Scenes From Memorial Day Weekend

Hanging out at Freshfields for music, food, and relaxing outside on a (pre) summer evening.

Celebrating Noah's birthday for the 3rd time... And BTW. If you happen to realize that there are no candles for the birthday cake, don't worry. There is every chance your husband will come up with the most ridiculous idea of wrapping a pencil with a napkin, sticking it in the cake, and lighting it on fire.  You will argue it will never work, challenge him to do it so you can watch him fail, and then curse yourself when it DOES work and he stands there prouder than if he had cured cancer. Thank goodness Noah muttered, "That was weird." after blowing out the "candle".  And now back to the pictures....

Shopping with my Mom and my sister. You must always start any shopping trip with a big, lunch, a drink, and a picture in a bathroom.

Playing at the park - and sweating like we were in the seventh layer of hell. Welcome summer!

Wrapping up the weekend by initiating a back yard water fight with my boys. Noah never saw me coming!

The Longest Race Report Ever

I don't know if anybody remembers, but this past Sunday was my half marathon. (The Divas Half Marathon in Myrtle Beach to be exact.) If you didn't remember that's okay - I very specifically refrained from talking about it on the blog because I knew I was going to run it very under trained and it might end up a disaster. I was kind of right. Part of it was the best race I ever had, and part was a disaster. (And warning... This post might be kind of long and boring to anyone but me.)

I will start by saying that I really got lazy with my training. The heat hit early here, and the thought of long runs in high temperatures was so unappealing. (Also, Wes works two weekends a month so a weekend long run just doesn't work out sometimes.) When I did manage to do a long run I was having major issues with my stomach when I tried to take in calories on the run. It got to be that I dreaded going long because I knew my stomach would revolt and I would feel terrible the rest of the morning. So... The longest I went before the race was 9 miles and that was ONE time. Oops. A couple weeks ago, I gave up any ideas about running a good time and decided to take it for what it was: a fun weekend away with friends and a really cute race with a festive atmosphere. I figured I would run the best I could, and I decided not to eat anything at all - no gu, no gels, no nothing - to avoid an upset stomach. I was just going to cross my fingers that my energy would last to the end. I predicted a 2 hour 30 minute finish.

My plan started out well. Fun was had right from the start! We road tripped it to Myrtle Beach in Brandy's car - and managed to survive her Nascar driving maneuvers. (Hehe! Brandy, I kid!) We got through all the traffic caused by Bike Week, picked up our packets at the expo, and checked in at the hotel. Then we were starving so we headed out to eat. We ended up at PF Changs. We also ended up allowing ourselves one drink. I figured that went right along with my plan to just have fun. No shot of PRing means go ahead and have a drink!

Adrienne and Rachel.

Me and Brandy. Please ignore the fact that my jean jacket/scarf combo makes me look like a linebacker!

After dinner we headed back to the hotel and went to bed early. Sounds lame but we were expecting a 4:45am wake up call! My sweet tea vodka and Benadryl combo (and no baby monitor) made for a fabulous night of sleep and I felt ready to go early the next morning.

We made our way to the start in a sea of pink and tutus. It is a (mostly) women event and everybody was feeling free to embrace their inner girl. Except for me. I don't have a ton of pink running gear. Red is my go to color when I run/race. I figured I would grab my promised pink feather boa on the course and then I would fit right in.

Brandy and Rachel were aiming to run under 2 hours, so Adrienne and I (who were expecting to be about 30 minutes slower) cheered for them when the gun went off and watched them take off into the sea of pink tutus. I made Adrienne promise to leave me if I was holding her pack - she said ditto - and then I put on my head phones, turned up the volume on my top 40 play list and started running.

The course was good. Even though it was Myrtle Beach at the end of May the weather was a perfect 65 degrees and we spent most of our time running down shaded streets. My body - so used to high heat and humidity and a hot yoga room - felt like it had been given a gift. Running felt absolutely effortless. Adrienne pointed out that we were going a bit faster than she had planned - the 10 minute mile pacer was actually behind us - and I tried to pull back a bit. But I just couldn't.

Mentally I was having the best race I have ever had. People always act amazed when I say I have run 13.1 miles. The truth is, that it is not all that amazing. Anybody who is reasonably fit can do it. If you can run 3 miles, you can run 13. The deciding factor is always the mental game. Are you mentally tough enough to go that distance? I hate to say it, but a lot of the time I am not. I let anxiety about my stomach or the distance or my breathing get to me, and I convince myself I have to hold back. Or take a walk break. I tell myself that there is no way I can run that far. And once you let yourself back off - take that walk break or whatever - you are done. Sure, you'll finish. But not well - not strong.  On Sunday though, my mental outlook was different. Maybe it was the fact that I had taken all pressure off myself by deciding the race would just be for fun - who knows?!

One of my all time favorite books ever is Once A Runner by John L. Parker, Jr. It's kind of obscure unless you are a runner, and then you might have heard of it. The main character, Quenton Cassidy, is a perfect 'flawed hero' (my favorite literary figure) and I have read the book a million times. The action all builds until the end where Cassidy runs a race, attempting to go under 4 minutes in the mile. One of my favorite aspects of the book is the examination of the mental side of running. Cassidy explains about how he is prepared not just physically, but mentally. He descries an "orb" that hovers above him during the race. He talks about how, "The orb now floated gently in his mind, glistening, peaceful. hard as spun steel. It would hold all grief, all despair, all the race-woes of a body going to the edge; it would allow him to do what he had to do until there was nothing left."


That's how I felt on Sunday. Like I had decided to run for real, without holding back, and every worry, every concern, every pain, was being shoved up into the orb. Acknowledged and then pushed away - stored for later. I wasn't thinking, I was just running. I reached mile 6 - where I would usually panic about having to run 7 more miles - and it was fine. I felt good. It reminded me of Cassidy's description of his orb as it "...bobbed gently, taking it all in, retaining it, keeping it quiet inside the steely interior and allowing him to think. He concentrated on his task." We climbed a slight incline and I felt Adrienne fall off my shoulder. I looked at my watch. I was on pace to run 2 hours and 10 minutes. A time that I did not deserve based on my training but I was going to snatch the opportunity whether I deserved it or not.

I had just reached the 8 mile mark when I rounded a corner and felt a strong, sudden pain in my right knee. I had to stop - it had literally stolen my breathe away. I tried to start again but my leg had totally locked up. I knew what it was right away. My IT band was obviously inflamed, and I knew from experience that I was done. You can't stretch something like that out and have the pain go away. The repetitive motion of running - and walking - only makes it worse. Stopping is really the only cure for it. But my orb was still in tact  and I kept going. Running until I couldn't and then walking. Then doing it again. Adrienne caught up to me and tried to rally me. She was like, Let's run for a whole mile and not stop! We got this!  I tried, and ran until my leg literally collapsed under me and I waved her on. I spent the last 5 miles of the race run/walking and being slightly pissed as I watched my PR fall away.

In the last mile there were tons of people cheering and encouraging the runners as we made our way to the finish. My leg was in so much pain at that point that I decided to just run as fast as I could - which was not fast - to just be done with it. I started moving and that's when my orb burst, "...letting all the poison out..." and my emotions were let loose. I passed the race volunteers handing out the pink feather boas a half mile out from the finish line. Everyone else seemed carefree and celebratory, and I couldn't summon the energy to be that way so I passed by without grabbing one. I rounded the corner, saw the finish line, and finally crossed over it and stopped running. My tank felt completely empty. The clock read 2:28:xx.

I know what you're thinking. All that ridiculous intensity and work - all for the time you thought you were going to get in the first place. I know. Why didn't I just hang back, relax and run easy? I could have - it would have ended the same. But I am so glad I didn't. I may not have gotten a PR but I finally got to experience what it feels like to let everything go and focus on the run. To have the mental clarity and focus that I have always wanted to have during a race. If my knee had not locked up I have no doubt I would have run that race 20 minutes faster. I was in the zone. And I hope it's like riding a bicycle - once you get the feel for it, you always know how to do it. I hope that in the next race I run I will be able to recall what it feels like to put away all worries and distractions until the very end and then use them to fuel me across the line.

I found Brandy and Rachel and they excitedly told me they had finished just under 2 hours. I had known they would - they were ready. Adrienne had finished 5 minutes in front of me - a PR of 20 minutes for her! It was very fun to celebrate everyone's accomplishments together. We decided we needed Bike Week tshirts, a hot shower, and a Bloody Mary ( in that order!) and so we headed back to the car.

It was a great weekend. Good times with friends and lessons learned through running. (I don't know why I continue to be surprised by this. Running is the ultimate metaphor for life. I think that's why I continue to do it.) And if I ever forget those lessons... Well, I have a big, tacky, pink Diva medal to remind me :)

Noah's Weeklong Birthday Celebration

Yesterday Noah turned 6. His birthday is always an important day for me because it is the anniversary of the day that I became a mom. I can't believe it has been 6 years already! I love my oldest boy so much. Here we are together last night after a low key birthday celebration.

I say low key because his birthday celebrating is actually be dragged out over the course of a week. For his actual birthday yesterday, we shared dinner and cupcakes to celebrate with our small group from church. Liam especially was a big fan of the "cakecups". See....

Last Friday we had a celebration with friends up at the pool. I spent the whole week beforehand working on decorations for his Mario theme. I bit the bullet and found some ideas on Pinterest and made most of the stuff myself. Of course,  on the day of the party our sunshine and high temperatures disappeared and were replaced with wind and the threat of rain. The wind made hanging all my tissue paper puff balls a bit of a pain in the behind....

It also kept knocking over all the decorations I had made for the food table.

I had a bit of a mini-stroke about it while Wes looked on helplessly... And then I had to pull up my big girl pants and get over it. I can't control the weather. 

Turns out I shouldn't have stressed too much. Noah's friends showed up and they all jumped in the water. The rain held off long enough for the kids to decide that the water was freezing and they should just play on the playground instead.

Thanks goodness for the neighborhood playground! After the kids put on dry clothes, their blue lips disappeared and they enjoyed running around like crazy people.

Pretty soon it was time for pizza and cake.

Here is a picture of us singing to Noah. We had to pretend he had candles to blow out because the wind would not allow us to even get them lit! Thankfully he thought it was funny and did a fabulous job of blowing out his fake candles.

After cake we endured the present opening frenzy, then some more playground, and before we knew it, the celebration was over!

Despite the weather I think a good time was had by all - even the adults!

Most importantly, Noah really enjoyed it. And now he is counting down the days until Saturday when we will celebrate for the third time with my side of the family. 

Noah and Liam

There are so many things I should be doing right now. Washing (and then folding and then putting away) 4 loads of laundry. Washing the pile of dishes (from last night) that rest on my counter. Sweeping my floors. Oh, and moving the couch to vacuum underneath it because I may or may not have identified a piece of petrified banana underneath it last night when I was picking up toys.

But I just have to take a second to talk about my boys.

Please observe the above self portrait. Taken with my phone - that they dug out of my purse - while I ordered food at Moe's one night. I found it while going through my pictures the other day. This picture epitomizes my life right now. While they have always been buddies, those two have become quite close lately. In a kind of sneaky, up to no good, gang up on our parents kind of way. I love it.

The wrestling in our house has escalated to new levels. (So have the amount of times that Liam ends up hurting Noah but that is beside the point.) They are such brothers these days that if I need Liam to do something and he won't I just get Noah to ask him. And he does it - just like that! They hold hands wherever they go and they even want to sleep in the same bed together. (I quickly overruled this, as two boys in one twin bed does not make for a successful night of sleep.)

I think this new found closeness is a result of Liam getting just a bit older. He is better able to understand and play games and have real conversations with Noah. He shouts "Look Woah!" about a million times a day. And they even joke around with each other. For instance, the other night at dinner I witnessed the following.

Me: (after hearing the unmistakable sound of Liam passing gas) "Liam! Did you toot?"

Liam: (grinning mischievously) "No."

Me: "Liam, I think you tooted."

Liam: (using a Beevis and Butthead laugh) "Haha. Woah tooted!"

Noah pretended to be offended and then they both dissolved into hysterical giggles. I just shook my head. We are in for a crazy next few years!

And then this morning, Noah got ready to leave for school. As he was gathering up his back pack and lunch box Liam came tearing into the room screaming, "Woah, me too!" Still wearing his pajamas, he had gone and put on his shoes and his own back pack. Just like Noah. And he followed Wes and Noah out on the porch and watched them pull away in the car.

He wanted to go with his big brother so badly - it kind of broke my heart. It is more than just toots and wrestling matches. They really are best buddies, and it so very sweet to watch.

Derby Fun

Several weeks ago our friends Brandy and Joe invited us to their annual Kentucky Derby party. Normally we would have spent Cinco de Mayo with margaritas and guacamole, but this year celebrating the 138th Run for the Roses seemed way more fun. Especially because it meant we all got to dress up in pretty dresses and fancy hats!

(A side note: After I bought my hat and showed it to Noah he said, "Ha! Your hat looks like a sombrero Mama!" I started to be offended, but then figured that a Derby hat that could double as a sombrero was the perfect solution for a Derby party on May 5th.)

Saturday evening we headed over to the party and were meant with roses, plenty of mint juleps and lots of friends looking really cute.

With drinks in hand, we all threw in our cash for our bets and headed in to watch the race. (We drew our horses out of a hat and I was very excited to get one of the favorites, Bodemeister.) We all gathered and cheered like crazy for our horses.

I was very excited to see my horse lead the pack for most of the race, but as they turned down the home stretch I was nervous. Front runners never win - and I was right. A horse came out of nowhere and stole the lead at the last second. Turns out it was Lisa's horse (appropriately named I'll Have Another) and I cursed her, and then laughed thinking it was meant to be that she won with that horse! (We'll get you next year Davis family - perhaps with a horse named I Love Wine!) I took second though and ended up with $30 so it worked out okay in the end!

After that we gorged ourselves on a feast of southern food and desserts and spent the evening hanging out and laughing. All in all, a very good time. I am counting on it becoming a Carolina Bay tradition.

Liam At 2 Years Old

Where do I even start?!

Okay, how about with the easy stuff. At his 2 year check up Liam did great! Weighed in at 26 pounds (40th percentile) and his height was...well, I forget to be honest but I do remember he was 19th percentile.  No shots, one finger prick without tears, and a band-aid later and we were done!

(A funny story... At his appointment Liam had been playing with some angry birds toys and when we went to leave I realized he had somehow managed to lose one. I mean, how do you lose a toy in a tiny exam room?! His doc was sweet and helped me look but we couldn't find it. Cut to 2 weeks later, at my nephews newborn appointment, and our doctor walks in with the angry bird! He gave it to my brother-in-law and asked him to return it to Liam. How cute is that?!)

Okay, now for the rest of it. How to sum up Liam....?

When he was born I thought he was going to be so laid back and chill. But if the last year has taught me anything, it is that I was completely wrong about that. There is nothing that Liam does that isn't touched by drama. If he is happy, he is REALLY happy. And if he is mad, he is REALLY mad. There is no restraining his emotions. (Yes Wes, I know where it comes from...blah, blah. Everyone is aware that emoting that strongly is not a Shealy trait!) But as exhausting as his behavior can be at times, I wouldn't change him for the world. He is so Liam and I love it!

He is also obsessed with his older brother. He wakes up calling for "Woah" (and "wass-uls" - waffles- but that is beside the point) and doesn't stop all day long. When Noah leaves for school Liam is in despair, and when he comes home in the afternoon Liam is ecstatic. Because Noah loves Mario Brothers and Angry Birds, so does Liam. If Noah decided to parade around our neighborhood butt naked with a bucket on his head... so would Liam! When he is upset, it is Noah that he goes to for comfort and a hug. And the other day it was Noah who got the child who never stops moving to fall asleep in his lap.

Liam is talking a lot but it is not nearly as clear as the way Noah talked at the same age. Sometimes I am the only one who is able to translate. Of course, that doesn't stop him from emphatically telling people his opinion on everything - whether they understand it or not.

Some of my favorite words that he mangles are our friends and family's names. A few examples:

     Hannah and Connor =  Hann-o  and Conny
     Mrs. Lisa = Sisa
     Jack and Joey = Jack and Jo-gy
     Noah = Woah
     Ms. Frances = Fran-cins


Liam is also a lot more adventurous than Noah was. He loves to climb things and jump off of things and generally see how many gray hairs he can give his parents. (All in the name of trying to keep up with his big brother I imagine.)

Life with Liam is never dull, that's for sure! But he is such an important part of our family. He is a great brother to Noah, and he brings Wes and I so much joy and laughter. I am very excited to see the person that he grows up to be. (And if that happens to be a professional stunt man than I will not be surprised!)