Summer...summarized...sort of.

I still haven't really decided how to move forward with my blog without spending 40 hours (that I will never find) blogging in detail about so many important things that have happened since last spring. I think the plan is to summarize our summer in this post and then post date some of the more important things as I get caught up. I have promised myself that for at least a few weeks while Lily is at school and Ben in napping that I will spend time right here, doing what I love, documenting our little lives.

June:

Upon returning from Kate's graduation at the end of May we decided that the time was right to re-list our house. Maine is always the goal. Most, if not all, of the major decisions we have made in the last couple of years have all been rooted in getting back home and settling down permanently.

Kate moved in with us the first week of June and I took full advantage of her babysitting services. My days started at 7am and often didn't end until 9pm or later. I prepped, primed, painted, and repainted almost every wooden surface in our home. It was a tremendous amount of work and I will not be signing up to do it again any time soon. The results however are amazing and I was very proud to have the listing agent take our pictures and formalize our listing.

Also in June we had the kids baptized at "our" church in Maine. It was the hottest.day.ever.

We made several other trips to Maine to celebrate Doe's 60th birthday as well as attend a large family reunion for my dad's family. The weather was a little on the cool side for June but if nothing else it was amazing for running...which I did a lot of.

July:

Kate and I signed up for a sunrise SUP (stand up paddle board) class that ran for four weeks. The first two weeks we paddled in rough seas, drizzle, and ridiculous fog. Not exactly what we had in mind! The weather really cooperated for the remainder of the classes and I had a great time. I consider myself "lake people" and would much rather sit on the dock and listen to the loons than sit on the beach any day. That being said I really enjoyed the ocean for the first time since I was a kid. Totally worth getting up at 5:30 :)

July was beautifully hot and the kids and I used the pool almost every day. We spent our days playing outside, picnicking, soaking up the sun. The kids have the farmer's tans to prove it! I crossed at least 20 things off my 101 things list, but don't hold your breath for the blog posts any time soon!! The fourth of July was a blast this year. The weather was perfect and the kids LOVED the fireworks. My heart was just bursting all evening as I cuddled my two greatest blessings on a blanket in the park.

Mid July we made last minute plans to see a Red Sox game and made arrangements for the kids to spend the weekend with Mimi and Doe. In the midst of making plans and getting the house ready for yet another open house (remember this whole time the house was on the market and we were doing showings and open houses every weekend, yuck) we got a huge shock...two pink lines! We kept our news a secret and sadly 10 days later I lost the pregnancy.

For a few days I was in shock, and then for a few more days I was really angry. I had already had my "statistically likely" miscarriage in 2011, a second one really felt like a slap in the face. There is definitely a longer blog post here because I have more that I would like to say about loss and moving forward. For now, know that I am doing great, both mentally and physically. I am ready and excited to get pregnant again and as soon as it happens I will be shouting it from the rooftops.

August:

The first weekend in August I drove myself to NY to spend some much needed quality time with one of my very best friends. I am not sure if she really wanted me to crash her weekend as she was getting ready to go on vacation and her apartment was about to undergo a huge renovation, but wanted or not I showed up at her door and she took me in. The weekend was amazing, we went for a run, ate our way through all of NYC, shopped, drank beers, got our nails done, and went to bed at a reasonable hour...I could not have asked for a more perfect weekend. In case I didn't say it enough, thank you and I love you.

Running, running, and more running.

Cleaning the house, doing showings, cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. Keeping the house "show ready" is an exhausting full time job.

Dingle and I were treated to box seats at yet another Sox game. It was a-m-a-z-i-n-g! A much needed date night for sure!

As is our annual tradition the kids and I headed to Maine for an extended weekend the second week of August. We spent lots of time with family and friends we love like family. Did I mention that I love Maine, sigh. We went to the beach, swam in my aunt's pool, ate popcorn, hit up the playground, had lobsters, visited a petting zoo, and smiled until our cheeks hurt.

On Friday we ran our third Summerfest 5k. I ran a post-babies personal best with a time of 29:00, three whole minutes faster than last year. Proud, you bet I am. Next to Christmas this remains my favorite week of the year.

As summer blends into fall here in New England we are all looking forward to the change of seasons. Cool nights and warm days, apple picking, pumpkin flavored everything, and the return of our favorite TV shows! The house is now officially off the market until spring so we can all relax and enjoy what will most likely be our last fall season in this house!

#1 Send a Care Package to Josh

A friend recently sent me a text reminding me that I could cross something off my 101 things list. Not only is she absolutely right but after a quick glance at the list I noticed there were more than a few things I could cross off. Upon second glance I started to sweat a little, why did I say I would blog about ALL of them?? It must be because I like to give myself disappointed looks in the mirror.

One thing at a time, right? I guess I will start at the top of the list and work my way down. Like most of my best intentions I never meant to fall this far behind, but there is nothing I can do about it now except attempt to play catch up. Aren't you just absolutely riveted by my passion for this project!?! I bet you can't wait for post after post about my life list - just bursting with high speed car chases and thrilling, edge of your seat suspense. Perhaps you should go practice your disappointed face.

Without further ramblings: #1 Send a care package to Josh.

It is only fitting that I renew my enthusiasm for this blogging project with a total failure. I did not, in fact, actually send my brother a care package. I know, I KNOW...Sister of the Year!

How is that for a suspenseful opening? I've really got you on the hook now!

How about a little back story? I am not sure that I have ever really written about my siblings on my blog. We all grewupMaine together over the course of 20 some odd years. There is a fairly significant age gap between myself and my brother (7 years my junior), and my sister was born three years after he was. Yes, we all have the same parents. No, I have no idea why our parents thought it would be fun to have three children over the course of a decade. In any case the age gap has certainly shaped our relationships. I am fiercely protective of them and over the years have worn many hats including, mother, sister, and friend.

My brother graduated from the University of Richmond a few weeks after Lily was born. His post collegiate plan, join the Peace Corp and move to a third world country in September of 2010. Between his May graduation and his departure date...Matt and I allowed him to live in our basement. Which I guess in the grand scheme of things was one step up from our parents basement.  In return for room and some table scraps he spent the summer painting our house. The arrangement worked out surprisingly well with very few dirty looks exchanged and maybe a few too many beers consumed.

The good times could not last forever and as the sad song says, summer came to an end. Josh packed up his basement dwellings, spent a few weeks back home with my mom and dad, and at the end of September 2010 he set off for Paraguay. Admittedly I had to look on a map to have more than a vague idea of where he was going.

In the past two years he has been able to make two trips home. Not too shabby for a guy who lives in a concrete block hut. The first trip was for Christmas 2011 and we all knew he was coming home well in advance. His second trip home was a total surprise, thus bringing us to the care package that never left my dining room.

I went to Christmas Tree Shops and Marshalls to buy some food and some trinkets to send a few weeks before Josh's birthday in August. I really did have every intention of getting this package to him, I swear. BUT before I had a chance to get my butt to the post office (I have been a little busy) I got a message from my parents that Josh would be in the States mid September. Since there was absolutely no point in paying for postage to mail: dry soup mix, luna bars (which I did NOT know are for women, haha), knock off candy, water balloons, mini tools, colored pencils, and lighthouse puzzles, I held onto my treasures to give to my brother in person. Only half of which he had room for in his overstuffed backpack. He did tell me that the Luna bars hit the spot...so there.

The list item clearly says, "Send a care package to Josh." Sounds like 5 dollars in the charity jar to me.

#28 - Teach Lily a Song

Lily still loves music and loves to sing. This is my personal favorite. 

(Yes, that is a harness that Lily is wearing. No, she has never worn it out of the house) 

Runner's High

Dingle and I both agree that once you pass the 5K mark in your running regime you are...a runner. That is to say that most people who don't run with some regularity can't go out on a whim and run much further than 3 miles. Is that just something we tell ourselves? It is a distinct possibility.

A few weeks ago while I was working towards completing my first 5K race in over a decade I would have said that a 5K was my limit. All summer long it didn't seem to matter how frequently I ran or how hard I pushed, the farthest I could run without wanting to die was 3.1 miles and my average pace was always 10:40 (to the second).

Unlike last year I was not nervous about the race for the entire week leading up to it. I wasn't actually all that nervous until we got in the car to head over to the high school. As soon as we backed out of the driveway I said to Matt, "Why are we doing this?".  The weather that week had been pretty hot and humid, I was less than excited to run the very exposed course in the beating down sun. As luck would have it the clouds rolled in right around race time, thank goodness!

Sights set on the finish line! 

Jen and I ran with two fellow SHS class of '99ers. The other two ladies are far more proficient runners and God love them, jogged along beside us encouraging us all the way. Somewhere around the 2 mile mark I became intensely bored and completely lost my focus. All I could think about was how tired I was becoming and how far we still were from the finish. In those minutes, which seemed like an eternity, I fell back from the pack a little bit. I knew that no matter what I wasn't going to walk, but at that point I didn't care if I slowed down. Our cheerleaders pulled back with me and distracted me just enough to push me up the last hill (where I walked last year). At that point the rest of the course is downhill, which I think is almost harder to run when you are tired but I didn't care...I was almost home! My legs felt like mush but I had the biggest smile on my face as I passed my family near the finish line. I may have been a bit delirious but I swear I saw Micheal Phelps holding a giant sign that read, "Will you marry me?"  Sorry Micheal, I'm taken.


My official time: 32:06! Holy WOW!

Looking very tired and sweaty next to my handsome husband and gorgeous sister in law. 

Okay, so I could kick myself all day long for those pesky 6 seconds but all in all I was pretty thrilled with my time. I could not have done it without my fantastic running buddies who really did push me to this summer's personal best.

After the race I gave myself permission to take a few days off, and then I got sick and ended up taking a few more. I was starting to think that I had lost my drive upon hitting my goal, and that maybe I had maxed out my potential. After 7 days off I eased back into a few short, slow jogs. Since then I have had a few great runs including my first sub 9 minute mile in over a decade, another 3.1 miles in under 33 minutes, and yesterday a 2 mile run in under 20 minutes! With the cooler weather I am feeling stronger and am definitely getting faster.

So what is next? I am working to increase my distance. I don't know if 5 miles is attainable but it is definitely something to shoot for. Matt and I are going to register for at least one more 5K together this fall. We are also doing Urban Dare together in celebration of his 30th birthday (I know he is a baby!).  It should be fun, as long as we don't kill each other!

#10 - Done!