5km Run

Matt had been planning on running the 5km Coaldale Family Fun Run today, and last night I decided to join him.  I have been trying to train for an 8km race in June, and thought this would be a good indicator of how my training (or my feeble attempts at training) was going so far.  I have been trying to get on my treadmill 2-3 times / week and attempting to increase my speed by doing some intervals. 
When I started the race this morning, I was hoping to run the 5km in 32min, but thought I would be happy with anything under 35min.  I just ran the Moonlight Run in March, which was a 6km, and got a time of 42min.  Though, I know I could have done better if I didn't have a crazy, humongous hill to climb at the end of that race!
Most of the race today was on a gravel road, and was a little discouraging, because I was near the front of the start line, and a lot of people were passing me near the beginning.  It was a smaller race though, and it thinned out quite quickly, which was nice too.  The wind was not in our favor and was blowing straight on for the final leg of the race.  I just kept looking at the mom's pushing their strollers that were ahead of me and thought, if they can do this, so can I. 
I was quite excited when I turned the corner toward the finish line and looked up at the clock and saw that it said 30min!  I pushed hard for the last minute and had a final time of 30:55 -- one of the best times I have ever had for a 5km run.  It was great to see that I am making some progress and gives me the motivation to keep going!

Bedtime Woes

Gideon has been going through a pretty rough phase of not going to bed and staying there which has been going on for the last few months.  He used to be such a great little sleeper -- I would put him down in his crib, walk out the door and he would sleep for 10-12 hours every night. 

Then he turned three.....  and the nightmare began.  He started realizing that he had some power of persuasion and negotiating.  His excuses have become grander and more desperate as the months have gone on.  His trump card has been, "I need to PEEEEEEE!!!!!"  I, not wanting loads and loads of laundry every night, usually gave in. 

Last night, I decided to make a stand.  I went through his normal bedtime routine.  He had a snack, brushed his teeth, went to the bathroom, had a story, prayers and snuggles -- and then I walked out of his room.  What followed was probably the most physically and mentally draining 75 minutes I have had in a very, very long time. 

Gideon went through every excuse he could think of and then started at the beginning and tried them again.
"I need to pee!"
"I need a drink!"
"I'm scared of the dark!"
"I need to sleep in your bed!"
"I need a snuggle!"
The whole time I am standing watch at his door and putting him back in bed every time he gets up.  I didn't say a word to him, just picked him up and put him back in bed.  There were times where I wasn't even out the door yet and he was at the door again.  I lost track, but my guess is that I put him back to bed over 200 times in just over an hour of all that screaming.  Gid is not a small kid either -- he weighs just about 40lbs! 

He finally gave in and fell asleep, and I gratefully did the same.  This morning I was definitely feeling the effects of my hour long workout the night before, and I was hoping I would not have to repeat it again tonight.  I knew that one night was not going to fix the months and months of bad habits that had formed, but I was hoping that it would have made some small improvements. 

We went through the whole routine again, and I left him in his room.

He stayed!  For about 5 minutes..... and then started a few new tricks.

I was so excited that he stayed in his room and was quiet, that I went downstairs and helped the girls get into their beds (Matt was out at a meeting tonight).  I paid for it when I got back upstairs, because Gideon decided to empty his bookshelf on his bed while I was away.  "But Mom, I want some on my bed!"  he said.  Hahaha!  A few, yes -- thirty, no! 

We got that all cleaned up and I got him back in bed, and he tried to get out only a few times.  All I had to do was peek around the corner when he opened the door and he ran back to his bed.  I had to laugh when I heard him say, "You made a bad choice Mom!"   And when I put him back again a second time it was, "Now you made two bad choices!" 

To make a long story short, he definitely was not perfect going to bed tonight, but he was asleep in his bed after a short 30 minutes tonight!  I hope we are on the road to recovery and some long peaceful nights of sleep!

Super Fun Easter Weekend!

We had such a beautiful Easter weekend!  The weather was amazing and we had so much fun hunting for eggs in my sister’s backyard. 

Not sure how I missed a picture of Anna – she was there – I promise!  There was definitely a bunch of us here having fun.  We missed Rachel and Melissa and their families though.

We had the kids do a bunch of racing to wear them out before lunch.  Then we played a crazy fun game of “Starboard and Port” – one of our favorite childhood games.

The weather was so nice, that Rebecca got to go for a ride in Grandpa’s airplane --- she was super excited!  Dad said the air was a little lumpy, but she took it well and enjoyed the ride!

 

On Sunday it was really special to have my brother bless his cute new baby boy William, and have all the family together for that (except Mike and Mel ;() and then have all the cousins get to go to primary together.  Singing time was a blast for me with most of my nieces and nephews there too.  We had a huge family dinner after church with both our family and Nysha’s side of the family too.  It was a lot of fun and a great way to spend a beautiful Easter Sunday.