Parents Weekend 5K & Tot Trade

As motivation to get my butt in gear, I signed Brian and me up for the Parents Weekend 5K at USC. I'd never run a 5K and don't particularly like running at all, but the "training" seemed like something we could actually do since we don't need a fancy gym and it was only about 30 min a few times/week, and we could take turns while the other stayed with the kids. We have a park with a paved track right next to our neighborhood, and we figured out (about a week before the run) that running from our house to the park, 6 laps, and back to our house was about 3.1 miles. Although we ran various distances in the weeks leading up to the 5K, the first time we tested the full distance was 4 days before the run.

I suckered Amy into running as well and Dad signed up as a walker. Here we are before the run. I'll note that I'm the only one of this group who has had two babies. :) Also, Dad was the only one of the entire ~400 participants who chose khakis over shorts! (At first I wrote "...who had on pants," but that sounded a little weird!)

Here we are after the run. I made them do a cheesy cheering picture because I was pretty pumped! I met my goals: RUN the entire distance, not come in last, and not let my dad pass me (he walks about 10 miles/day behind a mower, and I run at a snail's pace, so it was a possibility!). I also ended up beating my practice time by 6 minutes! My final time was 35 min even (pace of 11:16/mile). Brian came in 89th overall (out of about 210 runners - I was much closer to the end) with a time of 27:29 (pace of 8:51/mile). It was his first 5K too and he trained less than I did, so I thought that was great!

Mom tried to get there in time for the finish, but she had to go back in time and wrangle two kids and all their stuff, so we missed out on hearing Breeley yell, "Daddy, go fast!" (that's what she calls running). They showed up as everyone was leaving.

Mom and Dad spent the rest of Saturday eating with Amy and then attending their first Gamecock tailgate and football game. It was a little strange to get texts with score updates from my mom! (The game against Furman was not televised, but USC won 38-19.)

On Sunday, Mom and Dad took Breeley to church. Here they are ready to go. Afterwards, they had some time to play with Zack while Breeley took a nap.

Besides Parents Weekend, this was also Tot Trade Weekend! Tot Trade is a huge consignment sale for pretty much everything kid-related, and I go every spring and fall. I'd estimate at least 95% of the things that have entered our house since we had kids have come from Tot Trade, Once Upon a Child, Target sales, and hand-me-downs (my favorite!) from Brian's sister and cousin. (Breeley's dress in the picture above was a $1.60 Tot Trade spring-sale find, and the shoes were $4 at Once Upon a Child.)

I spent SEVEN painstaking hours over three days hunting item-by-item through four sizes of kids' clothing and shoes, but I came away with a LOAD!

It's been difficult to shop ahead for Zack because I seem to guess wrong on what size he will be at a given time in the future. Right now he is outgrowing 12 months clothes, so I focused on 12-18 and 18-24 months for him. These sizes are styled for older kids who are walking, so it's difficult to find things that are age-appropriate for comfortable sitting, rolling, and crawling. However, at Tot Trade I think many people go for the higher-end "cutesie" outfits, so I was able to find lots of comfortable and practical cotton pants and shirts. Since I got such great deals, I won't be heartbroken when they end up with poop stains the first time he wears them! (Zack really likes to poop in clean diapers and new clothes.)

In all, Zack ended up with over 50 items including 11 prs pants, 14 shirts, 4 prs overalls, 4 prs pjs, 7 jackets/hoodies, and 5 pants/shirt combos! Hopefully that will cover his current size and leave room for more growth, and get us through a fall/winter of diaper blowouts!

Breeley made out even better overall, with over 60 items and 2 prs shoes, but much of hers may be too big this year or will last through next year since I bought all 3T and 4T for her. She's on the verge of outgrowing most 2T/24 mo right now. She seems to frequently be "between sizes" so she ends up with overlapping sizes for both winter and summer clothes. She ended up with 15 prs pants, 16 shirts, 5 pullovers/sweatshirts, 10 cardigans/jackets, several jumpers, overalls, 3 Christmas outfits, 2 coats, brown boots, brown shoes, and some dance and dress-up clothes.

I also got 13 puzzles in various designs and difficulty levels, which will be Christmas presents. I didn't even look at toys or books (Brian's sister just gave us the leftovers from her yard sale and Breeley has been in "new" toy heaven). My grand total for Tot Trade (for over 130 items!) was under $240!! I shopped on one day with regular prices, and then hit the 30% and 60% off days as well. The sale days can actually be bad because I have a hard time turning down a bargain. (It's so much easier to put something in the "yes" pile when it's only $1.20!) Looking at my kids' closet and drawers, I'm thinking I may have gone a bit overboard!

Even after the 5K and then reaching, sorting, and lugging clothes at Tot Trade, I actually went for a mile run on Sunday! Meeting my 5K challenge, and then scoring some great deals at Tot Trade, this weekend left me feeling quite accomplished. I'd say I sufficiently got my butt in gear!

Ballerina Breeley

Breeley started dance classes this week! She's in the "Movers & Shakers" class for 18mo-2.5yrs, which does some beginning ballet, but mostly focuses on gross motor skills and coordination. A local dance company comes to her daycare and does the class once/week. We debated signing her up because there is an extra charge and I wondered how much she'd actually learn at this age, but the child LOVES to dance, and lately she's become obsessed with Barney and is quite impressive with her ability to follow along to the dances. (She also has some of her own moves. If you're on Facebook, check out the video of her dancing to "Elmo." I couldn't get it to post on here, but you'll see what I mean when I say she loves to dance!) My decision was confirmed when we went to our weekly storytime (Music & Movement for 2-yr-olds) and she seemed ahead of most the kids in keeping up with music and following along with the leader. That may have been my mommy bias though! (I wouldn't have paid much attention except that I was still trying to decide about the dance class. This week at storytime, after I signed her up for dance, she seemed more interested in running in circles at the back of the room!)

Brian and I see the benefits of involvement and group participation and of course have high hopes that our children do not end up being couch potatoes. Right now, Breeley seems to love pretty much anything we present to her (from playing soccer in the yard, to music class and gymnastics at daycare, to puzzles and books inside), so I'm excited to see how her interests develop. One thing is for sure: she looks pretty darn cute in her dance outfit!

Mtn Wkend Summer Hurrah

Goodbye summer, hello fall. We welcomed fall by spending the weekend at Brian's family's cabin in the Virginia mountains, and visiting with family at the Hill Reunion in West Virginia. Traveling through that area of the country makes me realize how much I miss it. Hopefully we can go back in a few weeks when the leaves are changing. The weather was perfect, even if I did forget that in Virginia, a high of 75 means it will reach that temp at ONE point during the day, but the rest of the day may include temps as low as 25 degrees below that! Thankfully, at the last minute I threw in some long pants and a sweatshirt will all the summer clothes I packed for the kids!

Brian is determined to give our kids a country upbringing, even though we don't live in the country right now. His objectives for the weekend included playing in the creek, fishing in the pond, and riding 4-wheelers. As you can see from the pics, mission accomplished!

I've written about "the mountain" in a previous post, where you can see pictures from the road leading in during the fall: http://hudsonshappenings4.blogspot.com/2009/10/mountain-weekend.html. Here's a picture from the dock of the pond, which shows that it's also very pretty in summer!

(photo courtesy of Lindsay)

Running a lawnmower into the pond is not a great way to begin the morning. This was the first of several equipment mishaps throughout the day, but luckily (and surprisingly), there was no major damage.

Catching crawdads and tadpoles in the creek. Breeley didn't seem to notice that the water was COLD! She also didn't really notice any crawdads or tadpoles, but she liked carrying the tubs around and playing in the water. After I snapped these pictures, the kids eventually lost interest, but Lindsay and I found another spot and spent the next hour catching tadpoles. That was after she called me a "city girl" for saying that stagnant water was gross.

Zack enjoyed some TLC from Ma and Granny.

Brian fishing with Lance (who just turned 5!). Notice that he has a serious look on his face even while using Breeley's Barbie pole. That man loves to fish!

Breeley fishing with Emma. Not-quite-so-serious as her daddy, but pretty good form for a 2-year-old. (No fish were caught. Appears a muskrat has put a hurtin' on all the fish and frogs.)

Cousins minus Zack

Super adorable 6-month-old

Breeley could not get enough of the 4-wheelers! She rode in the morning with Brian and of course kept saying "A dee, a dee, Daddy!" [Again, again!]. She's been on a 4-wheeler before, but this is probably the first ride she remembers.

They have a kids' 4-wheeler for the older kids, and she took a ride on that one too. Doug came running in and said something along the lines of seeing a mole on an anthill (it wasn't that), and this is what we saw when we went outside.

Lindsay and Brian brought their Power Wheels 4-wheeler and Breeley could ride that one by herself (battery vs. gas-powered).

At one point, Kade decided to jump on the back and they rode together, making all of us grab for cameras for the cutest pictures of the weekend!

She hitched a ride with Lance too. She loved the 4-wheelers!

Zack's first ride. (He liked it.) Breeley was zoning at this point. She didn't have a nap for I think the first time ever. Meltdown came later. Having fun wore her out!

After a night's sleep (I won't say good because a congested Zack was in the same room and had all of us up several times, finally for the final time way too early at 6:30), and a nap in the car, she was raring to go when we arrived at the Hill Reunion. My dad's brothers and sisters gather once/year at my uncle's farm in Sink's Grove, WV, in the area where they grew up.

This year was special because all 7 sibs were there! Here they are, along with their "uncle brother" who grew up with them. (My dad is top right. Also, shout-out to Aunt Jo, center left in white jacket, because I know she reads my blog!)

Here they are with spouses.

Here are the Hill cousins with spouses and kids. Nine of 19 were there (one is not pictured), including me, Amy, and DJ.

My twig of the family tree.

Walking back to the house after looking at the "big tractor." We were in the farmlands of WV--a gorgeous part of the country--and Breeley enjoyed cow spotting on the drive there. She's mastered her animal sounds, so we heard lots of "mooos" coming from the back seat. (Right now, she's in touch with her inner lionness, so most of the sounds have a roar or growl to them.)

Zack with Papa (not sure about Zack's red cheeks - no fever) Doesn't Zack look a lot older than 6 months in this pic? Probably something to do with his size 12-18-month toddler clothes! (They are different styles than infant clothes. I struggle finding clothes appropriate for his age.)

Breeley was better on this trip than she's ever been. Barney and a portable DVD player did wonders! Brian and I were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery instead of having constant distractions (and whining) from the back seat!

I measure a weekend's success by how tired my kids are, and this one was off the charts! Thankfully, we had a few days to recover before returning to work/school. We had a lazy Labor Day at home. It was a great way to say goodbye to summer and welcome to fall. So far, however, SC has not gotten the message and the 7-day forecast calls for temps in the 90s every day. (I'm okay with that.) Looks like for now I can save the long pants and sweatshirts for our visits to VA!