The Big Race

The morning of the race - before the start.

Whew, so if you've read my blog for any amount of time (like even two posts) you know that this past weekend I participated in the Tri Fall Creek Falls Race. Its a triathlon at a beautiful state park that consists of a 1500 m swim, 40k bike and 10k run. I was on a relay team so I just did the run (duh . . . like I could actually do that whole thing). Let me just say that the athletes we saw this weekend were amazing. Truly amazing.

Next, let me say that my team was amazing. I'm so proud of each of us for different reasons. We accomplished what we set out to do and we did it with style. It was a really fun time to be with a long time friend and get to make a new one. And it also definitely gave me the bug for future races.

Me coming into the finish line

Our team came in 2nd overall for female relay teams. When I saw the run course I was intimidated. My training route here wasn't completely flat but also didn't have any major hill - this was NOT the case at Fall Creek Falls. The 10K course started out with about 3/4 of a mile down a major hill. Awesome. Except this mean that the course finished out 3/4 of a mile UP a major hill. Not Awesome. When I realized this I thought my goal of a sub 45 minute 10K was shot. Well, when it came time to run I just ran as hard as I could. When I got to the end I told myself to just put my head down and run. And I made it. My time was 44.08 and I was thrilled. If I hadn't gotten confused at the end and had to stop momentarily for directions it couldn've been sub 44 but I'm trying not to focus on that :)

So, the only major bummer for me was when they were doing our body marking the morning of the race. They write your number on each arm and then your age on the back of your right calf (in big numbers, I might add). Only, it isn't your actual current age, its the age you'll be at the end of the year. CURSES. That's right, you guessed it. I'm 29 now but I'll be 30 in December. So I have to walk around for the next week (or until this permanent marker will wear off) with a big 30 on the back of my leg. Nice.

I AM ANGRY

OK, so this is a post for you moms out there. Lately I'm sure you've heard the buzz about Bisphnol A (BPA) and its potentially harmful affects on all people but most potentially babies. If you haven't here is a little info from Wikipedia to get you up to speed.

There are seven classes of plastics used in packaging applications. Type 7 is the catch-all "other" class, and some type 7 plastics, such as polycarbonate (sometimes identified with the letters "PC" near the recycling symbol) and epoxy resins, are made from bisphenol A monomer.[4] When such plastics are exposed to hot liquids, bisphenol A leaches out 55 times faster than it does under normal conditions, at up to 32 ng/hour.[73] Type 3 (PVC) can also contain bisphenol A as antioxidant in plasticizers.[4] Types 1 (PET), 2 (HDPE), 4 (LDPE), 5 (polypropylene), and 6 (polystyrene) do not use bisphenol A during polymerization or package forming,[74] and thus will not leach bisphenol A into food or beverages.

So, being the good mom that I am (ha ha) when I did some research on this I felt it was important to switch all of Reid's bottles to glass bottles and get some new sippy cups for Ainsley from Born Free. This is not a health risk I wanted to take with my kids, especially since its fairly easy to avoid. I try not to think about how much Jake and Ainsley were exposed to this before we knew about it but thankfully they were both breastfed so their exposure during their first year of life was limited.

Now that Reid is eating baby food I've been buying Gerber organics for him. Again, I'm not an organic freak but I just wanted to give him the very best food possible. So, I'm sitting here at the computer and there is an empty container from his baby food here and I look down at the bottom and what do I see but the Type 7 sign on it to let me know there is the possibility of BPA in this plastic. WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so mad I want to type out what I really mean when I say that but I won't. What is Gerber doing putting its organic BABY food in dangerous containers. Containers that I HEAT which causes even more BPA to potentially leach into his food.

So now, I'm pissed. You really can't trust anyone these days. And its sad. Rant over.

Its soooooo beautiful . . .

Its just so beautiful outside. I can't get over it! These past few days have just been gorgeous. Low, low humidity (UNHEARD of this time of year), mild temps, sunshine and blue skies. I can't even express how much it lifts my heart and my attitude. I feel God's blessing and provision in this beautiful weather - such an unexpected surprise for August and I'm going to love every single minute of it! This morning I strapped Reid in the Baby Bjorn and took the kids out for a ride on their little bikes. We rode down to the lake and walked around it and then around our block and I never broke a sweat. It was so nice to be out enjoying the morning together.
Last night Ryan and I stayed up late watching the Olympics and I'm SO glad we did because we got to see the amazing US men's victory in the 4x100 freestyle relay. In case you missed it they were up against their major French rivalry on this one. The French team had been quoted as saying they were going to "smash" our guys. Well, in the most exciting swimming race I have ever seen our team beat them by just hundredths of a second (I think) and it was awesome. We were jumping up and down (well, bouncing up and down I guess) and cheering and it just made me so proud. These guys won with such grace and class and I loved every minute of it!
So, that's about it for now. This coming Sunday is the big race and I'm feeling ready. I went out on Saturday and ran as close to race pace as I could and I was really happy with my time. If I can run the same on Sunday I'll be thrilled. I'm trying to focus on eating healthy foods this week to give me the fuel I'll need to perform my best. This is a real test for me because I LOVE food and have little self control. But I'm hoping I can stick with it for just one week.

Yummy

Wow, its hard to follow-up on my last post. My most commented post ever. Before I let it go to my head I'm going to write a totally lame post that will take it back to the uzh around here on my blog :) That's totally ok because this blog for me is mostly a creative outlet. I needed one and it primarily serves that role. That it lets me keep in touch with friends near and far is most just a bonus (albeit an AWESOME one).

Lately there has been a lotta food going on around here. Yesterday when the kids and I got home from Ainsley's speech therapy session we had some time to kill so I thought we'd make cookies. I hesitated for a second because my kitchen was very clean and we had company coming later but quickly decided to plunge ahead. It actually worked out great (she says with surprise in her voice). We had fun, I only yelled a little, the cookies were yummy despite the fact that I have no idea how much oats actually went into the mixer because Ainsley got carried away while Reid needed a reapplication of the pacifier (i.e. he was in his bed and not happy and I needed him to hang on just a couple more minutes).
Wow, that tupperware looks almost empty. How did that happen?

Then today the kids and I went to a farmers market down by the train station here in Clarksville. It was small but very nice and I got some beautiful produce. I was actually pulling away when I decided to go back for the blackberries. I'm going to make gazpacho and BLT sandwiches tonight. The squash is for my man Reid - big boy that he is now!

When we got home there was a package from Nonny on our doorstep. She'd sent some darling shoes for the kids but also two little rolling pins and fun little shapes to cut biscuits (biscuit making is an art form in my mother-in-laws family). Jake was so excited we immediately had to make biscuits. Jake helped me get the dough together and then Jake and Ainsley played away with the rolling pins and cutters for a good 10 minutes! The end result was yummy!

The recipe made more biscuits than this. This is just what was left after the three of us chowed down :)

Purposeful Pareting

I'm going to try and dive into a post that has been on my mind for a long time and I'm not sure I have the time to really tackle it this morning, but here it goes. I have the need to get this out whether its entirely coherent or not. A few weeks ago my friend Christin sent me a link to an article in Newsweeek - Does Having Kids Make You Happy? http://www.newsweek.com/id/143792?GT1=43002. This article piggybacks onto recent thoughts I'd been having anyway so it really opened up a line of thinking for me that I've been mulling over. The gist of the article is that martial happiness decreases markedly after the birth of the first child and doesn't increase again until the kids leave home . . . and that parents are happier sleeping or grocery shopping then they are when spending time with their kids.

My first thought is not one of surprise. As with most issues we face in today's culture I think the answer lies much below the surface. Its not a band-aid fix and, unfortunately, I don't think issues like this will ever get better because of the direction our world is headed. Where is that? As far away from God as possible. To find the root to this problem you can't try to find what is wrong with today's culture or what possible cultural influences are causing this or do kids just plain suck. You have to go back to how incredibly far our world has come from God, from His plan in creation, for His reason for giving us life and breathe and allowing us to be on this earth . . . for the sole purpose of glorifying Him and enjoying Him forever (which seems like a pretty sweet deal to me).

So, instead we are living these lives focused entirely on ourselves, desprately trying to find something that will give us meaning and happiness. And when we don't find it in ourselves rather than looking to God and realizing HE is where we should find meaning, we start adding. We add a college degree, a job, a spouse and then children. And these things are all good but we are trying to make them fill a hole they aren't meant or made to fill. And by far children are where we are going to see and feel this the most. Like a big blinking neon sign saying NOT RIGHT because children will suck the very will to live out of you at one point or another and if the whole reason you had them was to complete yourself you are going to feel screwed.

But those who believe in Christ don't have to fall into this trap. Because we can search scripture and know we DO have a higher calling and purpose for having children. I truly believe I am called to train up the next generation to serve and love God and to continue to spread His name on this earth. I do a horrible job of it but when I'm losing my mind at least I know that there is a reason WHY I had kids and it was NOT for me. Bottom line is that I am called to by God and I'm obeying Him and fulfilling His plan for my life in this way. But blessedly I think my kids are the bees knees (and I think this is how God designed it) so even on my most frustrating, pull my hair out day I wouldn't trade them for all the tea in china.

Thanks for indulging me.

Jake . . . our Boy Wonder Turns 4

It's a couple days late but 4 years ago, on July 29th, our lives changed forever when Jake Allen was pulled (very much against his will) into this world. Two weeks overdue, 19 hours of labor, 3 hours of pushing, and one vacuum extraction and there he was - our perfectly beautiful firstborn baby boy.

What an incredible joy he is to us. He is so full of life. Ready to take on new adventures and learn new things. So very sweet and tender. Lover of trains. Fan of books. Water slide king. Perfectly grumpy in the mornings and sweetly kissed to bed at night.

As is our family tradition I put together a video of pictures from Jake's life. Its kind of long but (I think) worth it.
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Lacey's Favorite #3

So, its been a long time since I've done one of these. Nothing has really struck me. Until now. And this one is going to get me in trouble, I can guarantee it. But I can't stop myself! This article so perfectly articulates what I've felt deep in my heart for a long time. And to quote the author "I also worry about writing this because some of my best friends—and their sweet, innocent children—wear them." But like I said, I can't stop myself so here it goes:

Make. It. Stop
The case for ending our long national nightmare.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/150240/page/1