Close the curtain, open the door - bring it, 2010!

And so it ends - a very busy (and spectacular) year.

In 2009, my resolutions were:

• Continue to try new things - camp (I hate camping but I'll learn to love it)
• Stay financially fit - cash is king!
  
• Balance - work/life (not on a beam)

I didn't camp, but I did try new things (like pilates and spin), balance work/life (I'm thankful for my company and awesome co-workers for that), and tried my hardest to stay financially fit. Sort of - gotta try harder on that one. 2009 also brought:

• My twins - they are introducing me to a whole new world and I'm SO thankful - I've never felt love like I have for them and seeing them see things in the world for the first time reminds me to open my eyes more and enjoy everything
  
• 30 - for some reason this ominous number scared me, but I'm digging my 30s
• Making new friends and "hanging" with the old - this goes hand in hand with the twins - we didn't know any other parents but we're forcing ourselves to get out there and meet some

In 2010, I'd like to:

• Work on the financially fit bit
• De-clutter
• Meet new people
• Run ... more
• Stretch
  
• Travel (we already have trips to Boston (for the marathon) and Santa Fe (for Lisa's wedding) lined up)
  

Taking the high road

No, I'm not going to rant on teaching the boys manners (although Mr. Manners is just around the corner), I'm taking a baby break and musing on my passion - running.

This weekend we were in Mammoth for Christmas and I suited up, made it out the door, and realized my goodness the altitude really gets you! Here are my tips for altitude running:

• Take it slow - I started out way too fast and died after just a mile
• Dress for the run - it was icy and snowy in the mountains so my usual running tights and t wouldn't cut it - I layered which also isn't ideal - my recommended cold weather running outfit is water resistant running tights, a sweatproof t, a windbreaker, gloves, and ear warmers (this is only really related to altitude running because in the winter I associate altitude with snow - different story in the summer)
• Drink up!
  
• Stop and stretch - at lights instead of running in place (what Matt calls my Irish dancing) I've taken to stop and stretch - the figure 4 and calf stretches are my favs as that's where my legs always seem to die
• Rest when finished
• Do it again! The only way to get good at altitude running is to practice - just like the body has to adjust for distance running, it has to adjust for altitude

Can't wait to get back to the mountains.

And so it went: our Christmas Tale

I love the holidays to a point - they're a great time of year to get together with family and friends, to splurge (within reason), and to (re)evaluate what's important. Let's be honest, though, the holidays are also friggin stressful! People lose the nice "spirit" when running from sale to sale and getting stuck in traffic on their way to (yet another) family dinner. So, to this holiday season - I have loved you and I'm glad you're over!

But before we say "The End" to the 2009 holiday tale(s), here is our Christmas Story:

Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the skies
The twins were first traveling
Much more than a mile high




The boys ate on the runway
Then sat in our lap(s)
After milk pukes and plane poops (my God that was a big one - gross, potty talk, sorry, back to the story)
They settled in for a nap

When we landed in Mammoth
To the cabin we went to sit by the fire
The boys met Rhiannon
Who truly inspires





When out on a limb
Fine, it was inside, not out
Matty got sick and went night night
And Wilson did shout! (from 10pm to 5am - and shout, and shout and shout ... waiting for Santa?)




The morning brought Christmas
With presents galore
But the time spent with family
Meant everything ... no, more






It was a weekend of laughing
Of love and of life
We talked ate and played
No worries, no strife




Then Sunday brought goodbyes
And sent us back to the skies
A delay made the boys' day
As they sat in the pilots cabin - hurray!







Now back in the city
Heart full, mind and body tired
Thanks Grandpa (Don), thanks Grandma (Kathleen), Gabe, Amanda, Rhiannon (brother in-law, sister in-law, cousin)
You've left us whole - (subconscious) Scrooge, you're fired!

Traveling with twinfants

Tomorrow marks our first trip with the twins leading up to our first Christmas with them - and we're bringing on the snow - hurray! We're flying up/over to Mammoth tomorrow (we're breaking into the air travel scene with a short 1-hour flight). My goodness there's a lot of logistics involved in getting ready for twinfant travel.

The boys helped us get everything together this evening - they made sure the laundry was finished, reminded us to pack burp cloths, and provided constant entertainment while we blitzed around the house throwing things in bags.Our bags are packed ... to the brim ... some highlights:

• PeaPod Travel Tentsfor the boys to sleep in
• Bjorns
• 6 outfits for 3 days (and I think we'll have to do laundry)
• Milk (some to declare, some frozen in the suitcase)
  
• Diapers
• Binkies and backups - the boys are teething now so having something to put in their mouths is key
• Blankets
• Christmas gifts
• Hand-me-down clothes for the boys' niece Rhiannon - who they cannot wait to meet!
• Chocolates and ear plugs for all the passengers around us ... now, seriously

Wish us luck on this flight ... :o) should be an adventure.

It's beginning to look a lot like ... winter running time!

This weekend marked the Xmas relay - the race where run clubs from around the Bay Area come to show their stuff around Lake Merced. This is the second year I participated in the relay with GGRC, the second year it dumped rain on the relay, and the second year I had an awesome time! This year I brought my built in cheer squad - two Santa's and the best gift there is (Matty).

The boys in their sleighThe must pic: crying baby, bored baby, tired mommy

GGRC had an awesome showing with nearly 70 runners. I had hoped for 7min miles, but came in at 6:30s - woot! I think part of the reason for my speed this time is I wanted to get back to the boys and out of the rain. I have to say, despite it being a short race (4.3mi) the final stretch was a killer - it was an incline of about 400 yards - not too steep, but enough to think "who the H puts the finish line at the top of a hill?..."

Tis the season to meet Santa!

This weekend I was one of "those" nutty moms - after the boys' breakfast, I made the whole family get dressed, jump in the car, and make it over the bridge to Marin (in the dumping rain mind you) to go to Santa's Village and introduce the boys.









They have been very good (it may help that they still can't talk or walk, but regardless, they're my perfect angels) so I think they'll get exactly what they want. I saw Wilson slip Santa a note that said "milk" and Cole slipped another note that said

To wear: Running in the rain

Running in the rain
Just running in the rain
What a glorious feeling
I'm happy again
I run through the city
In a happy refrain
I'm running and running in the rain ...

(I do hope you know what tune to read that to ...)

It's finally raining in the city and I LOVE it!!! The rain is my favorite weather hands down - it's perfect for cozy afternoons with movies and tea (or twins who want to be entertained constantly), it's a good excuse to wear sweats around, and most of all, it's my favorite weather to run in. Yeah, kinda nuts.

When I started thinking on what I typically wear running in the rain, I realized it's usually whatever clean race shirt I have somewhere, and my dry fit running tights. When I think of what I'd like to wear running in the rain, it's similar, but more on the dry fit side:

Running in the rain by Marathon Mom featuring Nike

Items in this set:
lululemon athletica - 5Yr Tee Pima, $48
Nike Dri-FIT Women's Tennis Jacket, $45
Nike Dri-FIT Knit Knot Women's Yoga Pants, $50
Asics Gel Kayano 15 Running Shoes, White/Blue, Size 4.5, 115 GBP
Nike Dri-FIT Women's Golf Visor, $18

To do: make a book!

We have photo books coming out of the woodwork (heh, get it? They're all in our bookcase (which is made of wood) but they're a little on the long side and all different shapes (read, wonky) so they're literally coming out of the woodwork ... ) as well as online photo books in a handful of places.

I have now found a new way to archive my memories and it doesn't involve glue and stickers - photo book creation - it's a book making site called Blurb where you can import photos from different photo streams or your desktop, add text (or not), click and publish. I'm hooked!

Weekend roundup: the holitwins have begun

The holidays are officially in full swing. This weekend we bought our first Xmas tree with the boys! We were also invited to five holiday parties - leaving us feeling oh so popular. Unfortunately, though, this weekend also brought a nasty cold for Cole and Wilson so we wound up bailing on 3 of the parties (which actually stunk, we don't want to completely lose our social life, but we also don't want to get everyone in a room sick or make our little men sicker/more miserable). The two attended, though, were pretty awesome.

First up - twin moms night out! A group of (exhausted) women met up at NOPA for our first twin moms night out. It was funny, a few of us had met before with our kids at coffee, but getting out for a "grownup" only night felt like we were in the dorms. Random statement, I know. Remember back in college days when you got dropped off at the dorms and you didn't know anyone, but everyone was in the same boat so you felt instantly bonded? Well, that's the twin moms feeling. We know what it's like not to sleep for months at a time. We know what it's like to try to carry two babies at the same time, feed two babies at the same time, tend to one crying baby only to have the other start crying ... you get my drift. We also know what it's like to have a laughing contest with 2 4-month olds at the same time, what it's like to have people stop constantly telling us how lucky we are, and what it's like to feel utter amazing undying love TWICE!Saturday brought brunch with Wilson's Godmother Ryan. Her poor sister Meghan hurt her knee, but that didn't stop Matt and I from plopping a baby in her lap. Ryan surprised the boys with some awesome stuffed animals that her mom bought them - the boys are already loving their new playmates.
Last night Matt and I made it out for another "grown up" night - my work holiday party. Paloma came (bringing total sanity to our little apartment - the boys light up whenever they hear her) and Matt and I hit the road shedding puke covered sweaters in lieu of "festive" wear. The holiday party was a blast, but I caught myself being "that mom" showing pics of the boys and then smiling to myself about when the pics were taken. Matt and I wound up leaving a little early so we could go to Target "just the two of us" for Pampers. Romantic.Rounding the weekend off, this morning I made it to GGRC for a good 7.3 miler; started at the Warming Hut, up to the bridge, down and back up Baker Beach stairs, over the planks and through the woods (literally), through the Presidio, and back to the Hut again. Now that's a way to wrap a weekend!

Sniffles, snuffles, and cuddles

The boys are sick (not cool - it means they're up every 2-hours during the night and they don't know what all these aches pains and snots are about), but from sneezes, coughs, and notfeelingsohotmisery total bliss occurred... we slept.

Raising twins: San Francisco apartment style

As you can imagine, San Francisco apartments don't give much wiggle room for twins to ... well, wiggle. Our boys aren't crawling yet (oh God, what are we going to do when they start scooting around?! Eeeee!) but they are taking over the house. From cribs, to boppys, to bjorn chairs and swings, their stuff is everywhere. This isn't to mention clothes (they have more than me - that's hard to do), diapers, wipes, and wait - there's more! Food, bibs, burp cloths, books, squeeky things that have no real shape, I could go on...

For working their little legs, we got door jumpers (thanks to my old CEO):
Instead of Motion Activity Jumpers.

For toys we use boxes instead of Wagons ... OK, that's a joke - we'll get the wagon, too, but aren't they cute?!

At the table we already have two Tripp Trapps ready and waiting. Until the boys are in their high chairs, they get to join us for dinner ON the table:More tricks to come. For now, we're comfortable with the fact that yes, the boys get to take over the house.

Tasty Tuesday: steak and salad

I haven't written one of these in a while. Tonight after a very long, very hard day at work (for both Matt and I - something about the week after a long weekend), we wanted a quick easy meal. We talked about delivery but there were too many options and it exhausted us trying to decide. We talked about getting a pre-prepared dinner from over the hill, but the whole "hill" thing killed that idea. We thought on microwave meals, but realized our freezer has been taken over by milk, not microwave meals. Then I realized in a fit of wanting to be some kind of domestic goddess, this weekend at the market I bought steak - not just any steak, fillet Mignon. And thus came the dinner of champions...Total prep time: 15min
Total cook time: 20min

Steak:
2 1/3 lb fillets (we're not rich you know)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tblsp crushed garlic

In a non-stick pan, sear steak with salt, pepper, and garlic. Put in baking tin in pre-heated oven for 15min.

Salad:
2c spring lettuce
4 strawberries sliced
2 boiled beats sliced
1 tsp soft peppered goat cheese
6 black olives
Olive oil and vinager dressing

Why it's good for moms:
I've been getting random bruises all over my legs. I'm not sure if it's from bonking into furniture in the times of morning that no-one should be up, or from low iron - if the latter, the steak helps.

Why it's good for runners:
Protein + fats + carb = the perfect energy mix. Tomorrow morning I'll be ready to bound out of bed, lace up my shoes ... and feed the boys, clean up puke, change diapers, play, and get to work. But I'll be ready.