The Good Stuff

After some pretty rough times with my little guy and his attitudes, I thought it might be good if I wrote down some of the good times so I can remember them..the next time we're having a rough day.. So yesterday was the first full day in a while (that I can remember) that we didn't have any fits, no time outs, and Mason genuinely listened and did what was asked of him all day.. And he was proud of it! He was excited to tell his dad about what a good boy he was for his mommy. It felt good! For all of us, I think.. On Saturday, I was heading out for my last bit of coaching for the steelhead tri team.. It was going to be a shorter workout, so I planned to join in for most, if not all of it.. But some last minute changes with Matt's work schedule left us both working and no one to hang out with Mason. After our few babysitting options were contacted, with no one free for such a last minute thing, one of us was going to need to take him with us while we worked.. Matt's work for the day involved a lot of driving, which would have been boring for Mason, and tough to maneuver with a child's seat and all, so that left me. We changed out my bike, which was loaded up in the car, from my tri bike to the mt bike, and loaded up the trailer and that was the plan. Mason was actually really excited about this.. He loves riding in the trailer these days, and also likes to "go where ever you go" with me, so he thought coming to help coach was an important thing and a big deal, which, of coarse made having to bring him along much easier.. Not to mention that we were heading out the door around 6am.. But with snacks and toys and the bike trailer, he was a happy guy. Now, usually when we ride, it's pretty short.. Probably a half hr at most.. But for coaching, we rode with the team for an hr (don't worry, they aren't that slow and I wasn't that fast..they did some hill repeats and intervals while I either caught up or circled around with them) and then had to ride the 5k while they ran. After the hr ride, Mason was ready to be done, but he rallied and did great.. Then he was even looking forward to helping me load the bike and trailer back in the car.. Which was tough to do and required some helping hands, but Mason was patient and helpful the whole time. As if that wasn't enough, I then had to give a nutrition talk to another TNT tri group! Luckily one of the gals on the team offered to stick around and entertain him while I talked, but again, he did really well. Even listened to me when it was time to leave the park, which we visited as reward for his helpful behavior that morning after I was all done with my stuff for the day. It was a really great morning. I even had asked him after he got tired of riding if maybe next time he wouldn't want to come coach with mommy, but he just smiled and said "I'm going to coach with you every time". What a trooper! One more thing and then I'll be done with this gushy mommy love-fest (if you can't tell, I really, really needed these good times.. I was starting to wonder where the hell I had gone wrong and could I really do this again?!) Last Thursday, we had planned to go to the pool. We did our usual routine of mom swimming laps while Mason went to the playroom (child watch), then we go to get subway sandwiches for our 'picnic', then back to the pool to be there right when it opens to get the most out of pool time before we have to head home to get naps. It was a cloudy, kinda chilly day, so we were the ONLY ones playing in the pool?! Other than a few campers and some of the older 'pool walker' gals that were still around from the morning.. But mostly it was just us..and we had a great time. We played, then had our picnic, where Mason kept showering me with snuggles and 'I love you''s. It was just a really nice mom/son play day.. And I want to remember those times, rather than the times where I wonder what happened to my sweet little guy. It's easy to focus on the negatives some times.. As for 'training'..it's getting less and less these days, though I still squeak out a decent workout here and there. Sunday, after my long, hilly mt bike trailer ride from saturday, I did a run/park crossfit workout that I felt pretty good about. It was roughly (I don't wear a garmin or anything to measure distances, but I've been running in my 'hood for long enough, I have a pretty good idea of how far to go) running 1200/1000/800/600 with step ups and push ups between each run (1st set was 10 of each, then 20,30,40) and then a run home to cool down. Not too much, but it felt like a decent workout. Yesterday was a 'gym rat' day with some elliptical, wts and a little stationary bike to finish it all off. Today was another run/crossfit workout.. Then I was going to swim, but Mason wanted to run..and I didn't feel totally motivated to drive over to the gym to swim on this cloudy, kinda dreary day.. So run again, it was! Running is a very relative term at this point..especially when I'm pushing the stroller..but we're out there! Gettin it done.. Or something like that. I must admit, if I'm being honest, that it seems like my motivation for working out is down a bit this week. The mornings are officially dark again..and running and biking inside is not much fun for me these days (hurts more than the outdoor version)..and I'm more tired this week.. I'll take it as my body's cue to start chilling things down a bit, maybe do some nesting and start really getting ready for the new arrival..and what I'm sure is going to be a huge change for all of us.. So I'd better rest up some and get ready for this!