2 Things I Have Been Meaning to Brag About...

Lauren joined Girl Scouts this year and she absolutely loves it.  She is in a troop with a friend from the daycare and has made several new friends since she joined.  One of the main reason Lauren wanted to join Girl Scouts was to sell cookies...and she sold them well!  

Now, Mark and I have to take a lot of credit here because we helped her out a lot.  Well, Mark more than me.  He sold over 100 boxes at his office alone.  Actually, Girl Scout cookies sell themselves.  Lauren sold to the neighborhood, Nana's work, teachers at the daycare, and even friends of our neighbors that Lauren did not even know!  She helped me sort through the hundreds of boxes and get the cookies into bags and ready for delivery.  She was an awesome helper and really enjoyed it. 

She also received an award at school recently.  She received the Underwood Hero Award.  This award is given to kids that demonstrate courage and commitment to stop bullying at the school.  Lauren stood up for one of her friends being picked on at school by other kids by letting the teacher know what was happening. She was honored at a school assembly and she stood up there with 4th, 5th, and 6th graders receiving the award as well.  She was the youngest kid up there and I could not have been more proud. 

She was very nervous the day of the assembly, as she does not like any attention on her, but she marched right up there and smiled at the crowd.  Way to go Lauren!  

and something I would like to forget, but keeping it real here!  100 times she had to write "I will respect my teachers."  This was about a week after she had to write 100 times "I will respect my parents."  Things have been a little rough in the Harding household since returning back to school from Christmas break, but this past weekend was good and maybe, just maybe, we have turned a corner with this one.  Deep down we know she is a good, well behaved kid, so we put a lot of pressure on her and have pretty high expectations for her.  We know what she is capable of and we expect a lot from her.  

Let's hope the good behavior from the weekend continues on for several days.  

The Story of a Relatively New Runner

(This is my second post as a Hospital Hill Blogger.  You can find my first post here.)

I still consider myself a new runner.  I have only been running for about 2 1/2 years now.  This June it will be three years.  I can't even believe I am still going...stronger than ever.

My running story began back in June of 2010.  I can't remember the exact day I started running, but it was in the month of June with a Couch Potato to 5k program.  Several co-workers talked about this program and I googled it one day and was very intrigued.  I followed something similar to this plan. I could not even run 1/2 mile without stopping.  It was SO hard.

I looked at the summer runs in the Kansas City area and decided on the Susan G. Komen 5k to be my first 5k.  Little did I know how addicted I would become to running.  It was a tough race.  It was a hot day.  It was super packed with thousands of runners and walkers.  It was the most incredible experience.

Since then I have done several races.  I am not fast.  I am not super slow.  I consider myself an average runner who googles how to get through races, enjoys reading several running blogs for motivation and inspiration, and over the last few years I have grown in my running.  I have a race report for each race I have done over on the side bar (if you are interested!)

If I can run YOU can run.  I am not a natural born runner.  I don't have a "runners" body.  In the beginning when I would go out and run it would be very hard for me EVERY time.  But, there is something so rewarding, so inspirational, so motivating about putting your mind to it and doing it.  I have never regretted going out for a run.  Just lace up those shoes and GO!

You will hear people say running is a mental game.  I believe this 100%.  Do you have to train for a race? Of course.  But, if you put your mind to it you will accomplish it.  Follow a training plan, put your mind to it and you will be successful.

My first 10k I did with my husband back in April of 2011.   Again, put your mind to it and you can do it.  I followed a training plan for a beginner for a 10k.  I ran 3 days a week.  Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.  That was it!  I might have thrown in some cross training on a Sunday afternoon if I had time.  I felt so good after that 10k that I signed up for my first Hospital Hill run.   That was tough.  What was I thinking???

If you are a new runner you can run 3 days a week and complete a 5k, a 10k, and even a half marathon.  Will you break any records?  Probably not, but that is not what it is about.  It is about the sense of accomplishment.  I completed my first half marathon running 3 days a week.  I included some cross-training in preparation for my 2nd half marathon and it added to my success, although it was a tough race.

This April I will do my 3rd half marathon.  I will run 3 days a week, cross train two days a week and do weights two days a week.  This is what works for me right now.  This is what I have put my mind to.

If you are wondering if you can complete Hospital Hill the answer is YES YOU CAN.  It does not matter if it is the 5k, 10k, or half marathon.  Train, do it and brag about it.  Running Hospital Hill is an amazing experience that you will never regret.  

5k Personal Record!!!

Saturday morning was a welcome surprise of 40 degrees outside for the Coffee VS Cocoa run!  Mark and the girls headed to swim lessons and I headed out for my first race of the year.  

I sent them this picture after I arrived to the race.  They are usually there to cheer me on.  Not this time.  

I ran with these girls...Jen, Casey and Bridget.  It was a cool morning, but not too bad at all considering it was January 19th.  It was  pretty small race (I don't know how many people) but a great atmosphere.  I signed up on 12/12/12 for $12.  That is the only reason why I did this race.  It was super cheap, included a long sleeve shirt and a coffee cup!  

Well, it was not officially 3.1 miles, but it was a PR for me.  My old 5k PR was back in the summer.  I was pleasantly surprised to break my old record.  I did not really think I would, was not planning on it, certainly did not train to do that, but happy anyway!  So I did 3.06 miles in 27 minutes and 28 seconds, with a pace of 8:58.  The first number is an 8.  That is not normal for me and I love it!  I certainly can't hold a pace, because my first mile was 8:44, second mile was 9:01, and my third mile was 9:18.  Maintaining a constant speed is not something I am good at at all...and I really have no clue how to try and do that.  

After the race we warmed up at a local coffee shop and hung out for a while just chatting.  It was a great start to the weekend.  

Then, Saturday afternoon was date day for Addison and Mommy.  Since it was almost 65 degrees outside, we headed to the zoo.  We did not have much time, but that did not matter to me.  We saw as many animals as we could, then Addison begged me to take her to the park AND stop at the local bakery and get a sugar cookie.  It was a great afternoon with Addison.  We really had a lot of fun.   Then, we met up with Lauren and Mark for dinner at Jason's Deli.  Very yummy!  

The rest of the weekend was pretty low key.  We also seem to lay low in January, recover from the holidays, and get ready for February with birthdays, and all kinds of fun.  

Focus

Focus.  That is my word for 2013 for my New Years Resolution.  What does that mean exactly?  Well, several things.  (Determined was my word for 2012 and you can look back here to see what my 2012 resolutions were! I decided not to follow up on all those resolutions and report to the whole world what I did not did not do.  They were written for me, on paper, to look back on and reflect on over the year.  Do the rest of you really care???)  

FOCUS on my kids.  I want to really spend more time with them.  Once a month Mark and I are going to take each girl on a date night.  I will take Addison this month and Mark will take Lauren and we will switch next month and so on for the whole year.  We will FOCUS on one on one time with the girls.  

FOCUS on my next half marathon (April 13th!!!) I have been working on increasing my speed over the winter with a lot of success. I am going to FOCUS on some cross training and weight training to make my 3rd half marathon even better than my first 2.  Then I will decide on my 4th half marathon.  Oh yes, there will be a 4th...probably this year...it could be Hospital Hill since I am an official blogger!  Yea! 

FOCUS on being a great wife to Mark.  He says I am fine here, but I really think there is always room for improvement.  I will FOCUS on spending more time with Mark at night after the girls go to bed, and not just sit around staring at the TV or the computer.  If you notice I have cleaned up by blog roll getting rid of useless blogs that I wasted my time reading.  I kept some of my favorite running blogs, home improvement blogs, and parenting blogs.  

FOCUS on diet and exercise and toning up by body for our 10th anniversary trip.  Mark and I will be going to Mexico to celebrate 10 years of marriage and I have goals for that trip.  

FOCUS on what house projects we would like to do this year.  The sprinkler system will be installed soon.  The next BIG project will be the kitchen, but that is a few years down the road.  I would like to change the brass door knobs this year and replace the blinds in the bedrooms.  That does not sound too bad.  Here is what we have done so far and what we would still like to do.  This past year we updated the carpet in the girls bedrooms and living room, tiled the bathroom and entryway, changed out light fixtures and ceiling fans in the whole house, and got new spindles.  

FOCUS on how we can save even more money so I can get the kitchen of my dreams sooner than later.  We have already cut out a few things, but with the change in the social security tax it will not make a difference.  We will have to get even more creative.

FOCUS on time for me.  This is tough as a busy working Mom, but I think it is important.  Exercise will be me time and it will provide me with multiple benefits.  Stress management, relaxation, endurance for my half marathons, better sleep, better parenting...I could go on and on.

So hold me accountable  FOCUS is my word for 2013.

Hospital Hill Blogger

I am an official Hospital Hill Blogger and I am so excited.  A few weeks ago Beth Salinger, the race director, sent out an e-mail asking if anyone would be interested in becoming an official Hospital Hill Blogger.  She wanted all kinds of people to blog.  Young, old, working moms, in school, married with kids, single, military, rookie runner or years of experience.  It did not matter.  She wanted a huge variety of people.  

So I sent an e-mail back with my story.  I am a relatively new runner.  I began running about 2 1/2 years ago.  (You can read about my first 5K here!)   I work full time as an RN at Children's Mercy Hospital.  I have 2 kids, ages 6 and 4, both involved in activities.  I told Beth if I was a Hospital Hill blogger I would focus on finding a balance in working full time, being a Mom and wife, and making time to run and train for Hospital Hill.  Oh, and my husband Mark is also a runner.  He runs 1/2 marathons and triathlons.  One of us is always training for something!  

I can't believe my blog was picked!  I am thrilled!  Thank you. 

Over the next several months my topics and discussions will focus on running, training, cross training, food, making time for it all and still having fun with my family.  My family is my number one priority.  I truly believe running makes me a better Mom and a better wife.

I will be running a half marathon in April and after that I will decide if I will do the half marathon at Hospital Hill or the 10K.  What do you think?  I did the 10K back in June of 2011. This was the first time I participated in Hospital Hill and it was tough!   In 2012 I did the 5K and got a PR.    After last years race I became hooked to Hospital Hill.  It is such an amazing race on so many levels.   So, I guess the half marathon is what is left, huh?  But, to be honest the half marathon makes me VERY nervous.  Did you see the recent article in Runners World?  Hospital Hill was #11 on the half marathon list that everyone needs to run.  And, as the name says....it is HILLY!   It would be a challenge indeed. 

Stay tuned and welcome to my blog.  Thanks for reading.

So what should I do?  Redeem myself and do the 10K, or take on a new challenge with the half marathon? 

A Few More Things Before Heading into 2013

Lauren loves to read to Addison...it is so sweet...

We watched several Christmas movies this holiday season...and we still are.  We watched ELF twice this weekend. 

We were not able to make it to Killian's birthday party, so we met at Orange Leaf to celebrate and give him his gift.  

Lauren had a Girl Scouts arts and crafts night.  Have I mentioned how much she loves Girl Scouts?  

This one continues to be a pleasure to put to bed...she joined me late one night in the kitchen making banana bread for all the teachers.  

We drank a lot of hot chocolate last month...and we still are! 

When we snuck up to Omaha before Christmas we picked Lauren up from school.  Addison was thrilled to wait in the front seat for her!  

Lauren has been begging me to go get our haircut at the same time so she can see what I do when I get my haircut....needless to say she was pretty bored after about 15 minutes and probably won't be begging me to go back.  Yea for me! 

Our drive back from Omaha included nice LONG naps and very happy parents. 

We had to hit the dentist this month...that was an ordeal...from Lauren...not Addison.  Addison was an angel for once.  

And we drove through Christmas in the Park...on a Tuesday night...and it took us 1 1/2 hours.  We were not planning for that at all...but still enjoyed it.  

So I think I am finally caught up on everything.  We will see what the rest of the month brings.  We are planning on laying low, saving some $$, and just hanging out on the weekends.  No huge plans as of yet! 

Christmas Break

I was off work for 11 days.  It was AWESOME.  Mark also took the last 5 days of my vacation off and I loved having him home to hang out with me and the girls. 

We hit the mall...the day after Christmas.  It was crazy packed, but we had to go!

Zoe has enjoyed her Christmas presents as well.  Both stuffed toys destroyed in less than an hour!

Kaleidoscope on Thursday and then lunch with Mark. 

We wore new Christmas clothes.  This is also one of Lauren's favorites. 

Addison is always in a skirt...or a dress.  The girl has not worn a pair of jeans, pants, or khaki's all winter.  Oh, and did not wear shorts all summer.  Dresses and skirts only. 

Apparently Addison was too inpatient for me to get lunch ready one day.  I kid you not.  This child is something else...

We went to Paradise Park on Friday since both Grandparents got us gift certificates so we can purchase a pass for the whole year and go whenever we want!  We love it. 

Addison has played with her Leapster a lot. 

Mark and the girls played Zingo one night when I snuck off to the gym. 

We also put together Addison's Lego Friends.  As a kid, it was always my sister doing Lego's.  But, I really enjoying putting them together with the girls now. 

We watched a lot of movies.  I think the girls got 4 Barbie movies, Brave and Madagascar 3.  We have watched all of them. 

We played with Wii one night too.  We all danced.  It was great family time.

My Christmas money was burning a hole in my pocket, so I got these.  I really wanted some last year, but could not bring my self to pay that much for boots.  Well, one year later I still wanted them...so I got them!  

We loved watching it snow on New Year's Eve.  

and we all loved playing in the snow.  Even Zoe!

It was a great Christmas break.  It went by so fast but I truly loved every minute of it with Mark and the girls.  I hope in the years to come I can make it a tradition to have that time off to spend the break with Lauren and Addison.  

Now it is back to reality and the unknown of when my next day off will be...

New Year's Day Sledding

This was the BEST way to start off the new year.  The girls slept in (till after 8:00) and after we had breakfast we bundled up (since it was 14 degrees outside) and headed to a big hill real close to our house.  We knew Lauren was ready to sled on a big hill.  As you can see by the looks on their faces, they loved it.  

I went down with them as well, but I had put the big camera back in the car at that point...so no proof that mommy enjoyed the sledding also.  

There is absolutely no fear in that little one.  I even let her do down by herself, and Mark was just shaking his head at me and I am sure rolling his eyes as well.  Addison loved it!  

Lauren had so much fun, she did not even mind carrying the sled back up the hill....over, and over, and over again.  

See the little red and pink dot...that is Lauren.  She loved every minute of sledding.  

Lauren is such an amazing big sister..holding Addison's hand and helping her up the hill.  

New Year's Eve

One night...2 different parties...we were wild! 

 

First we went to my Sister's house for my Niece's 5th birthday.  She will have a friend party this weekend, but all the family celebrated on her actual birthday...New Year's Eve! 

 Someone left the bathroom door open...just long enough for Sophie to make her move. 

 

Happy 5th Birthday Claire! 



Then we were off to a New Year's Eve party at some friends house.  We figured we would stay till 10 or so...we were there till after 11:30! 

The boys...and a few of the ladies...participated in the Battle of the IPA's.  They drank a lot of beer. 

This is my drink of choice.  I enjoyed a few before calling it quits since it was clear to me Mark would not be driving home in the snow covered roads! 

This was the bracket for the Battle of the IPA's.  It was a fun night. 

After a while we let Lauren get out her Kindle to relax and chill for a while.  I think it was close to 10:00 at this point. 

The little kids got out their Leap Pads. 

So she is not really asleep, but it was after 11:00 at this point.  We rang in the New Year with New York and called it a night.  It was a lot of fun with our friends and neighbors.  We got home and the girls were out like a light.