Monday Musings

I have a lot going on up in this noggin' of mine right now, so I'm resulting to the good ol' list post today, my friends. Think of it as Variety Hour, or think of it as "someone can't focus long enough to string together one cohesive post," whichever you prefer.

1. I am so thankful for my running friends! I can honestly say that I never would have even given running a try without major encouragement from my pals at Operation Boot Camp, and now I wouldn't do half of what I do without them. I truly admire those of you who train on your own. If I were attempting to train myself, hill work would probably be non-existent, I would struggle to get through the miles, and I would find myself ill-prepared on race day. With this wild and crazy bunch, I don't worry about that, and it's such fun to get out there with them. Last week I got in some extra miles with friends while it was too icy for 5:30 AM boot camp, and then we had an awesomely tough training run on Saturday. 6 miles of hilly, woodsy, icy fun in 22 degree weather with over 20 friends. How great is that? Oh, and the other fabulous thing about my running group? Everyone is truly welcome and encouraged to come out and run with us. Everyone! Awesome.

2. Mom moment: I'm feeling a bit on the overwhelmed side these days. It turns out that homeschooling a very active, eager to learn 2nd grader only gets harder as my littlest munchkin gets more and more mobile (aka finding all kinds of stuff to mess with, put in his mouth, knock over, break, hurt himself with, etc.). More often than not, at the end of the day I worry that I didn't do all I should have with either one of them. Then I look around my house and see all that didn't get done in that area (again), and I end up frustrated, tired, and wondering if we made the right choice to homeschool this year.

Every morning, though, I remind myself of why we are doing this, and that even though it's not perfect, I will never regret the time I'm spending with my kids and the valuable conversations and experiences we have everyday. I have no doubt that we will all look back on this year and be thankful for the memories we are making. Hopefully we will forget the mounds of laundry and dirty floors...

(EDIT: Knowing how overwhelmed I've been, sweet Daddy-o got me a certificate for a spa facial or mani/pedi today. Just out of the blue! No occasion at all! Except, of course, that it was today's Groupon deal. Hey, he's a thrifty romantic! What a thoughtful hubby he is!)

3. I am planning my baby boy's first birthday party! The exclamation point there is a little bit, "I'm so excited to be celebrating his birthday, and the party is going to be so cute!" and a little bit, "WHAT? First birthday? How and when did this happen?" Baby Munchkin is an amazing, miraculous, long-awaited answer to prayer (WARNING: sappy post to come soon about this little guy). It really is hard to believe that he's almost one. When do babies officially turn into toddlers anyway? Not sure I'm ready for that... But, seriously, his party is gonna be too cute! Just a smallish party at our house, but super cute and fun!

4. I'm wearing this today...

Because sometimes you just need a little superhero inspiration.