Madelyn -- NO TRAINING WHEELS!!!

My three year old boy!

There are just not enough words to tell how sweet Adam is. He is just such a happy, fun, nice boy. He loves being a boy. He loves balls, cars, trains, dirt, airplanes, motorcycles, boats, and mud. He loves being with his sisters, and he loves teasing them relentlessly.

That it is even possible that he is already 3 years old is unbelievable to me. Enjoy these photos of his big day!

Fall Soccer

My Poetry

Just know

it's killing me sitting here at home

for so long

thinking you might be talking to someone

or not

b/c someone might have called

or stopped you in the hall

and by then the person was gone

you may be discussing our future right now

or a client called back for further advice

their toxic assets are killing them



update -- trent just called -- he was stuck in a meeting and our future will have to wait until tomorrow!

Good Ole' Regular Life

Nothing near as exciting as running to Boston has happened in the last week. I must say that the race really did wipe me out. The week before with all the getting ready and the week after trying to recover from not sleeping and just getting back to the routine of life seemed to take it out of me.

Not to mention the school library volunteer trainings, class coffees, open houses, enrichment, soccer practices, activity days, soccer games, homework, and a major decision about Trent's job looming over me.

And on top of that the kids still expect 3 meals a day and clean clothes plus lots of story time and laying with them at night.

And of course the occasional tantrum by the pre-pubescent teenage wannabe.

I was tired. I even for the first time in my whole life hired a housekeeper.

I liked it. Probably a little too much.

There were some funny moments. Like this one.

Adam was watching me get ready to go somewhere and I had just finished "beautifying" myself. I quickly picked him up to race down the stairs and he put both hands on the sides of my cheeks and looked at me and said, "Mom, you have dirt on your eyes."

Wow, if that doesn't make me feel good about the make-up I am wearing I don't know what will.

Then later that day at dinner. I had made cilantro chicken pot stickers from Trader Joe's and an asian noodle side dish (which was very yummy too, I might add). I was encouraging all the kids to try the wontons and Catherine after eating one said, "Mom-- you can have all the rest of my tampons -- I just don't like them that much."

Let's just say they didn't seem so appetizing after her mis-labeling. I politely corrected her trying not to laugh since she doesn't even know what a tampon is, but she proceeded to use the wrong word about 3 more times during dinner. Thank goodness we did not have any company.

Another great moment happened with Madelyn today. Today was the first day that Kindergartners could by lunch. I told her this morning that I would be packing bagels with cream cheese, fruit roll ups, a drink, chips, and apples or she could buy chicken fingers, salad, and fruit from school. She opted for the chicken fingers. I figured it would be good to buy on the first day when they were sure to have lots of helpers to help the kids figure it out. We don't buy lunch at school too often as it is kind of pricey ($3.50 a day). But since I don't ever send chicken fingers in their lunch boxes I figured it would be fun for her.

As soon as she got off the bus she said the best part of her day was buying her lunch. I asked her how the chicken was and she replied, "Oh, when I got up there I saw that if you don't like what they are having that day you can just get a bagel with cream cheese and since I love bagels i just got one of those instead!"

I started cracking up. She chose to pay $3.50 for something she could have had in her lunch for maybe $0.25. I let her know that in the future we would not be over paying for bagels. If she wanted a bagel she could take one from home.

For all the good laughs, there have been a few not so great moments too. Like Julianne chipping a tooth, the nurse calling with Catherine sick at school, 6 days of a healthy Catherine followed by her throwing up today all morning, Adam spilling lots of water (not that that is so terrible but today he spilled 4 large glasses of water in under 2 hours), and (as always) Trent's long hours in the city.

But we are surviving. Sometimes I'm not sure which is more exhausting -- regular life or running through the night with 11 other girls to boston. Sometimes it's a virtual tie.

The Ragnar Relay New England

The Course Details

194.9 miles -- Leaving from Lighthouse Point: New Haven, Connecticut and arriving into Harvard Stadium: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Our team of 12 -- named "Jen's Wonder Women" met at 5:45 am on Friday Sept 11. We packed up the suburbans and drove to the starting line.

We ran the race in honor of our friend, Jennifer, who is running her own race against breast cancer right now.

At 8:00 am with cloudy skies and 54 degrees, runner #1-- Krista took off.

There were 36 legs of the race with each person running 3 of them.

Our last runner arrived into Harvard Stadium at 4:00 pm on Saturday, Sept 12.

Here are some pictures and captions that tell some more of the rest of the story covering the time in between.



Now while this tells a lot about it -- there is more
the getting lost, the getting found, the things you eat, the reactions to the things you eat, the rain, the runner's diareah suffered by some, the car sickness, the pitch blackness, the headlamps, the potty breaks, the hunger, the fatigue, the exhaustion, the tiredness, the friendships made, the fun, the pain, the conversation, the watching everyone dig deep for one last run, the taking one for the team, the swapping of legs for someone who needed it, the going the extra mile (in this case literally), the cheering, the support, the teamwork, the comraderie, the months of training, the voice inside everyone's head telling them to keep running, the prayers said and answered, the cars that start, the joy of the finish, the vow while doing it that you will never do this again, and the realization while typing this that you probably would.

Like Father, Like Son

Adam awoke last Saturday and came into our bedroom with a plan. He got himself and his daddy dressed.

The Race is here

I have just finished my last training run before running in the Ragnar New England Race. I have been training since May. I have run on average 50 miles each month. . . With just over 200 total miles. I have run in the rain, run in the dark, and run in the heat. I have run on an empty stomach and run on a full stomach. I have run further than I ever wanted to and more often than I ever wanted to. I did not lose a single pound with all that running, but I ran anyway. Sometimes I ran fast (which for me is anything under a 10 minute mile) and sometimes I ran slow (around an 11 minute mile) but surprisingly I was pretty consistent at running about a 10 minute 30 second pace despite the varying conditions I ran on (hills, lots of hills).

I ran alone and I ran with my neighbor Melissa. I ran early in the morning before Trent left for work (5 am) and sometimes I ran in the evening. I hired lots of babysitters while I ran. My friends offered to watch my kids sometimes when I ran (thank you Moya, Laura, Keri, Gail).

I have read books and magazines about running. I have talked about running. I have listened to lots of others talk about running.

And now the time is here. The race is Friday (and Saturday). I am runner # 11. I have 3 legs to run. I have only driven to Boston once, and now I am going to be running there. Crazy huh???

I am so ready for it to be done.

Because, I am sick of running. I am sick of every song on my IPOD.

I have tried to love it. I have tried to like it. But at the end of it all here is all I can say about it . . .

The only thing I like about running is knowing I did it.

That is it. Just knowing I exercized for the day and it is over. Just knowing I took out some time for me (which was often very, very hard to do).

Running with a friend made it more bearable . . . but you still just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other over and over again!

But I am looking forward to a crazy 30 hours with 11 other crazy women. All of whom have become better friends in the last 4 months. Between all of us running, we have 38 children. Isn't that incredible. Watch out Boston. Here we come! We truly are wonder women.

I will take lots of pictures. And hopefully post them soon after the race is over. Unless I am just too tired. Or . . . maybe I will be out running again

or not.