From One Mom to Another: Tips on Disney, Races and Kids

This issue of the my blog is going to be a race recap of the two races I did this weekend and a little discussion about the medical denial I live with daily. Saturday, Race #1:  Run Wild Missoula's Run for the Trees 10k Race website It was a little chilly and cool on Saturday morning.  Jacob and I choose to run the 10k this year.  It is a nice flat course that runs through the Old Sawmill District and then next to the river.   My 10k time hovers around 1:15 and this weekend proved to be no different.  The first few miles were rough, I was pushing a heavy stroller into the wind.  Don't get me wrong, I have a nice BOB running stroller but my 4.5yo weighs almost 40 pounds and add that to the stroller and a couple pounds of gear and its add a bit to the challenge.  The race was well attended and it was very busy along the course because of the river bank cleanup efforts for Earth Day but we didn't have any issues.  From mile...

Last Friday I made a huge leap of faith.  I decided that I would join my husband on his business trip to Orlando.  This may not seem like a big deal but for me it means spending a significant amount of money and traveling with only one of my three kids.  I recently went on my first vacation with only one child, my son, and it was great.  He wanted to attend a video game competition in Las Vegas, so I took him.  I am not a video gamer by any means, I just never got past Frogger as a kid.  He loves video games and at 15 he really enjoys that scene.  But back to this trip. This trip gives me the opportunity to travel with just my husband and my youngest.  J has to work two of the 5 days we are there so it will be just me and the littlest one.  I booked five day park hopper tickets so we could enjoy Disney.  It is going to be VERY busy and this isn't a week I would have booked if I was paying for the entire thing but the weather...

I turned 40 just after Christmas last year and you would assume by this point in my life I would have stopped caring about what other people think long ago. Well, as with most things in my life, I do and I don’t.  Last Sunday, I decided to get in my car and drive to the foot of Mount Sentinel and run up the trail for three miles.  It is about a five minute drive from my house and I have lived near this mountain for a sum total of 30 plus years of my life.  I love to hike and I love to trail run.  Why was this such an event for me?  Well you see, I don’t like doing most things alone.  I still feel very self-conscious about doing certain things by myself.  I run alone on a regular basis but it is running to and from my house and to and from my office.  The idea of driving somewhere that is very popular and busy to run alone was just foreign to me.  In many ways I am the definition of codependent.  Here is a non-inclusive quick list of thin...

There are very few days that I go to bed feeling like I was the best person I could have been, today was one of those days.  What made today perfect?   A couple things:  1.  I got to spend quality time with each of my kids.  2. Each kid made an impact on our family. 3. I did something for myself. 4. The day ended with everyone smiling.   My morning started with a little bit of sleeping in while my husband played video games.  Of course my preschooler doesn't believe in sleeping in and she wanted to play barbies.  So I got up and had coffee and barbies.   I go grocery shopping on the weekends, every weekend.  This is one of those chores that can go either way.  Today was nice because my eldest daughter joined me.  It was just the two of us.  She is fun and was in a good mood.   When we got back it was time to clean up the yard.  Cleaning up after three dogs may not seem like an activity that makes for a perfect da...

Today, I walked into a local sportswear store to check for a sale on winter coats for my little one.  As I looked at sale jackets in the children's the clerk asked me if I was interested in anything for me.   "Sure, do you have any shorts in an XL?" "Yes, a couple pairs." She handed me two pairs.  The first pair was a size 10 and the second was a 12.  I looked slightly confused and then she apologized.  She didn't apologize for bringing me the wrong size, she apologized because they didn't carry anything 'big' enough for me.  Right, because I'm plus sized (I wear a size 16) and you won't find many brand name of athletic clothes in anything bigger than a size 14.  But this was crazy, a size 10 is not an extra large, in my memory that was medium.  I've always been a bigger girl, but still athletic.  I run, not fast but I still run.  I run at least 1 1/2 marathon every year and average about 10-15 miles per week.  I lift weights, I rid...