Mom on the Run!

Well, 3 months after thinking i might, just might, train for and run the Half Marathon in Marrakech, Morocco I packed my stuff and hopped on a jet plane sans hubby and rugrats for 5 days with colleagues/friends and made my way to Marrakech.  It was GREAT!  Now, it did take me nearly 2 of the 3 months of training to decide FOR SURE i was GOING to take this trip and leave curt and the boys (i think i booked my ticket 29 December for a 28 Jan departure).  Some of it was feeling guilty that i'm at work all week, i'm doing these long training runs AND i'm going to leave curt to fend for himself and not spend weekend quality time with him or the boys.  and it was so worth it.  I really feel like (even though I didn't know I needed it at the time) my mood has been lifted 150%.  While exhausted, i am relaxed and really enjoyed being able to just go with the flow with the other 12 people i was with.  My time wasn't too bad either.  The last 1/2M i did was Big Lake in NH in 2004 in about 2 hours 4 min.  7 years and 3 kids later (and a LONG day of traveling coupled with air sickness and not eating well the day before the race) and I only added about 10 mins - 2 hours 14 mins 48 seconds thankyouverymuch. :)

only part of our group - in the casablanca train station 3+ more hours to go!

I got to talk to curt and the boys on the phone a couple of times and it was so great to imagine them clamoring around the phone trying to figure out 1) why they couldn't see me on the computer like they usually can with people we talk to and 2) if i might actually be somewhere in the house ("Mommy downstairs?").  The other great thing was (and I knew this when i was considering the trip in the first place) was everyone (curt included) was FINE without me!  Curt said they would ask about me, but when they got their answer (Mommy's in MOrocco running a race) they were fine with it.  I knew they would be OK with it but they are pretty mommy-centric right now (everything from they only want me to change diapers - gee thanks! to only want me to put them to bed, hold their hands goign downstairs, buckle them in, blahblahblah).  Knowing that they were cool with me being gone means I can do it more often, right? :)

By the time i got back, curt was sick, then the boys began to get sick.  it's taken me nearly 10 days to actually post this fool post because we have had puking, and fevers and LOTS O' DIRTY DIAPERS and more fevers and it's been pretty much since i flew through the night to come back from MOrocco that we have slept through the night.  We took the boys to the dr. on 13 feb to find out aidan and gavin are wheezing to go along with the nasty coughs all 3 have and brady has a double ear infection.  we have our follow up appt on 16 feb and it's the night of 15 feb and gavin is coughing LIKE crazy and pulling at his ears - i have a feeling we are goign to have more ear infections reported when we go in tomorrow.

Some other cool stuff about the trip.  we stayed in this riad (like a house.B&B, only cooler) called Riad Zineb.  it was BEAUTIFUL inside.  Each room had amazing details and there was a small (and very cold) splash pool in the center of the courtyard.  you had to go down some WICKED narrow and scary-ass streets to get to the place (we arrived in Marrakech around 1130PM and 4 of our friends who had arrived the day before met us to walk us there.  we would probably still be searching for it had they not guided us there!).  The caretakers (Kidezia and I never got the names of the otehr two) were SO wonderful.  They made us fresh squeezed OJ, yummy all thigns bread, fresh made jams and jellies and sweet mint tea.  it was ridiculous.  Marrakech was also pretty cool.  We tried snails our last night (didn't want to be too daring before the race) and shopped for pottery and leather.  i got Fes hats (look like shriner's hats and yes, aidan LOVES his) for the boys for dress up and these wizard robes that all of the local men wear.  the boys won't even try them on :)

post race pic

the courtyard of riad zineb

my bed room

breakfast room

my bed room looking into the bathroom

one of the many shops in the market

babouches

snails - really, they weren't so bad.  and little kids were just SUCING them out of the shells!

i was like a turtle getting my souvenirs home!

The SCARY alley we had to turn down to get to our beautiful riad.  you would NEVER guess what beauty lay down this path . . .. 

In other fun news - in about 4.5 months i will be a stay at home mom! :)  i told my supervisor and AVP the week before i went to Morocco that I would not be returning to QF next year.  it felt like a huge weight was lifted just by making that decision.  while we haven't decided 100% if we are staying, if we do stay, i know I won't be working and it feels GREAT! :)  Especially after weeks like these where the boys really seem to need some extra snuggles and of course BOTH curt and I are frazzled from missing work for dr's appts, needing to do work stuff at night (either from home or to go back in) when we both could really use NOT having to also hit up the pharmacy, grocery, etc.  of course i am somewhat concerned that if we stay, when the school year is starting back up i will be standing on the other side of the proverbial fence saying "OMG!  what did I do?!".  truthfully, i don't think i will feel that way, i have already been plotting things I will do in addition to spending time with the boys - working on my social class game to market it to educational users, get my certification to become a personal trainer, read student affairs literature each week (WHO does that in their jobs?!), put all of our damn photos in albums!, and the list goes on . . .

anyway, i will post more soon as the boys have been doing funny and not so funny stuff lately (OK, quick story.  curt was at work saturday night and i had 3 sick coughing, snotty, cranky kids.  iw as heating up soup for dinner and i hear brady say as sweet as could be "excuse me" about 8 times.  I look from the kitchen and see him on his motorcycle with gavin in between the wheels squirming around.  Gavin had been laying on the floor playing with his car and brady RODE THE MOTORCYCLE OVER HIM.  he had a red mark on his spine and everything (but didn't cry b/c he has a freakish pain threshold apparently). So I "took" brady off of the motorcycle, put the motorcycle int eh storage closet and explained to him why what he did was naughty.  brady laid on the ground with super pouty face which i ignored and I checked in with gavin (i really didn't even yell - weird).  at dinner Brady asks where his motorcycle is and I tell him he was naughty and rode his motorcycle over Gavin's back and hurt him and Brady says, clear as day, "I said excuse me."  I nearly died as i tried to explain to him that you couldn't JUST say excuse me.)

New vocabulary and other fun . . .

So after Curt was gone for a week facilitating LeaderShape Doha, the boys and I were INSANELY happy to have him home!  Not that we didn't have fun and have good friends help out while he was gone, but as I said in the note i sent with him, ". . . we are just so much better WITH you." :)

We decided to take it easy Saturday night and go out to dinner with the brood.  As we entered the mall, the giant carrot from previous posts was sitting outside.  Curt says, "Is that a carrot?  Do you think it tastes good?" and in MOMENTS Aidan has hightailed it over, climbed on the trailer and is putting his mouth on it to try to eat it.  Hysterical.  he does love his veggies . . . :)

When we were leaving the mall, i was holding brady and aidan's hands and curt had gavin's.  We were parked at the end of a row (with a curb on the passenger side) and some IDIOT comes FLYING aroudn the corner in their landcruiser and nearly hits Aidan who is dawdling along.  Scared and COMPLETELY PISSED i say pretty loud, "That guy should NOT be driving to F@$*ing FAST!".  Brady (who is in the parking spot) looks up and me and says as sweetly as can be "That's f@$*ing fast!" All i could think of was that scene from A Christmas Carol when the kid swears when he's helping his dad change a tire and the look on his face, which i'm sure matched mine - shock and horror.  WHAT had i done?!  I didn't acknowledge it, curt and i are both doing EVERYTHING we can to hold in our giggles and curt takes brady to put him in the car seat.  As I am putting Aidan in the car seat, (brady is in the middle seat) AGAIN, Brady looks and me and says "That's f@$*ing fast!". Trying to implant SOME OTHER WORD in his brain i say, "yes that guy was SUPER fast.  TOO fast, SCARY fast"  curt is laughing so hard to himself he has to walk to the back of the minivan and catch his breath.  at one point i have to turn my back and leave the minivan myself because we are DYING.  Brady hasn't said it since, but of ALL of the words for him to get right the first time, it has to be THAT ONE?!  As we pulled out of the spot, curt says "Well, there goes parent of the year . . ."

Tonight we ordered pizza and Gavin actually ATE CHEESE. that was pretty much all he ate (nothing like flavorless pizza bread leftover), but we could hardly believe he actually ate the cheese and toppings!  At one point, Brady says "Knock Knock!"  We are both surprised since we haven't done knock knock jokes with the boys, must be tess and ariana! I say "who's there" and Brady says "people!" "people who?" and he just giggles.  So cute.  I told him he had just told us a joke and he laughed some more.  double cute. :)

Gavin has been stringing together 3 and 4 words these days which is AWESOME!  he is also repeating lots of things after his brothers which is really cute to see.  His favorite is to say the Sesame Street Song, "sing, singoutloud,singoutstwong!" just about as fast as he can.  and randomly - you never know when you will get a hit of sesame street. . .  :)

Aidan has also become our human garbage can.  he is eating what seems to be twice what his brothers eat (it also takes him twice as long). he must be on a growth spurt b/c i can't tell where he is putting is all!

all in all, life is good at the VuKenoyer's . . ..

Some pics from the kenoyer november visit i never got up . . . oops

 Yes, Gavin's feet ARE that big :)

 Haircuts mean only one thing - SUCKERS! (B,G)

 Here grandma, have some goldfish! (B)

 Aidan did NOT let that sucker go

 First time at the trampolines - too much fun! (A,G,B)

 First time on a merry go round.  Brady wasn't so merry . . . (G, B)

 Brady wasn't interested in the sweet car that shook either . . . Gavin & Aidan didn't have to be convinced!

 Aidan runs in the park

 Gavin runs in the park

 Brady chills in the park

 How we wore them out . . . (G, B)

 a few more laps boys! (G, B, A)

Family Thanksgiving picture from Aunty Coco - we did our best! (G,B,A)

We are starting a boy band - i hope ABCs will sound new and fresh in 2011! (B,A,G)

Christmas 2010! (ok, so i may have gone overboard on pics)

Gavin on his first pony.  But he didn't want to let it go anywhere :)

Grandpa V shows Brady himself and his brothers on his new video camera.  Grandpa is AWESOME. 

Aidan and Grandpa watching their new Animusic video - is that a guitar playing ITSELF??? 

 Gavin gets a feel for power - sitting in dad's chair at work :)

Let's jump Grandma! (A,B)

 Let's run Grandma! (A,B)

 Tickle fight with Dad (A,G)

 Some brother wrestling (G, B)

 Aidan and Brady's new favorite place to hang out.

Aidan our Christmas elf! 

 No wait, Brady our Christmas elf!

Gavin our serious Christmas elf! 

 'T'was the night before christmas . . . (B)

CHRISTMAS MORNING!  It's a FIRE ENGINE! (B) 

AND A POLICE CAR! (G) 

Santa brought some awesome hot wheels.  Aidan is parking them for everyone. 

Mom and dad got us some food to play with (G,B,A) 

Where else could I use these tongs??? (A) 

Gavin drives the police car over the "speed bump" 

Breakfast of champions (B,G,A) 

Mom's off work - let's go to the trampolines! (A,G) 

 Brady wasn't so sure about the loud noises from the indoor roller coaster.  So he sat on my lap the entire time . . .

A giant carrot we saw leaving the trampolines.  No idea why it was there, but it seemed like a good pic

and the gifts keep coming! new towel and truck for gavin from Uncle Chad, Aunt Erica, Noah and Gabe! 

 Brady loved re-enacting the "silly monkeys jumping on the bed" from Aunties Raber and Slabas

 Aidan decided to take the silly monkeys for a drive . . .

 pooped out (G & A watch a video while mom cat naps)

Brady and Aidan JUST up from a nap - so happy to see daddy! :)