Post Holiday Weight Loss Plan

1. Get sick after several days of caring for sick children.

2. Become so stuffed up that you can't smell or taste food. (Last night I was making dinner & chopping cilantro, and I couldn't smell it at all, so I tasted a piece.  It tasted like nothing.  So, I checked the label and it WAS cilantro, but I made Kevin taste it because it had no flavor whatsoever. Or, rather I couldn't taste it at all.  So, really?  Why bother?)

3. Become so stuffed up that eating creates an inability to breathe.

4. Cough so hard that your entire stomach is sore! Who needs to do crunches?  Cough your way to flat abs!
See, isn't that easy?  Not eating really takes off those holiday pounds!  Even though I had gained a few in November/ December I'm right back where I was pre-Holiday eat fest. Which is nice since I haven't been able to exercise since my kayak incident.  My foot was feeling better from that, and then as I was getting the Christmas ham out of the freezer, the Publix bag it was in broke and it fell on the same foot. Really, I think this stuff only happens to me.  So, as soon as I thought maybe I might be ready to run again, I came down with this raging (according to the doctor, I'm not just being a total baby here) sinus infection.  Also, there is fluid in my ears!  Fun, right?  But, antibiotics are a wonderful thing!  And, of course, we have to look on the bright side.

Over My Shoulder

Something I have to watch out for now is boys reading over my shoulder.  I keep the blog family friendly, but often I don't necessarily want them to read what I write about them.  Because sometimes I feel overwhelmed and spill that here, but they don't need to know that necessarily.  Anyway... they've developed a habit of reading over my shoulder.

Most recently, Eric commented on the fact that I don't indent my paragraphs. It's been  a long time since I've taken a course in grammar but I'm pretty sure a blank line is sufficient to denote a new paragraph.  Also, my smart oldest commented on my propensity to begin sentences with "and."  I do that...  I have no excuses.  It's my blog and I'll abuse grammar rules if I want to. :) Stop reading over my shoulder!

Pneumonia with a side of croup (make that two!)

Eric's been struggling with the asthma lately, and we've been keeping his wheezing and coughing mostly at bay with the nebulizer, but Monday night things got worse and I realized he'd probably not make it to school the next day.  I hoped, mostly for his sake, that he wouldn't get sick. It was a fun week at school, and he does NOT like missing things like candy cane walks and such.  Yet, when Monday morning came it was clear he should stay home. I was on the fence whether this was something that we should go to the doctor for, or if we should just treat him at home so I decided to wait it out a day.  He didn't have a fever, and this seemed like it could be an asthma flare up.  By 4 PM I was cursing that decision, as he spiked at fever, and was breathing rather rapidly.  I'll admit, I fleetingly thought of pneumonia, but thought it was just me being my paranoid self.  We went on in to urgent care, just to be safe, and after a long wait, found out he did in fact have pneumonia (plus a double ear infection! Bonus!) and left with antibiotic scripts in hand.  At least this was plenty of time to be better by Christmas, I thought.

This morning, Zack woke up with a croupy cough, and before the doctor's office opened Ben started with it too.  No fevers, but we made an appointment with our pediatrician (who, incidentally, I adore!) We experienced a bit of a Christmas miracle as she was right on time, and we were in and out in less than an hour, with plenty of face time with the doctor.  And we left with scripts for all three boys that were with me. Including the one she wasn't seeing, since she thought Eric would need steroids as well after listening to his lungs (even though he didn't have an appointment.) Woooohoooo! A round of steroids for everyone!  I'm particularly looking forward to that side effect that makes them very.very.cranky.  But they'll be breathing, so life is good!

As for me, I definitely am NOT feeling a tickle in my throat.  And my chest isn't feeling a bit heavy. My ears aren't aching either.

*I'm editing here to add a link to a really great post my friend Shanna wrote about taking control of your healthcare (and your children's) and how to follow your instincts and get a second opinion if what the doctor says doesn't jive with what your Mommy Instinct says.  There is seriously a ton of good info in here! 

The 5K that never was

...so I was all set to run the 5K. I was soooo ready for it. I was even envisioning blogging after the fact how exhilirating it was. How, I blew my last time out of the water!  How I hit the mark in 33 minutes!  I was there, I did it twice in the week leading up to it.

Only, I didn't run it. I wanted to. I woke up at 4 AM the day of the race wondering if my foot could handle it.  I obsessed and tossed and turned and decided I would try.  Then I would change my mind and decide I didn't want to risk further injury.  I went through that process approximately 72 times before I finally realized that I was being ridiculous and there was no freaking way I was running that day.

Because, the day before, I was helping Kevin get his kayak down so he and Eric could go fishing, and I dropped my side on my foot.  60 ish pounds, straight down, from over my head, and it hurt pretty badly.  

The part that really surprised me is how unhappy I was to miss the race.  I haven't run since, but I plan to start back up tomorrow.  There are plenty more races where that one came from. 

Running

I never thought I'd say this, but I love to run.  Okay, so sometimes it's hard to make myself get started. Also, sometimes during my run, it is hard and I wonder why I am doing it.  But the feeling after... that runner's high they tell you about, it is amazing and it keeps me going back for more.  Awhile back I ran a little 5 k. It wasn't officially timed or anything, but my time was 39 minutes. It was cold  out and I struggled with my breathing, leading to me having to walk parts of it. 

Recently, I struggled with shin splints (ouch) and decided I needed new shoes. I went to the nice new store up the road, and got a lovely pair.  Can you love running shoes? I did, with a great big except. That exception was my toes fell asleep. So, I went back, and they kindly exchanged them for a new pair. The new pair is great, too...  and my toes don't tingle a mile in.  This is a good thing. 

Tomorrow, I will send off my entry for my first real 5k.  A local race called the Flapjack 5k.  There used to be a whole flapjack festival apparently, but now just the race.  Complete with a pancake breakfast at the end.  I'm nervous, but it will be a goal accomplished and that makes me feel good. And I hope to beat my last time.  (Incidentally, I ran the distance in 35 minutes tonight.)

There is a part of me that is waiting for the other shoe (haha) to drop and have my body refuse to cooperate, or my knees to start acting up, or my feet to hurt too much. The other part of me, wants to run further, and faster and be an actual runner.