MUD RUN!!

My work decided to participate in the October's Mud Run at Camp Pendalton. I signed up earlier in the year, while I was still pregnant. I figured I would have the baby late june/early july, recover for 6 weeks, then train for 2 months. Well, I had the baby, but the training never happened. I must say...October 18th snuck up VERY fast. The mud run is a 10k and considering I still get winded going up my stairs...I was scared! On the morning of the 18th, I woke up at 5:00am and fed Brooke...poor baby wasn't ready to wake up yet. Then we picked up April at 5:45am and off we went to meet the rest of the gang in Aliso Viejo. We met at 6am at Starbucks then followed each other to Camp Pendalton. We arrived around 7am and had to park in this huge parking lot and then take a bus up to the race area. I managed to get another quick feeding in for Brooke before the race started. At around 8:50am, I was at the starting line waiting to embark on this dreadful run. They had music blasting and there were about 4,000 people running. At that point, my only goal was to finish the race within the 2 hour and 45 minutes time they alloted. Finally the race began and all these people started running, well, there were so many, that everyone was walking. Eventaully the crowd started spreading out as all the crazies sprinted ahead. The first thing we got to experience was a fire hose spraying us all down. This would have been something I welcomed at mile 4, but considering I had only ran about 50 yards, it was pretty miserable. The water was FREEZING! And it wasn't a light spray either...it kinda hurt. They proceeded to spray us all down another 3 times within the first mile. It pretty much sucked. Then we had to go through a little river crossing. My feet were completely under water. By this time, I am tired and trying to figure out why in the heck I am doing this. You could imagine how I felt when this 70 year old man in a full white suit and tie went jogging past me. I figured I am here and worst case scenerio is that I do this for 2 hours and 45 minutes. So I kept going. There were some up hills that I walked. I found it hilarious that some of these crazies go flying past me as if there was a million dollars at the finish line and then a few yards down the road, there they are, off to the side walking and trying to catch their breath. Then they sprint off again, then stop to catch their breath. I am pretty sure I had a much more enjoyable time than they did and yet we finished at the same time. IDIOTS! Anyways, after going over two 5 foot walls, through tires, a muddy tunnel, army crawling through a mud pit and running up a steap hill as they shot water down the hill...I finally finished. Total time - One hour and fifty five minutes! WOO HOO! Key word...FINISHED! I will definately do this again next year...except this time I am going to actually train!

Back to work...

It's been a while since I have blogged, but I have a really good reason. I started back to work on October 6th...after being off work for 4 months. I have been very busy at work and at the same time, I am trying to adjust to packing diaper bags, bottles, toys, etc.

BROOKE UPDATE-Things were rough the first week. Brooke wasn't wanting the bottle. She was only drinking a couple of ounces at each feeding. Monday and Tuesday my mom was over at our house, so that was probably easier for Brooke...being in her own home. However, Wednesday, Brooke went to Auntie Debby's house (Aprils Mom). She wouldn't take the bottle at all, so she only ate in the morning, then at lunch when I came over to feed her then not again until 6pm. She was crying...eyes puffy and all. I felt horrible. Poor Debby tried everything. Finally, we are at our third week and Brooke is taking the bottle a LOT better. She is sucking down 4 ounces out of the bottle. YAY! I am still pumping at work, thanks to our "pumping" room I have at work. Its a small room with a refrigerator, sink and comfy chair in it. It is specifically for nursing mothers. I am hoping to keep this up for quite a while, so we will see.

JOSH UPDATE-Since I have been back at work, Josh has started riding his bike to school. It is 2.1 miles from the house. We did a handful of test runs with him to make sure he knew the route really well. Mark also bought him a rack for his bike so he can take his instrument (trumpet) on music days (Mondays and Thursdays). So far, Josh is doing great. He hasn't gotten lost and has been ontime every day. We are super proud of him for handling this huge responsibility so well. Also, Josh's soccer team is doing really well. They are currently in 3rd place. They have a game tomorrow which will determine if they can keep 3rd...so exciting!!!

CARLIE UPDATE-Nothing is really too new with Carlie. She is still in soccer and her team is doing pretty well. They are currently in 5th place. However, Carlie, herself, has done excellent. She has scored a handful of goals. She has really improved in the three seasons she has played. She is very aggressive and makes the game exciting!