Friday, November 28, 2008

I'm Thankful for....


all of the people I love in my life!

I'm a firm believer in that it's the people in your life that make it beautiful and grand. I don't have much stuff or many things, but I do have wonderful people who love me, love my family and support us. Therefore, I am thankful.

ps- I'm also very thankful for some people in my life that weren't able to be here for the holiday. I love you Mom, Dad and Peggy.



Will, James and I spent another Thanksgiving over at Tom and Veronica's house. They provide two turkeys and stuffing, I provide all the fixin's and desserts.

Man, did we have some yummy food!


Uncle Tom kept James entertained. But, he did not like it when I interrupted their playing for yet, another picture!

Aunt Veronica, holding down the kitchen!

Uncle Tom made James a beautiful new stepping stool so he can reach the sink for hand washing ( a MUST when you have little boys who LOVE dirt, rocks, leaves, etc)

Judging from his smile, we think it's a hit.

By the end of the evening, I don't know who was more tired, James or Veronica. James fell asleep within five minutes of being in the car. Overall, a good Thanksgiving spent with good people eating good food and having good conversation.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Latest Photo Shoot with Susan Gentile

A few weeks ago, we had another photo session with my friend, Susan. Her photography business (see link to the left) is really taking off (with good reason) and she offered to take some more pictures for us. Who was I to resist? Actually, Will and James had as much fun as I did. It was a beautiful fall day (pretty windy, though) here in Tampa and we just enjoyed the afternoon in the park. James is very comfortable in front of the camera (like his momma!)
Hope you enjoy!
Click to play November Photo Session
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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Eat.Drive.Sleep?Repeat!

Yep, that pretty much sums up my Ragnar Relay Race Weekend. We ran, we drove, we tried to sleep and then we ran some more! All the way to Daytona Beach!
My team was called Runners United (I came up with the name). We were a mix of very fast runners and very slow runners (me).
My team members were awesome and we had such a great time. It truly was a great adventure and one that I hope to relive some day, although I want to be in much better shape and run much faster! Here is a picture of the two teams from Tampa (Brandon Runners) that participated in the race.


Here I am getting ready to run my first leg of the race (3.4 miles). It was HOT (86 degrees) and humid on Friday, so running was NOT fun or easy. I came in under my projected pace (too slow to post, embarrasing) but the heat definitely took it's toll on me later in the day.

My 2nd leg (6.5 miles) was at 12:30 at night, so there were no pictures taken of me waiting for the hand-off. My team mates were so supportive and we were very protective of each other during the night runs. The vans weren't allowed to follow the runners (we were running on a major highway, against traffic) but the van was never more than a mile away from me. We decked out our van in windshield paint and Christmas lights, so it was a comforting beacon in the middle of the dark, lonely night!

Here I am getting ready to run my last leg of the race (3.1 miles). It was about 7 am on Saturday morning and I had about 40 minutes of sleep in me. Yep, I was ready to run! Luckily, it was great running weather! I came in just under my projected pace and celebrated my "end" of the race with a cold, refreshing beer. Who cares if it was 7:40 in the morning?

Here is Jenny and I at dinner on Saturday night. I don't know how we were keeping our eyes open at this point, but I do know that we felt quite delirious after all that running, driving and no sleep. That's okay, as a mom of twin girls under the age of two, Jenny is used to no sleep!


Ahhhh...

Here I am the morning that we were leaving to drive back to Tampa. This weekend held a LOT of firsts for me, mainly it was my first cross-state relay race and the first time I left James overnight with Will. I truly enjoyed my "mommy-free" time and relished my quiet, calm hotel room. Yes, by Sunday morning, I was very anxious to get back to my boys, but I knew they were just fine and enjoying their own daddy-son bonding time.

So, that sums up my race experience. There are a lot more interesting pics and a lot more intersting stories to tell from the weekend, but these are the blog-worthy highlights!

Anyone interested in the Runners United Team for 2009?

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Happy Belated 16 Month Old Birthday!!!!


Okay, so I'm being the really bad mommy here and on Sunday, I just plain forgot that it was James' 16 month birthday! In my defense, the entire Hayman household was sick with the cold/flu/bubonic plague. Not to point fingers, but it all started when James got sick on Monday evening. He had a slight fever and was really congested. So, I stayed home with the fussy, clingy, sick, snotty baby for three days and nursed him back to good health. No more fever and his cold was getting better. Then, on Thursday, Will comes home early from work feeling feverish, sore throat, congested, the whole nine yards. Sure enough, by then, I was feeling a bit under the weather myself. All weekend, we took turns dosing with Nyquil and taking care of James. By Monday, I was feeling back to normal again, but even today, Will is still feeling pretty lousy. So, long story short, we were sick and I forgot.


Meet Joe Cool.

Tonight, he found a pair of my sunglasses and insisted on wearing them around the house after dinner. He was absolutely ecstatic with his new found dark/light vision. Yes, his life is full of wonderment and amazement!

And yes, his future's so bright, he's gotta wear shades....

Oh the Places You'll Climb....

I've been working on this post for a while now, since James has taken to climbing up onto EVERYTHING lately! One day when I picked him up from preschool, his teacher said that whenever they need to look for James, they look UP, not down on the floor. She also shared that he might be the next person to actually climb all the way up to Mt. Everest. Yay me.
Light switches are a new fav of his. He delights in being able to giveth light and then taketh away.

We have gone to great strides in keeping him off the dining room table. Will preferred to put all four chairs in our guest bedroom until he outgrew this phase. Um.... let's just say that that idea didn't last too long once I got home.
But, a quick trip to the time out spot gets James' attention every time and we are making progress with the table climbing!
There are some other really precarious climbing spots that James prefers (on the top/back part of the toilet, on our nightstands via our very high bed, up the bookshelf, up the ladder stored in our garage)
Obviously, whenever I found him in "said" locations, running for the camera was not the safe option at the time, so sorry, no pictures!



Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Run Forest, Run!

Normally, I like to keep the blog very "James-focused" but the Ragnar Relay is less than two weeks away and my excitement for this run-eat-sleep-run-eat-sleep adventure is bubbling over! You see, to finally motivate me to drop the last 10 or so pounds of baby weight, I signed up to run this Relay. It starts in Clearwater Beach and ends in Daytona Beach. For those of you not familiar with Florida landscape, that's a distance of about 200 miles stretching clear across the state of Florida. There are 12 of us on my team (6 women, 6 men) and we each will run three different legs within 26 hours to reach the finish line. We will travel in two vans and run throughout the day and throughout the night. I am one of the co-captains and one of the slowest on the team, but I bring lots of team spirit! I've been training for a couple of months now, running about 25 miles each week with my longest runs on Saturday morning. My training has included hills and multiple workouts within a 24-hour period. On Saturdays, I run with a group but otherwise, it's me and my ipod. My dear hubby has no desire to run anymore, since retiring from the AF, but he supports my crazy butt 100%.
I got the "running bug" about 4 years ago when I walked my first 5K (3.2 miles) with my good friend, Veronica. We started out just power walking and one race led to another. Soon, we were walking 1/2 marathons (13.1 miles) and by the next year, I was running the full marathon (26.2). Actually, when I say "running" I mean a run/walk. You see, I use the Galloway Method to prevent injury and it has actually increased my speed. You see, I used to think that run was a 4-letter word. Now, I'm addicted. Yes, I am addicted to my early morning long runs and feeling the surge of endorphins when I get that second wind.
My mom is worried sick about my running and feels that there is "no need" (typical southern woman) but my dad is very proud (albeit a little worried about this cross-state trek I'm about to embark on!) I just like the feeling of accomplishment after a strong run, learning how to push my body and when to hold back. And, I like the example I'm setting for James. He's already been in two 5k's and will be in a couple more before the end of the year. I just need to work on my speed while pushing a jogging stroller!
Anyway, sorry for this long post all-about-me, but I just wanted you guys out there in bloggy-land to know what I've been up to and what's coming up. After the Ragnar Relay, I'll take about a week off from running and then resume my training for the upcoming Gasparilla Marathon here in Tampa.
All of you runners out there (Stacy) please feel free to share your training experiences, recovery tips, etc with the rest of us!