For a quick update on Rhyan, first... Her neck is looking great. Almost all the bruising is gone and what is left is a faint yellow. The incision looks fantastic and i really feel good about our decision to do the surgery. Yes, day of was hard. But after the 1st hour of post op, she acted completely normal! She's a real trooper.
Yesterday was her actual one year bday. I cant believe how fast its gone. I enjoy her so much at this age. She's showing great cognitive development and responds very well to instruction. She will "clean up" after bath or play time (meaning putting her toys in a basket), she can point to her "mama" and "daddy", can point to "hair" and "nose" correctly and gives kisses when asked for them. Just tonight she blew her first kiss to her daddy. *so cute*. We have her one year well check tomorrow morning but before posting on that i wanted to do a quick update post-op.
Rhyan woke up this morning kind of whiny which is NOT normal for her. She had pee-pee'd so much last night that her diaper was literally falling off and her p.j.'s had popped open. Her face was flushed and she was running a low temp. Her lower left molar broke through on tuesday, so assuming it was issues with teething, i took her on over to tracy's house. I had an abnormally early appointment scheduled for some odd reason and needed to go into work to at least take care of the morning before having to take off (if i had to). Tracy called me around 11 when Rhyan got up from nap and left me a message saying her temp was back up to 101.0 and for me to call her. Of course i called the dr first and they said to bring her on in. Tracy's son, Elijah (who rhyan [and all of us!] love has recently had strep and although its rare for a baby to get strep, since she had been "exposed" by direct contact with him this weekend, the dr felt it best that we bring her in. So i did.
The rapid strep test came back negative but there is a 15-20% chance of a false negative. So they're doing a culture but wont have results until Monday. So until then we're treating for strep with amoxicillin. We started her on florastor tonight to help avoid tummy upsets and i'm truly hoping its strep. At least that way the antibiotics will cure it! If its a virus she will just be pitiful for several days... and with her bday party coming up on sunday, i DONT want that!
Anyways, she's a little clingy (which i dont mind... i love holding her) and a little whiny, but she really wants to feel good and play. After each tylenol dose, she perks up and feels good for a little bit, then reverts back to pitiful Rhyan. This really points towards it being a virus more than strep, but heres to hoping...
So, her "Gran" is being kind enough to keep her tomorrow for us so we can both work. Jeff is proctoring his classes in the CRCT this week and truly cant miss work and I am missing some work next week (b/c the dr will be doing a continuing ed course out of town) so we're working tomorrow to make up a day. The downside to my job is if i dont work, i dont get paid... so i'm grateful for Ronni keeping her so i can get some hours in.
Like i said, her well check is tomorrow and i'll post her stats then, but for now i'm gonna hit the hay and pray for healing :-)
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Surgery: Day of
Rather than write all about how i feel about everything, i'm going to give an account of the day for now.
5:30am-wake up. check on rhyan in the awesome video monitor our friend loaned to us. jeff and i discuss our concerns. i cry. we pray.
6:15am-rushing to get out the door. i get rhyan up to find that she poopied last night. she hasnt done this in ages. poor baby is starting this day with a diaper rash
6:25am-actually leave. 10 minutes later than planned. jeff reminds me of how i need to leave myself more time in the mornings. i remind him that he's been reminding me of this for almost 14 years now. i dont see it changing. i'm grateful for his patience :-)
7:10am- arrive at the outpatient center. get rhyan registered (fill out papers). let her play. she likes the little handsome boys who are there. the older one has his eye on her. he's 17 months old. she likes older men, apparently. one is there for a redo of a botched circumcision (ouch) and the other for tubes.
7:45ish-rhyan gets called back for vitals to be taken. they weigh her. 22lbs. they check her blood pressure and o2 levels. jeff takes a pic. and from around the corner, our rockin pastor jeff jones appears. he's come to stay with us for a while. did i mention that he's great?
8amish-get taken back to a room. rhyan is given a gown to wear. i think she's awfully cute in it.
the nurse leaves a gown and hair net for whoever will go back with her for anesthesia. i claim it to be me. jeff is kind enough to allow me. we hang out for a while. the anesthesiologist comes in to explain things, check that her paperwork is correct (this will be confirmed at least 5 more times before they take her back...) and assures us she will be fine. dr b's nurse practitioner comes in to give us post op instructions with meds, confirm that we're doing surgery on the left, have us sign consent forms and assure us everything will be fine. another nurse comes in to administer tylenol, tell me its time to put on my garb and to assure us everything will be fine. 
8:45am (right on time)-rhyan and i are taken back for her anesthesia. i love on her for a bit. then i lay her on the bed. the nurses are all around us and comforting us both. she looks a little worried/scared/unsure. one nurse starts to place the mask on her face and she doesnt like it. she cries. i cry. i sing to her as i cry. it doesnt help. she finally drifts off to sleep. one last kiss from momma and i leave. saddest moment of the day.
we are taken to her recovery room. the jeff's distract me. before i know it, 45 minutes have gone by and the dr is in the room showing me PICTURES of her surgery! how cool (yes, i like stuff like that). he said he doesnt normally print pics for parents but could tell that i was "into it" and interested so he did for me :-) he explained that she had a good bit of fibrous tissue and that he transected (cut) about 98% of it but was able to leave a thin layer to protect her carotid artery and internal jugular. i'm glad. she lost about a tsp of blood and did great.
i start making calls to let people know she's ok. i hear crying and know its her. but they wont bring her out yet. its painful to listen to, and at the same time so sweet to hear her.
they come around the corner with her on this big, adult sized bed. she looks tiny. she's "found her fingers" says the nurse. thank god :-)
she's not crying anymore. then they lower the bed which wakes her and she cries. thats ok. i wasnt going to pick her up if she was calm, but i'm ok with holding her now that she's not :-) she sleeps for about 30 min on my chest.
we wake her and she downs 10 ounces of diluted apple juice. they remove the i.v. i change her clothes. jeff gets her meds from the pharmacy downstairs. and we're discharged.
rhyan slept all the way home and was ready to eat when we got there. she ate some k.f.c.'s mac n cheese, potato's and gravy and a container of yogurt. she also drank a good bit of milk. she's "talking" and smiling. and we are both relieved.
5:30am-wake up. check on rhyan in the awesome video monitor our friend loaned to us. jeff and i discuss our concerns. i cry. we pray.
6:15am-rushing to get out the door. i get rhyan up to find that she poopied last night. she hasnt done this in ages. poor baby is starting this day with a diaper rash
6:25am-actually leave. 10 minutes later than planned. jeff reminds me of how i need to leave myself more time in the mornings. i remind him that he's been reminding me of this for almost 14 years now. i dont see it changing. i'm grateful for his patience :-)
7:10am- arrive at the outpatient center. get rhyan registered (fill out papers). let her play. she likes the little handsome boys who are there. the older one has his eye on her. he's 17 months old. she likes older men, apparently. one is there for a redo of a botched circumcision (ouch) and the other for tubes.
7:45ish-rhyan gets called back for vitals to be taken. they weigh her. 22lbs. they check her blood pressure and o2 levels. jeff takes a pic. and from around the corner, our rockin pastor jeff jones appears. he's come to stay with us for a while. did i mention that he's great?
8amish-get taken back to a room. rhyan is given a gown to wear. i think she's awfully cute in it.
the nurse leaves a gown and hair net for whoever will go back with her for anesthesia. i claim it to be me. jeff is kind enough to allow me. we hang out for a while. the anesthesiologist comes in to explain things, check that her paperwork is correct (this will be confirmed at least 5 more times before they take her back...) and assures us she will be fine. dr b's nurse practitioner comes in to give us post op instructions with meds, confirm that we're doing surgery on the left, have us sign consent forms and assure us everything will be fine. another nurse comes in to administer tylenol, tell me its time to put on my garb and to assure us everything will be fine. 
8:45am (right on time)-rhyan and i are taken back for her anesthesia. i love on her for a bit. then i lay her on the bed. the nurses are all around us and comforting us both. she looks a little worried/scared/unsure. one nurse starts to place the mask on her face and she doesnt like it. she cries. i cry. i sing to her as i cry. it doesnt help. she finally drifts off to sleep. one last kiss from momma and i leave. saddest moment of the day.
we are taken to her recovery room. the jeff's distract me. before i know it, 45 minutes have gone by and the dr is in the room showing me PICTURES of her surgery! how cool (yes, i like stuff like that). he said he doesnt normally print pics for parents but could tell that i was "into it" and interested so he did for me :-) he explained that she had a good bit of fibrous tissue and that he transected (cut) about 98% of it but was able to leave a thin layer to protect her carotid artery and internal jugular. i'm glad. she lost about a tsp of blood and did great.
i start making calls to let people know she's ok. i hear crying and know its her. but they wont bring her out yet. its painful to listen to, and at the same time so sweet to hear her.
they come around the corner with her on this big, adult sized bed. she looks tiny. she's "found her fingers" says the nurse. thank god :-)
she's not crying anymore. then they lower the bed which wakes her and she cries. thats ok. i wasnt going to pick her up if she was calm, but i'm ok with holding her now that she's not :-) she sleeps for about 30 min on my chest.we wake her and she downs 10 ounces of diluted apple juice. they remove the i.v. i change her clothes. jeff gets her meds from the pharmacy downstairs. and we're discharged.
rhyan slept all the way home and was ready to eat when we got there. she ate some k.f.c.'s mac n cheese, potato's and gravy and a container of yogurt. she also drank a good bit of milk. she's "talking" and smiling. and we are both relieved.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Surgery Eve
We are to be at the outpatient center tomorrow morning at 7:15am for pre-op. Rhyan's surgery will be at 8:45 and I hope they run on time. She ate a great dinner tonight (8-10 bites of baked chicken, lots of macaronni, lots of peas, lots of peaches, lots of water and 7oz of milk... i finally said "thats enough" and stopped feeding her) but she cant have anything tomorrow morning. Lets hope she's distracted enough tomorrow to not care. I am considering fasting with my daughter for solidarity :-). Truly, more for prayer. But then this afternoon, my nerves have been messed up, therefore my tummy has been messed up and I dont know if thats a good idea (to skip breakfast). I guess I'll decide tomorrow. Yes, i know i dont have to fast with her to pray for her.
Jeff and I had a great time with her this evening. I caught some cute pics and thought i'd share. While i was reviewing my pics to see what to upload, i came across pics of her first pool experience this year. I seriously need to do a post on that. Hilarious.
Thank you all so much for your prayers for Rhyan. She is blissfully unaware of the happenings planned for tomorrow. And I am doing my best to rest in Jesus and trust that He's got it all under control. The control-freak side of me has real issues with this :-/. But, alas, i have no choice. Jeff is as cool as a cucumber, as always. Our rock. Man, i love him.
Rhyan, having a blast crawling all over the place...
In the bathtub... if she cant hold all three toys, she'll just use her mouth :-)
What a happy girl... such a sweet blessing to us!
Practicing her new skill... i had walked in and told her to lay down and go to sleep. This is the look i get... haha
Jeff and I had a great time with her this evening. I caught some cute pics and thought i'd share. While i was reviewing my pics to see what to upload, i came across pics of her first pool experience this year. I seriously need to do a post on that. Hilarious.
Thank you all so much for your prayers for Rhyan. She is blissfully unaware of the happenings planned for tomorrow. And I am doing my best to rest in Jesus and trust that He's got it all under control. The control-freak side of me has real issues with this :-/. But, alas, i have no choice. Jeff is as cool as a cucumber, as always. Our rock. Man, i love him.
Rhyan, having a blast crawling all over the place...
In the bathtub... if she cant hold all three toys, she'll just use her mouth :-)
What a happy girl... such a sweet blessing to us!
Practicing her new skill... i had walked in and told her to lay down and go to sleep. This is the look i get... haha
Monday, April 19, 2010
Mealtimes: A day in the life of Rhyan
So Rhyan is in the process of coming off the bottle. She's down to one bottle a day now and the rest of the day she drinks whole milk or water from a sippy cup. She's doing well, although she doesnt love the milk to be cold. She'll get used to it, but for now we warm a nightly bottle and give cold milk the rest of the day. She's also been transitioning to table food recently and I wanted to record what she ate today as its quite typical lately and I want to remember. I also want to remind her when she's older that she ate us out of house and home from the beginning :-)
Breakfast: offer sippy of whole milk
whole egg, scrambled
piece of toast, buttered
3-4 mandarin orange slices, cut up
Lunch: offer sippy of whole milk
greber graduates veggie pasta (she ate half)
6 oz blueberry yogurt
1/2 a cup of pineapple tidbits, drained
Snack: offer sippy of whole milk
gerber cereal/fruit bar (she ate almost all of it)
Dinner: 3-4 oz of water, 2-3 oz milk
1/4 turkey burger
2 tsp purple hull peas
3 tsp macaroni and cheese
10-12 bites of cantaloupe
6-8 bites of cheese
With each mealtime, i have to just quit feeding her. We havent hit a point with table food where she refuses it on her own. She always did with baby food, but i guess she REALLY loves table food. I mean, really, she cant NEED more than what she's getting! Are yall seeing those portion sizes? Keep in mind that for a child, one teaspoon per year of age equals a serving in each category. She gets 2-3 times that much, sometimes! HA! She is LOVING feeding herself and we let her do this for almost all foods.
She's getting about 8-1 oz of whole milk in her sippy during doing the day and drinks one bottle at night of 6-8 ounces of whole milk, too.
She is completely off of formula by default. We ran out :-( Oh, well... its only a week or so "early". Our ped. said the only reason to keep them on formula for the entire first year is b/c there are more vitamins and nutrients in it that they dont get in whole milk but that as long as her diet was varied and had plenty of nutrients, not to worry. My only concern now is how much water to offer. My first priority is getting her to drinking more milk out of her sippy so we can drop the night bottle. I'm thinking that i should offer NO water until she's doing good w/ the sippy. I know she's not getting dehydrated as long as she's getting the night bottle, anyways.. any advice on that is welcomed :-)
I cant wait to see what her stats are next friday for her one year check up!
Breakfast: offer sippy of whole milk
whole egg, scrambled
piece of toast, buttered
3-4 mandarin orange slices, cut up
Lunch: offer sippy of whole milk
greber graduates veggie pasta (she ate half)
6 oz blueberry yogurt
1/2 a cup of pineapple tidbits, drained
Snack: offer sippy of whole milk
gerber cereal/fruit bar (she ate almost all of it)
Dinner: 3-4 oz of water, 2-3 oz milk
1/4 turkey burger
2 tsp purple hull peas
3 tsp macaroni and cheese
10-12 bites of cantaloupe
6-8 bites of cheese
With each mealtime, i have to just quit feeding her. We havent hit a point with table food where she refuses it on her own. She always did with baby food, but i guess she REALLY loves table food. I mean, really, she cant NEED more than what she's getting! Are yall seeing those portion sizes? Keep in mind that for a child, one teaspoon per year of age equals a serving in each category. She gets 2-3 times that much, sometimes! HA! She is LOVING feeding herself and we let her do this for almost all foods.
She's getting about 8-1 oz of whole milk in her sippy during doing the day and drinks one bottle at night of 6-8 ounces of whole milk, too.
She is completely off of formula by default. We ran out :-( Oh, well... its only a week or so "early". Our ped. said the only reason to keep them on formula for the entire first year is b/c there are more vitamins and nutrients in it that they dont get in whole milk but that as long as her diet was varied and had plenty of nutrients, not to worry. My only concern now is how much water to offer. My first priority is getting her to drinking more milk out of her sippy so we can drop the night bottle. I'm thinking that i should offer NO water until she's doing good w/ the sippy. I know she's not getting dehydrated as long as she's getting the night bottle, anyways.. any advice on that is welcomed :-)
I cant wait to see what her stats are next friday for her one year check up!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Jeff turned the big 3-0!
Well, i'm officially married to an "older man". hehe. Kinda sexy sounding, huh?! Too bad that i'll be the same age in a few short months. Lets not dwell on that. Lets instead talk about how OLD Jeff is :-) How he creaks and pops and aches!
Except he doesnt. I do. HA! He's just getting better with age!!!
Saturday was the BIG day and we had a busy, busy day. Jeff went to lincolnton to help his parents and Uncle Wayne at his grandparents old home. They are getting it ready to sell and apparently have some work to do to get the barn's all cleaned out. Jeff left the house at 6:45am! What a way to start your birthday. My idea of a nice bday is to sleep in till at least 9, but Jeff is an early riser anyways. So he was glad to help. He got home around 2 and has scored some tomato cages for our garden this year.
After getting cleaned up and ready to go, we all headed out to the yellow river game ranch. Jeff really is an animal lover and so anything you can do that involves animals will be fun for him. We were both wondering how Rhyan would do. This was our first time of really taking her out (somewhere other than the store or zaxbys..). We've just always limited the places we drag her to, but thought she would enjoy this trip. She did GREAT! She just chilled in her stroller the whole time and looked around at all the animals. The place stinks something awful in some spots and i kept looking for a reaction from her, but there was none.
After dinner, since Rhyan was still doing so well and it was only 5:30, we decided to attempt a "nice" dinner with her. Provinos. Yep, gotta get the free food while you can! Again, Rhyan did great! She ate lots of chicken from both of our meals and some spaghetti, too. Jeff was so proud of her and seemed to enjoy himself.
Here, Rhyan is saying "BE HEALED!"
Our attempt at a family pic. Rhyan was busy stuffing her face with cookie.
The rest of the night we just chilled at home. Fell asleep early like the old people we are :-)
Except he doesnt. I do. HA! He's just getting better with age!!!
Saturday was the BIG day and we had a busy, busy day. Jeff went to lincolnton to help his parents and Uncle Wayne at his grandparents old home. They are getting it ready to sell and apparently have some work to do to get the barn's all cleaned out. Jeff left the house at 6:45am! What a way to start your birthday. My idea of a nice bday is to sleep in till at least 9, but Jeff is an early riser anyways. So he was glad to help. He got home around 2 and has scored some tomato cages for our garden this year.
After getting cleaned up and ready to go, we all headed out to the yellow river game ranch. Jeff really is an animal lover and so anything you can do that involves animals will be fun for him. We were both wondering how Rhyan would do. This was our first time of really taking her out (somewhere other than the store or zaxbys..). We've just always limited the places we drag her to, but thought she would enjoy this trip. She did GREAT! She just chilled in her stroller the whole time and looked around at all the animals. The place stinks something awful in some spots and i kept looking for a reaction from her, but there was none.
After dinner, since Rhyan was still doing so well and it was only 5:30, we decided to attempt a "nice" dinner with her. Provinos. Yep, gotta get the free food while you can! Again, Rhyan did great! She ate lots of chicken from both of our meals and some spaghetti, too. Jeff was so proud of her and seemed to enjoy himself.
Here, Rhyan is saying "BE HEALED!"
Our attempt at a family pic. Rhyan was busy stuffing her face with cookie.
The rest of the night we just chilled at home. Fell asleep early like the old people we are :-)
Friday, April 9, 2010
The ING Experience
To say that I'm not a runner would be an understatement. To say I HATE to run would be more accurate. It is a function that my body uses in sports (as in softball, etc...) and when being chased. Otherwise, i do not run.
Jeff, however, is quite an established runner. He seems to enjoy himself. Every weekend, he goes running either with a couple of friends or even by himself. He's so disciplined (gag). It relieves stress for him and makes him feel good about himself. Now, i'll admit that when i do work out, i do feel better about myself. But that is the ONLY redemption i get from feeling like i'm killing myself.
So why did i participate in the ING? To bond with Jeff. (i know, double gag). It was my sacrificial way of doing something that he enjoys. Admittedly so, i'll say that maybe jumping into a half marathon with no training is perhaps not the best way to bond with your runner of a husband, as he found it very annoying to wait on me for almost an hour and a half after he had finished. But hey, its something we did together. On to the day of the dreaded ING.
4:30am- alarm goes off. i'm feeling a little worried. we get ready. jeff looks like a pro runner with all of his appropriate gear while i put on my (very) old new balance shoes, a pair of jogging capris and a tee-shirt with an old sweatshirt over it. we grab some breakfast which grosses me out because who wants to eat that early? i have a peice of peanut butter toast and stick to my regular of chocolate milk. i figure why mess with something if it works every other morning of the year...
5am-leave to go pick up Shlaine (my aunt) who i drug into this mess
5:20am-get to susan's house. she's volunteered to drive to the marta station in her expedition for us. thanks susan!
6am-get to the marta station. hit the bathrooms before getting on the train. not sure when we'll get another chance to pee.
6:15-make it up to the platform and find Jason and Liz (along with other friends) who are ready to run :-) take a few quick pics. get on the train
6:20-start putting our bibs on. jeff realizes he left his cell phone in the bathroom. geez. off to a great start.
6:45-get off the train and start walking to the race. its a 2 block walk. i'm already tired. and i need to pee. again. blast that choclate milk. meet up with Ken and julie, matt and daphne and find our place in line. i still need to pee and theres no portapotties around. find a bush. be grateful its dark. rejoin the group.
7am-and they're off. and we all wait to find a place to jump in.
7:10am-the last time i saw jeff before the finish line. i watch as his cute butt runs ahead of me and fades into the distance. my group (shlaine, myself and susan) are jogging. people around us are complaining of us being in the way and going so slow. we are all feeling proud that we're jogging.
time eludes me now. i will write in terms of mileage. at some point we hit mile 2 and i could have sworn it should have been at least mile 3. its a water station. i think its cool that people are rooting for us and handing out drinks so i take a gatorade and a water. i'll live to regret this.
mile 3- we're feeling good. enjoing the company.
mile 4-meet a nice girl named jenna from new york who now lives here. her sisters came in from NY to do the race w/ her but ran off and left her. we invite her to join our group.
mile 5- shlaine's hip starts hurting. she's not a big complainer but she starts lagging behind. i stay with her.
mile 6-we've hit an alltime slow pace. i fear the "sag waggon" (that picks you up if you're too slow) will catch us and force us to comply by getting on the bus. we stop for a quick water/gatorade break and sit for a moment to let shlaines hip rest. she feels better. then we start moving. nope, still hurting.
mile 7-we find shlaine a medic to come get her. i leave her my cell so she can find jeff when they get her to the finish line. he's already done by now. i start my run to find susan and jenn who we lost a while back. there are portapotties. i feel the need to stop, but am compelled to run on. people are cheering like i'm doing something great (i'm surrounded by walkers so i guess my slow jog looked impressive). i continue on.
mile 8.5-catch up with jenna and susan. tell them what happened with shlaine. tell them i need a potty asap. they assure me one will be available at the next mile marker. we notice that the marathon route and half marathon route are parallel at this point as we share a road with people who are running and are on mile 15 or so. we are embarassed but continue on.
mile 9-no portapotties in sight. panic sets in. the entire next mile i will pray that my bladder does not fail me.
mile 10-water break and PORTAPOTTIES! heaven in the form of a stinky pee pot. thank god. no time to stretch... must pee.
post bathroom break-i step out of the potty and think i'll not be running anymore. i can barely walk. i'm feeling stiff. i've been told if you can do 10 miles your adrenaline will take you to 13. i'm wondering where the adrenaline is...
mile 11-stll wondering where the adrenaline is. meet a nice man who is there with his wife who is an established runner. he thinks its great that we're starting "young"... he's in his 70's? out of need to at least beat the 70 year old, we politely try to speed up.
mile 12-OMG! one more mile. there are a few people still cheering on the participants. i'm grateful for their willingness to stick around to see us through. its encouraging.
the last bend-i'm told we should run b/c it looks cooler to cross the finish line while running. so we do. i feel something in my right leg pop. i'm in pain. i smile and push on.
we cross something that looks like the finish. i ask if i can stop running now. no. thats not the finish. OMG... where is the blasted finish?!
FINALLY- we cross the finish. 3hours 33 minutes. embarassing. but done.
susan and i say goodbye to sweet jenna. we collect our medals. we get bottles of water. our sausage fingers are so swollen and cold that susan cannot open her water, despite her great thirst. i open hers first. my hand hurts so badly from hers that i barely get mine open. we collect our silver things that are supposed to keep us warm. we look like baked potatos. but then, so does everyone else. so we fit in.
we are in a crowd and see food ahead. we are getting very stiff but find food to be reason enough to press on. collect banana's, snack bars, apples, etc...
look for jeff, brett and shlaine. finally find them. try to figure out how to get home (back to marta). shlaine can barely walk. i'm not much better. that last "pop" at the end did me in. we start up hill, jeff has to carry shlaine. i'm jealous that she doesnt have to walk for a bit.
finally get to marta. very quiet on the way back to our station. we're all dying.
get back to our station, look for jeff's phone. a bus driver has it. i can come back tomorrow and get it. lovely. at least its been found.
groan as we walk to the car. stop at zaxby's for food. ahhh...food.
get home and lift my legs out of the car. need help getting inside. need help getting in the bed. if i'm gonna die, i'd like it to be in my bed. think about rhyan. fall asleep.
jeff comes in and asks (whilst on my deathbed) if i'd like to do the peachtree. NO. he signs us up anyways.
finally wake up and go get rhyan. wonder how i'll take care of her tomorrow when jeff is not there to help. i can barely move. thinking i'll have to o.d. on advil to function.
Grateful that its all over. Feeling it necessary to participate again just so i can finish with dignity... like, maybe under 3 hours? We'll see...
Jeff, however, is quite an established runner. He seems to enjoy himself. Every weekend, he goes running either with a couple of friends or even by himself. He's so disciplined (gag). It relieves stress for him and makes him feel good about himself. Now, i'll admit that when i do work out, i do feel better about myself. But that is the ONLY redemption i get from feeling like i'm killing myself.
So why did i participate in the ING? To bond with Jeff. (i know, double gag). It was my sacrificial way of doing something that he enjoys. Admittedly so, i'll say that maybe jumping into a half marathon with no training is perhaps not the best way to bond with your runner of a husband, as he found it very annoying to wait on me for almost an hour and a half after he had finished. But hey, its something we did together. On to the day of the dreaded ING.
4:30am- alarm goes off. i'm feeling a little worried. we get ready. jeff looks like a pro runner with all of his appropriate gear while i put on my (very) old new balance shoes, a pair of jogging capris and a tee-shirt with an old sweatshirt over it. we grab some breakfast which grosses me out because who wants to eat that early? i have a peice of peanut butter toast and stick to my regular of chocolate milk. i figure why mess with something if it works every other morning of the year...
5am-leave to go pick up Shlaine (my aunt) who i drug into this mess
5:20am-get to susan's house. she's volunteered to drive to the marta station in her expedition for us. thanks susan!
6am-get to the marta station. hit the bathrooms before getting on the train. not sure when we'll get another chance to pee.
6:15-make it up to the platform and find Jason and Liz (along with other friends) who are ready to run :-) take a few quick pics. get on the train
6:20-start putting our bibs on. jeff realizes he left his cell phone in the bathroom. geez. off to a great start.
6:45-get off the train and start walking to the race. its a 2 block walk. i'm already tired. and i need to pee. again. blast that choclate milk. meet up with Ken and julie, matt and daphne and find our place in line. i still need to pee and theres no portapotties around. find a bush. be grateful its dark. rejoin the group.
7am-and they're off. and we all wait to find a place to jump in.
7:10am-the last time i saw jeff before the finish line. i watch as his cute butt runs ahead of me and fades into the distance. my group (shlaine, myself and susan) are jogging. people around us are complaining of us being in the way and going so slow. we are all feeling proud that we're jogging.
time eludes me now. i will write in terms of mileage. at some point we hit mile 2 and i could have sworn it should have been at least mile 3. its a water station. i think its cool that people are rooting for us and handing out drinks so i take a gatorade and a water. i'll live to regret this.
mile 3- we're feeling good. enjoing the company.
mile 4-meet a nice girl named jenna from new york who now lives here. her sisters came in from NY to do the race w/ her but ran off and left her. we invite her to join our group.
mile 5- shlaine's hip starts hurting. she's not a big complainer but she starts lagging behind. i stay with her.
mile 6-we've hit an alltime slow pace. i fear the "sag waggon" (that picks you up if you're too slow) will catch us and force us to comply by getting on the bus. we stop for a quick water/gatorade break and sit for a moment to let shlaines hip rest. she feels better. then we start moving. nope, still hurting.
mile 7-we find shlaine a medic to come get her. i leave her my cell so she can find jeff when they get her to the finish line. he's already done by now. i start my run to find susan and jenn who we lost a while back. there are portapotties. i feel the need to stop, but am compelled to run on. people are cheering like i'm doing something great (i'm surrounded by walkers so i guess my slow jog looked impressive). i continue on.
mile 8.5-catch up with jenna and susan. tell them what happened with shlaine. tell them i need a potty asap. they assure me one will be available at the next mile marker. we notice that the marathon route and half marathon route are parallel at this point as we share a road with people who are running and are on mile 15 or so. we are embarassed but continue on.
mile 9-no portapotties in sight. panic sets in. the entire next mile i will pray that my bladder does not fail me.
mile 10-water break and PORTAPOTTIES! heaven in the form of a stinky pee pot. thank god. no time to stretch... must pee.
post bathroom break-i step out of the potty and think i'll not be running anymore. i can barely walk. i'm feeling stiff. i've been told if you can do 10 miles your adrenaline will take you to 13. i'm wondering where the adrenaline is...
mile 11-stll wondering where the adrenaline is. meet a nice man who is there with his wife who is an established runner. he thinks its great that we're starting "young"... he's in his 70's? out of need to at least beat the 70 year old, we politely try to speed up.
mile 12-OMG! one more mile. there are a few people still cheering on the participants. i'm grateful for their willingness to stick around to see us through. its encouraging.
the last bend-i'm told we should run b/c it looks cooler to cross the finish line while running. so we do. i feel something in my right leg pop. i'm in pain. i smile and push on.
we cross something that looks like the finish. i ask if i can stop running now. no. thats not the finish. OMG... where is the blasted finish?!
FINALLY- we cross the finish. 3hours 33 minutes. embarassing. but done.
susan and i say goodbye to sweet jenna. we collect our medals. we get bottles of water. our sausage fingers are so swollen and cold that susan cannot open her water, despite her great thirst. i open hers first. my hand hurts so badly from hers that i barely get mine open. we collect our silver things that are supposed to keep us warm. we look like baked potatos. but then, so does everyone else. so we fit in.
we are in a crowd and see food ahead. we are getting very stiff but find food to be reason enough to press on. collect banana's, snack bars, apples, etc...
look for jeff, brett and shlaine. finally find them. try to figure out how to get home (back to marta). shlaine can barely walk. i'm not much better. that last "pop" at the end did me in. we start up hill, jeff has to carry shlaine. i'm jealous that she doesnt have to walk for a bit.
finally get to marta. very quiet on the way back to our station. we're all dying.
get back to our station, look for jeff's phone. a bus driver has it. i can come back tomorrow and get it. lovely. at least its been found.
groan as we walk to the car. stop at zaxby's for food. ahhh...food.
get home and lift my legs out of the car. need help getting inside. need help getting in the bed. if i'm gonna die, i'd like it to be in my bed. think about rhyan. fall asleep.
jeff comes in and asks (whilst on my deathbed) if i'd like to do the peachtree. NO. he signs us up anyways.
finally wake up and go get rhyan. wonder how i'll take care of her tomorrow when jeff is not there to help. i can barely move. thinking i'll have to o.d. on advil to function.
Grateful that its all over. Feeling it necessary to participate again just so i can finish with dignity... like, maybe under 3 hours? We'll see...
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Easter Weekend
Does anyone else feel like this year is FLYING by?! I cannot believe its April! April is such a busy month for us. Jeff will be turning the big 3-0 on Saturday and then our "baby" girl turns ONE on the 28th. Of course, we have Rhyan's surgery scheduled for the 23rd and that's just another thing added to the mix. I'll tell ya, i wish the winter months away as fast as they can go but i always seem surprised (pleasantly so) when spring arrives :-)
We've had a blast this weekend. Ronni (my MIL, Jeff's mom) had a BIG birthday in March that demanded a celebration. She and Andy have been traveling to Charleston and the Mountain House the past week which has kept us from getting to celebrate ON her birthday, but we couldn't let the big 6-0 pass by without mention! So on Saturday we enjoyed having Ronni, Andy, Jason and Liz over for dinner. Good times were had by all. Sadly, Rhyan wasn't in the best of moods... but luckily she goes to bed early. haha... I think those blasted molars are just really bothering her. Its nothing for her to wake up at night crying once or twice a week lately. She'll cry for a minute and go back to sleep. Sad. Teething or bad dreams are all we know to attribute it to. Either way, she's fine and goes back to sleep, but its making for a slightly less friendly and fun Rhyan lately. Such is life.
Unfortunately i have NO pics from the bday celebration :-( Liz caught a few and hopefully i'll get to snag some of hers to post here eventually.
We have been taking every chance we get to head to the park lately. Rhyan really likes the swing (i'm thinking this is a must get for her first bday...) and we all really like the time together and outdoors. She and I even made a trip up to Tribble Mill for some girl time with the chicks from work. Good times.
Lastly, Easter day was just glorious. I'm at a point in my walk with the Lord lately where I am not so faithful to study/pray and am very frustrated with myself for this. He, however, just continues to bless my heart. Easter morning's service was just so moving. I love how the words of a song can prick my heart and bring me back to remembering that my standing with Christ as His child is not dependent on my faithfulness... that HIS faithfulness has far overshadowed my selfish life. He is so good to remind me that i'll never be "good" enough and that He loves me anyways (not that its acceptable to forever live in this slack condition... these times remind me of just why I need the discipline that can only come from Him). Anyhoo... I'll let the words of this song sum it up for me:
"Oh the wonderful cross, Oh the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die to find that I may truly live"
Oh, how i need that perspective daily.
More on my walk with the Lord later. For now, I hope you enjoy this weather, your family and the knowledge that Jesus Christ has risen from the grave. Death has been defeated and the grave has been denied. Jesus lives forever. HE's ALIVE!
We've had a blast this weekend. Ronni (my MIL, Jeff's mom) had a BIG birthday in March that demanded a celebration. She and Andy have been traveling to Charleston and the Mountain House the past week which has kept us from getting to celebrate ON her birthday, but we couldn't let the big 6-0 pass by without mention! So on Saturday we enjoyed having Ronni, Andy, Jason and Liz over for dinner. Good times were had by all. Sadly, Rhyan wasn't in the best of moods... but luckily she goes to bed early. haha... I think those blasted molars are just really bothering her. Its nothing for her to wake up at night crying once or twice a week lately. She'll cry for a minute and go back to sleep. Sad. Teething or bad dreams are all we know to attribute it to. Either way, she's fine and goes back to sleep, but its making for a slightly less friendly and fun Rhyan lately. Such is life.
Unfortunately i have NO pics from the bday celebration :-( Liz caught a few and hopefully i'll get to snag some of hers to post here eventually.
We have been taking every chance we get to head to the park lately. Rhyan really likes the swing (i'm thinking this is a must get for her first bday...) and we all really like the time together and outdoors. She and I even made a trip up to Tribble Mill for some girl time with the chicks from work. Good times.
Lastly, Easter day was just glorious. I'm at a point in my walk with the Lord lately where I am not so faithful to study/pray and am very frustrated with myself for this. He, however, just continues to bless my heart. Easter morning's service was just so moving. I love how the words of a song can prick my heart and bring me back to remembering that my standing with Christ as His child is not dependent on my faithfulness... that HIS faithfulness has far overshadowed my selfish life. He is so good to remind me that i'll never be "good" enough and that He loves me anyways (not that its acceptable to forever live in this slack condition... these times remind me of just why I need the discipline that can only come from Him). Anyhoo... I'll let the words of this song sum it up for me:
"Oh the wonderful cross, Oh the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die to find that I may truly live"
Oh, how i need that perspective daily.
More on my walk with the Lord later. For now, I hope you enjoy this weather, your family and the knowledge that Jesus Christ has risen from the grave. Death has been defeated and the grave has been denied. Jesus lives forever. HE's ALIVE!
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