You know you're a mom when...

.... you have the schedule of Playhouse Disney memorized
.... you talk about yourself in the 3rd person, ala Elmo
.... you pat your lap to get your car moving
... you think Anthony Wiggle is kind of cute
... you know who Mr. Noodle is
... you find stale goldfish crackers in unexpected places
... you think everyone is interested in your child's pooping habits
... you're more proud of your pimped-out jogging stroller than your car
... you can't finish out a t.v. show that starts at 9:00pm

My running buddy Erin is going to the USF football game tonight with her husband after work. They're both working tomorrow. The game doesn't start until 8:00pm. They can count on at least an hour, if not more, trying to get out of the parking lot after the game ends. I find that absolutely insane. I love a good football game as much as the next person, but dang, not when they interfere with my bedtime!

I know, pathetic. What a mom. I don't have the luxury of being able sleep in after a night out. If that rare occasion does occur, I usually don't take it because I'm too worn out from chasing my toddler around all day to stay up that late anyway! Sad, sad. Life as I knew it is no more. At least I've quit fighting that fact though, and am now looking for more square holes.

99 Days until the marathon! I can't believe it's getting so close. I have to step back my long run this weekend to six miles, according to my Hal Higdon training schedule. I'm ready to push on ahead to 10, but the schedule recommends step backs every 2 weeks to help in injury prevention. After my 3 week hiatus in the spring due to shin splints, I do take that seriously, as annoying as it is.

I'm eager to start doing some road races, now that the great state of Florida has started turning off the humidity faucet and the weather's getting more bearable. I'm really looking forward to the Atlanta Half Marathon on Thanksgiving morning too, a Walenga/DiMuzio tradition. This will be my first year participating. Last year it was about 55 degrees and pouring rain. Let's hope I can sprinkle some Florida sunshine on it this year!

Gotta wrap this up, I hear babbling over the monitor. Looks like nap time is over. You know you're a mom when...

Baby Boot Camp Grand Opening!

Baby Boot Camp Grand Opening
September 8, 2008

We have hit the ground strolling! After months of anticipation, Baby Boot Camp has started! I'm so relieved and happy to report that the Grand Opening was fantastic. We had 20 people turn out, and many enjoyed the class so much that they bought class packages on the spot. I too enjoyed myself a lot-- after many years of searching, I have found my calling. The ladies that have already joined up are so motivated to succeed, and I am excited to be helping them with their goals. Now that we have a solid foundation to start, I'm looking forward to launching classes in Riverview next week, and at the YMCA at the beginning of next month.

Anthony's been wonderful so far at class! He seems to get a kick out of it. He's my little helper, when I tell the ladies it's time to start moving again with the strollers he'll echo me in saying, "let's go!" Or if I let out a whoop of excitement, he'll follow suit. My little parrot is mommy's little helper!

With the good comes the bad, of course. My little escape artist decided it would be a worthwhile endeavor to crawl out of his crib the other night! I heard a thump and loud screaming around 7:00am, ran in there to find him on the floor beside his crib, his foot still hooked in one of the rails. He wasn't hurt but was obviously very scared. My heart just went out to him, I can only imagine how scary that must've been for him! So Adam and I immediately started looking for transitional toddler beds as the pediatrician said it was time if he was trying to crawl out. We've found one, and MiMi and Granddude have kindly decided to buy it for him. It will take a week to get here, so we decided to use the pack and play as a makeshift bed if Criss Angel decides another escape routine is in order!

On the running front, Adam and I took Anthony on a family run last night. We went 3.5 miles with me pushing the jogging stroller, which is quite a bit of resistance if you consider the 26 pound passenger! I'll do another 3 tomorrow, 4 Saturday, and 6 on Sunday.

Moments Like These

Today I realized why I did the right thing in leaving my loser job and taking on this Baby Boot Camp endeavor. The time I have, and am going to have, with Anthony is priceless. This morning I took him to the Family Resource Center for open play time. Basically, it's a giant room with lots of books and toys. They had those foam "carpet" pieces that link together to form a big disco-looking floor. We put some of those together, and Anthony had a blast going to town on them! He ran around, stopping to pump his knees up and down in an awkward dance of sorts, grinning from ear to ear the entire time, and chanting "jump, jump!" It was just such a joy watching him have fun like that, and I realized how many of those moments I might have missed out on if I had stayed in that job and continued to surf the internet all day.

Yesterday I ran 3 fast miles on the treadmill-- just over 27 minutes. My time has improved tremendously, probably from the hill intervals I've done on the treadmill this summer.

I was telling a friend this morning about my marathon hopes and what propelled me to do it. I can imagine myself crossing the finish line after 26.2 long miles and months of training behind me, feeling elated at the accomplishment I'd made, especially when not-so-long ago I did not believe I was capable of it. Pushing my limits, challenging myself, going outside the box and doing things I didn't believe I could do-- that's motivation!

Chantel