Happy Halloween!

This is the "E-card" I sent out to friends and family...and it depicts how I feel some days! While I'm not necessarily skin & bones (and long blonde hair), I do sometimes feel a little haggard keeping up with 3 kids! And yet, I wouldn't trade it for anything. They're my greatest "Treat".

Happy Halloween!

I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet...

So last night, as the boys were in the bath, and Steve & Olivia were cleaning up the pumpkin carving mess, we had an earthquake! All of a sudden, the bath water started sloshing a lot more than usual! I was on my knees washing Grant, and it took me a moment to figure out what was happening. It lasted about 10-12 seconds, with pretty solid shaking the whole time.

We quickly turned on the news, and found out it was a 5.6 on the Richter Scale, and was centered just a few miles away. It was the biggest earthquake to shake the Bay Area since the Loma Prieta, back in 1989. That's a little scary.

We didn't have any damage (nor are there any outside reports of damage), and no one was injured. But it got me thinking about what we'd do if a real BIG ONE hit us. I have 8 5-gallon water jugs in my attic. They're empty. I suppose those wouldn't do much good if we needed them. I think I'll have Steve pull them down this weekend, and I'll fill them up.

We have food in the house for at least a couple of weeks, if we ate sparingly. But what would I do if the house collapsed? Maybe I should have a backup plan.

I'm a master procrastinator when it comes to things like this. I always think that nothing will happen to us. Or that our house will be fine, or that the water will be fine. But what if it's not? I've got three little munchkins, who depend on me for survival. What about them? Time to get off my rear and do something about it.

I ROCKED!!!

Well, I did it. I actually RAN a 1/2 Marathon! Yesterday, I participated and completed the Rock & Roll San Jose 1/2 Marathon. It was an amazing experience, and I still can't believe I actually did it!

I had a great running buddy, Kristi, whom I met through the 10-week training at ClubSport. She motivated me and inspired me all throughout the training, and we had lots of laughs and crazy conversations.

15,000 people all running the same race makes for a pretty crazy start, but the race was very well organized. We crossed the start line at about 8:05am, and soon fell into a pretty steady pace. Our goal had been to finish in 2 1/2 hours, so we had a mile-by-mile pacer to help us stay on track. We did pretty good for the first 5 or 6 miles, then after a bathroom break, began to slow down a bit. By mile 9, I was feeling pretty tired and miserable...and still had 4 miles to go! We dragged ourselves along until mile 12, at which point I really wanted to die. Kristi grabbed my hand and pulled me along about 100 yards, reminding me that there was only one mile left to go. How could I quit when I'd come so far???

It was crazy to run with that many people, and it blew my mind to see the winners blowing by us at their 12 mile mark when we were at mile 6. Definitely humbling...

Steve was so supportive, and had Jack & Grant in a double jogging stroller at a few points along the course. It was so great to see them cheering and waving - being a healthy mom for them is my motivation. I couldn't have done the training without Steve - he played Mr. Mom while I was out running over the past 10 weeks.

When we came to the final stretch at the finish line, we tried to pick up the pace and "sprint", if you can really call it that! I ran across the finish line and I don't think I'd ever been so happy to stop running! I got a fun, colorful medal, a pair of cozy sport sandals (boy did it feel good to get those running shoes off!) and some water. I tried eating a bagel, but could barely swallow!

By last night, the exhilaration of finishing had been replaced by sheer pain. Every inch of my legs were throbbing, and I almost couldn't make it up the stairs to bed. During the night, even moving my big toe woke me up. But this morning, once the morning stiffness wore off, I felt pretty darn good. Just enough stiffness to remind me that I used my body yesterday. Amazing how quick recovery can be!

While I don't forsee any more 1/2, let alone full marathons in my near future, I am so glad that I can add this to my life list of accomplishments. And while my finish time of 2 hrs. 41 minutes didn't break any records, in my mind, I ROCKED this race!

A classic joke gives me the giggles...

Driving through the back roads of Sunol yesterday, on our way to pick up the kids from school, we came across six little chickens, playing in the middle of the road. Sunol has a plethora of agriculture, farm animals, and genuine "country" feel to it.

I pointed out the chickens to Jack as we were stopped waiting for them to get out of the way. Jack innocently asked "Why do the chickens cross the road?" I giggled out loud for a moment as I replied, "Well, to get to the other side." What more could I say???

Princes & a Princess in disguise

These two little frogs and a sassy witch have much to look forward to in the years ahead. While they sometimes (okay, often) drive me almost to drink, I can't believe how lucky I am to have two beautiful sons, and a wonderful daughter.

Last night at dinner, all three were screaming, whining, complaining, picking at their food or otherwise causing a big disruption. I looked at Steve and said "We're done. 3 kids is more than enough." He laughed in agreement. I meant it in a not-so-nice way then, just trying to deal with the chaos & confusion. But after their baths, when all were smelling sweet and acting like the angels they can be, I was just grateful to have been blessed with 3 beautiful babies. And while we are indeed done, and 3 is plenty, I will enjoy them and love them and cherish them every day that I live.

We've come a long way, baby...

Last week, Steve & I celebrated our 10th anniversary. I had all good intentions of posting that day - October 4, and writing something mushy, gushy to my sweetie. But between school volunteering, soccer practice and other errands, I just ran out of time. So here I am, 5 days later, writing a belated Happy Anniversary post! Better late than never, right?

Hard to believe how far we've come in 10 years. Several hairstyles, 4 houses, 11 cars (yes, I said 11) a few pounds, 3 kids and NO regrets later, I have to admit that it's nothing like I expected when I said "I do" 10 years ago. It's so much better!

When I think of how close I came to almost marrying someone else, I must say now that I believe in Divine Intervention. Walking into HNTB that first day as a temp receptionist, I had no idea that my life would take such a turn. Steve and I joke that it was love at first sight, but it wasn't really...I just saw something in him that I wanted more of. And who knew that my impressions of him as a "Huntington Beach Bad Boy" would turn out so wrong?

It doesn't feel like 10 years, and yet I can't remember my life without him - and if we live to be 150, it still won't be enough time together here on earth. Happy Anniversary Honey...I love you!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun...

I just returned home from my first "Girls Weekend" as a mom of 3! Steve has taken off on "Guys Trips" a couple times a year for the past 10 years, and last spring, he announced to me that it was high time I did the same. So I called up my longest, bestest friend Amy and asked what she wanted to do! We've been friends since age 3, but due to distance, we see each other only once a year or so.

After a bit of discussion, we decided on Los Angeles, and seeing the Broadway Musical "Wicked". Steve had a couple of flight passes on SW Airlines, which he generously offered to us. So we went about booking hotel, car & planning activities!

I think the most fun part of the whole trip was the airplane ride! Amy boarded the plane in Seattle, which then stopped in San Jose to pick me up! I picked up Starbucks hot chocolate and Cinnabon rolls in the airport prior to boarding, and hopped on the plane...I was so excited I could hardly stand still! It was so fun to see her grinning back at me - we were just like little kids!

When we arrived in LA, we picked up our rental car...a bright red Mustang convertible!

We stayed in Manhattan Beach - or rather, we slept there. We had a beautiful hotel, just 1/2 mile from the beach, but we were only there long enough to drop off our suitcases and then fall into bed late at night.

We did what everyone should do while in Los Angeles - act like paparrazzi! We took a tour of the Movie Stars Homes, and didn't see a single star! But we did see Tom Cruise's house, Jack Nicholsen, Paris Hilton, George Marciano (founder of Guess Jeans) and his 14 red & yellow Ferrarri's, as well as the homes of several movie shoots.

We spent a whole day shopping in Beverly Hills...we drove down Rodeo Drive, but figured we wouldn't waste any time going into the stores since there wasn't even a keychain in our price range. But a couple blocks over, Banana Republic hit it big with my purchase of a new fall wardrobe!

Saturday night, we drove into Hollywood to see "Wicked" - the second time for both of us. We were giggling with excitement and singing all the songs in our heads - total dorks, I know. But it was so fun to watch this beautiful story of love and friendship with each other. When it was over, we both wanted to cry. But instead, we started looking for something to eat...not an easy task at midnight. We ended up buying some strawberries, watermelon and crackers at Ralph's and eating them in our room, while watching bad late night TV and laughing.

Sunday, we headed up to the Getty Center Museum, what an amazing place. Incredible architecture and beautiful art on display. Then, we headed to Santa Monica for a peak at the beach before heading back to LAX.

We shared our flight to San Jose, then Amy continued on to Seattle. We were both so sad to say goodbye, and not quite ready to get back to reality!

Steve and the kids did fine without me, and I came home to a cleaner house than I left. Steve did say that he doesn't want to be a single parent any time soon...good thing! I think we both appreciate each other a little more, him knowing what taking care of 3 kids 24/7 entails, and me because I got a break from it! I wouldn't trade my life for anything, but it was nice to be more than a mom for just a couple of days. Thanks Amy!!!