We need a bubble

E is finally feeling a bit better. A second trip to the ER resulted in a CT scan to look for bleeding. It was negative. He is scheduled for a MRI soon to check for tension headaches. If it is a tension headache he will need a waiver to fly and that could take months. Right now it feels like a sinus infection. If it turns out this was a horrible sinus infection than he can fly as soon as the pressure is gone. I am hoping for sinus infection. He is med down for flying, but luckily can still do his sims and classes so he isn't falling too far behind.

Poor Meeghan is having some difficulties lately. She is cranky. At first I thought it was teething, but now I know she had a side effect from her chicken pox vaccine. I figured it was coming because Hannah had it as well. My girls are one of the few to have the rare side effect of a rash all over the body. Thankfully it looks better today than yesterday, but I know she can't be comfortable. Plus she is waking during the night to eat. I will be happy when this phase passes. I miss sleeping.

Second child

I feel like I have let down Meeghan. I started making photobooks every year for Hannah, and I was always on top of it. I have made them for each move as well. I started Meeghan's shortly after she was born, and that is it. She turned 1 a month and a half ago, and I haven't updated her book. I feel horrible. I know that she has no clue, and she won't know that I didn't finish it the moment she turned 1. I told myself that I wouldn't slip up with the second kid. I would do the same stuff in the same time frame as the first, but it isn't happening. I feel lazier with the second. Or more relaxed. Either way, I wish this mom guilt would go away. I am going to attempt to work on it this week so it will be finished. Am I the only one struggling with the second child syndrome?

5 weeks to go

After 3 visits to the doctor, and a trip to the ER, it appears E is slowly recovering from his virus. Although I am not completely convinced it was just a stomach virus. He is sleeping a lot, and he still has a headache. I guess the virus on top of running/waling a marathon is too much for a body.

Now that E's marathon is finished, I can focus on my race. I am so freaking ready for this thing. I have completed a 12.5 mile training run, and I felt strong when I finished. I have 14 scheduled for this weekend. For some reason 14 seems so intimidating. I don't know if it is because it is longer than the race or what, but I am ready to tackle it. This run is my last long run on the training program, but I am 3 weeks ahead of the program so I am not sure what to do. I am supposed to run the 14 miles 2 weeks before the half. I am torn on just running a mid-distance run 2 weeks before and then taper, or if I should add another mile and shoot for 15. I don't want to over train and injure myself, but at the same time I want to know if I can run that far (especially since I am considering Dopey next year). I am terrified that I will spend all this time training, and money, only to be injured.  

WDW Marathon recap

I think that picture pretty much sums up the weekend.  E ran his first marathon Sunday, and while he finished, it did not go the way he wanted. He was worried about his knee. He had a headache on Saturday that wouldn't go away. He left half his breakfast in the hotel room Sunday morning. You can see the pattern here. The plan was for me to allow the girls to wake up at their normal time, and I would meet him around the 16 mile mark. Well, Meeghan decided that she needed to scream and cry at 4 in the morning. I tried to rush her out of the room before she woke Hannah, but I was too slow. I figured since both girls were awake we would hit the road and meet him sooner. The buses stop running to the start/finish line between 5 and 7 so the runners can get out of Epcot. I threw on clothes, grabbed some food, and we jumped on a bus shortly before 5. We were able to get to mile 4 right as the race started so we saw all the elite runners and the wheelchair competitors.  Those elite runners are fast! I was tired just watching them for those few yards I could see. I started to regret dragging out the girls because they both melted down on me. We only had to wait an hour to see him since his corral didn't start until 5:45. He actually heard me yelling so I considered it a successful trip. You can sign up to track your runner. It gives 5, 10, half, and 20 mile splits. His 5 mile split looked good so I was hopeful about the knee. His 10 mile split showed he was running at my pace so I knew things weren't good. At the half split, I knew his knee was finished. He sent a text saying he couldn't run anymore and it was going to be a long 13 miles. I found out later not only was his knee bothering him, but he had the dreaded poops. His knee started hurting because he made so many bathroom stops. My guess is he hadn't stopped so much the knee may have lasted longer. The girls and I met him close to the finish line. He was not looking good, but he was able to hobble/jog across the finish line. His time was 5:53 which was about 2 hours off his projected time while training. All his training runs had him crossing around 4 hours. He was bummed it was 2 hours off, but considering everything that went wrong the fact that he finished was all he could ask for.

Hobbling/jogging towards the finish

After he made it back to the hotel, he felt sick. He started vomiting and couldn't stop. We both thought it was dehydration and exhaustion so I left him to sleep while I took the girls out to the parks. He felt a bit better after the nap. The next day we planned to go to the Magic Kingdom for half the day before driving home. We didn't make it out of the parking lot before he started vomiting again. And he didn't stop until evening. He was able to see a doctor and it was diagnosed as a stomach virus that was going around. He was very dehydrated to the point they couldn't even stick his vein to run an IV. He came home to sleep and push fluids if possible. Last night he was able to eat and drink without vomiting, and same with today. However his head still hurts. The only position that doesn't bother his head is lying down. If he stands up, the pain is intense. After googling, he thinks it may be meningitis. If his head still hurts tomorrow, he is going to request to be tested for it.

He isn't sure if he will run a Disney marathon again because of the bad memories associated with it. He loved the course, and the atmosphere, but hated how he felt during it. He wants another shot at a marathon and hopefully next fall he can run one. 

Now after all that (thank you if have read this far) from my point of view, I loved it. I thought the atmosphere was awesome, the entertainment I encountered was great, and the people were amazing. I met so many nice people when I was out mile hopping. There were great signs and great costumes. I saw one guy juggling while running. That is hardcore. I saw a marriage proposal near the finish line. I loved watching all the people running by, and cheering with everyone. Even Hannah was giving some "woohoos" while waiting. I really need to get out to the local races to cheer (or to run). It is so much fun! 

Finally, here is where I say something I may regret later. I want to run the Dopey challenge in 2015. I still have absolutely no desire to run a marathon, but watching all the Dopey participants (and seeing all the medals), I wanted to be a part of it. I may be swept  up in the fun of it and the feeling will go away soon.Who knows? However, I have a few months to decide if I really want to do it.

It is hard to resist the running bling

Weekend fun

This weekend E will participate in his first marathon at Walt Disney World. He signed up on a whim which led to me signing up for the Princess Half Marathon. I am pretty excited to get to Orlando tomorrow to experience Disney during a race weekend. They have started a Dopey challenge this year which is running the 5K, 10K, half, and marathon. I think it sounds crazy, but people seem to enjoy it. Hannah and I made signs today to hold up during the race to cheer on the runners. Hannah loves cheering on people during a race. I made a sign for Meeghan that I will tape to the stroller. The only downer to all of this is E developed runner's knee a few weeks ago. The Saturday before Christmas he was scheduled to do a training run of 26 miles. He made it 18 before he had to stop. Since then he has only done a few runs of 2 miles or less, and the knee has bothered him. He is determined to make it even if he has to walk. It is a 16 minute/mile required pace. He is starting in the 5th corral out of 13 or 14 corrals so he shouldn't be swept. His plan is to run until he can't take the pain and then walk as fast as possible. I hope he has rested it enough that he can run most of it without a problem. If all goes well, he wants to the Dopey challenge next year. I told him I would run everything except the marathon with him. If he isn't deployed, we may do it.

I didn't disappear

I took a long Christmas hiatus. I was pretty busy while in KC, and it seems like I have been playing catch up since we have been home. To sum up, my Christmas was pretty good. It was fricking freezing in Kansas City. When we left Jacksonville it was in the 60s and a bit cloudy. When we landed it was 3 degrees. 3! It was so frigid. There was snow on the ground and Hannah was excited. I had no winter stuff for her except a heavy coat. Thank goodness my sister-in-law kept all her kids' gloves and hats. Hannah borrowed some so she could play in the snow. She loved it! I had to drag her inside because she refused to stop playing. I felt bad she didn't get to play for very long, but I think it was only 12 degrees and I didn't want her to freeze. Meeghan hated the snow. She is definitely a southern baby. The girls had a great time seeing family, and E and I were able to have a few dates which is rare. Meeghan even went to her first movie with my sister-in-law. I haven't looked at the pictures from vacation, but hopefully I can share some once I do. (I feel like the worst parent since I haven't looked at the pictures yet.)