Boo!

Happy Halloween! After having temperatures in the 80's for the last few weeks, it poured rain last night. There was a possibility of rain during the day, but luckily it held off and Halloween activities were able to go as planned.

It was the usual activities for the day.


There was classroom parties, first for Joey:

Then for Zachary:

Vincent and Christopher got to attend as well.
There was the school parade. (This is a terrible photo, but the only one I got!)

After school we did our pumpkins. Joey had the pirate, Zach had the puking pumpkin, Vinnie had the classic jack-o-lantern. He actually drew out on a piece of paper what he wanted. Thankfully he stuck with the basics!

Finally, the boys went trick or treating. I only got pictures of Zach and Christopher.


Hope everyone had a great night!

Final Thoughts

"Sometimes sweat is the best form of therapy" Samantha Dunn


Just a few more words about my entire marathon experience. Surprises, lessons learned, and random thoughts I have had about it.

I think I was most surprised by how difficult the training was. Not the actual mileage part-- I knew that would be tough-- but emotionally. Pete has said on several occasions to me, that he is always surprised by my inability to consider that something may go wrong, and to then plan for such mis-happenings. This was another one of those situations. It never occurred to me that I would be wrought with so much injury and pain. Even when I was on crutches with severe plantar fasciitis, I never considered the possibility that it would interfere with my training. I figured I would get the cortisone shot, stay off it for 2 weeks, then voila!, good as new. As those who followed my training know, that was not the case. I had 3 shots, physical therapy, custom made orthotics, enough motrin to kill a cow, and still ran in pain, every single day. Most of the time it was tolerable pain, but pain none the less. In fact, my foot still hurts. The plantar fasciitis seems to be mostly gone, but I have been left with joint pain in my foot. Poor Pete was subjected to my constant complaints of pain, worries about making it to the race, etc... It was draining for both of us.

Running and what it meant for me changed during the training. Running has always been an enjoyable experience. It was my escape, often times my only alone time in the entire day. While training, that changed. I was so focused on my training schedule, and so stubborn about pushing ahead, that every little ache or pain sent my anxiety level through the roof. Instead of escaping, I would hyper focus on everything. I was so sure that every pain was going to be the race ending injury I was so fearful of, a stress fracture, or something worse. I am looking forward to running for pleasure again. ( I am currently not running, waiting for my body to heal)

Despite the trials of training, the race itself was an enjoyable experience. It was exciting to be a part of something like that. While running I looked around and soaked in the beautiful views of San Francisco. Yes, I was in pretty severe pain the last hour, but that did not deter from the overall experience for me. I am still struggling with accepting my time. I had a goal for myself, and I do not do well with what I consider to be failure. I can't help but think I should have/ could have done better.

Now for the big question-- Will I do it again? After the race, I was not sure. I just didn't know if I could go through all that again. I know Pete was/is hoping I don't. Now that I have sat with it for a bit, I think I have too. I need another chance to improve. Also, it was just so exciting! It has to be different next time though. I can't endure all the pain, medical visits, and stress that all that entailed. I will research training schedules, and maybe even talk with a running coach. I will attempt to train in a way that will cut down on the injuries. And if problems do arise? I will stop. I am hoping since I have already done a marathon, I won't feel like I have something to prove. Why did I feel like that in the first place? The only pressure on me to do this run was self inflicted, I see that now.

So look out Napa! I am hoping to run the Napa Marathon, March 2010. (But don't hold me to it!)

Autumn Activities

I think a better title for this post would be "The post with a zillion pictures" So bear with me here. I have been so focused on my marathon and wrapped up in myself, I haven't been posting pic of my gorgeous little boys. So here are a bunch of us doing various Autumn/Halloween activities.


The boys and I made tiny little cakes and decorated them for Halloween. Christopher chowed his down faster then he could decorate it!



A couple of weeks ago I went with Vinnie's preschool class to the pumpkin patch. Being home from work has given me the ability to do so much more with the kids. I will miss that freedom when I go back (don't even ask when that will be. That is fodder for another post!)

Vincent with his best friend Maximilien at the pumpkin patch.

My poor boys in their long sleeved black t-shirts. It must have been 85 deg out that day!


Last Friday Vincent's preschool had their Halloween parade and party. Here is Vinnie with his friends. Vincent is Darth Vader so you can't actually see him! For all I know he is glaring at me under there.


Friday night was the annual Pumpkin Bust at the elementary school. It is our 5th year at this little shin dig. Peter and I have figured out we will be attending this event non stop until the year 2017. God help us.

This is the cake I made for the cake walk. I always enjoy making these. (Although ask me by the year 2017 how much I enjoy it!)
Vincent and Joey at the Pumpkin Bust.



Christopher waiting for his special blankie to come out of the wash. This has nothing to do with Halloween, but was too stinkin' cute not to include!

After church on Sunday Pete and I took all the boys to the pumpkin patch. Which means they all wore their skull/skeleton shirts to church. I hope God didn't mind. I was going to ask Suzie if it was OK, but didn't want to hear her say no!

Vincent on the pumpkin train.

Again, it must have been 80 deg out! What is up with the weather?!


Which takes us to last night. Every year we are invited to the Country Club by one of Pete's sisters for their Halloween party. It is a total blast for the kids, and great eating for the parents. Here we are in our costumes.

I think it is fitting that Vincent is Darth Vader and Joey is his enemy, Obi Wan Kenobi. Lately these two bicker constantly!
I am most proud of Zach's costume. I went to countless thrift stores to find all the pieces for his Joker costume. I will get a more close up shot of his awesome face paint (done by me!) on Halloween. Trust me when I say he looked great!
Christopher once again recycling the skeleton costume. A devil would have been more apropo!

Even I dressed up for the party. When the boys asked Peter what his costume was, Pete stated "A Dad!" Party pooper is more like it.
We had some tired boys after the party!

My little part to stopping the hate

This morning I ran into the parents of one of my patients. It was great to see them and we chatted for a bit. They are getting married tomorrow and I am thrilled for them. They are the parents of a darling 6 month old baby girl. They are wonderful fathers, both of them. Yes, they are a same sex couple doing a bang up job with this little girl. They are in a bit of a hurry to get married, for fear that constitutional right will be stripped away from them in a couple of weeks if Prop 8 passes. While I am thrilled they are getting married, I am so sad that they even need to worry about this. It boggles my mind that in a state like California, a state I always thought of as so progressive, this is even up for discussion. It is truly heart breaking to me. Mr. Lady over at Whiskey in My Sippy Cup wrote an incredible post the other day about this very topic. Please go read it. She says it so much more eloquently than I ever could. And please, vote no on Prop 8!

Thinking of you Daddy...

Today is the 1 year anniversary of my father's passing. It has been on my mind all day, yet I have been unable to come up with any words to commemorate his life. He was such a kind and generous man, and a loving dad, yet those words just don't seem to be enough. Instead of trying, I will post some of my favorite pictures of him.


Here he is with his mom and little brother Kenny. I see so much of Vincent and my nephew Alex in this picture.


This is my Dad during his brief stint in the military (very brief-- he was hurt in bootcamp). I am guessing he is about 19 years old here. So handsome.



I love this picture of my Dad kissing me. I always remember him playing with us, helping dress our Barbie dolls, letting us play with his hair.


Here he is with Joey (although it looks like Christopher!). My Dad looks so happy and healthy in this picture. This is how I want to remember him.


My last picture of him. My sister and I took the boys to visit him last year. This was the first time he was with all 6 of his grandsons together. It was the last time I was able to make it up to see him. He died about a month after this picture.

I love you and miss you Daddy. Not a day goes by that I don't think of you.

Marathon by the numbers

"Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you are right" Mary Kay Asher


Yesterday was the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. I did it! Below are the highlights.


My pre-race dinner, a chile rellano


418 -- The number of miles I ran in the last 18 weeks while training

26.2 --The number of miles I ran on Sunday!! Woo hoo!

5 -- the number of times I pooped before the race. Got to love that nervous stomach.

1 -- the number of times I pooped during race (in porta potty, not my pants!)

The tattoo with my pace times, called a "pace tat"

50 -- temperature at the starting line. brrr!

2 -- the mile where there was a donation bin to drop jackets

Waiting for the race to start


2.5 -- the mile where I fell down, hard. Why? I have no idea. Some skinned knees and a bruised ego, otherwise I was fine.

The course map. Check out the elevation marker! They brought Mt Everest in just for the race.

6 -- the mile we ran by the Golden Gate bridge. It was absolutely stunning, as were most of the views

The view from the course

2 -- the number of big hills. There were countless small hills. I rocked those hills!


8 -- the mile I saw Pete for the first time. It gave me such a boost!

12 -- The mile Pete joined me on his bike, then proceeded to ride up and back with me the rest of the way. It helped more then words can describe.

13 -- The mile my foot started to hurt, but not enough to really bother me too much.

16 -- The mile my left knee started to bother me.

20 -- The mile where my knee pain became excrucitating. : -( The last hour was run in significant pain.

26.2 -- The finish line!!

54 - the temperature at the finish. Brr!

4:31 -- My official time. 15 min slower then I was hoping for. I am very dissappointed.

2,386 --calories burned by 115 lb woman running for 4 hr 31 min.

? -- the number of times I will do this again. I am glad I did it, but it was tough!


Holding my Tiffany bag after the race


This is the necklace we got at the finish line, handed to us in a little blue box by men dressed in tuxedos. The back says "NWM SF 2008"

Overall, a wonderful experience.

Pete, I can't thank you enough. First, for all the support during my many hours of training and all the mornings you got all the boys off to school without me so I could run. Second, for listening to all my complaints of pain during training and not smacking me upside the head and telling me to just drop out already. And finally, for sticking with me during the hardest miles of the race, reminding me that I could do it, and not letting me stop when the pain was trying to tell me otherwise. You are the best!! And you were right-- I should have eaten more breakfast.

The final countdown...

I can't even believe it. I have less then a week until my marathon. The last 2 weeks of training have been much easier with shorter taper runs. So many times throughout my training I thought about this time and whether I would make it or not. You can check out my marathon training blog on my side bar for all the gory, boring details. Of course, I could still have something catastrophic happen, like falling down the stairs, but barring that, it looks like I will be running.

Now that I know my foot is going to hold up, I just have to worry about my bowels! I know this sounds crazy, but I have this incredible fear of pooping my pants while running. Don't laugh, it happens. Check out this guy.



I mean really, someone hose the guy off! I can't help but think if I was in a burning building, I would still stop and use the bathroom before letting this happen. I actually considered wearing some Depends, but was afraid they would chafe and make my butt look big. So, I will take some Imodium instead.

Besides getting me physically ready for the run, the long training runs were good practice for what to take and eat. After trying different types of on the go nutrition I decided on a combination of Sport Beans (think gatorade in a jelly bean) and Sport Moon (again, think gatorade in a fruit snack). I also got better at drinking water without getting cramps. I am hoping to avoid another dehydration debacle like at the NYC half marathon this year. Here is what I carried in my pack on long runs:



Did you notice the little wet wipe? That is in case I had to poop in the bushes, I could at least clean myself. Never had to use it, thankfully! I also bought some pepper spray that I have started to carry now that it is dark in the mornings again.

Yummmm, food!

I have been taking advantage of my time off work to do some more cooking. I used to love trying out new recipes when I was single. I still love it in theory, but while working and taking care of 4 kids I never was able to find the time. I am hoping to come across some new, easy to throw together recipes to have in my arsenal for when I do go back to work.

I had been craving some onion rings, but hate to order them because of the fat. I found a great baked onion ring recipe that satisfies my craving.



Suzie sent me a pasta recipe using something called harissa paste. Harissa is a type of African/mid eastern spice. I couldn't find the paste, so tried to wing it with just the spice mixture. It was pretty good, but I bet would be better with the paste. I am going to order some on line and give this another try.



This one is my favorite. Braised tofu with a caramel sauce. I served it with pot stickers and fried rice. It was incredible ! And easy!




I am always on the look out for easy recipes that I can throw together last minute. Anyone out there have any to share?

And then my heart melted...

This morning before school Joey and I hit a rough patch where he yelled that he hated me and I was the worst mom ever. What horrible thing did I do to my child to deserve this? I told him he had to bring a sweatshirt to school today. I know, I know. This was terrible of me and I am lucky I didn't receive a beating as well. This is a phrase we hear often from Joey ( Another favorite of his is "This is the worst day ever!") Seriously, I thought only girls were this melodramatic. After things calmed down I explained to him how hurtful that was for me to hear. I know I should ignore it, but frankly I have had it with this and am trying to at least bring it to a minimum. I gave him a kiss and sent him off to school (with his sweatshirt in his bag).

This is what he wrote me after school. I know! My heart just melted when I saw it.

In case you aren't fluent in first grade writing, let me interpret. "I am sorry for saying I hate you. I love you!!! by Joey"

As an aside, while his spelling leaves alot to be desired, his printing may be better than his fourth grade brother Zach.

My husband is a stud!

Today Pete ran the San Jose Rock-n-Roll half-marathon. He did awesome! He finished in 1 hr 32 minutes. More importantly he looked great when he came in and felt much better than after the NYC half- marathon. The boys and I went down to see him cross the finish line. It was exciting to watch the winners coming in. The male winner came in at 1:01, which is a pace of 4:50 per mile. I can not even fathom running 1 mile that fast.

Waiting at the finish line for Daddy. We hope he wins!




13 miles? That was nothing!

"We are so proud of our Daddy!"

You looked amazing today Peter! Way to go!