S Club Mama

10. House 9. Bob Harper - I mean, Biggest Loser 8. Parenthood 7. who doesn't love pretty leaves? 6. Go Big Red! 6.  lack of these 5. dressing in warm clothes without a coat (yet) 4. I love warm pumpkin pie...or pumpkin anything 3. There is nothing I dislike about Thanksgiving (except yams) 2. 'Tis the season to be jolly 1. dressing like this soon c'mon, for Halloween, not every day! These are not in any particular order but are brought to you by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop . 

Today is your last chance to enter to win these cute Kool Kids Legs (well, not THESE but ones of your choosing). Please enter at this post .

Halloween is coming up! It's definitely my favorite non-religious holiday. I get giddy just thinking about the possibility of costumes for my family. I love group costumes - partially because I like to make my husband dress up!  I contacted Costume Discounters to see if I could review their Superman Muscle Chest Costume . Moose is very excited about Superman lately - we watch the old cartoons constantly - so I thought this would be perfect. Obviously the theme I've chosen this Halloween for my family is superheroes - Costume Discounters has a huge selection of superhero costumes . Wonder Woman, Spiderman, Batman, Iron Man - all the heroes I can think of, they have. Browsing their boys Halloween costumes makes me so excited for the future; what my boys will want to wear and such. When we got the package with the Superman costume, I was the most excited mom ever. We hurried home to open the package. Moose got the BIGGEST grin (wish I would have captured it) on his face wh...

I was excited to receive my copy of Love and Respect (a gift book bearing a resemblance to the full-sized book of the same name). However, I quickly realized that this was not the same book that my friends raved about. Although very cute and well put together, it lacks depth. Love and Respect. Those terms are overly repeated. Obviously that's what the book is about: loving your wife, respecting your husband. However, it just seemed to reiterate the same things over and over. While that may be useful to some couples, I didn't find it very appealing. There were a few tips on how to show love and how to show respect, but nothing that seemed more than common sense. My guess is that if you truly are having troubles in your relationship (or want to prevent that from happening), you would be better off reading the full-sized edition, not this gift book. However, I will say that this book was probably a good reminder to respect my husband and for him to love me. After all, someti...

 My sister uploaded her pictures from the marathon to Facebook and I fiddled around (spent way too much time) on Picnik to make them prettier! This is mile 13 so we're almost finished. It definitely gave me a boost to hear my mom yelling "Go Randi!" (one time in my life I was very glad she's so loud). I started to choke up when the boys saw us (and started to cry for us/me) but then remembered I still had to finish so I needed to breathe. The tears definitely put a kick back in my step (maybe they should have been at mile 10?) and I picked it up for the finish line. After we crossed the line (holding hands...so I teared up again), a nice Marine put my cool medal around my neck.  The boys were, of course, upset when we didn't stop for them. So they fed Squirt some crackers (notice his sweet crocodile tears).  And Moose came to meet us as soon as he could. That's about when I finally lost it, when I hugged him and my little sister.  Then we tried to r...

A professor from my alma mater has written a primer for parents, teachers, and therapists. I don't believe I ever had this man as one of my teachers, but I think my husband did. I honestly can't remember (although looking at the picture of him, he is familiar). This is from the book's website : Are you one of the "insecurely attached?" According to human development professor Mark Greenberg, children who develop an insecure attachment with the primary caregiver a re at high risk to develop oppositional defiant disorder, later progressing into conduct disorder. In this book, author Mark Beischel, a trained psychologist who specializes in neglect and abuse with children and adults, shares scientific evidence created from his vast experience of training thousands of psychologists, clinical social workers, professional counselors, family therapists, mental-health workers, teachers, and parents. He discusses about attachment and how to help childr...

I don't have any pictures to share (although I looked smashing) but hopefully my family will email me some soon so I can show you all! This morning was so cold it caught your breath. And when I shed my jacket, it was worse. After we started, I didn't feel cold until the end (when I was freezing). The course was supposed to be really hilly and I was scared, but it wasn't very bad (we think that it's because we trained on semi-hilly terrain). The worst part about the race was stopping at the first water stop about 2 miles in to use the porta potty. I even used one before we started but things get to moving....you understand. Took 5 whole minutes (lots of people, 2 portas) to get back on course. But once we did, I didn't feel like walking until the very end. Even when we had to go up this mile-long hill (not super steep, just long). I wasn't going super fast...never did the whole race (and I was very snail-ish at the end), but I didn't walk at all. That was ...

Since Squirt's birth, I have mostly heard how different he is from Moose. I beg to differ. I know they aren't twins, but there are some striking similarities. You know they are brothers. What do you think? Do your children look alike? Do you look like your siblings? Does your pet look like you (I think that's weird but it happens!)? PS: Tomorrow's the big day! Our half marathon is FINALLY HERE! Be praying for/thinking about us around 7AM (central time) tomorrow. Go S (Run) Club!

I was allowed to review the SPI Belt water bottle & holder combo. I was excited to get it so I wouldn't have to carry my son's Lightning McQueen water bottle around any longer. Just like a normal SPI belt, this one came with a little pouch to put some things in during my run. I fit my phone & a house key in there. I don't carry my license or money on me but those could easily have fit in the pouch. The water bottle was a little bigger than my son's so the weight took some getting used to. I liked that there is a band where you hold, making it easier than holding a bottle. I liked that I didn't have to grip the water bottle much even if it was a little heavier than I was used to. The extra water came in very handy on my 5 mile run last Saturday, too - I was thirsty! I haven't used it since that run but only because I haven't ran yet (writing this on Tuesday). But I will definitely be using this (although Big A will probably hold it) during our ha...

I first read " To Kill a Mockingbird " in 9th grade. My teacher was Kelly, a woman who definitely inspired me to become a high school English teacher. I remember watching the movie in class, discussing the characters and motives. I also remember that it was one of the few books that everyone I knew I had read - even my parents had read "To Kill a Mockingbird." So there were all of these perspectives on the book and influences and characters. You don't find that kind of wide-spread readership in most books today. Matt Litton wrote " The Mockingbird Parables " to help draw out Christian themes within the pages of this classic. There is so much to be taught (and learned) about Boo Radley as a God-figure, always watching us. We can draw on the descriptions of the community within this book to help us build a faith community of believers that help one another out in times of need. I am unlike Litton; I haven't picked up a copy of TKAM since that fi...

My tooth is not feeling 100% yet (I'm writing this on Monday) but hopefully by this weekend...I can't say that 13.1 miles in pain sounds like fun. However, I did make it through 5 miles that way last Saturday. Big A & I ran, for the second year, in the Applejack Festival 5 Mile Fun Run/Walk. It was a chilly morning (although not as cold as 2009) and cloudy (my favorite running weather). We got the boys out of the van and were loading them into the stroller when Big A saw the right tire was flat. Squirt & I went to register us for the race while Moose went to air the tires up with daddy. They got back with mere minutes to spare before the start - only to realize the left tire was flat. Oh dear. My Superhero Husband decided to run with the flat tire. After about 1/2 a mile he told me to go ahead of him (thankfully because it was really slow going and I was feeling it!!), so I stretched my legs out and ran! I didn't stop running the whole 5 miles either! When I fel...

Squirt has never been a child to sit still. When he was born, he was extremely bow-legged (bad!). It is my theory that he kicked his legs straight! You can imagine what changing his diaper is like. I never understood moms who said their babies wouldn't lay still while being changed - Moose laid still like a statue! I get it now. About a year ago, I won a pair of leg warmers for my brand-new baby boy. However, they were slightly girlie and I gave them to my precious newborn niece. Regret. Had I known what a squirmy squirt I would have, I would have held on to those. In these cooler months we're getting into (today's high? 70 degrees), I dress my children in long pants. Dressing Squirt is about as tiring as diapering him. So I contacted Jennifer with Mama Runs with Scissors to see if I could try out a pair of her Kool Kids Legs . Aren't these adorable on his little legs? I adore them (not only because I adore everything on him) because of how much easier they make ...

At Moose's last hair cut, the only way I got him to wear the cape-thing that keeps the hair off of you (that's the technical name, of course) was to tell him that it was a cape like Super Why's. To say the least, Moose loves super heroes! So when I found this adorable fireman hero cape on Etsy from Goods Place , I had to ask if I (he) could try it out. Moose was so excited when I opened the package & it was a superhero cape! Of course, he didn't really understand it was a fireman hero cape (he thought it was Superman's cape), but he could "fly" with it just the same. I really like the material the cape is made out of. It's not flimsy like the capes that come with some little kids' pajamas (we have a few of those). It's heavy and the sewing is really good (I'm not sure if it's hand-sewn or machine; I hope machine because it's perfect). The hero decal (it's not a decal but I can't think of what it would be called) i...

No race report today (although you can look on my daily mile widget to the right). I will try to get one up with some pictures tomorrow. Still battling this horrible toothache. Took two voicemails to have my dentist call me back (and then to find out he'd been at the office, not at home in the morning). Then he faxed in an Rx for me - but the pharmacy had closed. So I have to wait until Monday. I was in writing pain today and would be still had my MIL not had hip surgery awhile back. tehe Anyway, filling my stomach before (finally) getting some good night's rest.

A few weekends ago, I and a friend helped throw a baby shower for our mutual friend, Miss M. It was a small and intimate shower - I had much fun making the cakes and cupcakes. I also made a "guess the parents" celebrity baby game - such fun trying to pick the parents. I know baby showers aren't everyone's cup of tea but I adore the newness of it all. I adore the feeling of spring there is, the coming of new life. Just beautiful.