Toddler Fitness - Running

Summer is here, y’all!! I most definitely said that with a hick southern accent. As some of you know, or probably guess, this is definitely my favorite time of year! It’s hot outside and I really enjoy the feel of the sun on my skin. And since it takes less time for me to start getting my sweat on during the summer I end up feeling like I’m just kicking that much more ass on the pavement. Hey, whatever gets me motivated right? This summer is going to be a little different though. A good different. See, this year my daughter will be joining me out on the roads!

Last year, I was a big ball of nerves because this happened. I know that these women did it on purpose, which is sick, but it also got me thinking about how easily it could happen on accident. I have suffered from heat exhaustion myself, and one time I blacked out while running. Yup, mid run I almost face planted. At the time I wasn't too aware of the signs so I had just kept pushing through them when it was about 100 degrees out. Stupid, I know, but it happened so fast! I didn't want something like this to happen with my daughter and since summers here are really hot I wasn't sure if allowing her to join me was such a good idea. I felt like I needed to get some answers before we even tackled any form of long distance running. Especially since Emery was just two years old.

So off I went in search of someone's professional opinion telling me that what I was allowing was okay. After having a talk with her pediatrician, and asking as many valid/silly questions as I could think of, I finally got answers. We had a seal of approval, and I became confident in my decision to allow Emery to tag along. Still, that summer we took it pretty easy. We’d do half mile runs once a week, and then we’d walk whatever distance was left to make it home. Since she’s constantly on the go we only went when she showed interest in going. I never suggested it because I wanted to make sure she wanted to do it and that I wasn't exhausting her. This year, Emery has been “chomping at the bit” to go out with me. She's even decided she wants to go farther than before!

And so we have! We started out by going out for walks first before moving onto running. She likes to stop here and there to pick up rocks or grab a handful of sand too so she takes breaks. Our first time out I told her to let me know if she was tired, thirsty, or wanted to go home. After I asked her a few times she finally got the gist and I haven’t had to ask her anymore. She’s very vocal about what she needs, and the routes we take. So far, she’s been enjoying it. The only thing I’m doing different this year is that I’m asking her if she wants to go and I’m not limiting her runs to once a week anymore.

It's been great so far! We've only gone a few times because some things have gotten in the way, but she seems to be enjoying it. As soon as she sees me getting ready to go for a run she's in search of her running shoes. Sometimes she wants to go fast and other times she wants to take things slow. Whether she'll keep this up or not I have no idea, but so far she seems to really like it. If she keeps up this enthusiasm I've decided I'll enter us into the Dr. Pepper Kids Fun Run next month. If she starts to "fizzle" then I'll just switch over to the 5k run. Either way, it should be fun! So, do any of you run with your kids? Or do you do something else altogether?

Wordful Wednesday

Normally, I’d be doing a “Wordless Wednesday” post today. I’m a big fan of allowing a picture to tell you a story, but this week I've decided to change it up.

This week has been crappy when it comes to the weather. When I told Texas to knock it off with the random hot and cold I didn't mean for it to bring in tornadoes in it’s place. Since last Wednesday that’s all we've been getting though. Last week the tornado in Granbury was 30 minutes away from us. And this week we had rotation in a town 15 minutes from my house. Yup, pretty scary stuff. Especially when you live in a double wide that’s older than your parents. Still, that’s nothing compared to what Oklahoma is going through and my heart goes out to all of those effected.

As I’m writing this (Tuesday morning, in case power goes out) we’re being told to get ready for more storms this afternoon. These are expected to be stronger with higher chances of tornadoes actually touching down and possible power outages. I’m crossing my fingers that it doesn't get too bad. Our tiny town doesn't have a warning system and again, I live in a double wide. I’m actually pretty sure we’d be safer outside of it rather than in it, but lets hope it doesn't come down to that though, yea?

I took this picture on Monday just after the first storm passed. As I was sitting in my parents living room watching the sad news come through, Emery came over and said “Mommy! Mommy! Rainbows! Look at the rainbows!!” And sure enough we had double rainbows. Emery opened the door and walked outside while saying “It’s so beautiful, mommy! Look! So beautiful.” And she was right. It was beautiful! And it reminded me that there’s always something beautiful that comes through in the end even as our hearts struggle to comprehend the terrible in the now. My thoughts and prayers go out to those who lost loved ones   during these storms. And I hope if you were in the "high threat" zones yesterday that you were careful and found shelter. 

Stay safe friends!

Make A Pool

Last week’s forecast was all over the place. On Saturday I found out we’d be getting storms during the week so I had my husband empty out Emery’s little pool and store it. On Tuesday I spent my time getting as much laundry done, and moving anything light out from the yard. Our little location has a tendency to flood, and sometimes the electricity will go out for a whole day. As I was getting everything done I told Emery she could play on the porch within my line of site because she was getting a heavy case of cabin fever. We have a wrap around porch, and the windows are low enough that you can see everything going on so I never get too worried. In those instances that I do, I’m two steps away from her “designated play area”.

I could hear her having her “tea party”, and picking out toys from her bucket. She’d pick some flowers and bring them in to me. I was folding clothes and filling up the sink in order to wash dishes when I realized it had gotten quiet. I looked out the window and she was still on the porch going through her bucket. I poked my head out and said “Hey, what are you doing?” and she replied with “Nothing. Just chillin.” So I said “Okay, well, remember to stay where I can see you alright?” She shook her head and said “Sure mom.”

I put the last of the clothes in their pile, and turned off the water to the sink. I started gathering all of the dishes from the table and the living room when I saw one of Emery’s dresses right in front of the door. I could have sworn that was the exact dress she had on, and before I could turn out onto the porch I heard a splash. And this is what I found:

My three year old is a water baby. She loves being in it, and wasn't too excited when we drained her pool in preparation of the storms. Since she helps me water our garden every afternoon she knows how to turn the water hose off and on. So she took it upon herself to empty, and drag over Sampson’s water “bowl”. Fill it back up, get undressed, and go for a “swim”. When I asked her what she was doing she simply replied “I made a pool, mommy.” I had no idea whether to be proud of her creativity or upset that she did all of that by herself. She was like a freakin ninja! I literally have no idea how she did that so quickly without me hearing her? So instead I just laughed, grabbed a towel, and sat with her until she was finished with her swim.