I Tri(ed) and did awesome!

I DID IT! I wrote down a list of goals when I turned 31: Things I wanted to accomplish.  On that list of a half a dozen items, "Complete a triathlon" was on my list.  I had just completed a 5k, which was a goal for when I had turned 30, so I was feeling good about it. As the months wore on, I lost focus and motivation and came up with a list of excuses why I 'couldn't' do it. No time to train, I'm not strong enough, I don't have a bike, I'll probably finish last... excuse after excuse. Then as the summer wore on, and I was losing weekends every time I turned around, I decided I needed to do it. Why the HELL not!? Why NOT me?  Ok, so I probably would still finish last but hey! At least I would have finished!

So I made the time.  I got stronger. I borrowed a bike. And in the end I didn't finish last. (Close to last but oh well - just more room for improvement!)  And it was amazing. Other than growing and birthing two little humans in my body (which really was left more up to biology than sheer will) it was the most awesome thing I've ever done.

Race day came and with lots of advice from one friend in particular (my inspiration - thanks Jen Lake!), I got all set up, felt the water, relaxed, and set in to enjoy it. "You only get one first tri," she said. I was slow in the water - but not the slowest - and I didn't drown!  Great start! Got on the bike with a rush of adrenaline, and I was off!  I even looked all official with my tri suit and the gu I was 'eating' on the bike. And I was passing people! Woohoo! Got done with the bike, and now I was really pumped - just a simple (ha!) 3 miles and I'm a triathlete!  I just took it one mile at a time, and wow. I told Nathan that although it sounds cheesy, I felt so liberated! I'm doing it! I'm DOING a triathlon! I am a strong and amazing woman! Go me!!


Passed that finish line, almost threw up on my friends who were congratulating me (almost), and enjoyed the feeling of success. I'm already looking forward to my next tri, in a few weeks. I'm going to shave at least 10 minutes of time, and put myself in a good position for next year. Now if only I can convince Nathan to do one with me. :) That will be on my goal list when I turn 32.

                                                           Before the tri - bring it on!

                                                                   After the tri - I SURVIVED!

Bro-bro see, bro-bro do.

Most of the time I LOVE the fact that my boys are only 17 months apart. They play together, they watch the same TV shows, and they even go to bed within 20 minutes of each other. They both still nap, they both love to eat, and they both love torturing the cat.

But sometimes, even though they are ONLY 17 months apart, they are STILL 17 months apart! Declan doesn't seem to realize that he is smaller, not as strong, and not as dexterous as Cash is. I try to never utter the words, "You can't do that," or "You're just too little," but sometimes he CAN'T do that, and he IS just too little. Once Declan has it in his mind that he wants to do something Cash is doing there is no stopping him.


About a few months ago, Declan decided that he was too big for the high chair. If bro-bro sat at the big (little kids) table, then he has to as well. Cashy's brushing his teeth?  Well, he has to also! And just today I tried to give him a banana piece OUT OF THE PEEL but NOPE! Declan has to eat his like Cash is eating his, holding the bottom of the banana and peeling it down (only he can't peel it down yet, so I still have to help).

Mostly this is great. Cash sets great examples and it's much easier to get Declan to do things that Cash is doing. Unless I don't want him too. Then it's the end of the world if he has to drink his juice box out of his cup in the car while Cash gets to drink it right from the packaging.

Here's to hoping Cash keeps setting good examples - and stops torturing the cat.

My name is Molly and I'm a closet eater (Hi Molly!)

I love to eat. Who doesn't? Nathan likes to eat too. It's one of the things we bond over. We love to eat out - in fact, we'd rather eat out to celebrate a birthday than get a present. We love to eat in - Deans French Onion Dip and Dr. Pepper used to be staples in our house.

Fortunately we like to eat healthy things too. We are both fans of most fruits, vegetables, and well-balanced meals. Not being a fan of a vigorous exercise routine, we have both managed to put on some pounds since getting married. (They say that to put on weight after getting married is a sign of a happy marriage - or just being lazy!) I would like to point out that I have had two small people use me as their home for 9 months and I wonder what Nathan's excuse is... sympathy weight?  :) After 7 years of marriage, Nathan was about 40 pounds over where he should be, and I just wanted to get back to about 10 lbs under my pre-Cash weight.

I have had a distinct advantage in my weight-loss journey over the last year. 1) I got a part-time job at a fitness facility. We have a family membership and I took advantage of it. 2) I only work part-time (I have another part-time job but they still don't equal 40 hours a week) so I had more time. 3) Once I turned 30, I got all sorts of motivated to do things I've never done athletically.  I tried spinning, I ran a 5k, and in 4 weeks I'll complete my first triathlon.

Nathan has had a harder time because 1) he works full time, plus more hours if need be! 2) He plain old wasn't motivated. After several issues with his back, and a few rounds of gout (that story is for another time!) he decided it. was. time.  So far he's lost about 20 lbs. He works out about 5-6 days a week. I even got him to spin class once a week and he'll start an awesome arms class in the fall. He (for the most part) sticks to his diet and doesn't cheat... much.

I, on the other hand, have become a closet eater. I can't drink pop around him (because I want to support him) so I have to get it during the day when he's not around. If I want something bad for me, I have to choose wisely when to eat it. I shop healthier, sending longing looks to the Doritos, and telepathic promises to the raw cookie dough. I'm usually not a candy eater but even the Hot Tamales and Startbursts (now they have an only pink/red bag!!!) are calling to me. Take me with you Moooooolly... He doesn't have to knoooooow....


On the upside, I work out a lot now, including training for my tri, so I think it's all a wash. But I do look forward to the day when Dean can come back (sans shame) into our household.

Here's a picture of us from Beaver Island. I'll post another when he gets farther along but for now he's doing so well and looks amazing!  I am very very proud!

I had to fire my maid.

Unfortunately, I recently had to fire my maid.  She's really a terrible house cleaner. She hates laundry, and it's constantly piling up, never to be folded and put away. She never vacuums, and since we have two little boys who love to play in sand, this is a problem. And she hasn't shown up in weeks. I mean REALLY! She gets here after I leave, leaves before I get back, I never see her. In fact, come to think of it, I haven't actually seen her for months... or is it years??

I have never been a 'have-to-have-the-house-spotless' kind of girl. My room was always messy growing up. I was definitely not the neat freak of all of my college roommates. And I consider myself very lucky to have found a partner in life who is equally as disorganized as me. :)

There's nothing like a clean house that smells like lemons. I'll give you that. A clean set of sheets is nothing short of heaven to slide into. A scrubbed-down kitchen makes me want to cook elaborate and tasty meals. And let's be honest - a clean bathroom? That's just a good idea at all times!

As I have gotten older, I have perfected the super quick house clean. Used to be that Nathan could call me and tell me he was on his way home (a 45 minute drive) and I would mega-clean the whole (tiny) house and he would be so impressed that I had been so productive all day! *insert day-off filled with Taco Bell, Facebooking, and reality TV.

Since having children, Nathan and I do make an attempt to pick up the house every night, even if it is only for 10 minutes. I still do my super clean, or employ strategies such as the  "10 minutes of cleanup, then 30 minutes of resting."   In the end, it doesn't really matter. If I was on my deathbed tomorrow I would not regret not keeping my house cleaner. My ability to overlook goldfish crackers on the floor and a huge pile of clean laundry behind the recliner is uncanny. Most days I'm thankful for the little socks that don't ever seem to have a mate, the toys that I step on in the middle of the night, and the cat barf that has accumulated in the corner (totally kidding on that last one!).  If the biggest thing in my life I have to complain about is a messy house then I'll take it.

We have a very happy, mostly healthy family and we have everything we need. (But don't get me wrong: I wouldn't say no to a maid if one appeared!)

PS - here is proof that at one time, those little socks DID have mates... where did they all GO!???

I love Beaver!

Woopsie - guess that title should have read "I love Beaver Island!" Oh well... it got you to read this, right?

It's been awhile since our last family vacation. Over the 4th of July, we were lucky enough to go to Beaver Island to spend time with Papa and Grandma Letta (Nathan's dad and step-mom). They usually live in FL but have some property they are building on. We hope this is the start of many trips there! We imagine summers where the boys can spend weeks at a time with their grandparents camping and exploring.

We took the ferry over, a 2 hour ride that was fun, if not a little long, for a 1 and a 2 year old. When we got there we got to see how the cabin is coming along, take lots of rides on the golf cart and gator, and get settled into our apartment above the cafe/bakery that is in town.

Mostly it was just relaxing, beach time, and having fun with Papa and Grandma Letta. Aunt Nicole got to come too so we always had her to play with!  Of course the busiest day was the 4th. We went to a parade, a carnival, the beach, and also got to see fireworks! I always appreciate the military and everything that they do for us, especially since I have so many family members that are/were active.  But there is something about seeing them marching down the street in a parade, with everyone standing, showing their respect, that gets me. So silly that a parade would make me cry, but (here comes the cliche) I AM proud to be an American. I'm so thankful that my children will be growing up in the land of the free. Where they can make their own decisions and have the freedom of speech that so many others don't have in this world.

We took the little plane back over to Charlevoix. It was an amazing trip, the boys were wonderful, and we look forward to many more!

Move over South Beach Diet!

I told the doctor that the abdominal pains I was having last weekend (which lasted a full 8 days) were comparable to labor pains. Only this time, there wasn't going to be some sweet little goo-covered face staring adoringly back at me when I was done (insert prayer here: Please, God, do NOT let me be those insanely stupid people on I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant).

So after 8 days of moaning and wondering if I would have something happen to me that was reminiscent of Alien, the pain stopped. Friday afternoon came, I was cautiously optimistic about feeling pretty ok. I went ahead and went to my doctor's appointment, although it was the kind of doctor's appointment where you are almost embarrassed because you actually feel better. Here words of advice were mind-blowing: keep getting better! Um... thanks.

Then I woke up... healthy! All the colors were a little brighter, the air smelled sweeter (probably because I'd been breathing the same air from my bed all week), and my two boys were well-behaved little angels again instead of grabby, needy, dirty boys.  Well, they were still dirty, but that was nothing a good scrubbing couldn't fix.

We decided to go on lots of field trips today (library, mall, grocery store, etc.) so off I went to get dressed. Grabbed my skinny jeans (only ones clean), mentally picking which top I would have to dig for out of the clean laundry pile on the floor. I knew the top would have to be loose-fitting because with this pair of jeans, my parting gift from my beautiful miracles (the grabby, needy, dirty ones) hangs over the top a little.

What?!  What's this?   The jeans are loooooose??? How is that possible? I haven't worked out in over a week! Oh, riiiiiigggghhhhttt.....  All I ate was 6 pieces of bread, a jar of applesauce, 3 bananas, 2 blueberry muffins, and some pizza (which doesn't really count because it only stayed in my tummy about 10 minutes before coming back up... ewwwww).  So there you go! 7 pounds lost! Pushing me to 15 pounds lighter than my pre-baby weight.

There are, of course, a few other secrets to my new diet plan that will be sweeping the nation, but I can't tell you everything - you'll have to wait for the book!  But don't you worry... when I'm famous, I'll still remember the little people! It's not a sweet little gooey face (thank goodness!), but 7 lbs?  I'll TAKE IT!

Nathan is going to starve if I don't get better soon.

Poor Nathan. For 75% of our marriage, I have made his lunch every day.  (The other 25% was when his work provided lunch, pop, coffees, and smoothies for him - along with about 20 lbs). For the last week and a half, I haven't been able to make it. I am literally curled up on the couch in the fetal position, willing my stomach pain to go away.

So he's made it. He hasn't complained. Hasn't even made one comment about it actually. He really doesn't mind making his own lunch. And contrary to the title of this post, he won't starve, because he has no problems finding his way to the kitchen. But I feel bad.

I love making his lunch. So weird, right? I get a satisfied feeling EVERY DAY knowing that tomorrow he'll be eating a well-balanced meal. He's got his main course (nothing fancy, just a sandwich or leftovers), he's got lots of veggies (which he loves to eat raw), usually some chips and crackers, and a 100 calorie pack for dessert. Totally balanced. Lots of food (even if it's low-cal), lots of love, and he's on his way! Sometimes when he cleans up the kitchen after dinner, he just makes it. Deep down, I suppose I'm grateful (woo-hoo! A night off!), but kind of sad too (just like a teeny bit).

It's just that I make food better than he does. We could have the same ingredients to make a burger - and they would both be good - but the difference is that in MY burger, every bite would be perfect. It would have bun, meat, cheese, veggies and condiments in every bite. My friends actually make fun of me. If I order a sandwich at a restaurant, when it comes to the table I take off the top, rearrange all the toppings, so they are equally spread out, put the top back on, and VOILA! Perfect sandwich.

Same goes for lunch. Let's say it's leftover taco day (one of the best!!). What Nathan would do is get a big Tupperware bowl, put his chips in, put the meat in, put the lettuce/cheese in, and take a little tiny Tupperware with salsa.  Sounds ok, except by tomorrow the chips are soggy, when you heat up the meat, the lettuce gets warm, and the overall quality is really compromised.  Me? Chips in the big Tupperware bowl. On top of that in separate snack baggies or smaller Tupperware bowls are meat (to be heated up individually), cheese, lettuce, and salsa.  Yes, it's more work, but oh, in the end you have such FRESH taco salad!

I can't wait until I "have to" make both my boys' lunches too. I'll have little assembly lines, the little -isms (N8 likes extra mustard, Cash doesn't like strawberries, Declan wants more fruit) and I'll be so organized. My boys will be grateful every day (they will learn this from Daddy, who makes a point to tell me everyday thank you for his lunch and that it was great).  And I will be happy knowing that they are eating well, and not complaining, and look forward to seeing what yummy surprises Mommy put in their lunch every day,