race day!

yesterday was race day! i saw a flyer for the global orphan project 5k several months ago hanging up at the church where molly's preschool was located. it said it was a family run and that strollers were allowed. i was all for that since i normally have the girls in tow when i run. so, i signed up. i don't do these runs to win (i'm not good enough, anyway) but more for the satisfaction of completion and the t-shirt. matt's thoughts, "so basically you want a $25 t-shirt." yeah, pretty much! but hey, i also like knowing that i participated. i've been running for awhile now...ever since it warmed up. which i guess was like february! i'm really amazed at how far i've come. i started out running approx. 2.5 miles and it took me in the neighborhood of 30 minutes. i can now do it in 24.5 min with the stroller, running hard. my goal for the 5k was 30 minutes (i ran one in october of 2010 and did it in 30). i was super excited when i reached the 2 mile mark and looked at my watch reading 18:47. i knew i could beat my goal. still pacing myself, i realized i was closer to the finish than i thought (i thought i had to go around another part of the park before finishing) so i sped up and sprinted for the last 45 sec or so to cross the finish line in 28:04. i was 115/317 and 8/31 in my age group. needless to say, i was pretty pleased. now, as i'm typing this, it sounds like i'm boasting on myself. not really the point of this, but more that hard work and dedication pay off. i've been running 2.5 miles at least 3 days a week for months and it showed!

the other point of this post is to brag about molly and sophie. they participated in a kids fun run that was about 1/4 of a mile or a little longer. molly ran the whole thing, hard. she didn't stop, once! sophie started out strong (for about 30 seconds) then had to walk...she was sweaty! then she'd run again! we cut across the grass to catch up with molly so i could get pictures. sophie ran a bit more, then i carried her to almost the finish line..so i could get pictures. she was against this and wanted to run herself. the best part of the whole run, the girls received a medal! they were so excited and wore them quite a bit yesterday. molly can't wait to do it again. she's convinced she won! no official time for her...next time matt will have to time her.

 waiting for the race to start

 on your mark, get set, GO!!!

crossing the finish line

 resimulated crossing the finish line since she finished before sophie!

 proud finishers with their medals!

fitness is a big part of our family and i'm glad the girls are learning that at a young age. sophie repeatedly tells me she's going to the choo-choo's (the path where i run has a train track that runs along side so seeing trains is a big deal to sophie) to run with her baby and then takes off through the house.

yum, yum

here's what we've been eating this week and will eat...

monday: pigs in a blanket (made with johnsonville turkey and cheddar sausage), sweek potato fries
tuesday: leftover pizza from sunday
wednesday: enchiladas
thursday: honey grilled porkchops, baked sweet potatoes, roasted asparagus (pictured above...not to shabby!) http://mommyimhungry.blogspot.com/2011/05/honey-grilled-pork-chops.html
friday: chicken salad, roasted green beans, strawberries
saturday: parmesan chicken, pasta and red sauce, veggie
sunday: creamy shrimp and veggie enchiladas, refried beans, mexican rice

planting flowers

a few weeks ago i made the girls a new sensory box - a flower planting box. they absolutely love it and easily spent an hour playing with it.

after playing on the deck, the flowers were taken down to the picnic table for decoration.

 molly had a grand idea to have a bake sale since the table was decorated. she and sophie whipped up some sand pies and cake to sell.

 molly pretending to sample her goods.

 making some more baked goods.

success! tons of fun! expands the imagination! possibilities are endless!

this week's menu

last week was a no go on most meals...so, i'm hoping for a better selection this week. friday - lime cumin crusted chicken with avacado salsa http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/recipes/lime-cumin-crusted-chicken-with-avocado-salsa/365d2a68-b634-40af-b8d8-2a252cc34bd1 saturday - buffalo chicken drumsticks, salad, tator tots sunday - crock pot pork chops with brown rice http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/06/slowcooker-pork-chops.html monday - chicken fajita melts http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/12/quick-and-easy-leftover-chicken-fajita.html tuesday - alfredo chicken spinach and bacon pizza, salad http://eatcakefordinner.blogspot.com/search/label/Pizza wednesday - baked creamy chicken taquitos http://eatcakefordinner.blogspot.com/search/label/Mexican thursday - cafe rio type salad (mexican salad) http://eatcakefordinner.blogspot.com/search/label/Salad

4 wishing i was 5

sixteen days ago, my baby girl turned 4. hard to believe she's already four. she wishes she was five, because all her friends are five (not really, and i have to remind her of this but nonetheless she wants to be 5). molly continues to be a bright, vibrant little girl. she has the most vivid imagination and can make anything come to life and be believable in her little head. she has vivid dreams also and quite frequently talks in her sleep.

molly still has strong motherly instincts and is anxious for us to have another baby. she's always very curious about lucy and wants to make sure things are just so on her grave. i love her love for her sister that she demonstrates when talking about her and picking out flowers. while waiting on matt and i, she has a baby daily. usually once a day, sometimes more than once, she goes to the hospital to have another baby. really she should be in the book or records for fastest conception, human growth, delivery, and recovery. amazingly enough, she doesn't gain a pound! her babies have many birthdays that are celebrated, gymnastics classes to be attended, school, and swimming lessons.

gymnastics is still a favorite of molly's and she continues to attend every monday. this summer she will move up to the 4-6 year old  class. i was surprised she was ready, thinking she might spend the summer in the 3-5 year old class but her teacher says she's ready to go. she's a model student in gymnastics also with her listening skills. she's often picked to demonstrate the activities to her class because she is a good listener (if only it was that way at home :) ).

preschool is at the top of molly's list of things to do. she gets upset when there are days off. she had such a hard time wrapping her brain around spring break and why anyone would want a break from school. she's disappointed that summer is coming also. and, when she goes to big school (elementary) she is wondering why she's not in school until dinner time. crazy girl! but, i'm glad she loves school. she's doing exceptional in school as well. she still loves to write and shows an interest in reading. she can sound out letters now she just has to learn how to hear the sounds forming a word.

molly really enjoys playing with sophie also. she's always formatting pretend situations for the two of them to engage in. sophie eats it up, too. always eager to tag along with molly.

we celebrated molly's birthday in style - 4 celebrations. she kicked off the start of her birthday with a family party. at this party she received a dalmatian molly fish from my parents. she was so excited to have a fish, but sadly, molly passed on 2 weeks after. i made the mistake of flushing the fish. molly thought we should bury it, after all, that's all she knows about death. she was so upset about the situation but is happy again because we replaced her fish with a beta, also named molly.  next she had her actual birthday. we did presents and had tinkerbell cupcakes. she even got a birthday balloon at gymnastics. unfortunately there was a downside to her birthday, the jayhawks lost the national championship game. she didn't care...the next day she took tinkerbell cupcakes to school and choose a pack of pencils from the birthday box, and finally, the past saturday she celebrated with her friends (the reason for the tardiness of this post - i was waiting until all celebrations were complete). happy birthday, sweetie! i love you!

just a menu for now but there's lots more to come!

i've been forgetting to blog about what we've been eating each week. we are eating. just so you know! :) and, i know my dad's been missing out reading about all my "strange" recipes that i make my girls eat. hey, i like to try new things. i'm looking forward to his comments this week. i bet after reading you'll be able to guess the meal he'll comment on the most. :)

thursday:
b: cereal
l: black bean and mango tostadas
http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/black-bean-and-mango-tostadas/
d: freezer burritos

friday:
b: cereal
l: sausage and kraut
d: bbq chicken drumsticks, roasted green beans, chips

saturday:
b: cereal
l: guacamole grilled cheese sandwiches, chips, grapes
http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/guacamole-grilled-cheese-sandwich/
d: rotisserie chicken, baked potato, veggies

sunday:
b: cereal
l: shrimp, tomato, spinach alfredo pizza
d: pbj, honey carrots

monday: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOLLY!
b: cereal
l: hamburgers, tator tots, carrots, grapes (molly's choice)
d: at the folks

tuesday:
b: cereal
l: pitas with hummus, chicken, and various veggies, parfaits
d: broccoli cheese omlets, toast, fruit

did you figure it out? my guess is the black bean and mango tostadas. we'll see! love you, dad!

it's fun to be 2!

i can't believe my little sophie is 2! she turned 2 on sunday and it couldn't have come any sooner for her. she's had been gearing up for her birthday for some time, knowing she'd be two and would have a frog party. when we told her she'd get presents she said, "ho, ho", thinking santa would bring her a present on her birthday too. we had to explain several times that only mommy and daddy, molly, and grandpa and grandma (and a few others but we kept it simple) would give her presents. she was okay with that.

one of the big highlights of turning two, which she experienced about three weeks prior, was getting to eat two vitamins instead of one in the morning. it's been quite the issue once she figured out what the number two meant and saw molly, and mommy and daddy eating two. so, we gave in a little early and let her have two. she was thrilled and still gets excited that she gets two! hopefully she won't expect three next year!

sophie brings so much joy to our lives. if you're in a bad mood, sophie's bound to cheer you up with her latest fashion statement, laugh, or just being silly. she's still a cuddler and loves to be held and snuggled with - so much that she still wakes up at night, comes into bed with me, and falls right asleep. sometimes i wish she'd sleep in her bed through the night, but i'm not going to lie, i like snuggling with her!

sophie is obsessed with frogs (hence the frog party), likes the color green (although pink is a close second), and enjoys anything sweet. she still is a pretty good eater but has become a bit pickier with age. playing with her baby, cooking in her kitchen, building (well, mainly crashing) towers, and pretend play with molly are some of her favorite things to do. she rarely can go anywhere without her baby (oh, and her blanket - she's still highly attached to that), and puts her baby to bed at night, complete with a blanket and a kiss.

sophie loves to be outside and now comments every night when it gets dark, "dark" "side". to which i respond, it's dark, we can't play outside. sophie: "no". visits to the park get a big "yay" and a clap. she loves to swing and slide and climb up all the dangerous things that she's not really big enough for! she's terribly afraid of bugs. just tonight, a fly landed on her stroller while we were walking and she started screaming. you would have thought it was a giant spider, nope, just a fly. i hope she gets over that soon or it's going to be a long summer!

she takes great interest in books and tv shows. it amazes me how much she pickes up and remembers. i read molly short chapter books about fairies and she picks up on what's going on at times. curious george, spot, and biscuit are some of her favorites along with the book about frogs she got from great grandma at christmas time. we still read that several times a week! she enjoys watching barney, elmo, curious george, dora, and winnie the pooh.

take your seat is another game sophie likes to play. she does this with matt and grandpa most often. as soon as they're up, sophie's in their spot giggling, waiting to see what their reaction will be. she's full of life and excitement and i love that it radiates through our lives! i am so blessed to have sophie in our life and i look forward to watching her grow and learn!