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Fast, then slow. Sunday, June 28, 2009 We had a running packed weekend, although, it was less of the weekend, and more of yesterday. Today was a lot of nothing, since I have felt horrible all day, and Benjamin woke up exhausted. Yesterday, I participated in the first 5K I've ran in a long time; it was a blast. It was a gorgeous day, albeit a tad hot by the time we got started, and I ran a fast personal record (clearly, since it's been nearly 2 years and I am a much stronger runner than I was 2 years ago...), and placed 3rd in the 25-29 (barely holding onto that group, which is sad, because I would have been fifth in the 30-34 group...so sad), with 24:41 as my time. Not too shabby. Benjamin and Andrew were there to cheer me on, and we enjoyed hanging out in the sun during the awards ceremony. We had lunch, and took naps (all three of us!) to rest up for race #2 of the day. Andrew ran a four-mile twilight race put on by our local running store. Benjamin participated, as the youngest racer of the night, in the 1 mile fun run, and RAN EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. I was SO proud of him, and he not only did it without complaint, he actually had a great time. He had been sold on the idea of the run by the woman from the running store, who promised him a medal. Well, by the time we finished our run, they had handed out all of the medals. He just looked SO devastated, and I, feathers in a ruffle, pointed out to the woman that, just yesterday, she had convinced us to sign him up by showing him the medal, and that it was all he'd talked about all.day.long. He had the most enormous tears rolling down his cheek, and even asked me if it was because he was too slow. I was in the process of telling him that we'd pick him up a special medal the next day, when she came back from her car with the exact medal that she had shown him yesterday. It took him a couple of minutes to re-group, but he was pumped about the medal, and we were able to cheer Andrew through the finish line. I have pictures, but lack the energy to get them up tonight. I am wiped out, and need to get to bed. ~Courtney posted at 7:40:41 PM Wait, it wasn't Friday yesterday? Friday, June 26, 2009 Lately, it seems like the work weeks (and I recognize that I don't work) have been REALLY long. The four day weeks seem even longer, for some bizarre reason. Anyhow, and this has happened a few times in the past couple of months, I spent the entirety of yesterday, probably until 6 or 7 pm, thinking it was Friday. Clearly, it was not. Andrew already left for work because he has to work in the company's new, fancy-dancy "green" office in Columbia, MD. The company moved HQ back in May, but he's been spared the trip to the other side of the beltway, thus far. Benjamin opted to start the day at 4:40 am, so I've already managed to be a short-order chef, having made omelettes, pork roll (product of NJ!), and whole grain blueberry pancakes. Everyone is fed, the kitchen is clean, and well, I am ready for a nap. Tomorrow is race-day here...I am doing a 5K in the early morning. It will be my first 5K in nearly 2 years (not including the Girls on the Run one I did last fall), so I am interested to see how I'll do, since really, longer distances are my forte. With no real plans for the middle of the day, Andrew is going to close it out with a Twilight 4-miler. It looks like it should be a fun party, so I am on a mission to find a sitter so we can go out sans Benjamin. I might ride my new bike out there (probably only 12-15 miles), and bring it home on Andrew's sport-outfitted car, which is FINALLY back in our possession, although, maybe not for long, because I am not satisfied with the work done on it...that is another post entirely, which I refuse to do until the issue is seriously behind us. So, that's it. Ramblings that started before 6 am, and took me an hour to type out. And for real, TGIF. ~Courtney posted at 6:53:27 AM Last father post...I swear Thursday, June 25, 2009 Benjamin: When daddy gets home, I am going to yell "HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!" and sing it to him too. Me: Why? B: Because (which actually sounds more like bee-fudge) today is father's day. Me: Really? Is it? B: Yes. I read it in my email. This kid is crazy. Crazy funny. ~Courtney posted at 4:57:20 PM On the subject of fathers... Tuesday, June 23, 2009 Benjamin is a BIG fan of his father. As in, he basically does EVERYTHING exactly the same as Andrew. It's {mostly} adorable. The latest thing has been, as Andrew gets ready for work, to get ready for work with him. He'll come into our room in the morning and demand that I go downstairs and make breakfast for them (Andrew never did that, just so you know), and then join me downstairs while Andrew showers and gets dressed. Lately, for a couple of reasons that I'll get into in another post when the issue has been resolved, Andrew has been driving his motorcycle to work. It takes some preparation, as Andrew is super careful, and uber-geared up, so Benjamin likes to do side-by-side preparation to help get ready to ride his motorcycle. Benjamin's motorcycle is actually a LeapFrog ride-on school bus that he got as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago, but has always been a fave in his toy collection. His helmet is my pink and silver bike helmet. He wears my bicycle gloves, or tries, since his little fingers barely poke out, and he puts on one of his jackets, as well as a backpack. He then drives around the house on the school bus, and when he hits the button that causes the bus to say "Let's go to school!" Benjamin instead says "No! You're a motorcycle. Let's go to work!" It's seriously hilarious to watch, although, the noises that school bus, er, motorcycle, make are super annoying after about 15 minutes of laps through the downstairs. The whole thing is even funnier because Benjamin is currently working on using the potty, and in the morning, he gets stripped from the waist down, to facilitate the entire process. In his defense, he's not had an accident in 2 weeks now, but it does make his already ridiculous outfit even funnier.  This one is totally blurry; Andrew was tweaking the camera at the beach the other day, and I admit ignorance at the settings, so I took some not-so-clear-pictures in the house this morning. But, it's a funny picture.  ~Courtney posted at 12:12:33 PM Father's Day Fun Monday, June 22, 2009 Surprises are not my strong-point. At all. In fact, I was torn between what Benjamin would be getting Andrew for Father's Day, so I just asked Andrew which thing he'd prefer. So, the gift was no surprise, which left me with the challenge of coming up with something fun to do during the day. We easily could have stayed home and done yard work, and probably should have, but instead, I managed to load up the car without either of the boys knowing what I was loading it up with, and we headed off for some freaking family fun. A suspenseful hour later, we arrived in Annapolis, at the beach! It was a cloudy, but nice day for the beach; especially since 2/3 of this family are pasty & quick to get burned...We lathered up with sunscreen, and spent a couple of hours digging in the sand, making castles, and eating gross, but delicious, boardwalk food. Benjamin was disappointed there was no ferris wheel, like at the Santa Monica Pier, but got over it pretty quickly when offered some vanilla soft-serve. When we came home, Benjamin and I took long naps, and Andrew played with his new Father's Day gadget (a Harmony One universal remote for the playroom tv). I ran out to the store to pick up some filet, and we grilled a fantastic dinner. Andrew and I started a movie, but it was scratched, so we need to pick up another copy from Red Box so we can finish watching it tonight. I think Andrew had a great day, or at least he said he did; it was fun to celebrate him for the day, as he's such a fantastic father to Benjamin, and totally deserves the celebration.   Yes...he LOVED having his legs buried in the sand; it was strange.   ~Courtney posted at 8:12:45 AM Our newest obsession {thanks, Holly} Thursday, June 18, 2009 We just can't stop! ~Courtney posted at 8:47:43 PM A little help, please! Wednesday, June 17, 2009  Although I've been running in races for years, I've never had the drive or commitment to actually run for a cause. Well, that's changing now. I am running in the 20 in 24 race on July 18th, on a team with some friends, both old and new. The entirety of what we earn will be donated to Back on My Feet, a non-profit organization that promotes the self-sufficiency of the homeless population by engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem. Our team, Run Hon, will be participating at the gold level, which entails a total of 15 laps around an 8.4 mile running trail in Philadelphia, all completed within 24 hours. Each of the five members will run 3 legs of the relay, for a total of 25.2 miles each! While I recognize that times are tough right now, I encourage you to help out this great cause by giving whatever you can. Every bit counts! Click here to help us out in our efforts! Thank you! ~Courtney posted at 10:26:12 AM Things not to say to a bright, nearly 3 year old... Monday, June 15, 2009 Benjamin: I want to play outside with my rice table and not have dinner. Me: I want a lot of things that I am not going to get right now, like a boob lift. Benjamin, laughing: A boob lift! HAHAHA. walking over to me and pushing my chest up Now can I go outside and play with my rice table? Help me. ~Courtney posted at 6:04:05 PM Out on the town Sunday, June 14, 2009 Last night, we went out to Reston Town Center to celebrate our friend Erin's birthday with some great, fun friends. Since my purse-sized camera bit it in LA, I am relying on everyone else to send along the pictures they took...  Even rockstar triathletes need to let loose every now and then:  Who has the next birthday we can celebrate? ~Courtney posted at 5:11:49 PM Let's talk about inflation... Sunday, June 14, 2009 So, we went out for dinner/drinks with friends tonight, and just paid our sitter. Um, when I was babysitting, which didn't seem ALL that long ago, I might have made $20. (Edited to add: my math skills were a tad fuzzy. I would have made $15. If they rounded up...) Yeah, it was $60. Eek. And, he was asleep when we left, and he never woke up. But, I guess having someone you trust stay with your kid while you go out with friends for the night (yay local cabs!!!) is worth it. ~Courtney posted at 1:05:18 AM Just because I am catching up... Saturday, June 13, 2009 The best cheerleader at the triathlon last weekend:    ~Courtney posted at 5:27:12 PM Watch out NoVA sprint triathletes... Saturday, June 13, 2009 Andrew ordered me my birthday road bike this morning!!  It should be ALL mine in about a week. And yes, I know my birthday isn't for nearly 2 months...but the next triathlon is right after my birthday, so I basically need to learn how to ride it so I don't die. I am used to my Specialized cruiser that is one basket with a daisy on it, and some pink and purple tassels short of being a large version of my first Huffy. ~Courtney posted at 2:30:01 PM Let's try that again... Saturday, June 13, 2009 Okay, and here is an appropriate re-cap of our trip to Los Angeles to visit Holly, Elise (and the hard working Mike). First off, as you noticed from our on-flight photography and posting, we’re big fans of Virgin America as an airline. Benjamin was able to keep himself occupied in his car seat with movies, snacks, and books. I, who am less of a good traveler than Benjamin, was thrilled to be able to have the ability to enjoy the time suck of the Internet without any massive amounts of guilt. It made the 5+ hour trip pass quickly. Also worth noting, we left Dulles at 7 am, and still had the ENTIRE day to play in LA. And play we did. Elise and Benjamin got along like they’d been playing together every day since birth. It’s funny, because they could easily pass for brother and sister. Although, they probably get along a lot better than siblings… On Monday afternoon, Holly took us to Coldwater Canyon park, a regular stomping grounds for Elise. Despite not seeing any of Hollywood’s most famous tots, who also tend to make CCP their stomping grounds, the kids had a blast running around, and we had a blast people watching. We got delicious Thai take-out, put the bambinios to bed, and then stayed up way too late catching up and drinking wine. Too much wine. And a slow start on Tuesday, but we got caught in the rain on our coffee walk (yep…it rained while I was in LA; figures, we don’t have good vacay weather luck). That was a nice excuse to take cover in the closest store. Which happened to be Lululemon, which is my favorite. I got a couple of things, and when the rain let up, we walked back through Brentwood, checking out their ‘hood, and the amazing houses. We had lunch at Brentwood Country Mart. If you don’t recognize the names of the places I am mentioning, it’s likely because you don’t spend too much of your time perusing Perez Hilton, Babyrazzi, and Us Weekly. That’s okay. I recognize that it’s not winning me any intelligence points, but hey, we all have our vices. I digress. We had lunch there, and then Holly drove us around a bit, and we decided to forgo naps for the afternoon, and take the kids to the Santa Monica Pier. Benjamin called it the “beach beer.” Close. We played in the sand for awhile, and then we went up to the Pier for a Ferris Wheel ride. The kids talked us into riding on both some trucks, and then the airplanes. How are those babies big enough to go on rides alone? After that, they played on the little quarter-ride cars like at the mall, and then we all got ice cream. Meltdowns were near, so we loaded back up, and drove around while the kids snoozed in the car. I love looking at all of the gorgeous houses…it’s seriously amazing how enormous (and expensive!) they all are. And, it’s not like we live in the cheapest corner of the country, either; but nothing compares to the glitz and glam of Beverly Hills! Mike made a beer butt chicken for dinner, and we opted out of finishing multiple bottles of wine like the night prior, and since the traveling and lack of naps were catching up to me, we called it a relatively early night. It’s no secret that I love to shop, so you can imagine my excitement when we decided that the best place to spend gloomy Wednesday was at The Grove Holly hadn’t been there yet, either, but oh-my-goodness. It’s the most adorable shopping area ever. We hit up my favorite store (which conveniently for me, is also located 2 miles from my own home, so I shouldn't be all THAT excited), Anthropologie, and scored a couple of goodies there. We had lunch at the year-round farmer’s market there, and then decided to head home so the grumpy bambinos could have a real nap. The moms napped, too. We just laid low, because the kids were having such a fantastic time playing outside, and we were enjoying the patio/backyard, some wine, and lots of good chatting. Mike fired up the grill again, and made delicious bacon wrapped scallops, and Holly made a great green salad. It was so nice! I figured that Benjamin would get up early again, and we’d go for another walk, but after joining me in my bed at 5:30, we slept until 8 am; getting up just in time to eat breakfast, pack, get ready and head to the airport. We had a fair amount of drama in the airport that left me yearning for a drink at 11 am, which is NEVER good, but without getting into the details (I am unable to do so without a lot of swearing, which would be totally inappropriate for a family blog), we safely made it home, where Andrew was waiting to pick us up at the airport. We seamlessly transitioned back to eastern time, and were ready to start the day on Friday morning. Of course, that involved driving Andrew to work, since his stink-mobile is still, well, stinky. They are running a leak test to determine what is leaking, and why it smells like rotting animal in there. I took a few pictures of the kids in LA, but, my (quite new and not inexpensive) camera decided to bite it, so I am not entirely sure I’ll be able to get them off of the camera. And, that’s it, for now. Updated to add the massive slide show for the 11 pictures I managed to take.
~Courtney posted at 2:20:49 PM I just spent 30 minutes... Friday, June 12, 2009 ...typing up a fantastic post about our fantastic trip to LA, and something went wrong, and the entry-page that Andrew designed ate the post, and I am too tired to re-do it. Crap. I will attempt again when I am less irritated (today has been a day of non-stop irritations, unfortunately. As was yesterday). ~Courtney posted at 8:43:01 PM Posting from 30K feet... Monday, June 08, 2009 Benjamin and I are currently an hour into our flight to Los Angeles. Since he's been sucked into Dora the Explorer on the playstation portable, I figured I'd spend the $12.95 to get the wireless internet access to occupy my time (and even get some work done)!  ~Courtney posted at 8:01:42 AM Like running...but triple the fun! Sunday, June 07, 2009 Okay, fun might not be the right word to describe this morning's adventures, but I did a local triathlon with two of my friends this morning, and it was totally awesome! I might be hooked. My swim was shockingly good, and I ended up passing the three men in front of me, which was totally not what I was expecting, based on the way the start was set up. It was actually a tad irritating when the guy directly in front of me didn't let me pass after the first 100 meters. The transitions were WAY less stressful than I had built them up to be (which, if you've been following this site for awhile, you'll know that me stressing about things before they happen is just a huge part of who I am...). I'd like to send out a personal thank you to the inventor of the ShamWow!; it is awesome for triathlon transitions. When I just looked up the link to put in this post, the video on the site started, and Benjamin said "ShamWOW? That's what mommy has!" That should tell you how much I love the ShamWow! Side note, if you're going to get the ShamWow, get it at Bed Bath and Beyond and use the 20% coupon...they rip you off with shipping and handling if you order from the site! I digress. Mostly because the biking was HARD. It was 2 times on a 6 mile loop. The distance wasn't a big deal at all...it was the &*(%^&(( hills. Ohmygoodness. My quads were SO frustrated, and at one point I thought I was going to have to get off of my bike and walk. But, I didn't. And, even on my cruiser/hybrid bike, I did a 4:04 minute mile, finishing up in under 49 minutes. Not too shabby. I've officially learned why they recommend practicing the biking to running transition PRIOR to race day...and also why they call it a "brick" workout. My legs were NOT pleased for the first mile of the 3.1 mile run. They felt like, well, bricks. I stopped for a second, bent in half and stretched out, and ended up passing a ton of people, doing the run in 8:32 minute miles. Andrew, Benjamin, and Christina's family were all at the finish line. I, despite having to get up at 5 am, and be on the road prior to 6, had a blast. I was insanely over-caffeinated (just ask my mom about her post-race phone call...), and am tempted to sign up for the event (same course) in August...so is Andrew. I think I am asking for a new, faster/road bike for the big b-day coming up, too. Hopefully I can convince Andrew to get it sooner so I can have it to practice before the early August event... Not too shabby looking for close to 90 minutes of working out!  And yes, my number was 69. We are really, really immature. But, for the record, almost everyone out there was (almost as) immature, too. ~Courtney posted at 3:40:46 PM Things that were/are cool this week. Friday, June 05, 2009
~Courtney posted at 9:04:23 PM You know you're a suburbanite when... Tuesday, June 02, 2009 ...you are driving home from dinner with some friends and you realize that you have NO clue how to turn the bright-lights on your car (that you've owned for a year) when you take back-roads home. You've never needed them before! Just saying. ~Courtney posted at 11:14:24 PM A new guilty pleasure is on the horizon Monday, June 01, 2009 Andrew and I *finally* caught up on our (far too much) television on Tivo, and I have to say, I am insanely excited for Fox's new show Glee to start for real. In case you didn't already know how nerdy I am, I have a very strong love for musical theater, and for much of my life, planned to make it my career. So, this show is exactly what I need to add to my cheesy television repertoire! ~Courtney posted at 4:13:54 PM |
