. VG .

Last 20

Even though the plague had gotten me for most of my long week training I did manage to get one last 20 miler in. I was still feeling a bit discouraged about it because it wasn't going well, but I felt like I had turned the corner because I had completed it. My hope for the actual race was that I would run 20 miles before having to stop but my training had been indicating that that wouldn't happen. I was honestly just happy that it was getting close to race time and that I would be done running soon!

I can't believe that all this time and all the miles that I had put on those treadmills was never spent on the one that never shut off. It seems all the other treadmills turn off after 60 minutes but this one just kept on going! So, it was kinda nice to see all your hard work on a treadmill :)

JVG

Easter Egg Hunt

Ever since doing the easter egg hunt at my parents house last year Dude has been all about the idea of doing it again. So, we found a local group that was putting one on but it also involved them running a bit too! I know that they enjoy just getting candy and stuff but I thought that this was nice so that they could burn some energy as well. It was through the Kalamazoo Area Runners and they had some race expo-type things for the kids to do before the actual race. They had a lot of fun and they ran the entire time! :)

JVG

Norah's Birthday

Luckily for Norah she was healthy for her birthday! Everybody else in the family seemed to have the plague and wasn't feeling very festive at all! I woke up and made her some birthday breakfast before heading off to church. She got some great presents from Ingrid, in the mail, which she thought was great! Her favorite was this little google-eye puzzle that they have at the library and she loves putting the pegs in. I love it. To see her fine motor skills at work is amazing!

Mom also made her a Grandma sized birthday cake. Everything is now Pokemon and Norah has deemed herself Pichu, so Grandma made her a cake with that one there. :)

I felt badly that we didn't do much more for her birthday, but honestly, I was in survival mode. I was just hoping that people had clean clothes and weren't getting sick on things! She didn't seem to mind, so that was helpful for this Momma to not feel so guilty. Happy birthday sweet Norah... you are full of sass! I can't believe how incredibly smart you are and how much music is already apart of your life. You continue to amaze us...

JVG

The beginning of the plague

I'm not sure what happened but this winter we got hit with something nasty. I had been sick with this obnoxious, but not serious upper respiratory something for about two weeks. Then, for Norah's birthday weekend the family went down. And I mean hard. First, G said he just wanted to lay down for a minute, which is something he NEVER does. He looked pretty terrible too and this was around 4 pm. Then, I didn't see him until about 12 the next morning. Dude said that he wasn't feeling the greatest as well, but I didn't know if that had something to do with Papa laying down. But, when your crazy active 5.5 year old just curls up in a chair and falls asleep? He wasn't lying. So, I had him eat something small and he headed up to bed too. Lucy, was soon to follow. Norah had earlier in the week thrown up once while I was working but then seemed to have diarrhea for the rest of the week.... that poor girl pretty much lived in the bathtub because she didn't know what was going on. :( She luckily got better before we got to my parents because I knew that my Mom wasn't going to be very sympathetic to her if she ended up pooping on her floor. Lucy ended up throwing up once and then seemed to be in the clear. G however had it for a few days and Dude never had any gastrointestinal problems was just very lethargic and under the weather.

Now, while all this exciting stuff was going on I was still sick, but I was the least sick of them all, which meant I was healthy. This probably went on for a good two weeks, which also meant that nobody was training for their marathons that were quickly approaching. Did that stress me out at all? Of course it did! All this was happening right around my peak week and I was thinking that I was missing out on key training and long miles. I was starting to get discouraged too because I would try to run (that was silly) and wouldn't even be able to run 3 miles without thinking that I was going to lose it. Not the type of feeling you want to have about a month out from your race.

Luckily, this sickness passed and even though it seemed like a very long time it was't. We are truly blessed that we are pretty healthy and I pray that we never take that for granted.

JVG

Winter Blast

My crazy husband, Gracie, and my sister decided running a half marathon together in the dead of winter was a great idea! It was SO COLD that people had icicles hanging off of their facial hair, hair, eyebrows, you name it. He really enjoyed it and said that he would like to do it again next year... I will be there to cheer you on! :)

We are so proud of the nutters for being able to do that in this temperature... really, even at all. A half marathon is a huge accomplishment! Well done!

JVG

Dude's Haircut

Dude has decided that he likes to grow his hair out in the winter, so that it can keep him warm, and then likes to have a short summer style. So, Momma cut his hair and he looks like a completely different kid! He likes it and I think he looks very handsome. His hair grows rather quickly, so I'm sure this won't be the last one of the season.

JVG

Hanging at Jane's

My good friend Jane has since had her baby, but when she was nearing the end we went over there a lot to help out. I didn't know how to help out other than to go over and make sure that she was resting enough, which meant just watching her kids play. Her house is so large that it was easy to do and make sure that they were quiet enough for her to rest. One of the days was actually nice and warm so that was really nice for the kiddos! We did some running around outside and Dude even got into some hopscotch.