Pumpkins and Apples, oh my

We did this a couple of weeks ago, but I am just now getting around to telling the story and blogging about it. We had our family portraits and Hope's 1 year portraits that morning, and then we got in the car and headed up to North GA to get some pumpkins and pick some apples. It's about an hour and a half to get up to Burt's Pumpkin Farm, but well worth the drive. Hope is usually a very good baby in the car, and she wasn't bad, but she didn't sleep for very long and it was during her nap time, so that made for a difficult afternoon. I think she was tired and then to see pumpkins that big, she got scared. She was very clingy the whole afternoon. She just wanted her mommy, but I didn't mind. Lucky for me, I am married to a get photographer, so he got some shots so it looks like Hope enjoyed herself. We hope to make this an annual event as Hope gets older.

Here is Hope next to some of the big pumpkins when we first got to the farm.

Now, here she is getting scared, tired, and clingy.

Here we are at some of the other pumpkins, more her size.

Adam getting some artistic shots. He's so good! Now, we are at the Hope size pumpkins.

Hope on the John Deere tracker with Dad.

Here is Hope and I at the nearby apple farm. We decided to do the pick your own and I am glad we did. It was fun to pick our own and get exactly what we wanted.

The apples are/were delicious. We have been eating them everyday for lunch and I made a huge apple crisp. I know I should have taken a picture of it, but when it came out of the oven, it didn't look that great. Once I let it set for a little while, it looked better, but it tasted amazing!

So we ended up with 3 pumpkins (one for each of us), indian corn for the door, some gords and pumpkins for decorating the house, and a peck of apples. We had a great time and it was a nice way to get ready for the holiday season.

Menu Planning - I know I am late on this

I know, I know, it's Thursday and I am late on getting this out, but I did menu plan, I just didn't get it on my blog. Here is what we had.

Monday - Annie Chun's Pad Thai adding in carrots, onions, and egg, chicken for Adam
Tuesday - Wild Salmon (grilled), fresh green beans, and wild rice
Wednesday - Leftovers (salad instead of green beans)
Thursday - Eggplant parmesean (I am going to bake the eggplant though instead of frying it) egg pasta, and a salad
Friday - On our own, I am going to dinner with some girlfriends and I can't wait!!!

Have a good end of the week!

Check out lil runner's giveaway

Lil runner is hosting a giveaway on her blog. Check it out.

Training/Exercise - 10/19

So after completing my first half marathon since Hope was born, I have been running, but haven't really been following a specific training guide right now. I am basically just trying to run when I can. It has been a busy Oct. for me so far, so it's harder to get my runs in. And the rain on top of that, makes it even harder when I have to take the baby jogger with me 90% of the time. So this week, here is my plan.

Monday - I was going to do the elliptical but I might just rest today. Hope had me up most of the night last night and I am pretty tired.
Tuesday - Run 6 miles, abs
Wednesday - 30 minutes on the elliptical if I don't get to it on Monday.
Thursday - Tennis practice
Friday - 9 miles, abs

Menu Planning - 10/19

Well I forgot to post last week's menu, but I did make a plan and stuck to it. Here is what I am planning for this week.

Monday - Gnocchi with marinara sauce, salads
Tuesday - Butternut squash supreme, curried peas, chicken for Adam
Wednesday - Burgers and homemade potatoe "fries", leftover peas or something from the freezer
Thursday - Homemade pizza
Friday - Out

Have a good week everyone!

Happy Birthday Hope!

My little baby is 1 year old today! I can't believe it! Time really has flown by. Adam and I did a lot of reminiscing last night because it all "started" on Oct. 13th. Hope was diagnosed borderline IUGR when I was 26 weeks pregnant. At 36 weeks, she was all out IUGR. Because of this, the perinatologist wanted me to be induced and get the baby out because she was not really growing anymore. I really didn't want to be induced, but didn't have much of a choice. I also had not been progressing during my last 4 visits to the OB, so the likelihood that I would have a successful induction was only 45%. Yep, less than half. Yikes, what I didn't want more than to be induced was to have a c-section. I was really nervous about the whole induction thing. We got a call from the hospital at 6:30pm telling us to be at the hospital at 8:00pm. It was the first time in Adam's life he was early. We arrived at the hospital at 7:50pm. Here is a picture of us in the labor room before getting started.

So around 8:45pm, the nurse started asking me questions, checking me, and getting me hooked up to all the monitors. When she checked me I was now 1 cm dilated (from a fingertip at the OB office just 6 hours earlier), 50% effaced, and -2 station (baby had already dropped). She hooked me up to the contraction monitor and I was having real contractions. They were almost too regular for them to give me anything for the induction. So in my opinion, I believe I was in the early stages of labor and Hope would have been born on Oct. 14 anyway, just later in the day. So at 9:30pm, I got the cervidil, and things really started to progress. I started feeling the contractions. At 12:30am, I called the nurse and told her I was in a lot of pain. She checked me and I was now 4cm dilated and removed the cervidil. The contractions didn't come as quickly for about 30 minutes now (6 minutes apart instead of 3), but then they picked up again. I asked the nurse what my options were for pain medication. I had told her I didn't want an epidural. She said I could have an epi or something in my IV. I said to try the IV meds first. Well, they didn't do much for me at all. I really didn't want the epi, so I just went back and forth from the bed to the rocking chair next to my bed. I couldn't walk because Hope was IUGR and had to be on the monitors all the time. It sucked! Well after almost 10 hours of labor, it was time to push. I was very lucky because they told me she had dropped so much, it wouldn't take much to get her out. Well they were right. 2 contractions later, she was out. Here is me getting to hold her right after Adam cut the cord.

Hope Cecile was born at 7:30am, weighing 6lb. 10oz. (more than I did when I was born) and 19 inches long. So our IUGR baby weighed in just fine. The conclusion from the whole IUGR is that my placenta was small, and I was still doing a lot of exercise. Although, I am not a big person, she is was probably going to be on the smaller side anyway. I have to say though, I didn't care about the previous 13 weeks of modified rest. At the end, I had a beautiful and healthy baby girl and I couldn't be happier.

Here is a picture of Hope still in the hospital, one day old.

And now 12 months later, here is my baby girl, growing up.

I couldn't love her more!!! Happy Birthday baby girl!

Half Marathon Recap

Well, I survived to tell the story, so I guess that is good. Actually, the race went really well and I am very pleased with my time, despite the lack of training I have had in the past 2 1/2 weeks. My day started Sunday morning at 5:30am, pumping in the living room, while watching Sports Center. I made my usual pre-race snack, one piece of toast with a slather of lowfat no salted added cottage cheese with a sliced strawberry on top and a bottle of water. I headed out the door by 6:05am (wanted to leave by 6:00am, but that didn't happen). I got to the race and parked in plenty of time. From there, I headed straight to the porta potty line. It was chilly, not even 60 degrees yet. I was sporting my current race outfit (light pink LiveStrong cotton dryfit short sleeve shirt and lime green nike running shorts, easy to pick me out of a running crowd). After that, I did some stretching and got in line. I put myself at the 1:50 flag. My PR was 1:55, but I knew I had been running well, so I was hoping for 1:52. I had my Garmin Forerunner 405 and had put my virtual partner at a 8:32 minute mile pace. That would put my finish right at 1:52. At my last 10K race, I averaged 7:59 minute miles, so I thought 8:32 for a half was doable.

Finally, I was off. It was still pretty dark, so it was hard to see my watch and I wasn't thinking clearly to put the back light on (hey, it was early). I knew my first mile was good (ended up being 7:59) and my second mile was pretty good (8:21), but I didn't see the exact time on my watch. I knew I crossed the start/finish line about 11 or 12 seconds after the gun went off, so I used the clocks they had on the course at the beginning. The course was pretty good, but not totally easy. A lot of little hills, but at least it was even. I felt like I went up as many as I went down. I was watching my virtual partner and I was quickly 1:30 minutes ahead of my time. I thought, Wow! I am going to break 1:52 for sure. Do you think I can break 1:50? Oh crap, I had it in my head to break 1:50 now. I was scared I was going to push myself too hard now and have nothing left in me by the end. I did happen to look up what I needed to average to break 1:50 and it was 8:23 minute miles. That has been my goal for a while, to break 1:50, but because of my lack of training, I was scared that was too ambitious, so I put my watch on 1:52 pace.

Adam was going to try to see my at 4.5 miles. He ended up missing me (I guess I was too fast for him).

At mile 9, I went ahead and had my gel pack. I usually only consume one for a half marathon. Sometimes I have one right before the start of the race, but I think the bread with cottage cheese and strawberry is enough for my tummy that early in the morning.

Adam did see me at 9.5 miles (which was my slowest mile at 8:54). So after my gel pack and a "Go honey, go" from Adam, I was ready to finish the race. So I hit the mile 10 mile marker and knew I only had 3 little miles left. I tried to just focus on a 5K. Then I hit 11 miles. Wow, I thought. 2 miles is nothing. You can do this! I was up to 1:44 minutes ahead of my virtual partner. I dug deep and really pushed myself. Once I hit mile marker 12, I said it's now or never. My goal was under 8:00 minutes for this last mile. I knew if I did that I would break 1:50. It was a hilly mile. I wasn't looking at my watch much now. I was jamming to my iPod and focusing on going as fast as I could. I saw Adam and Hope right before the finish and started sprinting (well I call it sprinting, but after 13 miles, I am sure it was pretty slow). Well I still had more to run than I thought. I could see the finish line, but the course took me away from it first before heading back to the finish line. I started to slow up because I was dog tired, but then I saw it again and gave it one last push. I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch. I had finished in 1:48:55. I couldn't believe it! Now only had a finished in under 1:50, but had broken 1:49. That wasn't even a thought in my mind. I actually surpassed my unreachable goal of 1:50. I now have a new PR and don't even know what my goal will be for the Thanksgiving Half Marathon.

I was very happy and very tired. I grabbed my stuff and got a hug and kiss from Adam and Hope. Hope actually wanted me to hold her so I did. Adam said he got her to wave at all the runners that passed them while they were waiting for me. I am sure she helped a lot of runners at the end with her smiling face and waving hand.

So, I did it! I completed my first half marathon since Hope was born. There is a 15K race that I might do, but plan to do the Thanksgiving Half Marathon. I totally have the bug again for racing. I am so happy with my finish. I do have to thank Hope though for my training. Pushing a jogging stroller is a lot harder than you think, so pushing Hope for 6-10 miles at a time is probably a lot harder than I think. :)

Menu Planning - 10/5

Good morning/afternoon! I am moving very slowly today, after my first half marathon since Hope was born. I will update you later on that. Right now, it's menu time. Here is what I have planned for this week.

Monday - Pork sandwiches, oven fries, broccoli with cheese sauce

Tuesday - Pee wee pizzas

Wednesday - Margarita fish tacos and pico de gallo pilaf

Thursday - Glazed root veggies (carrots, parsnips, onions), Tomato and Orange Salad, pork chop for Adam

Friday - Leftovers

Have a good week everyone!!!