I just ate a fun size Snickers while chatting on the phone with Tiffany…
I’m at a loss with what to do next about my body image.
I’m training for the marathon in January. Climbing every week because I *love* it.
I am so sore right now from my 11 mile run yesterday. Ouch.
Last night I was so stressed from the boys, when I went out, I went *all* out. We went to Shuga’s after climbing, and I had curry chicken salad, a BOWL of the thai coconut shrimp soup, a mint mango margarita, almond butter cake AND almond kisses hot drink. It was all so unbelievably delicious and awesome. I was a *teensy* tipsy when I got home, and Doug benefited from that Then I passed out instead of working like I intended to. I feel pretty good today
I was at our McDonalds (on 30th) with Emmett, Zander and Zevan after swim class. It’s lunch hour, they only have one register open, and the high school boys are filing in.
Zander is eating his Taco Bell at the table with Emmett and Zevan. Zevan steals Zander’s straw, I have to get out of line to go get him because he’s pitching a fit.
I pick him up and get in the back of the line. I’m holding him, he’s squirming, I’m making him use words to tell me what he wants. He *FINALLY* says he wants me to put him down. He goes over to the new toy display and starts punching it.
The high school boys find it amusing, as does the guy in front of me in line. I roll my eyes, and I feel some small amount of commiseration. I know he’s hungry. I just want to get some food in him.
Zevan starts crying and carrying on - big tantrum. I’m next to order. He’s all, “Moooooom-meeeee… Moooooom-meeeee… Moooooom-meeeee”
It’s *finally* my turn to order.
I’m in the middle of ordering when this b*tch comes up to me all rudely, “You need to control your kid. He’s running all over the place. It’s rude.”
Oh NO you didn’t.
It was all I could do to NOT say what I was thinking, “Listen you f*t f*ck, you are either not a mom or not a nice one, so back off “
I just looked at her, and said, “Whatever.” and continued ordering. Inside I was
I finished ordering, and looked for Zevan. He was sitting at the table with Emmett and Zander. Tantrum apparently over.
He starts whining when I bring the drinks over, so I tell him, “If you can’t calm down and be nice, I’m going to let that mean lady take you to her house.”
I got a PM from Cindi saying she couldn’t make it because DH was ill
May called me and said she would be there. She asked about Candy, and I told May that Candy was “on the fence” as of last night.
“Should I call her? I’ll just pick her up.” says May
“Go for it!” I say.
I was running SO late today. I grabbed a couple of eggrolls, and forgot to drink water before I left. I tried unsuccessfully to look up last year’s time before I left. I had a granola bar on the way. I made it to the race just 4 minutes before the start. May had my number picked up and ready with pins, and Mike took my extra gear (car keys, fleece headband and long sleeve running top). Turned out to be GREAT weather for a run today.
I caught up with May and Candy (wow, May actually got Candy out there!) In my head, I had this thought of running with Candy through the race.
May tells me, “I’m tired, I’m just going to run with you.”
“But I was going to run with Candy.”
“We’ll just run together.”
Yeah right.
So we all started out together, at the back of the pack, at an easy pace. Candy was just behind us for a good part of the way. She caught up with us at the first water station (1.5 miles). There was a long downhill after that, and I *love* to run the downhills, especially early on. May encouraged me to “pass just 5 people” and that was easy to do at that point in the race.
I kept my running posture, even with some slight uphills, and tried to keep my pace so that the folks that I passed wouldn’t catch up to me.
The next downhill, she encouraged me to pass again. I did. We passed 10 people this time. It was a long downhill. I thought, “Well, that’s good enough - 15 people - I can rest a bit.”
No rest for the weary. She had me keep a decent pace, never letting the people behind us catch up. I struggled through a lot of the uphills, but enjoyed the downhills. I just stumbled a few times on the terrain.
Last year the course was SUPER muddy, and this time it was nice and dry. Although very sandy.
We passed another 6 people.
After the mid point, I started feeling tired. May pushed me to keep going. I was hurting. She kept encouraging me, “C’mon, you can do it!” “Keep the pace” Which was fine for a while. Right before we got to the 2nd water station, I was really tired. “I need water,” I gasped. I was slowing to a walk, and she kept giving me a hard time.
We passed another 5 people.
Then I started getting grumpy with her. I felt like Zander must feel. “I don’t want to maintain a run,” I said as I slowed to a walk. “C’mon, ” she said/nagged
“No.”
Up and up and up we went. The last hill just sucked. I power walked as much as I could.
“You’ll feel better with a slow run.”
“No I won’t”
I trudged up and up. We were close to the top. She wanted me to pick it up. I said, “I’m not running until we are at the very top.”
FINALLY, we were headed on the final downhill. I was wrecked. I was pissed at my coach. We were *right* behind 2 other runners, and nearly missed the fact that there were haybales to hurdle.
“F*CK” I exclaimed, unceremoniously, jumping over the first 5 (6?) and then just stepping on the last one.
Final yards, back on the track, with this guy with a super boring voice, telling us there was one more hurdle ahead - not a haybale, but cones.
“Whatever,” I thought to myself, then declaring my intent to May that I would kill her when we were done.
We jumped over the cones, and crossed the finish line at 1:11:41.
It was an angry finish for me. I was totally wrecked. I made a beeline for the water table.
Then I dropped to the ground, on my back, exhausted. Still declaring my murderous intent.
“You can’t kill me until Candy finishes, ” she stalled.
After a few minutes, I got up and we walked over to the hay bale hurdles to wait for Candy. I was thinking - Candy may want to kill *us*, particularly May, for making her come out today when she had already decided not to.
I saw Candy on the horizon and started cheering loudly, “Candy! Candy! Candy!” She danced over the hurdles, looking VERY strong.
May and I ran alongside her to the finish line. She finished so strongly - such a contrast to my achingly painful finish.
By this time, I was thanking May for pushing me, but telling her that she wasn’t allowed to run with me on race day anymore
One more to go!
By the by, we passed about 35 people by the end of the race. And I finished 54 seconds faster than last year (1:12:35).
Wow. I must have been really fast last year.
Candy’s story:
Yes, I was on the fence about this race. I’ve never ran 6 miles before and I only ran once in the last 6 days, so haven’t trained at all. I was on the fence this morning until Michael’s buddy asked what I was going to do for the day and when I told him I might run a race that I didn’t really want to run, he said, “life’s too short to do things you don’t want to do”. I agreed and was resigned to taking the day off and relaxing. So, I ate three pieces of bacon and had a 2nd cup of coffee (typically, I like to keep nothing to something minimal before a run).
The phone rings and I get the dreaded call from May. She says in a sweet tone, “So, I’m coming to pick you up at 10:45″. I tell her that I don’t think I’m running the race today.
She says, “I’ll run with youuuuuu….”
I say, “May, I just ate bacon and a 2nd cup of coffee!”
She says, “You’ll be fine. The race is an hour away.”
I tell her I’ll get back to her. She wants to be at my house in like 20 minutes! I’m ticked! The nice day I thought I was going to have has now been interrupted by a caring friend trying to get me out of the house for a 6 freakin’ mile run! I decide that I don’t want to be a loser and lame and a quitter, so I angrily concede to go. And, I’m not joking about being mad about going. I know that after the run I will feel great, but at that momment, I’m very very irritated. Just ask my husband.
So, I call May, tell her I’m in, but she DOESN’T need to run with me. I know how May is. She’s a great coach, but if you’re not in the mood to be coached, not so good. Gotta love May!
So, I muster up the energy to get my stupid clothes on and try to be in a better mood. May arrives and we’re off to the race.
May tried to run with me, but when I started to walk and she said, “Come on!” and I gave her “The Look”, she ran ahead and caught up with Maida. <Insert Maida’s experience here>
It wasn’t too bad of a race, but I got cocky again. There’s this 77 year old man, Ed, who keeps beating me and it’s ticking me off! He’s beaten me the last 2 races. This time, I passed him 1/2 mile into the race and kept ahead of him until midway. I then made the error of celebrating my accomplishment of beating him. As carma would have it, he passed me shortly after midway and of course he finished before me. That’s just not right.
Thanks Maida and May for getting me out there! Just one more race, 7 freakin’ miles! I’ve been promised a massage if I run that race. We’ll see how I feel after I get back from 5 days in NYC.
May is totally sweet while she’s coaching you, too. The whole time I was cursing her and announcing my murderous intent, she just smiled at me, knowingly.
(I did thank her, BTW)
111 18/25 Maida C. Scott 38 Colo Spgs CO 1:11:41 West Side Moms 112 22/26 May Chan 40 Colo Springs CO 1:11:42 West Side Moms 136 25/25 Candice Jackson 36 Colo Springs CO 1:25:11 West Side Moms
So, Zander was talking about his bowling party today, where he picked 6 of his school friends to invite
He was telling Grandma this morning about who was going to be there, and after he said, “Zoe,” he lowered his voice and said, “My girlfriend.”
I wonder if Zoe feels the same way?
Zoe’s mom’s response?
OMG!!! That is too cute!!!
She did note that she was the only girl on the list…but denied it when I teased her that it was because she was his girlfriend. She said, “Zander just likes ALL the girls, mama.” then today she said, “I guess I must be Zander’s girlfriend, if I’m the only girl going to his special bowling party.”
Well, Paige was also invited, but until today, I didn’t have her mom’s email address.
But I asked Zander today - “ o you like all the girls?”
Last week, Zander and I were talking about something, and when he realized he was mistaken, he said, “Oh. My bad.”
Last night, when Zander went to bed, we discussed how, when he woke up, he would be 5 years old.
“And what will downstairs look like?”
I wasn’t going to decorate until Saturday, but I realized that he was hopeful that he would wake up to a decorated dining room.
So. I stayed up until 2 AM, making and placing decorations.
i woke up this morning to a gasp, and a “Whoaaaaa” and a gleeful sound from Zander. Totally worth it.
This morning, I asked Zevan to go on the potty. He replied, “Okay mom! I *always* do what you tell me to do.” yeah, right.
Today we took Zander to the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center for his birthday. I can’t believe my baby is 5 years old!
This was in response to a mom on the boards who was feeling disconnected with her daughter after her son was born.
Zander was just a baby himself (18 months) when Zevan was born. The first night Zander and I spent apart was the night Zevan was born. I missed him so much that night. From an early age, Zander “helped” with his baby brother.
I felt guilty about him losing time with me, but Zander is my miracle baby after infertility and miscarriages, so our connection is always there, even when I was most frustrated with him. I read him books while I nursed Zevan, and I was lucky enough to have someone to watch Zevan so Zander and I could have dates. I even remember sometimes, hugging him and telling him that I missed him.
“But I here, mama.”
“I know.”
Now that Zander is nearly 5, very far from his tyrannical 3s, I find that we are closer than ever. Zevan is in the midst of his tyrannical 3s, so I’m definitely not feeling him the way I did a few months ago. Who took my little snuggly baby and replaced him with this whiny, aggressive boy who thinks it’s funny to hit or scratch someone!?
It’s not the comments/thoughts/personal beliefs that are an issue. It’s the *way* that some are choosing to express themselves.
The group has long been a haven for those seek open-mindedness, no matter what their beliefs. From diva mom to the crunchiest granola, from Wiccan to Christian to Buddhist and everything in between - we’ve got a WIDE range. And we have long co-existed.
No one will be banned from the group. Some will simply not have access to the four Members Only forums. There are plenty of other places and topics to post.
Health and Wellness will move to special topics, however the monthly check in threads will be moved to Members Only. Something will happen to The Real Truth about Motherhood boards as well, I’m just not sure what that will be yet.
The group is meant to foster a community of support and encouragement among mothers. The place to turn to when you are scared or anxious or just need a cyber hug. Where you can voice your opinion and be met with open discussion without having to be put on the defensive.
The board is a place to supplement the friendships and connections made through meeting in real life - whether it is the main group playdate, or one that you set up privately with another mama.
Recently there have been quite a few members posting who are using the anonymity of the internet to say things in a way that they would likely not say in person. And if they really would say it that way, well, no one wants to be around that kind of righteousness and judgement.
These can’t be pointed to one post or one topic. It’s subtle but enough to run off less confrontational members from the boards who regularly come to playgroup armed with hugs and kindness.
Over the three years this board has been around, I have communicated with the most offensive posters. Some left, some changed their tone because they didn’t realize how they were being perceived. It’s the part of this volunteer job I hate the most.
It’s not a matter of being around the longest. I have made some connections with some of the newest moms of the group, too.
It’s not about coming to play dates every week, either. There are moms I’ve met here only briefly, even just one time, that I have made connection with.
Lastly, those who might ask, who am *I* to make these decisions?
This is a labor of love. I started this group because my two best friends with children moved out of town. It was election year 2004, and I was suffocated by the oppressive conservatives moms in all the other playgroups I found. I was tired of driving all over town.
I maintain the website, pay for hosting & bandwidth, give tech support to those who have trouble with the forum, organize playdates and get-togethers. I moderate disputes, police the boards and try my damnedest to make sure this place stays a healthy community.
That’s who I am. That’s why I make these decisions.
This is not easy for me. My heart aches for the decisions I have to make.
Thank you to everyone who has posted and PM’d their support. I appreciate it in ways that you can’t begin to know.
I have had more than a few long time members confess to me that they weren’t visiting the board or posting as often because of this feeling of change.
Not only have there been complaints about the recent tone of the board, I have also had to field complaints about other West Side Moms being judgmental to other moms at playdate or through PMs. About how their births could have been better, about shunning those who might bottle feed or even formula feed their babies, about a whole lot of things that are the choices a mother makes, and should not have to defend, at the most vulnerable time in a mother’s life. It’s WRONG. And it makes me unbelievable sad that anyone would do that. And angry that someone who considers herself a West Side Mom would do it.
Of course, I have my own opinions, and sure, I’ve raised my eyebrow at choices that others have made, and might even discuss it with my friends. But I wouldn’t dare go so far as to accost someone else about the choices they have made for their children, particularly if I barely know them.
This board is a place for support and for encouragement - one mother to another. If you can’t do that with an OPEN mind and a kind heart, you should not be here. You can go to Mothering or BabyCenter or another online community where you can use your anonymity to post things you would never say to someone you hardly know in person.
Over the next few weeks, the Members Only boards will no longer be post count-based. I will decide who gets access, with counsel from the long standing, respected members of this community. This might sound clique-y, but I need this to be a place of trust.
You can’t know how deeply my heart is broken over this. And how I have agonized on how to handle it.
I’m sorry it has come to this, but I need to protect the community I have built, with my heart and soul. I owe my sanity and a debt of gratitude to the women I have met here, both since i started the group 3 years ago, and some that I have met only a few months ago. If my closest friends don’t like coming here anymore, then what’s the point?
My kids are vaccinated. They even get flu shots. So far, we haven’t had any adverse effects from their vaccinations that a little dose of Tylenol didn’t help.
I worry much more about them contracting the diseases and/or passing them on to other kids.
Until the unbiased truly independent study is done, I’m going to go with my gut and get vaccinations. Millions of kids have vaccines world wide and live their normal lives.
What’s interesting to me is that the diseases they vaccinate for these days aren’t nearly as deadly as the diseases of the past, like small pox and polio. Because of vaccinations. You cannot deny that those vaccinations work.
I know for a fact that our chicken pox vaccine worked - my brother in law had chicken pox and I brought the boys over to test things out.
Currently, I think the real issue is not the concept/principles behind vaccination, but the way that the vaccines are prepared.
I mean, if they could just prepare it like they do the Synergis, then I think less parents would be so up in arms about it.
Caller: ‘I’m hammered…come get me’ Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Mar 10, 2007 by ANDREA BROWN THE GAZETTE
Was he high?
He described his car. He dropped clues about where he was. He gave his name. And he told police to catch him if they can.
Police said Colorado Springs motorist Alexander Craig called them about 10 times between 8:30 and 11 p.m. Thursday, taunting them in a citywide game of cat-and-mouse that lasted about three hours.
“He called 911 and said, ‘I’m hammered…come get me,’” Colorado Springs police Sgt. Rob Kelley said.
Toxicology results for drugs were not released Friday, but Kelley said Craig, 21, was “obviously high” on something, based on his volatile demeanor. Kelley said alcohol wasn’t a factor.
Police tracked Craig’s call locations using his Verizon number.
“When we got there he was gone,” Kelley said.
The taunting grew worse.
“He said we need to try harder to find him. He said he couldn’t believe he hasn’t been caught yet,” Kelley said.
About 20 officers were involved in the quest. After nearly two hours, Craig found them.
He approached squad cars at Palmer Park and North Academy boulevards.
“He drove up to us,” Kelley said. “He pulled up in front of us.”
He identified himself and invited the officers to get him — then got back into his 1998 white Ford Escort and sped away, police said.
“He drove like a maniac,” Kelley said.
A police helicopter followed Craig north around the Briargate area — while his driving skills went south. Advertisement
Kelley said Craig turned off his headlights. He drove on the wrong side of the road. He ran red lights.
He narrowly missed hitting a car in an intersection on Academy Boulevard near Chapel Hills Mall.
By then, patrol officers had resumed their pursuit.
Craig finally stopped in the parking lot of the Albertsons store at 1710 Dublin Blvd.
“The car was overheating from jumping medians. It was leaking fluids and had a flat tire,” Kelley said.
“Those Ford Escorts are not made to run like that.”
Craig wasn’t ready to give up, though.
Kelley said Craig, on foot, charged an officer. Police used a Taser to subdue him and took him to the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center, where he was being held Friday night.
He was arrested on suspicion of vehicular eluding, DUI and resisting arrest, with the bond for each charge set at $1,000.
Craig does not have a criminal record in Colorado, according to court documents.
The chase has police shaking their heads.
Intoxicated drivers usually try to stay under the radar, Kelley said.
“For somebody to call us — that’s a first in 20 years I’m aware of,” he said.
Then I passed out instead of working like I intended to. 
I feel pretty good today 
He’s all, “Moooooom-meeeee… Moooooom-meeeee… Moooooom-meeeee” 
“
May had my number picked up and ready with pins, and Mike took my extra gear (car keys, fleece headband and long sleeve running top). Turned out to be GREAT weather for a run today.
“You’ll feel better with a slow run.”
I exclaimed, unceremoniously, jumping over the first 5 (6?) and then just stepping on the last one.
<Insert Maida’s experience here>
o you like all the girls?” 
and a “Whoaaaaa” and a gleeful sound from Zander. Totally worth it. 
I missed him so much that night. From an early age, Zander “helped” with his baby brother. 