The Wood Between the Worlds

November 19, 2011:
The Mamababy Haiti 5k "Give Thanks and Run", the weekend before Thanksgiving!  My midwife put together this race, which is an awesome fundraiser for her non-profit birth center and health clinic.  Brent had to work, unfortunately, so I gathered up all my kids and coerced them into running the 5k with me.  Now since I was "running" with a 6 and a 9 year old, we'll use that term loosely.  :)

For the most part, they did great!  Except {somebody} had to go {poop} in the middle of the race, and of course there was nowhere to go.  I really don't remember how we survived that little challenge.  At the end, Joshua was really glad that he did it...but Toby wants to run the 1 mile kids run next year instead.  I was secretly grateful to have the kids run with me since I was ~8 weeks pregnant and needed an excuse to not go as fast as I normally do.  

It was fun to get out there in the nice weather and see some great people!

Yes, I am just now posting for the 4th of July...haha!  Someday I'll get caught up!

Sauvie Island Foot Traffic Flat Half Marathon:
I decided really early...like in November that I was going to train for this half marathon to help me loose the baby weight from two pregnancies.  And my training went really well...until the last month when we suddenly decided to move and we were kind of obligated to take a trip to Utah for my sister's wedding right before the race.  So...I only got to run 10 miles a couple of times about a month before the race, and I felt it.  It was a tough 13.1 miles (don't discount that last .1 mile...it is hard!).  I did not loose all the weight I had planned on before the race and actually I gained a few pounds from the travel and wedding.  :-/  Frustration!  Ah...but at least I finished the race AND I ran the whole way.  And at least the weather cooperated...no rain and not too hot.  But I wish I could be running the race now that I've lost all the weight I had planned on.

There's this little charity that I've talked about before...maybe you remember Mama Baby Haiti?  One of my midwives who helped out when Elsa was born traveled to Haiti in February 2010...6 months after Elsa made her brief appearance on earth, and right after the people of Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake.  You can read about some of her experiences here.  In short, the conditions there were so poor that women and babies were suffering for the lack of facilities and resources.  Some of the babies died.  My midwife learned to say "I'm sorry" in Haitian Creole to these mothers.  I remember reading her blog entries with tears streaming down my face, having suffered through that heartbreak just 6 months earlier.  However, many of these deaths could have been prevented (as was not the case with my sweet little Elsa) if the mothers had proper care and resources.  My midwife and her colleagues started Mama Baby Haiti before they even left from this first trip...and their motto became "No more Mwen Regrét Sa". No more I am sorry.  They have opened a beautiful birth center and medical clinic where volunteer health care providers catch babies and treat various maladies. 

Over and over I have tried to imagine HOW I could make a difference by taking something hard that happened to me and use it to help make life better for someone else.  Because if I could possibly help another mother from going through loosing a baby, then I would in a heartbeat.  Well, lots of my friends up here in Portland are participating in the Portland Triathlon as a fund raiser for Mama baby Haiti, and I thought that sounded perfect!  I would love to do another triathlon.  However, when I discovered the date I realized that I would not be able to participate.  So (and I know this is late notice) I decided that I am going to try to raise funds in conjunction with the half marathon that I am running tomorrow instead.  I don't need all the money tomorrow...I'll keep it open a few weeks.
But my goal is to raise $500 for Mama Baby Haiti. 
Can you help me with that?
If 100 of you can donate $5 via paypal, we can reach that goal!!  $5!!!  That's an easy way to help some of our fellow humankind.  (You may donate as much as you want though!)
And to sweeten the deal a little bit, I'm doing a drawing in conjunction with this fund-raiser!
I'm going to offer up a few awesome prizes:

1 ~ A mini session with TM Custom Portraits.  I think that is at least a $100 value!  TM is my best buddy and she takes STUNNING photos.  If you don't live in Portland, now is a good time for a road trip!  Or, you could make other arrangements...TM does occasionally travel to Utah to visit family and would probably be happy to arrange a time (although I can't exactly speak for her, haha!).
2 ~ And I am giving away two beautiful, new, LARGE handmade blankets from my own personal collection {which I have dubbed "Sweet Meadowlark"}. These blankets are 1 full yard of sweetness with a modern cotton print on one side and velvety soft minky on the other side.  They are the only blankets that my baby will sleep with.  The retail value for these blankets is about $40 each, because of their size and quality of fabrics {but I don't sell them, I only give them away}.  They are great for your baby, toddler or would make a very sweet gift.

Those prizes TOTALLY rock...and all you need to do is donate $5.  Come ON!!  ;-)  We all are blessed with so much more than people in other lands.  I PROMISE this is a GREAT charity, which can REALLY use the money.  And all of the money will go straight to helping the people of Haiti, as I personally know the founders and know they are paying for a lot of stuff (rent, supplies, food, water, medicine) out of their pockets.  They are mostly there to help mamas and babies, but they have also given food to starving children and medical care to anyone who needs it.  It is staffed completely by volunteers.


So if you think you can help me out with raising some goodness for the Haitian people AND you want in on a fun prize you may enter the giveaway by doing the following:

1)Required to enter the giveaway, you must donate $5 or more and make a comment on this post.  You do not need to tell me how much you donate, but I would appreciate it if you could either make a comment on your online donation form Mama Baby Haiti that it is in memory of ELSA MEADOWLARK, or send me a private email letting me know the amount (so I can track my goal) to katespidey@gmail.com.
2)You may receive addition optional entries by a) publicly following my blog {I want to make more new friends}, b) blogging about this fundraiser/giveaway, and/or c) facebooking/tweeting (whatever you do) about this fundraiser/giveaway.

Please show Mama Baby Haiti some love in honor of Elsa Meadowlark!
xxoo!
Drawing will close on Elsa's birthday.  August 16.

I know you don't look at me and think "runner".  You know the type...the ones with long slender legs and tall willowy bodies (I have an "apple shape" and short muscular legs).  And I know I'll never win a race.  I do not care.  That does not stop me from enjoying running.  I get my high from running.  And I get my best epiphanies while I'm running.  

So after two back to back pregnancies and ending up more out of shape than I've been since, since probably before I ever started running (9th grade).  And well, I like being in shape.  I like the way I feel most of all...like I can bound up several flights of stairs with great energy.  Like I can chase my kids around for hours without getting tired or grouchy.  I also like that with consistent running, the belly gets a little less apple shaped.

I decided that I really NEEDED some motivation to get to the kind of shape I like being in...so I do what I always have done to look for that motivation.  I decide and/or sign up for a race.  This time I have my sights set on the Sauvie Island Half-Marathon on July 4th.

And in order to train for a race like this, the most important thing for me is having a place to run.  I need to know where I am going to be able to run 4 or 9 or 12 miles before I do it.  And it needs to be in a place I find enjoyable.  Every location we live it takes time to find that *perfect* running place.

I feel really lucky where we live here in Oregon to have found that *perfect* location nearby.  There is a long paved pedestrian-only trail which traverses through beautiful trees.  I took some pictures the other day as I was running...mostly just for me to look back on in the future.






And as I was stretching out at the end of my run I played "I spy":

the beautiful, pure trillium flower in bloom!

It is now 24 days into 2011.  And it's the same old thing every year...resolutions!  Sometimes I achieve them, often I don't.  But it is good to have something to work toward, and I think I'm getting a better idea of what I *CAN* achieve.
So 2011!  Let's have a good year!

Among some other resolutions, I'm hoping to:
1) keep my house clean and organized
2) be fit and run at least 1 half marathon this year (loose the baby belly)
3) do some fund raising for MamaBaby Haiti

So I'm obviously WAY behind on blogging (for my own personal benefit).  I'm a month + behind.  So keep on reading, as I've added several new posts today.  And more will be coming soon!  Someday my goal is to be totally caught up so that the current happening are what I'm blogging about.

Why am I so far behind, you ask?



 Well, there's three little reasons.  I had all these great books come to me at the same time.  You know, the kinds that you can't put down and you barely get anything done around the house until you finish.  I finally finished the Fablehaven series last night.  So let's hope that I'll have more blogging time now.

I've been wanting to make some changes to my blog, but I'm not sure what.  So I added a couple new songs.  I am LOVING the band The Paper Raincoat.  We first head them at a Vienna Teng concert, where they were the opening gig.  Oh, they were awesome!  I added the song "Rewind" to my music list, if you want to check it out...in addition to the song "Sympathetic Vibrations" which has been there for a while.  Vienna Teng is also awesome.  We were introduced by her cousin Allen...one of our friends who went to Pharm school with Brent.  Savvy?  Speaking of my music list...I have changed it so that you have to click play to listen to it.  A lot of you have commented on how much you like my music list, so I thought I'd let you know you now have to click play.  I guess that a few people don't like it when music lists play automatically...so I changed it.  I don't really like that either...cause when I'm checking blogs, I'm usually listening to my music!   

A word to the wise, DO NOT pass up the opportunity to see Vienna Teng live in concert.  It is SO good.

Have any of you ever checked out babysteals.com, or totsy.com?  They are deeply discounted baby/kid clothing and gear websites.  I think they are addicting.  I have only bought a very few things...but I see how quickly the items get sold out.  People are shopping vultures.  The thing that gets me is that most days, the things they're selling are things I never knew I *had to have*.  By the way, let me know if you want to join Totsy.  I'll get a $15 credit if I send you an invite.  It's free for you.

When I was out jogging the other day I decided that from now on I'm going to say HI to everyone I pass.  EVERYONE.  No matter what.  I just want to be a friendly person.  So HI!

Ok...I better go to bed.  But I also want to know what is your favorite yummy canned item?  I usually can peaches and pears.  I love to do salsa, but it's a lot of work.  Same with applesauce.  

 

8.28.10
Brent has been asking (well begging) me to drop him off at the top of Larch Mountain so that he can run 7 miles down the trail, through the forest, and down to the bottom of Multnomah Falls.  At first we just planned on leaving the kids with my sister and doing the run together.  But then I got pregnant.  Twice.  And then Brent decided he would go it alone.  But after Elsa died I had a really hard time letting him out of my sight.  Seeing him off for work was hard enough.  But running down a mountain by himself (albeit only 7 miles) where there are wild animals, or he could run too fast and skid off a cliff, or some crazy person could attack him...those images just didn't work for me.  

But then I told Brent that I wanted a new stroller for Oliver.  And BAM!  Guess what he pulled on me?  "You can get the stroller if you'll drop me off at the top of Larch Mountain tomorrow."  So...

I am SO behind on blogging. It's hard to even think about doing it. Plus I'm feeling very private right now. This is a time full of anxiety and complicated emotions. And I'm getting very awkward in my pregnant state, so the pictures...well...I will post some anyway. For posterity.

So here's to catching up:

First, the Jog-A-Thon! It was a large success. It was one of Joshua's favorite events of the year.

Willamette Shoreline Trolley:
This is an old restored trolley along the river and Brent has been wanting to ride it for 3 years!
(And the end of the line in Portland is at the very FIRST Old Spaghetti Factory Restaurant.)
The verdict:
Very beautiful ride up the river...but don't go if you strongly dislike the smell of diesel fumes and if a bumpy ride will make you uncomfortable or queasy (in addition to the diesel fumes, of course).

Chicken-Sitting:
What an absurd little story. A family at our church has a lot of chickens. They thought this silly little chicken had messy hair like our (Joshua's) friend Parker. So they let Parker name the chicken (he named it Parker), and take it home for a week. But Parker's family was heading out of town and could not return the chicken before they left, so they asked us to chicken-sit and return the bird. And the boys LOVED it. They became besties with this little chicken.


Piano Recital:
Joshua did great at his second piano recital. He played "Au Claire Du La Lune", and "When The Saints Go Marching In". He's really taking to it and loving it. (It is so nice to find some activities that your kids LOVE, no?). A couple of Sundays ago he asked me if he could practice the piano. When I said yes, he asked me if he could practice ALL day?!?