tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359283872024-02-19T21:06:21.498-05:00The Olson FamilyMorganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.comBlogger494125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-3347543319835599322014-03-31T16:12:00.002-04:002014-03-31T16:12:16.558-04:00Joshua William Olson birth story... one year later!In honor of little Joshie's first birthday (that was a few weeks ago), I decided that I should finally get around to posting his birth story. Better late than never!!<br />
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So, way back in 2013, I had my last Dr. appointment on Friday March 8th. We decided that since this was my 4th kid, and my labors were fast AND my sister was getting married in a few weeks and I wanted to make sure that the baby would be at least 2 weeks old in order to fly- that I would go the hospital at 8:00am (when my Dr was on-call) and she would break my water. I was a little nervous about doing this... what if nothing happened when they broke my water? Which would be unlikely since that is essentially what happened with my last two babies... the labors were progressing slowly so they broke my water and BAM, baby born! :)<br />
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Well, all that night I was feeling nervous about it and hoping that I would just go into labor on my own. But at the same time, I was hoping that I wouldn't go into labor in the middle of the night, because I felt bad about making my Dr come in before her 8:00am call. I know, ridiculous. Well, as if on cue, right before I went to bed around 11:00pm, I started noticing regular contractions. Having experienced this for the last 4 weeks of my pregnancy, I wasn't too concerned. I can't even count how many times I was up all night timing contractions to see if they turned into something. So annoying! I had crazy amounts of false labor with this pregnancy. I hear it gets worse with each baby. Anyway, so of course I can't get to sleep. These are actually starting to feel a little more intense than normal (still not painful at all) but seeing as how I'd already gone to the hospital once before, sure that I was in labor only to be sent home, I was not about to go again unless I knew FOR SURE that it was the real thing. So I timed contractions. I've never really timed contractions super closely, but with my handy dandy app, it made it very easy to see if they were getting closer, longer, etc. Well, there really wasn't any rhyme or reason to them. Sometimes they were super close together (like 2 minutes) but they would be really short. Or they would be really long but farther apart. A few times I went like 5-10 minutes without having one, so I thought for sure these weren't real. Everyone always says, they will be consistent and start getting longer and more intense. Well, they were starting to get more intense (still not painful), but the patterns were throwing me off, so I still wasn't SURE. So dumb. Well around 3:00 am I finally had THE contraction that told me this was the real thing. It was super intense and the first one that I would call "painful". So, I finally went and woke Nate up and told him we needed to go to the hospital. We got everything together and went to wake up my mom to tell her that we were going to the hospital. I think the clock said 3:20am when we did that. As we walked out the building and down to Columbus to catch a cab, contractions were getting super intense and consistent. I could tell that I was heading into transition because I was feeling the slight urge push during my contractions, but when the contractions were over I felt fine, so I felt pretty confident that we would make it to the hospital in time. Of course, when we got to the hospital, I didn't realize that we had to enter through the ER entrance, so we had the cab driver pass that and go to the front only to find it locked, and we couldn't just go back because it was a one way street. :/ So I had to waddle my way back to the ER entrance.<br />
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We made our way up to labor and delivery and checked in at the triage desk. There happened to be one other lady waiting. I told the lady behind the desk that this was my 4th baby and that my labors go really fast and I felt like I was pretty far along. She told me I still needed to wait for the nurse. Geez. So since I couldn't sit I walked back and forth dealing with the contractions that were getting closer and closer. The other pregnant lady was calmly sitting in her seat. The nurse finally came out and asked which one she was taking back, the lady behind the desk told her that the other lady got there first but that I looked like I was further along in labor and that it was my 4th baby. The nurse asked the other mom which baby this was for her and she of course said, 4th. Come on! So they took her to a delivery room and took me into triage and told me to get dressed and give them a urine sample. I couldn't believe it. I was starting to get nervous that I was going to deliver in the nasty, dingy triage area. I managed to get dressed and give a urine sample, which I guess means I wasn't about to push the baby out right then, so that was good. I still had to wait a bit for the nurse to come check me. I kept pacing back and forth, and finally called out for the nurse to please hurry. In situations like this, I wish I were more forceful and vocal in labor. Then maybe they would take me seriously. She finally came and checked me and what do you know, I was at a 9. I told her that I go really fast and she said ok, we're taking you seriously now. Awesome, thanks. They hurried me to delivery where another nurse then proceeded to take her sweet time getting me hooked up and asking all sorts of ridiculous questions. After a few minutes I told her I needed to push and she said, "no , don't push, let me finish getting you checked in." Um, wow. After a couple more minutes, I started getting a little more vocal so she finally decided to check me and said "oh yeah, the head is right there. Ok, go ahead a push when you need to." Oh ok. Thanks lady. At this point the Dr and other nurses came in and a few minutes later, little baby Joshua was born. His time of birth was 4:03am. 43 minutes from when we woke up my mom.<br />
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I was so so grateful that despite it being a little frantic, we made it to a delivery room in time. I had nightmares about having to deliver a baby in a cab or on the subway. I knew that I had a hard time telling the difference between braxton hicks and my real labors, and I knew that once I could tell the difference, it meant I didn't have much time. So I barely made it, but I DID make it. AND I was able to go into labor on my own. It really worked out quite nicely. :)<br />
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After Joshie was born, he cried and cried. I nursed him on both sides but after like 15 minutes on each side, I took him off and he freaked out. I asked them if they had a pacifier I could give him, because he obviously just needed to suck on something, and they told me they don't have pacifiers because they don't encourage them. Oh my gosh. Give me a break people!! That was most definitely not the case the last time I had a baby at that hospital. So the poor thing just cried. I finally got him swaddled and calmed down after a bit. But this basically set the tone for the first few weeks of his life. He was a fussy little guy. He never did learn to take a binky. But once I stopped swaddling him, around 6 months, he used his thumb to soothe himself. By the time he was two months, he had turned into a happy little guy-just in time for our cross country adventures. He was a little fussy in the car rides, but he slept in the hotels like a champ. Once he started sleeping through the night around 2 months, he never turned back! He seriously NEVER wakes up in the middle of the night anymore. He is a dream sleeper.<br />
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We love this little guy so much. He is such a sweetheart, loves to watch his brothers and try to get involved in what they are doing. He loves to crawl around and touch everything, and pull himself up to see what's going on in the higher-up places. He loves to play with toys and eat real people food. He hates getting his diaper changed and getting dressed. He loves baths and water in general. He also loves to chew on things. I can't believe that he is one already! This year really has flown by, but I can't imagine our family without our little Joshie.<br />
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Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-29425950101899332982013-05-05T21:47:00.001-04:002013-05-05T22:04:18.951-04:00ChangeWell, I'm writing a blog post, so you know what that means... I have news! You know when you're in school and getting close to graduating and everyone asks you where you will end up, and you answer "we have no idea, it could literally be anywhere..."? Well, we finally have a legit answer to that question, which, to be honest, is still a little weird and surreal for me. But we are so excited for this next chapter of our lives. And that next chapter will be.... drum roll please....<br />
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Johnson City, TN!! For you geographically-challenged individuals (like me), that is in the north-east corner of TN, about 4 hours east of Nashville, an hour or so east of Knoxville, and close to the borders of Kentucky and North Carolina. Right near part of the Appalachian Trail. Yeah, it's pretty gorgeous, as you can imagine.<br />
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On Wednesday, May 1st, Nate was offered a tenure track professorship at East Tennessee State University, in the bluegrass, old time and country music studies program in the department of appalachian studies. Got that? ;) And yes, these things really exist. Just a little fun fact for you, this is the only school in the world that offers a major in bluegrass music. And Nate gets to teach there. He is crazy excited about this opportunity and we know that we have been incredibly blessed. The job, however, does not begin until August of 2014. So it's all a little anti-climatic. Except that it's not, because there is one more small piece of news...<br />
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We are leaving NYC in 26 days. <br />
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This has all happened very suddenly, as in, the last few days, and it is still kind of a shock to say that. But I am starting to come to terms with it, and as of today, have started to feel very peaceful about it. It's all kind of a long and dramatic story, but basically Nate's job situation was quite unbearable, so he quit this week. We knew this was coming, as he has to get his dissertation finished and needed the time to work on it, we just didn't expect it to happen this soon. But, he did what we both felt needed to be done and so now we have to leave this amazing (and very expensive) city. We have come to a point in our NY experience where I don't feel that we are really taking advantage of the city as much as we used to and as much as I'd like to, as it's just so hard to get around with 4 small kids and all. So while I am very sad to be parting with the city, as I do love it so SO much, what makes me that saddest is to be leaving the people that we have had the privilege of knowing and becoming close to over the last 5 years. They truly are like family, and it is seriously heart breaking to have to say good bye. Change is always hard for me, but even more so when I haven't had time to mentally and emotionally prepare. But like I said, we feel good about our decision, and I am slowly getting to a place where I don't want to break down and cry every time I talk, or even think, about it.<br />
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The boys are very excited to be moving on, although they are pretty bummed that we are not moving to TN quite yet. I told Asher that we would be in WA, close to his cousins for the summer, which made him very happy, and then I went on to say that we would be living in UT for the school year. He got all excited and asked if we would be doing "suburban living" (no idea where he learned that term...), I said no, we will probably be living in another apartment- and he was VERY upset. These kids are so ready for more space and a backyard. I feel so bad for them (and for myself ;) but I figure we can hang on for one more year. We are very happy to be able to be out west and closer to our families for this next year, before we head back east indefinitely. <br />
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So anyway... there is our news. We are so excited and definitely recognize Heavenly Father's hand in our lives. We have been so blessed over the last 5 years. I often feel unworthy of those blessings, but I am so grateful for them nonetheless. <br />
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Wish us luck on our next new adventure!!<br />
<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-41616104353154239802013-01-01T19:08:00.002-05:002013-01-01T19:08:40.340-05:00Happy New Year!!Yes. This is happening. I'm writing a blog post. Let's not dwell on how big a deal this is.<br />
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So we got back to NYC last night, just in time to ring in the New Year on the M60 bus from La Guardia airport to our apartment. It was actually quite fun and memorable. The best part about it, I was in a good mood and patient with my kids. That may not sound like a big deal, but seeing as how the first 30 minutes of our trip out of Spokane (yes, that means checking in at the airport and going through security and walking to our gate) was so incredibly trying that I honestly didn't think I would survive mentally... I was just so grateful to be feeling as happy and energized as I did at the end of the long process of getting home. I was even able to stay positive on our walk home from the bus stop, when Sayer was whining and crying the. entire. time. Poor thing was exhausted, but still... <br />
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In actuality, those first 30 minutes were the low point for me... Bart slept the entire first leg, and yes, we did have to book it to our connecting gate, which is hard when your 2 1/2 year old insists on pulling his own suitcase at a snailspace, but thankfully one of those little golf cart drivers saved the day and we got there in just a few minutes. But we were the last people on the plane, and people around us did not seem too happy that a family of 5 would be joining them. Especially when Bart started losing it. Thankfully, he pulled himself together for most of the flight. During this flight, I was so grateful for marriage... it was really interesting to see how Nate and I work together and compliment each other so nicely. At the beginning of the trip, I was losing it and he was totally calm and together. During the second leg of the flight, Nate was having a hard time with Bart, and I was the one that was calm and not stressed. I love that it works out like that so much of the time. <br />
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From this trip we learned: <br />
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- It is not worth the $50 we saved by not checking bags and having each kid pull their own carry-on. It was so crazy going through security and walking to our gates, getting on and off the planes (and don't forget we had a layover both ways) with so many kids and so many bags. Ugh. Awful. <br />
<br />- We are cheap. Well, Nate is. ;) I wanted to take a cab to and from the airport but Nate didn't want to, and let me tell you, SO much stress would have been eliminated if we would have just done that. It's not worth the time and energy it takes to walk to the bus stop with all our crap, and then wait for the bus in the cold, and then endure 45 minutes on a crowded bus trying to juggle our crap. <br />
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So next time- take cab. Check bags.<br />
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- I also decided that it's worth it to move back West just so we don't have to deal with flying with 3, soon to be 4, kids. It's so expensive and it's such. a. pain. But we will keep doing it because we miss our families :) <br />
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Which leads me to a more positive note, we got to spend Christmas with Nate's family. It was so great to be with everyone to celebrate, many of which we hadn't seen for about 2 years. To me holidays are about family and being with those that we love so it was a blessing to be able to be there. The boys had so much fun with their cousins. They also more than exceeded their quota of movies and Wii time for the entire year. I feel like they need a media detox. Oh well. If they play Wii a ton at grandma's once a year, I can live with that. We had a lot of fun in WA, but are so happy to be back in our cozy little apartment, and get back into a routine. Thank you to the Olsons and Caziers for hosting us and putting up with our noise and craziness. We love you all!!<br />
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I didn't take a ton of great pictures, but here are some from our wonderful Christmas of 2012:<br />
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Flight out to Spokane</div>
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These are so, so good.</div>
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Playing in the little bit of snow</div>
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Fun at the Mobius</div>
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It snowed a little bit more before we left for Pasco to stay with the Caziers. Spokane is so gorgeous when it snows.</div>
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Barty loved his cousin baby Gwenyth</div>
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Throwing pots with Papa...</div>
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Asher was pretty put out that he was not already a master at the wheel</div>
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Apparently it was loud</div>
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Of course every single one of my kids had to sit in the taxi strollers at the mall</div>
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Lizza made these adorable Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus nativities for each kid.</div>
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Christmas Eve...</div>
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All the gifts arranged in an aesthetically pleasing manner!!</div>
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The boys browsing the gifts on Christmas morning</div>
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Stockings</div>
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Waiting for everyone to wake up before we begin opening presents</div>
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Enjoying their loot!</div>
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Snack time with cousins</div>
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It turned out to be a white Christmas after all! Started snowing around noon and went all night. It was so pretty!</div>
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Three little snowmen that the boys made the next day. I thought they were so cute!</div>
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This was a very common sight. There is no shortage of ipads and iphones in the Olson family</div>
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Bathtime!</div>
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Asher threw up about 30 seconds after I took this picture. We had been in the car for about 5 minutes. Of course no family get together would be complete without some sort of stomach bug getting passed around. All 3 of my kids got it :/</div>
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New Years Eve on the M60 bus! Sayer fell asleep about 5 minutes after this picture. I practically had to drag him off the bus-he was NOT waking up.</div>
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Happy New Year!</div>
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Asher was clearly thrilled about a new year</div>
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One of these boys is a faker</div>
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Barty SO excited to be home!</div>
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<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-85989221053124420042012-09-15T11:19:00.004-04:002012-09-15T11:20:01.035-04:00A post. With thoughts (not deep ones) and news.Well, it's been awhile. It's funny, cuz I started this blog as a way to keep my friends and family updates on our lives, mostly our growing children and the things we do with them... you know, scrapbook worthy activities. But, it's those kinds of things that are just so not fun to blog about. No one really cares about them but me, and I really only want to document for our benefit, and they are always such tedious posts to write, what with all the pictures I have to upload, etc. So it is the very reason that I started this blog, that keeps me from blogging. Does that even make sense? But I <i>love</i> to write blog posts where I just blabber on about whatever is on my mind, or things that are actually fun and exciting in our lives. I need to do that more. Just cuz it's fun, and not necessarily because people actually like to read these posts. ;)<br />
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So here we go.<br />
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First off, I'm pregnant. Olson baby number four is on it's way and will arrive in early/mid March. Yep, there it is. We will have four kids in NYC. At least this time around, we have several large closets and even an office to choose from for it's sleeping arrangements. This, is fabulous news! The other good news is that we are one of 5 families in our ward expecting their 4th child, and there are already three families that currently have four children in the ward, so it helps me feel less crazy. Although, I'm sure I will still be made to feel insane plenty... I can just see myself juggling the three crazies on the subway, me large with child, and people thinking, "lady, what do you think you are doing?! You can't even keep these kids under control, how are you going to manage another one?!!!" They will think I am a menace to society. It will either be that scenario, or I will get the occasional, "God bless you!!" comments, which totally make my day. I've even gotten a few, "I think you are amazing" comments, which make me feel just that. Those are the good people. The other ones are just cranky New Yorkers who think they are the only ones that have the right to ride the subway. Kids, to them are the scum of society.<br />
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Anyway, we're very excited, if not a little bit nervous. We're excited to find out what gender the little munchkin will be. Probably in the beginning of October. Everyone keeps asking if I am hoping for a girl. It's a tough question actually. A girl would be fun. Different. It would take some time to wrap my brain around having a girl. I think I might be too mean to mother a sweet, innocent little girl. I'm a boy mom, and part of me kinda wants to keep it that way. I don't know why. Boys are fun. I know I make cute ones, as well as crazy ones, but mostly they are adorable and hilarious. I think it would be great to have four boys. But, there is that part of me that will always want a little girl. So whether it's this time, or next time (which will probably be the last), I would ultimately love that. But, I am completely fine having all boys. I have resigned myself to that possibility. So to sum it up, I'm fine with either. Asher really wants a little sister. He says we have enough brothers and is already calling it a her. So, we shall see.<br />
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Moving on.<br />
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I have been reading a lot of <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/">Pioneer Woman</a> these days, and it is her that has made me want to write a blog post. Partly because she kind of has the same, talk about random things-and just keep rambling on like I would-writing style, only she is funnier and wittier than I am. I like her. And I love her food. I have been scouring over her recipes and have tried several this week alone. They're good. Real good. This morning I found myself browsing her Christmas section. The sudden onset of cooler weather in NYC has made me feel like it's already fall. Time to bust out the pumpkin recipes and practice my pie crusts (because they need some serious, serious help). Time to make plans to visit an apple orchard and pumpkin patch. Time to start thinking about Thanksgiving dinner plans (mmmmm, gravy!!!). And best of all... time to start thinking about Christmas goodies, which scented candles I <i>need</i>, where I should put the Christmas tree and hang twinkly lights, how many times I will be able to get away with using my Christmas dishes and goblets, what I should make for Christmas dinner...? These are the kinds of important question I'm asking myself this morning. Too soon you say? Possibly. But I just love October-December, and I don't intend to waste a moment of it. And now that I actually have a decent sized kitchen, and since I am most definitely NOT doing a fall fitness challenge, I have grand plans to bake my little heart out this season. And if I haven't mastered pie crusts by the end of winter... well, I don't know what. I will be bummed.<br />
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So there you have it. This is what I am up to these days. Growing a baby, and dreaming of all the different things I can cook and bake this fall/winter season. That and schlepping my kids to and from school everyday. On the days that I take the kids to school, I walk about a mile from our house, to Asher's school, and then to Sayer's. Yesterday Sayer whined and cried the entire mile. It was so great. Sayer is in a half-day pre-k program from 8:00 to 10:45am. So on the weeks that I pick him, along with two other boys up (carpool baby! just without the car), I end up walking around 2-3 miles, depending on what I do with myself in-between. It's good, since I need the exercise and the weather is so nice. But it's kind of exhausting. I find myself needing a nap every afternoon, which makes me feel lame and out of shape and old. I try to remind myself that I'm pregnant, but still... Oh well, I'll get over it. <br />
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Oh! I am also getting super pumped for all of my shows to start back up. I won't tell you which ones, because you might judge me, but it is all very exciting!<br />
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That is all. Next time I'll post a bunch of pictures to make up for the lack of them this time. Until then...Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-63025763123774801242012-06-27T15:23:00.002-04:002012-06-27T15:32:22.410-04:00While Nate was away...Nate was a way in Michigan last week presenting at a conference, because he's awesome and smart like that. While he was gone, I made the most of my alone time in the evening and worked on a project that I have been so excited about for quite some time.<br />
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Let me start by saying that I have pretty much come to terms with the fact that I am not a creative person. I basically have zero original ideas. I don't have that gift of being able to look at something and see beyond it to what it could be. But... I <i>am</i> pretty good at looking at other people's creative ideas and saying "yeah, I like that". I am also pretty good at following step-by-step instructions on how to recreate that idea.<br />
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A while back while browsing Pinterest, I came across <a href="http://tatertotsandjello.com/2012/03/family-picture-gallery-wall-reveal.html">this</a> photo wall and fell in love.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHU96a7ZiCI0R_H2Y7a3M0zChJnsGz6EnwwipdBNojomwHvbF4DfkXzDvx-kbPcbTqRIvTxHQy6TQl4k79Enbt5PF4cZdlSTYanESDAuCun3yRwzyDGwsD2kfsAhwv1iQw4fE6hg/s1600/family-picture-wall-hall-yellow1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHU96a7ZiCI0R_H2Y7a3M0zChJnsGz6EnwwipdBNojomwHvbF4DfkXzDvx-kbPcbTqRIvTxHQy6TQl4k79Enbt5PF4cZdlSTYanESDAuCun3yRwzyDGwsD2kfsAhwv1iQw4fE6hg/s640/family-picture-wall-hall-yellow1.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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With everything from the scalloped frames to the yellow painted table. I started to think, "I could totally do that with a cute dresser and use it for art storage, and then use the frames to display the kids' art" So I started browsing the web for images of yellow dressers to copy and came across this one:<br />
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I. Fell. In. Love. It just spoke to me and I knew I had to have it. I thought about just buying it from the <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/minthome?page=2">Etsy shop</a> that was selling it. It wasn't <i>that</i> expensive, but it was in Chicago and shipping was way too steep for me. So I started to think, well, maybe I could do this myself. But space was an issue, and I didn't know if I could do something like this in my apartment, or if I would have to go to a friend's in Westchester to do it. I worked it out with a friend to do it at her house just in case. I started searching the web for tutorials, and found so many different options, it was overwhelming. How was I supposed to know which one was the best method? The most fool proof? If it was going to give me the look I wanted? I had been convo-ing the shop owner and decided to be brave and ask her how she did it, knowing that this was her creation and thinking she probably didn't want tons of people just copying her ideas. Thankfully, she was generous enough to suggest a link for a <a href="http://www.designsponge.com/2010/08/before-and-after-basics-painting-furniture.html">tutorial</a> and she even gave me the exact brand and color of paint she used (Solar Fusion by Behr). So nice. Then I started scouring Craigslist and E-bay to find the perfect dresser at the perfect price. I was pretty picky, (I really just wanted something that looked <i>exactly</i> like the one in the picture, was this too much to ask?!?) so it took a while to find one.<br />
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But find one I did. It was <i>exactly</i> what I wanted, but I still really liked it. I found it on Craigslist, for $20! Hard to beat that. It took us forever to coordinate a time to go and pick it up <i>all the way</i> over on the upper east side, and when we finally did, I was a little disheartened by the shape it was in... the drawers were falling apart, and there were quite a few chipped areas that were going to need to be patched. But for $20, I figured I could make it work. I took it home (after deciding that since I wasn't using spray paint, I could make it work in our new apartment) and got to work wood gluing and nailing the drawers together, sanding and cleaning it and patching up all the bad areas with wood filler, and sanding some more. Fixing the drawers ended up being the easiest and fastest part of the whole thing. All of this was over the course of a couple weeks. Finally it was ready to paint.<br />
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Before:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDmrOP5j2cv82t87nhxCLiHxL_XjFvynOZtoSMb1c9kCcw5w0mhsYAN8Ml6_U2NRFQAONMNfnyqkRLfnH_AIUATabFQVzPTKAjVZO4VEFejYSIIcF-t0g-piDMs-2xh-XOFbXzPA/s1600/IMG_1828.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDmrOP5j2cv82t87nhxCLiHxL_XjFvynOZtoSMb1c9kCcw5w0mhsYAN8Ml6_U2NRFQAONMNfnyqkRLfnH_AIUATabFQVzPTKAjVZO4VEFejYSIIcF-t0g-piDMs-2xh-XOFbXzPA/s640/IMG_1828.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeqEebFWiGpaGWB3JYerDDRIw_tjJAa-U5T3g-nddXxRp2LD3i2k-B_k5ETi-083alan78J5BpBUpnfFqG_9LlJgupoigp6RvGaEJjk3s0UGPkye-SuwAYGbnMetDLmStSDBaVpQ/s1600/IMG_1839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeqEebFWiGpaGWB3JYerDDRIw_tjJAa-U5T3g-nddXxRp2LD3i2k-B_k5ETi-083alan78J5BpBUpnfFqG_9LlJgupoigp6RvGaEJjk3s0UGPkye-SuwAYGbnMetDLmStSDBaVpQ/s640/IMG_1839.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice the huge ugly gouge on the top left had corner?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTWiJHDzStI7eDoCDorrI0m-1emvHoojnnmgJvIPhwD8pZf_it9ng_fw7qqzKGbYRP1bk5VINVTuWvW4e-Xuawc9mz1uV561qnQXQLEP42M2K2OXxeuyK5XIl_rojns6KabKkCg/s1600/IMG_1840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTWiJHDzStI7eDoCDorrI0m-1emvHoojnnmgJvIPhwD8pZf_it9ng_fw7qqzKGbYRP1bk5VINVTuWvW4e-Xuawc9mz1uV561qnQXQLEP42M2K2OXxeuyK5XIl_rojns6KabKkCg/s640/IMG_1840.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pieces of veneer that were missing and needed to be filled.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidelmhKlapiDvDY9mpEGSD6MvmoC1orXe3p-KyvlWzmnRM-RchjGOsDnoLeg7Mx0btbKxA4S7V2xlrQ8Y1Zkt4gq52_0wQwl6ddYPF8_Kk5FDT24UabcVFnFWgVkX7DqtDSuDXyw/s1600/IMG_1841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidelmhKlapiDvDY9mpEGSD6MvmoC1orXe3p-KyvlWzmnRM-RchjGOsDnoLeg7Mx0btbKxA4S7V2xlrQ8Y1Zkt4gq52_0wQwl6ddYPF8_Kk5FDT24UabcVFnFWgVkX7DqtDSuDXyw/s640/IMG_1841.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The huge gouge, nice and smooth!</td></tr>
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I waited until the kids were in bed and got to it. Of course it took me way longer than I thought it would, and my back was killing by the time I was done, and I wasn't even "done" yet. I let it dry overnight and in the morning I got to work on sanding and distressing it, which was the part I was most nervous about... I had no idea what to expect. It actually ended up being the funnest part. I loved sanding it and having the paint come off where it naturally would, and then on the areas that I wanted a little more wear, I went back and put a little more elbow grease into it. I was surprised by how much the sanding changed the paint color, but in a good way. It made it look less "crafty" and homemade, and it made the paint look less thick. After a few texts to my mom and sisters to make sure the sanding looked just right, I did the stain, which I was a little nervous about too. But I decided to trust the tutorial lady, who said that this is the step that most people miss, that really makes it look amazing. So I painted it on, wiped it off, and voila! It <i>did</i> look amazing! I couldn't believe what a difference it made, especially on the sanded edges, it really made them pop. It does change the color of the paint a little bit, but again, in a good way. It gives it more character and depth and really makes is look like it's been worn over a long period of time. I seriously love it. I still can't get over how good it looks. I feel like a total professional! ;)<br />
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After:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFQkLCHs32YN467kFcWfrdM-sFn0VbuQU-bfdxjiuJhIVVeX1hXmsgACJqdbPxVcyUDZSzUljKLd0i2RZB4-YdLp5CgKa9QeUzEBva47ic4oktNywBo92oKBGccqa0_6fggGkQhQ/s1600/IMG_1964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFQkLCHs32YN467kFcWfrdM-sFn0VbuQU-bfdxjiuJhIVVeX1hXmsgACJqdbPxVcyUDZSzUljKLd0i2RZB4-YdLp5CgKa9QeUzEBva47ic4oktNywBo92oKBGccqa0_6fggGkQhQ/s640/IMG_1964.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After a little distressing. I actually did quite a bit more after this before I put the final stain on.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the family room area. I love the brightness it adds to the room. This was before I stained it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The night I finished. Terrible lighting, but I couldn't wait to see what it looked like with stuff on it. :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR4C9HH2Qpoewq8FCXThZZVF_ZgxVOjWvG3V3u52-AyYii_VHq5k8VKG8L-T1ZrP-u2tTdRVfQxb-ZHmBPkqSsJmOBjW7D_9u680So7w_i-CS2vx6bjCTbcqj4ODS9Vww9YK04IQ/s1600/IMG_1977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR4C9HH2Qpoewq8FCXThZZVF_ZgxVOjWvG3V3u52-AyYii_VHq5k8VKG8L-T1ZrP-u2tTdRVfQxb-ZHmBPkqSsJmOBjW7D_9u680So7w_i-CS2vx6bjCTbcqj4ODS9Vww9YK04IQ/s640/IMG_1977.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still not the best light, and the right side is kind of blurry, (sorry these are all iphone pics) and Barty messed with the handles before I tightened them... But this is closer to the true color.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlazy6ZKjz8maeaC7fjabpNA7I-JdH6WQ0_uzEYqGwjcoVYEjWvCj1BMlp8vr0UZcH_wgfVU938GEuC0kxeE1CIqWd3phLAxXRzpWtSXeMYZn9TZFhmDS6yYAjdEBPnwSAc_CuJQ/s1600/IMG_1978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlazy6ZKjz8maeaC7fjabpNA7I-JdH6WQ0_uzEYqGwjcoVYEjWvCj1BMlp8vr0UZcH_wgfVU938GEuC0kxeE1CIqWd3phLAxXRzpWtSXeMYZn9TZFhmDS6yYAjdEBPnwSAc_CuJQ/s640/IMG_1978.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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It just makes me so happy! And all for about $60. Not bad at all!!</div>
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I asked Asher if he liked my new dresser and he said "no, I don't like how it's all old, I only like it new", as in before I distressed it. Well I like it, and that's all that matters. ;) I actually did go back and forth on whether or not to distress it, because I really do love the nice clean look as well, but I really had my heart set on having a weathered look for this piece, and I am so happy with how it turned out. </div>
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The frames are coming along, but I keep changing my mind about how I want it to look and what I want to put on the dresser, but it's almost there. I will post a picture when it's all done. </div>
<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-87339854790893487552012-05-29T14:56:00.000-04:002012-05-29T14:56:28.657-04:00Some thoughts on mothering...<i>**I started writing this post on Mother's Day, and am just now finishing it, but I still really wanted to share it.** </i><br />
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I have had a wonderful Mother's Day today. Not because I had breakfast in bed (because I didn't), or because I had the day off to relax and do nothing (because I didn't), or because I got flowers (because, again, I didn't), but because I mothered, and I enjoyed it. Loved it, actually. I always love being a mother, but in all honesty, sometimes it's hard to find joy in the everyday ins and outs of mothering, but today I felt it. A lot. And it made me happy.<br />
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I read books, got on the floor and played with and tickled my boys, I talked to my boys, I hugged and kissed them, and sang with them, and laughed with them. It wasn't a perfect day behavior-wise, but I didn't mind, because these boys I have are amazing, they're mine, I love them, and guess what? <i>They love me</i>!!!! They really do, and today I felt it.<br />
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Lately, I've been feeling inadequate as a mother. Shocking, I know. I am pretty sure that every single mother in the world feels this way at one point or another. Well, lately, I've been feeling it all. of. the. time. Like, every single day I feel bad about myself. The other day I saw my friend on the subway when I was out by myself for a couple hours, and I said something like: "I feel like I am never doing enough as a mother. Am I just going to feel like this forever?" I can't really remember what she said in response, but I remember that it gave me the impression that she didn't feel this way all of the time, which instead of making me feel jealous, made me feel hopeful, and made me think about what I could do to not feel this way.<br />
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One of the things that I think about a lot in regards to my children, is what I do with them every day. The activities we do, or rather don't do, especially when we are at home. I beat myself up so much about not home-schooling them, or not doing lots of crafts or creative activities with them, when in reality, none of those things really appeal to me, and when I do them with my kids, it's not usually fun for any of us. They last about 5 minutes with a craft and while home-schooling sounds so great in theory, when it comes down to it, it actually just sounds really horrible.<br />
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I think part of it is that I feel like if I'm not busy busy busy, all day long, then it means I'm not doing a good job as a mom. But I am starting to realize that that is just not true at all. That it's often in those calm moments, that we experience the most joy and fulfillment with our children. I tried it out a little bit this last week, where I tried to "just be" as a mom... snuggling and talking with my kids more, listening to music with them, saying "yes" to reading a book with them more often, giving them {real} hugs when they ask for them, pausing to give them a kiss and say "I love you"... they're all really natural and simple things. I'm not forcing it, I'm really just following my kids' leads, doing the kinds of things that they want to do. And you know what I realized? Pretty much all they want to do is be near me. Sometimes they want me to do something with or for them, but a lot of times they just want to sit next to me or be in the same room with me. It's a simple thing, but it clearly means a lot to them. I have found that Sayer becomes quickly agitated and upset when I don't answer him right away, or do the thing that he has asked me to do 5 times already, because he has learned that that is what he has to do, to get me to do the thing he has asked me to do. Often because I'm distracted doing something unimportant. They just need attention and acknowledgment, and not even constantly, if we give it to them consistently. This week, while I was trying to "just be", Sayer was so much more calm and happy, because he felt loved. We did fun things spontaneously, because I wanted to do them. And you know what? It was fun! For <i>both</i> of us! Then it clicked (after only 5 and a half years of being a mom)... that the things I do a lot of with my kids, should be things that we enjoy! (duh) It doesn't have to be what everyone else is doing. It doesn't have to be crafts (thank goodness--I think I genuinely used to enjoy crafts, but living in NYC has changed that. It's because of the domino-effect that happens whenever we have to get to something that is tucked away in a cupboard or drawer... you move one thing and it makes everything else fall... this is what happens with my craft supplies)! It doesn't have to take a lot of preparation or require a lot of supplies. For me and my kids, it means saying "yes" more to the things they ask to do with me, like pouring and stirring ingredients into a bowl, even if it means that it will take a little bit longer, and require a little bit more clean up. I know it sounds simple and silly, but I can't tell you how much peace I felt when I finally had this realization... that we each, as mothers, need to find the things that we are good at, that we enjoy doing, and that they enjoy doing, and do those things with our kids. <br />
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I read a really wonderful<a href="http://www.lds.org/ensign/1987/10/one-thing-needful-becoming-women-of-greater-faith-in-christ"> talk by Patricia Holland</a> on Sunday (Mother's Day), that I gained a lot of insight from. It basically talks about finding our "inner divinity", or what makes us individuals and unique and special in God's eyes, and moving forward with that, instead of getting down on ourselves for the things that we are maybe not as good at, or don't enjoy. She gives a series of steps to implement in our lives to reach that "inner stillness", where we can feel confident in ourselves, and as a result of that, be able to be genuinely happy when other women accomplish things in areas where maybe we haven't. There was really so much to it that I couldn't possibly do it justice, but it was a great article and I highly recommend it. I have continued to think about it a lot during these 2 weeks since I have read it.<br />
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I love being a mother, and am so, <i>SO</i> grateful for the many ways that it has pushed me and made me take good, hard looks at myself, and has basically forced me to learn and grow. Our children are such blessings in mine and Nate's lives and I feel incredibly blessed to be intrusted with them. It really is such a gift that I often take for granted, which is something I am working on improving everyday. <br />
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I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day and were able to cherish your little loves. Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-63170064488817400642012-05-22T11:02:00.000-04:002012-05-22T11:02:44.440-04:00Guess what?!!<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>The title of this post is meant to be read in a high-pitched sing-songy voice, fyi.</i></b></div>
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I have a bad habit of waiting to post good news. I don't know why. I think I'm saving it up or something, like for a special day. Well, that's stupid, and this morning I just felt like shouting it to the cyber world, because, well, it's super exciting...</div>
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We. Are. Moving!!!</div>
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Yep, moving up in the world. We will be saying goodbye to our pathetic 500 square foot apartment that we have been squeezing into for the last {almost} 4 years and will be saying hello to a glorious 3 bedroom apartment. I wish I knew the square footage, but don't worry, I will probably measure it when I get there, in less than 2 weeks! Honestly I wish it were tomorrow. I would gladly pull an all-night-er packing if it meant that I could get out of this hell hole. Yeah, that's a little dramatic, I know, but that is honestly how I feel right now. Our apartment looks like this</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvSUW74us-5cM_kGDO97PEpa1aAVNWfISmR2Lu_HKpo-UsHl0cC3jBo5PkvWKbtvb7amwO93G_TouTI6DOnlPFxsDgVm5j71_WhqxCjZk9diHTIHoRKsHK6EXW5Exsfnf86xeow/s1600/IMG_1663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvSUW74us-5cM_kGDO97PEpa1aAVNWfISmR2Lu_HKpo-UsHl0cC3jBo5PkvWKbtvb7amwO93G_TouTI6DOnlPFxsDgVm5j71_WhqxCjZk9diHTIHoRKsHK6EXW5Exsfnf86xeow/s320/IMG_1663.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We can barely walk in our front door. I did finally get rid of that huge box, though.]</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGE4KXDRoZFl6UW5M4DK-sBL2B5uhZO-4_ykMuS5ns959OA9b4DWeWTa8qyZls-ml-XYhNnnTB_IWhsoUnEjAA2fq-Tyo0mnFsIHBUsAn5dOaMJSKsSBitzY1bevwQBuCWkc4g9Q/s1600/IMG_1664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGE4KXDRoZFl6UW5M4DK-sBL2B5uhZO-4_ykMuS5ns959OA9b4DWeWTa8qyZls-ml-XYhNnnTB_IWhsoUnEjAA2fq-Tyo0mnFsIHBUsAn5dOaMJSKsSBitzY1bevwQBuCWkc4g9Q/s320/IMG_1664.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're grateful for all of the free boxes our friends gave us, but it is ridiculous how much space they take up!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTOittUZtVWSMW7rhQPMCRYAkYD-DkbsJvdQ3wxX8G9hDCULc3ZQLygCIPz-nx-DcGQvmA3RwPKk9SEJmbddCN1JZMFuZQUUrPtsaSyvWrumO13w870kFs8cOq8qKTyp57oU0vQ/s1600/IMG_1665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTOittUZtVWSMW7rhQPMCRYAkYD-DkbsJvdQ3wxX8G9hDCULc3ZQLygCIPz-nx-DcGQvmA3RwPKk9SEJmbddCN1JZMFuZQUUrPtsaSyvWrumO13w870kFs8cOq8qKTyp57oU0vQ/s320/IMG_1665.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This actually doesn't look that bad. It usually looks worse.</td></tr>
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It's more than a little bit ridiculous. We can't get into the desk or closet in our bedroom and we have to move things to get into bed at night. I want to start packing right this second, but am worried about where we are going to put all the boxes. There is honestly not a single ounce of extra space. Maybe once I get things a little more cleaned up it won't be so bad, but it's overwhelming to think about cleaning when there is just no where to put anything. I think I'm going to start today though, just because I know packing always takes way longer than I think it will, and plus, I think it will help make the next week and a half go by a little quicker if I'm actually working towards my goal. </div>
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So for those of you who don't know, Nate got a job here in the city. He is working with the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation, as kind of a project manager, I guess. They are working on getting a text book out on the history of rock and roll. Pretty cool. The project is supposed to be about 2 years, so we {I} are hoping to time the ending of this job with the finishing of his dissertation perfectly. :) We had been back and forth about leaving the city this summer to live in UT for the duration of Nate's dissertation writing, but then a few job opportunities popped up and we started to feel like leaving the city wasn't the right thing to do. But our apartment has been just awful for awhile now, and I was feeling like I couldn't take it anymore {which was one of the reasons we were thinking about moving to UT}. Our building is closing down next summer for renovations {which are <i>badly</i> needed} so we were going to move into a different apartment in the building- which would give us a change of scenery and a little more open-ness- for a year and then figure out where to go after that. But one day a few weeks ago, I felt like I should go apply for the waiting list to a building that a few families in our ward live in. They called me back shortly after to say that they couldn't give us a two bedroom because we had too many people and the waiting list was 2-3 years long, <b><i>but</i></b>, they had a 3 bedroom that they could offer us at a discounted rate, due to our income. Um... ok?! It all fell into place really quickly, we went and looked at it an hour later and said we wanted it right on the spot. I couldn't believe how nice it was... real hardwood floors, lots of light, a normal layout, renovated bathrooms {1 1/2 baths!} and kitchen {with the fridge <b><i>IN</i></b> the kitchen!!!!}, 2 {2!!!} walk-in closets! That is pretty hard {impossible} to come by in the city, at least when you're looking in our price range. There are also closets in the hallway and in all the bedrooms. We were still a little nervous about taking the apartment, as it is more expensive, and things are going to be tight, but we feel good about the decision and are hoping and praying that things will continue to work out. </div>
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Honestly, part of me still can't believe that we are going to have all these things in just a short time. Living in a tiny, cluttered apartment with a teensy kitchen makes you a different kind of mother. At least it has made me a different mother than I thought I would be. I realize that subconsciously, I made a choice to let some of those things go, because it was just easier, but still, the fact remains that the space we live in makes things harder, especially when you have 3 <b><i>crazy</i></b> {seriously, they're crazy} boys right under your feet all the time. I am really looking forward to having the space to be organized and uncluttered, and a kitchen that will help me be inspired to cook, instead of inducing anxiety every time I think about cooking a meal in there. We will have space to put our nice new table along with chairs and a bench so that our entire family can sit down together for a meal at the same time. I can count on both my hands the number of times we have had a family meal together, just because we don't have the space for it. It makes me sad. I know that things are not going to change over night, but I do know that it is going to help inspire me to be better. I'm not really going to have any excuses anymore, so now is the time to start making changes and building habits that will hopefully last a long time. </div>
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So yeah. Just wanted to share that exciting news!!</div>Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-20466473433561967682012-05-01T15:19:00.000-04:002012-05-01T15:19:27.085-04:00It takes a village...I have a son, and his name is Asher. He is a very sweet, smart, energetic, fun, happy and curious little boy. He loves people, birds, penguins, playing outside, imagining, playing with toys, reading books, his brothers, chocolate, pasta, bread, playing in the water, watching shows about volcanoes and other natural phenomenons, potty talk, laughing, moving and jumping {a lot}, and so much more. <br />
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I love him <i>so</i> much!<br />
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But he is <i>hard</i>. It is a constant battle trying to figure out what to do with him, depending on what his current behavior is. To be fair, for every rough patch, there has been a period of calm where he is thriving, being considerate and rational, and just a complete joy. He really is a sweet and happy kid, he also just happens to have an iron will and seems to be determined to prove to me and everyone else that he is going to do what he wants, when he wants, and apparently, there is not a thing that we can do about it. The biggest problem right now is school. He has been giving his teachers a run for their money for 2 or 3 weeks now- being defiant about the rules and not seeming to care about any consequences that he may receive, or even caring that he is being rude and disrespectful to his teachers, whom he loves very much, I might add. He doesn't seem to have regard for anyone's feelings but his own. He's being purely selfish. He's gone through phases like this at home as well, where nothing we do or say gets through to him. At this point, he definitely understands what he is doing wrong- he <i>knows</i> how to behave in school, he <i>knows</i> what's going to happen if he doesn't, yet he doesn't care- he does it anyway. I feel like we have tried everything... ignoring bad behavior, giving major consequences consistently, positive consequences for good behavior, a loving and positive approach where we are working with him calmly and giving him chances to fix bad choices, talking and reasoning with him, explaining rules and why we have them, etc etc. I've got his teachers calling me pretty much everyday, telling me his bad behavior and having me talk to him, talking to me after school... I talk to them, brainstorm ideas, tell them a little about my experiences with this, but ultimately I look at them and tell them honestly: "I'm so sorry, but I'm not really sure what to do about this." Because I don't. I don't have the answer. Do we just shrug it off, tell him we love him and tell him to work harder tomorrow and give him positive encouragement? Should we be completely hard core and throw everything we've got at him? Part of me thinks we should... he has got to learn that his behavior is not ok and that he is not in charge, at school or at home, and maybe consequence after consequence is the way to do that {although, it hasn't been working so far}. But on the other hand, he's 5. He's a boy. An active boy who loves to run around and be silly and have fun, and both his teacher and I agree that we don't want to squash that. And lets be honest, a 30 minute lunch/recess is not exactly cutting it for an 8 hour day. Even I got more breaks than that when I was working full time. It actually breaks my heart at the thought of a 5 year old little boy not being able to go to recess, participate in fun events at school, and even at home, as that is part of his consequence for being on red at school. Should life be so tough for such a little kid? What keeps coming to my mind as I am typing this is "moderation in all things", and balance.<br />
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We thought we had a breakthrough yesterday. His teachers gave him lots of positive reinforcement, no negative attention, and he worked really hard and had a great day. But then today, both his science teacher and his classroom teachers called me because he is back to being defiant and not caring at all. He has to stay after school today and then I have to go meet with his science teacher (who in my opinion is a little too hard core) and she is going to tell me everything that he is doing and then look at me and expect me to be able to whip him into shape. Sorry lady, wish I could. Believe me.<br />
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To be honest, I'm starting to think that the answer might be to switch schools. I have really loved Harlem Success for so many reasons... their method of teaching seems to be top notch and Asher has genuinely seemed to love it there, and I love, love, love his teacher. He has learned so, so much and has had fun doing it. <i>But</i> I often feel like their behavioral expectations for these little kids borders on unreasonable. Especially considering the fact that it is such a long day and they only get one 30 minute break, which gets taken away from them if they are on red. He has had rough patches here and there throughout the year, but for the most part he has done really well, and it's just been these last few weeks that he has really gotten out of control. It's a tough call. Something to think about.<br />
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I'm definitely thinking about it and praying about it, talking to people about it, and I would love to hear about your experiences with this. Have you had a child that struggles complying with rules in school? What have you done to remedy the situation and encourage them to work hard and do their best and to respect rules and teachers? Please, I could use all the help I can get!Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-42235518730093425062012-04-30T15:21:00.000-04:002012-04-30T15:27:55.490-04:00Rock N Roll DC MarathonSo, I ran another marathon... but this time I ran it with my family! My dad, Whit, Ben, Jill, Hailey and I all ran it together, which makes this family marathon #2! (Click <a href="http://nateolsonfamily.blogspot.com/2007/05/we-did-it.html">here</a> for family marathon #1 memories!) Most of us split up, but we were all running the race at the same time. :) Ben and I were each by ourselves as we had goal times that we wanted to reach, then Whit and Jill stuck together and my dad and Hailey stuck together.<br />
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Since I know the suspense is killing you, I'll tell you, I didn't reach my goal time. :( I was going for my sub-four hour time, and was on course to get it until about mile 16 when I had to stop due to something I couldn't control. Without going into too much detail, I will say that around mile 5 or 6 I started having some 'girl troubles'. Just imagine the worst thing you can imagine happening and that is what happened. Yeah, it wasn't pretty. I tried really hard not to care and just keep on moving because I <i>really</i> wanted that time. I would stop here and there at the water stations to try and keep things under control, but it never really made a difference, just started eating away at my time. I made it to about mile 16 <i>'not caring'</i>, but then I just <i>had</i> to stop and take care of things. I was in the bathroom for about 5 minutes, and kept looking at my watch and seeing my average pace climb and climb and climb. I kept thinking, 'it's ok, I can make it up, I'll just book it when I get out of here', and when I got out I was feeling so good and refreshed that I really thought I could. But then after a little bit, I noticed that my stop didn't really do much to solve the problem. :/ About a mile later I saw a Med Station so I stopped again for some necessities- this may or may not have involved hiding behind an ambulance- which cut another few minutes off my time. I finally got back out on the course and was feeling great- for about a mile. This was around mile 18 and 19, and I was trying to speed up, but it just so happened that there were, not only some pretty good hills, but we were also completely out in the open, with not a cloud in the sky, and the temp was getting close to 80, which after training through the winter, was really killing me. I was pretty much dying at this point. I reached the top of a particularly brutal hill around mile 19 and I turned a corner and there was Nate and the boys! He said they had <i>just</i> made it there minutes before and thought they had missed me. Well, if I had been on pace, they would have. I just stopped for a few seconds to give hugs and tell them that I was "dying" and then kept on moving, but it was so wonderful to see them. It's what kept me moving up to that point, as I knew they were going to try and come around mile 20.<br />
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Oh yeah, the other really annoying thing about this course was that they had these turn-around/out and back points, so you would be going one direction, and then on the other side of the road you would see all these runners that had already turned around, heading towards us. I saw Whit and Jill on these things twice, after I had already turned around. Once around mile 18, then again around mile 22 or 23 (that was a particularly bad one- you couldn't even <i>see</i> where it turned around it was so far away). That's how I knew that I was too far behind to catch up. Whit and Jill were hoping for under 4:30 I think, so since they were probably only about a mile or so behind me, things weren't looking good for me. But I just kept going and tried to go as fast as I could, which wasn't fast- my legs were done, my left hip had been bothering me since about mile 3, and it was so so hot- I poured water on my head every chance I got (I did not look pretty!), stopped at med stations for ice or water or whatever I could get. I was even carrying my handheld water bottle, but warm gatorade was just not cutting it. <br />
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The other really awful thing about the race, was that there wasn't a water station after mile 24!! We were on a highway ramp or overpass thing, so totally exposed to the sun, it was SO hot and we had NO water! I was counting on that last water stop at mile 25, so I just kept going and going and going thinking it was going to be there any second, until I realized that it wasn't there. By this point I figured I needed to just power through and get to the finish line as fast as I could, so I wouldn't let myself stop at all. It never ceases to amaze me how hard and long that final half mile is. It was so brutal, especially when you can SEE the finish line but it is still so far away and it just feels like you are never going to get there. But get there I did, and I was simply elated. It's like this- you cross the finish line and you think: 'wait, you mean I can actually stop?! Like, for reals?!' It'd be hard to find a better feeling. Except for the ending of childbirth, as I've mentioned before. Except at the end of childbirth you have a baby, and after a marathon, all you get is a medal! ;)<br />
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I came in at 4 hours, 23 minutes and 27 seconds. I was pretty bummed, but seeing as how there wasn't much I could do about, like, 10 minutes of that time, I decided that I was just happy that I finished at all. I kinda don't think I would've gotten my time anyway, because the heat was just killing me, but who knows, if I was closer and thought I had a chance, maybe I could've kicked it into gear those last few miles. Oh well, we will never know, and that is just fine. Ben was there when I crossed the finish line, and he missed his time as well because of the heat, even though he still did pretty amazing. I think he finished in 3:42. We waited around for Whit and Jill to finish and I think they came in around 4:39. We all chatted and headed to find the fam. We waited awhile for Hailey and my dad to come in, and during that time I got to go <i>really</i> clean up and change which felt so wonderful!!!<br />
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Hailey and my dad came in around 5:25. Hailey was really struggling on the course and around mile 17 wanted to call it quits, but after a blessing from my dad, she hung in there like a <b>rockstar</b>, took it one step at a time, and made it to the finish line. I know what it feels like to be out on the course and wonder why you are doing this to yourself, and just want to quit. It can be such an overwhelming feeling, and I am so proud of her for pushing through! She said that it was still so, so hard, but after the blessing, she knew she had it in her. She is truly an inspiration to me!<br />
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After the race we headed over to Jill's to shower really fast and then we hit the road right away to head back to Williamsburg, where we were having a little family vacation. We stopped at Taco Bell of all places on the way home. The only Taco Bells in the city are far from us, so we never get to go there, which is sad, because I love Taco Bell! I actually felt really great post-race, aside from my hip and legs being shot. But my stomach didn't bother me at all like it did after NY. So weird. <br />
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Overall, it was quite the experience. It's definitely not how I thought my race would go down when I woke up that morning, but it does make a pretty great story. :) It was so great to experience it with my family. I loved talking about the race with them and seeing how different and personal each of our experiences were. No matter what, marathons are pretty amazing experiences. However, I think it will be 2 or 3 years before the next one! :)Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-31470295151112563832012-04-29T19:51:00.000-04:002012-04-30T08:11:28.705-04:00Christmas in Sacramento<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We had a wonderful Christmas with my family in Sacramento this year. I headed out with Bart and Sayer about a week before Nate and Asher, which was fun, but the real party started when everyone got there! It was so great to be with all of my family in my parents new house, eating good food, playing Wii Just Dance, watching movies (I successfully converted my family to Downton Abby!), talking and laughing about who knows what, the little cousins having a blast together, heading over to the school behind my parents house with the kids, family training runs, shopping, wrapping presents, hosting parties, bowling, outings to the zoo and fairytale town, eating out, the Railroad Museum, parks, and so much more. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4WqbSY6ebjO7_kVDDDjn75a2ZBm55GeKMd0sD4s9XTZHo7b47oqSiM5x1YZtqop4ZI8DjotQ90azsTqDp_DYZumcNDNrTeUVj6s3Q70DmztFJdU5cL_zGI_r-N8WPkVGVzg6c4w/s1600/Christmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4WqbSY6ebjO7_kVDDDjn75a2ZBm55GeKMd0sD4s9XTZHo7b47oqSiM5x1YZtqop4ZI8DjotQ90azsTqDp_DYZumcNDNrTeUVj6s3Q70DmztFJdU5cL_zGI_r-N8WPkVGVzg6c4w/s640/Christmas.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asher practicing his flamingo stance, riding the carousel. Joelie did NOT want to ride the carousel. :)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kids coming down on Christmas morning in their new pjs, the tree on Christmas Eve, all 6 Busath girls and mom and dad in our new pjs, the boys opening their stockings.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cousins watching movies together. A common sight. Hot chocolate!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">California Railroad Museum! A boy's heaven!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My mom owns these gems!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikFwSs9DpRRkpWK0YdcKQB5m0KAyqawyxchEy2lyvqA8trQf4Oo8jMX0gdafPKtswjCU4OpsDJjvivqwRN-e_bcUVPQsytW5HHX1fPmkO3mLytWDTqjVFsQTareL2xXuhcKm2gCw/s1600/Christmas5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikFwSs9DpRRkpWK0YdcKQB5m0KAyqawyxchEy2lyvqA8trQf4Oo8jMX0gdafPKtswjCU4OpsDJjvivqwRN-e_bcUVPQsytW5HHX1fPmkO3mLytWDTqjVFsQTareL2xXuhcKm2gCw/s640/Christmas5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day trip to San Fran... Aquarium, walking the pier, playing at the arcade, and ice cream at Ghirardelli Square.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mastering the monkey bars!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Park fun!<br />
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</tbody></table>Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-29127018667764642242012-04-28T20:51:00.000-04:002012-04-28T20:51:15.012-04:00Picture perfect Easter picnic in Central ParkIt's been a long time. I've been missing the blogging world, so I thought it was time to get back into the swing of things. I have a lot of things to get caught up on, but I don't want to let that stop me from blogging about what's going on now. I will start with Easter.<br />
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We had a lovely Easter weekend with practically perfect weather in NYC. Saturday, my friend <a href="http://www.kensingtonblue.blogspot.com/">Lesley</a> put together an amazing Easter egg hunt/picnic. It was picture perfect, down to the last details. I actually did manage to get some pictures in, but she did a much better job of capturing the beautiful day. Check it out <a href="http://www.kensingtonblue.blogspot.com/2012/04/easter-egg-hunt-and-picnic-in-central.html">here</a>.<br />
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The boys had an absolute blast in the open space, running around with their friends, playing around the pond, (and in Bart's case, almost walking right in... on the opposite side of the pond from where we were located. Not my finest mothering moment), feeding the ducks, eating yummy food, finding Easter eggs, eating yummy candy, eating cake... and on and on. While the kids were busy running from one place to the next, the adults enjoyed the perfect weather, gorgeous surroundings in Central Park, and as always, visiting with wonderful friends. Oh, and we enjoyed the cake too. It was seriously so delicious!! And beautiful.<br />
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Unfortunately, I did not take a single picture on Easter Sunday, but we did have a very nice day. After Stake Conference, we headed over to Sheep's Meadow in Central Park for a picnic with some friends. Again, the boys loved being able to run around in the wide open space, climb rocks and play ball. Nate's allergies started acting up, so we didn't get to enjoy the perfect day as long as I would have liked, but that's ok. We headed home and had a relaxing afternoon which did include watching the video of the Savior's death and resurrection and a nice Easter Family Night lesson.<br />
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I am so grateful for the birth, death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. I know that these events happened and am so glad that we have the opportunity to celebrate them and teach our children about the amazing blessing and miracle that it is the Atonement<br />
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Happy Easter everyone!Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-72835923624575988122012-04-28T20:34:00.000-04:002012-04-28T20:34:41.620-04:00Public Transportation woes **I started writing this post when Nate was out of town for 11 days back in March. It was a particularly bad part of the week, and while they don't sound that bad individually-when you put them together, and then add on the fact that I had been by myself for a week and it was just the last straw... it was just an experience I wanted to document. :)<br />
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I have never hated NYC public transportation more than I have in the last 15 hours. I usually don't mind taking public transit, but there have been a handful of times when it is just unnecessarily difficult.<br />
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<b>Exhibit A:</b><br />
Last night a sweet friend invited us over for dinner since Nate is out of town. We left our apartment right on time, with a paper plate of brownies tucked safely in the cargo basket of the Maclaren and the boys on their scooters. It was a beautiful, warm night. We got all the way down to the subway platform which I noticed was about 10 times more packed than normal. About a minute after we get down there I hear a message overhead stating that all 1 trains would be running express from 145th to 96th. What?! There are usually tons of signs and tape blocking off the subway entrance when this happens, so obviously it wasn't a planned change. But still, I was bugged. So back up to the street we went to catch the bus. At this point I was already sweating and starting to get a little frazzled amidst the hundred other people that were trying to do the exact same thing that I was, except none of them had 3 kids with them. We stood at the bus stop for a while about 3 or 4 buses passed... either the wrong ones, or ones that were turning into express buses. Just when I was about to get a cab, our bus finally came. I should've gotten a cab. I had to have Asher carry the brownies so I could fold up the stroller, which means that Bart was on the loose, which is never a good idea. We make our way to the back of the bus (as out of the way as possible) while I am juggling a crazy almost 2 year old, a stroller and 2 scooters. The 20-block bus ride was long and crowded and hot and Asher in Sayer were so excited about going to play with their friends, so they were in rare form. In other words, they were super loud and annoying. The poor brownies that Asher was in charge of were almost sat on multiple times, getting moved from seat to seat, the plate was starting to bend in the middle from over-handling. They were just one movement away from spilling onto the floor, and there was nothing I could do about it as I was holding the stroller up, keeping the scooters in place with my legs, while also trying to keep Bart from falling/getting off the seat and sprawling himself all over the lady sitting next to him. Thankfully he does have quite a bit of charm, so she didn't seem too upset about his pokes and kicks. I felt like everyone around me was thinking "what is this lady who has no control of her children doing?" I was starting to get anxious about the process of getting off the bus, as it was super packed and I was going to have to be super annoying in order to try to squeeze through all those people with all of our crap. Thankfully, most people got off at the 96th street stop where they headed down to the subway. By the time we got off at 93rd street, there was plenty of room for us to exit. Huge sigh of relief. We got off the bus and my back was soaked with sweat, the kids were going c-r-a-z-y. Thankfully Hailey's house was just down the street. What was supposed to be a very simple and short subway ride, turned into a 40 minute ordeal from Hell. Good thing the dinner and company were totally worth it!! After dinner, we took a cab home. It was not a good cab ride. The kids were super wired and extra crazy and Bart refused to sit still. At least it was only about 5 minutes.<br />
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<b>Exhibit B:</b><br />
I had another experience too, that happened the very next morning while taking Asher to school and then going home with the kids, but it's not as raw anymore, so I don't think I could do it justice. But it involved a rough morning, and then a bus driver yelling at me to make Bart sit down on the seat instead of standing on the seat to look out the window, (which my kids <i>always</i> do- never, ever, ever, ever, have I had a bus driver tell me to do this) then said bus driver waiting (at a green light) for me to make my kicking and screaming child sit down, then me getting off one stop early because I couldn't hold Bart still and didn't want the bus driver's eyes looking back at me in the rear-view mirror thingy anymore, and then almost breaking down in tears- because why should taking your kid to school have to be so hard?!<br />
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It's times like these when you think about living in the suburbs, and how simple it would (and should) be to just hop in the car and head over to a friend's house for dinner, or drop your kid off at school. Sigh. Needless to say, after the bus incident, we took a little break from the bus and the subway for a few weeks, except when we were going to church. <br />
<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-86632986819862386052012-04-28T20:03:00.000-04:002012-04-28T20:03:07.670-04:00Visiting the North PoleOne of my absolute favorite things to do at Christmas time. And like always, it was a blast. <br />
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<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-33564946847044607552012-01-18T13:07:00.002-05:002012-01-18T13:07:58.886-05:00Tree at Rockefeller Center and other things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One day I said to Nate... I'm taking the evening off and am going to have some alone time. I don't do this often, so he didn't complain. It actually ended up not being an evening of being alone, really, but it started out that way. I had some errands to run down in Rockefeller Square, so I took the opportunity to see the tree, and walk up 5th Ave to see some of the window displays. I also popped into GAP to buy myself a few things, something else I never do :) I had a lovely walk up 5th Ave, and across central park south back to the subway, where I headed back uptown to meet Nate and his sister Kierstin, who had just gotten into town, for dinner at one of our favorite places. They took a long time to get there, so I got to sit at the bar and read my book, which was awesome! After a delicious dinner, I said goodbye and headed over to Starbucks for a birthday get together. We didn't last too long at Starbucks because so many people came, so a friend offered her place. I wish I had pics because it was a little comical. But regardless of the space constraints, we had a wonderful time chatting away, as usual. </div>Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-83687226220295017332012-01-18T10:56:00.002-05:002012-01-18T10:56:50.345-05:00Christmas outings...<div style="text-align: center;">
We had a few fun Christmas outings with friends. We went to Grand Central Terminal where we got to see the train displays at the NYC Transit Museum Store and poke around some other shops as well. </div>
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Another day we went to Bryant Park to see the tree, watch ice skaters and of course, ride the carousel. And then we topped the day off with a delicious stop at Dillon's Candy Bar. Yum!</div>
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<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-43413107727131692442012-01-18T10:40:00.002-05:002012-01-18T10:40:53.936-05:00Winter's Eve<div style="text-align: center;">
Sayer and I went on a date to Winter's Eve. I felt bad that the whole fam couldn't go, but Asher had school early the next day, and I couldn't justify letting him stay up late for it. :( But Sayer sure had a blast having some one on one time with mom... getting to see the Christmas tree light up in the Lincoln Square area, having some yummy dinner with friends, watching street performers, having hot chocolate while watching an ice sculptor in front of the church, and just enjoying the festive atmosphere. </div>
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<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-80988538128375947012012-01-18T10:30:00.005-05:002012-01-18T10:30:55.198-05:00Origami Tree and Parade floats<div style="text-align: center;">
The day before Thanksgiving, Nate and I took the kids to the Museum of Natural History to see the Origami Tree and then to see the parade floats, which get blown up right outside the museum. This has been a fun tradition since we have been in the city. It was a really nice family outing, which of course included a few moments of mild annoyance, but for the most part, we had a fun time. We ended the night with dinner at McDonalds. Classy, classy.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lookin' foxy in front of the origami tree babe!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boys were being really silly</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was the best we could manage</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nate had better luck...</td></tr>
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<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-40216259439604301542012-01-18T10:09:00.000-05:002012-01-18T10:09:11.866-05:00Ice skating in Bryant Park<div style="text-align: center;">
Back in November our old neighbors, Debbie and Peter, came into the city for a visit. We LOVED playing with them again. We headed down to Bryant Park and caught the end of a story time, and then took the boys ice skating. We were kind of cheap though, I rented one pair of skates for my boys to switch off with, and then Debbie and I traded off skates as well. It was awesome. The boys had an absolute blast. I thought for sure Asher would try and start falling down and then say he didn't like it, but man was he determined to get it right. Sayer was more inclined to throw in the towel after one round. :) So while Peter, Asher and Debbie kept at it, I took Sayer and Bart to ride the carousel. Fun times were had by all!!
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Story time</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy was awesome!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excited to get out on the ice!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Debbie and I got an arm workout, holding those boys up. They got better and better each time around though. It was pretty amazing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fun on the carousel!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All by himself!</td></tr>
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<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-86650899851207965792012-01-18T09:23:00.001-05:002012-01-18T09:23:10.815-05:00Radio City Rockettes<div style="text-align: center;">
My mom and I went to see the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular when they were in town. My brother in law Duffy, and his wife Tessa, also came in town for a few days, so they joined me and my mom. It was a fun show, and the whole time all I could think was how much my boys would have loved it. Oh well. Another time I guess. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This Christmas tree shaped chandelier was amazing!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Duffy and Tessa </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-75543919344041108892012-01-18T09:15:00.001-05:002012-01-18T09:15:26.463-05:00Intrepid<div style="text-align: center;">
Back in November when my parents were here for the marathon, we took the boys to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space museum. It was actually a lot of fun. They have some things in the lower deck that you can play in and they loved that. They also loved the gift shop, but what little kid doesn't. :)
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<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-2890898241458007482011-12-07T12:26:00.001-05:002011-12-07T13:31:06.120-05:00Startin' the season off right<div style="text-align: center;">
I've got the tree up, the window trimmed with boughs of (fake) evergreen, my 2 nativities are in place, the stockings are hung, and I've got little Christmas nick-nacks here and there around the house. It looks beautiful!</div>
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...Unless, you happen to look anywhere that isn't a Christmas decoration. My house is a mess. All day, everyday, and there is nothing I can do about it. Sure, I could clean it up, and I do.... occasionally, but for what? For it to just get messed up again? And again. And again. And again. You get the picture. Then I just get all upset and annoyed. Plus, I am <i>always</i> tired. Who has the energy to clean up 4 times a day? Not me. I try to get it cleaned at the end of the day, but I'm not gonna lie, it doesn't always happen. It sounds so easy: Clean up the house once a day, after the kids go to sleep. But actually doing that takes so much more energy than I am willing to exert at that particular time of day. Most days.</div>
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Any-hoo, I actually managed to get my act together last night... I straightened up, did the dishes, wiped the kitchen table off for the first time in a couple days (don't judge), made a delicious AND healthy dinner for the fam, did some more dishes and put the kids down. Having a clean kitchen inspired me, so I turned on a Christmas movie and got started on some english toffee. </div>
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Yummy! (said in a high-pitched sing-songy voice) Both batches turned out scrumptious, if I do say so myself. I think I am going to for-go the peppermint bark this year because, well, have you been reading this post?? I just don't think I have it in me. But I am going to try <a href="http://www.smuckers.com/Recipes/Details.aspx?recipeID=4510">this</a> delicious looking recipe this weekend, so that's something, right? </div>
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All joking aside, I absolutely LOVE this time of year, and am trying not to waste a minute of it. We are talking a lot about Christ in our home this season, and focusing more on the true meaning of Christmas. Which should be easy to do, since I am already done (DONE!) with my Christmas shopping, so I don't have to think about that anymore. Today we are making <a href="http://katherinemariephotography.com/blog/archives/7629">these</a> when Asher gets home from school. I'm sure it's not going to go as smoothly as I invision it in my mind, but I am fine with that. The kids will have fun, we will be able to talk about the baby Jesus, and eat candy. Doesn't get much better than that!</div>
<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-58629783243874190812011-11-09T07:55:00.000-05:002011-11-13T19:36:43.053-05:00NYC Marathon wrap-up**Warning, this is a long post as I wanted to write everything down for my own benefit. Feel free to just skim it if you don't care about all this stuff. :)<br />
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I don't even know how to begin to sum up the NYC Marathon that went down on Sunday. It was an incredible journey with a lot of amazing personal experiences, both before and during the race.</div>
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Kate and I met the buses down at 45th between 7th and 8th at 5:30 am. From there we had a nice long drive to Staten Island, got off at Fort Wadsworth and headed to the Robin Hood tent. Kate ran for charity and they had a heated tent that she was able to get me into. It was so wonderful not to have to shiver in the cold for hours before we started running.</div>
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Thankfully it was an absolutely perfect day for running. Cool and sunny but not <i>too</i> cold. When the gun went off at 10:40 (I was in the 3rd of 3 waves), some guy sent us off with a live rendition of New York, New York. I thought it was quite fitting. It was pretty slow going at first because there were so many people, but it soon thinned out enough for us to be able to keep a steady pace. I was surprised though, the streets were pretty tight throughout the entire race. I felt like I was dodging other runners the entire time. But I much prefer that to a sparse running field that kind of makes you feel like you are at it alone. Anyway, we stayed with the 4 hour pacer for the first 13 miles or so, but we really should have gone slower than that. I don't know if it was my chest cold, or what, but I never really felt great from pretty much the beginning. I had a cramp that would come and go throughout the race, and by about mile 10 my legs were already feeling really tired. I knew at that point that I wasn't going to be able to sustain that pace for the whole race. Somewhere around mile 13 or so, Kate had to stop to go to the bathroom. I was going to stop but didn't really need to, so I used that time to slow down and go at whatever pace was comfortable for me. It was at this point that I decided that I had to just run my own race, and do whatever I needed to do to be able to finish, even if that meant slowing down. It made me think about trials in life, and how sometimes in order to get through them, we have to let something go, and just be ok with the best we can do. I never thought that I would be ok with less than the goal time that I wanted for myself, but at this point, I honestly was. From that point on, I didn't look at my watch once. I didn't care what pace I was going, and I didn't want to know what mile I was on. Sometimes I couldn't even see the mile markers, which was really nice. It's harder for me mentally to keep such close track of my miles.</div>
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By the time I got to the Queensboro Bridge, I had slowed down a lot, just in time for the hill. I kept a steady pace up the hill and was so thankful when the downgrade came. There is a point on the bridge where you can see down into the course in Manhattan and the streets were just packed with people. I got really choked up at that point because I had been looking forward to getting into Manhattan since the beginning of the race, and it meant that I had finished the hurdle of the hill on the bridge. I had to stop the crying shenanigans pretty fast though because I literally could not breathe. It was so amazing though, to come into Manhattan and feel that I was that much closer to finishing. The crowds were amazing. I hugged the west side of the road because I knew friends were waiting on that side, and it was so great to hear people shouting my name, which was way more energizing than I thought it would be. </div>
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A little past mile 18 our friend Marilee and Kate's husband Jed were waiting for us. I stopped there for a minute to stretch and chat, and seconds later Kate came up behind me, and I was so happy to see her. My stomach was not feeling great so Marilee gave me part of a bagel to settle it and it helped a little. Jed jumped in at this point, and I was really struggling. Going up 1st avenue is pretty much continuous rolling hills. The good thing is that whenever there was an uphill, it meant there was a downhill on the other side. When we got to mile 20, I honestly thought I wasn't going to be able to go any further. My legs were so fatigued and hurt so bad, and my stomach was just not great. I decided that I had to utilize the water stations to walk for a bit. Right before I would stop at each mile, I felt like I was going to barf, so it was perfect to stop and walk and get something to drink, and then I could start back up again and be good for about another mile.</div>
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I knew that Nate and my boys, my parents and sister, and some other friends were waiting for us at 111th and 5th Ave, and I told myself I couldn't stop until I got to them. I first saw our friends from the ward and then a couple blocks later I saw my dad standing up on a lamp post and then I saw everyone else. It was seriously amazing to get to see them and hug and kiss them. Asher and Sayer were so smiley and happy to see me, and I was SO happy to see them and Nate, and everyone! The thought that I was going to get to see them again after I finished really helped motivate me to the end.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming up to the fam. My face is so funny in this pic. I was squinting cuz we were running into the sun.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saying hi to the boys. They were so happy to see me, I loved it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giving hugs and kisses</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjfN32A8lsUpgymG7Tu7zcFJrAMvPOCjRaCud9q0Y-JqnokV7Q4CD4AS-1NGenA4fPJfZhv17iJHP5lbOmW45KfN4kOTY_BV7zFETz9pgaT2GXJQHe4iPUg0ct_YfMsLrYPw3hGw/s1600/IMG_0278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjfN32A8lsUpgymG7Tu7zcFJrAMvPOCjRaCud9q0Y-JqnokV7Q4CD4AS-1NGenA4fPJfZhv17iJHP5lbOmW45KfN4kOTY_BV7zFETz9pgaT2GXJQHe4iPUg0ct_YfMsLrYPw3hGw/s320/IMG_0278.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And one for Nate too!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikug5tceVsfb5DMKXaONizVswgXm-qglnUFk4BhX37UtfMQfc_vDbKEavibVj7KQ0mJY0ralee2xca5tk5GNghQ5burEwhQkA1eoTnHOBovY190KEAhboN5q1-K37K34ovFd5nlA/s1600/IMG_0279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikug5tceVsfb5DMKXaONizVswgXm-qglnUFk4BhX37UtfMQfc_vDbKEavibVj7KQ0mJY0ralee2xca5tk5GNghQ5burEwhQkA1eoTnHOBovY190KEAhboN5q1-K37K34ovFd5nlA/s320/IMG_0279.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading back down 5th Ave</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
After we said goodbye, we headed off to the horrible hill up 5th Ave. This was seriously the point that I was dreading the whole race, I was so afraid of the pain I knew it was going to inflict. About halfway up the hill, all of the sudden I heard Nate's voice in my earphones. It caught me completely off-guard, but it could not have come at a more perfect time. He said "surprise! it's me, Nate...." and then went on to tell me how proud of me he was and how much it meant to him that I was doing this, and so many other wonderful things that I needed to hear at that exact moment. I wanted to cry, but knew I wouldn't be able to breathe, so tried to hold back. But that definitely pumped me up a lot and put a smile of my face for the rest of the race. The hill was brutal, but we kept on trucking and it was a glorious moment when we turned west into Central Park. Central Park is a lot of rolling hills, but I knew we had a nice stretch of flat before we hit them so that was a life saver. I felt the strongest over those last few miles (well, strong is a relative term, lets just say I felt stronger than I had since about mile 17) and I'm not sure where my bursts of energy came from, but I am so glad they came. We were actually keeping pretty good pace in the park, but we did stop to walk at the water stations, so that slowed our split times quite a bit. I saw a friend from Asher's preschool on the west side of the road and that was a fantastic little surprise and boost of energy, and then about a mile later I saw a good friend from the ward on the east side which was a wonderful surprise as well. I actually can't believe that I saw her, as I was hugging the west side and she was on the east, but the stars aligned, and it made me so happy to see a familiar face.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
When I hit the 25 mile marker, I stopped for my fluids, walked for a minute, and then told myself that I couldn't stop again until I crossed that finish line. I also happened to notice the clock right around this point, and right then is when I wanted to be crossing the finish line to get my 4 hour time. I felt totally ok about it though. I was actually surprised that I wasn't further behind. Right after mile 25, we came out of the south end of the park and turned west onto central park south. It was still totally packed, and such a wonderful sight. I hugged the north side of the street where there weren't as many spectators, but there were still plenty of people shouting my name which was wonderful. About half way down CPS, I came up behind Jennie Finch who was running for Timex... she is a two time Olympic medalist for women's softball, and was the very last person to cross the starting line and Timex was donating $1 to Team for Kids for every person she passed along the way to the finish. She and her team had Timex shirts on and I heard someone call her Jennie. I was running right beside her and asked her if she was Jennie and she nodded yes. She looked like she was barely hanging on as well which made me feel a little better. Is that bad? ;) She is truly amazing though, she just had a baby 4 months ago and was out there kicking that race's trash. I passed her just as her team was enthusiastically saying they were going to be at Columbus circle in 45 seconds. Maybe a little too enthusiastically for me. ;)</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
It was also at this point that the inside of my quad on my right leg felt like it was going to give out. I've kind of already forgotten how miserable I was feeling at this point, but I know that I thought I was going to throw up and completely collapse. But I kept going as I turned north back into the park. The crowds were still totally packed and amazing, with people shouting my name at pretty much every step. I couldn't believe that I could actually still smile and wave a little to them. As soon as I came up that last hill and saw the finish line about 50 feet away, I just about lost it. I was SO incredibly happy that I had made it, and that I had pushed myself as hard as I did, when I honestly felt like I had nothing left to give, all the way back at mile 20. I thought Kate was right behind me and looked back to make sure, but she wasn't there. I was hoping she wasn't far behind, and she wasn't. :) Honestly, I couldn't have done it without Kate. There were so many times that I just wanted to keep walking between miles 20 and 24, but wanting to stay with her kept my legs moving. </div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
About 2 steps before I crossed the finish line, Jennie Finch came up on my left and passed me. I was probably the last $1 that she earned for Team For Kids. :) I crossed the finish line and was euphoric. It was very similar to how I felt after Bart was born... I was almost giddy with happiness that the whole ordeal was over, and that I had accomplished what I set out to, and that I had pushed myself harder than I thought I could. I have to say, that I wasn't expecting it to be this hard. I thought for sure the first 20 miles would fly by and then maybe by mile 21 or 22 I would have to start fighting. But that was not so. Not by a long shot.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
I am completely thrilled that I reached my first goal which was to finish under 4:20. I am a little sad that I didn't reach my ambitious goal of getting a sub-4 hour time, but not nearly as sad as I thought I would be. I am pretty darn proud of myself and I know that I gave it my absolute all. It just wasn't the day for that time, but I know it will be someday. :) My official finish time, which was printed in the New York Times on Monday, was <b>4:12:25</b>. That is a PR by about 53 minutes people!!! Way to go me!! It really was an incredible experience to run in the city that I live in, having friends come out to see us on the course, to be familiar with the streets. I know I will think about it every time I am in the neighborhoods that I ran through, and every time I run through Central Park. I love that. I don't know if I will ever run NY again, hopefully someday, but I am just so happy that I got to experience this crazy huge race at least once, and while I was living here. That's really all I wanted. :)</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Post race was a whirlwind of back and leg pain mixed with bouts of severe nausea. We walked for a while to find a place to eat, and then decided to take the subway to a restaurant a little more north. While we were waiting for the train, I asked if they would mind going to celebrate without me, as I wasn't feeling so hot. So they all went out to dinner while I made my way home, collapsed on my bed, only resurfacing to finally barf up all my insides. I felt a little better after that. 5 hours later, I re-emerged from my room and felt like I could eat something. </div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The week of the marathon, the subway station at 59th (Columbus Circle) was decked out in all things Marathon. There was a wall of names of all the runners which made me feel like a rockstar. 47,000 runners!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhScHdtngXq43JuQxTsRcUdNAgiW2BcJ1lNi2VfjfPGhH0sfkgeX7rF_SBUkRUDY48bfE7-zgzOyKSsdX7s1RPK8-zE8a3gK8XTV9oPWdd3JC17wdOtoQ1rw6ak1GJUVEo8P4w76w/s1600/IMG_0248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhScHdtngXq43JuQxTsRcUdNAgiW2BcJ1lNi2VfjfPGhH0sfkgeX7rF_SBUkRUDY48bfE7-zgzOyKSsdX7s1RPK8-zE8a3gK8XTV9oPWdd3JC17wdOtoQ1rw6ak1GJUVEo8P4w76w/s320/IMG_0248.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqjLM31P7Sv7H_SftVSFJJe7ZjWBLLCyJm0ZxcjmWUEdVhG_z7vAh8O-xqwKpIq9-76bXUg6X92UFwRyQVpFh9x0geln0OjvyYnn8UxT7Wvci-bXJAg4D-TXe8-L6sMn_BPy9IA/s1600/IMG_0249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqjLM31P7Sv7H_SftVSFJJe7ZjWBLLCyJm0ZxcjmWUEdVhG_z7vAh8O-xqwKpIq9-76bXUg6X92UFwRyQVpFh9x0geln0OjvyYnn8UxT7Wvci-bXJAg4D-TXe8-L6sMn_BPy9IA/s320/IMG_0249.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Friday before the race, Kate and I went to the Expo to get our bibs, etc, and we happened to be there just in time to see Apolo Ohno who was also running, and Jared the subway guy who ran it last year.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-G90k0accHa3TYXDlTsgeMTPTs_OltFkCNQWsfUiLZ-ohghE3FUQQRufbi0BjeQY4TML_xuVVa3idXjLsW2nHtwmMGbO1q6iKOawx8UGeSqWN3lKZE7qVctNTHAgOyc__5VKlQ/s1600/IMG_0266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-G90k0accHa3TYXDlTsgeMTPTs_OltFkCNQWsfUiLZ-ohghE3FUQQRufbi0BjeQY4TML_xuVVa3idXjLsW2nHtwmMGbO1q6iKOawx8UGeSqWN3lKZE7qVctNTHAgOyc__5VKlQ/s320/IMG_0266.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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On Saturday I went with the fam to the finish line. It's crazy to see how much time and work go into the making of this race.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQcRvfECph1a26ovqxX7hbjE-fzoIQ3pv-tfHDqPB37qtusWCHEBUpSUYd8s__CMqySWX_6dE-ZVl3igdm9YTptON4BXXNHSgWqvy8LYKw0Mlq8IhEz6ETw1XoZkcvcQlkq7fBVg/s1600/IMG_0274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQcRvfECph1a26ovqxX7hbjE-fzoIQ3pv-tfHDqPB37qtusWCHEBUpSUYd8s__CMqySWX_6dE-ZVl3igdm9YTptON4BXXNHSgWqvy8LYKw0Mlq8IhEz6ETw1XoZkcvcQlkq7fBVg/s320/IMG_0274.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The back view of the finish line</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglQM4PqBRC1pLynJIv0Kz1XBkH-8JIPPkyo6MSWcA0RoqfYZnXshY_OWskz7G_Jd3rpS9ox0nmsd8cTxHBDHDv12p8t2br3DYyEjQmVL67BT8rlELMQs7xXhS_IaFc9ancPsjQQ/s1600/finish+line+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglQM4PqBRC1pLynJIv0Kz1XBkH-8JIPPkyo6MSWcA0RoqfYZnXshY_OWskz7G_Jd3rpS9ox0nmsd8cTxHBDHDv12p8t2br3DYyEjQmVL67BT8rlELMQs7xXhS_IaFc9ancPsjQQ/s320/finish+line+2.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The front view</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiij3Nry9dCU6Yl3GLFYE1F6FgvDPlOae0-vFvi2vF090BZbmObEP62w4zj1AEgoxXY5j4VTpKoBb3U_FCx4RxNZpqB658URZAmLYA5YDF7ypEHjLGFaWLbXebgwUCtrP6FTSxRiQ/s1600/IMG_0276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiij3Nry9dCU6Yl3GLFYE1F6FgvDPlOae0-vFvi2vF090BZbmObEP62w4zj1AEgoxXY5j4VTpKoBb3U_FCx4RxNZpqB658URZAmLYA5YDF7ypEHjLGFaWLbXebgwUCtrP6FTSxRiQ/s320/IMG_0276.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the finish line of the final stretch</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Thank you to everyone for all the love and support and prayers. And thank you ING and NYRR for an amazing race!!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRYeACuGII0hBNnT9jrgy3aeQArq5gw5MmHe_9nYAMnWYBPwy01YhsCdS75qxG92NprPHfSVWlYPqC7mwhpSn9h0nmyRznkNktojQZd5wksLqF-dJSni1y5-HrrxmG-yYMvtRDA/s1600/me+finish+medal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRYeACuGII0hBNnT9jrgy3aeQArq5gw5MmHe_9nYAMnWYBPwy01YhsCdS75qxG92NprPHfSVWlYPqC7mwhpSn9h0nmyRznkNktojQZd5wksLqF-dJSni1y5-HrrxmG-yYMvtRDA/s320/me+finish+medal.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
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A few more pics from the official photographers... </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMmQviktx8Tg5787Wua0gtnx6_1y_Tv8_8bc0Kp0vKBf7DxyW3utV9J3MOiG0TX-jNsCZnW4GCesnbBS4Aru-x3JQGgElzZSrLiZlt-1wHw0p5GDNgxAIbMPaOo_WA_JuMY9LaQ/s1600/central+park.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMmQviktx8Tg5787Wua0gtnx6_1y_Tv8_8bc0Kp0vKBf7DxyW3utV9J3MOiG0TX-jNsCZnW4GCesnbBS4Aru-x3JQGgElzZSrLiZlt-1wHw0p5GDNgxAIbMPaOo_WA_JuMY9LaQ/s320/central+park.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">last few miles in central park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD12og5gIQcPOX7ey_9RFYzRuqKi0GOezJ5spPI917sgtW7OIvYpp60TAdEf7KTRxLchdkIjKLKkmj7EzIJXSnvyC_7npB1T66C5snYPdgSzpEMsb57JASSciMBU8XupvS9tKnLQ/s1600/close+up+finish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD12og5gIQcPOX7ey_9RFYzRuqKi0GOezJ5spPI917sgtW7OIvYpp60TAdEf7KTRxLchdkIjKLKkmj7EzIJXSnvyC_7npB1T66C5snYPdgSzpEMsb57JASSciMBU8XupvS9tKnLQ/s320/close+up+finish.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">finished!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjWFgf6h40B5NXfDPM9Fx0QMTF7I_bTrzf1g0QeATMisj5dkUg1acrZ7vlfqeDfuCSoWkvkX4eSQ5IpF3iQ4t_a4WHipvV7sf16kTbsyC2DIH2az5x7mfyNH_rUFu9jwXbTzgWQ/s1600/coming+into+finish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjWFgf6h40B5NXfDPM9Fx0QMTF7I_bTrzf1g0QeATMisj5dkUg1acrZ7vlfqeDfuCSoWkvkX4eSQ5IpF3iQ4t_a4WHipvV7sf16kTbsyC2DIH2az5x7mfyNH_rUFu9jwXbTzgWQ/s320/coming+into+finish.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">last stretch into the finish line</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtL6-BWRSRvLHU9FcbacKV3Jkk9VBu_H3iLjD-Qceojy5ZVvaaVRlyuGUi72Ua9h9Xdfh5xTdbhjlzfGGqCB_X-3qjaKwhO8bxXyHS9rEAPWBxpUbKeSjk9T5fwAr4ZfyytCILw/s1600/crossing+finish+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtL6-BWRSRvLHU9FcbacKV3Jkk9VBu_H3iLjD-Qceojy5ZVvaaVRlyuGUi72Ua9h9Xdfh5xTdbhjlzfGGqCB_X-3qjaKwhO8bxXyHS9rEAPWBxpUbKeSjk9T5fwAr4ZfyytCILw/s320/crossing+finish+1.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">crossing the finish line! just pretend that clock says 4:12 (i started an hour after the first runners started)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA7HNcIaWaF03MNC9TdkcU1fF-FVB7rXiz3Ka7mTqiuDEovvoTMKy5-7JyUVmSvrevm6TePHctCUQSNMZ3ojqoeR9Kyiuiz5LUPgaXvFwLzPLtI4l3PnXmoNLruCjaSRZSwDzRxg/s1600/half+marathon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA7HNcIaWaF03MNC9TdkcU1fF-FVB7rXiz3Ka7mTqiuDEovvoTMKy5-7JyUVmSvrevm6TePHctCUQSNMZ3ojqoeR9Kyiuiz5LUPgaXvFwLzPLtI4l3PnXmoNLruCjaSRZSwDzRxg/s320/half+marathon.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">half marathon point</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Verezano bridge from staten island (the start)</td></tr>
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</div>Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-60196450888090425292011-11-03T10:51:00.000-04:002011-11-03T10:51:22.697-04:00Let the countdown begin!!!<div style="text-align: center;">
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Well folks, we are here. The NYC marathon is in 3 days! I am both excited and nervous, but mostly excited. NYC is a pretty tough course {it's got some good hills} so I am trying to mentally prepare myself so I am not too disappointed if I don't reach my goal time. I know in my heart that it doesn't matter how fast I run the race, it is about finishing and giving it all that I've got along the way, and I know that I will do that. And I know that I will be completely thrilled to just be running the course, enjoying cheers from the many, many crowds, and crossing that finish line in Central Park, no matter what the clock says. </div>
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Whether I reach my goal, or whether the clock is 5 minutes or even 30 minutes later than my goal time, it won't have been a wasted journey. Running has become an important part of my life. I love that my kids know that I run. They ask me if I'm going running and when I come home they ask my if I'm "all fweaty". {Cute side story: Yesterday I was looking over the course map, and Asher was looking over my shoulder, and so I told him that this was the map of my marathon and that I was running it on Sunday! He got all excited, then counted the miles and told me it was 26 miles, and then told me, "ok mom, if you are the first person that crosses the finish line, then you will be the winner, and you will get a gold medal..." he then went on to describe what that gold medal will look like. Well, I will most definitely not be the first person to cross the finish line, but I will get a gold-ish medal! I'm so glad that Asher will think that that means I won!} I'm happier after I run. Energized. I feel strong when I run, and that definitely carries over into daily life with my kids. I feel like I've become a whole new, better version of me since this time last year. Last year I was about 25lbs overweight, I didn't like the way I felt in my body or in my clothes. I felt lazy and just gross. Running has made me fit, healthier, and more disciplined. It's hard to measure success when raising kids, it's hard to know if anything I'm doing even makes a difference. I know it does {even if it doesn't always seem like it}, and that's why I do it, but sometimes it's nice to go running, and to be able to see results right then, for the hard work I put in the week before. It's nice to have that in at least one aspect of my life. :) Anyway, enough of all that. I just finished my last training run {3 miles!}, and am hoping and praying that I get over this very untimely cold by Sunday. I can definitely use all the prayers and positive thoughts I can get! </div>
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Which, I know it might sound silly to some people, because really, it <i>is</i> just a race, and in the grand scheme of things, it's not that important. But a few weeks ago my friend <a href="http://nateolsonfamily.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-friend-runs-fast.html">Breanne</a> bore her testimony about how Heavenly Father cares about the things that we care about... if something is important to us, it is important to Him. I believe that. Running this race through the streets of NY has been something that I've been dreaming of doing for several years. It is important to me... to make it to the starting line and to run well to the finish line, and Heavenly Father knows that. I honestly feel like I've got Him on my side, rooting for me, just as much as {if not more than} all my friends and family that are cheering me on and that have supported me SO much throughout this process. It feels good. Really good! It makes me feel empowered and unstoppable. I feel ready<span id="goog_1505751227"></span><span id="goog_1505751228"></span>... I've trained well, I've listened to my body and taken time off when I needed to, and I know that I've put the time and miles in that I needed to, and now I'm excited to get out there and see what I can do!</div>
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So wish me luck and we'll see you back here in a few days for the race report!</div>Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-28290958270875915492011-10-26T20:44:00.000-04:002011-10-26T20:44:29.565-04:00Pumpkin carvin' time!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was Bart during the carving</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Bart when I took his binky away.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bart climbed up onto the table by himself to play with the pumpkins. He kept trying to eat and lick them. Gross.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He was very good at taking the top off then putting it on again. Oh, and don't worry that he wore those PJs all day today.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is it obvious that Asher drew one of the eyes on the pumpkin on the right? :)</td></tr>
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The kids were SO excited to carve pumpkins and were so pleased with the outcomes. It is amazing how easy it is to bring joy into their little lives. I love it. And I love them.</div>Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35928387.post-74122769667654993732011-10-23T10:20:00.000-04:002011-10-23T10:20:08.733-04:00Bronx Zoo<div style="text-align: center;">
We went on a family outing to the Bronx Zoo on Friday since Asher had school off. Aside from it being way colder than I anticipated, it was a great day. Of course, there were a few annoying moments that were to be expected, but the kids had a blast. We went on the monorail, saw the lions, watched the Dora 4-D movie (of course), ate lunch while looking at the flamingos, rode the bug carousel twice, went through the mouse house, saw the birds and penguins (Apparently those exhibits are not people's faves... totally empty. Lucky us!) then took a nice long scenic walk back to the zoo entrance, where Asher talked Nate into letting him ride the camel (which was the only money we spent the entire day!!). On the way back to the subway we stopped at a playground and let the kids run wild, then headed home. Asher and Sayer were both sound asleep by 6pm. Bart of course fell asleep on the subway ride home so he didn't go to bed until much later. </div>
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I loved being with just our little family all day! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bart is already channeling the Christmas spirit!! On the subway ride there.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD5vg1rPS-Z8rE7rIg6QpM3nT4K7_HaFWG4q_olimBaatf7subaxinY4bXyo0DAWT79oFhwq8HiSredzKPPLxT8rESKnF8C6hOqZ2tQhFAbrp42inGeVCNObxcpooi0w1LMF7WmQ/s1600/IMG_0084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD5vg1rPS-Z8rE7rIg6QpM3nT4K7_HaFWG4q_olimBaatf7subaxinY4bXyo0DAWT79oFhwq8HiSredzKPPLxT8rESKnF8C6hOqZ2tQhFAbrp42inGeVCNObxcpooi0w1LMF7WmQ/s320/IMG_0084.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting in line for the monorail</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMkYnahfhKO6l6oISA6danCWnZzpuQw9Y5ngkrGmct1GdLr1ez9QGsE-0RrvgeQflPErDbZqZdKNpxnpNVfIYax3kKvWKw6IDy1N4W2wbrK4-7S_aPWe0uBD-Tv8MT9uCPE-nnw/s1600/IMG_0086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMkYnahfhKO6l6oISA6danCWnZzpuQw9Y5ngkrGmct1GdLr1ez9QGsE-0RrvgeQflPErDbZqZdKNpxnpNVfIYax3kKvWKw6IDy1N4W2wbrK4-7S_aPWe0uBD-Tv8MT9uCPE-nnw/s320/IMG_0086.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the monorail platform, overlooking the Bronx river</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr6ni1eefHkNdcalu3ypsfGfNzNq-IHMeHiALG0jxmPfBPY9q8vAQao1fQNNfPCKW9uPfbJCUHX2mSSwLBn0-ijANowiyHkz0CYoZQcycswCw704eJl02XqBekMYongQn4vH-n8Q/s1600/IMG_0092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr6ni1eefHkNdcalu3ypsfGfNzNq-IHMeHiALG0jxmPfBPY9q8vAQao1fQNNfPCKW9uPfbJCUHX2mSSwLBn0-ijANowiyHkz0CYoZQcycswCw704eJl02XqBekMYongQn4vH-n8Q/s320/IMG_0092.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our little fam on the monorail</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bart and I hung out while dad and the boys watched Dora</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9SQq_3pEOGxqxPsLrBq2CaXg1tfEn4o0X_FVn0N4xzPfE_TK2uGBCz17xhTy70DDroejg2GudjycH8_PMKQylZn1n4mbx7U0pQdXTEpnFUYZzaBumFYgLVRe9RYfSf6JPtBalw/s1600/IMG_0123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9SQq_3pEOGxqxPsLrBq2CaXg1tfEn4o0X_FVn0N4xzPfE_TK2uGBCz17xhTy70DDroejg2GudjycH8_PMKQylZn1n4mbx7U0pQdXTEpnFUYZzaBumFYgLVRe9RYfSf6JPtBalw/s320/IMG_0123.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch with the flamingos in the background</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwrKRY8f00CG8NG2EqWUohKG_S7yXMnbzJfVim_8nT4G3YO2tt-xb8wZfRvrvaTJSiJcPsFXmA4337CLnlGdJe3MkvrFxyRcnQ0KK-9PSaUfooGa8JBItbEHhR7AbUQpXbS2g0Q/s1600/IMG_0128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwrKRY8f00CG8NG2EqWUohKG_S7yXMnbzJfVim_8nT4G3YO2tt-xb8wZfRvrvaTJSiJcPsFXmA4337CLnlGdJe3MkvrFxyRcnQ0KK-9PSaUfooGa8JBItbEHhR7AbUQpXbS2g0Q/s320/IMG_0128.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheese? Bart kept saying cheese during lunch. Didn't know he knew that word.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOHtD7aPZF8LZJLjKi3VO-CzISd0orFuXigfIeLZjflX-wwPfDDKsNGei-BeHnOwDXEiIi2DKApH_KeNDi2GmAXhvQL2QPuEuZa-5OxbQQruVZyiixfZW4Mz76mxr68US_L5bkQ/s1600/IMG_0136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOHtD7aPZF8LZJLjKi3VO-CzISd0orFuXigfIeLZjflX-wwPfDDKsNGei-BeHnOwDXEiIi2DKApH_KeNDi2GmAXhvQL2QPuEuZa-5OxbQQruVZyiixfZW4Mz76mxr68US_L5bkQ/s320/IMG_0136.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1st time around</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0SPZOCB6SXHpUoxitLbaIfombwvyOO5I7Rawf6NLsmchuCkP2UIZcto22Z-Vabn96Yc1fvSJV2mj7Mj8JWc-y-zCs_cLeq_M25WhORaM4DuIuGKVcNNbtAx8J3EwYgbRZYnl8Q/s1600/IMG_0137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0SPZOCB6SXHpUoxitLbaIfombwvyOO5I7Rawf6NLsmchuCkP2UIZcto22Z-Vabn96Yc1fvSJV2mj7Mj8JWc-y-zCs_cLeq_M25WhORaM4DuIuGKVcNNbtAx8J3EwYgbRZYnl8Q/s320/IMG_0137.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bart looked like he was going to fall asleep, but apparently he won the battle and managed to stay awake the entire day.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNAONwiSYVnjmBoZBU8HXGmrdzUj4yisgH356bJQRklCda8ckH4rgF7khVgA8-DO4SuFGT-XypaWeDiBIrR0NcrVxfnQpgNQkkJ_oLXVBWccjueVrsl30AoCGRzPegyOU4AurIOA/s1600/IMG_0141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNAONwiSYVnjmBoZBU8HXGmrdzUj4yisgH356bJQRklCda8ckH4rgF7khVgA8-DO4SuFGT-XypaWeDiBIrR0NcrVxfnQpgNQkkJ_oLXVBWccjueVrsl30AoCGRzPegyOU4AurIOA/s320/IMG_0141.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2nd time around</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dad and Asher on the camel!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5uZXgAc7Ew46WJmnojJqRLMY-EGWikNpHajFQCuOONnPv7LBnHQM7DC1ihVxHpk_rfCYApJMYuLmkaWLoC3IlaKB6ZCOj2ig1h3ywZGKYf3BO92FOo1zq2zoUwliN_FXiN-YQA/s1600/IMG_0151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5uZXgAc7Ew46WJmnojJqRLMY-EGWikNpHajFQCuOONnPv7LBnHQM7DC1ihVxHpk_rfCYApJMYuLmkaWLoC3IlaKB6ZCOj2ig1h3ywZGKYf3BO92FOo1zq2zoUwliN_FXiN-YQA/s320/IMG_0151.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sayer's camel ride! Of course, Sayer insisted the he did NOT want to ride the camel. But as soon as he saw Asher and dad doing it, he wanted to do it. Sayer takes awhile to warm up to new ideas.</td></tr>
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<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04815700401389316035noreply@blogger.com1