slug run

yesteray's run was only a 5 mile. it was a cut back week since the two previous weeks it was a 6 and 7 mile run. so, assuming that a 5 is nothing now (since I am some super star runner now) I stayed up late on Friday, slept in on Sat and got up for a late run. I let Jimmy ride his bike next me andwished the whole time i could have ridden the bike!
Well, 5 miles hasn't felt that long in a long time. It was hot, I wore a cotton shirt so I was soaked and sticky and my legs were heavy. After about 3.5 I got into a grove, but i learned my lesson about preparing myself for the next run, no matter what the distance.

The greatest glory of living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time you fall. Nelson Mandela (1918 - )

What if...

...you had to drink this?

Your Impact through the Chicago Marathon
The NeedOver 1 billion people (1 billion!) lack access to clean water and sanitation. When clean water is scarce, all aspects of life are impacted:
Health--Contaminated water and poor sanitation are a factor in 88% of all disease in the developing world.
Food production--Without water, crops and livestock die and healthy meals cannot be prepared.
Economics--Poor health from unclean water causes a community's productivity to suffer and family incomes to dwindle.
Education--Childen spend hours fetching water each day instead of attending school.

World Vision's Response
Because clean water is foundational to all aspects of development, it is often the first work that World Vision does in a community. World Vision works with communities to:
Construct wells for clean water
Provide water-storage containers
Install water-piping systems for irrigation
Protect natural springs
Purify water contaminated by bacteria
Construct latrines for proper sanitationMore than 10 million people have gained access to clean water and sanitation as a result of World Vision's water projects.

How You are Helping by Running
The main project that Team World Vision athletes are supporting this year is in Zambia. In Zambia, the life expectancy is 40 years old, and only 40% of the population has access to a clean water source. With the help of your fundraising efforts, World Vision will be able to work with the communities in Musele and Mbala to:
Provide access to clean water by constructing 100 wells
Train men and women to take ownership in maintaining the wells
Provide improved sanitation by building 1,500 latrines
Partner with Zambia's Ministry of Health to increase awareness of water and sanitation safety in schools and communitiesYou are helping make a huge impact in Zambia for children and communities who lack one of life's most basic resources. Thank you!

More about how World Vision works
> How World Vision works: Interactive Map>

Video about the need for water and how World Vision helps

hot and sticky buns

today i felt like i was swimming during my run. there was over 50% humidity and the fog hadn't lifted when I went out this morn. it was an eerie, but strangely peaceful run. it was mysterious and calming at the same time. with each step i could feel the effort that my body had to exert to keep going, but breathing in the think air was so entrancing. it was a motivator today for me to run though the thick air and think of the poor little babies across an ocean who endure so much more every day. i wanted to stop for water, but i choose not to (knowing I was doing a short run, 3m and I would have access to it with in a half house) I wanted to make myself remember, and not forget.
after receiving the week 3 e-mail, i can't stop thinking about the "what if... you had to drink this?" I can't get the little boy's eyes out of my head. so innocent, yet so broken over something he can't control and knows of nothing different.
I am reminded of it when I feed my kids, when I fill my glass in the middle of the night, when I see people spending $ .75 to buy a bottle of water at work.
something like water, that would NEVER cross our minds as an option to not have or a problem to find is something so many people don't have, or drink dirty or need to stay alive.
i will pray for the people who need water, i will think of the people who need water and i will run for the people who need water. they deserve it as much as you and I.

lou, lou, skip to my lou

i love this girl. she is so crazy and silly and she wears a pen moustache! and this boy. he is a poser! look at those eyes and killer smile.
here we are the 3 stooges... hey... where is the 4th?
he was off eating frosting off of someone's graduation cake!

sweet!

The New School

we went on a tour of the new school. i honestly can say while i am not happy about having to move from our comfy, cozy school home, i am happy with the school. don't get me wrong, i don't like the location. the neighborhood is crowed and parking will be a problem. the distance and direction isn't something i am a fan of either, but the building it self is nice.

at first it was intimidating. it's huge and very sterile. it doesn't say "i'm a warm and friendly place for your child to be nurtured and welcomes." in fact, i was thinking it was more like "becareful little one, we'll try to keep you safe by having you walk through a metal detector every day." or "get used to it kid, it's better than county"

i know that probaby sounds awful, but i didn't have much to go on.

The gym is huge. The whole school can comfortably fit.

The music room can also fit the whole school and there are acoustical ceilings.

The primary grades have bathrooms in the classrooms, the other classrooms are a good size and will be fitted with smart boards. The 2 schools will be kept separate and run on different operating schedules.

And we have a mother goose. Since the roof is "green" a momma goose has decided to take up residence and raise her babies. How sweet!

It's definately not what we signed up for, but change can be good and there is no sense in going into something with a closed mind unless I want to get closed results.

Here we come Albany Park. Make way for Edison!

The Mouse and the Medal

Jimmy stared in his 4th grade play this May, The Mouse and the Medal.

It was written by a girl in his class and he was picked to be DJ, a mouse who lives in a library and befriends a girl who falls asleep and ends up being locked in the library overnight.

Jimmy is a natural actor. He is so at ease with being a performer.

He knew his stuff and made us laugh and smile.

Great Job Jimmy!

say it isn't so

i thought i could keep up with being a blogger, but as it turns out, I am not so good at it.
I haven't posted in a month. it's been since mothers day and it's not that I don't have anything to say. So what is it? The over whelming tiredness and exhaustion I experience? The thinking, preparing, making and cleaning up of meals that seems to happen frequently? the never ending pile of laundry that never seems to get done? the clean clothes the dryer continues to spit out that don't seem to get folded or put away? the early morning runs and the late nights getting ready for the next day? the kids and activities and quality time and baths and books and laughs and life? there are not enough hours in a day so when something has to give. this is one of the first to go. i wish i was better, but since i am trying to let go of the whole perfectionism thing, i will make this one of the items i think is a step closer to letting it go and allow myself to be at peace with the fact i am a bad blogger.
so enjoy the faces and the one sentence memories. i know i will and smile all the way :o)