Birthday Reflections

Though my actual birthday was last Friday - the 13th - birthday celebrations in our family tend to start a few days early and end a few days later. It is just more fun that way. It started with a big birthday celebration with family (8 birthdays in all in October/November) when family was in town visiting in late October, included a 4.4 mile group trail run on Saturday and ended last night with my favorite birthday dinner of my youth made by my mom (breaded chicken tenders, egg noodles, cranberry relish and green beans - with chocolate muffins/ice cream for dessert!).

This year I helped my husband and dad lay laminate flooring in our family room on my actual birthday - just one part of the main level flooring project we tackled this fall. My husband took the day off from work, my mom took our daughter to the Tiny Tots program sponsored by the Seattle Symphony and our son was at school. The previous 2 days of the flooring adventure (the last 2 Saturdays) I was on kid patrol while the guys worked. Helpful? Absolutely. But I'm a hands-on gal, so I really enjoyed putting on those old jeans and a running t-shirt from 2004 to help out with the actual installation. I was in bed by 9:30 on my birthday, but I'd still call it a successful and happy day. I love my new floors!

As the day allowed, I did my usual birthday reflecting. I thought back to birthdays past:

1. In 5th grade I had a joint birthday party with my best friend (her name is Briana and her birthday is the day after mine - no joke!). We made cookies at my house and then we all headed down the street and around the corner for a sleep over at her house.
2. My 25th birthday weekend was also my marathon weekend at the SunTrust Richmond Marathon.
3. Last year was a pretty day and I celebrated it with a run! This year I did a quick 2 miles on the treadmill before it was time for the floor fun.

And I thought about how intimidated I was by the number "30" last year and how welcoming I find the number "31" to be this year. So now I give you a quick 5K version of what I'm thankful for as I round out my birthday celebrations (3.1 things!):

1. My body, mind and spirit continue to enjoy running
2. My children are adventurous & energetic souls like their parents
3. My husband and I are making reading a more regular part of our evenings
.1 The thrill of discovering what this next year has in store for our little family

How about you? Do you have something you do every year for your birthday?

Kids' Birthdays aren't Just for Kids

Tomorrow is my son’s fifth birthday (that's him doing what he loves best above). As my mother-in-law says, he’ll officially be a whole handful.

I find birthdays and anniversaries to be great times to reflect on personal growth and to check-in with progress on goals I’ve set. Don't worry, there will be cake and singing and silliness, too. And a few tears that only mothers know how to cry when their babies get older.

When I think back over the “whole handful” of years, I’m amazed at all that has happened in our little family (I’m keeping with the “5” theme):

1. We moved all the way across the country from Charlotte, NC to just outside Seattle, WA. If that situation doesn’t provide growth, I don’t know what will!
2. After two serious allergic reactions before his first birthday, our son was diagnosed with a long list of food allergies. As of last week, we’ve been given the green flag to add in larger amounts of eggs & milk into baked food products. This is cause for celebration at our house!
3. Our son became a loving big brother to a spit-fire little sister.
4. We’re now able to enjoy family adventures lasting longer than 6 hours. We’ve managed 2 weekend-long camping trips already this summer. I really never thought this day would come.
5. Our kids speak of their futures using empowering phrases like, “When I’m a runner . . . “ and “I’ll do that, too, because I’m strong!” I can't wait to see what will happen when they make those phrases come true.

Although the birthday is HIS, as the mama who birthed him, the day belongs to ME, too! This gives me the clearance to evaluate my goals in relationship to his life-span.

1. In his short/long (I haven’t decided if the time has been fast or slow!) life I published a book and sold over 1,000 copies of it.
2. Two weekends ago I set a running PR that blows anything from my “pre-kids life” out of the water.
3. I have completed at last a dozen quilts and already have a growing list of quilts to create over the course of his next five years. Only one quilt in his lifetime was for me – the others have all been gifts to celebrate weddings and births.
4. I started a non-profit social moms group in our community 3 years ago and it is still running.
5. My husband and I celebrated our 10 year engagement-iversary last week and our marriage is still going strong.

Now that know I can guide a child through life longer than I’ve held down any single paying job, my challenge begins. I must ask myself:

What are my new goals?
What experiences will I have the pleasure of remembering when the NEXT birthday rolls around?

Don't go yet! I have a challenge for you:

What life events prompt YOU to take a look at where you’ve been on your life path? What experiences lead you to set new goals as you head forward?

Happy Birthday, Little Sister

I hope my next birthday is as great as Little Sister's was today:

- out to breakfast for bagels with Dad
- cookie baking with Mom
- playtime with friends
- presents morning, noon and night (it is best to pace yourself)
- cookies morning, noon and night (again, it is best to pace yourself)
- two helpings of Mom's homemade lasagna for dinner
- photo viewing time with Mom (after bedtime when Mr. Music was asleep!) to relive the highlights from the last two years

The requested birthday oatmeal chocolate chip cookie (one of about 6 dozen . . . some are tucked safely out of reach in the freezer for Sunday's game - Go Steelers!)

The birthday girl successfully extinguishes the flames from her toothpick birthday candles - a proud moment.

The birthday girl "reads" the card from her grandma "Yia Yia".

At the very end of a long, but lovely day. Bedtime, anyone?

One Year Blog Anniversary (Roughly!)

It dawned on me as I was running the Riverview Educational Foundation Turkey Trot 5K on Saturday morning that my very FIRST BLOG entry was a review of that race last year. I'm amazed at how much has happened over the course of the year. At some point this week I'll do a quickie recap for you, just in case you're a new reader (or even if you're an old follower and would like to reminisc with me!). I'll be picking out some of my favorites tonight to highlight later this week, which is why this is short and sweet.

Before I sign off for the night, I will thank you all for your kind birthday wishes on Thursday. I was nervous about this 30 thing, but am feeling more confident and excited now to start a new decade. Thanks for reminding me to put my yellow hat back on (which I did wear for both my birthday morning run and the race on Saturday - I even took a picture of me in it before my big birthday run - see below!).

The photo on the left is of me modeling my fabulous new mittens. Notice the smile - my family took great care of me that day (as did the lemon raspberry cheesecake for dessert after my husband cooked dinner)!

Have a wonderful week, everyone! Happy running!

Birthday Brightness

Ask anyone who knows me well, and they'll tell you that I've been sensitive about this birthday. I'm not sure why, but the idea of turning 30 was something that made me feel uncertain and even a bit sad. But then the day hit (today!) and I'm enjoy the brightness of the day:

1. After DAYS of rain and gloom, the sky cleared and the day is AMAZINGLY bright and wonderful.
2. My husband is home from work today to help me celebrate the day - he took the kids away from the house for the morning so I could enjoy some peace and quiet.
3. Our daughter greeted me with "Happy Mama!" as she climbed on top of me in bed this morning . . . and then scrambled off the bed and pitter pattered away to do whatever it is she had in mind to do (under her dad's supervision, I got to go back to sleep!).
4. The first words out of Mr. Music's mouth this morning when I saw him were "Happy Birthday, Mom!" and then I got one of his amazing bear hugs.
5. Before they headed out, the family gave me one of my birthday presents - a fabulous pair of gloves/mittens - you know the kind - they have glove fingers (cut off at the top), but also have mitten parts that can cover the gloves if needed. I love them!
6. When Albus, our wonder dog, saw that I was in my yellow hat, running skirt and running shoes, he did a happy dog dance and went to sit by the door to wait for us to go for a run (I'm choosing to assume that his dance also meant "Happy Birthday!").
7. Except for a few slippery leafy patches, it was a glorious morning for a run. The blue sky, fresh air, and warm sun all seem to be indicators that it is okay to be 30, that the world has much more in store for me.
8. Since the kids are off with their dad for the morning, I was able to follow-up my run with some strength training. My mom borrowed my balance ball book, so I tried out "The Smart Workout" from November 2008's Redbook Magazine. It is 6 moves that REALLY challenge your body.
9. I even get to enjoy a shower without interruption this morning.

All that, and it isn't even 11AM yet!

I think that this is going to be a great birthday and that I'll find some new strength and adventure in this new decade. Thank you, kind readers, for coming along for the ride!

Monday - Here We Go!

Yesterday my son (Mr. Music, for those of you who "know" him) turned 4. I'm in disbelief that we've been parenting for 4 years! He danced around the house all day singing, "Today's my birthday! Today's my birthday! I'm 4 years old. It's my birthday!" to no tune in particular, dancing all the while. It was very cute. There's a definite difference in awareness from last year's birthday and this year's.

Today my husband took the day off work and we had a birthday party for him at the local watershed preserve to go on a hike. What a site seeing 25 people walking in line down the trail, looking at the plants, picking huckleberries and watching for birds with the 3 pairs of kiddie binoculars our son shared! We hiked a 0.6 mile path to get started, took a break with snacks and water and then they hit a second loop for a 0.3 mile trek while my mom, aunt and I got the food out and ready. It was the perfect arrangement for 13 kids (ages 18 months - 6), their parents, and one happy dog. I was also happy to see that the crew was armed with hats, sunglasses and sunscreen so we didn't have to worry about any sunburns - do you remember the days when sunscreen use was NOT the norm?





A hiking birthday party turned out to be a great idea - several families were even thinking of returning to the park for some family exploration another time soon since the trails are so young family friendly. Picnic blankets were the perfect landing places for lunch and relaxation after the hike and the dirt cupcakes topped with crushed oreo cookies and gummy worms were the proverbial "icing on the cake" for the event. As a surprise ending for the party, a gentleman walked over 2 HUGE horses for the kids to see (there are horse trails that start at the park, too). I couldn't have PLANNED for that excitement!





We did our best to inject some "green" practices for this birthday.


- I included a carpooling suggestion on the invitations and was happy that 2 families made the drive together!


- Instead of plates for snacks, we used cupcake liners (much less paper waste!). I usually use the reusable plastic ones for snack at home because they really are the perfect size for snacks, but didn't have enough of those to go around.


- My mom made cloth napkins for everyone out of a pinecone print fabric that became party favors (a few families even ended up with a family set!).


- I resisted the urge to get cute junky stuff from Oriental Trading Company and instead made bean bags for the guests out of tree and footprint fabrics that went with the theme of a hike


- his birthday presents from us yesterday were "wrapped" in pillowcases (bright kid-happy ones, no plain ol' white ones - we're not THAT boring!) and my parents liked the idea so his gifts from them were wrapped in fabric from my mom's sewing stash.



With the party under our belts now, I'm looking forward to having some more laid back days this week. Tomorrow I'll return to the grindstone of publicity and squeak out my first run in a week (*gasp* how did I go a week without running???!), unless I get in a run this evening and then tomorrow's run will be my second, which sounds like an even better plan.

Do you have any big plans for the week? Have you included any environmentally friendly practices into your celebrations?

Have a great week - and happy running!