Mish Mash
Oh man...I hate that such a negative post has been looming on my blog over almost 2 months! Time to change that and include a quick update on what's going on in our lives. Such a busy time for this little family!
Ethan
Man, this kid is growing so fast. He is at such an awesome age (16 months) and he really is so so smart. He has TONS of words and new this week: bubbles, outside, balloon, and yummy. Our Parents as Teachers Educator came over and confirmed that Ethan is as much as a genius that we expected :) (Don't all parents think their child is the smartest and cutest on the planet?!) Life with him is just so amazing right now. I'm not coming down from this "Mommy High" anytime soon! I just gobble up every minute with him that I can and love every second.
Mike
Oh, my poor husband. He has been working so sooooo sooo hard lately. He has been burning the candle from both ends for awhile now and today marks the start of his crazy wedding season. Pretty much from now to November, he will be shooting weddings and sessions every day of every weekend. He has been working all day at his full time job, then he comes home to work on getting our house ready to go on the market, and then stays up late with those projects or works on his photography. He has done such INCREDIBLE work around the house by fixing every little issue that has come up, painting, landscaping, and our house looks great! I don't know how he balances all of his work, our house, and being such an awesome daddy and husband.
The House
Our house will officially be on the market next Sunday and we will have our first open house. I can't believe this is happening. The POD will be picked up on Tuesday, the photographer will come on Wednesday, we will have a garage sale on Saturday, and then open house on Sunday. Pretty incredible! As I have mentioned before, leaving our "small town" Kirkwood will be very hard. But we are excited about a couple of bigger homes that we have found that are closer to our parents and my work. We know it will be a sad transition but one that is necessary for our family. (The picture below was on our first day in our home in 2008.)
Running
Ohhhh, running. Training for the half marathon was going really well. UNTIL a few weeks ago. After I ran, I had a lot of aching pain in my right knee. I gave it a rest and tried again the next week. Same thing and I was barely able to walk for 24 hours. I iced it and took ibuprofen and it the pain went away quickly. I decided to give it one last shot today. My sister and I were attempting 7 miles in Forest Park (and in the back of my head, I knew my knee wasn't going to make it.) It started aching at 1.7 miles but I wanted to try to get a bit further. I had to stop at about 3.2 miles because of shooting pain. I am so disappointed. I've never had knee pain and I've been running off and on for about 4 years. I'm going to my chiropractor on Monday (he also specializes in sports medicine) to see if this is the end of running for me. I have a feeling that it is. I cried when I had to stop and my sister had to finish the run without me. I could have done it. The rest of my body and my mind could have done it. Why why why is my knee failing me now :(
*I've decided to describe the pain since I have a lot of runners that read and comment! Help me out, ladies. The pain starts a couple of miles in. It is the outside of my right kneecap. It generally aches and today was the first day with shooting pain. When I get home and rest, it starts to feel stiff and it very painful to bend it. It is especially painful to go downstairs, but it is ok to go up. I can bend my knee when pulling it forward (like at a 90 degree angle) but it really hurts when I bend it backwards (like to kick my tush). The pain lasts about 24-48 hours and then completely vanishes until my next run.
Weight Loss
I think I have gotten the most comments when I post about weigh loss and my body image issues. I started trying to lose the baby weight when Ethan was about 8 months old. (I realized the 9 months on, 9 months off thing was just around the corner.) I started in February and by March, I was sad and frustrated. But I didn't give up. This summer, I took a stroller fit class and started training for this 1/2 marathon. I got on the scale last weekend and it showed that I have lost 15 pounds since I started trying in February! It's awesome to FINALLY (after over a year) fit back into my prebaby clothes and feel OK about my appearance. I like having my confidence back and it feels great to have people tell you that you look good. I am my sister's Maid of Honor (I hope she doesn't call me the Matron of Honor...that sounds old) in June and I'd love to lose 10 more pounds by then.
Baby Fever
Of course, I have waves of it but it's pretty much been at bay for a couple of months. I am just totally enjoying Ethan and everything life is offering us right now so we aren't there yet. We want to move and get into the next year before we start entertaining the idea of #2. Also, Ethan is just so perfect and it scares me to think about what #2 could bring...don't they say if you have a great first kiddo that your second will surely be a terror? Haha :) (Or vice vera, of course!)
Congrats if you made it to the end. That is what has been going on in our lives and the reason that I haven't been able to blog as often as I'd like. Summer and Fall in St. Louis are my favorite seasons with so much to do. Last night, we did the Balloon Glow in Forest Park and today enjoyed the Green Tree Festival's parade and will go the craft fair after naptime. Love this time of the year and this weather! Hope you are enjoying it too! Happy Weekend! XOXO
Obviously I am no doctor and have no idea what is going on with your knee but the same thing happened to me during full training a few years back about 6 weeks out at mileage 17 - ITB issues were the culprit and luckily taking it easy and learning to stretch it out and some compression bands helped me out and I did in fact finish. Hope good things for your knee pain.
Ugh sorry about your knee issue. It sucks when something you can't really control kills your ambitions. Ethan is adorable and good luck to Mike with the start of his busy season. Good problem to have though right? =-) Oooh and good luck with the open house! I'll keep my fingers crossed you get some positive feedback.
We went to the Balloon Glow last night too! It was a gorgeous night.
I had a lot of similar knee pain and mine was also related to my IT Band. I did a fair amount of physical therapy and bought a foam roller (it is like torture but really helps) and as long as I stay on top of it, I can keep the pain at bay.
Loved this update. So much exciting stuff going on for you guys. And, Ethan, oh my gosh is he cute!!! You can just tell from his pictures he is a blast!
No doctor either, but I'm going to go with IT band too. I had an orthopedic diagnose it a couple years ago. Usually spurs from increased mileage/speed. Took quite a bit of time off and did a lot of PT and hip stretching. It kept flairing up on and off and ended up at a sports Chiro. He diagnosed it as my sciatic nerve and that my hamstrings were incredibly weak compared to my quads. He made a world of difference. Either way, a little time off, a lot of stretching and up the strength training and hopefully you will be good as new before you know it.
I agree -- sounds like an inflamed IT Band issue. I experienced this once when training for a 1/2...and actually had to be on crutches for a week because the pain was so severe. The best medicine is rest, ice, stretching, and that foam roller. I took a break from running for a while, and luckily I've avoided the issue ever since!! Good luck - and hope you can still run the big race!
Agree with everyone else about the IT Band. I had the same issue when I trained for a 1/2 a couple of years ago. You can google stretches that really help and I also got a band to wear around my knee that helped support it while running so I was able to complete the 1/2 with minimal pain. You can get them at any running store. Hope it feels better and you can still run!
Congrats on the weight loss! That is such a huge achievement and not easy considering how busy you are. And good luck with the house. I hope you get a great offer quickly and you can move on to finding your next home. That will be such an exciting process.
I don't have any advice about the knee. I had knee problems just before getting pregnant, but my pain was in a different place in the knee. Lots of rest and then new shoes seemed to do the trick. Don't give up! Hopefully you will find something that helps.
Love that first pic of Ethan. OMG. You are so lucky to have your hubby as your family photog!
Um, I was definitely one of those moms scared to have number two because our number one was just so darn easy/perfect. And guess what? Our number two IS a lot harder and more of a diva than Truman ever was. And yet, I wouldn't trade a second of it for the world. :) You'll survive just fine and fall madly in love with the next babe even if they give you a run for your money. And it will make you appreciate your easy child even more:)
I agree w/ IT band issue. Foam roller is painful, but helpful. Making sure your quads are as strong as your hamstrings is important, too. Also, stretching is crucial! Def google some IT band stretches. So, basically I agree w/ what everyone else said! Good luck!