and not had too many particular problems. Well, I did have one day when my midwife told us to go to the hospital to get a heartbeat check because I hadn't felt the baby move at all. That was a little scary, but of course, when we got there, she was totally fine. We also got to pre-register at the hospital, so I didn't feel too bad.<br /><br />The only real symptom I have been suffering from, which is actually kind of scary, is low blood sugar. I have had more than one occasion where I have almost passed out on the train in the morning on the way to work. Two times were REALLY close. One of those times was this morning.<br /><br />Things will be fine one second, then the next, I feel like I can't breathe and before you know it everything goes white and fuzzy. I can't see or hear and feel like I'm going to be sick. I try to lay back and get some blood back to my head, but it's hard when you are stuffed on a train sitting next to someone else.<br /><br />Sometimes I feel it coming on and can sort of talk myself out of it, but this morning and on one other occasion, it was pretty scary. Afterwards I feel totally out of it and lethargic for the rest of the day. I have been checked out for it and everything was fine. My glucose testing came back normal, so my midwife just thinks is may be pregnancy induced hypotension (low blood pressure) or hypoglycemia. It seems like if I eat peanut butter or protein in the mornings instead of say, cereal, it usually helps. I just need to be careful with the sugar spike too early in the day.<br /><br />Other than that, we have been busy with work and house guests! <br /><br />Jeremy's parents were here the week of Thanksgiving and we had a great time with them.<br /><br />The week before they came, my dad surprised us with buying Bean's crib, which was wonderful. Then, J's parent's surprised us with getting our glider! Gotta love the grandparents :)<br /><br />One night, I came home from a particularly crappy day at work to see Jeremy and his dad had put it all together for me (and his mom making a delicious dinner). It was a wonderful surprise. And although that's all that's been done up there so far, it's definitely a step in the right direction. It's starting to look like a nursery!<br /><br /><center><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Eq31hjn1cRP3OH6XWbzvVw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVAoBIDTd4jM4mJUnSPSCQzyQNHsmPuS13rNVohslisU6oOK4dU6CGUqfrpaRpsVzzcWPts_9tp_3IZq_JRoy9mBCs7Vu2BgZ8M43RMEdMP87RcLMGa_PaFPJwFjXiIKrXIiBB8w/s400/Picture%2013.png" /height=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1GtYriqhRxJpY_aW7ad_DA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SyB0k9pr-PI/AAAAAAAABPI/WK_3ou6_qDg/s400/Picture%2014.png" /height=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/udoVtBOHfhvFREMifUU_Yg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SyB0lOqS7DI/AAAAAAAABPM/WK7Z8jnGCJ0/s400/Picture%2015.png" /width=500></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dTn4gx-UG_9V34ydg9hkuQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNQaB2eJivC9k8mxOze0V1x-IlN0-yW_Df7-2oG97eeeEEFO8rzNl33kfTJ-ppJqYKB80vDj0MU5WkogDZ5sfSmT4LVNekVk5saIYw-gQQva3oS-bPvQx652y2tf_hTQoLTVQRg/s400/Picture%2012.png" /height=500></a></center><br /><br />By the way, one of the biggest rackets in the baby furniture business is the fact that cribs don't come with mattresses. I'm sorry, it just seems ridiculous to spend that much money on a bed frame and then have to spend another $100 bucks on a mattress. Ugh.<br /><br />Other than that, we haven't bought too much else for her. We did go a little crazy in the Gap outlet in Center City on Black Friday when we were walking around. We found some REALLY cute clothes and even Jeremy was running around saying, "Look at this! Look at this!" so we went a little overboard there. I think we are the only people who paid FULL PRICE on BLACK FRIDAY at the Gap OUTLET store. Oh well. The stuff was adorable. <br /><br />We also got the first gift off our registry yesterday, which was pretty exciting. My friend Angie bought us a swing for a shower gift and it was waiting for me when I came home yesterday. Always love coming home from a long day to presents! :)<br /><br />And the most exciting thing of all, tomorrow we leave for 5 days for warm, sunny Florida to go visit my parents! We aren't going to be able to make it down there for Christmas this year (the first time in my entire 34 years I will not be home for Christmas...sniff, sniff) so, we decided to go down for a long weekend. Even more exciting though, is that my mom has generously offered to throw us a co-ed baby shower/party while we're there. This is great because while we have some friends in Philly, most of our really good friends are still in Florida. A few of our friends are even driving the 3.5 hours from Miami and staying in a hotel to be there. We are so lucky to have such great friends and family! I can't wait to see them.<br /><br />As far as running goes...well, not much of that going on. Even J is taking a sabbatical and has taken up Yoga and PT appointments instead. One day, this blog will get back into running. For now, we're just training for a different type of race.<br /><br />Have a great weekend!Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-65081010966077372422009-11-22T18:48:00.000-08:002009-11-22T19:18:58.764-08:00Philly Marathon 09A photo race report...<br /><br /><center>The shirt.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DuJFAOqJQeeIcsg2t8W8wA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixe4aXjVo2fuej5JmvFOsV_Bz4gOXFW0tEsVyB1vnhI2F2r2juVsHOHTdmiPWGhZDt-s3JpL0xfids813mdXhP0Q_6eub3kh7syuZNq7o-MIuJr278zpmotfTtiD5y1FTP1Vunvg/s400/Picture%201.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wDC4vmX3Ya_yIShTIL00Sw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5AbtyW84vp0EfvS3T83aZHWIFmlI2tUgo0Pp8d8N9emYbi14wXO6KoCwRrD97VW8J7Zv-rACsCiCIrTjjd6S_kBRToIbui_LurqQ77-KkWtSDSTqaH3u4oFAqW_SsRO95w9QGw/s400/Picture%202.png" /></a><br /><br />I designed the ad in the inside front cover of the race program this year.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/574jNtqstipVlKocpqNgOw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM2Zutg76hBBwORXLNG05jMkiEyGuQscZYpjTTXHCZY6sLSpuL3_AJ1eROJIpmFGTHFxdgpxzizP-BYNJzI_9-w-8WS5N5hw29pZtABi-KUlYo2ZBd7WRtRskajxv9bYz2IApr0Q/s400/Picture%2042.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/O3T7kUaMNCx4TmbOCGLRgA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi31bK7R7JYsQs8Oxr1fCinAma9DQd12BAGZbmt-Y9J6cb4DlL6egY3A64BNVOMg-ez5VI0CPF69GADxgGlmxTI_4t7ClYiYlydinphmE7iU6KLCB7QFVoo2JrToOXYme7SM1LkMg/s400/Picture%2011.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8sNDP-lyIBAnASm3SFwa2w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjK34IWTeN8UNVAHXmRDmgZ_ONOH-UdPzQx0kpnau774YgS121ujIXMaJ1YzQy5bjBC3Az-IwhMh0EWtWD0-F6nBmJeyaD8s1DYWeknT1ajMzN5FvUhfOGCIdZyd3WLLcfKqbY5w/s400/Picture%203.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5aHX6FdkKVB0599RZZMTHQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SwnrmlrhrnI/AAAAAAAABIQ/0hlFSzSJCuY/s400/Picture%207.png" /></a><br /><br />The look of <a href="http://run-denise-run.blogspot.com/">someone</a> who is about the qualify for Boston.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3gkphp0jEoKnZHXx6TjbxQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SwnrX9OeA2I/AAAAAAAABIA/Wc8M0QANgqk/s400/Picture%204.png" /></a><br /><br />Sorry <a href="http://flyers26.blogspot.com/">Bill</a>, by the time I realized it was you, this is all I got.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fq8mJkOamoNq13rdTBTfxQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SwnrZdd04qI/AAAAAAAABIE/RcAX0HbKehU/s400/Picture%205.png" /></a><br /><br />I love this guy's face.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/vrsX8Srj26pxz_Ea3dY6zw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5hz6cezAbvGqZy4R7Gl2xAZo33YJRHr2U7j_cEy6xmDQzq-VHLt0cGLdGWzLtQ37vMclLYN5eAsEbi_sh5f5kD9QUhfN27e75XgaBGejzSJciOcbBzgla2L-Mlvx6auMTmCaaRQ/s400/Picture%206.png" /></a><br /><br />I see him!!<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GAP6vevhGuf3uHRl7cFYgw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYoe0QcjS-tkIlXI_ScwV1WfrSQmh0FG3KRUWlug8dFGiAkbH0vzcNVPVwJe3HQjs2G6KeSKYcdIQbTd14UqfasN5Qfnf7Dnfb2j277IglEtToeztENsAgI156WfJbHLfOgs3-XA/s400/Picture%208.png" /></a><br /><br />He ran up and kissed my belly :)<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/O90p31a2DIiXwNQRPhKdhg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY6I2bZRgV8RF62yOEsvYP8CtbOhSEuUeaHneXFCh6PTS_8EzgiiaqT2mKexJEo731DKGuxaBQoz6XdHecVyPwFiGILUOkuzS1iRBfhSKFLheTSJs_mMrxm6e5XSpc9yXAnxHffw/s400/Picture%209.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tbCNK6-SFTwkaIPOsEFVag?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7X25RYP727MC1J7g6zixrMJ98mFykXSEWKGudbWbT3QYhJoETGPn5ZF3sCquo8rDc-xSeMo6-2qxGCxs9x_xfY_KhCC8VUpRTA9XOSqKqI10n0CSopPPjQrHAJWYOjmQ_cWh2A/s400/Picture%2010.png" /></a><br /><br />Poor guy.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LoO6KW185M2qVg0qFj4dVw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfOnx1-Xogody0ND4Ckliwuv-o4DMN5tAlJ4R0KOm_pZVuFTVrl3_52C2sOQKoos2oHfWWPef3HvrTsiQv5wK8rmDFXP3JwY8qZKJrxwb8usAVKBA2V8N6cLpiLNzQ2fCBCoIJMg/s400/Picture%2014.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DMdBDie8bGsfR5NnWjT6uA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAPBgk-6FwXg7wyjdGX-nHvoXhplyL23agVLTX9cN0wrl8lBgsrr1gVlmKPRaprsx_yfNMtJxSS43SOGm3ZscIrJhD_EnAnCUNgMR4irlFzfC2nkeTqR-jUVv68QK6CP6ICKpyg/s400/Picture%2015.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rXKwlEho2zSH17JlIZjJfg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SwnsYtvX9NI/AAAAAAAABI4/kilyVzR8vtY/s400/Picture%2016.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/X-2SYl4vrstIVNZDPGTeng?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoC4iVvckztm4OaU3uB3UQc3YnhE0ajfSKLCR9BKSj_T_MAUXjR2cDzPoL3yOFf8l0LJKDH97woNUuQmUogNZn12JChOW2oinl6TnJDU9OfsBn2kBoFubH_XJQavyap_TgyM2siw/s400/Picture%2017.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/few84DHrmZwPgw2Ynkx5tQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbG7Ff2N9wcAMAmim8UtybV77grCc8rGHLI7FHSlwJFWtYXgqqPopj_2YL9cY0imV_5huri-e5KyfygDbI23RYSfIZAWguw0byNVAMJKdqX1i3cpnngUCk2lur_XNyy3s60AH0A/s400/Picture%2018.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HyLVmKUZZ2XuEM2ovCYn1Q?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SwnsaivU_XI/AAAAAAAABJE/oofSY3ENMPM/s400/Picture%2019.png" /></a><br /><br />Joggler<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/V7J0YXOYoj_qjSuulgI2Pg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8oVx7cWIbywI_6ctvQ0QBHLD5Z4dhyng5pMdH_6CKYMbG3IGD4RKeJW6439HdclACwx8OPvxwTRtCqyRQXbKMj-xSXzZZ5F2_fCphMOK0d6HEA3dgFmnJhO4vhhU2eH4Jj-4vCA/s400/Picture%2020.png" /></a><br /><br />SANTA!!!!<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/WXAMEk2d_ywFSwmb1UrYLA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ0oXepJfEpTfNgKsVKofGqpOCbTIGkyMxADhLpVbDmNujSEJRxNBK9WynI1L6wLXO_cA3Grak7hgkyGIkJM57FibZ2XW_26A-4LYoHNXnwPbHT58vd7_Ks9MQRFOo6VebTmQazA/s400/Picture%2022.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://run-denise-run.blogspot.com/">DENISE!!!<br /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DBXSeLucydBeFPgJh__s3Q?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1n1xJetsUEuoWvQV4YWs95RVD5R_HsyDRMlVx5-xK7HtpnHnNi7XNEk_HJ0LQaBAHuhgL-PPvHKtKAbz3PhyV7a1OFJjTS2c4y1u28OKDTDvDJ4rnippyMmXT_Qs5IU7mzu_FA/s400/Picture%2023.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/G24qCwU08j2ARO29AFDkxw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekI0cdqo-WtcNAxJX-_MVtofV6BMtWHTxBbi0H4e6TJqcI0U7s81SEncWC7bgM0tjADG8lLH3i-wAtGCrqj8PmoSsZi7FZKa97jP-Ie6wYJVJgmw70zVvQbfnHdCaNIQ0uj6ZDQ/s400/Picture%2025.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/xGRlBsBGrSurcQIxkdqGKA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgY51XpoojPac3LEsALLSgNJr1TI5vWs1r7lDUWTLWBH7mvDBdjf4GU6_0F9MH1c3E3I_Co-eukeyRGU1zg6L5flVDCgtczH0cSF-CMpZfVUo5tKgUfGYsnWoSOIpkogcw3buVgQ/s400/Picture%2024.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Fy_tLwqgu-don1dZcKjBJQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjadEhSZUR_6on9VnWBxMyr4fih2Eyz2_ozFfDidHgY2mmU6YXj8gY7CtptArPqQrHf_K7lGSv-KrMlXfzgwF2UbMgq6OaTcCOXDNGPCsopOj-DFvahuBZd92DR9G-z-VWoeGPLug/s400/Picture%2026.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/QeW6Sw0LzAY_FOnUHClUWg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPHX5et4zzlx_ql_ktioc4lC72B9RcL4P0IsNVg80ILHbNnX-T6JY9RQc9a8KX1x_FtuaqB94xlri0fecj4EzNHthUHzsfQKnfFl6pCMaD1c67uQ5trmbMm-9ly8xw8tTkk7zthw/s400/Picture%2029.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UvXSrJNdUaT92gu_3akmlQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9WygbCvff319uNhHhsEGV6nHbrwpU4jrXb6W6_qARuI4l93l1z-p7f7nMzyIy0BOeC1GVuO4jyj7f9JcdBcaU1L_iE1Nt46m6YCDjggr9z3FGSOrBUGGT8jrBIGzGCxZq_iDRYA/s400/Picture%2027.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qNE0EKzYmtQwvEKxyx2zAQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HKdSQQpT3_Veop7fVkJm4oEjSC2xnVOow6fQpRKLnlI_Ii7Yug6pp8QohhrV3BFEj80AVP7SqV491V8QYBrdAYK8lq_px3J4MHEjA__n-8jNHSpJZ_cMhDgrJdZm9hfrvbGU1A/s400/Picture%2028.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NMu8sxVc6lpPyUSVs1H7pQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/Swn2CeRowcI/AAAAAAAABKk/Twk_mx6cnFM/s400/Picture%2030.png" /></a><br /><br />Is the guy on the left eating a cheesesteak?!?!<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7GJK8ladE1H89m-uLRBNMw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho5DDCnM4yAO6ZhumOF8I6E0wIgRfIXAHGMZRJbHFgBv_n3mkbl_uAHp1F3660to1XkwbwYTOw7caa4Z-NHoALoycjgfirgnRltHoFanPoEw7QmyC4ycX3RGd9M_5NxkzdGn1SVg/s400/Picture%2031.png" /></a><br /><br />Here he comes!<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/sNUSSh480WGBEhiV3v2JfA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/Swn2Xr_5ShI/AAAAAAAABKw/hzahdWtmWiE/s400/Picture%2032.png" /></a><br /><br />Too tired to wave.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HrI-X-Kqdl6YYm92X8GSPw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrUUmbdUlxXZdDUE8EwxnJq-wD8_WxELy0yCz9RpMQXfiTT81qvkfAbVwFWroiTXqpgrGWarRcJNkFS8J5oaiyZ6DMVtU1Y7Ne1RjlvGJuNPzJ7J1h60MJqHrSewpz9ZCur3_4Hg/s400/Picture%2033.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/4c7fjB8y0rzeI-C7PnMFOQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/Swn2YlS1rKI/AAAAAAAABK4/uUFmslNE6cg/s400/Picture%2034.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lmzLmnJszHnVksnQ6uFlOQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/Swn2acGCIYI/AAAAAAAABK8/uG4ZPhTQ6KU/s400/Picture%2035.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/xXwoYhdMQojSTIG1J_bITg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBPah6UECj8FOr4cRbiqCvfnppurHbw9_JpfmfRgtVPLnzBbRBGRa5pgoEzhmNhtGDw4faFNEI6iir3oPMKTYS-6ltbvHn7FXoaDqlqN2y5nhC1oKc3m0dV-BqhUVWrbVuHmZWA/s400/Picture%2036.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0WQo1ZBLCA0U9YhSEAJ-lA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WNkN7sHl2lX1NaONklOJzATNNDgmardHHMuD3i4TEaSrdmtCs_SK_FNff_4g4ZZfSqNtJvFLfgDazhxGI-LR6RExjYcHDMQ_GPTJYRJK16UjaJkyMX8looI6wvNW88bLY9FMEg/s400/Picture%2037.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/C3SFDN8syCfrHyMXoPd_mg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh962PrX8Nrj1SB9GgzDonw-12KX09wF88mQKRIDzkWt5EWfNzz2pMqAUY-jRSHCB9wot4-MZd1BOwG62m9J1W2E2dwZNQ3eqJGafibNV5zNZCX0oIZyEsL8MlZODI05WSjEhxdzw/s400/Picture%2038.png" /></a><br /><br />Too cool for school.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3QkNBt7TOJZkSgXcY-yTAg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAI5cmjGXQXl18aNbi7AM29OYhNyWqup5ljUkv1l33w856IpRkbwcNPHqIR3GeW0I2GpXib_K6ZtGPsBxvJ6X_F887WXzZMMQLGgOB89yE4mLn9ri9oxh7HFEDvXxpiKpM6_Mv6Q/s400/Picture%2039.png" /></a><br /><br />J and his parents.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lLghbWm77yqTLoqQZfOkXA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYpJMPrLT3iNyMkKN3aMqjWfPDMeZgWAGm1UJ9lKLXU-hVCCxiOoWq9XGVMM0I-rwlwk__c8V9acFMyxudbCjeGSaa9I9l8dLDRkmtFqOYw9ZUj6051tEwAIGUdXXTfMHZUt_nFA/s400/Picture%2040.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/q6a7yac3qz-CUQc7OxXqfA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstLWjHC8_XDGcY7DwakiTony4_7I6_6LNkemdHPtIQwpdjYialZN4NDcSr7H4COmoSpPMDMq6v40UJ-oTYuvAKd1RFRGr3AebRERZcP6WjyTlllTtpQufKl9SRpqkYRo1oV67mQ/s400/Picture%2041.png" /></a></center><br /><br />All in all, it was a great day. The weather was beautiful and it looked like a fantastic day to race. J did great for having a bum leg and just running for fun (4:15). Of course I'm sure he wishes he could have done better, but I think he did amazing. It was his 7th marathon and his 3rd fastest time! I'm so proud!<br /><br />Congrats to all you runners out there today. I'm glad I got to see so many of you in action. You all looked amazing!Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-84038470214776159912009-11-16T10:35:00.000-08:002009-11-16T10:54:27.690-08:0024 Weeks...I have been such a bad, bad blogger.<br /><br />Unfortunately, all my time these days is focused on crib reviews instead of marathon reviews. After spending the last 17 weeks without my good friend running, I feel like I can officially say I have fallen off the wagon.<br /><br />That’s not to say I can’t wait to get back out there. But for now, it seems like there is so much more to focus on. It doesn’t help that work is crazy-busy and we have either been out of town or had visitors for the past 3 weekends. Then this weekend, J’s parents are coming for a week for Thanksgiving and then we have a friend from Australia coming to stay with us until after the New Year. While I love to see everyone, it doesn’t leave me much time for anything else.<br /><br />But J is still in the game. This Sunday he will be running (like a lot of you) the Philadelphia Marathon. He was hoping to PR since he wasn’t too thrilled with his performance in DC last month, but since then, his IT band has been all jacked-up. He has been stretching, icing and going to PT three times a week to help, but unfortunately, it looks like this may just be a race to finish. I told him at the half if he’s in pain, he needs to stop, but I know that wont happen. You know how stubborn marathon runners can be. <br /><br />It should be a beautiful day though. The weather looks like it’s going to be amazing (sunny and 59 degrees) compared to the feels-like 17 degrees of last year. And J’s parents will be out there with me to cheer him on, so that will be fun.<br /><br />Other than that, it’s just baby-central around here. This week we’ve made it to 24 whole weeks (yay!). That’s 6 months if you are counting. It seems like it’s going by really fast now.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/uW58VWtzGZXF91x2tJc8gw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm011Cng8fwWXNhjKtnw0vHFEK_S-PQrlH3M9cKUCI2LtJlK2d9O9PseiHKn9ZGUibnMdqxeVOHSeKDO4Nsh-AoPfmIQxd8ejP9OEjIrIqMk2KxQN4cG2iCyhhLxD5H557ZbwhYQ/s800/23Week_collage.jpg" /width=500></a></center><br /><br />Everything has been going great. The Bean has been kicking up a storm, which is fun. Those little bumps and bubbles that I thought were gas are definitely distinguishable as kicks, rolls and thumps. I love sitting on the couch at night after I eat and watch my stomach move around. It’s so surreal. There is a HUMAN in there!<br /><br />I also seem to be growing at lightning speed. Every pregnant woman I know is assuring me that I am not even close to where I will be, and I know that, but I have gotten a lot bigger in the past few weeks and it’s staring to get noticeable. Not only in how I look, but how I feel. I get uncomfortable quite easily, so I can only imagine how it’s going to be 16 weeks from now.<br /><br />The newest symptoms aboard the pregnancy train include total nasal congestion, which makes it even harder to breathe on top of the diminishing lung capacity, and dizziness that comes on suddenly and has caused me to almost pass out on more than one occasion, usually while I riding the train to work in the morning. <br /><br />I was concerned about the dizziness at first, until I realized how common it was in pregnancy. I have always had a tendency to come close to passing out while giving blood or spending too much time in the sun, so it’s not like this was something new. And after I realized I had been drinking huge glasses of orange juice before leaving the house without much, if anything in my stomach before getting on the train, it all seemed to make sense. <br /><br />After the 20 week ultrasound when we were told our girl looks absolutely healthy, I was finally able to take a sigh of relief, step back and start to enjoy the ride. All has checked out well at my appointments since then and now everything seems to be going full steam ahead. <br /><br />My dad ordered us a crib, which is pretty exciting. <br /><br /><center><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/xk6ao0ijyalXpjLTo5ZxPw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQhZCsMCat-tEf1gUfU9FKvN148ZbjlumtmyjLhTtOkbJedqLus_twb9i5LhSVhyphenhyphenTHwhgFBD96Nw-eXZ4YEtLzhjO3gUz8niJ8ast7annx8vns45NSX7mhQSHPi_xC-MeKbxWZkw/s400/Picture%202.png" /></a></center><br /><br />It's a babyletto that we found much cheaper at <a href="http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Modern-Espresso-White-Crib/4354584/product.html#">overstock.com</a> with $1 shipping and a 20% off coupon. Woo-hoo! It’s still in the box, but Jeremy’s dad is going to help him put it together while they are visiting next week. Last night, we moved all the office stuff out of the nursery into the guest room to make room for her to move in. For some reason, this made me really happy.<br /><br />I have also been keeping the sellers on <a href="http://www.etsy.com/">etsy.com</a> in business with all the cute stuff I have been buying and bookmarking for future reference.<br /><br />Here is the tree decal I ordered from <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=32422030&ref=sr_gallery_15&&ga_search_query=wall+decal+tree&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=1&order=date_desc&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title">walldecors</a>. It will be in white against the lime green walls.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/k6eRu4YJX55Pird_Yy5WRg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS1R2dP6oLq-IGvW8I73nWiS3H9QDlOpr_vRa4UeWRpwZJvn2_wADfa4vb0tgXneLBlCdTETnD7WFUnMxTmkdyVth2Nhho7M7TqzHI0M5gd6k1cQoJKuUGOsI0NEtzWmJTFmxN1A/s400/il_430xN.95457306.jpg" /></a></center><br /><br />Here is the new switchplate I ordered from <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33127076&ref=cat3_gallery_6">funkychickendesign</a> which I LOVE.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/maZGDn2NIEBjk6pHqJZFjg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCRr3pqW3B8ZV9HtnSxfnMcQwxupoZzu0ty86Zl-rQnZ4Pl-KJlkT4UTURa0lgkLS8xU96yyoYTmoaD72BTlreQohs6wrKmzFy0mibqphIUo5am71YzVU8FbK6VtwSHjdJmhCOTA/s400/il_430xN.97828455.jpg" /></a></center><br /><br />There's more, but I'll spare you...<br /><br />All the registry stuff is basically set and we are even planning a short trip to Florida in a month for a baby shower/party my mom is throwing for us. I can’t wait to see all our old friends.<br /><br />It’s just starting to get real to me. It seems like with the holidays, the next few months are going to fly by and before you know it, it will be late February...!<br /><br />Good luck to all you Philly runners on Sunday! I'll be out there looking for you. I'll probably be around the half point somewhere. Runners, tell me what you're wearing. I'll probably be in a brown hooded Back on My Feet sweatshirt. Not sure if I'm doing a sign this time. We'll see.<br /><br />Enjoy the weather this year. It's a far cry from last years frozen water stops :) Keep me and the Bean in mind while you're out there. We would LOVE to be running it with you. So jealous! :)Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-67565129037779488822009-10-26T19:04:00.000-07:002009-10-27T08:11:40.832-07:00Marine Corps Marathon 2009Imagine, a post on a running blog that actually has something to do with running!<br /><br />Since I have been out of commission as far as running is concerned, I haven't had much to write about but babies. But while I am taking the year off, my better half is still running up a storm.<br /><br />The past few months, J has been training for the Marine Corps Marathon. This weekend was the big race and we headed out to DC for a weekend of running fun.<br /><br />While I was a little sad to be going as a spectator and not actually run it, I had a fantastic time cheering everyone on and enjoying the beautiful fall weekend. It was definitely a great race to spectate.<br /><br />We stayed in the <a href="http://washingtonregency.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp?src=google_propertyspecific_hhc_2008&s_kwcid=TC%7C6184%7Chyatt%20regency%20dc%7C%7CS%7Cb%7C3678036428">Hyatt Regency</a> (the official race hotel) and other than the paper-thin walls (the people next door to us the first night we were there must have been filming a porno), it was a great hotel. It was right down the street from the Capitol and a perfect location as far as Metro, sightseeing and dining access. <br /><br />Saturday morning we ate an amazing (but expensive) breakfast buffet at the hotel and then walked to the metro to get to the expo. The expo was similar to pretty much every other expo I have been to. It was very well organized, which was nice. But for some reason, I thought there would be a bigger selection of vendors. It didn't seem as though there was anything new that I haven't seen before. It also got really crowded pretty quickly due to the large number of runners.<br /><br />They did have great Brooks Marine Corps gear, which Jeremy loaded up on. He got a new hat, long sleeved tech and one of the nicest looking windbreakers I have ever seen from a race. I treated myself to a new hooded sweatshirt from the <a href="http://www.backonmyfeet.org/">Back on my Feet</a> booth and we bought the Bean a cute onesie that will motivate me to get back to running as soon as possible unless I want to look like a big, fat liar.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zMG7gpIbtSXDT0Snfc1-tw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvroGlHgiTMkaLcJH8YDdnpA6U8UIUF-F-Ql5cpHejZN-d7I3PpjOZT_w_Qt6dxU0kdKkdzOkjzaPpVZ_-hTG9B4XeJ55HyT1szKU-IKBiXoIhrFGuF95x3P9blMgvLMbto1f1A/s400/Picture%2084.png" /></a><br /><br />I must run faster than <span style="font-style:italic;">someone's</span> father, right?<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8ZzWLYuKYA4bK6ymDmqn8Q?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitaIixSaaOY1qyk-VwNZDsvLbiRVUEyAOIoQ_V2VX19kdGGSJ8XOxjpK2qhZJ1nvYpHscVkalji7H1f-C5zgWRGDuMJYzBaCvvEqhrQMfPpEzh5r6meAHhsxWMSw0GTGa1WYQGXA/s400/Picture%2085.png" /></a></center><br /><br />The rest of the afternoon was spent in the hotel as it rained the entire afternoon and I was suddenly feeling REALLY pregnant from my giant breakfast buffet. I just needed to lay down for a bit. We watched a lot of college football and then went for a crappy dinner at <a href="http://www.gordonbiersch.com/">Gordon Biersch</a> later on. I usually like their food, but for some reason, we both got a bad meal that night. Not a big deal for me, but not fun for someone's last meal before a marathon.<br /><br />The next morning we woke up to beautiful weather. It had cooled down to the low 50's and the sun was coming out. We took the metro down the the start which ended up being a total clusterf@%k.<br /><br />Most cities I have run in will usually throw a bone and give runners a free pass on race day (by showing their bibs). Not DC. To ride the metro in DC you have to insert your prepaid card to get into the station and then again to exit the station. This ended up being a nightmare as 30,000 runners were all trying to get off the same train station at once. We got off the train and were crammed shoulder to shoulder with hundred of other people and were not going anywhere. Then, 15 minutes laster another train came to let people off, but half the people couldn't get off the train because there was no were for them to go. <br /><br />As a person who hates crowds anyway and add to that the fact that I suddenly have been experiencing a serious case of pregnancy-induced claustrophobia, I was not happy. Of course, none of the anxious marathoners around me were either. It was getting ugly fast. Finally, the metro workers realized there was a serious hazard issue on their hands and just opened the gates to let us all out. Phew. The metro issue (which was no better getting back) was really the only problem with this race from what I could see. But of course, that really has nothing to do with the marathon itself.<br /><br />We got to the start and I wished J a great race and he headed to his corral.I had my course maps and told him where to look for me. I even made him a bright neon green sign so he could see me.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Xn5i1t_q2Qe6llBD_z3pjg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rhXoiL5xfaWwA6KlFK4ufdfTAf2Cm9oPoz3Nwr5pHV12lnUiKK2zUXrMRbF5Z6h7QscEeFKmn4CHbZmVbWtux3VynTviEKtMjIj_Zs1TLcSijdt-6rDonxMhx528j3ryj-vpIw/s400/Picture%2087.png" /></a></center><br /><br />The other side of the sign was for all the other runners, which I have to say, was quite the big hit.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KrCz-3_ZTRBcbk7FkM0aVA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYhzCriO4n_Vzhjnyv1CcW2bgZPPXlKeiw9mboc_Id6xMqSUwchl9VoMLtOk5OKcRjnr3_7VeZsdLKKjM1suBQRtWka6c_U5S8TDjKdn6_6Cc9jw0Z6IzI9dlgbm8QUACsgmH0eA/s400/Picture%2088.png" /></a></center><br /><br />I stood right past the start holding up this sign as the runners ran by and got a ton of laughs as people started on their way. I even had a few other spectators take a picture of it and one girl actually stopped running (at around mile 16), took out her disposable camera and asked the woman next to me to take a picture of us. It was a great feeling to know that I could do something small to help bring a smile to a runner's face as they were about to embark on their marathon journey.<br /><br />(If you don't get the Chuck Norris reference, please refer to this <a href="http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/">website</a>.)<br /><br />Anyway, the rest of the race was great. I watched the start go off and J run by. Then I scurried off from Arlington Cemetery to behind the Lincoln Memorial (around mile 11) to see everyone run by again. I only saw J here as he ran up to me and gave me a kiss before running off into the distance.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/A3HZKP1iVGwDIqdaSOFU3w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioP1GCev0u_UVTbian0DXWuHhtpAOXaewRsHjGovsdJn2BiFgdBBBMRfKLpvHDkOAROCiigeoAoBTy2vYnFRtiRm2QTj44Zprv4JW6u9ykDlKuyJzDLKXxvKhQfxyMouh1qxMkiA/s400/Picture%2032.png" /></a></center><br /><br />I saw him again at mile 16 and he was right on pace to hit his 3:50 target for a PR so I headed back to mile 25 to watch him come in at the finish. But sadly, I watched the 3:50's run by, then the 4:00 pacers and I knew something had happened. In my pregnant state of mind, I of course started overreacting thinking he had dropped dead on the side of the road somewhere. Just as I was about to start sobbing uncontrollably as I wondered how I was ever going to figure out what hospital he was in, I saw him in the distance.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/I9RsMBCun7geweQEQ89WPQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZwCGvimAdyJl8BXECY4JHiLkmdivToKe46ToPaNFCrW23GxWja2EQB4P3aw_ZBrq44DG6A4NtWuwZbyxU7aLEmSj_llN-SRce9uJIP86v40Fi57o4vkkyYrGHQz-nwwSJjEN0w/s400/Picture%2052.png" /></a></center><br /><br />He smiled as I called out to him as if to say, "I'm fine, it just wasn't my day."<br /><br />After I walked about 2 miles (not kidding) to get to the family meet up area, we finally found each other. His official finish was 4:13:23. His second best time, but 20 minutes off of what he was hoping for. He chalked it up to nerves, early hills and the warm morning sun but said it was a great race with a ton of wonderful crowd support. He also said that even though there were double the amount of runners than the races we normally participate in, he never felt crowded. He said he would love to do it again. <br /><br />Oh, and the medals are beautiful.<br /><br /><center><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/b4IqdBuKypdWuLPktpqhgQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4pWBpLL2ogk_2Gf0glBELmSTacfFHswgsZh8Hg4h4YwXZ2NhEpXNgaG8D1fPWIZw_INPLPHMZVWH15LR8guyFoUhsJM1Jb6MHIxk83uot9266XBCXO4BbiK1wtJ4GjMx7oadTA/s400/Picture%2054.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right"></td></tr></table><br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/TFDlzAqAh50NWDH4hJYhdw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWrWg_tDACiy9JOdks7L243Hb5VigJtiAC9k_rhZm4WHLlgVbkOY43XorifJ6Uz1JDFpheRuZLDtW9wkeb7Jjo9GWKOXn1hxI6-pXEw6MxpHDmr9GXz8BG7cAetgSzx-HwnIOglA/s400/Picture%2056.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right"></td></tr></table></center><br /><br />All in all, a great race. No PR for J, but he has his 6th marathon under his belt. Quite a huge accomplishment. Besides, he has a chance to redeem himself in less than a month in Philly. I told him to chalk it up as a great training run. :)<br /><br />We spent the rest of the day wandering around the city a little before enjoying a great dinner at <a href="http://www.wearefoundingfarmers.com/">Founding Farmers</a> and calling it a night.<br /><br />Here are some more pictures from the big day. Hope everyone had a great weekend!<br /><br /><center><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HKgaM2Eq51Qzv1iM403a1Q?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCBucQbF2iJVPf7aCNxaEWcNOcgaaNzhJkNC9A0doo4EGHZwYxuUO_bDdIAXNjmhSuKlc8It4gQt_4NhLZoo-dhL7iXtqO-y_KxBpeYpM3llnmXC3vKCjWrZ26bVygQpxYzT3WKg/s400/Picture%2010.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right"></td></tr></table><br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/q-uOwh-mSUJTNWz5V-T-8A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SuZUr29xkSI/AAAAAAAABGU/gjL8gcmIpvg/s400/Picture%2090.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right"></td></tr></table><br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/xud00U1xi7HYxPA9YnUqBA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9F2E92mnxeu9mpzJOv-haMowGvMWzUdijRvQSYz2vdmESnHHjH-aJ9e4rwjMQSNIiK9d6A2I9-RN9Cgl1lGfuebW-d3pRzEEFF_tXlWLPeuewiMLEhhf60c_ntBzphYWt6YqDdA/s400/Picture%2092.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right"></td></tr></table><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/aC9YGGJyKB61d7TA8cG7Sg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fLUP9I_lFePOfvCL7BVLFn9_JaLANHVE0eu0gPmKCx0VPF9UhHe5Zav-HeKDLNRL6J7smXWAzatJ-g8ziTy-sClDlKqnxHd9wANc9wDdTcFL6pJSTqRd82GWYDdZBX_05l0PQg/s400/Picture%205.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/n4QvtIwk72N6OguSwgaz2g?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUxGeTjg2Rpa7p8yRD5NNRsq1KuoFXak67oDEmIL-Qvn-YPir8_5VhF8s-bcBbDNlvFuclgFdjn6_NSE3qPP8_VhIx8GSLjiJOBa3UPD-X_Fst0Qkq_maeUC_8xwg8pQSkI6IgEA/s400/Picture%206.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/o2iTTdIu_toJdwJXeNEb9Q?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83iQCXCf8OE81CeXICZC4ZSzD8NLVm3Drkd5W_t4lGS7BllYQD-SsjbPQskYqOb6NA_EtauZzh3EOgWZ0KzTNhM8mRSJanpWUm5PCtiomflbllHZxzka9vrceqzs8YxRYO3HZPA/s400/Picture%2011.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/QO2424I0eHpld_OVZqqf7A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMWndCnr7efeNf3S1YD_z59U3_okEqNPeC8Mi0AzafLxMOewDggLxZf3PJ4P8UPsuuvWlJO1TvN_o2GiXcqNTMXmW3TPeTipdBCe7m3PywqhOjx2S4uqf5-I7OYOz9YGX6UQIj7A/s400/Picture%2013.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RhPO3clv1DEZoxOud1nYGg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ1q8AGf4X5zHMKHeYqR2kqu39GdvVlNGhuboceGmxN-5oI419ZnGl-lRNU3jg9LYT5GsVS7_sGrYeVX7S4yM8oPmYA9Ik8Rallq1bz3f3KdMFrM1f454c1Lbzz6748IJl2ASKVQ/s400/Picture%2016.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/X5ecDOD3qbtZKu1VrTYgZA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SuZSF5KaQJI/AAAAAAAABEE/5DpC5tvjyyQ/s400/Picture%2020.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/abp-h2NfNOnf6pUWsu2SmA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SuZSGcn7H3I/AAAAAAAABEI/ATS04e6jJ7o/s400/Picture%2023.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FQUCw_HEXYI_-uP3DFJAUw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SuZSHBxLynI/AAAAAAAABEM/MsvBLgMSvf8/s400/Picture%2025.png" /></a><br /><br /><a 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href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oxbsFbIpBPFeeLJ1MZNCig?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinTrFefJ_lCJxoCX_6psy5rkXmXVENls2qyDigBBScgaJfr4Ml3yjVloQvgtoFvBd5CkZ8Cd7xXi3QNjo8kXvptYHr5v9uwboipW7uXX5fthNonk4kAzbJOa7J6pkjCmiQr1llSA/s400/Picture%2061.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/TL3_LPWNJyXprmLJCYzk7Q?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcvsrRKLz7mt_hMT17TrhpUJoUW3BLlpbJQCWdYFf9aOvtzmPP8CKgnhp10yO5dpyJL9t2uuxS8evUuN1NfyNNflXNGfudoU6VZifAc8dKdEolZ-5AR8kCfvZvkix62zRZ2i_AGg/s400/Picture%2059.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/41RTeIew-7RqE0dM7KESpA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeRJ3GruRwlFBsU943Ty8Y0R-KZ9WDGe8IH-JH0yT_NKVrjJlQjkratet_bE0OThmbTWkY5_e4QzM1fl3NMTyHk0ngsd8GfXta6OX6KZw-W0F8VFKNz4hN4kDnC4u-P5ik4JRzAw/s400/Picture%2062.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8C84MngqHvUZtnSN81tcqQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeMD6VuZB1dNevjdbB_kPFZdymKCG5L3H4o432AE71vKOL8LQ8WJgEI1io9tGZBBLSrdwuq-LSOBPbSIZiHPJRLp1wWHs-LxMaYNdqAsGVSefr1zXuI5adrAaMziad37EnHLUUKQ/s400/Picture%2068.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/YY1-Mt0iDRQUFuaVBcmX9A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZADlrAVFQ3_j618P4Qgahw1WLADqWtBcbjiEBAhwaLdW5TfBhwKiiBVtrV3DvdyReFPCCKdCx3uaU34Di7uaaWHmyXseNKX80s2LMqJKnVoPhTzCJNWL1TsKfbZeRFD1aQMiFg/s400/Picture%2063.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Pxu9RbWNFHxfkkHyeo3CAQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNxJ6gjoQbAB0-mBQn21I2EZpbuiU0nPUSboJpRQ3jhE7RVqj_v2HThmUIaQa7MnYM3FOJXddV99sTVLvLAdUurGYaCLvwtWk8fn4SbChXv_0H2hNQ0HNlSyKDQcpUx9A6TKSlmQ/s400/Picture%2076.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/p5gVKi-vtAThlwJTRq_HAA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9fumCvJcMVw98xQhHr9QpzOwRPqKnrWvY8fGckbSy1In4lNcbtDP_kYQYr_LnZuOIrIXHzqh49xL-d4DSVpEepTQwp7jGes5CEenC7acO9bxmf9jhcyp-fcwluAmkouEsS0Yog/s400/Picture%2078.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Bb-aN7aNWLEt-JISdSrk5g?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/SuZUbDxeYMI/AAAAAAAABF4/dJ7kamd0BM4/s400/Picture%2082.png" /></a></center><br /><br />For more pics of the race, take a peek at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34275550@N00/sets/72157622546279631/show/">my flickr album.</a>Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-50497512907400347942009-10-15T20:06:00.001-07:002009-10-15T20:22:31.051-07:00Lock up your sons......she's gorgeous.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/e0NyyG4TwZCbgJbmEK95Jg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh047gTWt_j7QpxC5u_f-BMPGIwVGOITuwMGml_xPJcHpW-gfVK1MMXJfJtLLKpWTFMRqw4D7UihHk5uK0LXxzsE720kXx0i4QdICqPQjYcMSmbS77eFaofPgArNP7-NUpav8bt8Q/s400/Picture%202.png" width=500/></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8rspiGYCg-BvWmJsKmFytg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Z6j8x0wTY2s/Stfhn0lyDwI/AAAAAAAABCs/PpHgSGfVsRM/s400/Picture%204.png" width=500/></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ah5kyhIcsFZFfJ0sUv4yoA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC2NaitVCCkfaQWdPuft1OyD6uhv-FTAMRiMunA3sw-_npmknIOfU0r-GFVsVU3lVQCJjNynWiusYjJtB8_xjE2VSzbtzIQ4qxT4y813U136baxqZAiuF2E9ydbn3pM_JqdyhLKQ/s400/Picture%2012.png"width=500 /></a><br /><br />And perfectly, wonderfully, happily heathy. :)Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-55449592424190583642009-10-13T18:21:00.000-07:002009-10-13T20:27:42.162-07:0019 WeeksToday is the last day of my 19th week of pregnancy.<br /><br />Overall, Im feeling great. I still haven't had any bleeding or other complications in 5 weeks. At this point, all my nausea is pretty much gone and I have a decent amount of energy. <br /><br />While I haven't been running or really even working out, I have been pretty active, especially on the weekends. Jeremy and I have spent any free time we have either walking around the city or hosting get-togethers at our new place, which leaves me little time to be lazy. This is good since I sit on my butt all day at work. <br /><br />For the most part, I feel great walking around, but after a few hours I am spent. It's an odd feeling to have to take a nap after walking around for 2-3 hours when a few months ago I could get up at 5am, run that much, then walk another 4-5 hours in the city and feel fine.<br /><br />I have also noticed that the steep stairs I have to climb to get up to my train after work have been taking their toll on me. I have never actually counted them, but I would guess there are over 40-50 and they are really steep. I used to be able to race up them to catch my train. Now I have to take each step pretty slowly, then spend about 5 minutes catching my breath when I get to the top. <br /><br />It's odd how this little creature takes over your entire body.<br /><br />Eating has been fine. I haven't had any weird cravings or anything like that, although I am loving anything salty (soy sauce, green olives, baby dill pickles, etc). I have been trying to eat well, even if tonight I had a croissant with dill dip and some chips and salsa for dinner. Sigh.<br /><br />I haven't been overeating at all, which is actually a change from when I am not pregnant. I just get so full so fast. But I need to incorporate more veggies into my diet. I have been really good about eating fruits and salads. But with the colder weather coming in, I am craving soups and comfort foods, not salads.<br /><br />But as of today, I have only gained 10lbs which is right on schedule for my height/weight, so I'm feeling really good about that.<br /><br />I had another appointment with my midwife last Monday and all was good. We heard a really strong heartbeat this time which was great. J couldn't be there again because he had class, but he stepped out for a few minutes and called us so he could hear the heartbeat on speakerphone while we were listening on the doppler. My midwife gets a kick out of it every time :)<br /><br />She also told me to just come in every two weeks for appointments for peace of mind. She said she doesn't care how many times she sees me, if I want to come in for a quick checkup and heartbeat check, I can. I think I am gong to take her up on it. With everything we have been through, there is something reassuring about hearing that "woosh, woosh, woosh" every couple of weeks.<br /><br />So, tomorrow I will officially be 20 weeks pregnant. I know I say this every week, but I seriously never thought I would get this far. <br /><br />We actually have our 20 week full anatomy scan on Thursday. Since we haven't had any other genetic testing done this time (besides the five ultrasounds in the first trimester) we are anxiously awaiting this day. <br /><br />I have actually suddenly been overwhelmed with scary thoughts about losing this baby in the past week. I know this is directly due to this ultrasound which just makes me glad I never did any of the testing earlier. I would have been a wreck the entire pregnancy. No matter what happens now, at least we had a few weeks of stress-free happiness. But I am trying not to be negative since I know that is not going to help or change anything. I'm just staying positive and going in with happy thoughts about seeing Butterbean and hopefully finding out we have a perfectly healthy baby boy or girl.<br /><br />Yes, as long as the Bean cooperates, we will be finding out the sex. I have no real feelings one way or the other about which one it might be. At first I was thinking girl, but since seeing the Bean on the ultrasounds, I have been slightly leaning towards feeling it's a boy. All my friends and family are split 50/50 with their thoughts. Jeremy and Dakota both said if they "had to chose" they would probably want a girl, which totally shocked me about Dakota. I thought he wanted a brother for sure, so that was a nice surprise.<br /><br />Every random online quiz or old-wives gender test I have taken have literally come up 50/50 as well, so I guess we will just have to wait and see in a day and a half!!!!<br /><br />Anyone want to place any bets???<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Gnrvk9ALnpAG-krcd0_J2g?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ALiuz2CcJNIDBzAUfRIGCOTsxgE3J1SbigAZPYcuvg6JL_ZQWPRWFfo0309P61Y1sxv-8jXTgBjYFg77p0jLwsHtq4sbPcCKY_oAkap0w7jrOWqwGzcRVSLqRlvUzNNN6UQxvw/s400/Picture%201.png" width=500/></a>Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-7534001785784383452009-10-01T19:42:00.000-07:002009-10-02T06:26:58.094-07:0018 Weeks and Counting......better weeks than kids, I suppose.<br /><br />Things have been good around here. Good and uneventful, just the way I like them nowadays. <br /><br />I haven't been having any more bleeding or spotting (knock on wood) for about 3.5 weeks. I know it could come back at any time and I still have my moments of panic when I am sure I am suddenly bleeding, only to find out everything is fine. But those moments only happen a few times a week now, instead of a few times an hour, like they did a few weeks ago. I think my paranoia is starting to fade a bit.<br /><br />It's really no wonder all mothers end up crazy.<br /><br />But I am finally settling into this whole pregnancy thing and even possibly thinking it may really happen for us this time. I will definitely feel better after our 20 week ultrasound that we have on the 15th. Even though we had five ultrasounds early on, we decided this time to forgo all genetic testing and just take things as they come. I'm terrified of going in because of what they might find, but I'm trying t stay positive and just focus on seeing Butterbean again.<br /><br />We're also hoping The Bean isn't shy so we can find out the sex. We thought about waiting, but I think for us, finding out the sex will be a great way to help us bond to a pregnancy we have been to wary of attaching ourselves too. Awwww...is The Bean a girl or a boy?!?!? Honestly, I have been going back an forth. Lately, I keep calling it a boy on accident, but my first instinct was a girl. And even though J will never admit it, I think he is secretly hoping for a little girl :) <br /><br />At this point they could tell me there is a chimpanzee in there. As long as it's healthy, I am totally cool with it.<br /><br />Speaking of my little monkey, I think (but am not sure) that I may have been feeling it move now for the past week. It started last Thursday as I laid on the couch after dinner. I felt the little "flutter" or "bubble popping" as so many people call it. Actually, it felt exactly like gas, except there was no actual "passing of gas" to go along with it.<br /><br />I have been feeling it at least once a day since then. Sometimes harder than others. A poke here or a light rumble there. It's like as soon as you realize what you may be feeling it's gone. Just like when you see a shooting star or something. It's still very light and honestly, it could just be gas (unfortunately for everyone else, my most intense pregnancy symptom at this point). Since I have never felt a baby move before and seem to have gas constantly now, I really have no way of knowing. But it does feel just a tiny bit different...I can't really explain why.<br /><br />Also, the past few days, after some serious round ligament pains that scared the shit out of me, my stomach completely popped out. I have noticed it getting a little bigger over the weeks, but last Saturday I woke up and was like "WOW!" Then Monday I walked by a mirror at work and was even bigger! As you can see in the second picture below, I can't even suck it in anymore without there still being a big bump on the bottom. It's exciting to finally have a visual symbol of this kid inside of me, although most of the time, when I am wearing my everyday clothes, I still just look like I finished off a pizza and a six-pack. Oh well.<br /><br /><table style="width=475;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/gbV44v-cKbjGkYtvh4Mimw?authkey=Gv1sRgCPLNs42mwOa2ywE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6Wc25p6f6KmHPRtcnJsUh-F1NNwAoBr-gJR_wxmn-KtiMZcDtXEN1hXHJ1mbsqz-V15hb5T4ozVYSaV5c4mYz6-sjMLQJ2AlRjeJ59Dg62YuiHklzWtn2CY_tlje_fNNsY87SA/s400/Picture%201.png" width=475/></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right"></table><br /><br />Other than baby stuff, things are great. Work is good and keeping me busy, the house is great (we are having our first get together this weekend), I'm feeling great right now and I am LOVING the cool fall weather. Although I have to say, it does make me a little sad not to be out there. It's PREFECT running weather!!! I'm so sad to be missing it and was SO bummed to miss my favorite race last week, the <a href="http://philadelphia.competitor.com/">Philly Distance Run.</a> <br /><br />I even had a dream a few nights ago that there was a 10 mile race by my house and J wasn't around and I kept telling myself that even though I haven't run in ELEVEN weeks now, I could just sign up and run it and be fine. In my dream, I kept running around the parking lot to see how I felt and was like, "Yeah, this is no problem, I feel great. I can sneak in the race and he will never know!"<br /><br />For some reason, I didn't end up doing it in my dream although I can't remember why. But I do remember that those few moments I was running around the parking lot, felt amazing. <br /><br />You know you haven't run in forever when you are dreaming about sneaking in road races. <br /><br />Oh well. I hope you like jogging strollers, Butterbean.Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-85332061197710123842009-09-14T18:23:00.000-07:002009-09-15T19:54:34.919-07:00Second Trimester HighTonight I had my 16 week appointment with my midwife. Actually, it was more like 15w5d, but who's counting?<br /><br />Besides me.<br /><br />Anyway, it was a great visit. I love my midwife SO much. My prenatal care did a complete 180 from when I was pregnant in Miami last year. Then, I was going to an OB in a practice with 5 other doctors. At my first appointment, I showed up all excited for my very first baby-doctor visit, only to be told, quite rudely by the way, that they had lost my appointment and wouldn't be able to see me until the next week. I should have known then to just find another place.<br /><br />After that, we only had two appointments there before we lost the baby. Both of those times we had to wait at least 45 minutes, if not more, to see our doctor. When we did get in there, we were rushed through blood work, told what we were going to get done (screenings, testing, etc) and handed a pregnancy brochure as we were rushed out the door before we had a chance to ask any of the 500 questions we had.<br /><br />Weeks later, after the perinatologist at the testing office noticed there was something wrong on the ultrasound we were a wreck while we waited for more testing. At our next regular appointment, we asked our Dr about it and were told, "Yeah, I saw something about that, I'm sure it's nothing, you'll be fine."<br /><br />A week later, we lost <a href="http://laurelruns.blogspot.com/2008/07/untitled.html">Baby Z</a>. We needed to get genetic testing done on it and the results were sent back to our Doctor's office. We spent almost a month playing phone tag, trying to get someone on the phone who could give us results. When we finally did, I was terrified, mad and beyond frustrated. I vowed, if I ever got pregnant again, I would find someone who treated me like a human being and not just another number on their list of crazy pregnant ladies they have to deal with everyday.<br /><br />After doing a lot of research, I decided that the midwifery approach was right for me. I knew J would never go for a non-hospital birth and while I greatly admire people who do it, I honestly have no desire to birth in my home. So we made a compromise and found a wonderful midwife who has her own private practice but delivers in a local hospital.<br /><br />My care with her so far has been amazing. She is compassionate, caring, hilarious and calm. She is also VERY accessible by phone or email. The best is that she is not some totally out there, hippy-dippy midwife, but very down-to-earth and filled with common sense. She is a complete advocate of natural childbirth, but at the same time, knows that sometimes there are things that are out of your control. Therefore, she is completely willing to create a birth plan that includes pain relief if needed without making you feel like some sort of failure to womankind. Midwives aren't for everyone, but for us, it's the perfect balance. We get the medical side if we need it (she works with backup doctors and perinatologists), the advocacy for natural childbirth that I want, and the coddling and reassurance that two terrified, baby-burned parents need from a caregiver.<br /><br />So, Jeremy is in Amsterdam right now (I know, WITHOUT me! Can you believe it?!?!?) so he had to miss our appointment tonight. He was pretty bummed about not hearing the baby's heartbeat on the doppler (after all we've been through, we live for this moment every couple of weeks). Anyway, he asked me to call him during the appointment so he could hear the heartbeat.<br /><br />So, here I am, laying on the table. My midwife has the doppler on my stomach and I'm all,<br /><br /> "Hang on, gotta call Amsterdam real quick."<br /><br />Instead of getting impatient, she was cracking up and playing along. While we had him on speakerphone, she made some comment about it being her "first international consultation."<br /><br />Love her.<br /><br />Anyway, everything was great. The heartbeat was fine and if everything goes well, we have our next ultrasound appointment scheduled in a month. I had some more random spotting issues (sorry guys...) a few weeks back that actually lasted two full weeks, but she got us in to hear the heartbeat and said it was to be expected with everything we had been through. It wasn't as scary and gorey as it had been, so I just dealt with it. And after two weeks it stopped. I am happy to say that today it has been one whole week of NO blood!!! Woo-hooo! (Knock on wood). It's been nice to have a somewhat stress-free week for once.<br /><br />Other that that, I have to say, so far the second tri has been everything people said it would be. My nausea has improved by about 85% and I'm feeling sooooo much better. I still get tired really easily, but compared to how I felt a month ago, I feel like a new woman.<br /><br />And while I have felt completely bloated for the past 16 weeks, I'm just now actually starting to feel my stomach getting bigger. Normally, if I press on my stomach, it just squishes down. Now, it feels like a small balloon is growing in there. It's very odd. I am proud to say though, that at almost 16 weeks I am still wearing all my normal clothes. However, I know that wont last very long. Getting bigger is a scary thought, but one I am ready for.<br /><br />That is really the only "complaint" I have right now which I'm not really complaining about. I'll take it any day over the excitement of my first trimester, which included, but was not limited to:<br /><br />abnormal bleeding<br />round-the-clock nausea<br />insatiable need to gag<br />excessive salivation<br />constipation<br />acne<br />overly sensitive sense to smell (had to change deodorant and laundry detergent to unscented)<br />food aversions (to everything but Lucky Charms, orange peanut butter crackers, chocolate milk and pickles)<br />all day dizziness<br />disgusting taste in my mouth all day and night<br />total exhaustion<br />dry skin<br />gas that had me doubled over in pain<br /><br />Yes. pregnancy is sexy.<br /><br />P.S. My pics will be back in about a week. Somehow I exceeded my bandwith. I'm too lazy to repost every picture on here, so I will just wait until my account resets itself.Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-62582477181185582622009-09-07T18:04:00.000-07:002009-09-07T19:17:31.279-07:00Home Sweet HomeSorry it's been so long...again. After a week or two of no activity I get a couple of FB messages asking if I'm ok (much appreciated). I'm perfectly fine, and so is Butterbean as far as I know. It's been a crazy couple of weeks and I just recently got internet back.<br /><br />First off, before I forget, I just want to say thank you all so much for all your encouraging words from my last two posts. When I wrote that first post, I wasn't sure if anyone would even come back to read it, since I'd been gone so long. I was shocked to see that an hour after I had published it, I already had 14 comments. Sometimes I can't believe the outpouring of support in the online running community. :) And trust me, with all the stress we have been under for the past few months, it truly means a lot. But I do have some wonderful news to report (finally), which is the reason I have been MIA for the past couple of weeks.<br /><br />Two weeks ago, Jeremy and I had the pleasure of closing on our very first house!!! YAY!!!!<br /><br />The process has been a total roller coaster and something we never thought we would see happen, but it finally did and we are beyond thrilled.<br /><br />We started looking for a place to live in Miami a few years ago. Unfortunately, at the time, the homes we would afford (condos with high association fees) were all ridiculously overpriced. But little did we know, our disappointment was a blessing in disguise. Had we bought one of those condos two years ago, we would have lost SO much money last year.<br /><br />Then we thought for a few months we were going to move to Sarasota, FL (where my parents live). Jeremy had a job opportunity there and for a couple of months, we looked for houses again. But that job opportunity unexpectedly fell through at the last minute and so did our quest for a home.<br /><br />Here in Philly, we decided it was a good idea to rent for a year while we tried to figure out where we wanted to live. We knew it was a good time to look again once we heard about the first-time homebuyers credit. We figured out that we would qualify for the full $8,000 and we knew we could get a decent place for almost the same amount we were paying in rent. So we set up a time to go out with our realtor who helped us with our rental (he's the best) in late March to start looking.<br /><br />But the Sunday we were set to go look with him was the same weekend I had the miscarriage. Jeremy offered to cancel, but since the worse of it was over, I insisted on going (stubborn much?). I needed something to look forward to and focus on besides the baby. So off we went.<br /><br />We spent the next two months looking at properties with our incredibly patient realtor, Michael Steele (I love saying his name, it sounds like a superhero). In total, we saw over 70 properties. We fell in love with one house, saw it twice, then decided the neighborhood was too far from the city and we wanted to be on a train line. Then we fell for another house with a great backyard, deck and view of the city. We saw it twice, but we realize it needed too much work and the upstairs was too small.<br /><br />The third house we fell in love with was a total rehab, huge, close to a train line and in a great part of the city we wanted to live in. We didn't totally, LOVE it, but we liked it and were at the point where we figured we would never have that "feeling" everyone talks about when they walk into a place and know "it's the one". We were so sick of looking at that point that we decided we liked it enough to put in an offer. We negotiated back and forth with a shady realtor and seller, but finally settled on a price. We were thrilled.<br /><br />But on the day of the inspection, I had the strangest feeling I couldn't explain. Everything inside of me was telling me not to get this house. I don't normally get feelings like that, or think much about them, but this one was overwhelming. The inspector found a ton of things wrong with the place. It was nothing that couldn't necessarily be fixed, but it was way too much for us to be comfortable with on our first home and it would have cost a LOT of money. We left the inspection totally confused and scared we were about to make a horrible mistake. As we left the house, we drove by another place that had just come up on the market the week we agreed on the last house. As we drove by it, I remember thinking how cute it was and if we were still looking, I would love to see it. After two days we decided we didn't want to renegotiate and pulled out of the deal.<br /><br />The next night I broke out in a horrible case of hives. HIVES!!! I have never had hives in my LIFE! I was so stressed out from looking for a house, and the agony of a bad inspection and deciding whether or not to take that bloody house, my body reacted by turning into a giant red, itchy MESS. It was so awful.<br /><br />So the next week, we dusted ourselves off for another Saturday tour of homes with Michael Steele. We had 7 houses on the list. The cute house was number two.<br /><br />As soon as we pulled up to the house and stepped out of the car, I knew this was where I wanted to live. It was a gorgeous, 1920's, tudor-style rowhome surrounded by huge mature trees on a wide, beautiful street. It was also four doors away from one of the best running trails in the city.<br /><br />As soon as we stepped through the arched doorway and entered the home, I had "the feeling". It was the best feeling ever.<br /><br />While we had to compromise on a few things with this home (mainly square footage), it had a lot of the things we were looking for (a ton of character, huge trees, close to our favorite park and train line, renovated, but not in cheap, shady, flipping the house sort of way). We decided we could size down a bit if the house had everything else we wanted, and this one did. We were in love. The best part is, the sellers were not some shady flippers looking to make a buck, but a nice family who loved the home and planned on being here a long time. The husband is a contractor and carpenter and renovated everything, so it's all done beautifully. It's a great feeling to buy a place and feel confident with the purchase, not scared that the master bathroom is literally going to fall off the back of the house (just one of the many concerns with the last house).<br /><br />We negotiated back and forth, went through (and paid for, ugh) another inspection, got the house appraised, renegotiated again and after three months of waiting on this house, we FINALLY closed two weeks ago. We have been waiting for this moment for so long, that as I sit here and write this in my very own living room, I still can't believe it. I am at a single moment in my life where I feel totally blessed.<br /><br />The past few weeks have been spent moving, painting, sewing, unpacking, shopping etc. It's been exhausting and wonderful all at once.<br /><br />There is so much more I want to write about it, but I'll save it for another post (probably with pics). Until then...<br /><br /><center><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=4852_95059744705_646384705_1805700_.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/4852_95059744705_646384705_1805700_.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"height=400></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=4852_95059574705_646384705_1805669_.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/4852_95059574705_646384705_1805669_.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=400></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=6160_121319299705_646384705_2167164.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/6160_121319299705_646384705_2167164.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=400></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=6160_121319354705_646384705_2167172.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/6160_121319354705_646384705_2167172.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"height=400></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=6160_121319314705_646384705_2167167.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/6160_121319314705_646384705_2167167.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"height=400></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=6160_121319364705_646384705_2167-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/6160_121319364705_646384705_2167-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=400></a><br /><br /></center>Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-82059178615933359932009-08-22T19:59:00.000-07:002009-08-23T18:04:36.686-07:00I'll Miss You RunningIt's been so long since I have gone for a run.<br /><br />I honestly can't even remember the last time, but it must have been about 5.5 weeks ago. When I had the bleeding episode at 7 weeks I had to take it easy for awhile. Once I got the approval from my Dr and Midwife to start again (at least a week after no bleeding/spotting at all and to take it EASY) I was so nauseous I could barely make the walk from the train to my office at work, let alone go for a run. Plus, the summer heat was really starting to do a number on me.<br /><br />So I just decided I wasn't going to worry about it. Some things are more important than running and right now I just needed my rest and try to make it through the first trimester.<br /><br />So I rested. And on the few cooler days that came around, J and I would go for a walk after work. From our house, to the end of all the bars on Main Street and back, is a nice 2 mile walk. It was surprisingly hard. Not only was I constantly sick and dizzy but I had zero lung capacity left. Most of the time, I am more out of breath walking up the stairs in my house than I have ever been running any distance. It's so odd how quickly your body changes.<br /><br />But recently, I have been getting restless. The past two weeks I have slowly been starting to feel a little better as far as the nausea goes. I still feel nauseous, but instead of it lasting from 11am-bedtime. It's last from 3-4pm-bedtime. Still sucks, but an improvement nonetheless.<br /><br />So, I have been thinking about running again. Not a lot, but maybe two or three short runs a week. After coming back to blogland and reading about all your adventures in running, I realized how much I missed it. I hadn't had any bleeding in 6 weeks and got a clean bill of health from my perinatologist, so what was I so scared of? I would keep walking for a few more weeks, and then once it cooled down a bit, start with some slow walk-running again.<br /><br />Then last Wednesday happened.<br /><br />I woke up at 5:00am on the first day of my 12th week of pregnancy to a soaking wet bed. In my half-dazed state, I wondered if I had wet the bed. But come on. We have all had the dream where we were going to the bathroom only to wake up just in time to avert a crisis. And I didn't have that dream. As a matter of fact, I had to go.<br /><br />So I stumbled through the dark bedroom to the bathroom and went. When I stood up, to my horror, I saw a toilet full of bright red blood. Not spotting, not "old blood" as the Drs like to call it, but a crime scene in my toilet (Once again, sorry boys).<br /><br />Jeremy and I made our way to the ER in complete silence. We knew this was it and we couldn't believe it had taken this long for it to finally happen.<br /><br />But once again, we sat in the dark ultrasound room to see a happy little baby, swimming around and waving at us. A nice, strong heartbeat. Cervix was closed. Everything was fine.<br /><br />Tell me why we decided to do this whole parenting thing again? <br /><br />Long story short, the ER doc (who was an ass) had no idea what was wrong with me. As I laid there he asked, <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"So I assume you are here for an ultrasound?"</span><br /><br />Like I was some crazy pregnant lady who just wanted to see a picture of my baby. <br /><br />Um, I dunno doc. I'm here because it looked like someone cut their arm off in my bathroom. YOU tell me what my next steps are.<br /><br />Ugh.<br /><br />Also, maybe you could be a little more rough when you are giving me a pelvic exam? I think you could jam that speculum in me a little faster and crank it up a little farther. I don't think the people on MARS can see my cervix.<br /><br />Anyway, we were relieved, but still terrified. What the hell was happening?<br /><br />My midwife is a saint and pulled some strings to get us in the next morning to see another perinatologist and get more scans.<br /><br />Once again, everything was fine. Baby looked great and they couldn't tell exactly where the bleeding was coming from. Since it seems to all come at once, then taper off to spotting before going away (miscarriage is usually the opposite) they think it may be coming from a small area where he said he sees the membrane had lifted up a bit and blood pooled before just releasing. He also said he can't be 100% sure, but as long as the baby is healthy, we are good. I may just be one of those unlucky women who bleed throughout my pregnancy. Scary, yes, but not necessarily a problem for the baby.<br /><br />He told me to take it easy for a few days and no exercise for a week (anytime I have a bleed like that). Other than that, I can resume normal activity again.<br /><br />I will say the one good thing about this happening when it did, was that I have been so sick lately that I have done absolutely ZERO exercise in the past week and half before this happened. So i know for a fact that it didn't have anything to do with it. Which is what they have been telling me all along, but now I can believe it.<br /><br />However, even with all that, I am seriously considering just giving up on the running dream until this troublemaker is born. At this point, I don't know if I will ever be comfortable with it. And I know J will not be cool with it either. We have had so many scares, I just don't think it's worth it. If for nothing more, than just peace of mind.<br /><br />Looks like I'll be taking up power walking. Maybe I can change my blog to "A Brand New Life as a Totally Stressed Out Mother of a Child Who is Already Sending Me to an Early Grave and Power Walker."<br /><br />Good Lord, how bored will all of you be after reading about my pregnancy drama and WALKING for 6 more months? I feel for you.<br /><br />So, you know what FIVE ultrasounds in 12 weeks means, right? MORE baby pics. These were taken at our 12w1d appointment with the peri. After my heart settled back into my chest after the terror of the previous day, we could actually enjoy the pictures. We can start to see some more features here, which is always fun.<br /><br />Enjoy seeing the kid while you can. After it's born, it will be grounded for at least two months.<br /><br /><center><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=Picture5-3.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/Picture5-3.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=350></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=Picture8-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/Picture8-1.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=350></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=Picture9-2.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/Picture9-2.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=350></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=Picture10-2.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/Picture10-2.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=350></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=Picture12-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/Picture12-1.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=350></a></center>Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-18281313917209396272009-08-13T17:33:00.000-07:002009-08-14T11:56:16.458-07:00The MotherloadBlogging is sort of like running, or exercising in general. Once you fall off the wagon, it can become pretty hard to get motivated and jump back on again. <br /><br />There were a million times in the past 4.5 months that I thought about posting again. Lord knows I had plenty to write about. But it was always hard to get started. Mostly because there hasn't been a whole lot of running going on with me since the National Half in March. Its kind of hard to write a running blog when there is sporadic running at best. <br /><br />Even though I haven't had much to say, I have been keeping up with a lot of you guys. I have seen <a href="http://run-denise-run.blogspot.com/2009/08/whats-your-favorite-blog.html">Denise</a> run her first ultra and <a href="http://twentyonedayhabit.blogspot.com/">Jess</a> have her first baby. I've also seen some of you retire (hello Marcy) and I've kept up with a lot of you on Facebook. After awhile, I realized that even if I wasn't running as much as I wanted to, I missed being here. I wanted to come back.<br /><br />So, here I am again. Trying to jump back on that horse. Life has been interesting the past few months.<br /><br />On March 28th, 2009, one week to the day after running the National Half Marathon, I lost another baby. I didn't want to get into the drama of it at the time, I just wanted to unplug and deal with it. Losing two pregnancies in less than two years was of course, more than traumatic and suddenly nothing else seemed to matter. The thought of blogging was overwhelming at best. And sadly, this was one event in my life that running just could not save me from.<br /><br />The particular circumstances surrounding the loss of this pregnancy were different than the one we lost in Miami. This one was earlier (just shy of nine weeks) and was just a simple miscarriage, which the one in Miami was not. Of course none of this made it any easier. However, once you have lost a pregnancy, a subsequent pregnancy is just spent waiting for the other shoe to drop. I spent those 9 weeks pregnant hopefully optimistic, but secretly waiting for the day something would go wrong. When it finally did, I was devastated and heartbroken, but I wasn't surprised. Sadly, I think this fact made it a little easier to heal.<br /><br />We had decided to wait to tell anyone we were pregnant until after the end of the first trimester, so when we ended up telling some family and friends we had lost another pregnancy they were shocked. Unfortunately I have learned, when something unexplainable happens to you, and your friends and family do not have a scientific reason for why it happened, their first human response is to give you <span style="font-style:italic;">their</span> reason for why it happened. This usually involves their newfound religious and/or medical expertise. I suppose this is just a knee-jerk reaction to try to "fix" things and make the other person feel better. Unfortunately, most times, it has the opposite effect.<br /><br />The first time we lost the baby in Miami it was the inevitable "It was God's will." or, "It was for the best.", both infuriating responses by the way which you should never tell a woman who has just lost a pregnancy/baby. <br /><br />As a matter of fact, while I'm on this little rant, I'll give you all a tip: If a woman (or man) you care about loses a pregnancy or young baby she does not want to hear your reasoning why what happened happened. Especially from people with no medical training or who have not met God personally. All she wants from you, is for you to say you are so sorry, that you will be there for her and to listen to her. That's it. Trust me on this one. I have spoken to many women who have lost pregnancies since this has all happened, and this is one thing we all agree on. Many well-meaning responses from friends and family can come off as incredibly insensitive. (Stepping off soap box).<br /><br />This time, things were a little different. This time, in my friends and family's eyes, there was one giant, obvious reason for why I lost the pregnancy - running. The first response I got from most of my family and friends was an earful about how I shouldn't have been running while I was pregnant. And that it was no coincidence that I ran a half-marathon and lost the baby the next week.<br /><br />Nevermind the fact that the pregnancy losses I had were totally unrelated (meaning there was no underlying medical reason from me not to run, which was confirmed by my Dr and midwife. Nevermind that fact that the estimated number of pregnancies that end in miscarriage run anywhere between 20-50%. Nevermind the fact that I was given the go-ahead by both my midwife and Dr to keep running as long as I stayed hydrated, didn't overheat and didn't overdo it, which I listened to religiously. Nevermind the fact that I had been training for a full marathon for months and dropped down to the half to "take it easy" (not because of a bad foot like I told all of you, sorry for the fib). Nevermind the fact that all the people making me feel guilty and essentially blaming me for for killing my baby know nothing about running (or exercising in general), think a half-marathon is the same as running 100 miles, have no medical background and haven't been pregnant in years or ever. Nevermind the fact that some of the women saying this to me had miscarriages of their own and they NEVER run.<br /><br />And with all of that. And even though my Dr and midwife both told me that the running had nothing to do with anything. That running does not cause miscarriages, that NOTHING you do causes or prevents miscarriage. There is always that little voice in the back of my head that wonders, "what if...?" And with that, I was mad at all of the people who were telling me what I did was wrong. Not because I knew they were right, but because I was letting myself start to believe them a little. And that made me extremely sad.<br /><br />After a few weeks, I was able to run again, but I had no desire. I was mad at running and barely made it out there. I was tired and empty and angry. It was starting to get warmer and I missed my winter running. I missed daydreaming on my runs about how I was going to be the fit, pregnant runner that other runners marveled at. <br /><br />All year, I had planned on running my first <a href="http://www.broadstreetrun.com/site3.aspx">Broad Street Run</a>. But since I was barely running and had no desire to train, I knew it wouldn't be a good idea. Then, the week before the race, something came over me and I knew I had to go run it. I made Jeremy take me to the expo and we signed up just before it filled up. And even though I had only run about 4 short runs in the two months leading up to the 10 mile race, we ran it in a decent time: 1:26:19/8:33 pace. Thats the best overall pace I have ever run for a race longer than a 5K.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=n646384705_1588393_4367294.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/n646384705_1588393_4367294.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=300></a></center><br /><br />Running that race, was the best thing could have done. I felt wonderful and suddenly remembered why I loved running so much to begin with. Running the Broad Street Run was my first step in healing. Something all the people who had scolded me for running could never and probably would never understand.<br /><br /> Soon, I was back to an easy 3-4 runs a week and an easy 4-6 miles per run. I was feeling great and starting to plan some fall races in my head when life threw another curve ball at me.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=test_6_23.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/test_6_23.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=350></a></center><br /><br />This time things have been interesting (like we would expect anything else at this point).<br /><br />The first few weeks were filled with very, light, easy running and biking. My pace slowed down a lot without me even trying (11 minute miles every time) which was totally fine with me. I wasn't concerned about running as much anymore as I was about staying healthy. But honestly, I didn't have a choice. I was starting to get really tired and sick right from the start.<br /><br />Then at 6 weeks, I started bleeding again. We chalked it up to another loss and spent the next two days grieving and planning to meet with a genetics counciler. But after the first initial bleed, it turned to spotting (sorry boys) and then went away and came back sporadically. Since this was different than the miscarriage a few months back, we were told to go to the ER. After a 5 hour wait in the emergency room, we got our first glimpse of our tiny, little butter bean and heard the "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" of it's beating heart over our stunned silence.<br /><br />We also got a nice view of a subchorionic hemorrhage, a blood clot on the outside of the uterus that was causing the bleeding. Diagnosed with a "threatened miscarriage" we were told to go home, take it easy, and get another ultrasound in week to see if the baby was still alive.<br /><br />Most people in this situation would be a wreck for the next week. But sadly, J and I are old pros at the bad-diagnosis/waiting game by now. I would be lying if I were to tell you we weren't worried, but somehow, after grieving the loss for two days and then seeing that it was still alive...it was quite a reversal of thinking. It seemed somehow that the roller coaster had come to a stop, and suddenly, I really did feel like some sort of miracle had occurred -as hokey as that sounds. Hokey or not, I felt at peace.<br /><br />At the eight week ultrasound, Baby was growing and the heartbeat was stronger. The hemorrhage was still there, but not huge. I was told not to lift laundry up and down the stairs or vacuum. Oh no. Not that. <br /><br />And again, I was told to just to sit and wait. They didn't have an answer to our questions on the fate of this baby. There wasn't anything they could tell me but to take it easy. Which wasn't hard since all I wanted to do was curl up in bed and sob about how the room wouldn't stop spinning and everything smelled bad. Oh, the joys of pregnancy.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=Picture1-9.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/Picture1-9.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=350></a></center><br /><br />An old friend (who runs while pregnant and has had a couple of miscarriages herself and a beautiful baby boy) kept feeding me wonderful advice. "It's out of your control. There is nothing you can do to cause or prevent it." With her support and the same support of my midwife, this became my mantra. As scary as that thought is, and I have lived it with worse outcomes, right now everything was fine. Worrying wouldn't change anything.<br /><br />Before the bleeding, I had barely acknowledged the pregnancy for fear it would be taken away from me. But sitting in the emergency room, when I saw we had been given another chance, I knew we couldn't blow it. This baby deserved all the pomp and circumstance that every new pregnancy gets. I wanted people to be happy for it and to celebrate it was here. Not to hide it in fear. That's not the way we wanted our baby to enter into existence.<br /><br />So, we spilled the beans early, which a lot of people wondered about considering our history. But it felt good. We told our family and good friends and people at work. We told them our troubles and asked for their support and good thoughts in any form possible and hoped that the power of positive thinking in mass quantities would work in our favor. And people were happy for us. Even if something did happen to this baby, at least we had this moment.<br /><br />So, here we are. I'm 11 weeks, 2 days today. The thought of "being out of the woods" will never be a concept I can grasp, so we are taking it one day at a time and that's all we can ask for. <br /><br />We had an 11 week ultrasound two days ago with a outcome I had never experienced in all of the 8 ultrasounds I have had with the three pregnancies - a totally healthy diagnosis. Baby was measuring 2 days ahead and the heartbeat was strong (174). All signs of the hemorrhage were gone, simply reabsorbed back into my body.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=Picture5-2.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/Picture5-2.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=350></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=Picture7-3.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/Picture7-3.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=350></a></center><br /><br />As I nervously asked the perinatologist what-if after what-if, he finally said to me,<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you are a perfectly normal, healthy, pregnant woman."</span><br /><br />Which I think was the single best thing anyone has ever said to me.Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-28529642941787303462009-04-01T18:38:00.000-07:002009-04-01T19:20:53.787-07:00CrapI have had a shitty, shitty week.<br /><br />I'm not going to lay it all out again since I have done that enough on here this past year and I just don't have the energy.<br /><br />Sorry to be all "whoa is me." We'll be fine, but I do need to unplug for a bit. Right now I just have no motivation for writing blogs/reading blogs/facebook/internet/running/work/life in general...hopefully it will change in a few days.<br /><br />Congratulations to all of you who raced this past week. Especially all my Ocean Drive homies.<br /><br />I'll leave you all with the rest of the pictures I promised from DC. Enjoy.<br /><br /><center><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=dc1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"height=450></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=dc14.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc14.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"height=450></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=dc10.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc10.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"height=450></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=dc12.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc12.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=450></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=dc15.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc15.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=450></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=dc6.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc6.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=450></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=dc7.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc7.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=450></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=dc8.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc8.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=450></a><br /><br /><a 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href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=dc52.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc52.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=450></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=dc51.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc51.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=450></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=dc45.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc45.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"height=450></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=dc59.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc59.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=450></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=dc55.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc55.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=450></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=dc61.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc61.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=450></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=dc62.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc62.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=450></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=dc54.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc54.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=450></a></center>Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-34366049017924791492009-03-23T16:04:00.000-07:002009-03-24T20:29:03.722-07:00National Half Marathon Report<span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">*Warning: Long-Winded Race Report Below*<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span></span><br /><br />Hi all, sorry for the delay. It's been a busy couple of days.<br /><br />First off, I need to correct my time from my last post. I think I forgot to shut off my watch so my official chip time was:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1:55:25</span><br /><br /><br />Yeah bi%ches!<br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view&current=Picture1-8.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/Picture1-8.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket" width="500"></a><br /><br />And since you all are DYING to know J's time, (that aren't on FB and already know) I'll post it here so you don't have to wait in suspense until the bottom of my post:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3:55:04!!!!</span><br /><br />For those of you who are keeping track, that is a <span style="font-weight:bold;">TWENTY-FIVE minute marathon PR!!!!</span> Who the eff does that? <br /><br />It just goes to show how sick he was during the Philly Marathon (and how much faster we could have run). No wonder I felt so good after that marathon!<br /><br />Anyway, it was wonderful, I was sooooooo proud of him. More on that later.<br /><br />So, we got up early on Friday and headed out to Washington. It was an easy drive, only 3 hours and that includes an early lunch stop at Cracker Barrel. <br /><br />Yes, we ate at Cracker Barrel the day before our race. Don't laugh, we both had huge PRs. I will now eat Chicken and Dumplings with mashed potatoes and green beans before every race.<br /><br />We arrived in DC and checked into our hotel around 1pm. This was my first time in DC and I have to say, it was pretty nice. It is much cleaner than I expected. Or, maybe I have just been in Philly too long (<span style="font-style:italic;">I love Philly, don't send me I-love-Philly hate mail, but c'mon, it's dirty</span>). The only thing that I didn't like about DC was the traffic. It was awful and people drive like they do in Miami, really, REALLY bad. Philly may have a ton of traffic, but at least people can drive. <br /><br />Oh, and what's with all the DIAGONAL streets in DC? Every intersection has like, 6 crosswalks. It's very confusing and deadly.<br /><br />Once we parked the car, we realized we wold not be driving anywhere again until we left. While the hotel was no where near the race site, it was only a few blocks from the Metro which was super-convenient. We quickly figured out where it was and how it worked and before you knew it, we were at the expo.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view&current=marathon2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/marathon2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" width="400"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view&current=marathon1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/marathon1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" width="400"></a></center><br /><br />The expo was nothing special really. It is still a pretty small race so the vendors were a little disappointing. I did manage to finally pick up a bondi band which I have been meaning to try forever. I also picked up this totally awesome shirt.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view&current=dc63.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/dc63.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" width="400"></a></center><br /><br />While the race never technically went into Virginia, I still had to have it. Mainly because it's funny, but also because the National Half Marathon shirts were soooooooooooooo hideous, I had to make up for it somehow.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view&current=marathon10.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/marathon10.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" height="400"></a></center><br /><br />WTF color is that? SALMON? It kind of looks pink and kind of looks orange but let me assure you, it is NOT pink and it is NOT orange..."porange?" The full marathon shirts were blue and much cuter. I got salmon. Stupid ankle.<br /><br />After the expo, we headed back to the room, dropped off our stuff and headed out to dinner (veggie wrap with a baked potato). We were both exhausted for some reason and we headed back to the room right after dinner. Normally, this is where I post a shot of all my gear laid out, but I was so tired that night, that I didn't feel like putting in all the effort. I packed what I could, took a hot shower and quickly feel asleep.<br /><br />The next morning I woke up feeling pretty good. I got ready, ate my peanut butter and bread (no toaster) and banana, loaded up on water and choked down some horrid hotel coffee. J and I both took turns going to the bathroom about 500 times and then we headed out around 5am.<br /><br />Look how well my reflective hat works! I have never seen it all lit up before! I actually doubted that it even worked.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view&current=marathon3-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/marathon3-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" width="400"></a></center><br /><br />The hotel had a shuttle that rode to and from the race, but we decided to skip it and just do the metro again since they opened it up at 5am for the marathon. We got there just as they were opening the gates and we were quickly surrounded by other marathoners. Although the start was on the other side of town from our hotel, it was very convenient to get to.<br /><br />We got there way too early though and it was freezing out. A chilly 32 degrees and still dark. Even though I knew it was perfect running weather, I wasn't looking forward to standing outside for 2 hours, especially since in my tired state, I forgot to pack a throwaway sweatshirt for the start. Since I had to put my jacket in my bag and check it, I was instantly freezing and we walked around trying to keep warm. We ended up taking about 20 more trips to the port-o-potties as our nerves were tricking us into thinking we had to go. But sadly, I realized towards the end, I was really just hanging out in the port-o-potties to stay warm. Yuck.<br /><br /><center>Here I am, all reflective again. Look at my gloves!<br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view&current=marathon6.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/marathon6.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" height="400"></a></center><br /><br />It wasn't until about 30 minutes before the start that we realized the Armory next to the start was open and runners were hanging out inside to stay warm (duh). So we headed over and hung out in there until right before the race started. Then we made one final trip to their bathroom and walked to the start.<br /><br />The start was very well organized. The announcements were loud and clear and everyone seemed to line up in their correct corral. We heard the National Anthem and we were off.<br /><br />I honestly don't remember a lot of details about this race, just random pieces. It seems like the whole thing went by in a total blur. Maybe it's because I ran it so fast. HA! Here are a few highlights of what I do recall:<br /><br />• There were a TON of half marathoners and only a handful of full marathoners.<br /><br />• The weather was PERFECT! 33 degrees, sunny and NO wind. It was a day made for PRs.<br /><br />• The race opened up right away once we crossed the start mat. There was hardly any crowding at the start and it was real easy to find your groove.<br /><br />• The first 1.5 miles we ran up East Capitol Street toward the Capitol building. The sun was rising up on the building from behind us and it was a blazing orange. After that we ran past the National Mall and the Washington Memorial as they glowed in the morning sun. It was easily four of the most breathtaking miles I had ever run. It was an amazing way to see these beautiful monuments for the first time.<br /><br />• Around mile 4 my ankle/calf/foot started stiffening. It wasn't incredibly painful but it did make me happy I wasn't running the full. It would feel stiff and "off" the rest of the race.<br /><br />• After that, it got hilly, especially between miles 4-8. As a matter of fact, I am beginning to think any old marathon can advertise as "flat and fast" nowadays. Who sets the criteria for this? It was not flat. My splits will show you what I mean. They were all over the place.<br /><br />• The good news is for every uphill, there was a downhill. Mile 8 in particular was very nice, as you will see in my splits.<br /><br />• There was no music on this course which was weird. It seemed quiet.<br /><br />• Some mile markers were hard to read (too low to the ground) so I missed them. For those of us recording our splits without a Garmin, that kind of sucks.<br /><br />• There was hardly any crowd presence. There were at a few designated spots but for the most part it was pretty empty. It didn't bother me for the half as much as it probably would have for the full. That being said, the crowds that were out were great.<br /><br />• The volunteers were awesome, as usual.<br /><br />• Most of the last 9 miles of the race were through neighborhoods. I had no idea where I was, but it was pretty nonetheless.<br /><br />• They were tearing down some random building that we ran by. It was crazy to hear the wrecking ball smash into it while we were running.<br /><br />• We ran through a couple of small tunnels which made me feel claustrophobic.<br /><br />• At mile 8 I looked at my watch and freaked out because I realized I wasn't going to hit a sub 2 hour, so I sped up for a mile. When I hit the next mile marker I saw I was at mile 10 and had plenty of time. Woops.<br /><br />• I never really hit a "wall" at all. I just ran steady the entire time and felt good. I'm sure a lot of it had to do with the weather.<br /><br />• This was the first half- marathon or marathon that I didn't feel like I was going to die the last mile. I finished feeling really strong and felt like I could have run a few more miles (maybe not another 13.1).<br /><br />• I didn't have to go to the bathroom once during the race and didn't end up going again until after we got back to the hotel.<br /><br />Here are the splits:<br /><br />1. 9:22(walk break)<br />2. 8:29<br />3. 8:14<br />4. 9:00 (walk break)<br />5. 8:45<br />6. 11:30 (big hill and walk break)<br />7. 8:00 (downhill)<br />8. 7:58 (downhill)<br />9. 9:02 (walk break)<br />10. 8:08<br />11. 8:31<br />12. 9:14 (walk break)<br />13. 8:13<br />.01. 53:43<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1:55:25 (8:49 pace)</span><br /><br />All in all it was a great race. It was definitely perfect weather which I'm sure is what led to so many PR's that day (the first three winners of the men's marathon all beat the course record and the mayor of DC PR'ed by over 10 minutes).<br /><br />Before the race, I had talked to J about our plans for running. I told him I didn't want to run with him this time because I didn't want to hold him back if I was hurting and I didn't want to have to try an keep up with him. On the other hand, I wanted to PR for my half and since he was running the full and trying to hold back the first half, I didn't want to slow down to stay with him if I felt good.<br /><br />I was also running my first race (half or full marathon) without taking regular walk breaks. A few months ago (after my tendonitis was already bothering me) I decided to start seeing if I could start phasing them out. It's been working pretty well and I wanted to see how I would run a race doing it, since I have already run 16 miles without them. I made a decision that I would only stop for water and that I would only take about 30 second breaks, or however long I needed to drink. And then about 2-3 times, I would make one of those water stops a full minute.<br /><br />Jeremy was still doing his walk breaks, but instead of stopping to walk one minute every mile PLUS walk through water, he just planned his water stops into his walk breaks.<br /><br />In our little experiment, I found that I run exactly the same pace when I take walk breaks as I do when I don't. As J stopped to take his first walk break, I told him I loved him, wished him well and kept running. About 2 miles later he passed me. Then, I passed him at this next walk break, then he passed me about 5 minutes later, etc. This went on the entire race and he ended up right behind me, veering off to finish the full, as I ran across the finish to the half.<br /><br />All in all, I don't know which is a better plan. But at least I know I can run it both ways and am the same pace. And actually, because of all the hills, the last walk break I took, it was really hard for me to start again. My legs were getting stiff. That made it easier to just keep running.<br /><br />After the race I got my bag from bag check which was just thrown on a table with about 2000 other bags for you to pick up with NO ONE there to help. That was a huge mistake in my book. Not sure what happened there but I don't like the idea that anyone could grab whatever bag they wanted. Plus, it took me forever to find my black backpack in a sea of black backpacks.<br /><br />After I changed and ate a bagel, I scoped out a great spot to wait for J and watch all the runners come in.I had a blast cheering everyone on and loved listening to the announcer and Burt Yasso announcing everyone as they came in. They did a fantastic job.<br /><br />Around 3:50, I started getting a little nervous that maybe Jeremy wouldn't come in under 4. This has happened in the past and it's never easy. I knew he looked strong when I last saw him, but you never know what could happen out there. I was suddenly worried and sad to think of him out on the course all alone.<br /><br />But soon enough, I saw him come around the bend and make his way towards the finish (it's hard to miss him with his newly-grown hair).<br /><br />Here's the joyous event caught on tape. I warn you, you might want to turn down your volume. I got a little excited when I saw him.<br /><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxBWOYt9bpjXx9KrTtceAbmfoVpCku4WWAR8K3nPyLnjMTGrK5td3dkuOtLXSC8Fnst7YPz7XcfyY4' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></center><br /><br />He did so great and smiled the whole way in. I was soooooo proud of him.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view&current=marathon8.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/marathon8.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" height="400"></a></center><br /><br />All-in-all it was a great day in DC.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=marathon9.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/marathon9.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=400></a></center><br /><br />Afterwards we headed back to the hotel (I was freezing from standing in the cold for two hours), took hot showers, ate and then walked around DC for FIVE hours. Yes, you heard right. We didn't mean to, but really wanted to see as much of DC as we could while we were there. <br /><br />Of course, later that night, we were passed out in bed by 9pm. With visions of PRs dancing in our heads.Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-38845159273090542172009-03-21T07:15:00.000-07:002009-03-21T07:16:22.172-07:00National Half Marathon<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4daBoPkYLvVcS2wn9DfXwLcyWed70jukxV0f9KTJ2zpLB0bVjizdHOYxFWsnHE6Uh4z164lLCIO7lVcYirx7gvHSmnU45lzN_PkoZM68L80zAle4Qi4DHGOI5mqG1ijHoDSI0w/s1600-h/photo-782174.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4daBoPkYLvVcS2wn9DfXwLcyWed70jukxV0f9KTJ2zpLB0bVjizdHOYxFWsnHE6Uh4z164lLCIO7lVcYirx7gvHSmnU45lzN_PkoZM68L80zAle4Qi4DHGOI5mqG1ijHoDSI0w/s320/photo-782174.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315644724618792066" /></a></p>1:55:40!!!<p>9 minute PR!!!<p>Still waiting for J...Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-41600221014682557752009-03-19T17:37:00.000-07:002009-03-19T18:04:42.002-07:00Off to DCTomorrow morning we wake up early to head to DC. Since the marathon is on a Saturday (odd) the expo is only one day-Friday. Luckily for us, I have Friday's off.<br /><br />We're all packed up and ready to go. Unfortunately, a certain someone that shall remain nameless, that I may or may not be married to, might be suffering from a bit of "taper madness". <br /><br />The aforementioned person has a sudden habit of fake-coughing while mumbling about feeling like he's <span style="font-style:italic;">"coming down with something"</span> or <span style="font-style:italic;">"feeling funny"</span> and rushes to find the Thera-Flu.<br /><br />When I lovingly mentioned to our no-named hypochondriac that he was NOT sick, it was all in his head and he should NOT be taking cold medicine if he is not sick, especially before running a marathon, the reaction may or may not have been something like this:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"YOU DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL INSIDE!!!!"</span><br /><br />Oh boy. Calm down buddy. Here, drink this NyQuil too.<br /><br />Other than that, we're doing fine and we're going to have a great day. I can feel it. <br /><br />I enjoyed a nice 6.5 mile run last night when I got home from work. The weather was amazing outside (65) and it was sunny the entire run! This makes running much more enjoyable now that I can switch up the routes a bit. No more back and forth, two times to run along a well-lit street.<br /><br />The weather for Saturday is going to be perfect. 33 and sunny at the start. By the time J rolls in right before 11, it should only have gotten up to about 42. Beautiful!<br /><br />I can't wait to check this race out. I have a feeling it's going to be a race I will want to do for years to come. It's great to have a big race to train for at this time of the year to keep you active in the winter. And mid-March usually has decent weather for race day (when it's not raining).<br /><br />My bib number is <span style="font-weight:bold;">7997</span>! I'm really excited about this number! Two lucky number 7's and 2 nines! I love the number 9.<br /><br />But my favorite number is 5. And guess what my corral is? Ooooh-yeah. Numbah FIVE baby. I'm all set.<br /><br />So, I have been an awful blogger buddy lately. I just haven't had much time to do a lot of commenting. Next week will be a bit busy too since Sunday when we get back my 14 year old stepson is coming out to stay with us for a few days from California. It's his first trip to Philly and we can't wait to see him, so I will try to be on here as soon as I can with a race report, but I can't make any promises for a few days.<br /><br />I will however post an official race pic/time with my trusty iphone. :)<br /><br />Hope you all have a great weekend!!Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-44444726860408995862009-03-16T19:23:00.000-07:002009-03-16T20:36:43.028-07:00Ready to take on Washington<center><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=washington-dc.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/washington-dc.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=400></a></center><br /><br />I'm starting to finally get excited about this weekend. While I may not be doing the full 26.2 any longer, I am actually looking forward to a little mini-vacation with J. The race is on Saturday and I'm hoping we can spend at least a little time Sunday wandering around in the morning so I can see a sight or two. And thankfully, since I'm only doing the 13.1, I will be able to walk a bit more pain-free the next day.<br /><br />Nevermind that J is still running the full. Walking around a few extra miles wont kill him. He's tough like bull.<br /><br />I got in a few decent runs last week. I have slowed my pace from roughly a 8:45 to a 9:00-9:10mm pace for most of my runs now and am finding that at this pace, I can last longer on my ankle. As a mater of fact, I ran quite steady on all three of my runs this week and my leg felt great. I've been stretching more again too (I got lazy for about a month) and am starting to feel a difference. I need to be careful because sometimes I can feel the stiffness into the entire right leg and I know it's from stronger muscles having to make up for the weaker ones. But I'm slowly taking it easy and making sure I don't get hurt.<br /><br />I also desperately need a new pair of shoes. I looked up the mileage on mine last night on <a href="http://www.runstoppable.com/">runstoppable</a> and realized I had over 314 miles on them. And I know I haven't logged every run I have done on the website, like, for example, the PHILADELPHIA MARATHON! That is just one of a few I have been to lazy to map out and log, so I know I have at least 40-50 more miles on them than it's showing.<br /><br />OK, I'm just going to say this, even though it may sound totally stupid. I wear Asics 2140's and this last pair I had to get in a different color that I normally wear. I swear to you, ever since I got these shoes, (about a month before the Philadelphia Marathon) I started noticing a numbness in my ankle. It happened on one of the first runs I wore them on and has been bothering me ever since. Is there any possible way that a different color of the same shoe could be made a bit differently? DON'T LAUGH! They are the same width, so I know that wasn't the issue.<br /><br />I told you it was stupid. But I can't explain it. These shoes (white and teal) give me weird pains that the other two pairs of 2140's didn't (white and dark blue). Odd stuff. Maybe it's the way I am lacing them. <br /><br />Great, now I have to find that issue of Runners World from a few months back about tying your shoes the right way (the article I totally skipped over). Anyway, I'm going to have to run the half in my white and teal, badly-tied, ankle-numbing shoes because I can't afford a new pair until next month.<br /><br />As far as goals for this HM, they have gone back and forth. I was originally hoping for a sub 2, but I don't want to become too attached to that in case I start to hurt. I do however, have a good feeling about being able to PR (2:04) so that is my second goal. Third goal is just to finish without getting hurt, which, who am I kidding, I will probably be pissed if that's as good as it gets. I know I should be happy with that, but I'm just being honest here.<br /><br />I think if I keep it consistent and steady I will have an awesome chance to PR and a petty good chance to get a sub 2. It's supposed to be a beautiful day on Saturday for a race (partly cloudy, high of 55). Fingers crossed.<br /><br />Also, I came across <a href="http://26point2medals.com/">this blog</a> tonight. It's all marathon medals from different races. He doesn't have all of them, but he does have quite a few on there. It's fun to look through.<br /><br />Monday, 3/9 -off <br />Tuesday, 3/10 - off<br />Wednesday, 3/11 - 6.4 miles/57:47 - 9:04 pace<br />Thursday, 3/12 - off<br />Friday, 3/13 - off<br />Saturday, 3/14 - 8.43 miles/1:17:08 - 9:08 pace<br />Sunday, 3/15 - 7.3 miles/1:05:43 - 8:59 pace<br /><br /><b>Total Weekly Mileage: 22.11 miles</b>Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-72252524658316194362009-03-08T18:14:00.001-07:002009-03-08T18:51:38.240-07:00I Got Nothin....I was wondering all day about what I was going to post here tonight, but I seriously got nothin' for you. My life has been dull, dull, dull. <br /><br />Basically, the same old, same old: <br /><br />• Work is kicking my butt. I can't wait until April 20th, when this huge project of mine will be OVAH. Reminding myself every day that a lot of people would be happy to have a job right now, so stop complaining.<br /><br />• Got in four decent runs. Slowing down the pace a bit for my ankle.<br /><br />• Ankle/foot still bothering me.<br /><br />• Bought a new pair of running shorts/tights from Target this week. I love them! They may be a bit too warm in July, but for the next few months, they are perfect. I even got to bust them out on THREE runs this weekend. <br /><br />• J is still kicking butt and taking names. I am so excited for him about this marathon.<br /><br />• The weather here is wacky. Monday was 8" of snow and a low of 5 degrees. Now, the past three days we have seen the highs from the upper 60's-low 70's. Beautiful and weird, all at the same time.<br /><br />Here is what it looked like as I walked to the train on Monday.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=IMG_0377.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/IMG_0377.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"height=400></a></center><br /><br />Here are people frolicking in the spring-like temperatures in Rittenhouse Square yesterday as we wandered the city. They are literally dancing!<br /><br /><center><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=IMG_0405.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/IMG_0405.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=400></a></center><br /><br />I am having a bit of trouble adjusting to running in the warmer temps. While it was nice this weekend to not to run in two pairs of tights, 3-4 long sleeved shirts, a skull cap and gloves, it was still a bit of a shock.<br /><br />On Wednesday, when it was still cooler, I ran a speedier 6.5 with almost no effort (57:49/8:53 pace). Then on Friday, I went out in 68 degree weather and thought I was going to die. I actually cut my run short to a little over 4 and made up for it the rest of the weekend. All runs this weekend were in the 9:15-9:20 pace range. And felt much more difficult.<br /><br />I have turned into such a wimp. Two years ago, I was training for my first marathon in Miami from June to October. I was running my 20 milers in record setting high temperatures. Had I known I would be complaining about 66 degrees being too warm, I would have kicked my ass. What can I say? I love running in the cold. <br /><br />Not the wind, but the cold. :)<br /><br />Anyway, that's all I got. I hope you homies had a more exciting week than we did around here. <br /><br /><center><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=IMG_0400.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/IMG_0400.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=400></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=IMG_0402.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/IMG_0402.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"width=400></a></center><br /><br />Monday, 3/2 -off <br />Tuesday, 3/3 - off<br />Wednesday, 3/4 - 6.5 miles/57:49 - 8:53 pace<br />Thursday, 3/5 - off<br />Friday, 3/6 - 4.28 miles/39:58 - 9:20 pace<br />Saturday, 3/7 - 10.18 miles/1:35:21 - 9:21 pace<br />Sunday, 3/8 - 7 miles/1:04:46 - 9:15 pace<br /><br /><b>Total Weekly Mileage: 27.96 miles</b>Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32536118.post-80580486544820410322009-03-01T06:13:00.000-08:002009-03-01T13:32:54.899-08:00ProductivityI love those weekends where you seem to get everything you need to get done, done. This was one of those weekends. Of course, I don't work on Fridays, but this week I had a huge list of things I needed to do, and luckily, I pretty much got them all taken care of. Here is what I did on my "day off" on Friday:<br /><br />• Made my dog a grooming appointment.<br /><br />• Made my myself a grooming appointment for next Friday.<br /><br />• Had Maintenance come look at and try to fix our water heater (we have to shower in the empty condo next door until the part comes in. Yesterday as I got out of the shower and headed out to leave, the leasing agent walked in with someone he was showing the condo to. HELLO!?!?!? That could have been awkward!)<br /><br />• Called about consolidating more of my private student loans. Didn't work. Need to try and refinance.<br /><br />• Walked Zero to the dog groomer and dropped her off for her grooming<br /><br />• Changed my registration for the National Marathon to the Half Marathon. Thought twice before hitting send.<br /><br />• Left the dog groomers and ran 5.5 miles in 60 degree temperatures...beautiful out! But I was a bit overdressed.<br /><br />• Stretched.<br /><br />•Vacuumed and dusted my house.<br /><br />• Cleaned the kitchen.<br /><br />• Hand washed six sweaters.<br /><br />• Finished ALL our laundry.<br /><br />• Picked Zero up.<br /><br />• Went grocery shopping for the week.<br /><br />• Came home and prepared some chicken for a dish I'm making later in the week.<br /><br />• Read blogs :)<br /><br />Yesterday wasn't quite as busy as far as chores go. But we were pretty active all day.<br /><br />Yesterday was the last 20 mile run of our training before we started to taper. This is another reason why switching to the Half was such a big decision. I mean, I only had ONE more long run to do. <br /><br />But I have to tell you, knowing all week that I didn't have to do 20 miles, really changed my outlook. I felt relieved and relaxed all week about running. Suddenly it didn't seem so much like a chore and I actually got out for four solid runs this week instead of my usual 2-3. I just let myself take it easy and not worry so much about time so that I could run without letting my foot/ankle flare up. I even did a couple of shorter runs instead of doing my normal 6.5 run. I realized, sometimes it's ok to just run 5 miles after work. This new approach is really helping me realize running doesn't have to be so regimented. My training was turning into a scene from <span style="font-style:italic;">Groundhog Day</span> and I was totally not into it anymore.<br /><br />So yesterday, Jeremy ran out 3 miles towards Valley Forge and then back for 6, then I met up with him and ran the 14 mile loop around Fairmount Park. The run went better than I expected and I felt pretty good the whole time. My legs felt strong and I wasn't too tired. Around mile 10 I had started to wonder if I had made a serious mistake about switching to the Half. While I was enjoying not running 20, I knew I could have easily done it. It was only ONE more long run...<br /><br />Then, as if my body was totally in tune with my brain, it let me know why I was smart to cut it back. My foot started to flare up. Every time I bent my big toe to push off, I got a searing pain in the ball of my foot under my big toe, which would then cause pain to shoot through my ankle and eventually make it numb.<br /><br />THEN, I suddenly got a sharp pain in my LEFT foot, a pain I had never experienced before. This pain was in the inside arch of my foot and felt almost like I had pinched or broken something.<br /><br />The tendonitis in my right foot, I have learned to run through, but this new pain in my left foot was different. I ran for about 2 minutes and had to stop. I was really scared.<br /><br />J said it was probably a muscle spasm or a cramp, but I had felt those before, and this was nothing like that. I walked for about two minutes and then slowly started to jog again. After about 2 minutes the pain mysteriously went away and I ran the last mile home.<br /><br />After that, I realized I had definitely made the right decision about the race. I need to take a little time to let my body heal for sure and if I got out there and at mile 19 ended up injuring myself so badly that I screwed up my time (and J's) and couldn't run for a few months, I would have never forgiven myself. You know how stubborn runners can be. :)<br /><br /><center><a href="http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/?action=view¤t=ambition.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x206/Laurel_blogger/ambition.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a></center><br /><br />After our run yesterday, we took the train into Center City again for another day of wandering the city and eating. (Dutch pretzels for lunch, red velvet cupcake and hot chocolate for a snack and chicken pot pie and a mac-n-cheese appetizer at <a href="http://www.jones-restaurant.com/">Jones</a> for dinner, COMFORT FOOD, anyone?) We ended up walking around for FOUR hours. Needless to say, by the time we walked home from the train last night at 7:30pm, we were totally beat. I passed out at 11pm and slept till almost 9 today to the smell of Jeremy making blueberry muffins. Can you tell by our eating habits we are getting close to a marathon taper? We're insatiable. <br /><br />Today, I have a few more chores to do and even have some work I brought home with me to get done before tomorrow (ggrrrr). Hope everyone had a great weekend.<br /><br />Monday, 2/22 - 4.83 miles/43:01 - 8:54 pace <br />Tuesday, 2/23 - off<br />Wednesday, 2/24 - off<br />Thursday, 2/25 - 6.5 miles/59:01 - 9:04 pace<br />Friday, 2/26 - 7 - 5.54 miles/50:11 - 9:11 pace<br />Saturday, 2/27 - 13.75/2:06 - 9:10 pace<br />Sunday, 3/1 - 30 minutes stationary bike/weightlifting<br /><br /><b>Total Weekly Mileage: 30.62 miles</b><br /><b>Total Monthly Mileage - February: 115:32 miles</b>Laurelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08623841732966475396noreply@blogger.com24