Gender Reveal

We didn't actually have a Gender Reveal Party. Sorry for the misleading title.

I previously told you that we would find out the gender on May 24^th. I see how you might be confused. Well, I’m impatient. Big surprise. A few weeks ago, I called my doctor’s office to see if I could come on May 17^th instead of the 24^th. All they could say was “no,” right?! It never hurts to ask, so I did. They agreed to let me come early, but told me that if they couldn’t tell if boy or girl, then I would have to come back the next week. Umm, ok! Who wouldn’t want to see their baby again?!

Aaaaand, we’re having a girl. We are so excited! It's going to be so much fun; however, Brian mentioned that we will all be in trouble when she learns the words Kate Spade and Tory Burch! I will admit, though, we were both very surprised, as we were both convinced it was going to be a boy. Wait, did you see the part where we were surprised??? I’m sooooo glad we didn’t wait until she was born. It would have driven me crazy!

So, I thought it would take us forever to come up with a name, but it didn’t! Her name is Emerson Blair. Oh, and it’s NOT Emmy. Take note: HER NAME IS NOT EMMY. Yes, I’m shouting. I want the world to know. It is Emerson. You can call her Emmy, but please know that I will correct you, and when she's old enough, she'll correct you, too. Sorry not sorry.

The BEST running partners. Ever.

Remember a while back (a long while back) when I told you that I had a hard time choosing a running partner? If you don't remember, I'll give you the low-down. I always had a hard time deciding which dog to take on my runs with me. It never failed that the one I left at home would get his/her feelings hurt, and I felt like a jerk. Well, problem solved. I now run with both babies, and they are sooo good! It's like they are trying to prove to me that I should have been doing this the whole time. They're probably right. I'm so impressed by how they stay beside me and don't try to get me all tangled in their leashes. They're also good at helping me keep my pace! I will say that they are not perfect, and the first half mile is tough because they are so excited! Once they calm down, though, they are good. Oh, and Sophie ALWAYS (like, every. single. time) finds the best landscaped yard to lay a nice poop. I swear, she poops in her own yard before we run, but for some reason, she always has to poop again around mile 0.67. Other than that, they're great running partners. When I train for my races, I don't take Sophie more than 5 miles because, after that, she really wants to slow down. Sully, on the other hand, is a rockstar! He's run as much as 11 miles with me and still comes home to chase squirrels. How he is not exhausted, I will never know. That boy can run! Now, I'm not running more than 3 miles (doctor said not to over-do it), so both of them get to go on every run with me!!! I'm thinking they'll be my saving grace after Wee is born.

When I put my running clothes on, our house sounds something like this:

(Sullivan follows me around--he knows)

Sullivan: mom. mom. mom. I see that you just put your running clothes on. Are you going to grab your hat?

(I grab my hat)

Sullivan: OH. MY. GOSH. You grabbed your hat!!! Your hat!!! That means you're going outside. Do you think you're going for a run?

(I grab my shoes and put them on)

Sullivan: YOUR SHOES!!!! You're going for a run!!! Can I come? Can I come?

(Meanwhile, Sophie is downstairs sucking on her blanket. Sullivan follows me downstairs, almost tumbling down the stairs. I grab the leashes out of the closet.)

Sophie (drops her blanket as if she couldn't care less about it): LEASHES! Do I get to go?!?!

(Sullivan lets out a big yelp as if he's just been called up to the big leagues. Sophie is jumping up and down, and Sully is literally running in circles. After I get their leashes on them, we race out the door. We're off!)

It happens like that every. single. time. I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Tales of My Baby Daddy: Part 1

I have a feeling that I will be sharing many humorous stories with you. The protagonist is my baby daddy, hence the title of this post (and many more posts to come).

Our first ultrasound was at 8 weeks (I'm 13.5 now). We left the doctor's office so elated, as we had seen our baby's heartbeat. It was so cool! Brian was so excited and told me he wanted to buy something for Wee Waldron. He suggested we go to Babies-R-Us. Shocked at his suggestion, I jumped on that idea, as I didn't know how many more times I'd ever hear those words come out of his mouth!

So, we perused the aisles. I was overwhelmed at all of the "stuff" and had no idea what we would actually need vs. what was a waste of money. But, Brian wanted to buy something. Anything. He just HAD to buy something THAT DAY for little Wee. We arrived at the carseat section. Holy mother. There were so many. I immediately had to leave that section and headed for the bath section. There is nothing cuter than a baby wrapped in a towel with a frog face over its head. Am I right?! I knew that was the perfect item to purchase that day. A cute little bath towel.

Well, baby daddy had a different idea. He picked out something larger. Something waaaay more expensive. When he found me, he had the biggest smile on his face, like he had just chosen the best gift for which any new mom could ask. A breast pump. That's right. A breast pump. And he was so serious about it. I wish you could have heard his justification for buying it. "You're definitely going to need it. It's on sale for $300 from $350. We need to buy it now." You think I'm joking. I'm not. He was so adamant about buying that dumb breast pump, that he was actually not very happy with me when I shot it down. I mean seriously. If we were going to buy something fun to celebrate little Wee, it sure as hell was not going to be a breast pump! Oh, and PS-most insurances pay for those now. Or, I could rent one from the hospital for dirt cheap (and they are usually better than what can be bought in the store). So, there. I won.

We left Babies-R-Us empty-handed, so we headed to my most favorite baby boutique in town, Rolly's. They have the cutest outfits and toys, as well as great baby furniture. I have loved that store since the day we moved to Winston. So, we walked in, and I start looking for a cute outfit. After a few minutes, I hear "Hey, D! Come over here and look at this." I headed to the back of the store to find Brian in the furniture section. Yep, he had his eye on a crib, a dresser, and a hutch. There was no talking him out of it. He was buying all 3 pieces that day. And he did.

Later that week, while I was working late, I received these picture texts:

He put everything together all by himself! He even took down the bed that was previously in that room and set it up in another room! I am thankful for my handyman!

Maybe it's a little early to have furniture, but we are both planners, so I just feel like we are way ahead of the game! Now we will anxiously await May 24th.

37 days...

....until we find out if Wee Waldron is a boy or a girl!!! We cannot wait!

Having to wait 18 weeks to find out the sex is driving me crazy (and Brian, too). Of course, people are asking, "why are you finding out the sex? Don't you want it to be a surprise?!" Well, people, it will be a surprise. On May 24th. I will be so surprised that I might pee a little. Then, after I change my pants, I will probably immediately buy boy or girl bedding and start decorating. I don't want a unisex room, but I will tell you right now that, if it's a girl, there will be no pink explosion.

Until next time. 

PS-did you really think I would wait until delivery to find out the sex? That would not be conducive to a Type A's lifestyle. 

Where have you been???

I guess the real question is, "where have I been?" I know, I know. I've taken a long hiatus from the blogosphere. I'm sorry. I'm blaming the winter blues. I despise winter. The only time I like winter is when I'm skiing out West somewhere. Wait, I take that back. I don't really despise winter. I love sweaters and scarves and boots, but for the love, why does it have to last so long?! Anyways, spring is finally here (Praise the Lord!) and I'm a new person! Actually, I really am. I have quite a bit of catching up to do. Catching you up, that is. All of you probably already know, but I'll tell you again....well, I'll let Sophie and Sully tell you.

They are so excited, and so are we! It wasn't exactly planned, but we are happy, nonetheless. I guess it meets criteria for being categorized as "planned spontaneity." It was somewhat planned (I use that term very loosely) in that I came off of the pill in December, but we thought it would take much longer. Well, it didn't. That's the spontaneous part. It took about a month and a half. Yes, I know what you're thinking. I must be one of the dumbest pharmacists on the planet to think that coming off of birth control isn't risky. No, we were fully aware that it could happen a lot sooner than expected, but based on my history, my doctors always told me that it would probably take at least a year after coming off of the pill. It's a risk we were willing to take because we knew we would be excited whether it happened now or a year later. We definitely weren't "trying" (I hate that term), but we weren't exactly trying to prevent it, either. Suffice it to say, we are beyond excited!

So, I've been asked a lot of questions about this pregnancy (disclaimer: I promise not to turn this into a "mommy blog"), and I'll answer them for you here.

Q. How have you felt? Have you been really sick?
A. Nope. I haven't felt differently at all. I'm counting that as a huge blessing, being that I'm one to become very motion-sick. If it weren't for the 4 positive pregnancy tests (yes, 4!) and the ultrasounds, I wouldn't believe it.

Q. Have you had any weird cravings? Any taste aversions?
A. Nope. Still eating the same as I did before.

Q. Have you gained any weight?
A. Well, don't hold back, now. Actually, I haven't gained any weight....yet. I know the lbs will come, though.

Q. Must be nice eating for 2, huh? Lots of guilt-free eating for the next 9 months...
A. Actually, no. Pregnancy is not an excuse to throw your healthy eating habits down the drain. I still eat healthy. I'm not trying to turn into Jessica Simpson.

Q. Are you still able to run?
A. Yep! Although, I ran a half-marathon when I was about 6 weeks pregnant, I'm not planning on doing anymore of those until after the baby comes. My doctors said it was completely fine to continue running, but just not to overdo it, get overheated, or get dehydrated. I think the overdoing it part would be hard for me, because I'm always pushing myself to be faster and run harder. No run is worth risking the health of your baby, so I'm keeping my runs to a short distance.

Q. How far along are you? 
A. Twelve weeks, as of April 12, 2013.

Q. When are you due?
A. October 25, 2013. I'm hoping to let him/her cook a bit longer so I don't have a Halloween baby. Don't get me wrong, I do love Halloween, but I just don't want that stigma for my baby. I guess it would always make for fun birthday parties, though! Who's up for a costume party?!

Q. How did you find out? What made you decide to take a pregnancy test?
A. Well, it was weird. I just had a feeling. That sounds cliche, but it's true. I was at work one Friday, and something just told me to go home and take a test (I had one left over from my first negative test. Yes, they come in packs of two. They want you to be sure.). So, I took the test and was preparing to wait the 2 minutes the package insert said to wait for the results. Well, that thing turned positive in 5 seconds. No joke. I rushed to the store to buy 2 more, because I just couldn't believe it. I was excited, but I didn't think it was real. Same story for the next two. 5 seconds later and 2 more positives. Meanwhile, Brian is still at work and I have not told him anything. Then, I went to Rolly's (the cutest baby boutique ever) and bought a unisex onesie. I had them wrap it up, then went home an anxiously awaited Brian's arrival. I was expecting him to arrive at home in the next 30 minutes, and THOSE WERE THE LONGEST 30 MINUTES EVER!!! When he finally came through the door, I just nonchalantly asked him about his day and told him I bought a gift for him. This wasn't really unusual, becomes sometimes I'm nice, and I do things like that for him. Needless to say, when he realized what it was, he was ecstatic!!!

Ok, that's all for now. Sorry for writing an essay. 

Musical shoes.

Like musical chairs, but not.

Early into my training, I decided that I needed a lighter shoe. I had been running in the Saucony Ride 4 for years. It was the perfect shoe for me, but I just wanted something lighter. I started looking into the minimalist approach. Hear me out: I was not looking for the Vibram Five Fingers or anything of the like. Don't get me started on those, but just...no. Anyways, I visited the local running store to buy a new pair of shoes. I probably tried on every minimalist shoe they had and ended up falling deeply in love with the Brooks Pure Cadence (see photo below). They were so light, yet so comfortable. I felt like I was walking on clouds and was convinced they could make me fly. The hot pink color made them that much better!

The minimalist approach is becoming quite popular, but I'm not into jumping onto bandwagons. When it comes to athletic gear, I do my research (well, most of the time)! This time, I did not. While I have always run on the balls of my feet, I knew that I didn't need to change my form when I switched to these shoes. I just switched. One day I was running in the Sauconys, and the next day I was running in these bad boys (photo above). They were soooo comfortable! I loved them. I really had no problems....until my really long runs. When I ran my 18-miler, my left knee swelled up to the size of a volleyball. Ok, maybe not that big, but it was substantially larger than my right knee. I took the rest of the week off until my next long run (13 miles). During that run, I felt like my feet were burning. That didn't make sense because I had run much longer distances before, so I just kind of ignored it. I also think I was in denial about the shoes being the culprit because I did not want to blame them! My next long run was 19 miles. O.M.G. That was so painful. Although I felt as if all of the bones from my waist down were going to shatter, I finished the run; however, I knew that there was no way in HELL that I could have run 7 more miles (marathon distance). I finally decided it was time to listen to my body. I switched back to my old shoes, and the Brooks went into the closet never to be worn again! I wish I had done that sooner!

About a week later, I noticed the tread starting to wear off of my current shoes (the Sauconys). Because I still had a couple of weeks before the marathon, I decided to get another pair so they would be broken in well enough before race day (seriously no big deal). I went to the local running store to find out that Saucony no longer made the Ride 4. WHAAAAAT?!  I thought I was going to have a panic attack right in the middle of the store. This was terrible news! I mean, I can't change to a completely different shoe 2 weeks before the marathon! After the salesman calmed me down, he assured me that the Ride 5 was very similar to the 4, and if I didn't like them after a few runs, I could bring them back. Well, I really had no choice but to buy them, because it probably would have also been harmful to wear the worn down shoes for much longer. I just hated the idea of a new shoe this late in the game. I literally wanted to vom. 

After a few runs, I decided that I love the Ride 5. They were great throughout my training. Since the marathon, I have run a half-marathon, and the knee felt great! Oh, and I also set a PR!!!

In summary, I'm blaming my poor marathon performance on the shoes. It's the only thing that I changed from last year's training. While I mentioned in a previous post that my knee was likely an exacerbation from a basketball injury, I took good care of myself then and let it heal. That's why I didn't have any problems last year.

WHAT I LEARNED

1. If you decide to switch to minimalist shoes, do it slowly. Start off with wearing the minimalists for the short runs, and continue to wear your older, more supportive shoes for the long runs. 
2. Listen to your body and recognize pain early. DO NOT ignore it.
3. Minimalist shoes should probably only be worn for short runs (just my opinion). If half-marathons are the furthest you run, you might be ok. There are runners who wear minimalists, even five-fingers, for marathons; those runners might be ok now, but I am still not convinced that they will remain injury-free. 

*disclaimer: I am NO expert. This is all based on my personal experience. And common sense. 

Marathon numero dos.

I just ran my second marathon, and I've been meaning to tell you about it. Not that it was very exciting, but I learned a lot this time around.

Let's start with my training. While my training last year went very well, this year's was 10 times better. I missed less than 5 runs (and those were only short runs) this time around and rocked my long runs. I did have the occasional "bad day," but for the most part, I felt that my training had me prepared to finish in a good time (for me). I also incorporated yoga into my cross-training (I did zero cross-training last year), which worked wonders. I think that all training programs should involve yoga. As for the physical part, I was very well-prepared, and that allowed me to be confident, as well as mentally prepared.

Let's move forward to race day. It was perfect. I could not have asked for better weather, and I felt great! Everything was going smoothly until mile 8. My left knee started to KILL ME. Literally kill me. I recognized this pain as an exacerbation of a previous basketball injury, and I prayed so hard for the pain to go away (I still had 18 miles to go!). I made it to mile 20 (limping at that point), and I just had to walk. I wanted so badly to quit, but that's not in my blood. The tears started flowing immediately, not because I was in pain, but because I felt so defeated. I literally felt like I had just lost the National Championship. Ok, that may be a little dramatic, but it's true. I am very competitive, mostly with myself, and I HATE to lose. What bothers me the most is that I felt great, except for my knee. I never felt thirsty, nor did I ever hit a wall. It was so frustrating!!!

I guess I'll just have to chalk this one up as a loss and get ready for the next race, while also taking care of my knee. I do feel like I know why it acted up, but I'll explain that in another post.