·:[ The Healthy Mom ]:·
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I love Thanksgiving. No gifts to buy. No costumes to sew. No tree to trim.

Just cook some food, and share with family & friends. Hang out, watch TV, play games…

This morning I started my day with morning 7 mile run with May. It’s been 10 days since the last time I ran, which is, I believe, the longest time I’ve gone without running since I started this crazy train (running train, that is). But I *love* pre-burning calories on Thanksgiving - it’s a healthy way to start the day.

It was a good run - I ran comfortably and felt good when we were done. We moved through a wide variety of topics during that run: the tragedy of a friends’ wife’s recent death, husband frustrations, kid stories, motivation to lose weight, faith/manifestation, swim meet software, interesting client stories, javascript, job hunting, charity… and a few other topics am sure I forgot about.

We finished with about a half mile walk to the cars. And then I told my friend how thankful I am for her friendship. Because life is short, and you have to tell the people who mean the most to you that you value them.

I got in the car and had voicemails from Doug asking me to pick up ground pepper and a new peeler on the way home.

As I got to King Soopers, I was feeling light and hopeful. I smiled at the people doing their last minute shopping for the holiday meal.

When I came home, I was welcomed by a piano/guitar duet played by Zander and Doug - The Main Theme from Star Wars.

After a while, we all headed to the kitchen for various peeling and chopping tasks for the cranberry apple relish and the mashed potatoes. The boys were excited to help with everything. This year they really were a big help. It was a nice family thing to do together.

Later, as we picked up the toys downstairs, the boys helped me sort their toys - we put things away and got rid of broken toys.

Then we all hit the showers to get cleaned up and dressed for Thanksgiving at Georgiana & Tom’s house. It’s going to be a big gathering- The Scotts, The Scotts, The Reynolds, The Carpios, The Scott/Dukes… There’s going to be turkey, stuffing, salad, dressing, pies, lumpia, sweet potato casserole, mac & cheese, coconut cake and flan… I can’t wait!

7:15 AM - I woke up and had a lot of stuff to talk about with Mom.

Is today Monday?

It’s Sunday. (said sleepily)

I’m glad it’s Sunday, and not Monday.
Actually, it’s okay if it’s Monday because we are having an assistant teacher this week. I think it’s Miss Doris. I think Miss Catherine said it was Miss Doris.

Mmm hmm.(said sleepily)

This week is Thanksgiving! Are we going to have a feast?

:: insert discussion here about the food we are going to have, with lots of “mmm,” “I like that!” type comments ::

Okay, ssshhh… let’s just be quiet and sleep a little longer…

7:45 AM - Mom sent me to my room to play with Zevan

We play knights, built stuff with Magnetix, played half-boy/half-robot on the purple couch, moved downstairs when mom said we were being too loud.

8:15 AM - Breakfast. Mom made us french toast and eggs with cheese and her special ingredient (garlic powder). Dad made us bacon. I drank milk.

8:40 AM - I announced that I would go upstairs and wash my hands, brush my teeth, do mouth rinse and get dressed.

8:50 AM - I went upstairs, washed my hands, brushed my teeth and did mouth rinse. Oh, what’s this? My Godzilla book! I think I’ll read it.

10:00 AM - I read the whole book! I’m going to tell Mom and Dad!

10:10 AM - I taught Zevan to draw a person in only brown. And I also drew some stuff on Dad’s dragon and he thought it was cool.

10:30 AM - Oh! I need to get dressed. I told Zevan to get me regular pants with no buttons and a short sleeve shirt.

10:40 AM - I came upstairs and mom was typing this story about me. I read it over her shoulder and had to tell her what to fix.

10:50 AM - He’s still not dressed…

10 minutes away from a hike in Garden of the Gods

First, I had a good night of climbing. The routes are still up from the comp two weekends ago, and it’s a lot of fun to try all the routes. The Recreational routes are super easy, the intermediate routes are very do-able, and the advanced routes are definitely a challenge.

The mood in the gym tonight was really positive, encouraging and friendly. Lots of helpful hints from other climbers as we puzzled over some of the routes. I really enjoyed it.

Whenever someone gives me a tip, I feel obligated (in a good way) to work hard and try to use that tip to get to the next move. It’s great motivation that I might not otherwise have.

After climbing, Tiffany and I met up with Lisa at Ruby Tuesday. Our conversations, as usual, ran the gamut from kids to life before parenting and everything in between.

Somehow we got on the topic of infertility/miscarriages/pregnancy. It’s been so long since I talked about our struggles, and it still stirs up my emotions to remember that time in our lives.

I don’t think blogging even existed then (2000-2002 timeframe), but somewhere I have email conversations throughout that experience.

The infertility, 2 rounds of clomid which resulted in 2 miscarriages, and a diagnosis of “unexplained recurring miscarriage.” Then I found Brenda at www.infertilityworkshop.com and made a commitment to change my diet, followed the shutdown/cleansing program, and 3 months later, I was pregnant with Zander. Unwilling to go through that experience again, we explored adoption and surrogacy for our next child. Not long after enduring colic with Zander, the 2nd miracle of all miracles occurred. A mere nine months after Zander was born, I got pregnant with Zevan.

My life perspective shifted dramatically during those years.

And looking back on those times again now, gives me even more perspective on my life as a mom now.

A reminder of how lucky I am. And how thankful I am.

ran the last race of the Fall Series - missed the start by about 3 minutes and had to work my way past the back of the pack. Oy!

is home from a great evening with Candy & Lindsey -dinner@Biaggi’s, saw Role Models (HILARIOUS), dessert@PF Chang’s. Ahhh…

was on TV - http://tinyurl.com/6ex2q3 - don’t blink or you’ll miss me.

Last week, I was late picking up Zevan and saw a news crew on the corner by the school. When I went in to ask about it, I was shown an article in the Gazette Study urges closing 4 D-11 elementaries, expanding three schools to K-8. Buena Vista was one of the schools recommended for closure.

This came as a complete shock to me. I was unable to even comprehend what the article said - I just couldn’t believe that we would be considered for closure.

In the Friday Folders, we received a plea to write or call the board with why our school should stay open.

This past weekend, another article appeared: Will your child’s D-11 school close?

At drop off and pick up on Monday, I spoke with a lot of anxious parents. We have worked so hard to build this community! Emails were being sent. Letters and calls were made.

Tonight, at the November 12 Board Meeting, several people made heartfelt presentations to the board on why Buena Vista should be kept open as a Montessori school in its current location.

When one presenter asked for a show of hands of meeting attendees who were there representing Buena Vista, over a third of the room raised their hands.

After the Citizen Comment portion of the meeting was over, I spoke with BV parents and teachers in the lobby. We wanted to work quickly on getting our efforts more organized - particularly for the next board meeting.

So tonight I posted a plea in the forums to the West Side Moms to write letters - particularly those who have kids they would like to attend BV in the future, or even those who just want to support the alternative of a Montessori school in town.

And I updated the Buena Vista PTA website and passed the URL to people to sign up and get more information.

A few hours after the meeting, this Gazette article appeared: Lobbying to save schools begins

It’s difficult for me not to get emotional. I mean, I *love* Buena Vista. I can’t imagine having to move Zander and Zevan to a traditional school after they have been thriving in the Montessori program. I so want them to get the full Montessori experience through 5th (and possibly 6th) grade. Zander and Zevan’s teachers have been so wonderful, and the boys just learn so much!

I’m just sick over the possibility that they would close our school. I am going to believe that “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” and that the more vocal the parents are with the board, the better our chances of staying open.

If you live in Colorado Springs, please get involved - send email to all D11 board members, make a call. If you don’t, then please just send your positive energies to help keep our school open.

is headed to a District 11 School Board meeting to see if I can stop them from closing the ZBoy’s school. Oh boy.

my Twitterank is 3.67! http://twitterank.com/?u=thehealthymom

When jokes go too far
On the way to swim class, the boys were telling their jokes. They are very much into homonyms and words with more than one meaning.

Some examples:
What do you call root beer when you put it in water?
A root beer float!

What is Emmett Wolfe’s favorite animal?
A wolf!

What is not right, but not left?
Wrong!

For this last joke, I tried to provide an alternative answer. “Incorrect,” I said. That was brushed off. So instead, I made the wrong answer buzzer sound.

I have no idea how to write that sound my onomatopoeia skills are failing me. BZZZ looks right, but it sounds more like AHHH! or EHHH!

Anyhow, that sound just cracked the boys up. And every time they tried to speak, I would cut them off with the buzzer sound. This went on for several minutes, and all of us were cracking up the whole time.

Finally Zevan said, “Stop, Mom! My funny bone hurts.”

“Where’s your funny bone?”

“Right here. In my ‘mittle.’

I buzzed one more time and Zander scolded me, “It’s not funny anymore, Mom.”

“Why not?”

“Because Zevan’s funny bone hurts.”

Oh.

In the car last night -
Zander: Do we celebrate Veteran’s Day?
Me: Do you know what a Veteran is?
Zander: It’s someone who was in the Air Force or Army.
Me: Or the Marine Corp, Navy or Coast Guard.

Zander: You were in the Air Force, Mom?
Me: Yes, I was.
Zander: So we can celebrate you!

This morning, Zander calls up to me from the breakfast table: Mom! Did you forget about school today?
You don’t have school today.
Oh, that’s right! It’s Veteran’s Day! (to Zevan) Let’s celebrate MOM!

Happy Veteran’s Day to everyone who has served our country and is currently serving our country. Thank you for all you do.

I haven’t yet blogged about Race 3 of the Fall Series at Ute Valley. Because it sucked. I injured myself during Race 2 because I was competing with an 8 year old. That last long downhill, I pounded too hard, and that was that. I still haven’t recovered.

Photo by Dee Budden

The week before Race 3, I saw Karen at Great Moves PT (Jessica was out of town) and got the diagnosis that I am hypermobile on my right side and immobile on my left side. Not good. My balance is off. My left leg is longer. My right ankle is weak. The imbalance goes all the way to my shoulders.

She said she could get me through the race injury-free, but probably not pain-free. I’ll take it.

Race day was cold. I ran into Leslie at the bib pick up table. Then I found May at the starting line, with no sign of Candy. Tiffany was out of town.

May and I started the race together, but by the time we got to the sidewalk, I was already falling behind. 2.5 miles into the race, I twisted my ankle on a loose rock. Hard. I never fully recovered. I tried to walk it off. Then run. Then I had to walk again. I tripped on my long left leg 4 times and twisted my same left ankle twice again throughout the race. It was brutal. I walked a good portion of the race. And it was HOT. Sun beating down, no shade hot.

When my nemesis passed me, I was sure it was over for me. Here’s the think about these races - even if you are injured, you don’t have much choice except to finish the race. So I walked a bunch, ran as much as I could (which didn’t feel like much). I was running downhill for the finish and saw Doug and the ZBoys at the finish line. And, May, too I was just glad to be done.

My time is 2006 was 1:12:35. In 2007 it was 1:11:41. This year, it was 1:15:48. 4:07 slower than last year. Not too bad for all that walking.

But now I feel worse. My ankle hurt for several days after the race. Wednesday I tried to run with May and ended up walking. I tried to make up for the aerobic activity by swimming laps while the boys were in swim lessons. Swimming is hard work!

I had to get help. This time I saw Jessica. Twisting my ankle (multiple times) did a number on my right side. I was sent home with exercises and icing instructions. And told to rest on the running. So I did. I rested until this morning.

Today I ran with May - a short 4 miler - well, I ran 1.75 miles, then rested and stretched, then ran another 1.25 miles, then walked the last mile. When I started running, I could feel a strain in my ankle, which then moved to my calf, then hamstring, and finally the lower back. After my rest/stretch break, I went through the same progression. I am definitely changing to my new shoes for my next run.

I also swam today. 2 laps free, 2 laps breast, 2 laps free, 2 laps breast, 2 laps free, then basically an IM with the kickboard. My breaststroke kick is terrible.

I think I might go back to the P90X DVDs this week. I need to work on my strength and balance and flexibility. And maybe get under 130 lbs before I turn 40 next month.

We’ll see. Right now I’m wrecked. Totally tired and frustrated with my injuries.

When cousin Joshua comes to town, the boys are invited to spend the night with him at Grandma & Grandpa’s house. We like to take advantage of those evenings and have a date night.

So I dropped Doug and Jeff off at the All Colorado Beer Festival where he met up with Kurt and Mike. Then I took the boys over to Grandma & Grandpa’s house where we hung out and had lunch.

The boys were uber excited to see each other, and Zander was over the top, verging on overly rude, excited. I had to have a big talk with him, and I could seriously feel that he was inwardly rolling his eyes at me and just wanting me to leave. Sheesh! It was all I could do to keep my cool.

He kept heading towards the TV there and turning it on. I encouraged/pushed them outdoors to play soccer with Joshua and Uncle Greg before I left.

I thought I had time to stop at Target, but it was later than I thought, so I went straight to Tuscany Day Spa for a glycolic peel. While those are not as relaxing as a full on facial, that’s about all I could afford at the moment, and I really needed it - my skin hasn’t been great lately.

I nearly fell asleep in the chair, and it did turn out to be pretty relaxing. Afterwards, I went over to my mom and dad’s house to bring their mail in and feed their fish. I also picked up some laminate trim that my dad bought to see if it would match our flooring. I hung out there until Doug called for pick up.

I picked Doug and Jeff up at 4:00 PM. They were funny. When we dropped Jeff off, Johanna and Jennifer were outside with the kids, so we stopped for a chat. It was nice to catch up for a short time.

Then we went home, had a snack. Our house was cold for some reason - so we turned on the fireplace and then snuggled up on the couch to warm up. That turned into a phenomenal time for both of us. A great start to date night.

We snuggled up and napped/watched tv/listened to music. We had plenty of time to relax until our dinner with Tom, Georgiana and Jesse at 8 PM at Jun’s. It was really nice. Quiet. Low key. I threw in a load of laundry, checked my Facebook/email while he slept off his afternoon buzz. Then we both showered and dressed to go out.

We checked the Indy and found that Love .45 would be playing at Southside Johnny’s. YAY - I remember really enjoying that band. So we made plans to head there after dinner and hang out.

Dinner was great. Georgiana is Jun’s lawyer, so he kept suggesting dishes for us. I had a taste of this special tuna sashimi with avocado that was just flown in. Delish. I ordered from the Hibachi table and knew I had to wait until the next party was cooking. I had some tempura and a Mai Tei to tie me over. But it didn’t arrive. An hour later, they came over and told me that one of the guys from the table ATE MY FOOD that was cooked for me. They were very apologetic and said they would make me another. I waited nearly another 20 minutes before I got my food. Thankfully I had wasn’t crazy low blood sugar angry starving, but still, I was hungry when it arrived.

I was surprised that they didn’t offer us a free drink or a discount on our email or anything. Jun’s customer service needs a bit of tweaking, I think.

Despite that, it was a good meal, great conversation and a fun time.

We got to South Side Johnny’s and caught the last song of the set. But the break music was just my thing - some old school Rob Bass - It Takes Two. That set the tone for the rest of the night. When the band came back on, their set included Jessie’s Girl AND Talk Dirty to Me! Yes! Love it. Also some rocking more modern totally danceable tunes.

During the night, this woman called me over and complimented me. She said that I was “dazzlingly beautiful” and “so naturally beautiful.” That was a nice ego boost. I thanked her, embarrassed but pleased.

More fun cover songs (Personal Jesus, Blister in the Sun, Dancing with Myself), another set break, and another set, and then on the last set break we danced to Sugar Hill Gang’s Rappers Delight, which was abruptly cut off in the middle of the song. We took that as a cue to leave.

When we got home, we both checked email (nerds, we know) and went to the bedroom for some more fun time and then sleep.

I slept in until 10:00 AM this morning. Ahhh… I love date night!

is having a great night with my husband And now we’re going out for dinner then live music

is going to the climbing gym with my girlfriends!

Yesterday we had parent teacher conferences for both boys.

The first one was with Ms. Paula Strobl, Zevan’s teacher. Clearly she really enjoys having Zevan in her class.

Earlier this year she went out of her way to tell me how wonderful he was with helping introduce the classroom to the new students in his class this year, particularly the 3 year olds.

She said Zevan was very observant, and that is how he learns. He will watch her show another student a particular “work” and then he is able to do it himself, and even instruct others.

He is meticulous in his cutting work, excels in math work (teens board and golden bead work) and can read short vowel words and some sight words. He is much less aggressive than he was at the beginning of the school year All in all, she just raved about him, and thanked us for being good parents. What a wonderful thing to hear from your child’s teacher.

Then we went over to Zander’s class to speak with Ms. Catherine. She just gushed about him. His detailed drawings, his reading level, his math skills, his behavior this year. How he assisted one of the teachers’ aides in logging in the other children to the computer.

When we asked what we need to work on with him, she laughed and asked us what we did to get him at his level. He does need to work on his writing conventions - he uses all capital and one lower case letter when writing his name (ZANdER) and still writes some letters backwards. This was a big change from last year when he was unable to stay focused on task and repeatedly told us school was boring.

And he got his first report card.

Needless to say, we were really happy with the progress reports. I hope that we can continue on this path, and that they both continue to enjoy learning.

So, yay! I feel like a pretty good mom about now. I’ll try not to gloat.

This morning I awoke and the day was somehow brighter. I could breathe again. My phone stopped ringing off the hook with recorded campaign messages. The radio didn’t play yet another “Boulder Liberal Mark Udall” hate ad.

I voted for Obama/Biden and watched my election coverage on Comedy Central, and you think that’s all you need to figure out who I am and how I think. You couldn’t be more wrong.

I’m not a bleeding heart liberal. I am a pragmatist.

The facts are these:

I voted for a Republican for our local District 3 Commissioner. Because Sallie Clark has always had the west side’s best interest at heart.

My presidential vote was not exactly FOR Barack Obama. It was more like, “Dear God, NOT Palin.”

I haven’t been a huge supporter of Barack Obama. His speeches are too preachy and too scripted. He doesn’t have the sincerity that Bill Clinton radiated in his speeches. And, oh yes, I would so vote for Bill Clinton again. Remember those days of low unemployment and even lower national debt?

I don’t know that Obama can do all that he has promised. But I do think that he will give it a try. And if the American people can get off their asses and get him elected, then, maybe, just maybe, they can channel that energy towards fixing this country. That’s a big maybe.

I have long been a fan of the pre-2008 candidate John McCain. To be honest, he was, by far, my FAVORITE Republican. He was a frequent guest on The Daily Show and always seemed personable, genuine and reasonable. He truly crossed party lines, when it was still okay to do so, and a few times when it wasn’t. I could have easily voted for THAT John McCain.

Then he started contradicting his former self in so many ways, in order to get the support of his party. But, even as he sold his soul to the GOP, pandering to his party, I had one secret hope. That, if elected, his acceptance speech would be something along the lines of, “Now that I have been elected, I am done pandering to you and your ridiculous tenets. The maverick is back, and I’m running the country!”

And then along came Palin, and it was all over. An inexperienced politician with an agenda to single-handedly destroy all the progress American women have made in the last 221 years. Whose qualification for foreign policy came from her ability to see Russia from her desk. A thief whose *least* crime was a $125,000 clothes shopping spree for her entire family at Neiman-Marcus and Saks 5th Avenue on the GOP bill. A woman who would add insult to traumatic injury by making rape victims pay for their own rape kits. A liar who would announce that she was cleared of criminal charges when she clearly was not. A mom who would go back to work just days after her special needs child was born. And then force an unwilling teenage couple to marry because they had unprotected premarital sex that resulted in pregnancy. Who tried to play “cute” during VP debates - by winking. WTF? She doesn’t need to be in the White House. She can be the next Ann Coulter instead. That’s PERFECT for her skill set and her fans.

John McCain’s concession speech gave us a glimpse of the pre-2008 candidate John McCain - like seeing an old friend again. I hope he can find his way back.

I’m nervous because people are so excited about these election results that they don’t see the further damage that Bush is trying to inflict on our country in his last 2 months in office.

…other regulations would help clear obstacles to some commercial ocean-fishing activities, ease controls on emissions of pollutants that contribute to global warming, relax drinking-water standards and lift a key restriction on mountaintop coal mining.

I live in Colorado Springs, which is in El Paso County, where the results were 59% McCain, 40% Obama. Thank you all other counties for helping Colorado go blue!

And in my town, people put 10 ft high posters of aborted babies on trucks in front of Planned Parenthood and I have to drive quickly or take an alternate route so my kids don’t have to see it.

And in my town, I am still very often the only person of color in a room. In a restaurant. In a retail store.

And in my town, the most hateful, intolerant, righteous and spiteful poor excuses for human beings call themselves Christians. WWJD? indeed.

And in my town, people seriously believe and vocalize that Obama will be assassinated.

Oh yes, they do. And they are not afraid to say so.

I was not overcome with any other emotion than relief that the election was over and that Palin wasn’t on the winning ticket. Obama doesn’t stir up feelings of hope and joy in me. But he is a symbol for change. And I’m hoping that he can stay true to his promises.

Regardless, yes, I’m giddy with relief that Palin is not our VP elect. GIDDY. And my faith in the political process has been restored. For the time being.

Although I am still smarting from the John Edwards betrayal.

But deep in my core, I am a pragmatist.

prag·ma·tism, n., a practical approach to problems and affairs

And I believe that Barack Obama was the more practical choice.