Road Trip!!!
I remember when we were kids driving from Western NY to Myrtle Beach during spring break.  This was when seat belts in the back seat was a "guideline."  My mom would make the way back (of our Plymouth Voyager) into a bed.  It was a highly coveted spot.  Usually 2 out of the 3 of us sat back there.  My mom packed bags and towels into where out feet would usually be.  Then more towels and sleeping bags to fashion the "bed."  This was also before dvd players in the car and even cd players.  As we got older and luckier, we MIGHT each have our own WALKMAN!  We still played the license plate game and we ate a bunch of candy.  And that was it....that is how we survived....until we got to South of the Border and we knew we were nearly there!  Fast forward to the present.  Not only are their portable dvd players, most cars have them built in.  My kids don't really have the concept of traveling hours (just that anything over ONE is WAY too long).  They do understand, "We will be there in 3 movies!" Snack time is approximately every 15 minutes.  Liquids are handed out sparingly.  Along with a case of movies, we have iPods, DS, an iPad, a kindle, oh and if Josh and I are lucky there is a small lapse of silence when we can listen to music :)  With these survival tools, we will reach our destination. 

 Max on the DS and the girls watching a movie.  Josh was in charge of these pictures as I was driving...as a result of my navigator taking pictures, I missed my exit!

Happy travels

xo~M

Becoming Zen....

6/24/12

This one is about me.  I know- right?  It is a little lengthy, but bear with me. I have always loved sports and physical activity.  I started dancing at age 3.  I danced for ten years then entered middle school and started organized sports. I tried out for softball but didn't make it.  Realizing I could be fast, I began running in 7th grade on our middle school track team.  Except for a a season I lost due to bronchitis I continued running all through my senior year of college.  I love to run.  I "was" a sprinter.  Only doing mileage for cross training.  After graduating college, I started running 5Ks.  That was pretty fun.  I could still incorporate some speed into that. I loved running through Central Park when we lived in NYC.  I loved running in the Chicago suburbs.  After moving back to Buffalo, I continued running - through the streets and in the parks.  I ran the Corporate Challenges, the Susan B. Komen 5Ks, Mississippi Muds 5 K (BEST after race food EVER!), Subaru 4 miler (ooo....4 miles!) and my first ever Turkey Trot. There were others stuck in there, but those were my favorites.  In running, I found my happy place.  Relaxation after a day of work or just a day....Josh and I ran together until we realized the jogger stroller was NOT Keelin's favorite place to be.  So we began running separately. 
Fast forward a few years....I began training for a half marathon....gulp....a far cry from my favorite race, the 400m.  Luckily, I had 2 great training partners, Carrie & Jo.  Carrie and I trained through the week and met up with Jo on the weekends for our long runs.  I NEVER thought I could run a half.  The girl who had never run more than 6 miles.  (I did the Peachtree Roadrace ONCE-holy hot) Carrie and Jo assured me, once I hit 7...once I hit 8....once I hit 9....and pushed past I could do it.   Each mile mark after 6 miles was a personal victory for me.  I did complete the half and then started training for another one.  The day before my 2nd half, I was diagnosed with a pretty severe case of strep throat.  When I first came in the Dr suggested maybe keeping it easy on the half, by the end of the appointment, he strongly advised I not run :(  All that work and I could not even race:(  I definately caught a little distance bug though.  Carrie and Jo were talking about doing a full.  I could do that!!!! Unfortunately, the one half I ran was my last.  I was diagnosed with a ruptured disc and went through 18 months of PT and cortisone injections before going through surgery.  After the surgery I was told no distances greater than a 10K and no biking.  Pretty depressing.  I had always relied on running to create my feelings of relaxation....my zen.  I had to find something else.  A friend recommended yoga.  My mom recommended yoga.  Yoga...blech....so slow, so boring, a snooze-fest.  I was afraid to run.  I was afraid to do anything.  But no physical activity was making me even more depressed.  I continued to do some on my PT exercises but it just was not the same.  This spring I decided I was not going to be scared anymore and I began running again.  Just a 1-2 miles at a time.  I let Josh talk me into working out again, alternating strength training with boxing or some other cardio.  I visited my sister and she got my outside on her deck and we did yoga together out in the sunshine.  Maybe I have "matured"  (ha ha) .  What a difference.  It was not what I thought it would be.  I truly felt like I did a workout.  Something I did not expect.  It was not the feeling I got after running, but it was another kind of zen....The only thing I need to do now, is create a sound proof, kid proof room in my house...hmmmmm

xo~M

6/8/03 Komen Race (I ran pregnant with Ella:)

My first HALF :)

Kiawah 1/2 Marathon Dec. 2010-the last time I will EVER walk a half!



 

The best cannonball ever....

Max has been taking swimming lessons this week. The girls are taking art camp and all content has been top secret.  The last day is today so we will find out what they have been doing.  We have been able to watch Max's lessons and been able to actually see him learn.  I can watch his little face and see him processing the directions.  He sits on the side of the pool, tongue out, imitating the hand positions.  He looks so little in the big pool.  He has learned to back stroke, tread water, and by far his greatest feat this summer has been perfecting his cannonball.  Yesterday they were able to to jump off the diving board after jobs well done.  Max got on the board and announced....here is the BEST cannonball ever!

He shot down to the bottom on the pool in a perfect ball like a bullet.  It seemed like forever before he surfaced.  The wake from his jump kept pushing him back-farther from the ladder.  So he practiced treading water.  Seems he is great at treading water and floating on his back:) 

The girls FINALLY showed their work.  Keelin is holding her self portrait and cartoon animals she did:



Ella's Blob painting

Ella's self portrait


ENJOY the art show and cannonballs.....xo~M



Swimming with the Fish....

The kids and I recently visited my baby sister, who just bought a new house (with her sweet husband).  While there, she took us to a lake about a 2 minute drive from her house.   We got there and immediately saw this :

Yes, that says : Beach closed.  And being the rule followers that we are, we immediately set up camp!  The girls took to the water and spent close to 40 minutes trying to catch a minnow with plastic cups.  Max who loves water...I mean loves the bath, loves the pool, and LOVES the ocean refused to go into the lake.  I walked him in and he felt a fish brush by his ankle and it was all over.  Never mind that he sees jellyfish bobbing in the ocean waves and actively digs for mole crabs.  He wanted NO part of the lake water.  Aunt Bean finally persuaded him to go in with her.

Ella was definitely the daredevil of all of them. She lay down in the water, she swam out to the raft and talked her sister into it as well.  Then she jumped off the raft into the water.  This was way past the part where she could reach, but she really wanted to do it. Keelin kept calling back to make sure I was watching and would jump in if they needed me.  We had a really fun time.  Makes me miss the area and also Bean.  Thanks for the great day Bean.  We love you.  xo~M

License To Drive

How early we learn to multi-task: driving and talking on the phone.  He has a ways to go before he learns all of the road rules, but until then he DID keep his helmet on and put his car into park when talking on the phone. It is amazing to me how fast Max figured out the specifics on driving-forward, reverse, gas, turning the wheel the correct way for both forward and backward.  Every time he figured something out he would look at me over his shoulder and smile, “Eyes on the Road!” (another rule) I jogged behind him, camera in hand, trying to catch his expressions as tiny stones pelted my ankles from my son’s lead foot.  Expressions ranged from brow furrowing concentration to an ear to ear grin.  Watching Max “behind the wheel” was a bit surreal.  I fast forwarded 12 years to him in his first car.  Would I see the same concentration?  The same ear to ear grin?  Knowing Max, I know I will.

Xo~M

Time Flies

I have not yet mastered the art of perfect timing in waiting for a flight.  I daydream of the day that I can walk leisurely through security, calmly to the gate, no rush and no wait...nonchalantly hand my ticket over and serenely board the plane.  Daydream or truly a dream?? 1/2 of my round trip experiences have been to or from a large airport; Laguardia, O'Hare, Atlanta.  You can never predict traffic to any of those hubs or how crowed the airports will be.  I remember sitting on the floor of Laguardia doing place cards for my wedding, tears tracking my cheeks-delay after delay-sure I would miss my own rehearsal dinner.  I also remember Keelin being maybe, 5 and Ella, 2.  Josh had gone ahead home to see his parents and we followed about a week later.  We put on skirts....excited to surprise daddy by being dressed up.  We got to the airport in what should have been "plenty of time" only to find out the computer system had crashed the night before.  We, along with most of the people there, missed our flight.  The girls and I spend 6 hours tooling around the airport.  This was before iTouch, iPad, or even DS found our house.  We read books, took loooooong walks, rode the escalators, and sat on the airport floor in our skirts eating ice cream cones.  Frustrating for me, but the girls had a blast.  What an adventure:)  Today Max and I flew.  First we started on an hour train ride.  Max took the window seat, giggling.  We began the trip with Max saying that his favorite part was going through all the tunnels.  Mid-way through, "I don't want to see ANOTHER tunnel!"  I guess train magic does not live for a full hour even in a four-year-old.  We got through the security line pretty painlessly and made it to the gate with.....2 hours to spare.  Hmmmmm....timing.  Max has flown before but it was like the first time.  Full of questions and watching out the window watching planes come and go.  It was fun for me to just sit and watch him.  And time flew by....More giggles ensued with take off and landing.  He loved going through the clouds and seeing the puzzle pieces of land below.  So as frustrating and stressful as traveling can be, seeing it through Max's eyes or the eyes of two little girls eating ice cream in their skirts put it into perspective.  Rushing or time to spare...the timing was perfect. 

 A pre-flight muffin

Watching the plane

xo~M

The Unger Squad

I always thought when I started a blog, it would have a cute or creative name to go along with me and what I am all about.  Maybe something about running or track or a really clever play on words.  But the more I get involved with being a mom and being a wife and being part of this little family and less of just me….I realize, that is no longer.  My son, Max and youngest daughter , Ella are huge super hero fans.  Even my oldest went through the Star Wars love affair.  Max is convinced we are a family of super heroes.  Super heroes can exist in various parts of his life.  He is a strong believer that each monster truck he sees is really a transformer.   He believes his dad’s super power is strength ("but you are strong too mom").  He sets up epic battles with his star wars figures, super hero squad squinkies, xmen characters etc….he dictates who plays the good guys and who plays the bad guys.  Often his sister will have a light sabre or sword fight with him, which delights him to no end.  He puts on his wolverine claws and demands one of us be sabre tooth.   I suppose my husband and I have always enjoyed super heroes and movies.  My husband most definitely with his old comic books and memories of his own super hero figures.  He introduced me to a more in depth world of marvel and dc comics.  I enjoyed the ride.  Now my son is taking over…and I have aptly named us The Unger Squad…..