On the Move
The title of this post serves as a double entendre in the fact that we are officially moving to Charlotte and that we participated in some road races this month. Lots of moving and shaking going around! I’ll do my best in bringing you up to speed with the whole house-moving saga. Hmmm, where to begin? Mom came up to visit the same weekend we were planning to list our house. After learning through our realtor that a similar home in our neighborhood went on the market about $20k less than it should have (and sold quickly), we decided to lower our asking price (prior to listing it) by $10k. Our house was listed at 2pm on Saturday, March 10. Seven showings later and by Sunday night (yes, only 28 hours later!), we had two offers…both at asking price. We did some quick negotiating and by the next day were under contract for even more than the asking price! Our closing date was set for April 23, which meant we had a LOT to do (considering we don’t have a house in Charlotte yet). We began contacting moving companies, searching out an apartment, finding a daycare for the girls, and repairing items found in the inspection, among many things. We were not expecting this at all, but I guess burying St. Joseph really worked. We prayed to him numerous times and he worked his magic! Thanks, Mom, for delivering him safely to our house and for all the happy thoughts related to the sale of our house! The power of positive thinking!
The next weekend I took on the Yuengling Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach with a group of seven other girlfriends. I had been training for the marathon since October and was pretty diligent in running during the designated days. I think I calculated around 220 miles of training prior to the actual race. Not knowing how long it would take me to finish, I registered stating I would finish in under three hours. I actually finish in 2:12 instead! I was very proud of myself (as evident in the video) and was also very emotional. I donned my tutu that I purchased to support Girls on the Run (a foundation to encourage self esteem in tween girls) in an effort to not take myself too seriously. I stopped a few times during the race to capture mile seven and the troops on Ft. Story that were cheering us on. They say runners hit a “wall” during a race. I hit mine at miles nine and 11. I felt like someone else had possessed my lower half because they were nearly numb feeling. It was crazy. When I finished the race, they handed us medals, food, and an awesome sweatshirt. That made it all worth it! I told myself prior to the race that I didn’t think I would ever run another half marathon, but recalling the emotion and how I wasn’t that sore afterward, I will likely do another one. The training is what takes the most time out of your days and weekends. If I can convince Trent to do one with me, I think that would be great! I will also find another one that is at sea level (not sure what I would’ve done if this one had lots of hills!). I want to send a shout out to all the girls that ran the race. You all are so motivating and it was amazing to share such an experience with other women! GO SHAMROCKETTES!
After all that madness, it was time for a little down time, so treated myself to a facial, Brayden had another art class, we saw the play “Rapunzel”, and had the Mazzolas over for dinner. The monthly events culminated in Charleston, SC for our annual kids-free weekend at the Cooper River Bridge Run 10K. It was warmer than normal, and even though the race was delayed an hour due to transportation issues, I shaved seven minutes off my previous best time, finishing in 56:51 (and I beat all the guys in our crew)!!! That time will be hard to beat as I don’t see myself doing a half-marathon two weeks prior again (or making a half-marathon a regular occurrence!). Happy Birthday to Dadaw that weekend, as well!
Hanleigh continues to idolize her sister (read: copy EVERYTHING she does), tells the dogs “no”, and is quite the independent child. We have recently learned that she pushes one of her friends at school, so we’ve tried to teach her that “we hug Betsy” instead. I think it’s working because her teacher said they are friends again. She will say “poop” and point “down there” when she is doing anything in her diapers, so we know she is slowly getting closer to potty training. She and Brayden have little “spats” every now and then, but it’s usually because Hanleigh doesn’t want to be hugged or is exerting her independence and Brayden takes it personally. It is so sweet watching them interact and they can be so silly together as well. One evening, Hanleigh wasn’t feeling that well and had gotten sick at school and at home, so we thought (being the operative word) it would be a good idea to get her some fresh air, so we proceeded to take a walk around the neighborhood. We passed these two women who were walking and they smiled at us as they passed, but by the time we approached them the second time around, Hanleigh had thrown up all over herself and the stroller and we were making a bee line to get back to the house. We passed those ladies again and they gave us all a double take with a look of disgust. Oops. It was pretty funny, though! Being a parent is never boring, that’s for sure! There’s always an adventure.
Brayden-isms
• Tomorrow is Dr. Suess’s birthday. I am having green eggs and ham and wearing my crazy Barcelona pants.
• When listening to “A Whole New World” from Aladdin, she said (annoyingly) “Ugh, it is NOT a whole new world” to which I said, “why not?”. She said, “Because, they are in the SAME world.”
• “So, mom, Olivia and I decided we are both wearing our Rapunzel panties tomorrow.” This is definitely taking coordinating outfits to a whole new level.
• After the half-marathon, Brayden asked, “Mama, did you win?” When I told her that I won in my heart, she wasn’t satisfied and couldn’t understand why I wasn’t the first the cross the finish line. I don’t think she was very impressed to say the least.
• Riding in the car one day, a lady pulled up next to us, smoking a cigarette. Brayden says, “Look, that lady has a smoker” and then very matter-of-fact, “Well, I guess she wants to die.”
• While watching American Idol one evening, she said (about Deandre), “I love his voice and I love his body.” While Trent and I were holding back laughs and trying not to make a big deal of her saying that, Trent said, “Really, Brayden?” to which she replied, “Ya!”. He then said, “Get outta here!”