Weekend in Review: Half-Marathon and Oyster Roast

I love waking up on Monday morning and being able to reminisce after a great weekend. And this weekend was one for the books. 

Saturday morning I ran my first half marathon. I have been running longer distances for the past few months and decided during the summer that I wanted to try a half. I chose the Thunder Road Half Marathon in Charlotte because it is local and I didn't want to have to travel. I also like running this time of year when the temperature is cooler. 

I was a little apprehensive in the few weeks leading up to the race because I took a week off from running when Ben and I were out of town for our anniversary trip (post coming soon). After we got back, I had a sore hamstring for a week and then started to get shin splints so I had only run 13.1 miles one other time in my life.

There is a small running group in my neighborhood that I have been running with since last spring so a few of us signed up to run Thunder Road. I was so happy to have a friend running with me the duration of the race. Meagan and I were really able to pull each other along when we felt like we were losing momentum. 

Kim, me, Meagan, and Niki before the race

I was thrilled with the outcome of the race. My goal was to finish in under 2 hours and my final time ended up being 1:53. I finished 170th out of the 1,328 women who ran the half. I felt pretty good throughout the race, but got hot in the layers I was wearing and my music didn't pump me up as much as I would have hoped. The forecast said it would be between 34-40 degrees so I wore a ski thing to cover my ears instead of the ball cap I usually wear. I also layered a long sleeve shirt under my running jacket and wish I had just worn a tank. I had my sleeves rolled up by mile 3. I made a mix on my phone to listen to during the race, but Van Morrison just wasn't cutting it after a few miles. Thankfully my Pandora still worked so I listened to that the rest of the run. Miles 8-10 were by far the toughest, but I knew that Ben and the girls were waiting for me at the finish line so I kept going. Unfortunately it was crowded at the end and I was sprinting to cross the line, so I barely saw them in the crowd, but we met right afterwards and the girls were happy!

Kate was not interested in having her picture taken

Paige wasn't either

Had to document my time, my GPS distance was a little off... 

either that or they made us run further than 13.1... 

 Playing in the park after the race

My cheering squad

Saturday was not over yet though! After the race, we went home and rested up because we co-hosted an oyster roast in our cul de sac that afternoon/evening. We had been planning the oyster roast for a few weeks and that night just worked better for everyone. Needless to say, I was tired by the time I crawled into bed at 11:30pm! We had the best time hanging out with our neighbors and friends. I was a little concerned that the little kids would get bored after the sun set, but Ben set up the projector and we put Frozen on and they all snuggled together under blankets and ate popcorn while the adults hung out. We put them to bed at 7:30 and took turns hanging out afterwards.

Having dinner with Isabeall and Eleanor

 So much fun

 Lots of the kids watching the movie

 Oysters... Yum!

 It was a great night. I love my neighborhood! Not going to lie though, I was completely wiped out on Sunday and spent most of the day just resting. Can't wait to sign up for my next half! 

Cece came to town!

Ben rarely has to travel for work, but when he does, I always ask if Cece can visit. At this stage, the more hands on deck at all times, the better! And I enjoy her company so much! Cece came last Monday afternoon and left Wednesday afternoon and we already miss her.

Paige is usually very grumpy when she wakes up from a nap, but last Monday she woke up and I told her Cece was here and she wanted nothing to do with me (sweet relief)! She also only wanted Cece to change her diapers. Sorry Cece!!!

Paige made this Indian hat at school and wore it all afternoon.

We cooked in on Monday night and Tuesday we took the girls to school and did some shopping and had lunch at Dean & Deluca. The girls had the best time playing ball in the living room and hide and seek with Cece. Kate had school on Wednesday so we took her and then did a little more shopping with Paige and had lunch at A Broken Egg Cafe. What a fun, short visit! Looking forward to seeing everyone in Roanoke this weekend.

 Enjoying lunch at the Broken Egg Cafe

Ben didn't get home until Thursday night, so Wednesday night we went to a friend's house for an afternoon play date and to feed the kids dinner. They had a blast playing together and the moms had fun catching up and spending one of the hardest times of the day together. Mom survival time for sure! Between the three of us, there are 7 girls. Kate, Paige, and Isabeall were born only one day a part and they have known each other basically since birth.

This is the closest of all 7 looking at the camera that I could get.

Thankfully Ben came home Thursday night and we got the band back together. :)

The reason why we might not have a Christmas card this year...

Yesterday was picture day at preschool and I was so excited because they always turn out so good! I dressed the girls in sweet smocked dresses and bribed them to wear bows. I snapped a few photos with my phone before we walked in to preschool.

The photographer also offers afternoon sibling shoots where they will take either family pictures or just a picture of the kids together. We have done it the past two years and have had wonderful results. I was hoping to get a shot of the girls for our Christmas card. The only downside of the sibling shoot is that the appointments are in the middle of the afternoon, which is still nap time for Paige. I picked the last time available, 3:40, in hopes she would be up from her nap and in a good mood. My first indication that this would not go well should have been when I picked them up from school and Paige's teacher told me that she had refused to have her picture taken that morning. Great. 

Let's just say that I had one of my worst parenting experiences that afternoon. Of course, Paige refused to even look at the photographer. She also kept crying and saying, "Mama, hold you. I want to go home." Kate was perfect and excited to have her picture taken. I told them we would go get milkshakes afterwards if they cooperated. Nothing worked. Paige was over it before it even started. Then Kate lost it because she wanted the pictures taken but Paige wasn't cooperating. The end result was me carrying two screaming kids to the car and no pictures for Christmas cards. I even tried to take a few pictures in the garden at preschool on my phone before we left but this is all I got.

 This is right before she fell off the bench, sealing our fate that 

there definitely would not be pictures taken today.

 Disregard me. I haven't showered and don't have a lick of make up on. 

It was one of those days.

I will have to try and take some pictures on my own later. Ugh. It's hard to stay mad at this cutie though.

"Mama... shoes off!"

She is obsessed with this Elsa nightgown and wears it every night.

 Snuggling on my shoulder in HomeGoods this morning.

I keep repeating the mantra, "the days are long, but the years are short." So true. 

Halloween 2015

Halloween 2015 has come and gone. In addition to the sugar overload, this year also included daylight saving time. So the girls were up later than usual and then got up at 5:40am. Perfect.

Best picture of the two of them I could get

This year, Kate decided she wanted to be a witch (but she refused to wear the hat or carry her broom). I thought it would be cute if Paige coordinated with her so I bought stuff to turn her into a black cat. At the last minute, Paige decided she wanted nothing to do with the cat ears so this week she has been a ballerina and Princess Sofia. She chose Sofia for the big day.

 All 4 of us.

This was our third year having friends and neighbors over for pizza before trick or treating. Each year our party has grown as we add more cute neighbor families and friends to our group. The festivities started at 4:30 and we had to wake Paige up from her nap early to get her ready in time. This NEVER turns out well. The result was a clingy, grumpy two year old who just wanted to be held and wouldn't play with any of her friends. Thankfully that only lasted an hour and then she was back to her normal cheerful (for the most part) self. 

Nana and the girls

Everyone arrived at 4:30 and the kids looked great in their costumes and so did the parents who dressed up! Next year, I'm going to try to dress up with the girls. The men were all sucked into the football games on TV: Clemson/State and Georgia/Florida. Ben set up a TV on the deck and we had both on in the house as well. Gotta keep everyone happy. The adults snacked and enjoyed some drinks while kids ran around and played and then we served them pizza and fruit and tried to get a few group shots before releasing them into the neighborhood to beg for candy.

The whole gang

 Molly and Kate

Paige taking it all in
 

Molly, Isabeall, and Kate were definitely "professionals" this year!

We had the best time trick or treating this year. Both girls definitely "get" it and were so excited. We didn't even take the wagon, they both walked the entire time. They were very polite and said thank you after receiving candy. And they ended up getting a huge stash! This is not good for me as I've already "tasted" some Reese's Cups, Junior Mints, and Milk Duds. Yum! Definitely not the best for my blood sugar, but I ran 10 miles Halloween morning so I deserve it, right?!

Ben had the movie projector set up in the back yard, so after trick or treating, a few of our friends stayed and the kids watched Room on the Broom and ate some of their candy. They were up late for them - 8:30 - but crashed almost immediately. Ben and I took turns hanging out in the cul de sac with our neighbors and I was home and in bed by 10:30. Completely wiped out, but what a fun day! I'm so happy the girls get to make so many fun memories in this neighborhood. It reminds me so much of the one I grew up in. Another Halloween for the books.

 Kids watching the movie in the backyard

 So cute! We will definitely have to have another movie night soon!