Friday, April 6, 2012

ode to saint patrick


st. patrick's day would be two days after our return from vacation, so before we left, i mailed these babies off to friends and family.  stickers, tattoos, silly straws with mustaches, candy & suckers and little "lucky" poof guys.  some bags even included hair clips but others had already been given those in another goodie bag.  

jb and i love doing crafts, but this one was mostly on me.  when working with the hot glue gun, i get a little nervous with my over-excited helper nearby.  however, i should add that he was very much involved; he picked out each poof, each set of colored eyes and non-matching noses.  he was sure of that much.  he wanted the large googly eyed one for his cousin, ellie, but then decided that he wanted to keep it.  (sorry, ellie.)   i think that one's my favorite, anyway.   

and because i'm now digitally scrapbooking, i have so much card stock and various paper to use up.  so we made cards.  jack and dylan placed their skinny (and wrinkly) thumbs just so to make a four-leaf clover on their cards, but dada helped with placement and i drew the stem.  another one of those projects where it's hard to be hands-on and take a picture of the process.         




i was even crazy enough to run a 5k on st. patrick's day.  what was i thinking?!  i could have used an extra few weeks days to sleep in and not wake at 7 am.  gah.  but, i'm so glad i did.  i really can't explain the feeling of seeing the finish line.  or hearing the people's cheers through my blaring earbuds.  or seeing the clock ticking away.  it's all so inspiring, really.  

as much as i love my irish roots and want to celebrate dear saint patrick, i'm not sure i'll run it next year.  maybe i could find a run elsewhere, in the states, where it's not 15 degrees, yeah?  the parking was several blocks away from the start.  i was really second-guessing my running ability in such cold temps.  but.  i did it anyway and actually had one of my best runs to date.  that may have been because

i was running a tad faster 
because i wanted to finish faster 
so i could warm up faster

but nonetheless i finished in 30:52 with a pace of 9:56.  my next race is may 5th and i look forward to not wearing my skhoop with knee highs and 3 layers of tops.  pure silliness.

       

it's incredible that i did so well, but i was quickly off that runner's high and onto a low: dueling sick kids.  and, if that's not bad enough, it's really awful when mama's sick.  blind leading the blind?  kinda.  jack came down with a nasty seal-type cough with a fever to follow, the day before we left maui.  dylan came down with the fever a few days later.  and like usual, i got it last.  i'm still amazed ben stayed healthy through it all.  

i laid in bed for 5 days straight.  i went to the doctor after 48 hours of thinking i was seriously dying to find out that i had influenza b.  this was no joke.  i now see why they say children and elders are most at risk.  at one point, i was laying in bed, listening to my heart beat, hoping it wasn't going to stop.  next year, we're all getting flu shots.  

this was dylan at her worse.  sick, red-rimmed-eyed, runny nose kiddos are the worst!  and to top it off, her bro gave her a fat lip.  oh, duey!  but she's still smiling.  i admire her spirit beyond words.


it's incredible the difference a day can make.  i pray for my babies every night, to have sweet dreams, for the Lord to bless them, keep them, lift them up, but especially when they're sick.  i hate tucking them into bed when they're not feeling well, uncomfortable and feverish.  it breaks my heart.  but, i know the best thing for them is rest.

this series is the following morning.  where the day before was filled with movie after movie, mixed in with popsicles and sippies full of liquids, here, you'll find their spirits up, along with their energy level.  praise Jesus.   

                






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