The Smooshed generation

I think others called it the sandwich generation but it's true. I am at an age where I have aging relatives while trying to raise my own family.  Families are smaller these days and there are less people to "pitch in" when things need to get done.

A few years ago it was that the twins were infants and my mom had cancer. Now its my uncle who is a bachleor needs help and I am one who understands the medical lingo.  Hence, how we found out he actually did have a heart attack before having the 3 stents placed.  Recently we have notice how bad my grandma has gotten and that she has dementia.  This one just makes me so sad. I have really fond memories of these grandparents; at there house in IL, FL, taking a cruise with them while I was pregnant.  They have always been my favorites. I know they had their issues in the past but since I was 10 they have been great.  To top it off we can all see how hard it is on my grandpa and he is just down.

I am going up to my moms early tomorrow to hopefully have breakfast with them. It is probably the last time I get to see them before they leave.  I have a sinking feeling it will be the last time I get to see one of them.  They are almost 87 and 85.  I will just miss them and their stories and I always feel like there is so much more to ask them.

My best friend is in town for the rare weekend and she spent the whole afternoon and evening with us until the kids were down.  It was so nice just to hang out, chat, play with the kids on the swings, the new toys auntie brought, watch the kids DEVOUR the pumpkin cookies she made (sara had 3).  I feel like it has been a crazy few weeks and I just needed this more than she knew.  Then again we both needed it I think.  Sushi, cookies, Diet cherry vanilla dr. pepper, and bath time with the kids =  a great afternoon. We are also on night 5 of danyal not sleeping. Here is hoping he got worn out today!

As for running there is one day left in the month and I need to run 3 more miles. I think I will hit my goal this month. Yea!

Lots to think about

I am having a hard time choosing a new car. Like a really hard time!
I have had dreams of a minivan for so many reasons. Sliding doors, more room for the kids, entertainment for the kids, and lots of functional stuff for the kids.  The problem is I have had AWD for 10 years and I don't know if I can give that up.

If I went with a new SUV it would have the kids stuff, AWD, but no sliding doors or quick access to a third row. Given a 3rd row would not be used that much that I could count it out maybe.

As for the rest of the day. I got an odd call from my mom that my uncle was taken over to a hospital as the Dr. didn't like the sound of his heart. The last I heard he is in surgery. Not sure if he is having Stents put in or a bypass done. My mom is so close to having her freedom back and now she may have to take care of her brother.

At this point I am going to call it a day and go do my presentation in class. I am sure this will be painless. :)

I just got home from class and no word on my Uncle. Here is to hoping all goes well.

Not what I planned

for my race this last Sunday.  It was a fine run don't get me wrong! I realized the first mile seemed way to easy and then I knew I was pacing to slow.  The second felt easy so for the third I booked it with a 9 minute mile.  The first two felt so easy I realize as I ran an 11 and a 10 something mile.

Now for the other half of the story.  I have a spare car key.  I use it only to run as it has nothing else attached.  This is all good normally...except for Sunday!! For some reason it decided it didn't want to recognize my car anymore.  So anytime I locked the car, unlocked the car, rolled down the window, turned on the car the alarm went off! I was essentially locked in my car for an hour before the race.  I finally decided, forget it, and let the darn thing just keep going until it turned itself off.

It was odd to run this course.  This was the course of my first ever race back in June when I came in at 35 minutes.  Now I know I can do a 5K in under 32 minutes if I push, and I have run a 10K.  Hopefully by spring after a winter of running I will be sub 30 or 30 for a 5K.  It was odd that an 11 minute pace was an easy mile.  A few months ago I would have had to walk at some point. Not anymore.  It is a small feat to know I am improving slowly.

On a final note I am starting to test drive cars..or should I say big trucks and...Minivans!! I want a mini van after trying to get the kids in and out of the school parking lot safely but geez these crazy drivers don't make it easy.  I am sure it will be another year before I actually make a decision on a car.

Busy days

Fall is by far my favorite time of the year. This morning I will enjoy a cool fall race and I cannot wait!

Yesterday we took the kids up to see their great-grandparents as they will not always have them. I want to make sure I have tons of pictures and video of them together to show them as they get older.

One little boy was really over tired and screamed for whole hour on the way home.

After some happy naps we took the kids out to the Arboretum and they loved it. They have a new kids play area. There is a little playhouse which Sara called the clubhouse and she even made new friends. It is fun to see how they may act during school.

Now, after a night of no sleep lets see how this race goes. I have decided to take a month off from races after today and to just enjoy some great fall runs.

Not much

This was supposed to post last Thursday but the Internet didn't agree with me :)

To update. At least here is a pic of what a great 43 degree run looks like.

It is a week to work on homework and so far I have two assignments done. It feels like a start.

Tonight I get to see my old trainer and friend for drinks. First however, I have to make it through her yoga class. It has been a long time since I have done yoga. Good thoughts needed!

First parade

Tonight was the local schools homecoming. We decided to take the kids and I ran into a ton of moms I know from book club.

The kids were a handful but oh how they loves the marching band!

A good one

That is what today's race was. I finally got back to the point at the end where I forgot I was running and was able to sprint to the end. I am pretty happy that my last two miles came in under 10 min ( 9:44 and 9:24) that is huge for me. I finished at 32:21 my best chipped race ever and 2nd official best. My official best wasn't timed though.

I took it easy running this last week with shin splints for the first time since high school and a pulled quad.

I made changes to this race that I think helped and its all thanks to fall. I didn't carry anything, I was able to put my phone in my pocket, and backed off what I ate before a race. I felt light for once and not like I had a lead weight attached. I also did a short pre-race warm up and a lot more stretching since it was cool. We will see if it works again this next Sunday!