Halloween Festivities

 

Well, the pictures didn't upload in any kind of order but Halloween was great this year!! Cy wore his adorable Pirate costume to school all day and they had a fun filled day with ghosts, goblins, and pumpkins!! After I picked him up from school, we went to my parent's new place to do Cy's first official "trick or treat". It was so cute!! He kept trying to eat every piece of candy that went into his bag:) We got home about 5:30 and then had to wait for Brad to get home from work before we could go trick or treating as a family. We spent about an hour walking through the neighborhood and had the most wonderful time meeting all the neighbors. The majority of them are quite old and have been here for some time so it's a joy for them to see young kids and a joy for us to see them:) The neighborhood is slowly turning around and young families are moving in so it is such a nice mix. We headed back home at about 7:30 to do bath and bed since we had school the next day. It was a wonderful celebration of a holiday and a great intro to the continuous holidays to come!!!

Hurricane Party

Cy & I were enjoying a mean game of Cars Match & Motor Speedway. This is a whole new kind of "hurricane party" ;) And, he totally won!!

Leaves a "Fall"in!!

Brad and Cy created a massive leaf fort this afternoon. We have a HUGE maple in our front yard and the leaves are gorgeous!! They played out there for hours. I got in on the action for a bit but I have a very short attention span and had to move on to other things, didn't bother them a bit:)

Date Night

Date night with my main squeeze. It was so nice to get out just the two of us. We were commenting tonight on how we need to do this more, like weekly now that we have 4 grandparents in town. We went down to Champs for a few drinks and some really greasy cheesy chips...yummy at the time, after, not so much. It was so nice to catch up and chat with each other. Date night is being implemented as of now!

Mama's Got A New Pair of Shoes!!

I had to get a new pair of running shoes today, I couldn't wait any longer. I've never been diligent about replacing my shoes every 3 - 4 months like you are supposed to so I can't tell you how long I've had these. I know I got them at some point after the Half Ironman last September but not sure how long after. My foot has been bothering me quite a bit and after inspecting the sole of my running shoes, I can see why. I've worn them out. So, I found a new pair of Asics today. I usually run in Saucony and have for years but know that I did run in Asics in high school so thought it would be nice to switch it up. Apparently, this particular kind supports high arches and offers a stiff insole, so we shall see if it makes a difference.

Sparking that Creative Energy

Cy decided he wanted to make his grandparents some kind of artwork today which I thought was a great idea. I had seen these cute turkey projects on Pinterest that I pinned to do with him at some point, and although Halloween hasn't actually arrived yet, we decided to hunt some beautiful fall leaves and make a cute turkey out of them. It was actually really fun. I don't have a creative bone in my body. I am more of a concrete thinker, always have been so I can't just sit down and create something or draw something or whatever, so thank God for all those moms out there who are good at this kind of thing and post their ideas to Pinterest.

We made two turkeys, one for Nana & Pap and one for Ji Ji and Pop. We hand delivered them to both today before nap, along side some delicious Oatmeal Sunflower Butter and Banana bars, which are delicious by the way.

Cy also brought home this adorable pumpkin he made at school last week which is now decorating our fridge:) 

Batten Down The Hatches, Again

Well, we're in for another one. Hurricane Sandy is barreling her way towards us today and is expected to hit Richmond a little later this afternoon (hoping to get a run in quickly before she arrives). Here is the thing about Richmond, we're just not set up for storms. All electrical wires are above ground and there are tons of old growth trees lining every street. Last August, we were without power for SEVEN days....yes. And, it's predicted to happen again this year. Hopefully it won't be for so long this time. Last year we had a gas stove so at least we could still cook...not this year. We have an electric stove and oven so we're out of luck. Brad leaves for Texas on Thursday so he may be getting out of the brunt of it...we'll see. Stay tuned!

My New Skort

I gave in and purchased a running skort the other day. I feel somewhat hypocritical because when they first became popular I was adamantly against them. I felt that when I am running/racing, I don't need to be "cute" because I am an athlete. However, that was a long time ago and I am feeling like there is a nice balance between being "cute" and being a beast:) So, I am giving this one a try. I have to admit, I did feel silly running in it this weekend with the little skirt bouncing around and everything but it is stinkin' cute and it is SO comfy. I may just have to get another one:)

The First Supper

The First Supper:) Mom and Dad came over after going to see Thoroughly Modern Millie this evening. It was so great to have them just swing by for dinner:)  I am really going to enjoy having them so close, and so is Cy:)

Thoroughly Modern Millie

Brad and I got tickets to the musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie. I was excited because he will rarely go with me to the theater, who knows why because I love it SO much. This particular musical was put on by students at Collegiate and was phenomenal. I think back to Drama with Mr. Witt at Naples High and can't even run a comparison. Collegiate's performances as so professional and the students are SO talented. I am certain there is so much developed talent because of the socio-economic status of these kids and their families in that they have all been taking singing/dancing lessons since they were born and it definitely shows. This production knocked my socks off. I LOVED it, and so did Brad. Maybe I can get him to come to some of our upcoming shows when I go with my little play buddies?! :)

The Parents Have Arrived!

Well, it is official. My parents have arrived and are officially Virginians! It was a whirlwind of a journey for them over the past 6 weeks but they have done a phenomenal job! They sold their home in Florida in literally 1 hour. They put it on the market at 9AM and had a cash offer (asking price) by 10AM. They sold all their excess furniture that they wouldn't need up here; Dad sold his awesome golf cart; they had a garage sale and made almost $5000 (seriously); and the moving company actually showed up on Wednesday, almost on time, and they got on the road. They drove to Jacksonville on Wednesday and stayed the night, Lumbin (?) NC on Thursday and stayed the night, and came on through on Friday. Cy and I went over after school to help unload the trailer before the actual truck arrived. They certainly have a lot of stuff but they have done a great job pairing down and minimizing. I know mom is feeling pretty overwhelmed with all of it right now but it will only take her a few days to get it all unpacked and organized.  Their place is cute, it's pretty small, but big enough for them for the year while they look to buy something in the area.

Not Again?!

I believe that I am getting ANOTHER stress fracture in my foot...the left foot this time. I have had 2 stress fractures previously in my right foot (both times) during two attempts at full marathon training. I haven't been running that much recently which is what is so frustrating and concerning to me. I have been logging some longer runs on Saturdays this month because the weather has been so wonderful and it's felt so good! I went for a run yesterday and was about 6 miles in when I felt the familiar ache that started making it's way across the top of my foot and down the bones to my big toe. Per the doctor, I have extremely high arches and each time my foot touches the ground, the top of my foot flexes and the bones on top in turn flex as well. They are not supposed to move and the constant flexing causes them to crack and fracture over time. I think the problem is that my shoes have too many miles on them and my Super Feet molded inserts have worn out. I got them about 7 years ago and didn't think that they would wear out but according to my cousin, Laurie, they will. So, I told Brad that is what i would like for Christmas this year, new shoes and new inserts...you know you are getting old when you want shoe inserts for Christmas!

The Big '3'

Cy's party was a blast this year! I told myself I wasn't going to go overboard again (we had SO much left over last year) and I really didn't intend to but I couldn't help myself:) It was so fun! We had a train theme this year, not Thomas, just a simple train and I loved it. I found the matching paper products on Etsy, made a cute shirt for him with a train on the front and the #3 on the back. I combined the food and dessert tables this year into one, which worked out really well. The menu included Multigrain chips with a peach/mango salsa, a TON of peanut m&ms (my personal favorite), giant chocolate cupcakes (yum), carrots/celery with spinach artichoke dip, pretzel rods, strawberries & raspberries, Cheezit/Goldfish mix, pizza balls, and my own pizza bread recipe with a bruchetta dip. For the cake, I found this great design on parents.com magazine which helped me figure out how to make the multi-car 3D train. I was delicious and COVERED in different types of candies (which now we have as leftovers in the pantry - booo)
A few of Cy's friends from school had to cancel last minute because they had come down with a case of Hand Foot Mouth, thankfully finding it before coming here!! So, I was bummed about that but he still had his besties, George & Emma, Watson, and Michael Westley. The 4 of them had a wonderful time playing together and so did the adults. Creighton and Alison, Gardner & Stinson, Vlastik, Rebecca & Michael, Tim, Charlie, Bill & Amy, Rip, Baba & Laurie made it over to celebrate the little man and it was a blast. It was a beautiful day so we spent the majority of the time out front playing games, eating and drinking. It was the perfect day for all of us!!

Laurie, having a little hammock nap before the party began

The balloons that we couldn't get to float, it was SO windy

Favors

Already digging in:)

The Mundys

Little Man & Big C

Michael Westley was very excited about Cy's new Train Table

Rebecca & Chris

Baba & Laurie

Our Besties:)

Cy is so lucky to have so many people in his life that simply adore him, young and old:)

Of course, there needs to be drinking games at a 3 year old's party:)

Tim & Rip giving Cy some birthday lovin'

Working on the '3' fingers:)

Here comes the cake!!

He was So excited!

Love birds;)

Emma loves the big swing

The Hottmans

Train Conductor hat favors

Love these children:)

Mama Alison

the Sutherin ladies;)

Brad and his love bird:)