Alcohol and Running? Not so much.

Friday night we had a little mini-Overtones reunion. The Overtones is an a cappella group that Todd and I were in at JMU. We have some great friends from the group and while we don't get together as often as we'd like, when we do get together we have a blast. Friday night was a great get-together. Kerry (aka Sparkles) made some sangria (aka 2 bottles of red wine with some tequila-soaked fruit) and we ate BBQ food. We actually had dessert first because Craig brought a huge cake that wouldn't fit in the fridge. I wish I had a picture of that. It wasn't until dinner was over that I thought to  bring out the camera.



Sparkles.

 

David and Craig.



Me and Danny. This picture is here because my face looks SO THIN!!!

Anyway, what is the point of this blog post? Well, it's to share that drinking a lot is not conducive to running. I skipped my run on saturday because of a mild dehydration/headache/hangover and vowed to do my 5 miles on Sunday with extra power! Ummmm...nope. Even 2 days later, I still couldn't get moving enough to have a good run. I felt slow, tired, and seriously dehydrated.

The verdict? No more than 1 drink a night until marathon is over. Phew, that's a big challenge.

Party Hearty

Beautiful birthday girl:

Best. Birthday cake. Ever.:

Singing Happy Birthday:

Yummy cupcake:

Big smiles from the birthday girl:

bff's

phone pic

Just had to share this blurry picture from this morning, taken with my phone. It's the dress my friend E made for Charlotte, plus her cute socks given by my friend Jennyc. She is one happy baby in her stylish clothes. :)

Beach Quotes

"Mommy, take a picture NOW!"

"Where DanielStephen?" (Never Daniel and Stephen, always DanielStephen)

"Is Charlotte sleeping with me?" - DanielStephen

A picture of her before bad Mommy allowed her to get sunburned:

Mealtime on the deck.....
"I WANT ICE CREAM!!!!!" - Henry

"We did it! We did it!" - Owen, after arriving at the beach, a la Dora the Explorer

"UUUUPPPPP! UUUUUPPPPP! WAAAAHHHHHHH!" - Henry

"Mommy, build it NOW." - Henry, about his sand castle.

"I smash it!!!" - Henry and Owen, 2 seconds after I build the sand castle.

"I take a shower?" - Owen, who loved the shower (his first)

"I not take a shower!" - Henry, who hated it.

Last weekend, Todd ran the Ashburn Twilight 4-miler. They had a band and food, and the boys and their girlfriend Anna danced the night away. Here is a shot of their cool moves:

And here is Charlotte saying, "What the heck are you guys doing?":

They also had a big moonbounce slide that Henry went down 3 times by himself. This is the picture right before Owen chickened out at the top of the slide and cried his way back down the stairs. All the people in line were veerrrry pleased with us.

Here is good big brother Henry taking care of his little sister.

Charlotte snoozin' this morning on her boppy:

feeding a goat

Not the best quality (it was from my phone, we forgot all cameras and videocameras, such dummies) but here's a vid of Henry and Todd feeding the goats at the Catoctin zoo today. Henry was a brave boy and fed an emu, some goats, many ducks and geese, and a llama. Owen wasn't a fan of the feeding, but loved the turtles. Henry laughed so hard when the emu ate out of his hand, I will eternally be kicking myself for not having the videocamera. Sigh.

time flies...

February 2007:

Last night:

one word only

Yourself: Tired
Your partner: Clean-freak
Your hair: fugly
Your Mother: opinionated
Your Father: hopeful
Your Favorite Item: computer
Your dream last night: awake
Your Favorite Drink: Wine
Your Dream Car: leather
Your Dream Home: huge!
The Room You Are In: classroom
Your Ex: lame
Your fear: money
Where you Want to be in Ten Years? family
Who you hung out with last night: Todular
What You're Not: skinny
Muffins: Blueberry
One of Your Wish List Items: robe
Time: noon
The Last Thing You Did: email
What You Are Wearing: black
Your favorite weather: spring
Your Favorite Book: Owen
Last thing you ate: donuts
Your Life: hectic
Your mood: blah
Your Best Friends: miss
What are you thinking about right now: lunch
Your car: minivan
What are you doing at the moment: blogging
Your summer: far
Relationship status: Married
What is on your tv: off
What is the weather like: fuh-reezing
When is the last time you laughed: hour
Who you tag: batonya

friends

Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah to everyone!

fun in Colorado

Went out to Colorado this weekend for a visit with Shannon, Dawn, JK, and Angie. We had a great time, attended a great benefit for Tuesday that raised over $15,000.00! Shopped, talked, reminisced, and met some lovely people. It was great to see the girls (and meet Shannon and Angie!) and I can't wait until I see them again.

Thank you, Angie, for being a great hostess!

*click picture to enlarge

woo hoo!!!

party time

We had an awesome time at Anna's 2nd birthday on Saturday! It was a perfect 2 year old party, full of lots of toys, balloons, bubbles, and cupcakes!

heck yeah

Tonya gave me an award! Woo hoo! I have no idea what the heck it is, but I do know that it means I am brilliant. Yes, thank you. Someone finally noticed.

reunion!

On Saturday we went to visit Brianna and her new sister Sophia! The boys had a great time playing with their long-lost friend. We miss her!!!! Check out some other pictures of our playdate on Kami's blog, too.The boys checking out the new baby, and B feeding me mustard. Yummy!

Yes, I did make this, thankyouverymuch.

Thanks to Saucy (a blogger I love!) for the instructions to make this awesome diaper cake! I made this last weekend for a baby shower for one of my friends. She is having a Henry, too!! It was a ton of fun and I can't wait to meet the next Henry! :)

oooooh, a REAL award!!

Look! I didn't even have to make up an award this time!!
I got this from Tonya! She and I have been friends since we were pregnant with twins together. Last year, she and her famly ventured to the east coast and the boys and I got to meet her. Check out her blog, it's fab fab fab!

I think everyone has gotten this award except me....so I have to do some blog hunting before I pass it on. :)

Phew.

I just spent the past 3 hours reading this blog: http://boobsinjuriesanddrpepper.blogspot.com/

I went through all of her "Crazy Chronicles" and it is so sad and surreal. You can't imagine the things this woman has been through, lived through, and writes about so well. I think she might be my new idol.

Blogblast for Education

A blog I regularly read (As I Was Saying....so freaking funny) led me to a "Blog Blast" today. It originated at the blog, It's All About Balance. After reading the posts at these sites, and all the others linked on the latter page, I thought I needed to participate.

First of all, I am a huge advocate for public education. I am against private school vouchers. I also am not a fan of most of No Child Left Behind. Now that that's out of the way, I think there are a few things that can really help our public schools.

1. Money, money, money. Stop spending money on stuff that doesn't even take place in our country. Save our children. Give them the education they deserve. Why are some schools rolling in dough and others have asbestos in the ceiling and no working toilets? If the federal government has the chutzpah to lay down the law, then show us the money.

2. Teachers. (I am one.) Get out there and keep learning yourself. How many teachers do we know that never try new methods, never share with their colleagues, and never go the extra mile. Take classes, get new certifications, go to workshops. Heck! Go to the art museum and pick up some pamphlets. Let's get some fresh ideas, some real-world experiences, and some new methods in our classrooms. Not everyone learns by rote memorization. The drone of your voice lulls some to sleep. Step it up.

3. Parents. Come on. You need to step it up, too. You should know where your kids are. The remote control to your TV has parental controls - use them. Monitor the internet. Be there for them. TALK to them, not at them.

4. Human beings. Speak up. If you see an injustice that involves a kid, DO SOMETHING. Don't wait for the next person. It might be too late.

Ode to Tonya

Happy Birthday, Tonya!
If you all haven't checked out Tonya's blog, check it out. She is my idol and a true superwoman.