The Hippie Mom I never thought I'd be

World Breast Feeding Week starts tomorrow!



What better time for this post?

I have been wanting to write about a secret life I live:  one that only a handful of people know about, one I keep secret, and one that I feel embarrassed about even though I know it is perfectly human, normal and deep down I feel it is right.

BLAINE IS STILL BREASTFEEDING.

Some days I am overrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr it.  Some days I am not.  One thing is for sure: he is not over it.  I tell him he is getting big and that big boys don't need it.  He says he needs it and it is yummy. "I want boobies when I'm old".  Oh boy, gotta laugh out of that!   He will cry if you say "no".   Saying "no" to a kid who is doing something bad I can do but saying "no" to a kid who only wants his mommy's comfort is impossible.   I don't weaning to be 100% my decision and a decision that causes him tears.

I have read that if weaning is 100% child-led, it happens between 2.5 and 5 years.  So it is perfectly average what we are doing.  Even though it seems that 100% of society feels 3 is waaaay too old to be nursing.  To the point that I often try to keep it a secret.   I like reading blogs about other kids who are extended nursing but know I could never nurse through a pregnancy / do tandem nursing.  That will be my cutoff for good if / when I get pregnant again [trying October 2014].   Maybe just maybe he will wean himself before then!

I definitely believe the benefits Blaine gets from nursing are still continuing but more importantly, the chances of breast cancer decrease 4% with each year of nursing.  Considering I feel I have a 100% chance of breast cancer,  I need to go quite a few more years.  ;)

I still don't consider myself a hippie mom!

Headwaters Adventure Race 2013

This was our third year that we signed up to do the Headwaters Adventure Race.  The course consists of a 2 mile run, 10 mile bike, and 5 mile canoe / kayak.   The week of the race, the small creek in our front yard looked something like this:

So I was not surprised when we got an email saying that the paddling portion of the race was going to be cancelled.  Rivers all around northeast Ohio were setting records for flow and many were at flood stage.

The kayak section is always my strength and where I do all my passing.  I knew I would have to step up my game in the run and bike.   As soon as we pulled in I saw my inspiration and competition, the mother to an Olympian, but most importantly the lady who wins this race every year.  She sat out last year and subsequently I won the race!  Let's call her RF.  She was getting out her bike and tutoring another girl (let's call her Miami) on how to use her spare bike.  That girl looked fast as well.   Yikes!  Competition for sure!   

After the run, I was the 3rd girl, behind RF and Miami.   Hoped on my bike and headed to the first hill of death.  I passed up RF on the hill of death and kept pedaling like mad expecting her to pass me up again.  She never did!   However on mile 8, "muscles" girl comes from nowhere and passes me on a DOWNHILL and I just could not catch back up.  So I ended 3rd overall.  My bike was 4 minutes faster than last year so I was very happy with my performance.  Miami won with a 45:51.  Turns out she is on the cross country team at Miami University (division 1 college) and "muscles" got 2nd with a 46:07.  Not that I google stalk people, but she has her PhD in Performance and Exercise Science, looks like a body builder, and is in the University of New Hampshire Athletic Hall of Fame for gymnastics.  WOWSA!  I had a 46:16.   It was very very solid competition!  

I called my mom to tell her I got 3rd and she said, "Well I guess you should start running more".  

Ha!  Always room for improvement! ;)

500

My 500th blog post! Life has sure changed since 2008 when I started this blog. Can't hardly even remember what it was like back then. The FREEDOM (!!), the TIME (!!), but the lack of a toddler made life a lot more empty than it is now. On to 500 more!

The big 3.0

Nick turned the big 3-0 this year and Blaine turned the big 3.0 yesterday!  We celebrated by going swimming at my friend's pool and then going swimming again here at home.  My parents came over for dinner and we inflated a borrowed bounce house from a friend [THANKS!]. Blaine was pretty much in toddler heaven.   

Blaine is turning into such a funny, stubborn, hardworking, adorable young boy.  When there is a job to do, whether it be hammering, chain sawing, or picking up sticks, he declares it is "his job" and we cannot do it.  Super funny.  I can't believe it but he can actually hammer in a real nail that is started.

Blaine is awesome at knowledge of farm equipment and tools but still refuses to learn numbers and letters despite my best efforts.  He calls 4-wheelers "three wheelers" even though we count  ONE-TWO-THREE-FOUR WHEELS hundreds of times.  Stubborn little thing!

Speaking of his stubborn streak, getting him to smile for a photo is equally challenging.  I failed the challenge yesterday!

 

I will not cooperate. You cannot make me.

Tomorrow we party with friends and family at the new house! Praying the rain holds off!

Fat Man's Relay

Back in my high school track days, at the end of a meet, sometimes they would hold a "Fat Man's Relay".  The shot and disc throwers would do a 4 x 100 relay providing amusement for both themselves and the rest of the onlookers.  Fun times.

Saturday I got the following advertisement for a 9 mile road race.  Does anything seem off to you?

First of all, I don't many road races, but I have definitely not seen any that have a category for "power runners".  What came to mind for me was the Fat Man's Relay and that a "power runner" is just code for "fat people trying to run".

Secondly,  I WOULD FRICKIN BE A FAT RUNNER?!    Not to give away my exact height and weight, I am above 145 most days.   Here is what seems MAJORLY WRONG with this scenario:

The average American male is 5'10'' and if he is 200 lbs [the weight cutoff for "power runner" males, not seen in picture], his body mass index is 28.7.  That qualifies him as overweight.

The average American female is 5'4.5'' and if she weighs 145 lbs, her BMI is 24.5 putting her in the "normal" range.

HMMMM.   I almost want to go do this race now just to see if they put us fatties on the scales and then to give them a piece of my mind.  

Any runners out there?  Thoughts or opinions on this?