The Great Ear Piercing

Emma wanted nothing more in life than to have pierced ears, for all the accessory options, don't ya know. We originally told her she could have it done at 10. But then I started thinking about how we just made up the age restriction and how desperately she wanted them...

Of course, we caved. I told Emma she could have the official piercing done for her ninth birthday. Unfortunately, her ninth birthday falls on Thanksgiving. Obviously nothing would be open on Thursday and Friday would be crazy at the mall. I convinced Ted we should take her on the Friday before. We told her we needed to pick up some photos at Sears, which was true, but we really didn't all need to go. Silly Emma never noticed that we went all the way through Sears and halfway through the mall before we hit Claires. The salesperson asked me what I needed and I told her- Emma almost fell on the floor! So there she is in the chair, clinging to Ted, while Harry watches suspiciously and Miles decides I should feed him while taking pictures. We were quite the spectacle!

Here's the basic idea in pictures:

"Like, right now, really?!"








The finished look




Predictably, Emma was thrilled with the outcome and is totally OCD about the alcohol/turning routine. Equally predictable, Harry made a run for it when Emma was finished- no way he was going to let that lady touch his ears!

Official Half training begins

Sure, I was supposed to begin training a few weeks ago, but I was trying to balance that out with the whole wait six weeks after delivery thing (never mind the inconsistency with running in the Race for the Taste at three weeks post delivery)...

Regardless, the training has commenced.

Sort of.

I was all ready to go Sunday morning at St. Simons, but it was 37 degrees outside when I woke up. I don't run if it's below 45. Or maybe 50. Originally Ted said he'd watch the kids so I didn't have to worry about freezing them, but he was reluctant to get up. I decided it was kind of a moot point since I wasn't going outside with or without the wee ones...

So, mid-day arrives and with it, the temperature gets up to about 59 degrees. Harry was taking a nap, Ted was reading, Emma was watching TV. Here was my opportunity! I threw Miles in the ginormous double stroller and picked up my mom at her house. After rejecting the running jackets I brought for her and taking my running vest literally off my back (and glasses off my head), my mother pronounced herself ready. Oh wait- I forgot. First we split some sort of macadamia nut brownie/cookie. Apparently I get my Stomach O'Steel from her!

We headed out. My mother had just had a private lesson with a ChiRunning Coach (really), so she tried to implement her "lean" and I just plodded along pushing the baby and babbling. We took one of the routes that I always took during Goofy training- boring, but reassuring in its familiarity.

We ran approximately six miles. As usual, I turned off my Garmin at one point and forgot to re-start it so I had to estimate about a half of a mile, but I've become fairly good at estimates so I think I'm within reason to call it six miles. Besides, I'm the Coach, so if I say it was six, who's going to argue?! It wasn't the fastest pace, but our goal is to get across the line together and be at a non-sweepable pace of at least 14 minutes per mile (allowing time for pictures and potential bathroom breaks). Our pace was well within non-sweepable time, so all was good.

The baby was perfectly content, and my mother has proclaimed herself a RUNNER. I just know in a couple of months she'll be looking up past results for 5ks to see if she can win her age group!

Race for the Taste

OK, it's been about 6 weeks since the Race for the Taste, but I've had some time issues...

We went down to Disney on a Thursday for Emma's fall break. Her break just happened to fall on the same weekend as the Race for the Taste, which is how I ended up running in a 10k three weeks after having a baby.

Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard to deal with being at Disney. The first day I used the ginormous double stroller, but after an unpleasant run-in with a bus driver, I switched to the sling. Generally, Ted took Emma on the big rides while I took Harry to the stuff he could do. The baby pretty much slept in his sling and I tried not to accidentally run him into anything! One of my favorite memories is on an English woman in the line to the Playhouse Disney show suddenly exclaiming "have you got a baby in there?" and when I said yes, she couldn't stop chatting about how she "saw a hand popping out." It was so funny.

We stayed at the Fort Wilderness cabins. For the most part, I hated the cabins- I'm more of an "explore the lobby and gift shop" kind of girl. But, and this is a big but, you didn't have to worry about bothering other people with your noise, you had a kitchen, and you parked right by your room. So this will probably be our resort for awhile...


Here we are heading out from the cabins on our first morning. I already look tired and Harry is rolling his eyes...


Did I mention Harry spent the entire trip as "Captain Harry" the pirate?



And this is how poor Miles spent most of his time:



So let me fast forward to the actual race...

First, after playing at the parks for two days, I realize I have to pick up my packet. We've gone back to the cabins, so Miles and I hop in the car and head to the Wide World of Sports. Being the brilliant person I am, I go towards Epcot (thinking it has to be near since the race starts at the WWoS and ends at Epcot). Yeah, so that doesn't work. I have to pull a U-turn at the entrance to Epcot and head towards MGM (excuse me, Hollywood Studios). This seems like a reasonable mistake, but it feels way too familiar- yep, did it for last race too. I'm sure I'll do it for the next race as well.

Miles and I park and head off to find the elusive packet. I go in the entrance to the "Milk House" that I've always used expecting to see signs and t-shirts to buy. No, I see men playing hockey. There's a full sized ice rink where the expo should be. So that's a little disconcerting. I go back outside and look for other runners- sure enough I find them at a back entrance. Then everyone refuses to give me my packet until they've seen inside my sling. People are fascinated that I have a sleeping munchkin strapped to my body! They all praise me for running so soon, so I leave tired but feeling appreciated.

Sunday morning, 5 a.m. So, like I'm already up! I'm exhausted from having already spent time at Disney and the whole sleep deprivation thing. But, sleep deprivation is nothing new... I get dressed while watching the Top 7 things to do at Disney on it's perpetual loop. I've never been so slack about a race- it's impressive that I have my chip on my shoe and my bib is sort of even. I head out the door and drive over to Epcot. I jump on a freezing cold bus and we drive over to the start. A bunch of us start laughing because we can't remember where we parked (luckily, it was the same place as all the other races so I can follow my autopilot to find my car at the end). I'm feeling a little self-conscious in my glowing WISH shirt.

I wander around a bit and end up in the port-a-potty line. There's a pleasant man in front of me talking to some girls. He's far too coordinated for me to handle- his hat matches his entire outfit and has a pocket for his iPod. So, there he is with his iPod sticking up like an antenna on the back of his head, and he messes with it, and suddenly I'm reading the screen to his iPod and seeing "ABBA" and I want to die laughing... then I'm distracted by the crazy guy who always shows up in basically underwear and a cape- what is that all about?! Hey, my glowing WISH shirt doesn't seem so crazy compared to an antenna iPod and naked guy! But me standing there laughing to myself- that might look a little crazy...



I drift over to the start with absolutely no clue how I'm going to do. I find Becky, my running buddy. A couple of weeks before the race, I told her to go her own pace this time since I had no clue if I could even finish. Becky asks me if I'm going to run or walk- I tell her I don't know. She says she has no plans for getting a PR and will go my speed. I'm nervous I'll make her too slow, but really glad she decided to join me.

The race starts- it was totally anticlimatic. I wasn't at my best, but I was able to run all of it. (I don't count walking the water stops as stopping running). Becky and I chatted and ran at a pretty steady pace. By the time we reached the Beach Club, I could tell I hadn't run that far in a very long time, but I was still ok. We cruised through the countries and headed to the finish line. We made it in about 1:11, so that was pretty good. If Becky hadn't been with me, I'm sure I would have been miserable!



We found another WISHer, Leigh, at the finish and took our pictures (as usual, my eyes were closed- would it kill them to take another shot?!) We then went to find our food samples. The gimmick with Race for the Taste is that you get food samples from the Food and Wine Festival. Becky and Leigh seemed to find it difficult to deal with strawberry shortcake, pasta, quiche, and a diet coke- in that order- in the morning. I must say, I have what has to be the greatest stomach of all time. Sure, I may have a jelly belly, but on the inside? Stomach o'steel. I can hold anything down at anytime with no bad consequences. Perhaps this isn't a good thing...



So, Becky and I realized that we'd seen each other for at least seven Disney races and run together for two- how funny is that? It made me sad to part, but we'll be together in January. She's already volunteered to drag either my mom or Betsy so that will be a help! In turn, I agreed to provide candy somewhere along the course of the full since Becky is going goofy again (and yes, I've gone from being completely fine with my wise decision to only do the half this year to being a bit jealous).

I high tailed it back to the cabins (after taking Leigh back to her hotel- silly girl didn't think about bringing her pass with her when she decided she could walk back to her Epcot resort-- yep, I've done that too in the past). Emma was showered, but the little boys were basically naked, and Ted hadn't showered- but he had made pancakes, so that was good.

I scarfed down a heap of pancakes and after everyone was made reasonably presentable, we hit the Animal Kingdom. When it got too miserably hot, we went back to the cabin to rest. Our plan was to hit Epcot that night for the Food and Wine Festival... but, living on the edge, I convinced Ted to sacrifice the Food and Wine Festival. We got in the car and drove to the Magic Kingdom without telling the kids. Emma was totally excited since we hadn't spent much time there. Harry would have been excited, had he been awake. He was quite pleased if a bit confused when he woke up by Space Mountain.

We rode a bunch of rides, and then I ran with the baby in the sling all the way through the MK fighting the Spectromagic crowd. Why? Well, to get the monorail to get to the Transportation Center to get to our car and finally, to get the sacred bottle that had been left behind! Mission accomplished, thank you.

Here's the kids on our last night with their ice cream.



Did I say "their ice cream?" Harry is pleased with himself because he stole mine.



And just in case you wondered what a person would look like after running 6 miles, visiting two parks, carrying a big ol' baby in a sling all day, and on no sleep?



And that pretty much wraps it up.

And just in case anyone thinks I'm exaggerating... allow me to present Naked Guy!

Shortest maternity leave ever.

I'm discharged from the hospital on Thursday at about 10:30 a.m. Since this is the arrival of a third child, Ted stays at work and my mom picks me up. We make a quick stop by DeeDee's for homemade doughnuts.

I leave the baby at home with his Mimi after lunch and head up to the office to verify that the crap I left on my desk on Tuesday was still there. (Good news! Crap had not magically taken care of itself.)

And that was it. So my maternity leave was officially three hours long. I was back in my chair within 48 hours of leaving it. I kept saying during my pregnancy that I was going to give birth in my chair. I came about as close as possible, although without the mess.

(FYI GoofyBaby is chilling with me even now as I'm typing with one hand... I'm in the office, just procrastinating).

Introducing GoofyBaby!

Well, it's been awhile since I posted since I was kind of busy, but the title says it all. I really don't want to relive the details and thanks to the kind nurse who put something in my IV find the details a little fuzzy, but here are the highlights.

My mom came three weeks before I was due based on dates of other two kids, so of course he hung in until his due date allowing me even more time to get enormous and grumpy;
We ate every doughnut we could get our hands on;
We accompanied the doughnuts with various coffee drinks;
We got bad manicures;
We bought a ridiculous number of towels over several visits to Walmart and had them monogrammed (really);
We bought bedroom furniture for Emma- try testing out a mattress 10 months pregnant;
Finally, my water broke about 10 minutes before we were supposed to drive 20 miles to get Emma for dance- my mom called and told the school to put her on the bus;
We hid from the yardman who was ringing the doorbell since we really didn't have time to chat;
We went to the doctor's office where they said go to the hospital- that was a wasted step in the process;
My mom took me to the hospital and fenagled a wheelchair for me;
Good thing, since I thought I might actually have the baby on the giant helicopter "H" before we made it in the building;
We got in a room and the nurse broke it to me that I was again not having an epidural;
I went through the "woe is me... I'm not an earth mother type" stage;
We told Ted to meet Emma's bus and take her to dance;
The nurse put something in my drip;
Ted called and said one of Emma's friends was unexpectedly with her- we told him to take them to dance and come to the hospital;
I closed my eyes for everything else (and highly recommend this approach);
My mom was asking the nurses what to do if the doctor didn't get there- I think they told her to go sit in the corner but that may be a Stadol-laced memory;
My mom realized things were moving too fast- she called Ted and made him turn around with the dancing girls;
The doctor arrived- not that I really cared;
Ted came blazing in;
I realized Emma and her friend were in the waiting room in their dance leotards- oddly enough, that was a real event not a Stadol hallucination;
Had 8 pound baby. Don't really remember seeing him.

That's about it. I got to the hospital around 3:00 and had him at 4:15. All of that was in the p.m.

So, we named him Edward Miles. He's going by Miles, until he gets older and decides its too dorky. It's a family name on Ted's side, and the obvious choice for GoofyBaby (thus dorky). Harry calls him Milo because of an enunciation issue... He looks just like his siblings.

Emma and FFA

Emma, Ted, and I went out to lunch for the last weekday of the summer. We're talking about if there are any changes in the third grade. We decide classes are harder, but they don't join any clubs until fourth grade (spelling bee, math club, etc).

Ted asks Emma if she wants to join FFA later on. She immediately says "oh, yeah!" I'm trying not to snicker at my redneck child. So Ted says "Future Farmers of America?" and Emma says "uh... Favorite Fall Activities?" And I almost do a spit-take, cause that's the Emma I know, not the future goat herder.

The Name Game

So I'm thinking this new baby can't go through life named GoofyBaby. We've come up with a few ideas, but nothing perfect. I guess we can just look at him and "know" his name, but that seems a bit too last minute, even for the girl who still hasn't pre-registered at the hospital.

I've polled my WISH friends- they like Miles and Max (son of Goofy). Miles is my front runner for a middle name. It's in Ted's family tree, and it seems very appropriate for a GoofyBaby. I like the name Max for other people's babies, not mine. I don't know why, but there you have it.

I also asked Emma and Harry. Emma and I have more fun picking names that won't work for whatever reason- our current favorite is Joshua. Try saying Josh Smith fast. For that matter, try saying it slow. It never fails to crack us up (but so does I Survived a Japanese Gameshow, so we are obviously simpletons.) Still, as we like to say, that is not focusing on the task at hand.

I asked Harry for his thoughts last night. Shockingly enough, he seemed to get the question and immediately blurted out an answer- "WallyMe." Uh, okay... He was still insistent on WallyMe this morning. Tracy (his teacher) thought maybe he was talking about the movie, but he hasn't seen it and isn't particularly interested in the commercials. In a funny twist, Wally kind of goes with my Disney running inspired theme- kind of feels like Walt, doesn't it?

That's about it for that topic.

I haven't completely neglected my running. I am wearing my sweet new shoes right now. They are Pearl Izumis, so I can run like an animal. We at WISH were pretty peeved at their ad campaign (essentially mocking joggers as being weenie runners), but I'm a sucker for a good sale. I can still tie them too! And they're a very serious reflective silver/orange, so on the off chance that a driver can't spot me by the giant gut and unruly hair, they'll totally see my feet. (As I walk through the parking lot at Walmart, because again, not doing so much running).

I've also spent a great deal of time (ok, wasted a great deal of time) coming up with potential races in the future. I've found a bunch of prospects. Now we just need to decide how to work them into our schedules based on the following factors:

1) Location and weather;
2) Time of year and time of start;
3) T-shirt appearance;
4) Is there a medal? And if so, is it worth the trouble?
5) Past results- can I maybe get an age group award?
6) Scary- but stroller friendly?
7) Race atmosphere.

I like my rewards, so if it's got a good medal and a cute t-shirt, I'll probably be willing to drive a little farther. And if it just looks like fun (think Christmas races), I might be more eager to sign up.

Oh, and of course, will it fit in both my life schedule and our training schedules? For instance, a 10k run on a weekend we are scheduled for a long run from 5-7 miles would be perfect. I need to go get some calendars while the school planners are on sale-- time to start penciling in our running schedules! I loved that part last year, especially when I could look at a 20 mile run around Christmas and fall over laughing. (More grim than funny when you are actually in the middle of that 20 miler, but still really fun to put on the calendar). I'm assuming we won't do anything over 9-10 miles for the half, so my calendar will be slightly less daunting (until you remember GoofyBaby and his imminent arrival).

The Glucose Horror

I head over to my doctor's office to do my glucose test for gestational diabetes/regular check up a couple of weeks ago. Lovely crowd. The girl next to me was having a conversation with her toothless mother that centered around the baby's name: "well, if it's Dakota's, we're thinking Chloe; if it's Justin's, we're thinking Victoria." Hello. The most shocking part? Her name choices weren't bad... Another woman and her charming family were screaming that it was going to be $270.00 that day instead of $150.00 and "she was going to kick some ass." Yay! Future playmates for GoofyBaby!

They finally call me back. I've gained one pound in a month, which is surprising because I'm feeling very, very big. The nurse looks a bit wide-eyed when she tests my blood pressure. I have to say "it's usually low" before she lets out a "oh good, it's 90 over 60." Whatever.

That's pretty much it, except they tell me I have to do the glucose test at the lab, and it's closed for lunch. Good, I wasn't in the mood for needles anyway.

Two days later, I suck it up and go for my test. I chug the nasty drink-- Powerade on crack-- all the while telling myself that if I could drink a nasty Powerade dixie cup at almost every mile for 39.3 miles in January, I can handle this. And I'm pleased with myself because I managed to have a Goofy flashback in a totally random moment!

I go sit in the lobby and watch infomercials and read a book. I feel fine, if horribly bored, for about 30 minutes. Then it happens. I'm sitting there minding my own business watching an infomercial for a Shark cordless vacuum, when I feel a bit dizzy. I try to focus on the vacuum- it can pick up wet rice and nails and get under your furniture!- when I decide maybe lying down on the loveseat would be a really good idea. (You know, if you're going to keel over, might as well get in position early...)I'm clammy, I'm queasy, I'm just utterly miserable. I feel so bad I don't even want to get the nurse (and I'm afraid she'll make me do it again another day).

Finally the nurse comes for me. I get it together enough to make it down the hall and into her little chair o' blood letting. "Success!" I think. She looks at me and says "are you alright?" I think I answer positively, but she starts freaking out. She says I'm really pale and basically look like crap. Hello, I'm upright and that's an accomplishment. Don't bring me down, lady! She draws my blood, mutters about how I obviously don't need to take this test, and runs off to get me a Coke out of their private stash (unheard of!). The Coke, which is actually a nasty Cherry Coke, perks me up enough that I consider re-joining the world of the living.

So, now two weeks later, I've had a couple more sinking spells from eating sugar. Is that cruel or what?! I asked the PA what my level was. You have to be below 130 on the test or you go to the second stage of testing for gestational diabetes. I was at 90. I asked her if that was low enough to make me feel bad- she said it was just really healthy. Call me crazy, but "really healthy" levels shouldn't require lying down in public wondering if you need to call 911.

This baby is starting to irritate me. I know I still need to pre-register at the hospital, and that either GoofyBaby or as Emma says "the baby to be named later" are not appropriate name choices, but I need my space back.

I did try to cheer myself up by buying new running shoes and a new running outfit for post-arrival. Hopefully they'll get here soon- I'll have to put the outfit away for awhile, but I can wear the shoes now. I'm proud to say as of two days ago, I could still tie my shoes by myself. Not to imply that I am actually running anywhere...

Sunshine Festival 5k

Well, several months ago we said we'd do this race. Heck, several weeks ago we said we'd do it. Then it got hotter, I got bigger, and the doubts kicked in...

So, my mom told her friend and fellow Disney half-runner Betsy as of the night before, we weren't going! Well, I told myself I'd wait until morning to decide...

I didn't set my alarm thinking that if I overslept, it wasn't meant to be. I woke up to a lot of light in the room and thought "huh, guess I'm too late." Then I looked at my phone and it was 6:20 a.m. Plenty of time to get to the park and register before 7:30! Before I got too over-eager, I put on my clothes. I couldn't find any BodyGlide, which was disturbing indeed, but my shirt fit! So, after deciding I was not going to have a wardrobe malfunction and nothing really hurt, I called my mother, who groaned, and left the kids with Ted, who groaned.

I walked down to my mom's house, hurried her up, and we headed to the park. We got in the line to register. My mom was laughing at the "goobers" in their running clothes, but then started laughing at herself in her WISH shirt (mine stopped fitting after the Minnie). We registered and got our T-shirts. OK, dilemma. What to do with the shirts?! So, we walked over to the Village Inn and Pub. The clerk was fine with us leaving the shirts there. I captured this shot of my mother putting on her bib in their mirror...



We used their bathroom and headed back to the race, after a quick check in the mirror. I'm having doubts about how my mother will handle sitting in a parking lot before dawn and using a portapotty!

We stand around "stretching" and meet a nice girl from Gainesville. We talk kids, running, strollers, etc. I told my mom later that she was wearing a fairly subtle Boston shirt. I can't wait to see how she placed- she looked like she was going to be fast!

So we line up in back and entertain ourselves by scoping out our fellow runners. There's a fun game you can play- "who's going to take me?" and it's variation "who can I take?" (There's always someone who will surprise you!) I'm hoping we took the random people in jeans and khaki shorts...

The race started, after a really nice performance of the National Anthem. We hadn't really discussed race strategy, so at the last minute I said "let's start out running and see what happens" or something like that. It's a nice course- all neighborhoods, all flat. Several families came out on the course to cheer decked out in their Fourth finery- very nice touch. They also wrote in chalk on the streets- "RUN RUN RUN." Cute.

Guess how far we made it before we stopped to walk?! The first mile marker!! Seriously, if you haven't run a 5k, getting to that first mile marker is hard. We did it in around 13 minutes. We walked some, ran some the next couple of miles. We entertained ourselves by talking to every volunteer on the course- and there were a lot! My mom took to pointing to me and yelling "pregnant" and pointing to herself and yelling "old!" Yep, we were making a spectacle of ourselves. I think the WISH shirt brings out the crazy in wearers...



Here I am in all my glory with GoofyBaby. (We took this picture close to the end, but before the people at the finish could see us walking).



We blazed in somewhere around 43 minutes. As usual, I filled out the card thingy, got some water, looked around, and then remembered to stop my Garmin. The stupid part is that I thought of it about 10 feet before the finish line, but didn't want to hit it crossing the line. Oh yeah, because I'd hate to ruin the official photographer's picture-- as if! We ate some well deserved Oreos (well, generic Oreos), said bye to our super speedy friend, and retrieved our shirts.

Then we headed on back to home wearing our bibs, and strutting the walk of the pious 5k racer. (The walk is even better when you have a big medal!)



That night we did the fireworks thing with some friends. Harry and Emma were hanging with their buddy, Jessica. Emma wanted to do her hair; Harry wanted her popcorn. Harry was a little concerned about the fireworks, but got into the spirit of things pretty quickly.





Finally, the next morning we hit the beach. What you don't see in this picture is me being pummelled by waves trying to keep my camera dry (and reasonably non-gritty).



So, as far as I can tell, that ends my official running career until post-GoofyBaby. Sure, I may waddle around the block a few more times, but the next 5ks I can find that are nearby are in September. I'm completely convinced GoofyBaby will arrive on Labor Day, so that makes the September races difficult at best. Luckily, I have my coaching job to distract me! I'm already looking up 5ks (and maybe a few longer distances) to work into my mom and Betsy's training. As soon as I get them copies of Bingham's Marathoning for Mortals and make them a calendar, I'll be ready to coach... I wonder if I need a whistle?

A Comment

This is Jen's daugter and I would like to say that I am offended!

Princess Emma and her supporters demand a retraction

Certain fussy members of my family have declared the pictures of Emma in the pool to be less than flattering. I'd like to point out that no one looks good in the bright South Georgia sun in a baby pool, especially when distracted from posing by trying to protect themselves from Harry's flailing, but whatever. So, here are some additional pictures of Emma...

This one is at Mullet Bay. Food's ok, but the butcher paper is brilliant. Even Harry behaved himself (except for one incident where he felt the need to chat with the people in the booth behind us, but that was entirely their fault for making eye contact.)



In case you were curious, here is what you might look like after going on a beach walk in about 95 degree weather, having a complete hissy fit because it's hot and your children are whiny, and demanding to get out of the sun and eat immediately. It's a vision!



(Note that I have a death grip with one hand, and a cracker to shove at Harry in the other- is that multitasking or what?)

This one is at the park down the street. What's up with the trend in bumpy slides now?! Hello, who wants to go down that?! Thank goodness Emma will do it with Harry so I don't have to squeeze in.



So there are my updated pictures.

The Great Potato Harvest

Farmer Ted planted potatoes in his raised bed in the backyard a couple of months ago. After much consideration, he pronounced them ready to harvest! Ted says we can't use shovels because we could hurt the potatoes. I get the logic, but I don't really want to dig with my bare hands. Unfortunately, Harry is only interested in moving handfuls of dirt out of the raised bed and Emma wandered off to find her hula hoop. Great. Pregnant girl has to take one for the team and start digging.

I squat down and start rooting around, so to speak. Ted is pulling up potatoes (which Harry is puting in baskets along with dirt). I keep digging, but don't find anything. I can't see what I am touching, but determined to be a good sport, I keep digging. Success! I touch something that feels vaguely potato-ish... then my finger pushes through whatever it is and it frigging explodes. Some sort of warm goo is all over my hand, which is still trapped in the dirt. As I pull up my hand, the smell of rot is overwhelming. So now I'm covered in sticky, stinky goo and screaming while everyone else is laughing hysterically. I run in the house and scrub my hand over and over, but could still smell the funk.

So what was the stinky, sticky goo? Well, contrary to the images that popped into my head courtesy of Stephen King and Dean Koontz, we're thinking it was a very, very rotten potato. So much for me playing farmer! Ted told me I was a bad homesteader. No argument here!

Here's a slightly staged photo showing children who look cooperative...



I did manage to get over my alien pod explosion images enough to eat the mashed potatoes Ted made. Pretty tasty! There's now a basket full of dirty potatoes sitting on my dining room table...

I did use the shovel and pitchfork to look for any left over potatoes after the initial extraction. I had no idea you used your core to shovel- that was a little awkward since my core has gone into hiding. Still, that was exercise, right?!

That blue thing in the background of the picture? Why, it's our lovely pool! Here's some pictures of Emma and Harry in it when it's full. I think these capture their personalities fairly well.




Unfortunately, we didn't empty out the water for like... a week. Yeah, pretty slimy. Let's have a moment of silence for the pool. RIP, slimy blue pool.

Well, I think I ran twice in June...

The first run in June:

Emma was at a friend's house swimming and Harry was at home with Ted napping. It's just far enough to my friend's house that I didn't want to send Emma on her bike alone, so I put on my new maternity running skirt and "ran" over with her. I took the long way, so we made it about a half-mile. I decided rather than stick around, I'd try to keep going (I know, nice friend to dump your kid off and literally run...)

I ran about 3 more miles with a couple of walking breaks. It was in the 90s, which I found irritating. Luckily I was in my neighborhood, and while I still don't know street names all that well, I do know the shadiest, flattest, least doggy populated streets. I poured cold water all over my marathon hat- it's not the best look, but it works. I actually felt pretty good, and when I made it back to my friend's house, everyone thought I was a total bad-ass. Sweet! We all know the real motivation for that run, right?! The maternity running skirt was brand new...

The second run in June:

I took Harry out on a Saturday morning after our customary Walmart trip. It was about 9:30 a.m. when we started. (You have to get Harry to Walmart early because he likes to "march" through the store. Marching is easier without a crowd).

I discovered where my sciatic nerve is the night before. Hello! It didn't hurt that morning, so I thought maybe exercising would help. (Yes, why rest a potential injury when you can make it worse by running?) I ran about a block before I realized my sciatic nerve was still having issues. I thought I could just slow down and work through it, but then I got a weird pain in my side. I couldn't decide if it was a regular side pain or not, because as you may realize, my side is a lot bigger now. And I was getting hot. And Harry took possession of our one water bottle... I decided running wasn't working, so I walked the rest of the way. I made the mistake of pointing out a bunny to Harry (we have lots of wild rabbits in our neighborhood now). He missed it, and then insisted for a good two miles that the "bunny hide" and he "want to see bunny!" Alas, no other bunny sightings.

I'm used to our Goofy training when Harry was still too little to do much talking. He's not going to be making any speeches anytime soon, but it's still entertaining to have him try to carry on a conversation in his stroller. (Although the bunny talk/"more cracker" demands did get a little old...)



Oh, and now my only size appropriate running shirt is getting a wee bit snug around the gut.

Future plans:

Hmmm... there is a 5k in St. Simons on the Fourth of July. I did it last year- it was my first 5k where I broke 30 minutes (29:59 to be exact). I'd kind of like to do it, but I'm not so sure.

The pros: it's a short walk from our place, there are walkers so I probably won't be DLF, it's flatter than you can imagine, I probably weigh about the same now as when I did it last year (really!), and it's another chance to wear my super cool maternity running skirt.

The cons: it's going to be hot, I haven't attempted to run in awhile, they don't allow strollers so I'd have to carry my water bottle instead of having a convenient tray, I'm going to be even bigger than I am now, and my only enormous wicking shirt may not be able to hold me in.

The biggest pro of all? Well, my very first 5k I was DLF. For the last mile or so I was running next to a woman who knew the cop bringing up the back in his squad car. He was literally yelling at us through his loudspeaker! He was teasing/encouraging, but I've never been yelled at through a cop's loudspeaker (or had the sirens flick on right behind me- he did that too)... it was really bizarre. I'm thinking I show up this time with my big ol' belly, and I might get an ambulance escort! Or maybe even a fire truck! That might be worth it (although Harry would be devastated if I get a fire truck escort and he's not with me...)

I haven't completely lost my mind though. There is a 5k in a little town about 20 miles away this weekend starting at 8:00 a.m. Call me not tempted! I'm very proud of that bit of self-control...

Introducing my Medal Rod

A little over a year ago, Wendy from WISH posted a picture of her medal display in response to the "so what do you do with all these medals?" question. It was a curtain rod covered in medals. I almost died of envy when I saw it. Seriously, it was beautiful. I wanted one so badly, but with one medal I thought my rod might look a little... needy.

Well, look what I have now!



Before you make fun of the spackle, I have to add that my helpers were 2 and 8. Harry kept demanding to "help, momma!" I put him in charge of the stud finder. He was very pleased with himself. Emma was less enthusiastic, but did at least eyeball the rod to see if it was reasonably level (and then she mocked me for putting them in chronological order). Can I talk about my hatred of plaster walls? Thus the spackle...

You might be able to see a common theme with the medals. Yep, with the exception of the one Jacksonville half medal with the tacky ribbon, they're all Disney. (OK, I've added another one I found from the Bridge Run, but still). Oh, and only the first three are pre-GoofyBaby.

I haven't done much running lately. The combination of heat and just feeling yuck is a problem. I felt truly awful yesterday afternoon at work. I think my blood pressure dropped some- I don't have a scientific basis for that idea, but I felt really light-headed and queasy and had some Braxton Hicks action. (It's also possible I was hungry). The feeling eventually passed. I had Ted take my blood pressure about an hour later- it was 100/60 with a pulse of 57. That's not that low for me, but I'm wondering if it was lower when I felt so bad. Anyway, running was out of the question.

On the bright side, I haven't really gained much weight. I'm eating plenty, so I assume GoofyBaby is doing just fine. The way I see it, every pound I don't gain is a pound I don't have to worry about later! Of course, I know it's entirely possible to gain eight pounds next month- I think I gained eight pounds with Emma every month.

I've been looking into training post-delivery. I'm sure I'll leave GoofyBaby at home some, but I'd like to be able to drag him along on some of the short runs. Most double jogging strollers require the baby to be at least 6 months old. That so puts me outside my training window for the January half. There's one I found that you can buy an attachment for in order to hook a carseat on! Picture me with Harry in one seat and GoofyBaby in a carseat on the other side (and Emma on her bike)! And yes, I realize that's the height of madness. It's all that's keeping me happy right now, so I'm just going to keep my little delusion that I'll be perky and ready to run and that both boys will be cooperative...

Return of runner girl... sort of

So yesterday was a stressful day to put it mildly.

I took Emma to her eternal dance rehearsal (THREE PLUS HOURS). When I went back home, I looked at Harry and thought, "oh why not?" Coach Harry went in the stroller. He's so funny- I told him we were going running, and he gathered up my iPod and Garmin and brought them to me.

I really felt kind of yuck, but decided I didn't care what speed I ran- I knew just trying to get out and move would help. I ran almost 2.5 miles. My goal was 3 miles, but I didn't worry about it because I had to cut it short to get a quick shower and grab Emma.

It turns out my average pace was around 13 min/mile. In the old days I would have been finished with my 3 miles easily before I finished yesterday's run. But that's okay.

Harry and I had fun. Harry stole my water bottle (which is really his SpongeBob bottle) and perfected his spit-take. It was very impressive. I chatted with Harry, gave him his supplies (baggy of goodies and Paci depending on his mood), conducted music with one hand, and text-messaged a friend, all while looking for cars and avoiding melt-down inducing views of the park. My multi-tasking may have contributed to my time...

It was nice to see I can still run, even if it's almost a walking pace. It was also 82 degrees and 61% humidity, even at 7:00 p.m. when we finished- can you say hot!?

But that's all my news. The actual dance performance is this weekend. I don't even want to think of the implications of a three hour rehearsal...

Slacker

All right, just so no one has the wrong impression and thinks I'm Serious Runner Girl, I have to say after my reasonably triumphant 5k finish at the Race for the Pinks, I haven't done much. Actually, I haven't done anything. And it's been a week... or two...

I have my reasons:

First, I caught a cold. So that entailed much self-pity and sniffing and general wallowing.

I'm better now, but there is a bigger problem lurking. I'm the type who needs a race in the future to motivate (scare) me into training. I've discovered that's how I always am, regardless of GoofyBaby. There's a 5k in July, but I doubt I'll want to run at that point. I might walk/waddle it, but I might not. I am considering breaking out some cowbells and lining up along the course to cheer, but it may seem really early in the morning. The half is in January, post-GoofyBaby, and that's just way too far away to think about. GoofyBaby needs a real name before I even start worrying about the half!

Never say never... I'm not saying I've stopped running completely until GoofyBaby's arrival. I sort of thought about it last night, but we were under a severe thunderstorm warning until 10 p.m. and the pine trees are really, really tall on my route. But at least I did seriously consider going.

Having said that, I've accepted that if I don't run again until after GoofyBaby appears, I still managed to keep it up for a pretty long time.

In the meantime, I think it's time to make my curtain rod medal display. If I'm really good, I might even consider working on my running scrapbook. Right... I'm just going to focus on the curtain rod thing.

So here's something entertaining:

Minnie Marathon 15k, 2007, first long distance run, time approx. 1:54



Minnie Marathon 15k, 2008, 20 weeks pregnant, time approx. 1:48



The first picture explains why I'm so anxious to not completely fall apart... oh, and obviously, I got a better hat after seeing exactly why layers and visors don't mix well.

Race for the Pinks 5k

So, I said I was going to slow down, but when I came home from the Minnie weekend, I was feeling good and decided that was an arbitrary decision...

The Race for the Pinks was the weekend after Minnie. The race was organized by a service league in town. I'm embarassed to admit I dropped out of the league this year. Nice people, but too much drama.

So, I had mixed emotions on this race. On the one hand, there was a possibility there would be a good turnout so I wouldn't be dead last and it was for a good cause; on the other hand, it felt slightly tacky to go to the race after dropping out of the group. Ultimately, I decided it didn't matter.

My plan was to wake up Saturday and decide if I wanted to go or not. I woke up, decided I had nothing better to do, and then for the first time ever, loaded up the stroller and took Harry to the race. It's always bothered me that Harry experiences the boring training runs, but never the races, and they didn't list any stroller restrictions.

Harry and I registered with about ten minutes to spare. Being no fool, I took off his shoes and socks. He protested, so I explained that I didn't want him to throw them off while I was running. He looked shocked, and demanded "I wanna run!" I had to move quickly to distract him! We lined up in the very back and waited for the start.

I forgot to mention there were pink balloons everywhere and blaring music. Why is it always blaring 80s music at races?!

We took off through downtown. Harry crossed his arms behind his head and just kicked back. Cops were there blocking the roads, so there was tons of room for us even with the stroller. I fell back to about an 11 minute pace. As usual, by about the two mile mark, I finally warmed up enough that I wasn't miserable. I gave Harry a cup of water from one of the stops (I had my own- beauty of taking a stroller!). He poured it all over himself.

The last mile, I began passing some people. I felt a little guilty- who wants to be passed by a stroller?! At least I didn't look too obviously pregnant, I think. I had on my WISH shirt, so I could inspire as I was passing...

It was a perfectly marked race until the last couple of blocks. There was a turn that was missing a sign. That's the beauty of not being in the lead. I saw people headed back in my direction and knew something was up. (Some of the really fast runners were mad about it, which I understand since it threw off their times, but it was a shame it had to happen in an otherwise great race).

Finally reached the finish. Our time was 32:xx. Considering I was responsible for 3 people if you include Harry and GoofyBaby, not a bad time. We went to grab some water and a banana. They had turned on the sprinklers in the park by the finish. Good idea in theory, but when you went to get your water, your shoes and shorts got soaked (not to mention poor Harry in the stroller!) Harry of course took the banana.

We stood around the finish clapping for people. Okay, I was clapping and Harry was eating his banana. In my experience, no one cheers unless you are at Disney. What is up with that?!

Oh, and Harry really wanted to run the 1 mile fun run. Can a 2 year old run or walk 1 mile?! I can't imagine he could last that long, and I'd hate to have to carry him. I think I may try taking him on a few walks to see just how far he can go. I'm guessing my boy's more of a sprinter, but how long remains to be seen...

Sunday, Minnie 15k

This Minnie, oddly enough, is not on the race course, but it is one of my favorite sights from the Flower and Garden Festival.

Now, on to the race:

I was insanely tired Saturday night, but what's new at Disney? Becky and I made plans to have me pick her up at her hotel at 4:30 a.m. Her hotel was maybe 10 minutes away and it would probably take close to 10 minutes to get from my room to my car. So I decided to get up at 4:00 a.m. Yeah, that was kind of cutting it close.

I jumped out of bed, turned off the cell alarm that I didn't need, and did the whole shower routine. This time since I decided to get up as late as possible, I ate my bagel in the shower. Oh yeah, that's a time saver! I managed to get dressed and out the door.

I scurried down to the car, didn't glare at the insanely chipper woman in the lobby with a race bib, and went to pick up Becky. Of course my contact started doing weird things to my eye when I reached the car. It was now about 4:25 a.m. and I was a little worried that my organized friend would be tapping her shoes waiting for me. But no! She must have been tired from the day before too- she called me saying she was running late. Whew! Oh, and I saw the mile markers along the road on the way to pick her up- yep, they were in the middle of nowhere. Now I was officially thinking this might have been too ambitious, but so was the Goofy, and I survived that. My power of positive thinking was being tested.

I found Becky easily and we made it to Epcot. We parked the car and hopped on a bus where we found more WISHers. We were at the Animal Kingdom in no time. A big group of WISHers had assembled. We chatted some and sat around- I was having a second breakfast of Goldfish and a Diet Dr. Pepper. Oddly enough, no one else wanted any Goldfish! It seemed like a good salt replacement strategy to me.

We got up and spent some time wandering around looking for some Bio-Freeze for Becky's knee. We decided they didn't think anyone would hurt at the start, so no Bio-Freeze! Generally speaking, it's not a good thing to start a race hurt. Hmmm...

Finally, we got in a porta-potty line. You have to time it just right: too early and you'll start to panic thinking you have to go again; too late and you're worried about the race start. I've now officially experienced the too late thing! I think we made it out of the line maybe 2 minutes before the start. We took off across the parking lot grumbling about how the race hadn't started and we were already running. There was no way to make it into the proper corral to start, so we just headed for the very back as the fireworks started.


The view from the very back.

We spent the first couple of miles weaving around walkers. Things were pretty congested. I vaguely remember miles 3, 4, and 5. They were a horrible flashback to the full. People say they like to run the Minnie to see what the last bit of the full was like because they were so out of it. Well, trust me, it comes back to you. Asphalt, asphalt, asphalt, overpass, repeat. Poor Becky was still looking for a medical tent, and I was fussing about how they only had 5 water stops for 9 miles (I had my own water bottle, but still...) There's a turn around along the way. As much as it sucks to know you have to go back on that same road, it is fun to wave to people as you go (although more fun to wave to those behind you than in front!)

It felt like a fast pace to me, but we were usually somewhere in the 11-12 minute range. I guess that's what adding 10+ pounds and a stowaway can do to you! It's a good thing I had Becky to kind of pull me along! I was surprised to find it so much of an effort. True, my training had been somewhat shaky, but I was hoping the Goofy would carry me through.

Somewhere around mile 5 we found the medical tent and Becky got her Bio-Freeze. It didn't help right away, but she'd been on a mission for it, so that was good. Bio-Freeze basically numbs the area where you apply it. Unfortunately, the "applied area" during a race is your hand, a trickle in the right spot, and your shoes/socks. Becky was laughing about her cold hand.

Finally, finally, we hit the backside of Hollywood Studios. We both laughed about wanting the candy bar table they had from the full! We ran through the really dark tunnel and I managed to take a picture of the costumes from High School Musical 2 for Emma- I was proud I remembered!

Another runner yelled "it's just another 5k, ladies!" which I know she meant as encouragement, but wasn't so helpful.



Then we hit the Hat and found a few characters- of course, we took pictures. Pictures are fun to have and they require stopping!



After the hat, we focused on attempting to look reasonably cute for the official photographers. "Keep smiling, keep smiling!"


We left Hollywood Studios, and ran to the Boardwalk. Stupid death march strikes again!



I'm always surprised that the little hill by the Swan/Dolphin is more daunting that you expect. We ran past the Beach Club. Becky took a phone call from her husband without stopping! I'm telling you, the girl was on a mission! She had looked for her family to be on the balcony when we ran by her hotel, but they weren't there. We'd joked that we were too fast for them- turns out we were right!

We hit the countries and met up with Tricia from WISH- hey girl! We ran together for awhile but again, Becky was on a mission, so we drifted apart. Last year I walked the countries and took pictures of almost every one because of the Flower and Garden Festival. This time I barely even looked up (mostly because when I did look up I'd think "are you kidding me? we're just by Japan- will this never end!?") I love the countries at Epcot, and it feels sacrilegious to say it, but I'm getting a little tired of that route...

The last Epcot stretch-- Woo hoo- Spaceship Earth, parking lot, sad to see no choir... WISHers cheering. Can't slow down when WISHers are cheering! And we blazed through the finish somewhere around 1:48, which was considerably faster than last year. We took pictures, joined WISHers for cheering, and generally just enjoyed not running. Becky laughed at me because I freaked out over having fine grit all over my body. It was salt! In all my running, I've never experienced that one. I didn't take any gels or anything with me. I drank a little bit of PowerAde at the water stops, but it was nothing like the PowerAde I drank at every stop for the half. Maybe that made the difference?

I have never been able to stick around for the end of the race. I loved seeing the last finishers. Sure, the runners at the front of the pack are impressive, but the last people- now that's some true determination and courage! It was really getting hot so they had to be suffering.

Final thoughts: it was a great race. Having Becky with me helped tremendously. She was going fast, but it wasn't a bad pace. I told my doctor I'd make sure I could still talk while running, and we did chat during the race. Her knee bothered her throughout the race- she was pretty tough! I enjoyed teasing her about the pace, but I know she would have slowed down the second I asked. It was really crazy fun!

I hate that they are getting rid of the Minnie- it's such a great distance. I've already signed up for the half in January, and I don't know if I'll be able to convince my family to head back in March for the new half. And, if I'm reading the information correctly, the course looks too similar to the Minnie. If you're going to do a half, you need to go through Magic Kingdom!

Very tricky, Disney... Minnie had left before we finished the race and never came back. Princesses, on the other hand, were everywhere.



Every time I finish a race, I always get hit with that "why do we do this to ourselves voluntarily?" feeling, but I get over it pretty quickly. I am going to probably focus on trying to increase my walking speed (I am the slowest walker ever) until this baby is born. I really wanted to kind of slow down on my own terms, and I think having a Minnie medal is a great way to do it!

So that pretty much wraps it up. I dropped Becky off, went back to the hotel, showered, packed, etc. And, in memory of last year's cinammon roll after the Minnie, I split a waffle with Harry, who insisted on wearing my medal.

Saturday, Minnie Marathon Weekend

The Go Red for Women 5k

Disney has this early morning thing going on with races. This race started at 7 a.m. from the parking lot in Epcot, which meant in theory you should be there no later than 6 a.m. You could say it's because of the heat; or you could say it's because the last 5k racer should be finishing before Epcot opens. Whatever. Either way, with the exception of horrible flights and the SATs, I've never had to get moving so early as I do at Disney (and this was actually a late starting race in Disney terms!)

But, on the bright side, I can never sleep before a big race anyway. As usual, I stared at the ceiling for probably two hours before finally giving up and getting in the shower at 5 a.m. I got dressed and woke up a fairly perky Emma. I realized this was going to be a very slow race when she made me pull her shirt over her head carefully so her pre-pinned bib wouldn't get wrinkled.

We drove over to Epcot with no problems. We wandered over to a bright group of WISHers. Everyone was totally cool and chatted with Emma who I think felt pretty important. We lined up with Becky (Lexxiefern) in the 13-15 minute category. Emma stole my favorite hat because her Minnie headband was too tight. I don't think she has any clue how nice that was of me. That's my marathon hat, girl!



The race started, and we were off through the parking lot of Epcot. I'm not sure Disney races should start in parking lots-- woo hoo, nothing but asphalt! Not all that inspiring. Regardless, Becky took off running, and Emma and I set off at what I called a "walking" pace and she called "sprinting." Ahem. I was a little nervous about her attitude, and rather pleased that Becky left us- I didn't want any witnesses to potential meltdowns.

Did you know the extra booths for the Food and Wine Festival are stored out in the open on the edge of the parking lot? Somehow the little thatched cottage for Ireland isn't as cute crammed off to the side. I tried to point the booths out to Emma, but she wasn't that interested. Here's a picture anyway.



We could finally see Epcot (Test Track) off in the distance. Emma's mood improved dramatically. At this point, I decided to go with the flow. There was no way we could maintain a "beat the sweepers" pace. They were allegedly going to enforce a 15 minute/mile pace. I had visions of having to toss Emma to the nearest WISHer while throwing my body in front of a sweeper bus... with this big belly, I'd be pretty good at passive resistance. Then I started to worry that I'd be officially banned from the races... yes, I really thought all of that through. There were tons of people ahead of us, but a not insubstantial group following. I kept my eye on the people behind us the rest of the way, just in case I saw them suddenly escorted to a golf cart or some other sneaky sweeper transportation.

The mile 1 marker was right outside Epcot. Then there was a water stop, and we were able to check out the backside of Test Track and some other rides. I finally threw away our water bottles that I'd been lugging around. Here's a sign of how fuzzy my brain is on Disney morning time- it never crossed my mind to pour out the water in our bottles when their weight was driving me crazy. (It's hard to carry two water bottles in one hand while holding an 8 year old's hand with the other- especially when "holding" is more like "dragging.")



We entered from sort of behind Spaceship Earth and then headed towards the long bridge to the countries. You'd think after this many visits I'd know it's name- International Gateway perhaps?





We saw some really fast people headed back the other way who'd already circled the countries. I'm proud to report there were WISHers in there! Emma usually spotted them before I did (remember I kept turning around to look for sweepers vehicles!) She'd scream "GO WISH!" like a wild banshee. Now that was some funny stuff!

Once we were in the countries in Epcot, life was better. There was music blaring and Minnie would shout out encouragement over the loud speakers- that was a nice touch. Living on the sweeper edge, I took a picture of Emma in each country. I'm pretty sure that was her favorite part- my girl loves to pose! Here's a sampling of the country pics:




Check out the two women who passed us at mile 2- one of them has a friggin' boot on! More power to her, but does that give you any indication of our pace?!



Here's the best part about races at Disney- no crowds in the parks!





Finally we were headed on back down that Gateway thingy. We left Epcot through the same spot where the choir was at the marathon. We stopped for yet another picture at the mile 3 marker. The volunteer there had a technical difficulty (stopwatch not working? I can't remember specifics) so she appointed herself photographer. At that point, I was much happier to find a photographer than to know our time!



We crossed the finish line and got our medals.





Feel free to mock our PowerAdes. I would.

Oh, and how could I forget?! The WISHers cheering were wonderful!



We stuck around for awhile, but Emma wanted to hit the Magic Kingdom early, so we headed back to the AKL. We changed clothes and were on a bus for MK by 8:45- not bad! The fact that we strolled through the race helped tremendously. I didn't even have to take a shower! Emma was acting like the race was no big deal, but she wore her medal all day.

So, off to Magic Kingdom. Harry was a little befuddled in the beginning.



We headed straight to Splash Mountain, Pirates, etc.



Alas, the crowds were building. Emma was obsessed with riding the RockNRoller Coaster at MGM, so we headed over by way of ferry/bus. Harry loved the ferry and bus!



Unfortunately, the ride had an 80 minute wait, so Ted and Emma went on Tower of Terror first. I wanted to take Harry to see some little kid stuff, but he passed out. I ended up buying some water and sitting in the hottest sun imaginable for about an hour waiting for them. I pretended sitting on a curb in blazing heat was good for me because it was sort of providing rest for the Minnie. Which was strange, since I didn't feel any more rested hopping off that curb. D'Oh!

We hightailed it out of MGM (or Hollywood Studios now), and headed to Epcot. I was weary, and the death march from MGM to Epcot made me nervous for the next day. It's ironic that I've always called that stretch of sidewalk from MGM to Epcot the "death march." My title was more appropriate than I realized- that's the last couple of miles of the Minnie 15k and the full. It makes me twitch.

We entered by the backside of England. As we were walking up the ramp, Chip (or perhaps Dale) spent some quality time admiring Emma's medal. That made me happy. No one else commented on it all day. I think the problem is that no one realizes a race took place, and lots of kids are wearing lanyards for pin trading that look a lot like the medals.



That's about as close as Harry will get to a character. Chip got down lower to chat and Harry wigged out. Maybe next year.

We ate a bunch of junk. See?



We wandered the countries... again and again. Emma and I'd just done the same route at 7:30 that morning. And I was going to have to face them after 8 miles at about the same time of day the next morning. Ouch. We ate more food, walked more, shopped some, got rained on- typical day at Epcot. I was getting crazy tired, and Ted kept asking if I'd "be okay to do the race." It sounded like a trick question- yes, if we could get out of Epcot, I'd be fine for the race. But, if I said I was so tired we had to leave, that might imply I was not okay for the race... So I just dragged along, because really who wants to ever leave the parks early anyway?

Here's my last shot of Epcot. That's not an illusion that it's getting dark- that's how long we stayed.



We went back to our hotel. So, it's about 8 p.m. I have to get up in roughly eight hours; I've been on my feet since 5 a.m.; we've been to 3 parks after walking a 5k; I'm bound to be dehydrated; my race stuff isn't ready; and I'm 20 weeks pregnant. Good thing I like a challenge.