Running the Chicago Mini-Marathon

So last Sunday I successfully finished the Chicago Mini-Marathon-I am thrilled!!! I first decided to run it when I realized that I could indeed still run a few weeks after having Judah. I signed up for the mini and started training. I ran this one for Judah! To someday say to him, your mommy wanted to show you she still had it, even after having you:) He had just turned three months 5 days before the mini. I finished with the time of 2:18.....the last time I ran a mini was pre kids and pre marriage and I finished at 2:03....so I certainly added a few minutes to my time...but lets be honest...I have added a LOT of things to my body since that time:)

The mini was amazing!! My sister Ruth and I always pretend that we are going to run together-but really I realize that I just prefer to run by myself. But we both finished within minutes of one another-which is quite humorous considering we did not run together past the first mile. I love having someone there that is running it too....someone to get nervous/giddy with and Ruth is the perfect person for that!! Nate was the sweetest of all men (as always) and came to watch while faithfully holding Judah the entire time!! Sweet Isabelle stayed home with my parents. He cheered me on in so many spots and was the race photographer as well. There is nothing as wonderful as the start of a race when people everywhere are cheering for you to run well and finish. All I can think of is the verse " we are surrounded with a great cloud of witnesses" and I without fail usually tear up within that first mile of the run! Then, with this race you are doing a loop on lake shore drive-so you get to see all the runners ahead of you on the opposite side of the street. I probably blew too much energy cheering for them-but I simply could not help myself. I was grinning ear to ear calling out "You are an inspiration....keep it up!!" And that probably was one of my most treasured moments of the run. To be able to cheer for other runners while yourself being one. Amazing.

The day was quite hot-especially for me who loves to run when it is COLD!! And the last few miles were not the prettiest believe me!! (Side note: since I loved running on the outside of the road for the whole race I was photographed about a million times. The marathon photographers are sitting on the outside and then snap pictures of the runners throughout the race....so you can imagine just how many photos of me there are online...and THAT is not the most flattering of picture collections I have seen of myself....so believe me when I tell you I was not the most attractive person nearing that end:)) But I finished!! Right when I finished the man over the loud speaker just kept saying my name.."Way to go Abby...Nice finish Abby...right over the line Abby!!" It was truly humorous how many times he said my name-but it was certainly fun to hear it!! Then I was finished....on cloud nine knowing that I had achieved my goal. This mother of two (23 months, 3 months) had just completed her 13.1 miles....life is good!!!

Products I Cannot Live Without

We all have them.....products we cannot (or would rather not) live without. Please...if you have a blog write a list like this....or in whatever format you chose and let me know in the comments what your address is so that I can go read it. Or just leave it in the comments:)

Now on to the good stuff....I only listed 10 things. I plan on doing this with other stuff in my life...so look for more 10 item lists! And I would love suggestions for ones you would like to see:)

1. Stila's illuminating moisturizer-i love it because it is great for keeping my face moisturized and offering a nice glow, plus it has an SPF 15!! great!
2. OPI nail polishes....love them and LOVE paining my nails (which i see as therapy at the end of a little bit too crazy day) favorite colors currently: tickle my france-y(the color of silly putty), you don't know jacques(dark brown grey), sweetheart(light pinky white), and parlez-vous opi ( a purply grey)
3. bobbi brown eyeshadow in grey
4. bobbi brown blush in almond (blush ladies is one thing that will always make you look better....okay not if you are sunburn, but besides that it is a winner)
5. boar's hair roller brush...amazing for making my hair look normal
6. bubble bath...I literally probably take one every other day if not more:) the aromatherapy ones from bath and body works are great-but I love them all!!
7. maybelline waterproof mascara-cry, wipe your eyes, do whatever you want...it is not coming off
8. Vaseline-you read that correctly...Vaseline is the best make-up remover and is super duper cheap...besides that it helps with eye wrinkles!!
9. soft brow by clinque in soft brown.....my eyebrows would be close to non-existent without this...and really your eyebrows make SUCH a difference to your face when they are darkened a touch.....if you do not believe me cover yours with coverup and see how you look!!
10. mac's eyeliner brush and any eyeshadow....wearing shadow for your eyeliner is much less harsh and therefore is forgiving on eyes and faces, rather than making them look super intense and aged!!

Pictures below are: the polishes mentioned, all my nail polishes, and Isabelle's lovely red nails on my lovely bluish grey nails:)

I love my little boy!!!

I must confess, when I first found out I was pregnant with a boy I was a little bummed. I LOVED having a girl and Isabelle was (and still is) such a love!! I felt like little boy clothes were so lame and cheesy.....so hard to accessorize for a little man. I doubted that any child would be as easy to love as Isabelle. ( I think this is the fear of every mother of one....until she has her second and realizes it is sooooo wonderful and easy to love another just as dearly) Anyhow-I had Judah and oh my does he have me wrapped around his finger. He coos and smiles in the most precious ways!! I could stare at him and chat for hours. He truly goes from a normal face to a full blown face of joy when I just say hello.......it is heavenly!!! Little boys, or this little boy, is precious. He seems to be saying "I will protect you mommy, I will love you always mommy..." even though he is still such little nug. (nug is a term of endearment I use for a small wonderful things) I love thinking that he probably is so much like what his daddy was at that age....sweeter than sugar and just so wonderful to talk to-nothing changed in Nate when he got older:)...I hope the same stays true for Judah.

I love when I am nursing him and his body is in a the complete state of peace. He just lays there, holding my hand and staring at me or dozing off. I love him. My first impulse was wrong. Enough said.

If you need proof that he is the sweetest, check out Exhibit A below.

Why I Love Running

I know....when did this happen? When did I go from being the girl that dreaded the mile in gym class (literally for the whole year) to a woman who finds it being one of the high points of my day? I started to really run in college and that was as an escape. Living with a roommate and on a floor of 40 women makes anyone need time when they can get away and let off some steam. My sister talked me into running the Indy Mini-Marathon my Senior year of college...and I finished with the time of 2:03. Looking back I realize how much more in shape I was then I even knew.

Now here I am, out of college, married, the mother of two children (one of them being only 2 months old) and I find myself gearing up for another Mini-Marathon. This time I am training-since I just had a baby the body was not in the shape it should be for running a bit over 13 miles. And training now has become a lovely thing. I love to climb into my running clothes, grab my ipod and head out the front door. I either run around town or go to our Sports Club and nail the treadmill. ( I had never run on a treadmill in my life until a month ago...wild huh?) I find that running clears my head, clears the negative emotion I have build up from the day and puts me in a mood that I love. There is something so real about running. You are not relying on anything mechanical to spur you forward-the only thing you are relying upon is your own body. Every step you take your body is responsible for....you lift up and down your weight every stride you make. I love that.

Now I should clarify. I am not some amazing, beautiful to watch run kinda girl. I have never been trained "in running correctly" and I get neon red when I run. I sweat through my clothes, I get chaffing, my knees have to be iced-I am not a poster child for the activity. But sometimes I cannot hold in my smile when running. God must love when we run, because my heart is so drawn to Him when I do. Perhaps it is because I think of all the verses in the Bible that use running analogies....and I love how much greater of an impact those verses make on me now that I run. I love that God has made our bodies able to train and improve over time. Literally the first time I went running after my second babe I could run maybe a mile. Now I have run 10 miles....just from being persistent in my running. How amazing that are bodies were created to respond like that....I LOVE IT!!!! I love that I experience such strong emotion when I run. I often tear up on my runs-almost always at the end-because my heart is exploding with joy, contentment, or longing.

Those are some of the reasons I love running. Tell me why you love something you do.......I want to hear!!

Haircuts

So I cut my hair-a few inches...nothing too shocking. (I have cut my own hair for a long time...and highlight it...so much cheaper and you can do it whenever you have a free moment-very nice) Anyhow, I decided to cut Isabelle's hair. Well-things did not go as well as hoped. I did it while she was running around-first and biggest mistake. It was all going well until one fatal cut. I almost cried. It was the side/front of her hair I cut....so luckily it is the part she always wears in a hair tye-but oh my!! I kept telling Nate she looked like an 80's style rocker. The front part of her hair was a blunt cut that angled from shorter to longer starting at the back going to the front. I will confess that when she woke up this morning it didn't look as bad since she had slept on it and made it a little more normal. Anyhow-I included pictures, but not ones of her hair down. I vowed I could not do that to her or me. Honest-I really can cut hair.