I heart Google Maps Pedometer

One of my favorite tools on the internet is the google maps pedometer.


http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/


You mark your starting point and your route and it will tell you how far you have gone, how many calories you will burn, and my new favorite thing -- it will tell you the changes in elevation. The routes can be for runners or cyclists and you can even zoom in enough to mark the sidewalk you are using so that you have the most accurate route.


Each route can be saved. I like to think of it as a "free" GPS runner's watch. With this to mark your routes all you have to do is time yourself (which even the cheapest watch is capable of doing).



So I have started biking again. I put the 2 kids in the bike trailer (just like I used to) and then I bike (just like I used to) -- BUT, these roads around here are not like I am used to. Let me explain . . .



Here is the elevation change graph of a very frequent route I did in TX all the time. (X axis is miles traveled, Y axis is feet above sea level)

The absolute value of change in elevation is only 15 feet -- so even though it looks like I went up and down a lot, there really is not much change the whole time.

Here is the elevation change graph for the route I attempted yesterday here in CT. Our playgroup was going to a little park with a pond and beach area and the weather was stunning and it was only 5.5 miles round trip from our house. So I loaded up the kids in the trailer and headed out. (notice the absolute value of change in elevation now is 300 feet)

It took me less than 20 minutes to get there -- and boy was it a fun ride! But WOW, the way home was a different story. I knew it would be hard. So when my friend offered to take Madelyn home in her car I gladly gave up her 47 pounds of additional cargo. Right at the 4 mile mark, I had to walk my bike, and then somewhere around 4.5 miles, my friend came by and picked up Adam (30 more cargo pounds) and the whole bike trailer (30 more pounds). I made it the rest of the way easy -- what a difference 60 pounds makes.

So if you are ever in need of a good workout I can reccommend a few routes and loan you a couple kids and a bike trailer. According to the google maps calorie counter -- that whole ride by myself (not towing 110 extra pounds) burns 660 calories. And in towing the kids -- 1100 calories!

Too bad I celebrated my surviving the bike ride with a 1000 calorie chocolate milkshake!

Running update #2

Last night, Adam went to sleep promptyly at 7. Julianne fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow (around 7:45). Catherine, too, foregoed her usual reading in bed and was asleep quickly (8:15). Madelyn, also, joined in the fun and fell asleep without anyone even laying with her by 8:30. It was nice!

Madelyn woke up at midnight, but stayed upstairs and went to the bathroom. I laid with her for just a moment and she fell back asleep.

Julianne came into our room at about 3 am. She was crying. She said she had fallen down the stairs. She got into our bed and fell asleep.

Catherine came in right at 5 am ready to go jogging with me. We both got up and got ready and headed out. Today she only made it .68 miles before she was too tired to go on. I think this running thing has already lost all its appeal. I dropped her off back home and told her to go get on my bed and be quiet. I was actually already amazed that no one else was awake yet.

I finished running and then came home and was even more surprized to find that even at 6:05 am no one was awake. Catherine had gotten into my bed and fallen asleep.

But now here is the real miracle. It is 6:40 am and still no one is awake. I have had 40 minutes to myself!!!!

We'll see how long they sleep today. As I have said before, I do not ever wake up my sleeping children. (Of course with their schedules, why would I have ever needed to?) But maybe today will be a first!

Oh . . . I hear someone stirring!

It is Madelyn. She just came in the office, gave me a big hug and said, "Mom, I stayed on my bed all night. Can I go running with you?"

Here we go again!

Running update

Julianne slept through the night and woke up at 5:00 a.m. on the dot and got ready to go running. Catherine stayed asleep and I just couldn't wake her. (by couldn't -- I mean I just did not have the heart to even make an attempt to disturb her precious slumber, because I am always just grateful they are asleep and would not want that to change!). Julianne kept up on the jog for the exact same distance Catherine did-- in fact they both started walking in the same place. (weird, huh??). We walked her home (she too was sad she could not stay) and then finished our run. When I returned home, Catherine was upset that I had not woken her. I paid for that mistake all morning.

After school today, Julianne asked me what these marks were on the tips of her toes. They were blisters!!!! I told her that she needed to get bigger shoes and offered to take her right then. She did not want to stop playing and go to the store. I told her she would not be able to run with me until we got new shoes and she paused for a second and then said, "Ok, Mom, I think I'll need my rest tomorrow anyway.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!

I may never buy her shoes again.

Cruel and Unusual Rewards

Those of you who talk to me on a daily basis or who read this blog with any regularity have heard me lament my children's sleeping habits. But let me recap them for any newcomers.

1. My (sweet, loving, precious) children seem to get by on very little sleep. Adam who just turned 1 goes to bed at 7, wakes at 5:45 and takes at most 1 hour of naps the whole day and is pretty much the happiest baby ever.
2. They arise early. . . very early. (6:30 am is sleeping in)
3. No matter what time we put them to bed, they arise early. So we try for early. The goal is always to be in bed and reading by 7:30, with lights out by 8:00, but often we don't get the lights out until 8:30.
4. Only Adam and Catherine are sleeping through the night. Julianne wakes up and comes down into our room at least once a night (sometimes twice) and Madelyn does too. (Madelyn is sneakier -- she usually manages to get in our bed without Trent or I even noticing. Julianne just stands silently next to me until I open my eyes-- it's always a little startling to see her face inches from mine in the total darkness.)
5. I have tried everything I can think of to help them sleep through the night. Bribery (50 cents each day (Catherine is now independently wealthy). Ice cream for breakfast. Threats. You name it. Nothing I can think of seems to motivate them to want to sleep through the night. Yesterday at the park, I was just discussing this with my friend Kara who is dealing with the same issues with one of her children and I said, "When I find something that motivates my kids, I will definately let you know." (Little did I know that I was about to discover a radically new method!)

Another thing I have mentioned on the blog recently is my return to early morning jogging. I have been jogging with Amy at 5:15 am. I have told her on repeated occasions that perhaps the thing I like best about jogging is that it is the ONLY thing I really do without my kids. In the past few weeks Julianne has started asking to go jogging with me. I immediately turn her down. She asks again. I refuse. She asks again. I refuse. . . and on and on. Finally last night, she asked again and I said, "Julianne, you can't even sleep through the night. I am not about to let you run with me in the morning unless you can get a good nights sleep. (I am figuring 7 years of bad sleeping is not about to be overturned in 1 night for the opportunity to go jogging at 5 am). I additionally added the caveat, "and 1 night is not enough. You will need to sleep through the night 3 nights in a row, before we can even consider this." She objected (as usual) and began her negotiations and 30 minutes later we had decided that if she could sleep through the night 2 nights in a row, she could try jogging in the morning with me ONLY if she could get up and get ready all on her own. She agreed and went to bed.

Imagine my surprise when at 5:30 this morning (Amy and I were running at 5:45 due to her husband's later schedule this morning) Catherine walked into my room fully dressed in "running clothes" with her hair in a ponytail all ready to go. She had heard all the negotiating last night and obviously felt that running was the "desirable" thing to do. Could I tell her NO??? Of course not, and so she and I headed out to meet Amy. Let's just say Amy found it to be quite entertaining. We started going and Catherine lasted a little over a mile before she confessed that her legs hurt and she was getting a bit sweaty. We walked her back home. She did not want to go in. She started crying as she walked in the house and Amy and I went on to finish the remaining 2 miles. When I got home, Catherine was still a little teary but with a newfound determination to run further the next day and then the next until she could last the whole time. Julianne was a little teary because she had not gotten to go jogging, but with a newfound determination to sleep through tonight (her 2nd day in a row) so she can go jogging with me, Amy, and Catherine.

Can you believe it????????????????????????????

I am still truly dumbfounded and stunned. This -- running at 5 in the morning -- is what makes my kids want to sleep through the night?? And I had not thought of it before?????? What planet are my children from?????

Just since I know you are all curious, last night, Madelyn still woke up and got in our bed and so there was no icecream for breakfast. . . but on the way home from riding our bikes to school Madelyn informed me that she was going to stay on her bed for the next 2 nights so that she can go running with me too!

AHHHHHHHHHHHH! Sometimes you just gotta scream. I have created a Monster! Actually 3 of them!!!!!!

Random things

Running : Started again with a friend . . . we are going 3 miles each time . . . our fastest time so far is 37 minutes (i think -- correct me Amy if I am wrong). . . we even ran at 5:15 am . . . and although it is brutal to get up so early I really do love getting it over with. In fact, that is the best part about exercising, having it done!

Weaning : Adam is now one and only nursing once in the morning and once at night. I think tomorrow we'll drop the night time one. . . or maybe the morning one, I can't decide. He doesn't want to drop any of them.

Sleeping : Adam is sleeping through the night. Madelyn is waking up once a night and getting in our bed (sometimes we walk her back to her bed and sometimes we don't). Catherine is sleeping through the night (except for last night b/c she has a cough). Julianne is waking up once a night. We can't quite figure out why. Sometimes she is belligerent. We think she is mostly asleep. One person suggested we start watching a movie with her when she wakes up. It worked well, she was so surprised we were watching a movie, she sat there for a few minutes and then got in her bed. One of these days they will all sleep through the night. I have promised them icecream for breakfast the day it happens. As I am typing I can hear one of them coughing, so I doubt it will be tomorrow :(

Conferencing : I did the best I could watching/listening/reading (the closed captioning) General Conference. I really do enjoy all the talks so much. My favorite was Elder Holland's. He expressed what I so often want to say, that without a doubt the strength of our church stems from our belief that God the father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are 3 separate and distinct beings. That is what the Bible teaches, but moreso it makes Christ's mission on Earth real. He overcame death and was reunited with his body, just as we will be.

Journaling : I also liked Elder Eyring talk about recording our daily experiences where we can see the hand of God in our life. I think those will be for my "actual written in" journal as opposed to this blog, but I think it is a great idea.

Personal Histories : I am helping my Grandmother record some of her stories onto a blog for all of us to enjoy. Check it out. babas-history.blogpot.com