65 pounds may be my limit

The morning somehow escaped me.  Anderson and I knocked out some errands (including buying Honey a birthday treat) and before I knew it lunch had arrived followed by Mason's pick up from school.  Notice there was no run mentioned?

I joked to Mason that I was going to take him in the BOB jogging stroller for a run once Anderson fell asleep for his nap.  He instantly agreed and would not stop talking about it.  He was so insistent that I finally said ok to a short run with him, only because I knew I wouldn't get another chance to run at all today.

We slowly made our way through my (hilly) neighborhood and somehow managed to run 2 miles in 23ish minutes.  I'm pretty sure half of it was spent walking and cursing myself for thinking pushing Mason in the stroller was a good idea.

Mason + BOB Jogging Stroller = 65 pounds

He was a good sport and is thankfully doing quiet time in his room while Anderson continues to nap, thus giving me some time to shower!   Hallelujah. 

Penguin overboard!

The weather in Charlotte has been gorgeous lately!  Instead of doing my daily run around the indoor track at the YMCA, I've been pushing Anderson in the BOB jogging stroller.  We start right after dropping Mason off at school and cover 3-5 miles. 

Anderson is usually pretty content while riding in the stroller.  I'm sure looking at trees and birds can get boring though so he has started finding other ways of entertaining himself.

Yep that's his "lovey" affectionately called Penguin.  Original name right?  Anyways ... we had just ran a little over 1 mile and I was actually thinking to myself how great the run was feeling.  We had been cruising at a good speed and everything seemed lovely, until I looked down into the stroller and couldn't locate Penguin.  After coming to a complete stop and looking for Penguin I realized Anderson must've thrown the poor guy overboard at some point during our run.

So we had to turn around and head back to our starting point in hopes that I would come across Penguin.  Luckily the stuffed animal was about 1/4 mile away looking pitiful on the sidewalk.  We scooped him up and tried to continue our run without any more drama.   

We managed to do 4 miles before Anderson's Little Gym class.  If we do another run together tomorrow I'm pretty sure Penguin will wait for us in the car. 

A little DOSE of running

 

This past weekend I spent a couple of days in Nashville, TN.  We were in town to celebrate my friend Liz's upcoming wedding and needed 14 girls to truly do the bachelorette party justice.  We rented a super cute home in Cherokee Park.  One of my favorite things to do when visiting a new city is to literally run around and explore.

 

Between the time change (TN is in central) and naturally being an early riser (thanks kids), I was up pretty early Saturday morning.  I convinced my friend Steph to go on a slow/short jog with me to a local coffee shop.  We managed to avoid major roads up until the very end and made the 1.25 mile trek to Dose.  

 

I love supporting local businesses and this little coffee shop was awesome.  The shop has been around since 2009 and serves coffee, tea, and some bakery items.  We ordered some coffee at the counter and I went with the cortado (equal parts espresso and steamed milk 4 ounces).

While enjoying our coffees I took the opportunity to call my family and say hi to the kids back home.  It was nice to know that I was missed but I'm pretty sure the boys were enjoying "no-mom" time.

Steph and I walked back to the house shortly after.  Clearly I wanted another excuse to go running and (un)luckily my friend Kat needed to get a toothbrush since she left hers at home.  We ran together to the store and ran back to the house once our errand was finished.  By this time my combined runs were so close to hitting the 5 mile mark that I ventured out for 1/4 mile on my own.

It was such a beautiful day in Nashville and a wonderful way to see some of the city.  I love running in new towns, especially running with friends!

Pick me! Pick me!

A few days ago I entered the search for the Charlotte Marathon ambassador program.  from the website:

"The Charlotte Marathon is putting together a select team of runners to serve as ambassadors throughout the year. We’re looking for go-getters skilled at bringing people together and motivating others towards a common goal."

 

I think it would be super cool to be one of the people that help spread the word about the marathon changing its name from Thunder Road to the Charlotte Marathon.  Who knows it might even convince me to run my first full marathon ... although if I did get chosen to be an ambassador I'm leaning towards the half marathon option. 

 

 

 

 

Fingers crossed I get chosen to be an ambassador!  Hopefully we find out in the next few days ...

Mason is 4 years old!

For those of you who actually know Mason's birthday, it's March 29th, which means he turned 4 almost 2 weeks ago.  But since we didn't make it to the doctor for his wellness check until this past Friday I think we can let the tardiness slide a bit.

He's almost 40 pounds (77%) and 3' 7" (95%).  The doctor asked if Mason was the tallest kid in his class ... I think so.  He gained 3.5 pounds and grew 3.5 inches since last year. 

He received 2 vaccines and is as healthy as can be. 

Mason had a birthday party at the Harris YMCA with his classmates and his close buds.  It was only 1.5 hours but felt like FOREVER since it was a drop-off party and most of the parents jetted at the start time.  After some playtime in the gymnastics center, snacks, and a cupcake it was time to say farewell to the kids.  Then we celebrated his birthday at school with donuts.  The last (final) birthday celebration was dinner after soccer practice.

He's usually in bed by 7pm and sleeps until 6:45am.  The last nap he took was on March 17th so I'm not entirely convinced he's ready to give them up completely.  He still does quiet time in his room most days to give me some sort of break! 

He loves school and is excited to go 5 days starting in the fall.  He's playing soccer and t-ball and is a big fan of the snacks afterwards. 

He likes to go to the library and get new books weekly ... currently he loves Piggie & Gerald books.  If you've never heard of them look them up ... surprisingly funny. 

I took him to his first school dance and he was so kind to his friends.  When a boy from his class didn't want to dance by himself Mason took him over to the dance floor and danced with him.  He truly has the biggest heart and can be so sweet ... but he's also such a loose cannon and can get into so much trouble.  I try to remind myself (almost daily) that he's only 4 and doesn't know any better, but sometimes I think he does know better and just likes to cause trouble. 

Oh Mason I love you so much and can't wait to see what happens in the next year.  You make us so proud and are so smart and funny.