Running with MissyMiss

So...my 7-year-old daughter, MissyMiss, has decided that she wants to be a runner. She wants to train for and run a 5K with me this summer...no more kid runs for her.

I took her out the other day and we ran 1.6 miles with 2 short walking breaks...she did great!!! The picture below is of a picture she drew of the 2 of us running. The other one is just before our run.

Anyone have any experience with kids training for a 5K?? Any advice for me???

Happy Birthday Missy Miss!

Well, I am officially old...my daughter turned 7 a few weeks back. Instead of having a party with her friends, this year she chose a weekend trip to New York City to go to the American Girl store.

It was a BLAST!! The hotel we stayed in was only a few blocks from American Girl and Times Square. We went shopping at American Girl and also had afternoon tea there, which was delicious and such fun! We also had her doll's hair done and ears pierced while we were then.

We did a lot of walking around. My husband and I grew up in NYC and Long Island, but my kids have only lived out here in the country. They love visiting NYC. Our hotel had a revolving door, which completely entertained the kids.

Here are some pics from out trip!

I completely LOVE cupcakes. I have had cupcakes from Crumbs once before and they were delicious! I was thrilled to learn our hotel was only a few doors down from a Crumbs. We got a mini-cupcake sampler, which was a great way to try a lot of the flavors.

Here is MissyMiss and her doll at tea. They brought a little doll chair to the table and her doll even got her own cup and saucer. Bubby found a little boy doll that we got for him, which he calls "American Girl boy doll".

It was such a fun and memorable trip!

Reviews

Today I ran the longest run in my life...11 miles! It was unseasonably warm here and I was tired, but I did it!!! When I was 16 I wussed out of a 7 mile run because I thought I could never make it. Now...it is just days from my 32nd birthday and I am happy to report that my 32-year-old self is kicking my 16-year-old self's butt!

I tried my Recovery socks for the first time after the run and my legs feel great...much less achy than after my 10 miler 2 weeks ago. My husband has been teasing me about my knee-high fuschia socks all day, but I don't care...they feel great!

I also just finished Yasso's book and thoroughly enjoyed it. I had thought it would be more about training. It is actually only a little about training and a lot about his life. That man is AMAZING!!! I really loved reading about his races, his struggles and his triumphs. He is very honest in the book, but also does not come off as the least bit cocky, despite his amazing achievements. I give it 2 thumbs up!

My birthday is Sunday I love being a mom having a birthday. My husband took me 3-year-old son out to buy me a present and when they got home he ran in the door and yelled "I got you an apron!!" So much for the surprise! (I actually LOVE aprons, so it is perfect for me.) Then, I had my daughter out shopping at my favorite store, LOFT, the other night and she came over to me and said "Can I please have $29.50 so I can buy you your birthday present???" There is not much at that store I don't like, so I forked over the money. Then she told me that "I want it to be a surprise, but I can tell you it is some kind of earrings." It does my heart good to see how excited my kids get about picking out presents for me. Can't wait to open my presents!

Craziness

The last week or so has been CRAZY here. MissyMiss is turning 7 and we had her family party this past weekend. We also had some friends over, along with family, making for a total of 9 kids. Wow, did those kids have fun!! We did an Easter egg hunt in the house which was a huge hit! Here I am with the birthday girl!

I just got this book from Amazon. Has anyone else read it?? I am in the middle of reading Yasso's book and then I will start this one.

I also just ordered these Recovery socks. Has anyone tried them? So far I have heard good things, so I figured I would give them a try.

Last weekend my long run was 9 miles and it felt GREAT! I ran faster than usual and just felt awesome. The good weather definitely helped! This weekend I did 10...it was rough because the wind was wicked, but I finished at just slightly slower than last weekend. But, just a few hours after the run my legs were stiff and a bit sore. Who knew just one more mile could make such a difference?? I went to the gym this morning and did 40 minutes on the bike and my legs felt much better after.

I have another training question. My half is May 2. I plan to do 11 miles on 4/10 and 12 miles on 4/17. That will be my last long run before the taper. My question is what to do this weekend. I will not be able to run Sat/Sun, but have a babysitter coming Thursday morning so I can get my long run for the week in. Should I do another 10? Use it as a fall-back week and only do 8?? Need advice!!! :)

Some updates!

A few updates:

1. I am so excited that y'all want to see some good cookie recipes! A few people also asked about how I coordinate my baking and freezing. My next post will be about baking tips and techniques and then I will bring on the recipes!

2. I have run twice in my new shoes and LOVE them. I got Pearl Izumi Syncro Pace III at Road Runner and am in love, completely in love. They fit like a glove. Not cheap, but well worth it.

3. I finished this cute wall hanging just in time to put him up for the fall. He is now hanging in my foyer. :)

4. We got a piano!!!! I played for years when I was younger and have really missed it. I found a good used one and it was delivered last week. I am loving it! I have picked up playing again much quicker than I thought. I got a book with some Christmas tunes and have been playing them everyday. MissyMiss is also VERY interested in the piano, so I got her a beginner book and started giving her lessons. She is doing well and very enthusiastic about learning.






That is all for now. Next up....COOKIES!!!!

Trick or treat, smell my feet....

That song has been in my head all day. Missymiss picked it up on the playground and has been singing it and now I have been singing it all day too. It is annoying, but I guess that are much worse things that can be learned on the playground...


The kids are so ready for tomorrow. We had a trial run this week. My favorite local grocery store did trick-or-treating through the store one evening this past week and it was such fun! At the entrance to the store we got empty goodie bags and a map of the store noting the location of each spot where treats were given out. Some of the departments gave out department-specific items, such as an apple at produce, cookie at the bakery, etc. Others gave out good old-fashioned candy.


The kids loved it. This year MissyMiss is going as a hula dancer and Bubby is Thomas the Tank Engine. Hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween!!

Fall Fun

Fall is in full swing here in NY and the kids are having a blast. We had a very wooded yard, so we get TONS of leaves. The kids love to rake the leaves into a pile and then jump in it. Here are some good leaf jumping shots:








Bubby has really gotten into helping Daddy with yard work. He even got to help push the mower, which he talked about for days. See those big paper bags? We have to put the leaves in them and set them out at the curb for pick-up. To give you an idea of just how many leaves we get, we have filled 30 bags so far and there are still a lot of leaves on the trees...yikes!

Last week we got snow! Just under an inch...just enough to get the kids excited. This week it warmed back up and was close to 70 today...Bubby and I had a picnic lunch at the park. It was a gorgeous day. :)

A Great Weekend

I have fallen a bit behind in my blogging..things have just been hectic here.

First of all...thank you so very much to all of your wonderful people who left me such positive comments on my last post. I was feeling the love and really appreciated it. I am sticking with things and toughing it out...and starting to see an improvement. :)

Last weekend my aunt got married, so we traveled down to Long Island for the wedding. I grew up on LI, but we now live in upstate NY. It was great to get back for a visit. The wedding was lots of fun. My daughter was the flower girl and did such a wonderful job!

Here is a great pic of me, hubby and kids at the wedding.





Whenever we are in NYC/LI there are some foods that we must get at some point during our visit...including a slice of pizza, a bagel with schmear and italian cookies/pastries. We were able to get all three this trip!

We went to the pizza place that I grew up going to. It was so strange to sit and eat a slice of pizza with my kids at the place that I sat and ate a slice at as a kid.

It was a fun and delicious weekend!!!

My Girl in The Girly Skirt

I recently finished an adorable twirly skirt for MissyMiss. The pattern is called "The Girly Skirt" and it is by Pink Fig Patterns.

I don't do much in the way of garments, but was able to easily follow the pattern and the skirt turned out really cute. I matched it up with a red tee from Wal-Mart and it made for one cute outfit.

Here she is modeling it. Bubby insisted on being in the pictures too. The funniest part is that I later noticed that he was wearing my mom's fuzzy blue slippers! I can't wait to pull out these pictures when he is 16. Between this one and the one of him wearing one of MissyMiss's nightgowns, tap shoes and an Easter bonnet...I am all set. :)

Just one more time...

My little MissyMiss started first grade today...where did those 6 years go?? Bubby starts preschool next week and then I will have 5 hours a week all to myself...what ever will I do?

Last week the weather here was gorgeous...sunny and not too hot and perfect for being outside. We tried to fit in "Just one more"....park, ice cream, etc.

One of our favorite restaurants is part of a family farm. They have delicious food and make their own bread...so the sandwiches there are unbelievable. The kids and I have been there to pick strawberries and blueberries and also several times for lunch. We made it back there one more time last week.

After lunch we go walk to see the animals and feed the goats.

It was not long before we were joined by this handsome fellow. His name is Braeburn. The farm is known for its apples, so the dogs are named after apple varieties.



He walked up to us and dropped his ball at my daughter's feet. The 2 then played fetch for the next 20 minutes, until Braeburn was worn out. My kids know and love him...when we eat on the porch at the farm he likes to sit by our table and wait for the kids to slip him some food.




Here are the kids and the donkey. They love to go see the animals.





After playing fetch for a while, Braeburn cooled himself down in the tub. :)







While MissyMiss played fetch, Bubby was content to fill his shoes with "hay"....boys.

Smores on a hot night...

We decided to buy a fire pit for the backyard. Making smores with a gas grill just feels so wrong. I can now say that making smores with a fire pit feels very right. :)

Luckily, both of my kids are afraid of fire and VERY careful around it. We broke it in the other night and had such fun.


Here is MissyMiss roasting her marshmallow. We bought long forks in the camping section at Target, so the kids don't have to get too close to the fire.



Bubby loves to roast the marshmallows, but does not like to eat them. He ends up eating a graham cracker and chocolate sandwich.




A fun time was had by all. :)

Our Sweet Vacation

You all guessed right...we went to Hershey Park! We were there in 2005 and 2007, so we figured it was time to head back. We went for 3 days and had such fun! It seems that the older the kids get, the more we are able to do.

We all LOVED Chocolate World....the factory tour ride is FREE and you get FREE chocolate at the end...what's not to love?? Here are the kids pretending they are factory workers:







Of course, while we were there...I had to stop at the Hershey outlets!!






We stayed at the Hershey Lodge...which is wonderful. They have character visits in the lobby and my kids were thrilled to see the peanut butter cup. The Lodge is a bit pricey...but we only stayed 2 nights and it is our only vacation this year...so that is how I justified it. :)




Our first night there we ordered room service! What fun! We got mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers, cheesecake and a big chocolate chip cookie. The tray arrived with cloth napkins and a little vase with a flower...Bubby took one look at it and said "That is gorgeous."...very true.

O.k...there is a story for this ride. My wonderful hubby knows I don't like heights. We were standing next to this ride while the kids rode a kiddie ride and hubby bet me some money that I wouldn't ride it. Normally I would have turned him down....but I knew that there was a Coach outlet right next door and then money would let me get a purse...guilt free. So...I got on the ride, put my head back and closed my eyes. I mentally went to my "happy place"...the Coach outlet. Hubby, kids and my mom were shocked I did it...but one should never doubt what a girl might do when near a Coach outlet!

Both kids LOVED the Frog Hopper. Bubby laughed the whole time, which made MissyMiss laugh the whole time...they rode it 3 times. I got on it once with them...I did not laugh. I was happy to have an empty stomach.

Every time we go I take a pic of the kids by the height chart used to classify what rides they can and cannot ride. This year Bubby was a Hershey Kiss and MissyMiss was a peanut butter cup. It is fun to look at previous years height pics. MissyMiss went for the first time when she was 2 and only a wee-little Hershey miniature.

Well...there you have our family vacation. I am happy to report I actually lost a few ounces on vacation. I replaced meals with chocolate..not very healthy, but very delicious!

Some updates...

First of all, thank you so much to everyone for all of the kind thoughts and good suggestions regarding the death of my daughter's hamster. Hampy was buried in our backyard. My daughter wanted a stone to mark the grave, so she chose an angel garden statue. She was really sad for a few days, but is doing much better now. Thanks again to everyone for your sweet comments.





I had another 5K today and I will get to posting a race report at some point. Things are crazy here for the next few days. A few things I shall mention now:


- I saw a girl at the starting line wearing teeny, tiny white see-through shorts and a thong underneath. I was determined that, if nothing else, I must beat "thong girl"...I did.

- Running in the heat and humidity just downright stinks.

- I came close to a PR, but missed by about 10 seconds. But...I placed first in my age group. Here is the proof:

I have no idea why MissyMiss isn't smiling in this pic. She was thrilled for me. She even made me a pretend cake and sang "Happy Medal Day" to me. :)

We have been busy! The kids and I went blueberry picking this week and had a great time! The blueberries were great this year! As soon as we got home we made Blueberry cobbler. It is such an easy and healthy recipe...I promise I will post it as soon as things settle down.

Lastly, I had a FUN trip to the quilt shop last weekend and have LOTS of projects planned. I just finished a twirly skirt for MissyMiss and will post a pic as soon as I get one of her wearing it. Next on my list is a wall hanging for the dining room and then starting some Christmas stuff.

Definitely lastly, I was in Home Goods (my fav!) the other day and they are already starting to put out fall decor....my heart skipped a beat when I saw it! Fall is my favorite season! But...even better....my favorite holiday is Christmas and my local radio station did Christmas in July this weeked. So...they played Christmas songs all weekend! Any other Christmas freaks out there?

R.I.P. Hampy

It has been a sad day here. My daughter's beloved hamster, "Hampy", had died. She is so very heartbroken. She loved that hamster and took such good care of it. It is our first experience with a pet dying and it is just so sad. We will bury Hampy in the yard and MissyMiss has requested that we get a special stone or statue to place on the spot so she will know where it is. Anyone have any good tips for helping a 6 year old deal with losing a pet?

Happy Birthday Bubby!

Bubby just celebrated his 3rd birthday! It is just amazing how times flies.

After Father's/Mother's Day, MissyMiss asked if the parents could make the kids breakfast in bed on their birthday. Sounded like a good idea to me! So...on Bubby's birthday Daddy and MissyMiss made him breakfast in bed....chocolate milk, Cheerios and a Rice Krispie treat. He was beyond thrilled. MissyMiss also put the 2 small presents she had chosen for him on his tray. After he ate and opened his gifts, he said "My birthday all done!" It was so cute...he thought that was it. We had a wonderful party for him that afternoon and he had a ball!

Here are my 2 kiddos with his breakfast in bed:

Not much new to report with running. I am doing well with my running/biking/walking workouts. I am also getting back to my weights, which is a good thing.

Back in January I set a goal for myself of running at least 500 miles this year. I am at the midway point right now and I am at 320...well ahead of schedule. So far, so good...

My homemade medal (and race report!)

I ran a local 5K race this past Saturday and it was a great race!

I got there about 30 minutes before the start....got my packet, put on my number, visited the bathroom and warmed up a bit. It was a very small race...I would guess only about 100 runners. It was held at the rail trail path where I normally run, which is perfectly FLAT!

The race started and I was a bit slow at the start because it was a narrow path and it was a bit crowded. I was quickly able to pick up my speed. My previous PR was 28:04 and my goal was to just break 28. I had planned on a pace of 8:45-9:00.

I was able to keep a great steady pace for the whole race, due to the flat course. At my last race I was with one woman most of the race, but passed her in the end. I saw this same woman at the starting line today and she came over and said "Hey there! What is our goal for today?" I love how friendly most runners are. She started a little ahead of me and was ahead most of the race. I caught up to her at about the 2.5 mile mark. She asked me how we were doing, I told her our time and pace, wished her luck and passed her.

At about 2.9 miles I could see the finish and was able to pick up my pace a little and finish strong. My time was 26:52!!!! I am just thrilled with this! I waited for my racing friend to finish, gave her a high five and we discussed what races we were doing next.

I had to leave right away so that I could grab a cake and bouquet for my daughter's dance recital and be home for my hubby to go for a ride.

A few days before the race my hubby had bought MissyMiss a yellow "Live Strong" bracelet. It was way too big, so she gave it to me and we decided it would be my lucky bracelet for racing. Once I got to the car I called home to tell her how well I had done and she was sure it must have been the bracelet.

When I got home I was greeted by my kiddies at the door, who had made me "medals" out of pipe cleaners and construction paper...I will treasure them forever.

My little town

I grew up on Long Island in a town with a population of over 35,000. The town I live in now has a population of around 8,000. My town is small and friendly and just right for our family. I am constantly reminded of the lyrics to "Little Town".

Well, the stars, they just seem brighter,
An' the pace is nice an' slow.
An' families stay together.
God must be smilin' down here on little town.
Aren't you glad we settled down here in little town?

Friday was an absolutely gorgeous day here. Poor hubby had to work, but MissyMiss was out of school for spring break.

There is a wonderful family-run ice cream place here. It is a little tiny building with 2 windows to get your food. The seating is outdoor picnic tables. They have 2 big swingsets. It is one of our family's favorite places to go.

I took the kiddies there for lunch on Friday. In addition to ice cream, they have a small kitchen and do hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches, etc. You really just can't beat the prices. A grilled cheese sandwich and small bag of chips is less than $2.00.

It is the kind of place where the owner knows my kids by name. It closes for the winter and just re-opened. On Friday as the kids walked up to the counter, the woman said hi to them by name and remarked on how much they had grown over the winter. This is the kind of town that I live in.

This ice cream place is just a part of my family's history. We go every year on opening day for the season. Sometimes it is raining on opening day, even snowing. We have run out in the snow, grabbed our ice cream and then run back to the warm car to eat it.

When MissyMiss was only a few days old, I was desperate to get out. We drove there for milkshakes. It will MissyMiss's first time. Bubby also went as a newborn.

We still do down to NYC at least once a year to visit. This is where both Hubby and I grew up. But for now, this little town is just right for my family.

My B-day

Oh my gosh...I just realized that it has been almost a week since my last post...it has been busy here! MissyMiss is out of school this week and the weather has been beautiful, so we have been playing outside a lot.

I have been meaning to share some birthday pics.

On my birthday I started out watching some cartoons with the kiddies. Once they remembered it was my birthday, they ran to get my presents.

MissyMiss got me a purse last year for my birthday and wanted to continue the tradition...yeah! I picked it out, but she wrapped it and told me it was from just her.

At Christmas, my husband had taken Bubby shopping with him when they got me a box of Godiva chocolates...my favorite. So, when Bubby found out it was going to be my birthday he kept saying "I get you chocolates!"

After presents, I went out shopping for the morning and part of the afternoon. I had some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket.


When I came home, I found these on the counter.






Hubby had taken the kids out for errands and MissyMiss insisted on getting me flowers and she chose exactly which ones.

We then all went out to dinner. It was a wonderful and relaxing day!

Week 13 and where I have been...

I have been missing in action this past week because it was MissyMiss's birthday week, which means lots of parties!!

Here she is the day of her birthday. I appliqued a "6" on her shirt for her to wear to school. She was thrilled with it.

For her kiddie party, we rented out the local skating rink. The older kids could skate or ride their bike and the younger ones brought ride-on toys. Here is Bubby with his ride-on rocket. He had a ball!




Here is MissyMiss cruising around the rink. Daddy taught her to rollerblade last year and she is quite the pro now.




We had pizza and then the 6 dozen cupcakes that I baked. Here they are...talk about temptation! There is nothing better than homemade frosting. I had to stop myself from eating it by the spoonful.

This weekend we went to breakfast with the Easter Bunny and then had family over to celebrate her birthday.




So...it was a fun, but exhausting week. I made 6 dozen cupcakes for the party, 2 dozen for Open House at school and 2 dozen for her to bring to school on her birthday...a total of 10 dozen cupcakes in one week, all with homemade buttercream frosting.

I am fairly shocked to say that I lost .2 pounds this week. I had been planning on a gain and was very happy to see a loss, even if it was small.

My personal weight loss challenge ends on Saturday, my birthday. I had planned to lose 1 pound a week, for a total of 14 by my birthday. Right now I am at just over 11. So, while I may not reach my goal, I will have come close and be keeping at it. My biggest loser competition runs until May, so I will still be weighing in for that one.