Taking 'suck' to a whole new level!

I titled my post a couple days ago asking the question, "am I ready?" Well, the answer was a resounding HELL NO!! I'm not quite ready to blog about the Red Rock Relay race just yet, since I just got home a few hours ago and have some mothering to do, but I did want to throw my initial thoughts and reactions to the race up here.

Basically, the race is best summed up by a comment made by my friend, Julie. Right before her last leg of the race she said, "I don't know if I want to laugh, cry, vomit, or poop." This was an event that definitely made you want to do a lot of all four of those things, and occasionally, all four at the same time.

Our team's name was "So you think you can RUN!?" and based on our performance, we ended up being that nerdy fat chick that auditions for the reality dance show having no idea that she's completely inept and without talent whatsoever. Yep, that's right, we came in DEAD LAST!!!! LOL! I just have to laugh at that! You can count on ONE HAND how many people (volunteers not related to any of the runners) were still there at the finish line when our group ran under that arch. Ah well... turns out this race was designed for those who actually ARE hard core, and NOT those of us who think they might be able to handle a fun little race with their girlfriends!

Today, 24 hours after finishing the dang thing, I'm in excruciating pain from my hips down to my toes (especially my ankles... they're KILLING me!). I'm walking around like an 85 year old man; you know, the kind that can barely walk (not the kind that can still square dance with his sweetheart). But I've showered and cutified myself with some makeup 'n hairspray and am feeling more positive about the overall event. If you asked me last night if I would ever do this again, I would've answered another, "HELL NO!" (sorry, this weekend brought out my potty mouth - and I said a LOT more than just a couple hells!). Today, I'd probably consider it, but only under some majorly different circumstances. Give me another 6 months and I'll probably have forgotten enough of the 'suckitude' that was this race that I'd probably agree to it.

Once I'm able to get a hold of some of the pictures from my teammates, I'll do a play-by-play of the entire event. If you thought my post about last April's triathlon was long, just you wait! More to come later.

Am I ready?

I got 2 days until I leave to do this relay race down in Southern Utah. Somehow and for reasons unknown, the race organizers had to 'tweek' the legs of the race. Some were lengthened, some shortened. I got the good fortune of having my final leg lengthened from 3.9 miles to 5.5 miles. So instead of running 16.9 miles in a 24 hour period, I get to run 18.5! I get to run the farthest out of the 6 girls in our van. I just keep thinking, "How is it that I'm one of the good runners in our van?!? Because last time I checked, I'm not a good runner!"

I know I can run each leg. What I'm not sure of is if I can run each leg all in one short period of time. But ultimately, I guess it doesn't matter now, because there's no backing out! My friends would KILL me!! So even though I'm excited, I admit to being pretty nervous about the whole thing as well. Guess we'll know soon enough how it'll go!

Go Team Croshaw!

The Croshaw family added another triathlete to its ranks today! Andy participated in his first kid's triathlon this morning and he did a great job. I should qualify the word "great" a little bit. By "great" I mean that he did everything he was supposed to do and had a lot of fun doing it! But "great" doesn't mean that he did these things very fast... but hey, speed will come with time... maybe! He actually completed the entire thing in under 9 minutes which is respectable. All but 4 of the other children had even MORE respectable times, but we're not going to worry about them! The kid's race started first, followed by the full tri racers. Neither Paul nor I got to watch Andy, but his grandpa was there helping him out! The thing that burns me up the most is that I had PLENTY of time to watch him. Next year if we have the kids do this race again (Canon was starting to make plans of his own!), I'm totally holding back to help them out.


Those who participated in the "full race" started after the kids. They had us line up according to how fast we could swim 400 yards, which put me behind about 2/3rds of the racers. It felt like I stood there FOR-EV-ER before it was finally my turn. Paul was in and out of the water WAY before I even started. During the swim, I actually passed 3 ladies, so I guess I underestimated my abilities a little bit!

The bike portion went well even though it got off to a rocky start. I couldn't find my water bottle (the ONE thing I screwed up with last time) so that took some extra time to get situated before I could get moving. It was a decent course along some busy Orem roads. We had a head wind as we soared downhill, but at least that wind was behind us as we climbed up a moderately difficult hill two times! I got passed by some strong lookin guys, but for the most part, I was the one passing people here and there. The most disheartening thing about the bike was coming back into the transition area and Paul was there all finished with the race! Then as I was just heading out on the run, I heard my friend, Julie, get announced as she finished the race as well. I couldn't help but think, "crap... I still got a 5K to run here!"
This is Paul starting his second lap while I was probably just starting my bike!

The run took me a little while to get used to. In training for the April triathlon, the run was first... so my legs were nice and fresh for that race. But after swimming and biking, my legs felt pretty fatigued as I started the run this morning. I figured I would need to walk a portion of the run, but convinced myself that it WOULDN'T be during the first 1.5 mile lap. But by the time I started the second lap, my legs felt much more stable and I was able to finish it out pretty strong.

Sorry, this is just the face you make after an 86 minute workout!

My final time was 1:26. 8 minutes slower than Julie (she came in at 1:18), and 21 minutes slower than Paul (his time = 1:05)... not that I EVER expect to beat either of these two. They both took 2nd place in their age division... cuz' they're awesome like that!

So, it was a fun morning for my family and me; well, at least some of us! I'm not sure how much Canon & Charlie loved it and I'm sure Paul's parents could've found more exciting things to do this morning! But we sure are grateful for them being willing to come watch us race and watch the little boys for us. Thanks again, Mom & Dad! We love you so much!

If anyone is thinking about dabbling in triathlon, this is a great race to get started with. They have a "novice" race that went half the distance of the full sprint. There was quite a variety of racers out there this morning from old to young, fit to flabby, etc! The more I observe of this sport, the more I realize that just about anybody can do it! They even had a wheelchair participant this year... oooh, I'm sure that dang hill was KILLER for that guy's arms! So, if I can encourage or inspire you, I want to! It really is a fun sport and WAY more fun than just running for 1.5 hours straight! Think about it... really!

Lifetime Membership!

HOORAY!!!!!! I finally reached my lifetime membership at Weight Watchers! It was looking a little iffy in those last weeks of summer that I would be within two pounds of my changed goal weight of 148. There were some afternoons that no amount of nakedness would have helped me get under that 150 lb mark!

But then school started with one more week before my final weigh in. It is SO much easier to eat healthy when I'm working, and with the chaos of things at the start of the school year, I've worked everyday this last week. With the limited amount of time for eating, I managed to lose about 3 lbs this week and weighed in last night at 146.8! A total weightloss of 40 lbs even and good enough for lifetime membership!

The coolest part is that I was even within 2 lbs of my ORIGINAL goal of 145, so I'm super happy about that! So, what happens now?! Basically, I just need to weigh in once a month, and as long as I'm still under 150, there's no charge for it. If I do start to creep up there again, I can still attend the meeting and refresh my motivation to make smarter food choices. The point is that all that I've learned and done will STICK and that the monthly weigh-ins will motivate me to maintain the loss. I admit, it did keep me from running to Sonic last night at 10:30 for a cream slushie! I'll have to get one tonight instead, but at 8:00, instead of 10!

I'm so glad it's finally done... and it only took a YEAR! I'm sure it could've/should've taken less time, but no need to beat myself up over that now. Now I can find something else to do with that $40 a month! I'm sure that won't be too hard!

Have we done it?!

Got Milk?

Well, Charlie doesn't anymore!

We finally have gotten Charlie to the point where he doesn't need a "baba" before going to bed. Yes, I know he's almost three... DON'T JUDGE ME!! If your little guy RAN to his bed with a happy face because a little milk in a baba, you just might do it too!

But lately, Charlie was asking for a bottle in the middle of the day for naptime, so we'd comply and lay him down hoping for the best! Life really is so much better when naps happen. But once he was done with the milk, he was done with that CRAZY idea for a nap. So last week, I told him, "If you don't sleep for naptime, you don't get a baba for night time. Only babies drink babas, and babies need naps. No nap, no baba!" So after not napping, that night, we started a new nighttime routine which didn't include a baba. He wasn't really thrilled about it, but he also didn't throw a fit, so I was pleased.

Well, it's been a week! He even took a nap today and still went down tonight without his beloved milk. YAY! This gives me hope that Charlie will someday actually embrace growing up to be a 'big boy'. Next stop, a real bed and then... potty training!

First day of a new adventure

Today school started up again. This is day of mixed emotions for me. I LOVE the summer time because it means a bunch of different things to me. It's time with my boys, time to just be 'chill', time to read, time for playdates with our friends, and the chance to just 'go and do something' if we feel like it. Not that we always felt like it, but hey, the option is there!

But once school starts, it's all about the SCHEDULE!!! It can be frustrating, but ultimately, it's a good thing for our family and for me. I've realized this last couple weeks that I'm a prime example of inertia. You know, an object in motion stays in motion. Over the last school year, I was able to accomplish quite a lot! Even though I am crazy busy with 3 schools' caseloads, I still manage to fit in the mothering, the 'wife'ing, my hobbies, and those things that are important to me (though not necessarily WELL on any of these things). But over the summer, everything just slows down to the point where some days, NOTHING gets accomplished. Paul got really annoyed with me this summer that the cleaning only got done in random increments. I got annoyed with myself that besides running, I had a REALLY hard time being consistent with working out. Somehow when you have all the time in the world, the only time to get to the gym is NEVER! I think I only went swimming at the gym 3, maybe 4, times. I was WAY more prepared for the triathlon in April than I am for the one next weekend. I know I'll be able to finish it fine, but it won't be glorious! So, I guess it will be very good for me to "get busy" again.

I'm actually glad that I'll be forced to spend time with the boys helping them with their reading and homework. It'll be GREAT to really look forward to spending all day with Charlie... I hate it that I take that for granted over the summer. I'm THRILLED that we will have structured and more productive things to occupy the boy's time. And I know, I KNOW, that these things can be accomplished over the summer as well, but I admit... I'm not good at actually DOING it. It sucks that I'm deadline driven, but at least when there are deadlines, things get done.

This year, besides starting up all the usual "bidnez" with work and school, I've also added an employee into the mix. Last May, I was able to meet and hire an awesome gal named Tia to work with me as a Speech-Language Technician. She has her bachelor's degree in speech pathology, so under the state licensure, she can perform therapy tasks with students as long as she is under the supervision and case management of a SLP. So, my caseload is still GIGANTIC with 3 schools, but now I have an extra set of hands. Tia and I will work together 3 days a week (one day at each school) and then she'll work an extra day at each elementary school on her own doing therapy that I plan. It will be very nice to be able to offer each school ALL the speech therapy services that they need, and still be able to be home 2 days during the week. But, as you can imagine, I'm anxious about the whole set up and am praying SO HARD that this works out for ALL of us, including the schools! It'll require much more organization than I'm accustomed to, but I know I can do it... because I will HAVE to. Remember that part about being deadline driven!? So, please send your prayers and good thoughts our direction! We're going to need it!

So, today starts a new adventure for me as an employER. Here's hoping the ride isn't TOO bumpy!

More evidence that I'm spoiled rotten

I had THE most amazing time at the Stampin' Up! convention this year! I was frustrated with the inconvenient timing of it all (i.e. Paul's birthday conflict), but somehow, I managed to have a great time anyway! The weekend started off by driving up early on Thursday morning to pick up my awesome, stampin, bloggity, fellow-boy-raisin' friend, Rachelle. She and I met last year at convention standing in line for the make-n-takes. She was there with her mother and the stars aligned for me to be standing right by them as we waited to enter the room. From hanging out with Rachelle and Zola throughout the convention, we became fast friends and managed to even build our friendship through emailing and blogging all year. I'm so glad I met Rachelle last year, because that made THIS YEAR'S convention that much BETTER! She is the ultimate companion for a ladies weekend away!

That Thursday, there was so much to see and do at the convention itself. We picked up our darling convention bags filled with stamps (ahhhh, new stamps!!!) and found seats for the first mainstage presentation. We were introduced to the new digital line SU! is coming out with and I was SOLD once I saw all the cute things I could do with it! We also got a big presentation about the new Build-a-Bear Workshop partnership line. I wasn't as JAZZED about that, but it's fun if you're in to teddy bears. We were able to look around at the THOUSANDS of beautifully stamped cards, projects, scrapbook pages, and decor items on display throughout the rooms. I went through 3 sets of batteries taking pictures of the things that inspired me the most. The convention day ended with our make-n-takes, where we get to pull out and break in our brand new stamps! I was more impressed with the projects we made this year than last.

Shelley and I grabbed some dinner at PF Changs and proceded to spend the next 10 HOURS or so just talkin and talkin! Maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but not much! Rachelle can talk almost as much as I can, so I don't think there was a moment of silence between us that whole night til we FINALLY called it quits at about 1:30 am. Yikes! We were so tired that next morning, but we still dragged our butts out of bed to get down to the pool. I was able to get my first lesson in flip-turning. See, Rachelle is an awesome swimmer too (among her many other talents!). I didn't quite get the flip-turn figured out that morning, but I'll keep practicing.

We were both very impressed with the Friday morning presentations, but opted to skip out of the afternoon classes that focused on building your business. So, I apologize to all my customers... I'm sure I would've learned some great things to make my workshops better, but I don't regret playing hookie and proceded to have an ultimate, TAMN-erific (see the 'Seriously So Blessed' blog link on the right) GNO (girl's night out - even though it was all afternoon!).

No self-respecting girls day would start without a PEDICURE from some sweet, albeit rough, Vietnamese ladies! My toes are STILL smiling at me a week later!

Then we went shopping/browsing down at Gardner Village. It was really fun shopping with someone possessing a creative mind like Rachelle's! She's a big garage saler, so she would see something, examine it, maybe take a picture, and store that idea away for some future date when she finds the perfect item and can recreate it for a dollar! It was a very educational experience! Ohh, and all that candy we bought was for the kids of course (wink wink!)

Then we HAD to go get a pork salad from Cafe Rio... because, again... where else would we go!? I know the Utah facination with Cafe Rio gets mocked, but I'll be damned if that isn't the yummiest salad on the planet! I'm not embarassed about the fact that I crave that salad all the time and I DON'T apologize for eating the whole thing down to the very. last. black. bean.! So there!

We also fit in a stop at a mall, a Nordstrom Rack, and Target, since I needed to pick up some birthday presents for Paul. We finally made it back to the hotel around 9:00 and ate the rest of our salads at that point. We didn't stay up QUITE as late as the night before, but we still managed to find things to talk about until about 11:30 pm.

On Friday morning, I got up early so I could drive down to Springville and surprise Paul. He'd mentioned earlier in the week that he was mostly bummed that he would be waking up all alone with nobody to wish him a happy birthday. The boys and I gave him his presents and he took off to play some golf with his dad and brothers. I then jumped back in the car and drove back up to SLC to catch the keynote speaker. That Saturday also had some excellent presentations, but unfortunately, Rachelle and I didn't win any of the prize patrol prizes :(. It's immature of course, but I was a little disappointed that this was the first year I went home empty handed, aside from what came in the convention bag. Ah well... next year, for sure!

Once everything was wrapped up at the convention, I drove Shelley to the airport (where she proceded to wait and wait and wait for her 9:00 flight) and I made my way back home to catch the tail-end of a Croshaw family reunion. I was excited to see my boys again and to finally "check back in" as a mom. I came home from this convention with so many fun ideas that I can't wait to share with my stamp club girls. It's going to be a fun (and expensive) year for me since there's so much I want to get! Good thing a bunch of this stuff pays for itself, otherwise I'd have lot's of 'splainin' to do!

I want to shout out a great big "THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" to Rachelle for the awesome time I had with her. I can't imagine attending another convention without her. Hopefully next year, we can get her momma to join us again! So, with that being said... I can't WAIT 'til next year, girlfriend!