I'm sprung on spring

I know, I know...I keep pointing out how bad I am about blogging and then I continue to be.  What is that?  At least I can say it's because I've just been hanging out more with the kiddos.  Especially with the new spring weather that's been so incredibly kind to us.  Long walks in the wonderful sunshine have started to replace blogging.  And I mean, really...can you blame me?

We've also finally be scheduled for Charlie's final hip surgery.  Wahoo!  It's bittersweet.  I'm so glad that this could potentially be the last surgery (besides a small surgery to remove the plates from her hips when she's about 4), and I'm so glad that starting this summer, we'll be making steps towards, well, steps!  Charlie's steps!  I assure you she will waste no time learning to do all the things her brother is already learning.  I give it a month.  The downside to all of this is the obvious - back to being in a cast.  She did remarkably well in her last cast and only had to stay in it for 6 weeks as opposed to 10 like we originally thought.  So we'll keep all fingers and toes crossed that we'll have the same luck again.  Either way, this should be it.  As hard as it is to see this beautiful little butterball with scars all over her sweet little legs and hips, I cannot tell you how amazing it will be when she starts walking.  I can bet money that I will turn into a puddle at the sight of it. 

April 15th is the surgery.  I'll have to go down there alone.  Joe's staying home with Davey on the actual day of the surgery and then coming down the day after to stay in the hospital with us.  I've managed to keep it together moderately well through her last surgeries, but it could have been because Joe was there with me.  Without him there, who knows how I'll be.  Stronger?  Weaker?  It's stuff like this that makes you really thankful to have a partner.  You know there's someone there to be the stronger person when you can't be.  I have to say that I have one of the best partners.  Ever.

With all of that said, I've really just been trying to let my new running baby, Diamond Dave, go free and my sweet little Charlie Bird enjoy her castless first days of spring time.  All barefoot and dirty and wonderful.  I can smell sweat in Davey's hair and Charlie's little knees are grass stained and scraped.  It's insanely perfect.

April 15th is going to suck.  There's no two ways about it.

But until then
it's spring outside.
Let's go play.

Still sound

Im running out of post titles so from here on out they'll probably just be whatever song I'm currently listening to as I type here.  Deal?  Deal.

I went running again today.  Yeah!  It's only been 4 days so I guess that's not something to celebrate just yet.  Or maybe it is.  Hell, I'll be glass is half full.  I made it to day four and I'm awesome!  I guess because I've been a runner before, it's hard not to be frustrated with how sore and out of shape I am.  I plan to just keep on running forever and never stopping again.  I really hate this retraining thing.  But I'm loving the time alone and the fresh air and getting to enjoy my surroundings more everyday.  I get why my kids are so quiet and mesmerized everytime we go for a walk.  There's a lot to see in all this nothing around us.

In other more baby related news, today we received our latest book from Grandma (my mom)!  My mom's been sending books to the kids each month.  As a retired librarian, if there's one thing she's going to make sure these kids have, it's going to be books and more books.  I say bring it on!  What I really love is that she's been mixing books from my childhood in with other, newer books.  I love all of the books she's sent so far and we immediately read them as soon as they come out of the box.  But when I see one from when I was a kid I'm almost teleported to a time when I was sitting and having it read to me.  All of a sudden it's like there's three little kids huddled around this favorite book.  We ALL can't wait to see what's on the next page! Today's book was one of those books from my childhood.  A very important one.  One I still have memorized.

Today we got Madeline.

Davey was taking a nap through all of this so Charlie got to be the first to read it.  Hope she's not a total spoiler alert for her bro.

Today's been a pretty great day.  I'm thankful that I had time to run and that my sweet babies slept the whole time and beyond.  I'm thankful that my husband stayed in the house with them so I could grab that time to take care of myself.  And I'm thankful for this skim milk string cheese I'm chowing down on. 

There were some pictures I meant to put up with yesterday's post, but time got the best of me.

Have I mentioned I love where we live?  And my family, have I mentioned how much I love them?  And our walks?  If I haven't, I love them so.

Don't know why, there's no sun up in the sky...

Hey hi!  I suck at this blogging thing don't I?  Like with most things, I hit it fast and hard at the beginning and I'm a total rockstar.  And then slowly but surely I tapper off into the sunset, never to be seen again.  I will not fail you, blog.  Not this time.  I know my family reads this too, so if nothing else that will keep me going.

A couple of things:

1. I started running again this week.  I said I would and I did.  It was great weather for it.  Overcast and cool.  I'd just loaded my phone with new songs and I was ready to go!  I ran 3 miles in about 40-45 minutes.  Nothing impressive by any means.  But I did it.  And I quickly learned it was too much too soon.  I should've eased.  I am currently walking around the house like a cowboy walking into a saloon.  John Wayne makes that walk look cool.  I, however, do not.  But I'm going to keep going.  Maybe slow down a bit, but I'm going to get in shape.  I'm going to be fit and healthy. 

The truth is, I really love this stuff.  It helps that I love fruits and veggies and I want to start eating better.

2.  I jumped on the hipster bandwagon and got an iPhone.  That's probably not fair.  EVERYONE who owns an iPhone is not a hipster.  But iPhone's come with a certain reputation.  However, when we found out we could switch cellphone providers and finally get cell service in the remote area where we live, we also found out we could get these snazzy phones for $50.  DEAL!  And, like all the rest of you iPhone rockin' dorks out there, I downloaded photo apps to play with.  I'm no photographer, but it is a pretty fun use of time.  Hey, who ever said there was anything wrong with stopping and taking a picture of something because you think it's beautiful, photographer or not?  My grandfather was a wonderful photographer and my mother recently got into photography as well.  So if nothing else, it's inherently enjoyable.

We took a walk today, down our pretty gravel road.  If I ever need a reminder of why I live out here in the middle of nowhere, I just step outside, walk down my road, and realize I live on a little piece of quiet heaven.

Spring is coming, like it or not.  You like it though, don't you...

Here's a little something because I like YOU and YOU and YOU...

Gotta keep'm motivated (ha! get it?)...

So, if you didn't know this, having kids is amazing.  It's beyond wonderful.  Nothing gives you a greater sense of purpose.  Nothing is more amazing.  I never cared one bit about any of the steps another person took.  But when Davey walks across the living room I point it out in great exclamation despite how many times he's done it that day.  Amazed.  That's me.  And when Charlie does these things that I would find impossible given her inability to MOVE HER KNEES, I am once again amazed.  My children, all children, are amazing.

With that said, every day that goes by I think more and more about my influence on them.  Joe and I have been talking about whether or not we should buy a house near a "better" school system in another town.  The house we're in now is his grandmother's and is bought and paid for (that means FREE).  For me, my dream house has an attic room.  But my dream house is also out in the country where you can actually see all of the stars and where cotton blooms and where things seem a little more...untouched.  So I don't have an attic room, but I think I'd like to stay here.  What about that "better" school system though?  Is it better?  True, the school closest to us is probably made up of lower income kids, but does that make education worse?  My husband, his sister, my niece all went or go to these schools.  And they're all enormously smart.  And this is why - their parents.  Their family.  The people they grew up around.  My influence on my children is not only as a rule maker or that lady that makes sure no one catches on fire.  I have to be an educator as well.  We read books now, and when they're older, we'll see natural history museums and go to historic landmarks in our area (and there are so many).  I look forward to that.

But these past few weeks, an area of influence I've been very conscious of has been food and exercise.  These kids keep growing and I'm lead to believe they won't stop.  Say what?  So I have to get real about the example I'm setting for my kids.  I was really fortunate that my mother was so health conscious.  Especially through my high school years.  There wasn't a cookie, potato chip, or soda to be found in our house.  That's not to say she didn't make divinity fudge with my sister every Christmas or buttermilk biscuits with molasses on Saturday mornings.  We ate and we ate well.  But then there's that college age freedom of getting to eat whatever you want (oh THAT'S where the phrase "freshman 15" comes from...) because mom's not around to make you eat baked salmon and broccoli for dinner.  Totinos Party Pizza?  I'll take four!

I've been fortunate enough to have a decent metabolism.  I've never been overweight per se...but none of that really matters because at my very skinniest (which I am not at now) I was probably the most unhealthy I've ever been.  And yes, I've lost most of my pregnancy weight, but most of that is due to stress or being too busy to eat.  It's not from all that wonderful running and those kale smoothies I've been drinking.

(Woah this is a long post)

I found this today...perhaps by some divine force.   Really I probably found it because I just click on link after link I find on favorite blogs I read.  I've been looking for inspiration to run lately.  My in laws have a treadmill along with some other equipment and I keep telling myself I'm going to go workout over there every day while the kids nap and Joe can watch them.  But really, I'd rather run outside.  Spring is starting to make it's way into our every day life and it's made everyone so overjoyed, including myself.  There's no better way to celebrate that than running outside in it.  There's even a newly paved road a little ways down from us.  Perfect for running.  And for days I want a challenge, we live on a gravel road, perfect for extreme running. 

So this is me making a public declaration:  I have been inspired (thank you the little red house).  I will start running every day.  I will make time for it.  I will teach my kids to make time for their health and well being.  I will feed them and play with them and teach them to treat themselves like the phenomenal, walking, beating the odds, amazing children they are. 

Let's go!!!