Mama-Do List

I am back from a writing hiatus -- for today at least. As much as I love writing, whether in a journal or online blog, it is one of those things that often has to give when something's gotta give. On any given day I have ten blog posts swirling around in my head, entire paragraphs written that never make it to the screen. When days are busy and I can't find the time to fit it all in, I am forced to perform a quick mental check of the necessities, those important items that can not wait, that must to be attended to, and those are the only items that get checked off the ever growing "Mama-do" list.

Lately, the "Mama-do" list has included:

1. Morning cooking classes with the girls, from the comfort of our kitchen, in PJ's covered with hand-sewn aprons by Grandma. In one swoop and one messy hour the four of us get in some quality bonding, math lessons (3 teaspoons + 2 teaspoons = how many teaspoons?), messages on eating whole healthy foods and of course a delicious meal to enjoy! Isaac has decided to join in on the fun, and boy, can that 14 month old mix!

Three peas in the kitchen.

One crowded kitchen.

2. Gardening. I awoke last Wednesday morning with a deep, primal urge to start a garden. "Right now, I feel like I need to start gardening," I told Alan beside me in bed, before the clock even reached 6am. "Like, right now?" he responded, eyes only half-open. By noon on Wednesday we had hit the local nursery and filled our yard with bags of soil, rakes, shovels, and an oversized green bin full of weeds. For the next five days our hands were covered with dirt, feet with mud and faces with smiles as the four of us (five, when Alan was home over the weekend) became closer friends with Mother Earth and created our first little herb and vegetable garden together.
Side note: All three kids came down with a nasty virus called Hand, Foot, Mouth last week which meant no school and no playmates for a full week. What better way to pass the days in our beautiful Spring weather than in the garden?

Lunch break in our spruced-up yard. We have found ourselves eating nearly every
 lunch and dinner out here for the past week. 

3. Running and Racing. It's Spring! It's official says Adara, as her preschool calendar said so! And with Spring comes Racing Season. I have a long list of upcoming races, mostly trail, a few road and all for maximization of fun and happiness for this Mama. Next race: Great Race of Agoura 10K tomorrow morning! Coming off a big 1/2 Marathon PR just two weeks ago and feeling rested and ready, my goal is to run sub-43 minutes tomorrow. That would be a 2 minute PR from the November Calabasas 10K, which I ran pushing Isaac after nearly a full month off running nursing a calcaneus stress reaction.

10K Training. Sleepy Sunday long run with the triple. The virus wiped
out both girls on this afternoon run.

4. Nursery School volunteering. Spring also means our annual Nursery School Ice Cream Social and Silent Auction. To many this means partying and eating ice cream, to the tireless volunteers engaged in the responsibilities of hosting such an event, it means long hours and endless days of acquiring donations, inputting donations, prep work and more prep work and… I try to do as much of this at night as possible, or when Isaac is asleep and the girls are in the yard. I squeeze in any amount of work I can when the girls are occupied and ignoring me. I am very aware that my position on the preschool advisory committee is a volunteer one and being present with my children comes first, especially when Cesia reminds me, "Mama, you are supposed to be our Mama, not a worker. Please don't do so much work today." They need me and if that means our school fundraiser isn't quite as successful as it was last year, then so be it. (Sorry fellow NSAC-ers. : ))

5. Teaching. With the kids on sick leave from school last week I popped into full-mode homeschooling Mama, and loved every minute of it. We all needed some excitement to pass the days together without any social interactions (and germ-spreading). When we were not in the garden we were making homemade green play dough for St. Patrick's Day. I feel a little less worried when Isaac eats fist after fist of this natural flour/salt combination. You could also find us pouring over books. Isaac has recently become book-obsessed and often retreats to his corner bedroom in silence only to be discovered thumbing through a huge pile of books. Big sister Adara, who will turn 5 in August and begin Kindergarten in the Fall, made a huge breakthrough this past week when she read her first words. She has been a total book worm since she was 6 months old, and the past several months has been working hard sounding out syllables and spelling and writing sentences on her own. Her list of reading words (I mean really reading, not just picture/word matched flash cards) is growing by the day as she randomly asks me, "Mama, why does that sign say "No Parking?" as we run past in the triple stroller. Or reads full sentences in beginner reading books. This whole reading business is quite exciting!

Taking a break from "work" to make some homemade Green Mint
playdough on St. Patrick's Day!

Adara creating her playdough family.

Our littlest bookworm.

Loves the peek-a-boo books.

Look who wrote her name yesterday for the very first time!
(Sorry for the upside down photo, my phone won't flip it. )

Celebrating a day of luck and love, and all being
forced to wear green by Adara Kelly this St. Patrick's Day!

Happy Friday to you all! Are you enjoying Spring weather wherever you may be? How are you celebrating this new season? What remains at the top of your "to-do" list?

The Streets of LA

Yesterday morning I ran the streets of LA, along with 21,829 fellow runners. More than 75,000 spectators (including my wonderful husband/chauffeur and three children) lined the streets of LA from Dodger Stadium to Ocean Ave in Santa Monica to cheer on thousands of runners who completed the hottest LA Marathon in over a decade. Mercury was rising past 80 degrees at the finish. At the ocean.

It was my first "marathon experience." A huge part of me wishes I could say that I was a "Marathon Finisher." Soon. That will come. For now, I feel honored that I was a part of it at all. I feel proud, elated, inspired, exhausted and hungry for more.

My older sister, Denise, and I competed as a Charity Relay team. We ran for Girls on the Run and raised over $600 in the process (thanks to many of you readers!!). She ran the first 13 miles, I waited in my relay corral until I saw her florescent green shirt coming quick in the distance. As she neared, I felt overcome with emotions. I was so excited to run my first race with her in years and so proud and excited when she approached FAST and told me we were on 8:10 pace! We hugged, I tossed my gear bag into her hands and hit the streets running. We finished 11th overall out of 244 relay teams, with a total time of 3:22. Not bad. I love you, Den!

I was half expecting to hate the LA Marathon. Having lived in LA for 10+ years now, I still do not see myself as being an "LA" person. Sometimes I don't think I relate to LA at all. I don't fit in here. Yesterday proved me wrong. I discovered that we all fit in. There is space for us all. We are different, yet the same. More than anything, the experience of running with over 21,000 other runners in LA made me realize that we are not "LA." We are the world. We were representatives from around the world coming together, working together and sharing our greatest passion. I cheered on my fellow runners at every opportunity. And those 75,000 spectators. You were incredible. You carried us through every mile, every step of the way.

Until you have run in a major marathon, I don't think you can understand the power of the crowds. I have been a spectator at least 7 times for either Chicago or LA marathons. I have cheered, rang bells, jumped for joy, shouted inspiring messages to loved ones, friends and strangers. But I never understood  the impact of such behavior. It is incredible. I now understand why people mark up their bodies with Sharpie's, writing their name down their arms or across their bodies. Next time, I will do that, too.

The biggest reason I didn't think I would enjoy the LA Marathon was the crowds. How annoying, I thought, to have people out there every step of the way, shouting at you. A total cacophony. That is what I expected. I could not have been more wrong. Yesterday, the shy, petite trail runner who loves miles and miles of solitude and silence was transformed. I slapped hands, I cheered with junior high cheerleaders in "Cheer Alley", I read every spectator's sign that I could, I laughed out load at the signs, I patted slowing runners on the back, reminded those near the finish "only 5 more minutes! just 5 more minutes!" I challenged the man next to me, "Come on, let's race! Let's finish this thing hard." And you know what, he accepted my challenge. Sprinting towards that line, I can't tell you who beat who. I honestly can't remember, nor do I care, because that is not what is was about. It was about pushing ourselves and each other, together. I raised my hands as I crossed the finish. I soaked up the experience. When in Rome, right?! I ran those 13.1 miles as fast as I could, and with as much joy and fun as I could. I can honestly say it was one of the most fun experiences of my life. Thank you LA!

That is not to say that I won't love every minute of my next 2 hour run in silence on my home trails. But I found another side of me. A side that is motivated, pushed and inspired by others, by fellow runners and spectators alike. Yesterday I participated in a city-wide parade where I/WE were the guests. We, the runners, were celebrated in the most beautiful of ways.

We kept the celebration going all afternoon as we scarfed down burritos, met friends old and new, returned home, played in the yard with three little kids, went for a neighborhood bike ride and refueled hungry bodies with a dinner out last night. I finally hit the pillow at 10pm and could hardly peal my eyes open when the girls jumped in my bed at 7:30am this morning. The time change on top of a hard effort yesterday made for one tired Mama. I can not even imagine how those 26.2 milers felt getting up this morning. But we seek challenges, we need them to keep us alive, and we keep on running. Thanks for all those you supported me, inspired me and made me realize how beautiful LA can truly be.

What's next? We will see.. but those 75,000 fans have definitely made me reconsider running Chicago this October. Catalina may have to wait.