January Race

I found my January race!!  I am registered for the No Sun Fun Run, 1/21 in Puyallup. It's a flat 5K and stroller friendly, so I could run with Sky, or try and get some Stroller Fitness ladies to join me.  Or since it's flat I could go for a new PR!!  Either way I'm excited to be registered for my first race of the year!!!

Merry Christmas!!

I doubt I will be posting much the next week.  So I leave you with two Christmas cutie pies!  Sky and her friend Regean (from stroller fitness) they are both 7 months old and share the exact same birthday in fact.  No Jodi and I did not plan the outfits, it was a very happy coincidence.  :)



 

Sky Pics...That's All

Sky with Grace and Kiera. 

Chillen  with Aunt Michelle.

 In one of her new tutu outfits from Bob and Michelle.  

 I was totally prepared for the typical crying picture with Santa, but not Sky, she smiled nice and big!

I love her smile. 

Santa baby, at her first Christmas party. 

Official Time

27:56!!!!   That's just short of 2 minutes faster than last time on this course.  I ROCK!!!  :)  LOL.  Average pace was 9:01..that is about 1 1/2 minutes faster than my usual average.  Yeah...I feel pretty darn good about my running right now. 

Post Race Report

I PR'd again!  The race clock said 28:14 or 24 (I didn't really look at the seconds), my GPS said 28:37, but I started it before the race started and stopped it after the timing chip was cut off, so at the very least I was over a minute faster. 

The funny thing is I still don't like this course.  It is a love hate thing, I don't enjoy running it, but it's the only course I have PR'd on, so I'm not sure what to make of that.  I get to do it again in March, which will be after my next 6 week challenge, and I hope a few pounds less so will see if my time gets better.  I kind of don't care though...I did what I wanted to...run the course and not feel like I was going to die at the finish line.  

A few funny facts about me and running:

-I literally have to pee every 5 minutes the 1/2 hour leading up to the race.  Today I just kept going to the end of the line over and over until the race started. 

-Every time Usher plays in my earphones I so want to dance my way down the road.  Would anyone really notice if I just stopped and danced it out?

-I have pant issues.  My under armor leggings are a little bit too big I totally ran out of them today.  I felt them sliding down, but didn't realize how far down they were...thank goodness I had my long Lululemon top on so my butt was not hanging out.  I totally was wishing I had suspenders on!  (At least I know Stroller Fitness is paying off, too bad I found out by my pants almost falling off during a race!)

-I don't like knowing the course...I do better when I don't know the 1/2 way point etc.  Even though my GPS gives me pace and mile updates it still doesn't really register with me how much further it is, and I run better not knowing how much further it is. 

-Sometimes I start singing along with my music.  This is bad, very bad because first of all I don't sing well at all and second I really need to save the extra breath for running.  I always look around hoping no one heard me. 

-I LOVE the final 30 second leading up to the start with the crowd and excitement, unknown potential to PR/have a great race, and figuring out who ahead of me I'm going to chase down or try to keep in sight (I run better when chasing someone faster than me, yet potentially catchable). 

-I pretend that every person cheering loved ones on is actually a big Jen fan and is cheering for me.  I totally steal their encouragement for myself. 

-I can't eat after a race, my stomach is jacked.  I don't know how people eat pizza/clam chowder/drink beer or water for that matter etc after a race.  I need a good 20 minutes to let things settle. 

I'm totally ready to eat now though...time to get ready for dinner with the Beckham's.  I have earned my drinks and dessert tonight!!!

A Year of Running

My last race of the year is tomorrow. 

I have mixed feelings about it.  On one hand it's a 5K, I know I can totally do it, on the other it's cold, I'm running alone (which I hate) and it's the course that nearly killed me last March.  Oddly enough the March race was the hardest most difficult race (ran with a migraine thought I was going to black out) yet it's the race I PR'd, a PR that still stands. 

My goal for this race is to get over my very strong dislike of this course.  I'm going to turn the music up and just cruise.  I would like to beet my time since I feel like I'm in the best running shape I have been in all year, but I will consider it a success if I can run this race and get over the negative feelings associated with this race. 

I'm registered for the March race again already and would feel a lot better about it if I can overcome the course tomorrow.  

Looking back I have done 9 races over the last year.  The first one was 1/29/11 last one 12/17/11.  All but two have been 5K's, best time is 29:45 (that is so going down!)  The two non 5K's were 5 mile trail runs both finishing in around 1:11 and 1:09. 

It's really hard to believe I went from "I hate running, I will NEVER be a runner" to running almost a race a month.  My goal for last year was a year of 5K's to figure it all out.  I feel like I have done that.  I know what shoes work, what clothing works, what food works, and how much training I need during the week to maintain and feel confident going into a race.

This last year was a stepping stone year for me.  I have some exciting races on the horizon.  There are some 10K's in there, a couple of 10 mile races, and a 1/2 marathon all on the list. 

My goal is to run a race a month in 2012.  Having said that I have yet to find a race in January that I want to run but I'm working on it, increased mileage means increased race fees - I will only do what we can afford if I have to skip a month then that's what will have to happen, August is too hot and Nov - Jan are too cold, but I'm going to tough it out the best I can. 

This last year would not have been possible without my running partner Michelle.  She has been there for almost every training run and all but one race.  I have loved every mile me have logged together! 

Thank you to my Dad for the never ending support!  I would not be running in comfort without him sending me random packages of clothing and shoes throughout the year.  He always has a word of encouragement and advice just when it is most needed. 

Thank you to Mark for standing in the cold to watch me cross the finish line, staying up all night with Sky the night before races so I can sleep, for always supporting me in every race I have decided to register for!

And, last a BIG thank you to my sister.  She has provided inspiration, motivation, advice, support, training schedules, and I can't say enough how much the encouraging text's race morning have meant.  
I'm so excited to run into the new year and log more miles!!!

#1 Response to It's An Open Adoption...

...is Wow, doesn't that scare you?

No...it doesn't scare me in the least, for several reasons. 

We did our homework, spent a lot of time looking at all our adoption options, talked to several friends that could offer incite into all the options, and we talked to several adults who were adopted and had open and closed adoptions. 

It all comes down to what is best for Sky, and we feel it is best to first of all be honest about the adoption from day one, and second keep an open relationship with the birth mother and father so that when she is ready to meet them (if she decides that is what she wants) we can make that happen for her. 

I think the number one reason it doesn't scare me though is that I am 100% secure in the fact that I am Sky's mom and nothing will ever change that. 

However, I also know that the only reason I am Sky's mom is because there were two people who made the difficult decision that I should be Sky's mom.  They obviously loved Sky and wanted what was best for her.  Why would we keep her from that much love?


It's pretty obvious that Sky knows who her parents are and is most comfortable when she is with Mommy and Daddy.  I'm her mommy and she's my baby and we both know it...nope I don't have anything to be scared of. 

(I try not to speak for Mark in my posts...that's why this is about me being her mommy and why I'm not worried...I'm pretty sure Mark feels the same way.  He is just as much her Daddy as I am her Mommy, but it's not for me to speak for him.)

Follow Up Shout Out...

My niece Emma...finished her first 10K in 1:16!  I am so proud of her and adore the pink ribbon in her hair!

Shout Out

I want to give a shout out to my 9 year old (I think she is nine anyway, maybe 10?) niece...she is running her very first 10K this weekend.  She has been kicking booty at the 5K distance and is moving on up.  The best part is, she doesn't even know it! 

Not sure how my sister pulled that off, but she is running her first 10K and doesn't know it.  The nice thing my sister is her pacer so she will be there with her to offer support when needed. 

My guess is, Emma is going to kill it and leave my sister in the dust.  (please don't be offended Beth!)  I don't say that without giving it some thought, my sister is a very accomplished runner in her own right, but I just have a feeling Emma is going to blaze it out. 

I will admit I'm a little jealous...I have been wanting to do a 10K for a while now.  More on that later though. 

I wish them great weather and a wonderful race.  Emma is PR'ing tomorrow no matter what!  :)

Top 10 Ways Motherhood Has Changed Me

10.  I am more of a morning person than ever before.  

9.  It doesn't really matter how I look as long as she is in a cute outfit.

8.  I'm obsessed with finding socks and shoes that stay on her feet all day.

7.  6 hours of sleep is actually enough.  (Coming from someone who loved 9 plus hours of sleep at a time.)

6.  I actually can take a shower in under 5 minutes!

5.  If I can't do it (insert almost any activity/social outing) with Sky I don't care to do it.  (for the most part.)

4.  Shopping for me always turns into shopping for Sky instead.

3.  I find it totally acceptable to pretend my stomach really is that upset just to get a few extra minutes of reading in. 

2.  It doesn't bother me that most of my me time happens in the bathroom.  (Showering, brushing my teeth, drying my hair, pretending to have an upset stomach, etc.)

And the number one way motherhood has changed me...

1.  Success is changing an overfilled poopy diaper and not getting any on me!  (Ok I know true success is raising a wonderful little person that will make amazing contributions to society, but that will come after she is out of diapers!)

The Year of Two Christmas Cards

We ended up with two Christmas cards this year.  How does that even happen?!

We had won a photo setting at a Relay For Life auction earlier in the year and figured we would use that photo shoot as our Christmas card.  Well scheduling was an issue, waiting until Sky was old enough which meant we were in to bad weather was an issue, and the fact that we were used to being able to use any pic from the previous year when it was just Mark and I, but that doesn't work for a baby...people want to see a current pic of her. 

I had a $50 credit with mixbook so we picked a photo from our trip to the pumpkin patch.  Mark really didn't love the pic because I had sunglasses on/Sky was not looking at the camera/and Mark was a little squinty.  But it was the best option we had and the most current pic of the three of us.  So we went with it.  I was surprised to find that the card also had a back side and I was able to use a photo of just Sky on the back of the card...it is pretty adorable.

(We had ongoing conversation about Mark wanting to just have a pic of Sky on the card, and I was insisting on a family pic, or a combo of multiple pics so that we were all on the card.  I really feel like a Christmas card from "The Yeatmans" should include all of us!  That contributed towards ordering the first card even though the family photo was not all that Mark would have liked it to be.)

Then we went to the Christmas Tree farm and  Mark took a lot of really great pics of our adorable little girl.  Since we didn't actually have to pay for the first set of cards when Mark showed me one of the photo's he took and said he would really be happy if we could order new cards and just use the picture of Sky, I said ok. 

We got the second card yesterday, and the first card today (go figure) and you know what...I LOVE the first card!!!  I also LOVE the second card, and I refuse to toss either one in the trash. 

So you know what...everyone on our list gets both cards!!! 

First's...

We took Sky to her very first Christmas Tree Farm today, in the very first baby outfit we ever bought (at a Relay For Life garage sale only weeks after we started the adoption process), for her first time meeting Shelley on the Sprouffske Tree Farm, also meeting John Paul (Shelley's youngest, 7 month old, who is a very strong first boyfriend candidate...he won my heart at least) for the first time, playing in fallen leaves for the first time, and picking out the wreath (it's actually an arch) for our front door for the first time...

 Sky and Shelley

 That jacket makes her look like the stay puff marshmallow baby!

 Daddy and Sky...love the tongue!!

 Oh what fun!

Brand New Eyes - part 2

(Day of Surgery)

Mark was a little bit nervous but mostly excited about the surgery.  The night before the PR person for Star Surgical had talked to him about Komo 4 being there and the interviews etc that would take place.  Mark had to make a quick trip to get a new shirt to meet the request of the PR guy to have a neutral colored polo shirt on. 

His surgery was scheduled for 4:30pm and we had to be there at 2pm for interviews and filming pre-surgery.  Of course Sky was a hit and not only did the Evergreen Eye Center film crew want her in most of the shots, the Komo 4 camera guy took all sorts of footage of her, even though all she was doing was sleeping.  They also got footage of Sky and I wishing Mark and Dr. Chung good luck.

I left to take Sky to our friends that live Edgewood while Komo interviewed Mark and Dr. Chung.  The camera guy actually filmed the entire surgery while the reporter waited in the waiting room with the rest of us.  It was a little overwhelming coming back from dropping Sky off because when I walked into the waiting room it was standing room only.  Not only were all the media folks there (by this time Tacoma Weekly had arrived as did another reporter from some other paper that I never did figure out) but a lot of Evergreen Eye Center staff were waiting as well.  They were all watching the surgery live on a TV in the waiting room.  I was not expecting to walk into a room full of people watching Mark's eye on the TV! 

My weak stomach meant that I couldn't watch all of it.  I would glance up now and then, but for the most part was content to let the staff explain to me what was going on.  It was really hard for me not to cry.  I was so excited for Mark...I know how much his vision bothers him, the things it has kept him from doing and how much he wanted this surgery, and for how long he has wanted it.  The emotion of it hit me while watching the contact be implanted into his eye.

Finally it was over and Dr. Chung came out to let us all know Mark did great and the surgery went well.  Instantly all the media folks got up to go into the recovery room to interview him etc.  The second I walked through the door Mark looked up (from about 30 feet away) and he was able to see me.  That is huge considering he couldn't see me from one side of our bed to the other.  That was the best moment, seeing the look on his face when he realized just how well he could see.  We provided the perfect emotional moment that reporters love.  We didn't mean to, I just happened to walk in right in the middle of the post-op interview.    

 2 1/2 hours later when we went back for a pressure check he was already seeing 20/20 in one eye and 20/40 in the other.  It wasn't until that follow up appointment that we learned from Dr. Chung that he, as well as all the clinic and surgery staff involved, had donated their time.  We wrongly assumed that Star Surgical as the sponsors of the contest were compensating them.  Once again I was on the verge of tears. 

We can't say thank you enough to everyone who voted for Mark on Facebook, to all the staff at Evergreen Eye Center (best customer service I have ever experienced in a medical office period), and to Dr. Chung for donating his time and skills. Never once did Dr. Chung or the staff make us feel rushed, or any less than patients they collect payment from.  It didn't matter to any of them that they where not going to make money from us.      

 Mark is still making comments about how much better he can see and how fun it is to have the gift of good vision, and he is already planning our first adventure trip with his new eyes!

Brand New Eyes - part 1

(there is too much to share for one post!)

That's what it's like for Mark! 

It has been a long journey to get to this point.  Mark has wanted to have corrective surgery for a long, long time.  He is legally blind without correction and that has been a source of frustration for him when it comes to sports, adventure travel, water activities etc.  There is a lack of security in knowing that if you lose your glasses or contacts while on a jungle adventure in a third world country you are forced to rely on others to see for you.  Or if someone breaks into the house in the middle of the night how do you defend your family if you can't get to your glasses fast enough?  Not to mention that event photography involves a lot of outdoor photo work.  For him to have his best vision he needed contacts and glasses, glasses are not so great in the rain, and it tends to rain here.   

The icing on the cake was cuddle time in the morning with Sky though.  He could see a blurry blob in bed, but he couldn't really see her.  He really wanted to be able to open his eyes and see her smile first thing in the morning.  (To be clear, Sky does not sleep with us because that is not safe, but after I get her up and feed her I bring her in to our bed for some morning cuddle time before the day starts).
 
Mark had done his homework and found out he was not a good candidate for any of the more well known corrective surgeries, but found out he was a perfect candidate for the Visian ICL procedure.  Not only did he have to wait for it to be approved in the US he then had to save up the money to pay for the procedure.  Finally, 5 ish years later, everything was falling into place, the procedure was approved and we had the money. 

Then...we decided to start our family, and Mark decided that the surgery money would be better put to use helping to pay for the various expenses that go along with adoption.  He never once complained about having to wait another 5 to 6 years for us to save up the money.  Being a parent was way more important to him/us.

Fast forward 2 1/2 ish years to a Facebook contest to win the surgery for free!  Mark went through all the steps to qualify for the contest.  Perhaps the most challenging part was getting 100 votes for his video.  I was amazed at the people that gave Mark their Facebook log in and password info so he could vote for them since they didn't have time, or the number of our friends that hit up their friends, people we don't even know, to vote for him.  Thanks to complete strangers, our friends, and people trusting Mark with their Facebook accounts he won his surgery!

During the adoption process we always said, "it will be the right baby at the right time", and Sky is the perfect addition to our family!  It turns out that by using the surgery money to help pay for the adoption, not only did we get the perfect baby and the right time, Mark got his surgery for free! 

Which brings us to the day of surgery events, but that is for tomorrows post.  This is long enough already. 

Happy Saturday all!

Post-Op Report

Home around 10...things took a little longer than expected, but all is well!  Very well in fact.  When we went back to the clinic at 8:45 his eye pressure was perfect and he was already seeing at 20/40 (he was 20/2000 pre-surgery) and that was with things still being blurry. 

When he goes back in tomorrow morning he should be seeing even better!

I will post more when I'm not so tired and emotional.  There was a lot that went on today, a ton of media, and meeting a lot of really amazing people that helped make all this happen. 

For now, good night...Mark is so excited to wake up in the morning and actually be able to see Sky when I bring her in for morning cuddles. 

I See You...

...which is what Mark will be able to do after his eye surgery today.  Yep, today is the day, he is having his long awaited surgery this afternoon at 4:30 pm.  If you are interested in viewing the surgery live, visit the Visian ICL Facebook page for the live broadcast. 

It's going to be a long day:
2:15 pm - meet with film crew, do interviews, meet with King5 news, all the rest of the marketing pieces 
4:30 - Surgery time will take 1 1/2 hours
6:00 - Leave the clinic and kill time for 2 hours
8:00 - Return to clinic for post-op pressure check of eyes
9:00 - If all goes well will be home

9:00 am Friday Morning - back to the clinic for his post-op appointment

I will post updates on FB as that is the easiest way for me to keep everyone up to date using my phone. 

To all of you that voted for him, Thank You!!!  Mark has been waiting for 12 plus years for this surgery. 

I'm off to cook his "last meal" since he can't eat after 10am today.