Asheville Idiotarod

This past weekend Asheville hosted the legendary "Idiotarod" shopping cart race. It is part of the race for awesomeness series that also includes the basketball 5K (dribbling a basketball 3.1 miles). I have been trying to get a team of 5 to compete the past few years and have never been successful. Mainly because my ever so ethical husband ( who used to make me pay taxes on my babysitting money) seems to think that "stealing" a shopping cart is bad news. So this year I found a way to be involved without breaking any laws. I took part in an honest to goodness flash mob!

For those you who aren't up to date on Flash Mobs (or current episodes of the Modern Family) don't worry, it isn't what it sounds like. We don't go around flashing people. That would give Jaime even more of a heart attack than stealing a buggy. The actual definition is: a term coined in 2003 to denote a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment and/or satire. The director of the race heard that the E! Television show "Too Fat for Fifteen" was going to be filming this years run and decided to put together a group of people who suddenly appear and do the entire dance to Micheal Jackson's Thriller. We met secretly all week and learned all of the steps. Not an easy task for someones such as myself. I would rather run 10 miles than do a single cha cha and that MJ has some pretty crazy moves. But it was a learning experience and by the end of the last practice I felt good about it. So imagine my sadness when Sunday's performance was less than thrilling. Boo. We had a large group of about 100 people who dedicated time and effort into learning each step for a fabulous performance (and one very hot, Micheal Jackson dance teacher, who may or may not have been gay, who spent the whole week teaching like 10 dance classes) all to have a ton of drunk people join in and try to preform the dance as well and basically stepped on feet and dropped it like it was hot. Entertaining, yes. Thrilling, no. But in the end I am left with a small space in my brain that now contains all of the dance information I need to surprise the heck out of some people at the next Halloween party. And that, is good enough for me!

Check out these pictures of how fabulously weird Asheville is. We really want to move back to the beach (like really, really bad) but there is no comparison for this town. It is such a uniquely, wonderful part of North Carolina. Enjoy!

Mind Numbing Chit Chat

Oh. My. Goodness. There are days where my brain literally feels like it is on fire. I spent the first two years of Josiah's life praying that he would talk sooner rather than later and that my fear of measles, mumps and rubella had possibly sent him into a vaccinated, autistic frenzy and now...it never ends.

Where we going today Mama? We going to the bank after that? Why we don't have any money for the bank? Daddy don't give you no money? Who would be on my sticker if I went to the bank? I get a kitty sticker at the bank? What's for lunch today? Where did you get that turkey? That turkey was at Yaya's house on Thanksgiving? Where did Bubby get those pants? Those pants is red? Why are you yawing? You tired? Mommy?"

That is just a brief interlude into my day with Josiah. And honestly, I feel slightly guilty for my responses to some of these questions after 7 plus hours of it. Sometimes I totally ignore him or sometimes I go for shock value. As in, " Whats that mans name?" (Random guy at grocery Store) "Handy Manny, honey". "That man is Handy Manny?!" "Yep."

Lately, I have been enforcing a very strict policy of not answering a question more than once. If he asks the question and receives no response (because I am ignoring him) he is allowed to repeat the question until getting a response. But once I answer it, I will not not answer it again. This policy does NOT work. He keeps asking after reciveing a response and I keep answering because I don't know what else to do.

AH! And thank heavens Oliver only says "cookie" over and over and it is still adorable. What the crap am I going to do when they are both talking non-stop? I tell Josiah all the time, "Talk to Oliver" and he says, "Bubby a baby. He dont' talk." To which Oliver usually shoots him a sideways glace that says, "Be quite!"

In all seriousness, he is pretty freaking adorable and the stories are hilarious. The other day he told me that heaven was in Wilmington. How sweet is that? And really, who can resist this guy?

My Lucky Day

Thanks to a wonderful mother who raised me to believe that I was the prettiest, smartest, best person to ever live I have grown to be extremely competitive by nature. From the moment I was born all I ever heard was how lovely I was, as any doting parent should tell their child. So, imagine my surprise when I started middle school about one foot taller than everyone else (boys included) and this weird combination of being skinny and huge at the same time. Wearing my duck head shorts and rusty t-shirt I thought I was awesome and later found out, I wasn't. Somewhere in those lost middle school years I had to make a decision; Cry about it and let others dictate the way I feel about myself or continue to believe that I am awesome. I chose the later. Thanks Mom.

So anyway, here I am 15 years later and if a camera is around I still stop to pose like I am at the end of a catwalk. These days my husband has replaced my Mama as my roommate but thankfully continues to make my feel like one in a million. This glowing self-esteem isn't without its downfalls... I am really hard on myself. I don't like to lose or ever feel like I could have done something better. I want to be the best at everything and I actually get pissed off when I'm not. Yep, I said it out loud.

Last spring was the first time in 2 years that I wasn't pregnant or had just given birth. So, I took full advantage and got into tip top fighting shape. Everything was almost perfect with one exception, The Shamrock 10K. It isn't just a 6.2 mile run, it is the 10K of death. The hills are killer and the climbs in between seem to last forever. When I first practiced the course last year it took something crazy like an hour and twenty minutes (I did get lost and added an extra mile or two, but still.) On race day in 2010 I finished in 1:05:52 and almost threw up at the finish line. I felt like Micheal Scott when he finished that 5K for rabies on The Office and ate so much fettuccine and no water. It was officially my worst race ever and it has haunted me for a year.

I began practicing for this years race in January. I ran the course in rain and ice. One day my lips started bleeding from the blistering winds. I ran with a friend who is way faster and every single time thought to myself, I am never running with him again. I pushed it as hard as I could and only got under an hour one time. Which is crazy, because I even ran faster per mile in the Asheville Half than that. What is it with this course?

So this past Saturday was the big day. Time to redeem myself. And when I say that I am competitive yes, I like to beat other runners, but when I am running the only person I am competing against is myself. It's all about self-improvement and being better than the day before. I put on all my lucky, green shamrock gear (If I can't win the race there was always the costume contest, right?) and headed over to Asheville Catholic School. I realized on the way there that I had forgotten my watch. Oh well, the finish line would have to be a surprise. I took off with the gun and ran down Kimberly really fast. I was thinking the whole time, "I am running too fast. I won't be able to make it up Cherokee. Slow down." but I just kept going fast anyway. Then when I reached Cherokee (hill to heaven) it was literally like downshifting in my little Red Jetta. I kept running but everything was in slow motion and seemed much heavier. I said a little prayer of thanks when I reached the top and took off up Sunset. And to be clear, sunset sucks. It is a such fake out because you can't see the actual elevation change (like on Cherokee) but it just keeps going and going and hurting an hurting. My ipod fell out of my ear at one point and the sounds I heard around me were like people gasping for their last breaths. The way I personally sounded made me grateful that the money I payed to the race went to people who were hopefully praying for me. The downhill portion didn't come soon enough or last long enough before I was pulling myself up that ginormous hill on Kimberly wondering what the outcome was going to be. On one hand I felt slow and like I was near death and on the other I knew I had given it everything I had. No matter what the outcome I couldn't have done any better and was already planning next years attack strategy when I rounded the corner and could see the clock. 55 something. What? I ran up the hill on Culvern with a new burst of life and a giant smile. Granted, it must've said 55:50 something because by the time I crossed the finish line it was 56:07, 9 minutes and 45 seconds faster than last years time. I won. Now what?

Oh, Oliver.

Somehow, someway...it has been over 18 months since little Oliver was born. At this point my life has become so fun and relatively simple. I have noticed that when I wake up in the morning my perspective has changed from, "What the heck are we gonna do to fill this day up and make it go by as quickly as possible?" To, "What are we gonna do today?!!" I actually miss Josiah when he is at school and am so excited for summer. I can't imagine not spending all day, everyday with these boys. And even though it is still over 2 years away, kindergarten is getting too close.

Oliver has grown into such a wonderful little toddler, who I will always refer to as my baby. He can talk and fight and makes sure to get exactly what he wants and nothing that he doesn't. He can sing and count to 3. He loves to climb on stuff and read books. He loves Josiah.

His little personality is developing too. Today I asked him what he wanted for lunch and he looks at me stone faced and says, " Cooo key." I started to laugh and then he started laughing too. Last night Josiah asked, "Can I have Bubbies strawberries?" and Oliver yelled across the table, "NO!" He has developed quite an attitude and has even started throwing some tanturums. Still, they are so much easier to deal with the second time around. Or maybe they are just easier because they are coming from Oliver and he is just so freaking sweet, even when he's mad.

His hair is crazy looking. The top just isn't growing. The back however, is beautiful and soft. Jaime gave me five dollars (Um, heck yeah this this stay at home mama took that!) in exchange for a promise not to cut it until after he turns two, so he will be rocking the mullet for a while longer. Here are some pics of my one and a half year old baby. Enjoy!

Healthy, Happy and Fabulous

First of all let me start by saying, wow and holy guacamole! That stinky little groundhog named Phil can actually predict the weather. This month has been fantastically glorious. Every weekend has been sunny and ranging anywhere from 50-70 degrees and it's FEBRUARY! We have been taking full advantage of the unseasonably warm temperatures and even spent a Valentines Day weekend alone at the beach. And even though I spent the better part of Friday in Urgent Care and Saturday indoors under the covers fast asleep...it was awesome! I mean, if you're gonna be sick might as well do it next to the ocean, with no kids and a good looking man. And Saturday night when I finally got my appetite back, Jaime was there to take me on super romantic date to the one and only J Micheal's Philly Deli. Ah, nothing like fried mushrooms and a 12 inch cheese steak after not eating for a week. The boys had a fabulous time at Yaya and Grandpa's house and even got to go to the motherland and soak up some salt and sand.Upon returning to Asheville we have been hiking in Hot Springs.

Practicing for the soccer team,And returning to business as usual with daily trips to the park, sitting on the porch looking for trash trucks and being outside as much as humanly possible. We currently have no broken bones or illness and life is great! It is truly amazing how much easier my days become when it isn't freezing outside.

Goals for spring include: Running LOTS, selling this house and finding Jaime a job being the CFO of an ocean front retirement community where he can work half days. That's all. And in regards to that crazy post about more babies... don't get your hopes up. I love to run and be skinny way too much in warm weather. Talk to me in the fall!