Piano Recital for Reese, Corbin, and Soren

Piano Recital night is the best night to be a parent! You just get to sit and enjoy the benefits of your kids’ hard work. Perfect! 😂 

We loved tonight’s performances. 

Reese played House On Fire.

Corbin played Rocking Chair Blues.

Soren played The Candy Man in a duet with Karen. 
Great work to each of you! Thank you for filling our home with music every day! Thank you Karen for being a thoughtful and dedicated  teacher! 

Reese’s Artwork

I LOVE Reese’s most recent art class project. 

She says it’s the ghost of a raccoon coming back to haunt me 🤣 

Really though, while I still believe that her subject matter is the most despicable trash of the earth, I love love love this artwork and I love love love the artist! Beautiful work, Reese! I love your details! 

Meg Runs

I signed up for the Bentonville Half Marathon again. 

Why? 

I don’t really know. Tradition, I guess? I hadn’t been for a run since May. But I started again in December and even though finding time to go gets tricky, it has been, as always, very therapeutic.

I leave at 6:40ish on Saturday mornings and meet up with the training group at the Bentonville Downtown Activities Center for a short clinic and a group run. That’s long run day, and we add a mile every week. Last Saturday, I ran 10K in 1 hour and 2 minutes.  

Multiply that by 2, and add 10 more minutes for another mile and I’m looking at 2hours and 15 minutes target finishing time for the half this year. Last year I had a PR of 2 hours 9 minutes and 1 second. I can’t help but wonder if a sub 2 hour half marathon is in me. Not this year, that’s for sure. But I am putting in a hard effort early in the game to get more mid-week runs in than ever before. 

I started going to Mom’s Speed training on Tuesday mornings right after I take the littles to preschool. It’s SO weird to just go for a run during the day. I’ve always had small children home with me, and during the few hours a week that I do not, the schedule fills up quickly with house restoration (workers here Every. Tuesday. Every. Thursday.) appointments (I got my teeth cleaned without anyone on my lap!) foster appointments (staffing, hearings, attorney meetings, etc) and working on our contents claim (nope, not done yet, but I committed to working on it for 2 hours every Tuesday and Thursday at the library until it’s submitted), etc. so speed training is such a lovely indulgence just for me! Here’s an example of one of the workouts we did. Start out at my 5k pace, then each lap (400 meters) is faster than the one before. Repeat 3 times to hit 3 miles. 

Today’s workout was this (and I quote coach): 

800m (2 laps—2which is 1/2 a mile) FAST, 5K pace

30 sec rest 

600m (1.5 laps) FASTER 

30 sec rest

400m (1 lap) FASTER! Giddy up!

30 sec rest 

200m (1/2 lap) AS FAST AS IF THERE IS A RABID DOG CHASING YOU PACE

30 sec rest 

100 meter dash RUN LIKE THERE IS A KILER CLOWN BEHIND YOU 😂

1 minute rest 

Repeat the workout! 

After round 2,  take 1 minute rest, then 

800 meters (2 laps) ALL OUT. BURN WHATEVER GAS YOU GOT LEFT IN THE TANK. 

So that’s just what I did! I averaged an 8:38 pace! That last .8 miles (so the 800m and the 100m) was a 7:55 pace! 

This is like no big deal for most runners, but for me? It’s huge! HUGE. 

But aside from the speed workouts and getting in 1 more mid week run each week than I’ve been able to manage in past years, most things are the same as last year. Similar pace in general.  Just more mid week miles.   This Saturday is the memorial run for Jen Bikel, a member of our training group who was tragically killed by a car while running a few years ago.  Next Saturday is the Valentine Sweetheart Race, that I have free registration for since it’s covered by the Training Group membership.  I guess I’ll see how those go and get a better idea of where I’m really at!

For faster or for slower, I’m coming for ya, Bentonville Half Marathon! 

Hug Sandwich

This is also a post about the laws of attraction 😂 

Willy children are blanket carrying, squeezey hug giving, lap sitting, snugglers. I never thought it would be possible for me to be “touched out” but being that I have zero personal space bubble in my life right now, it happens on occasion.   I’m thankful for my snugglers even when they need to sit directly ON me (ahem Quincy), with their cold feet (Sloane). Blankets abound in this home and there always someone to share one with! 

Reese’s Academic Achievement

Totally not academics related, but I just love this picture of Reese wearing a Lucky Charms tee while scarfing rainbow marshmallows so much, I had to choose it for her grades post. 😂 she might make me take it down later, so soak up this goodness now, while you have the chance. 

Reese also worked her brain hard and secured all A’s and B’s this semester! This was not an easy feat, and I’m so happy for her to reap the reward of self advocacy, perseverance, time management, and concentrated effort. Her civics instructor emailed me to tell me what a delight she was to teach and her work ethic will take her far.  I believe it. High School is difficult. Reese sacrifices a lot of social opportunities and hobby/fun/down time to stay in the race, and proves daily that she’s not only very smart, but she is also very wise. She spent the majority of winter break sleeping, napping, and napping and sleeping. Earned it. Great work, sis! 

Quincy gets straight A’s

Quincy worked hard and down to the wire last semester! She was checking grades religiously the last few days of the semester to make sure she maintained straight A’s, and she did! Quincy is overcoming a lot of obstacles and it’s thrilling to see her managing her school work load so efficiently.  She rarely needs reminders to do assignments, and she makes a genuine effort to really learn and understand the material, not just cycle information back out to get a grade.  Education is important to her and she loves learning new things!  Quincy recently expressed a desire to learn some Spanish and downloaded the duolingo app “to get ahead of the game when I take Spanish next year”. It’s been fun to hear her practicing new vocabulary. I like your forward focus, Quincy! Great job being diligent with your learning! 

Corbin School Awards

Corbin earner straight A’s for 1st and 2nd quarters! He also received a classroom achievement award in technology. Great work, Corbin!  He got to celebrate with a special lunch date with Aaron last week, and the triple threat and I came to his awards ceremony to celebrate him.  Corbin is a hyper focused student who rarely leaves anything incomplete. He gets his work done at school 99% of the time so he can focus on things like solving his Rubix cube when he gets home. His teacher reports he is a model citizen in the classroom. He is kind, helpful, tidy, and very respectful of rules and others. I love hearing all of these things! You are a shining star,  Corbin!