Hot girls pick blueberries

<----2011

Someone has a bun in the oven.
Someone lost 60 pounds.
Someone just wants to pick berries.

<---- 2010

Fish Prints

When we were in Salem, hubby and his cousin Darcy found this really cool place where the kids could make fish prints on t-shirts for $10. They chose their fish (P chose a bass because she just caught two bass the week before on our camping trip) and their t-shirt, painted the fish with fabric paint, and then pressed the shirt on the fish. The guy that owned the place heat dried the shirts and we picked them up a few hours later. V. cool.

I love my kids.

Kidly Weekend #2

Last year I didn't get to go to the first annual Kidly Weekend because bubbies was into EVERYTHING, and I feared him and fire. P had a wonderful time and was extremely excited for this year's trip. Kidly Weekend is an off-shoot of Manly Weekend, which the guys have been doing since they graduated from college. Every September a decent sized group of them goes camping for a weekend and, really, I don't want to know what else they do. I just know it involves alcohol, their own made-up games, knives, and lots of swearing. Kidly will be the same sans the swearing, and take place in May or June.

We had a blast at Kidly this year, in spite of Kelly's raging UTI, Bridgette getting no sleep, an accidental death of a fish, and P burning her hand with her fire drawing stick. We wrapped up Sunday with trip to our friends Alpaca farm where the kids got to feed the male Alpacas treats - good times, good times. In my buddy Steve's words: "Here's hoping we can keep Kidly Weekend an annual tradition - all I could think of on the way home was how I want next year to come around and for Kidly anticipation to be the "talk of the town" amongst all our spawn. Cheers everyone - had great time with y'all!" Yes, we have terrific friends....

Pain

I am keeping this blog mainly for my kids. I want them to see little glimpses into our family's life through my posts. Today, I am feeling pain. I am certain this pain I am feeling will pass by the time they even know this blog exists, but until then, I need to write my thoughts down for myself; and, this one is about pain. It is painful for a mom to watch her kids make their way through the world.

My heart jumps watching my son tumble. My heart pangs watching my girl "working things out" with her friends. I am hopeful for them because of my age, and also saddened to know all the heart aches and awkwardness they have to go through to get where I am now. There is a saying "youth is wasted on the young." I don't believe that, but I do wish I could give them some of the "if you only knew what I know now" pills. It'd make life so much easier for them.

Of course, I would never want to choose a path for them. And, I believe all experiences - good and bad - make us who we are today. It's just that I feel more with my heart than I ever have before because of my children, and I want to protect them from all that is painful. Unrealistic, I know...but it is a desire.

Strawberry Pickin'

We love to handpick berries and other fruit.

Such a great activity to do with my kids because it incorporates fun and eating.

But, I don't think I picked enough berries this year.

Yeah, 10 jars of jam and two days of inhaling fresh berries all day long is just not enough. I feel like such a berry hoarder.

Warrior Dash

My friends and I had so much fun doing the Warrior Dash on Saturday. The guys all dressed up as "business men" and looked hysterical when they were finished all covered in mud. I was going to dress up, but I need to be cool when I do a run or I am miserable. John carried his briefcase the whole time and pretended he was sending faxes over his phone.
We ran in the 2p wave, and waves started on the half hour. We lined up in the corral and the race was started with crazy music and fire spewing from torches - very exciting stuff here....plus, we had to get amped up b/c the first leg of the race was straight uphill. The Hocking Hills area is quite hilly - the course was pretty much all hills on the running parts - more up than down. I can imagine people doing it during the rain would be miserable because of slipping and sliding in mud.
We started with small walls to climb and barbed wire to go under. Then we went through swinging tires and onto a huge pit of water with rolling logs. We swam across the smelliest water and ran around to go over junkyard cars and trucks. The first car had the backdoor open and I slid right through, the second round I had to climb over a huge utility truck...mind you, water is tiring, so it was a double whammy to put something climbing next on the course. Then we ran through tires like linebackers. At this point my friend Bridgette and I saw the guys jump into the water. They were passing the briefcase around yelling "don't get my documents wet!"
Then...more hills. Bridgette and I were an awesome team, by the way. We had to go through an old school "spider web," two huge walls (one netted and the other just a huge slab of wood with rope), crawl through a tunnel-type thing on our hands and knees, waded down-river for a while, a netted crab walk that didn't seem to end, walked planks, jumped over two sets of fire obstacles (yes, I felt the heat! it was crazy), and then ended with a mud pit with barbed wire where you *could* walk over (but, then you'd get hazed by the crowd) so you had to get down on your hands and knees and go under. We were covered in mud when we were done.It was exhausting at points, but seriously one of the most fun things I have ever done. Seriously, none of us can wait to do it again. Everyone was on a high. Of course, then we had to get sprayed down with the coldest water EVER. Then we got beers. Our timing chip was also a token for a free beer for after the race. We hung for a while and then headed home. Minor knee scraped injuries and mud laden clothing for the win.My awesome friend Daryl watched the kids for us while we ran. P nor bubbies would get near me because they didn't like that I was covered in mud. Of course, I took that time to chase them around pretending to be swamp thing. Before we left, I donated my running shoes. There was an enormous pile of shoes for donation to Green Sneakers.

Bean

This picture cracks me up. She was happy as a clam about her little bean plant from preschool - and yes, those knots in her hair took me half an hour to brush out. When I was little, my hair did the same thing and my grandma used to call it a "rat's nest."

Last Day of Preschool

Well, my girl had her last day of preschool yesterday. She's been attending a preschool for two years that has made her feel safe, loved, enlightened, educated, involved, and successful. For me, I wish she could go there for the rest of her grade school years, but alas, it is time to move on.

She is excited. I am sad. Of course I am sad, I have a difficult time with change and moving on - and I don't want to pass those feelings on to my girl. So, I tried to keep them to myself.

I asked if she was excited because next year she starts kindergarten, and she promptly and enthusiastically said "yes!" I think part of that is because she had such a great experience with kindergarten assessment at her to-be elementary school. When we left assessment, she looked up at me with her beautiful blue eyes sparkling and said "Mommy, I *love* it here." I guess I will too...really, do I have a choice?! :)

She made some great friends during her preschool years, and some of her friends were from our playgroup we play with on Fridays. All us mommies picked the kids up after class and the teachers would give a synopsis about what they did in class. Then the kids would race down the hall and out the door. Unfortunately, they don't have an accessible playground for after school hours, so the kids played in the trash area or the landscaping (oops! haha!). Jo, Patti, and I would talk for a while and then be on our way. I am going to miss that! I am also going to miss those few hours I got to spend with just bubbies - he's an awesome little dude.

Here's my post from the first day of preschool in 2009: She loves preschool

Here's the preschool buddies...

Ohio Health' birthofamom.com BLOG!

I love guest posting, and recently have been featured on Ohio Health's birthofamom.com BLOG discussing what I learned from my grocery trip with a dietician.

Excerpt:

...My most prized possession is my children. Every day I think about how to keep them healthy, and a major part of keeping them healthy is choosing foods that offer lots of nutrition. I had the opportunity to hand my weekly grocery list over to McConnell Heart Health Center Dietician Jennifer Burton to find out the down and dirty about the best foods to feed my kids, what should be organic, and what to look for in labels. The information she shared was informative and helpful....

The rest is here:
http://blog.birthofamom.com/2011/05/what-i-learned-from-a-mcconnell-heart-health-center-dietician-kristin-marks-story/

First sprinkler run of the season.

On the local news!

I was on the news today with my kids! We were getting a lesson on nutrition and choosing the best foods. My cousin works for Ohio Health and was looking for a family available on a specific day and time. We were available, and totally up for learning how to read labels and learn what were the best foods to choose. The dietician said my grocery list looked good, which made me feel as if I am making the right choices!

If you watch the video, take a look at cereal part. The dietician told the kids to pick up anything they wanted. Well, what did they go for? The most terrible stuff! Of course, the full on sugar cereal is right at their eye-level. They were also choosing stuff b/c of the cartoon character on front. For instance, when we left bubbies cried because he didn't get his "squid cereal" or the cereal with Cars on it. Seriously, if I brought that stuff home that is all they'd choose. Now, I understand it is about moderation, and they can be sometimes foods. I certainly want my kids to know they can eat that stuff sometimes, but I don't want them to think that is an appropriate choice all the time. Sugared cereals should be a treat. She also said to choose unsweetened cereal and add your own sugar if you need a bit of sweetness.

I am going to do a more extended write-up on Cbusmom.com, but I have a number of questions for her that I need answered.

Check it out: NBC4 Nutrition and Labels

My first half marathon!

I am in the white baseball cap.

I did it! Yesterday, I ran the Cap City Half Marathon!! I did 13.1 miles in 2 hours 44 minutes at a pace of 12:32/mile. My bib was 5626.

I am amazed that my body was able to run that type of distance, especially with asthma. I have asthma due to allergies, and I also have exercise-induced asthma, so this really was a milestone in my life. At 40, I was able to run, and not just run, but run over 13 miles.

My training started back in January with the folks at Frontrunner. We met up Sunday mornings for three months to do our long runs together. I don't know what I'd have done without that group. There is noway I would have run passed 7 by myself. Plus, all my friends and family were so supportive. It was a great experience.

Race day I thought I was going to be more nervous than I was. I guess since I had done a few other races I wasn't as nervous, but I was scared. The longest distance I ran at the time was 12 and that was really tough for me. Race day I asked my friend Bridgette to meet up at 10 and run me in. I seriously don't know how I would have gotten through the last 3 miles without her. She was telling me stories about crazy ladies and their kids and kept me positive about finishing.

I can't believe the race is over. Seriously, after all that training and time, it is hard to be up on a Sunday and not be running with the group. If there is another one in my future I am doing these things:

1. Keeping up with running long runs of 5 - 7 miles before training starts.
2. Eating properly and drinking more water daily.
3. Strength training and cross training - I would have run a better race if I had done these consistently and more often.
4. Hopefully not get sick. I had a nasty lung infection for over a month in March/April. I think that really slowed me down - not only physically, but mentally. I was tired and sick and not in a good state of mind. Runners have bad days, yes, but more than a few days makes it hard to remain positive. I almost was going to back out at one point, but after training for so long that was not a realistic option.

My girl turned FIVE!

My baby girl is 5. She was so excited to be 5 that I didn't get a chance to get all vaclempt over her turning 5. The day after her birthday I was instructed to call her "five year old girl."

She was so funny. I asked "P" to get dressed and she just stood there. She said, "P won't get dressed, but this 5 year old girl will!" haha!

Anyhow, here she is next to her body portrait (we were going to use this as a game, but the kids wanted to just play outside instead). Thanks to my friend Susan for the idea - pin the crown on the birthday princess played similar to Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Outline your child's body and then let them color it. I cut out crowns from construction paper to be placed on her head.

My interview with darling daughter (sounding awfully similar to my hubby: loves unicorns, movies, and playing games...hmm....):

Fave toy: Critters or all of her toys
Fave book: Goldilicious
Fave food: ice cream
Fave drink: apple juice
Fave show: Bubble Guppies
Fave movie: Tinkerbell and the Fairy Rescue
Fave thing to do: play games

Running and losing weight

I have found that I am heavier than I was before I started training for the half marathon. Not only have my legs and butt grown because of the added muscle, but my appetite has grown. Burning 1,000 calories in one run leaves me feeling hungry all day. I really need to find a way to manage my hunger because I can't keep eating like I have been and gaining weight. For crying out loud, bathing suit season is around the corner!

I was thinking - Oh, I run over 2o-some miles a week, certainly I can eat whatever I choose. Not so, I need to eat for endurance and health, but what I have been doing is overeating. Overeating has been a problem my whole life, now with added exercise, I am only giving myself more excuses to have second portions.

The thing is, I know what I should be doing...and I haven't been doing it. I've done whatever I want and now it is leaving me feeling heavy and having tight clothes. I am going to work on losing some poundage in the next couple of months. Really, 10 pounds off would make me happy and that is not unreasonable. It just means I need to cut down and stop eating sweets and humongo portions.

I've been thinking about this for the passed couple of weeks. Now it is written down, which means I am finally serious about it.

Columbus Parent Mom of the Year Finalist. Who? Me?

My mom and me. The woman who gave me an amazing example on how to be mommy.

I received an email this week that stated I was selected as a finalist for the Columbus Parent Mom of the Year! I had to reread it because I thought it was a joke...meaning, even originally, I thought it was a joke.

My friend Susan sent me a text that said something along the lines of "guess who has been nominated for mom of the year?" I was curious, having no inkling she meant me. Then we talked later and she told me that she nominated me and that all she had was a fuzzy picture from strawberry picking one year. Then I really thought it was a joke and said "oh, thanks." Well, it wasn't a joke, she was serious.

So, here I am, up for "Mom of the Year," which is truly an honor and something I strive to be to my kids and my friends/family every day because they deserve it. I am humbled that my friend thought so much of me to nominate me, especially when I learn so much from her, my other mommy friends and family members, my sisters-in-law, my mom, and my late mother-in-law on how to parent and just how to be.

I try hard to be child-focused and centered, as you can tell from my blog. I am also studying to become a middle school teacher. I start field experience this fall and hope to do some substitute teaching and then finish up the following fall. My heart wants to make a difference in the lives of children - help them be successful, be good citizens, and make good choices. They are our future.

Enough about that stuff. I am super excited to have been selected as a finalist for Columbus Parent Magazine. That is pretty cool!

The catch is - now I have to get people to vote for me. Ugh. I am really bad with shameless personal promotion, but I guess I need to get over it if I want some votes!

Throw a vote my way? Many thanks! Voting ends March 31, 2011.

Click here ----> Vote for Kristin Marks

Writing, learning to read...we are here already?

I can't believe we are already here. P is doing really well with reading and is an enthusiastic learner, she is writing her letters with little help from me, and remembers how to spell a few words on her own. I am amazed and pleased at her retention and love of learning. She is going to do great in kindy....*sigh*. so proud of my girl. :) I gently push her to learn new things and I find she is a sponge - so is bubbies at 3! He surprises me many times with what he remembers and what he can figure out. Such a bright little guy.

"A child is a candle to be lit. Not a cup to be filled." is/was always my mom's philosophy, and I try to hold true to that as I guide my children through life and learning. They are so much fun!

Pollock and farting?

We were reading an Olivia book before bed. This picture was highlighted in the story:

Image from: www.metmuseum.org

This is a Jackson Pollock, and the name of the painting is Autumn Rhythm #30. He was an extremely talented pour and drip painter - as you can see by the picture above.

Well, when bubbies saw the pic he said:

"That looks like a fart"

I giggled, and then said to hubby, "didn't Pollock have issues?"

Hubby responded, "yes, haven't you seen the movie? ... IBS."

We roared. I had a coughing fit and from now on bubbies will think of Pollock as the fart painter. I am sure he'd appreciate that...not so much.

What they say.

I am loving what my kids say. I need to keep a notebook with me to write what they say down so I never forget. Then I shall bind it up and give it to them when they graduate from high school...at least that is my plan.

P's latest:

"What do cats and dogs do if they have no feet? ....bounce around or something?"

Vaccuum Cleaner or Oxygen Tank?

I am still cracking up at something my daughter said the other day. She had to go to the doctor's to get her ears checked (a whole lotta nother post) and when we were leaving we decided to take the elevator. I saw a woman walking towards us with her oxygen tank on wheels and could tell by the way my P cocked her head that she was going to say something.

We all got in the elevator and P says to the woman "how does *that* vaccuum work?" The woman nicely told her it was her oxygen tank and I continued with an explanation out to the car.