Decaf, Please

Cayman Islands Half Marathon: race report

2012-01-10T20:55:00.000-06:00

The Cayman Islands Half Marathon was my 14th half marathon. You know that saying about being a slow runner and getting your moneys worth? That was me and this race. Hot, humid and hard - it kicked my butt.

What organizers say:
Sure, you could run just about anywhere in the world! But wouldn’t you prefer to run on a safe, beautiful Caribbean island, surrounded by tropical flora and fauna, charming homes flawlessly landscaped and magnificent views of the sea? Well, come run with us in the Intertrust Cayman Islands Marathon!

Distances available:
1/2 marathon, full marathon and 4-person relay, wheelchair full marathon and kids 5K run run.

Date:
Sunday, December 4, 2011(First Sunday each December)

Course:
Flat looped course, with the first half of the run through a gorgeous residential section along the Caribbean Sea. The only bad thing is that it's dark and you can't enjoy the view. Marathoners do the loop twice. Locals I spoke with do the half because they aren't a fan of the course.

Aid stations:
The aid stations are amazing! Each station is themed and staffed by oodles of volunteers. Music and costumes pump you up as you go by - their enthusiasm is contagious! Stations are stocked with water, Gatorade and later into the race there are oranges, watermelon, gummies (candy, not sport gummies), cold sponges, Vaseline and ice. Stations are roughly a mile apart.

Packet pick up and expo
Small but very well organized.

Race start
ON TIME! I think this is the only race I've attended that started on time. When organizers say don't be late, they aren't kidding.

Communication
from the moment you sign up, you'll receive weekly emails from the organizers with travel and training tips. Their Facebook page is just as helpful.

Photography
Here I was disappointed. Some runners posted on Facebook that at this race they had the highest number of pictures taken. In my case, there was 1 finishing chute photo where I stopped to smile and the whole thing is out of focus. Lots of photogs on route and I stopped and posed for them all so I'm let down on this part of the race. Seeing that huge number of visitors that participate in this race, a decent finishers photo should be guaranteed. That said, there is some awesome photography for the marathoners.

Schwag: tech shirt with typical race design (race logos on front, sponsors on the back), discount coupons for activities on the island, rum cakes, towels, water bottles, salt water taffy and sea salt. We were able to make use of it all!

Post race: well organized chute with volunteers that help you unlace and remove your timing chip. Brilliant post race snacks with everything a tired, hot, hungry and thirsty runner wants, including a can of Caybrew beer. For light beer in a can, it wax tasty. Bag drop and pick up moved quickly.

My race
You'd think after running and racing as much as I have, I'd avoid rookie mistakes. But I didn't. I made them all:
- eating a different breakfast. I ate yogurt and granola instead of my usual oatmeal. For the first 7 miles I retched or wanted retch. It was awful. I couldn't keep water down and the water tasted awful (just my stomach, the supplied bottled water was perfect)
- messing around withy music. Instead of having my music ready to go, I horsed around with my phone, head phones and playlists between miles 9 and 11. I wasted so much time.
- forgetting my watch at home. Like in Canada, not even at the hotel.
- dumping water on my head. So my pants were soaked and heavy. So were my socks.
- not wearing my lucky underwear. No, really. Every pair of underwear I own is cotton, except for a pair of tech gitch that I bought specifically for running. I forgot them at home. And water logged cotton granny gitch over 13 hot miles is a death sentence to your lady bits. I recovered easier from vaginal birth than I did this race.

My finishing time was 2:22. Yikes.

But over those awful miles, I realized something. Road racing doesn't fire me up anymore. I love toeing the start line, but racing on pavement is a drag. Even when in the most amazingly gorgeous place on earth. No, I doubt this will be my last road half marathon, but I think I'll be hitting more trails this summer.

Call me tree beard

2012-01-05T21:09:00.000-06:00

I often over share on this blog, and thought nothing of broadcasting my problems with depression, post-partum depression, IBS, weight-loss and if I go back through the more than 7 years of blog posts, likely even more silly and embarrassing topics. But this one I am having a hard time sharing - but because I love the depth of knowledge and advice in the blog world, here was go.

I have lichen planus. Go ahead. Google it. I'll wait.

In the whole scheme of things, it's really just an annoying, persistent rash. Thankfully, mine is NOT in my lady parts, in my scalp or in my mouth. Because that would be awful and painful. Instead, it is covering I'd estimate between one-third and two-thirds of my body. Mine include obnoxious little dots, 1" diameter rings (annular lichen planus) and a disgusting 6" hypertropic lichen planus on the back of my right calf. And itchy beyond belief. On the plus side, I don't have diabetes or Hep C, which are usually underlying conditions. On the negative, this shit can takes months to years to clear up.

Thankfully I'm in the hands if two talented local dermatologists - one who just said "oh dear" when she saw my skin. Hopefully the combination of phototherapy (think tanning bed) and steroid creams, I'll clear up soon.

In the meantime, I'm reaching out to find out if natural or holistic remedies have worked. I have read a lot about liver cleanses being moderately successful. How about diet eliminations? Diet additions? Voodoo dolls, witch doctors and virgin sacrifices? I am willing to give any of those a try.

Thanks blog world, you know I love you.

Nutrition for running....dogs?

2012-01-04T19:47:00.001-06:00

Our just turned 6 year old Lab, Murphy, is the best running partner I could ask for. She can plod along for hours at my 10 minute mile pace or pull off a speedy 5K. I adore her.

While she was a little heavy when we adopted her last August, she's now a lean running machine (I'm jealous!). Our dog is fed a high quality dry food, but I'm wondering if that is enough. Together we log up to 40K a week, and being a dog breed that is prone to hip and joint problems, I want to do all I can to keep her injury-free.

When I asked my Facebook pals, I was surprised to learn that most of them who also log a lot of miles with their dogs feed them a lot of raw meat and table scraps. Granted, the scraps these pups get are NOT burgers, fries and other junk food, but fresh fish and veggies.

What extras - if any - do you feed your dog?

Callouses: too much of a good thing?

2011-12-27T18:42:00.001-06:00

How can you tell if your feet are too calloused? If you are a runner, is there such a thing?

It's no secret that my husband is 100% sicked out by my feet. My sister insists that I have the beginning on bunions. I prefer to think that my blistered and run hardened feet are proof that I walk, or run, the talk when it comes to endurance running.

But does there come a point when you have so many callouses and blisters that you are doing your running more harm than good?

That's what I'm wondering now. Here are my feet after the Cayman Islands Half Marathon. I only had one big blister on the side of my big toe. But the callous under it blistered. When I popped and trimmed everything back, a new pink layer of skin was exposed. And it hurt!

(I did earn my first black toenail in this race, but it looks looks like the toenail will stay).

I dream of getting a pedicure (I was given a gift card to our local spa because a someone saw my feet and took pity on me) but am worried that it will be a waste of money because I'll have to build up a layer of tough skin for the 2012 race season. Or do I ask them to pare the ugly and painful stuff back? Or do I leave my feet alone?

Distance runners, what do you do?

Creemore Vertical Challenge - 25K

2011-12-25T17:58:00.001-06:00

THAT is what my husband got me for Christmas. He either really loves me and supports this little running hobby I have. Or he's trying to do me in. Registering his back of the pack and former Prairie dwelling wife for the toughest race in Ontario.

On the bright side, it is 'only' the 25K, and gets me out of the 70.3 I was going to do the same day.

I think the half Ironman would have been easier.

Winter running clothing

2011-12-19T21:36:00.000-06:00

Today is December 19. Normally it is several degrees below 0C with at least a foot of snow on the ground.

Today I ran the trails in a toque, tights and a t-shirt.

I don't know what alternate whacked out winter universe I am living in, but I love it.

Cushioning versus stability shoes

2011-11-15T19:35:00.001-06:00

I really thought that there was little more than marketing hype behind shoes. In all of my years of running, I'd yet to run in a pair that I didn't like. I'd run in New Balance, Brooks, Mizuno and most recently, Saucony. I've run in Saucony Grid Omni for the last 4 years. I haven't been able to find the Omnis in my size any where, including online. I took a risk and switched from my Omnis to Asics Gel Nimbus 12. The Omnis were a stability shoe, and though I'd never had a gait analysis done, I just chalked it up to a shoe being a shoe being a shoe.

Ooops. I was wrong.

My first run in the Asics Gel Nimbus was a disaster. For the first little bit I couldn't feel my feet. I adjusted the laces and it made a wee bit of a difference, but in the last kilometer my IT band started acting up. As any runner knows IT band pain is the death knell of running. Maybe it's over training, or the fast that it was my first run in weeks with the stroller and the dog and the kids were rocking around in the stroller, but I'm sore. And I'm 2 1/2 weeks out from my the Cayman Islands Half Marathon.

Unfortunately the Asics were bought from an outlet store and I can't return them. At $120, it's an expensive mistake. So do I give them another shot or dig deep (into my unemployed stay at home mama empty pockets) and pick up a pair of Omnis? And if you're looking to buy a pair of brand new Asics Gel Nimbus 12s for cheap - I'm your girl.

Gear review: Spot Head Lamp by Black Diamond Equipment

2011-11-14T13:00:00.001-06:00

Over at my Run-at-home mom blog for Today's Parent, I recently wrote about nighttime running safety. We live in a cottage area where there is NO ambient light. The weeny little Fuel Belt head lamp I had to city running doesn't cut it for rural running. After trolling Facebook, I found Tips for Night Running written by Robert Shackleford. In the comments that followed, Robert tipped me off on Black Diamond. It's a brand I'd never heard of, but I headed out to my local outdoors store (the running stores only carried weeny lights, nothing ballsy enough to handle the dark that I run in). I could choose between the 75 lumens Spot or the 100 lumens Storm. The staff suggested the Spot since at 100 lumens, the Storm would be over kill and the extra AAA that the Storm takes could add to the weight of the lamp.

What Black Diamond says about the Spot headlamp:

Now featuring more power than ever, the 90-lumen Black Diamond Spot Headlamp (boo hoo, I wanted more lumens for my moolah, guess I got an old model) is the light to have when you can only have one. Whether you're cooking up some grub after a long day on the trail or spotting anchors on an after-dark rappelling epic, this compact, super-bright headlamp features multiple modes that are customizable to any lighting situation. Red SinglePower LEDs provide proximity lighting without cycling through the white mode, so you won't accidentally compromise night vision. A lock mode prevents accidental battery drain in your pack or while stored, and a 3-level power meter means you'll never be caught with a dead headlamp hours from camp.

1 DoublePower LED, 2 SinglePower white LEDs and 2 SinglePower red LEDs emi 90 lumens (max setting)
Red night vision mode has proximity and strobe settings, and activates without cycling through the white mode
Sleek, low profile design uses 3 AAA batteries
Settings include full strength in proximity and distance modes, dimming, strobe, red night vision and lockout
Three-level power meter shows remaining battery life for 3 seconds after switching on headlamp
Protected against splashing or sprayed water from any angle (IPX 4)

What I say about the Spot headlamp:

My first run with the Spot was a dark, rainy and foggy night and I was impressed. I wore it over top of my cap so the brim of my cap could keep the rain out of my eyes, so there was a bit of a dark spot at my feet. The good thing about having a brighter headlamp and more visibility is that I could see everything. That is also the bad thing, because I saw all of the critters in the woods with its wide beam. With the heavy rain, all of the frogs were on the road and hundreds of little eyes peeped back at me. Ew. My second run was clear and the increased visibility was awesome. I had thought about picking up a second lamp for my dog, since she runs with me at night, but I won't need to. The Spot is that bright.

I haven't had the Spot right on my skin - either my cap or toque were between my head and the lamp. It's not heavy and didn't cause headaches.

At $40, the Spot is a good value headlamp.

A letter to my uterus

2011-11-13T20:41:00.001-06:00

Dear Uterus,

Even though we've spent our whole life together, I feel like I barely know you. And it wasn't until 10 days ago that I really gave you a whole lot of thought.

Sure, there were those times when I was 13 and first getting my period that you freaked me out because even though I'd been given all of the talks, I still didn't understand what your deal was with nice underpants since you wrecked them all. And that time you made a surprise exit in 9th grade drama class - I don't think I've ever quite forgiven you for that one.

5 years later you and your ovary pals ganged up on my to give me the most gigantic baseball-sized cysts ever. I swore that when I turned 18 I'd get a hysterectomy because I really didn't think you were that useful, other than to make me double over in pain every 28 days or so. I thought I'd teach you a lesson by first feeding you birth control pills and then just blasting you quarterly with progesterone. Ends up the joke was on me because the pills turned me into a depressed lunatic with bad skin and the progesterone just made me a depressed lunatic. It took 3 years for you to recover from that one.

We got along best when I left you alone. And for that, you rewarded me with two gorgeous healthy children. And even though the first one had to be harvested out of you like an alien critter from a sci-fi movie, you held on to the second and helped me deliver her the old-school way. For that I am so grateful.

Since our family is complete I figured that I didn't need you any more. So to thoughtlessly thank you for your years of service, I sent you a little plastic tube of hormones to keep you company for the next 5 years. As a big eff you to me, you're making me a paranoid, anxious, clotty, bleeding, oozing rashy, crampy, binge eating mess. I forgot that you need to do your own thing - and that poking and implanting things in you just isn't nice. And I'm really sorry. So sorry that I think that I'm setting a record for how soon Mirena gets removed, and in my opinion, it can't be soon enough.

Thanks again friend - and just because I still don't really understand you, doesn't mean I don't respect you. I promise to leave you alone after this.

Love,

Jennifer P and your babies

2012 Race Schedule

2011-11-12T07:39:00.001-06:00

2012: the year I go long(ish)

Ennismore KMs for Care Half Marathon
April 15, 2012

Toronto Women's Half Marathon
May 27, 2012

Zoot Open Water Swim (2K)
June 10, 2012

Peterborough 70.3
July 15, 2012

Kawatha Cycling Classic Century Ride
Saturday, September 15, 2012

This is my dream race list, with the runs and OWS setting me up for a half iron event in July. I've also been a parent and an athlete long enough to know that life happens. Oh, and the big hitch in this calendar? I haven't raced triathlon in 5 years. And my heart is happiest on the trails, so I'm not sure if training for an endurance road race will make me happy. But from where I sit now, 2012 looks like it will be AWESOME!

What are you planning for in 2012?

Compression socks: love 'em or leave 'em

2011-11-07T19:08:00.001-06:00

Last week on Twitter the topic of compression socks came up. This is one piece of gear that I don't own yet. I get the stink eye from my husband for regular running socks, I can't imagine the looks I'd get I wandering around in compression socks.

As my mileage ramps up for the Cayman Islands Half Marathon, I can't help but wonder if they'd help with faster recovery. I ran a record (for me) 30K yesterday and have the standard DOMS aches so I skipped tonight's 5 miles that I'd hoped to run.

What do you think? Are compression socks a good investment in running gear?

Am I an ultra runner at heart?

2011-10-31T18:16:00.001-05:00

I think trail running has ruined my career as a road racer. When I first hit the trails in 2008, I felt like I was at home. I stopped worrying as much about pace or even distance. As long as I got some rocks and mud under my feet, I was happy. And when I volunteered at my first ultra event in 2009, I LOVED how awesome and respectful the organizers and competitors were. I was hooked on ultra running. Except for the pesky fact that to be a real ultra runner I news to get over the 42.2 KM hump. I've only squeaked out 23K. But I wear knee high wool socks in the middle of summer, mismatched gear and I leave my legs unshaven before a trail run to protect against scratches - that must count for something, right?

On the trails is where my heart is happiest. In our new home, there are miles of ATV and snowmobile trails begging to be explored. My training calendar for the Cayman Islands half marathon ordered a 19K long run. Instead of mapping out a route, I grabbed my dog, bear bells, hydration pack, a handful of gels and my phone and just started running. 2.5 hours later we came home covered in mud and burrs. I tried my best to map our meandering route on Daily Mile and came up with nearly 20K. And I would have run longer, but my boys were going fishing and I needed to get home for Gilly's nap time.

One day I'd love to take on a true ultra distance race, but in the meantime, I'm hopping that the ultra community doesn't mind me hiding in the wings, stalking race reports - hairy legs and wooly socks and all.

Tour de calves

2011-10-30T15:33:00.002-05:00

Though I love riding with my Kawartha Cycling Club team mates, the ride times run in with the kids bedtimes and we're not at the stage where Mr. P can tuck in both kiddos (confession: I nurse Gilly to sleep). Lucky for me, I've reconnected with a girlfriend who is willing to humble me on the mountain biking trails in exchange for bringing her up to speed on road cycling (she is also an endurance sport nut so it is a match made in heaven). On Sunday I opted out of our afternoon team ride to hit the road with Michelle. It was her first extended ride on a borrowed road bike and we tackled close to 50K. (In exchange for me teaching her to road ride, Michelle has agreed to teach me to mountain bike - I'll be humbled on the trails later this week).Though catching up and chatting about motherhood was fun, the real highlight of the ride was this: coming up on a herd of lost heifers. After snapping this picture of Michelle wrangling the herd I pulled a rookie mistake and forgot to unclip and toppled over and landing in cow poop. I have bizarre cuts and bruises head to toe, but nothing a coffee from my favourite new cafe can't fix.

Originally published July 27, 2011 on www.todaysparent.com

Why you can and should cycle 160K

2011-10-30T15:15:00.001-05:00

Well into my 100 mile bicycle ride I feel AWESOME! Thanks to Richard from the Oshawa Cycling Club for this great picture.

Think you can't cycle 100 miles? Think again - I bet you can and you should. Here's why.

For the last few weeks I was grumpy, my eyes were twitching and frankly I was just plain burnt out in my role as a stay at home mom. I love my children and husband dearly but my life had tipped a little out of balance - with my days 99% focused on them and 1% on me - this 1% is dedicated to personal hygiene. I desperately needed something that would challenge me and get me out of the house and on my own. I'm not a spa girl so a day being pampered wouldn't cut it. I needed a day to sweat it out. Signing up to bicycle 100 miles as I admitted to another mom was my cry for help. The furthest distance I'd ridden before that was 70K - so I was going to more than double my time in the saddle and most normal people wouldn't do that on a whim. I'd reasoned that 70K was kind of like doing 160K but I was seriously terrified.I posted photos from my ride to Facebook along the way - it meant a lot to have my friends to cheer me along as I went Thanks friends!My ride was picture perfect - all 7 hours of ride time (8.5 when you include our rest stops). Throughout the ride I kept on top of my nutrition which is key to completing a ride of this distance. There isn't a chance I lost any weight - eating peanut butter and jam sandwiches, cookies, oranges, apples and energy gels the whole time kept me upright and full of energy and I wasn't in this to lose weight anyway. The volunteers were amazing and so were the other riders. I paired up with two wonderful cyclists from Oshawa who were gracious enough to adopt me and my slow pace for the ride because riding 160K alone I image would really suck. I credit finishing my ride yesterday to my two new friends - one of them also a mom to a young son and taking on her first 160K.But back to balance: when my children were born, I swore I wouldn't be the mom who lived only for her kids. When Isaac was young I continued to train and race for triathlon and half marathons as well as working full time. My first post-partum triathlon was when he was 5 months old and I breastfed on the beach in my wetsuit minutes before the start. Don't get me wrong, it was hard, but I still committed to carving out time in the day for those things. Sometime in the last year that passion disappeared and without realizing it, I dreading going for a run or ride because I was worried that my kids might need me. Or that laundry wouldn't get done without me. Or meals wouldn't get cooked. I stopped being the athlete that I was and turned into the mom that I didn't want to be - cranky and miserable and out of shape. It took 160K in the saddle to make me realize that I can be both a mom and an athlete. That growing and birthing children doesn't mean signing my life away to trying to have a perfect house and an arsenal of crafts and organic meals on standby. In fact, it was knowing that my body grew and birthed babies that made me trust it to carry me all of those miles.I dare you to kick it up a notch and go out of your comfort zone. Sign up for a 100 mile ride too - this is the perfect time of year to do it. Register for a 10K if you've never run a step, or a half marathon if you've got a 10K under your belt. In fact, I'm thinking of taking on a marathon in fall - just because I can.

The emergency exits signs were all over the route - and I loved how cheeky this one was. It's a big reason why I'm thinking of a full marathon instead of a half marathon "only".

Originally published September 12, 2011 on www.todaysparent.com

Extended breastfeeding is a full time job

2011-10-30T15:13:00.001-05:00

Isaac breastfed until he was 20 months. When I returned to work full time, nursing was a special comfort and a quiet time for our whole family. After work all three of us would cuddle on the couch and these times remain some of my fondest memories of nursing him (the whole mastitis, pumping and other terrible issues all magically fade away when things click and nursing is going well). When he self weaned I was very sad. He was ready to move on from 'mom mo' to his bigger world.

At nearly 19 months, Gillian is still eagerly breastfeeding. I have mixed feeling about this - I love that I can still provide her comfort when she needs it and all of the goodness that my breast milk contains (OK, maybe not the generous amounts of caffeine but it might explain why one of her first words was 'coffee'). Maybe because I don't get a break from the pinching and twiddling and full body contact of parenting a toddler, but honestly, this is not as much fun as it was with our son. After many failed attempts to get her back into her own bed at night we are still co-sleeping so it seems like Gillian is nursing 24/7.

Dare I say out loud that extended breastfeeding sucks?

Back in May, Today's Parent lactation expert Teresa Pitman wrote a great article about toddler nursing. It describes my situation perfectly, from the soreness during teething and distracted moment, the bruises all over my arms, her calling milk Boobies (I fully blame on Mr. P) and that pretty much everyone I know has had a peek show because as much as I try to be discreet in public, Gillian hasn't learned that our friends and the people around me don't want to see my Girls. My large bead necklaces that I bought to keep her occupied are broken and destined to be upcycled crafts (another one of Teresa's tips). I am considering night weaning just so that I get a bit of a break, but sleep is so precious in our house and we're co-sleeping anyway, that it seems like a silly idea - because nursing is the fastest way to get her back to sleep.

In my heart I know that I'll look back and I'll remember all of the good things about breastfeeding her this long. But right now I am really struggling with this.

Are you breastfeeding your toddler or preschooler? How do you keep a positive frame of mind when you're being mauled by the cutest pudgiest hands in the universe? Did you wean before you thought that you would?

Originally published September 13, 2011 on www.todaysparent.com

Keeping fit and sane

2011-10-30T15:08:00.001-05:00

I've blogged before about how I need a daily dose of sweat to keep balanced.Often when Mr. P travels is the first thing to fall on the wayside because there seems to be no way to fit it into my day. This is silly because this is when really it is the thing that should be at the top of my to-do list, not looking for crochet apps (but in case you are wondering, I think Lion Brand has the best app).I've vowed not let that happen during this business trip, and so far I am 2 for 2 on the daily running. On Monday, took the kids and the dog for a 3K run - with Murphy off leash on the trails and Isaac riding his bike. This evening I didn't have time to drive to the trails so I took both kids in the stroller and ran with the dog on her leash. We live on a VERY hilly road and pushing 60 lbs of kids and stroller while trying to manage an 80 lb dog was a challenge. But you know what - all 6KM of it was awesome. Today's run is not helping with my insomnia, but it helping with stress and anxiety.2 days down, 19 to go. Think I can make it a 21 day running streak?When your spouse travels, how do you fit fitness into your schedule? Leave your tips here and also over at On Our Minds, where Karine is looking for tips on how to fit exercise into her day (that will start at 5am so she can run!)

Originally published September 27, 2011 on www.todaysparent.com

Running partners

2011-10-30T15:04:00.005-05:00

When our son was born, I secretly hoped that I wouldn't have to share my running with him. I wanted to run only on my own because I was afraid of injury (running with a stroller throws your gait off) and I really thought that I could have time on my own. Six months later I broke down and bought a single jogging stroller and logged hundreds of miles on it before having to upsize to my current double jogger.My crew of running partners continues to grow - starting with our son, adding our daughter and now our dog.This article from the National Post is timely (As workout partners, dogs can play key role) - having Murphy has made me a more frequent runner. If it wasn't for her, I definitely wouldn't be lacing up while Mr. P is away.Despite being considered mature, at 5 years old Murphy still behaves much like a puppy. If she's not run at least once a day, she gets bored and naughty. She's a great running partner and very polite on the road. I also love the extra protection she provides when I'm out running on the trails (our favourite place to be together). That said, my neighbour told me when we met on the road during my morning run that Murphy's bear bell isn't loud enough and that I need to buy a whistle. Oh, and if I was ever attacked I'd never be able to out run the bear.Do you run with your dog? How does your dog contribute to family fitness?

Originally published on Today's Parent, October 5, 2011

How do stroller miles count?

2011-10-04T19:42:00.001-05:00

These days I've been racking up lots of miles with the jogging stroller. My husband has been traveling for nearly 2 weeks and it's the dog and kids and stroller, or no run at all. Living on a very hilly road these runs are kicking my butt. I figure there is about 60lb of kids and equipment that I am pushing, plus wrangling 80lb of dog.

Needless to say, these runs are slow. Nor are they long. In my pre-kid days, I believe the term would be junk miles. Normally junk miles wouldn't bother me, but I'm 9 weeks out from the Grand Cayman Half Marathon, and I need to be logging better quality runs.

Runners World had a formula - very cheeky and 100% made up - that during pregnancy a preggo mile equalled 1.5 miles. Should stroller miles be counted differently? Should my hilly 8k tonight really be 134k - taking hills, kids, snacks and dog wrangling into consideration?

I've been running long enough to know that running slow in training translates into running slow on race day. What are some ways I can pack some speed into my stroller runs?

Report: Kawartha Classic Fall Cycling Tour

2011-09-11T21:37:00.001-05:00

Ride Review: Kawartha Classic Fall Cycling Tour
AKA: My first century ride
AKA: My warped logic is very logical

(Thanks to Richard from the Oshawa Cycling Club for this great picture!)

Conditions were perfect for my first century ride - no wind, a fairly flat course, sunshine and friendly riders. I completed the ride in 7 hours, 5 minutes (but if there had been a gun, my gun time would have been 8 hours, 39 minutes - we were a slow ship that enjoyed the sights and rest stops). Other than my right ITB being a little tender (that's the side that I grab my water from), I feel awesome. I stuck to my standbys of Just Plain GUs, nuun, PB&J and water and didn't bonk - in fact I had lots of energy at the end.

Is this ride for you? Here's an overview of what to expect if you sign up for the Kawartha Classic.

What the organizers say:
This community non-competitive cycling event is a great experience for everyone. There are 25km, 50km, 100km, and 160km routes ensuring that there is something for everyone.

Registration fee:
$25 early bird, $30 race day. Your registration fee goes to A Place Called Home.

Location:
Cambray, Ontario (2 hours from Toronto)

Course:
Mostly flat with a few small hills. Ironically the town of Uphill we rode through is flat. Rural with paved roads, some in excellent shape. Few paved shoulders. There is one small convenience store at the 60K mark if you need to refuel. The course is well marked if you are paying attention.

Support:
Promotional material described the ride as fully supported. This could wrongly be interpreted as a buffet and mariachi bands at the rest stops. Rest stops are stocked with bottled water, orange slices and fabulous home made cookies. If you use gels or electrolytes or anything other than cookies and water, you'll need to pack it. Because my routes take me in the middle of no where, I had packed enough gels, granola bars, sandwiches, nuun and Honey Stinger waffles to feed the entire ride should we have been stranded.

The SAG wagon, equipped with a mechanic, checked on riders regularly. Because we were so ~~slow~~ relaxed, we saw a lot of the wagon. In fact, as early as 30K into the ride he checked on us!

(SAG wagon at the back - it was hilarious to see it so soon in our ride)

Volunteers were very enthusiastic and friendly - great local folks to cheer you up along the ride.

Business:
There is 1 public rest room along the route, in Kirkfield. Any other business needs to be taken care of in the bushes - pack accordingly. There were honey buckets along the highway belonging to who knows who, but I took my chances with the poison ivy and open quarries (yes, there were signs warning of the danger of open quarries where I was trying to pee).

Post-ride meal:
Because we were about an hour behind the other riders (and two hours behind when the meal was served) we were worried that the food would have been packed up. We were happy to find that there was lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, coffee, water, cookies, salads and sandwiches waiting for us.

Whether you're a speedster looking for a nice flat course or like me, wanting to complete your first century ride, the Kawartha Classic Fall Tour is a must for your fall calendar.

How far I'll go for me time

2011-09-06T15:17:00.000-05:00

This Saturday I'll go about 160KM for some much needed me time.Not to the dentist or the much fantasized night alone in a hotel. I'm not driving 160KM, I'll be cycling 160KM in the Kawartha Classic Cycling Tour. If my estimate is right, that is about 7 or 8 hours in the saddle without anyone calling me mommy. I'd like to tell you that I'm inspired and not insane (Mr. P thinks I'm insane). I've never ridden this far before - in fact my longest ride to date has been 71K. Maybe I am a little crazy, but my motivation for tackling this ride include:- The blogosphere of fit mamas that I follow, most of who are triathletes, distance cyclists and ultra runners. It's hard to not get geared up when you read about women that as early as 12 weeks post partum are tackling sprint distance triathlons- 160KM equals 100 miles, the entry level Holy Grail of distance cycling. Sure, I could do the metric century that is offered the same day, but it's not the same.- It is a charity ride for A Place Called Home, a non-profit group that provides shelter for the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless. If you would like to support me, please follow the instructions here.- It is fully supported. This means that there will be food, water, mechanics and volunteers cheering us on. Did I mention food?- Many riders will be from my cycling club.- I had the pipe dream of tackling a 50K trail run on September 10, but my run training just didn't happen and I spent most of the summer on my bike (hooray for multisports!)- Because I can.How do you carve out me time - is it as radical as riding a bicycle for 8 hours? If you've tackled a century ride before, how did it go? Do you have any tips for me?

Originally published September 6, 2011 on www.todaysparent.com

Warped Logic of Endurance Athletes

2011-09-03T11:37:00.001-05:00

I've never been very good at math and as an endurance athlete I've got a warped sense of logic. Really, does a normal person add a 2.4 mile swim to a 112 mile bike ride to a 26.2 run and think that it is a good idea? Or run 100 miles for fun? Or swim 31K across Manitoba's largest lake? I'm not near any of those milestones yet, but in my head my 70K rides have prepared me to take on a century next weekend.

Because 70K is practically 100K.

And once you hit 100K for a metric century, really, is another 60K that much further? And a true classic century is just that - a classic and just taunts me to get it done.

Most cyclists that I've spoken with agree with me, and that usually cyclists that take on a metric century ride it like a road race and a 100 mile ride is ridden at a more sensible laid back ride. Then again, these cyclists are usually randonneurs and crazy enough as it is so a century of any sort can be done in their sleep.

After checking with my vet (yes read that right, my vet, who is a distance cyclist as well), he said that I should be fine for a 100 miler. My husband thinks I'm insane.

The ride I have planned is the fully supported Kawartha Classic Fall Cycling Tour in support of A Place Called Home. It is large enough that I should find a pace group easily enough. And worse case scenario I drop out with my tail between my legs. I've made my rookie mistakes, and even though I might be bored to death of gels and PB&J and nuun, I know they all work for me. So that will be my nutrition for the day.

It's a tough thing - throwing your big ideas out on to the web. I did the same thing in April when I wanted to take on a 50K trail run (ironically, on the same day as this ride). On one hand, it sets you up for some explaining if things don't work out, but because to blog world is an awesome place, it also offers a way for veterans to support silly rookies like myself.

How did you survive your first century? Leave your blog link here to give a girl a hand!

Death by cold pancake

2011-08-28T20:14:00.003-05:00

Alternate title: More rookie cycling nutrition mistakes

With two young children and no races on my calendar, my cycling training has turned more into a weekend warrior adventure. As much as I'd love to get out for a few 20K rides during the week, it never happens and instead I have one long ride on the weekend. The last few weeks it has been 70K, but I was really hoping to top 80K today.

Ride times are never set in stone - though I try to aim for when our daughter is sleeping (less mommy guilt for me). I kind of set myself up for disaster because I never know when I'm leaving. A smart cyclist would drink lots of water and have small meals. A silly cyclist would drink too much coffee, eat too many pancakes and cram a banana and another cold pancake in her gullet minutes after getting on the bike. I am a silly cyclist because I did all of those things this afternoon and paid the price in the form of debilitating abdominal cramps. This article from Livestrong.com about abdominal cramping describes my situation perfectly - eating too much and not drinking enough. Here I was all worried about the texture of my food on a ride and I didn't even pay attention to what I put in my body BEFORE the ride. Combined with miserable headwinds I bailed at 40K and had my sister rescue me and give me a ride home.

My question today: is there a way to ride through cramping? Should I carry salt with me? Should I have just ridden it out?

Eating while cycling

2011-08-22T12:13:00.004-05:00

I've hit a new distance milestone while cycling - 71K. I've ridden this distance twice now, and rocked it both times from a fitness and nutrition standpoint. My fuelling has been simple: PB&J, a Roctane GU and a banana before, alternating nuun and water and a GU every 45. On my 70K on Sunday, I also had half of a PB&J at the 40K mark. I ended my ride with lots of energy and if it wasn't for the bolts of lightning, I would have kept riding because I felt that great.

When deciding what to eat on these longer distance rides, I found this article from Women's Cycling regarding fuel for cyclists. Their advice helped me plan what to eat, but I found that what was missing was crunchy food. After that long on the bike, I was tired of chewy and gooey.

This weekend I'd like to top 80K. I'll pack my standby favourites (Just Plain Gu - really, it is delicious!) but how do I satisfy the craving for crunchy food on a ride? What do you suggest?

(Look how AWESOME this view is along my ride at the 50K mark of my ride in Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park. I seriously live in one of the prettiest parts of the country)

Meanwhile on Today's Parent...

2011-07-29T12:38:00.002-05:00

Since I last blogged here:
- Our family moved to a poison ivy-mouse-bear infested cottage
- I fell off my road bike while chasing cattle
- Picked a lot of berries and put freezer jam in breast milk storage containers
- Bike a little ran even less

How have YOU been doing?

Motherhood - the greatest equalizer

2011-07-19T15:39:00.000-05:00

Meet Kelly and her daughter Maeve. Kelly and I go back to grade 11, where I was always jealous of her gorgeous hair and musical talents and we also fought over the same boy. Being a small high school, we both ran with the art crowd and shared many friends. I remember several parties where one of us for sure would be sulking in a corner mouthing the words to “You Oughta Know.” In the end, we both lost the boy and parted ways. Feelings were so hard that we didn't even sign each others' yearbooks (and in the realm of all things high school, that is the biggest slight).Shortly after moving back I literally ran into Kelly. She was walking with her adorable sleeping daughter down the main street of town. (Not entirely true – we saw her the previous week while she was performing at the Farmers' Market and Mr. P was laughing at the scandalous boyfriend fight stories I was telling him when he asked who the knockout with the guitar was). I was terrified – would she remember the 17-year-old angst-addicted me? When I told her that was my biggest worry we both laughed – and haven't stopped laughing since.

Ends up that we have more in common than we ever thought, which in some ways really does make motherhood a great equalizer. Like me, Kelly had a C-section and left her career to raise Maeve. But where we differ is Kelly is a talented crocheter and over coffee and scones and sleeping babies, taught me how to get past foundation rows. And I am making it my duty to make sure Maeve gets sticky and dirty so that Kelly can overcome her fear of gross babies. Both of my kids adore Maeve and Kelly – and Gillian and Maeve are especially cute in the berry patch. It blows my mind to think that we've gone from an almost Mean Girls-like adolescence to swapping breastfeeding and poop stories and that I count her as one of my dearest found-again friends.Being stay-at-home moms also leaves us in the same panicked position of worrying too much about money. Earlier this spring I was offered a weekend job of cleaning at a resort in town, so most weekends I'll be scrubbing loos (Dirty Jobs – SAHM Edition will be the topic of another blog post). Since loo scrubbing is not on the list of hot must-have summer jobs, there are always opportunites for work. This weekend Kelly and I will team up to scrub loos together, which amazes me more than the fact that I covet her sparkly Katy Perry nail polish.Have you run into old friends that you thought you'd never be friendly with? Was it motherhood that made it possible or did something else bring you together?

Originally published July 19, 2011 on www.todaysparent.com

City Slicker SOS

2011-07-14T15:43:00.000-05:00

Only once since leaving city life almost a year ago, have I questioned our sanity. But as our fat city cat was being cussed out by a mouse a few nights ago, I cracked.

We had been in the house for a few weeks and the honeymoon period of new home ownership hadn't worn off yet. Sure, we'd had mice (but hired an exterminator). And the poison ivy was starting to die off (kind of). But we were in love with the woods and how cute our cottage home was. Even going to the laundromat and handwashing dishes still seemed romantic (yup, the trees smell that good!)

The exterminator said it would take a week for the mice to die off and it had been exactly 7 days, but the mice were getting worse. Our 5 basement traps were full every morning. Mr. P had to whack a mouse in the daytime and I was killing them with brooms at night. Setting traps was giving me panic attacks. And Mr. P was terrified of emptying the traps because he didn't want to contract Hanta Virus, setting and emptying ended up with me (and no, Hanta Virus is not a realistic scenario out here – he's called the exterminator to confirm it). One night a tailless, three-legged half dead zombie mouse was dragging itself around the kitchen and I had to toss it off of the deck. All of these things happened while I was in my underpants because mice are nocturnal and don't care if you have a bath robe handy.

So when our cat chased a mouse upstairs into our kitchen and the mouse sat back on its hind legs and squeaked and swatted at the cat, I did what every normal person would do. I started bawling, texting my friends and emailing my real estate agent (who I am sure regrets giving me his personal email address). I hate bugs and handwashing dishes and septic fields that make me wonder if there is a dead animal somewhere in the woods.

I missed all of my city friends, sidewalks and Starbucks and bookstores that stay open past 5pm. I missed going for a walk at night and not having to be afraid of getting attacked by a bear or a moth or a spider. I wanted decent bottled beer and Thai food. I missed my inlaws and I missed my family – the biggest reason I moved out here, but also one of the reasons why we left the farm (I am just not cut out to be neighbours with my family, which doesn't make me miss them any less). I wanted a lawn, not a sandy patch of poison ivy filled waterfront with mosquitoes and deer flies. Stupid trees were blocking out my Internet! Who am I kidding – I've lived in cities more than I've lived in the country. I am just not cut out for this life.

A crazy thing happened in the morning. The sun came out. My husband and children were healthy and happy. And I had text messages from my friends telling me to stick it out (many of them are city slickers too, but have been living rurally long enough to know that adjusting to country living takes time and a great sense of humour). Like us, they had bought all of the homesteading books and pictured days of tending chickens and compost (and we've had to get rid of both because the bears will eat them). So the homesteading books have been shelved in favour of buying our food from our farming friends. Our pet Mille Fleur chickens are for sale. And thanks to the bears, I might get that dog I've always wanted.

Originally published July 14, 2011 on www.todaysparent.com

Goal detour

2011-06-10T22:02:00.004-05:00

Less than two months ago I blogged about my huge goal of running a 50K in September. I was running daily. I was eating clean and my life felt balanced. Somewhere between that post and last night my goal seems to evaporate - I started finding my bike more fun than my runners and my eating went down the toilet ( I split a box of KD with my kids last night and we ate right out of the pot). And with only a few more weeks of school left, I can't see any by mileage in my future.

But you know what? It is just a detour.

Sawing logs

2011-05-29T17:31:00.000-05:00

Never again will I question the cost of firewood, especially after today's visit with my sister and father. They heat their homes with wood and after seeing how much work goes into the 9 cords that they need for 3 seasons of heating, I have a new appreciation for my hydro and propane heating.But I'm getting ahead of myself.One of the great things about moving home is that along my bike and run routes there is always someone I know that I can stop in to chat with and have my water bottles refilled. Today's ride was an out and back to my sister's and father's farm. I dropped in while they were in the middle of putting up wood for the winter. It's a summer long project that goes like this:- cut trees from the bush- drag them from the bush and cut them in to 16" long pieces- pile them in the trailer and haul them back to the farm- unload them from the trailer- split them- pile them outdoors to dry over the summer- un-pile them from outside after they've dried and re-pile them indoors so they can stay dryAs a kid, I barely remembered any of this process. We were left to romp around in the bush and enjoy a warm house all winter long. The only things we had to do were not pick the trilliums in the bush and stay the heck away from the log splitter. Today I pitched in despite being in the silliest log splitting get up ever - spandex bike shorts, street cycling shoes and fluorescent pink jersey.

What I found most interesting was that the term cord of wood actually meant something. I thought it was some random word, when in fact it is a unit of measurement. A full cord of wood is 4' tall, 4' wide and 8' long. Here they are they making sure that the stack is 4' high and 4' wide - this one is a little over 2' long, giving you an idea of how HUGE a cord of wood is.
What I really want to know is does 30 minutes of splitting wood count as cross training - especially when sandwiched between two hilly 15K rides?

Originally published May 29, 2011 on www.todaysparent.com

Llama loop

2011-05-27T17:36:00.000-05:00

I have a running route that I call the Llama Loop. It is a 2 mile out and back to our neighbour's farm, where they have among their ducks, cows and horses, two llamas in their pasture. When I first started running here, my bear bells would spook the llamas and they would take off across the field. Finally, after 6 months of running the Llama Loop, the llamas are now used to me and my noise and stay still long enough for me to take a picture of them.

Originally published May 27, 2011 on www.todaysparent.com

Meanwhile on Today's Parent

2011-05-19T14:41:00.002-05:00

Bike month - and a bike safety rant

2011-05-13T16:07:00.000-05:00

(Gilly at 2 weeks with the bike shoes I wore to help bring her into the world - my contractions started shortly after finishing a bike workout with my triathlon team. Yes, I love my bike.)

As much as I am a runner at heart, I love the freedom that cycling gives me. Who doesn't have awesome memories of escaping on two wheels? One of the first things I did when moving back home was connect with the Kawartha Cycling Club and even though I've made it to less than a handful of workouts, I love the camaraderie of riding with a group.But cycling is no fun if you don't obey the rules of the road. Here are my top 6 bike safety rants to kick of Bike Month.

1. Wear a properly fitting helmet correctly. This means not dangling off of your handle bars, sliding back on your head or with the straps undone. And if if you live in a province where helmets are mandatory - suck it up and put on your helmet. Click here for more helmet safety tips from Today's Parent.

2. Be visible. It drives me bonkers that there are so many bike jerseys that are black. My jerseys are all obnoxious colours so that motorists can see me. Wear reflective gear and add a light if you are heading out before dusk or dawn.

3. Be loud. If you are a bike commuter, add a bell to your bike. In many provinces, it is the law. At a bicycle safety day hosting last month in town, Newt was given a free bell for his bike. (They were also handing out free helmets to children whose helmets were too big, too small and too old - NO EXCUSES!)

4. Know your hand signals. This is a tough one because many motorists don't know what they mean. If you are turning left - point left. If you are turning right - point right. I know, those aren't the proper signals, but the driver behind you will appreciate it.

5. Share the road. In a perfect world, motorists and cyclists and pedestrians would all blow kisses at each other. Having been all three, I've cussed reckless cyclists while behind the wheel, have almost hit the ditch when honked and veered at by angry motorists and glared at cyclists that are on the sidewalk (because bikes go on the road, not on sidewalks). If you are driving, please give cyclists a wide berth and slow down. If you're riding, move to the right as far as safely possible. And if you must be on the sidewalk, please dismount and walk your bike.

6. Get RoadID. If you are a runner, cyclist, triathelete or just an active person, Road ID is for you. In the event of an accident, if you can't speak for yourself, your Road ID will. I have the ShoeID with my name, birth year, emergency contact person and phone number and allergy info. It's under $20 and the one thing that I never leave the house without.

Now go ride and be safe out there!

Originally published May 13, 2011 on www.todaysparent.com

Night runner

2011-05-03T17:54:00.000-05:00

I have fallen in love with running again. Inspired by my last half marathon, I've got a big dream of running a 50K trail run this fall. I've also been inspired by a few other ultra runners who have challenged themselves to running every day, racking up mileage that I dream of. In the last 15 days I've taken 2 rest days but instead of feeling sore, I feel energized and motivated with 83K under my belt since April 17.With a goal of running daily, I've had to rethink what kind of runner I am. Pre-children, I was a morning runner (the annoying kind that got up at 5am to put in the miles to before work and yes I would brag about it). With one child and a full-time job, I was a lunch time runner, taking a break during my work day. Now at home with my children and a relentless jam packed day, I've become a night runner. Our household bedtime routine usually includes me putting on my running gear while the kids are putting on their jammies. Once everyone is tucked away I zip out for a few miles.Some nights this plan works well. Some nights, the kids have other ideas. On the upside, Gilly loves the Chariot and I love having a running buddy.

How has your exercise schedule changed now that you've become a parent?

Originally published May 3, 2011 on www.todaysparent.com

Race Report: KMs for Care

2011-04-22T20:05:00.004-05:00

I've decided to change up my Race Report format, from a mile-by-mile account of the race to the things that as a runner, I want to know before opening my wallet to pay an entry fee (like Steph's 50 Marathon Challege). I'll also spend a little extra time on nutrition and hydration as it relates to breastfeeding.

The inaugural KMs for Care race raised an amazing $30,000 for Community Care Peterborough. Funds raised will go towards programs that provide essential services to seniors and physically challenged adults that empower them to be independent in their homes.

My stats:
Half Marathon Tally: 13
Time: 2:17:38
Overall rank: 34/62
Gender AG rank: 11/16

When: April 17, 2011
Where: Ennismore, Ontario
Registration: $45 early bird/$50 regular/$60 race day
Year running: 1
Number of participants: 399 total (1K run/walk, 5K run/walk, half marathon run/walk)

Bag schwag: High quality technical tee was the highlight - thank you for not giving away cotton. As someone who has done fundraising and sponsorship for sporting events, I understand why sponsors want their logos on a shirt, but as a participant, I prefer my shirts logo free. These get worn more often than those with logos. Well made medal with Community Care logo.

Course: Hilly! I think the description said gently rolling, but for this prairie city slicker, it was a world of hills. Even with the amount of hills that I ran in training, I wasn't prepared. From 16K on it was a bit of a sufferfest.

Aid stations: stocked with water and Gatorade and fantastic volunteers. Never a line up for fluids. Portopotties clean and exactly where I needed them when I needed them.

Spectators: every corner had a volunteer that was cheering participants on. High five Community Care for your great volunteers!

Venue: Ennismore Curling Club. With the lousy weather we had that day (rain, snow, sleet, wind) having a warm place to be pre- and post-race was awesome.

Food: hot soup and chili, fresh fruit and veggies, cookies, apple slices, sandwiches, chocolate milk, juice, tea, coffee and all prepared and served by - you guessed it - AWESOME volunteers.

Running Mama highlight: free childcare! Kawartha Childcare Services-Shamrock Program volunteered their services to race participants. Isaac spent the morning in the care of fantastic friendly ECEs, making volcanoes and new friends. What a stress reliever to not have to worry about your children while racing. He raved about it all day. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Running and breastfeeding: at 14 months, Gillian is nursing on demand. In the days leading up to the race, she was just that - demanding. I drank nuun before, during and after the race and stopped at every water station. I have the Fiona Moving Comfort bra which is perfect for breastfeeding mamas because of the adjustable straps. I kept my bra very loose before and after the race, just snugging the girls in for the run and was lump and plugged duct free!

Token Decaf, Please embarassing moment: Having a stranger help strip my pants off at the 4K mark and asking her if I could leave them in her mailbox. I was really worried about being cold during the race and overdressed. I started out with a vest, long sleeve shirt, arm warmers, touque, t-shirt, pants, mitts and capris. By the end of the race I was in a t-shirt and capris. I also nearly spit on a stranger. But I peed inside a portopotty. That HAS so count for something.

Celebrate Earth Day with Cloth Diapers

2011-04-22T18:06:00.000-05:00

Hi, I'm Jennifer and I'm a cloth diaperer. I also shave my armpits and love lipstick. Cloth diapering and being a modern, earth loving mama can be one in the same - but I didn't always think so. I thought cloth diapers were stinky, messy, old fashioned and ugly. I was wrong.

It's been one year since I started cloth diapering - Gilly is in cloth 100% of the time and Newt is in cloth at bedtime. If you're thinking of making the switch to cloth, here's my no-holds barred story. And if you're already a cloth convert, please share your stories! Especially wash routines - I love laundry tips.

The switchI was inspired to make the switch after watching an episode of Popular Mechanics for Kids where they found a 25 year old diaper in a landfill. The diaper was still intact. We were still living in Winnipeg at the time and our only hill in the city - Garbage Hill - was an old landfill. I trained there with my triathlon team and I couldn't get it out of my head that I was doing hill repeats on a heap of diapers. The prospect of saving money in the long run was the second reason.The cost of clothI use bumGenius 3.0. These are one of the higher priced cloth diapers, but worth it in my opinion. They are easy to use (even my husband figured it out). It cost $300 to buy my 20 diapers. Within 4 months I had recovered my costs (based on the cost of the disposable brand I was using). Over the winter the cost of hot water washing and drying was VERY expensive. I switched to cold water washing and line drying without much of a difference in how clean my diapers got - and saved about $200 a month in electricity costs. We've saved $942.76 on disposable diapers based on 7 diapers a day for a year.

The stinkI won't lie, sometimes cloth stinks. But we were also the kind of parents that would jam as many disposables into the diaper genie - and that was just as gross. I need to wash every 2 days because my kids pee a lot and if left longer than 2 days the diaper pail smells like an unattended chicken coop. And when Mr. P is on diaper duty he will not spray out a poopy diaper and sometime they get hidden under the bed, and that really stinks too. But after potty training a very stubborn 3 year old boy, it takes a lot to sick me out. Stinky pee diapers and the occasional forgotten poop really aren't that bad.

The washWhen we first moved to the farm I had a very hard time figuring out a washing routine, which is key to being successful with cloth diapers. We have very hard water with a high iron content (the first load of diapers I did on the farm made my pristine white and pink diapers turn bright orange - I cried). Our water source is a spring fed pond, which sounds romantic, but it means our water changes all of the time. I use Norwex UltraPower on my diapers and bleach every second wash. Though I am not a fan of bleach, the 1/4 cup I use keeps the stink out. I've also become friends with the momprenuer of Changing Ways, the local diaper service, whose services also include taking my stinky diapers and doing a full professional clean on them. Between regular washes and the service, my bumGenius will last as long as my children need them.

The impactBased on 7 diapers a day (6 on Gilly, 1 on Newt) 7 days a week for 52 weeks, my family has kept 2,548 diapers out of the landfill. We've made our children healthier and the planet cleaner.

Can you Change 3 Things?If you're not sure you want to go all in with cloth (overwhelmed by the laundry or the cost - both of which can be daunting), several cloth diaper brands have teamed up for the Change 3 Things challenge. Swap out 3 disposables for 3 cloth a day for a year. The Challenge is also on Facebook and each day they post the number of diapers that have been diverted from landfills.

The Great Cloth Diaper ChangeAlready in cloth? Come out to the Great Cloth Diaper Change on April 23 at 9am! We're going to set a world record for how many cloth diapers can be changed at one time. There are over 400 locations worldwide with an estimated 10,000 babies being changed! Even if you're only curious about cloth, there will be lots of cloth diapering families to talk to and get advice from.Want to learn more about how to go green? Check out Today's Parent's Green Living Guide! For more on cloth diapering, check out Today's Parent's Ultimate Guide to Diapers and Which Cloth Diaper Should I Buy?

Originally published April 22, 2011 on www.todaysparent.com

How does a running streak begin?

2011-04-19T21:24:00.006-05:00

It begins with inspiration
Shelly has run 340 days in a row with a total of 2844 miles so far. Dwayne recently blogged that he has run daily for over 3 years (hitting 5742.31 miles on his run-iversary).

It's fuelled by a goal
50K in September

It helps if people think you are crazy
On Monday, the day after my half marathon, I told Kevin I wanted to go for a run. He accurately noted that I could barely walk. Yes, but I could run (it hurt less than walking).

It helps if you have a cheering section
Even if it means you bring them with you most days.

It is when you realize your body can do awesome things, if you just hush up and listen to it. For me, it was running 13.1 hilly, hard miles into nasty headwinds on Sunday and having the time of my life doing it.

Race jitters

2011-04-16T18:28:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow I will run the KMs for Care Half Marathon - my 13th at this distance. I'm feeling lucky, so even tempted the G.I. gods by eating Mexican last night (generally a big no-no in the running world is trying new food close to race day). My training is solid. I have my race kit picked up and will pack my bag later today. My jitters are not race related. They are child related. Usually the whole family joins me on race day and I don't need to worry if the kids are behaving (driving Mr. P bananas) and the races are close to home. This time will be different - only Newt is joining me (taking advantage of the donated childcare that I booked last minute - hats off to the organizers for helping me out) and Gilly is staying home with Mr. P.

I'm worried about this for a few reasons:

- Gilly's rash hasn't improved and now she is itchy. And miserable. I went for a cut and colour this morning and during the few hours I was away she was a crying and scratchy mess. Mr. P wasn't doing so well himself.

- This is the longest that my breasts will have been away from Gilly (which will be about 5 hours).

One thing I have learned about endurance running and breastfeeding is that hydration and compression can be a recipe for plugged ducts and mastitis (I'd always breastfeed right to the starting siren and then right after crossing the finish line). So I'm worried about the Girls and my girl. And it will be my first race without any friends or family at the finish line (even for the one race I finished "alone", I was 20 weeks pregnant with Gilly).

I know this will be a good thing - I've got some big dreams for my running - including getting into ultra trail running and attempting my first 50K this fall, so I need to get better at leaving my kids (I am terrible at this - I love having my kids around all of the time and suffer from huge mommy guilt). I know Mr. P and Gilly will be fine. I know that Newt will have a blast at the race. I know I will miss them all like crazy - which just might lead to a faster run.

Originally published April 16, 2011 on www.todaysparent.com

Stray dogs, baler twine and Roctane

2011-04-06T09:16:00.001-05:00

If you follow my Prairie City Slicker on Today's Parent you'll know that I went out for a 12 miler on Sunday. It's the big picture post of the run that was my last test of nutrition before KMs for Care and even though I was 1 mile short of what I wanted, I feel good going into my half and know that I've nailed my nutrition for the race.

Started with a Clif Shot in Razzberry. Loved the consistency and chose it for the lack of caffeine.
Next up were Clif Shot Bloks in Strawberry. Thanks Carly for the tip. They aren't gummy like Sharkies. I find when I get bored on a run, popping a Blok helped. It's kind of like a mini-reward
But the true here of the day was Gu Cherry Lime Roctaine. I feel like a total poser using this product since I am a chubby middle of the pack runner, but it is awesome. Not only did it help me get through the last few miles, but it helped me catch Arrow, my running buddy.

Arrow belongs to one of my neighbours, and ran with me for nearly 8 miles on Sunday. He picked me up shortly into my run and when I tried to catch him and take him home, he took off for the highway. Nearly scared out of my pants, I found a length of plastic baler twine in the ditch and tried to run after him. Smart critter, he wanted no part of being caught. As a last ditch effort, I told him I would give him a treat - my last Gu.

Now, giving a very fast dog caffienated and sugary Gu just as you're ready to cut off your legs from the ITB down isn't something I recommend. But desperate times call for desperate measures (we were along a busy stretch of highway and it would just break my heart to see anything happen to him). But Arrow came running back when I squished the Gu into my hands. I was able to catch him and he dragged me for the last 2.5 miles at a 10 min/m pace - when what I needed to do was walk to give my ITB a break.

Taper time now - a few hills, maybe a 5K or two steady runs and race day will be here before I know it!

12 country miles

2011-04-04T19:02:00.000-05:00

With 2 weeks to go until KMs for Care (my 13th half marathon and first post-partum race), 13 miles were on tap for yesterday. I had to sort out my nutrition (what worked post-pregnancy didn't work during pregnancy and I needed to start from scratch). With my phone, bear bells and pockets full of Gu and Clif Shot Bloks I hit the road. Here is what a 12 mile country run looks like. I posted these on Twitter during my run - it was fun to share them as I went along).Mile 3Remember Arrow from a few weeks ago? He picked me up at mile 3 and stayed with me the whole time (including a sleepover at our place, which thrilled the kids). He maintained a 10 m/m even when I couldn't. That last mile he dragged me and my aching IT band home.Mile 4.25Seriously, does it get better than this?At Mile 5.5, I had left a spare water bottle in my personal trainer's mailbox (the downside of country runs if not having a public water fountain or convenience store to pick up water at). Unfortunately someone had taken it out and smucked it in the middle of the road. But on the up side, Tanya was out for a bike ride and I was able to catch up with her while catching my breath and she kindly re-filled my bottle for me.Mile 7Arrow took a quick dip in the water here.

Mile 9There was skunk road kill that I thought about taking a picture of. It smelled as bad as it looked - kind of what mile 9 feels like.At the end I was only able to get 12 miles in - 1 short of what I wanted. Chasing Arrow and losing my water put me behind schedule I needed to get home for the kids and supper. But on the upside, I've figured out my nutrition for race day, have more hills under my belt than ever and feel confident going into KMs for Care. I don't know if I will be able to pull off the 2:00 race I had wanted to, but they don't call number 13 Lucky Number 13 for nothing.When posting my run via Twitter, Astrid, another running mama and frequent Today's Parent contributor, commented that post-babies, her back aches on long runs. For me, it is my pubic bone. What about you - do you have different aches and pains while exercising than you used to? How do you manage them? Any tips for me or other running mamas?

Originally published April 4, 2011 on www.todaysparent.com

Poison control theory

2011-04-01T19:21:00.000-05:00

I have a theory on second born children: if they were your first, there wouldn't be seconds. I mean this in the kindest way possible, but every parent I know with more than one agrees with me. Until Saturday, my theory didn't have a name, but thanks to Gilly, it does: The Poison Control Theory. Here's where it comes from.

Newt was my world. With him, I couldn't imagine making a meal, putting away laundry or cleaning because 100% of my attention was focused on him 100% of the time. In fact, the whole year I was on mat leave, I didn't make a single dinner. (When I became I working parent I realized how awful that was for my husband). With two, I had to teach myself that it was OK to leave the room or turn my back. Because with two, the workload doesn't double, it if infinitely busier and messier and more demanding. Even full-time at home, there are just not enough hours in the day. And Gilly, sensing this weakness in my observation skills, takes advantage of it, by eating cat food, holding down the tap for the water cooler, climbing up and falling off furniture, playing in the toilet and eating food off the floor. Newt has perfected the finger sweep and knows how to get stuff out of her mouth and how high to place things off the floor to keep them out of her reach. He proudly introduces her as Danger Magnet to everyone he meets.

Which brings me to Saturday. We are renovating Newt's bedroom and it is full of cans of paint (lids tightly sealed). While doing a quick tidy with both kids in the room, Gilly managed to pull a plug out of a 5 gallon can, stick her hand in the hole and stick her hand in her mouth. This happened in the 15 seconds or so that I was hanging up clothes in the closet. My tip off was Newt gasping and Gilly giggling - never a good combination in our house. Thankfully, she didn't stick that much in her mouth and my logical brain full of First Aid and NLS training kicked in and I got her rinsed off and out and then Googled Poison Centre Ontario, where I learned that Benjamin Moore Interior Eggshell Super Spec Laxtex paint is not lethal in the amount that Gilly ingested and the worst that would happen was that her mouth would be sore. She did scratch at her tongue a bit, but otherwise showed no signs of scaring the pants off me. Poison Centre was very supportive and informative and I had a very positive phone call. Thank you!

On my personal Wiki (aka Facebook) I asked if 13 months was a record for not calling Poison Control. The record was set by a friend whose 2 year old drank laundry detergent (vomiting). Vaseline made things "slippery" for another friend's children (I don't want to know how slippery!), half a bottle of Tums eaten while mama showered was also OK.

While writing this post I checked out the Ontario Poison Centre website - not missing the irony that March 20-26 was poison control week. What a great resource, especially the poisonous plants section Many of the plants listed we grow in our flower beds. And seeing how Gilly seems to stick everything in her mouth, I am going to have to be hyper vigilant about keeping my eyes on her.

What about you? Is your 2nd born a Danger Magnet like Gilly?

* Please note that the stories shared here are clearly NOT medical advice. If you are worried you should get in touch with your doctor, Poison Control or 911.

Prairie City Slicker Roundup

2011-03-29T20:33:00.005-05:00

Gilly and Guinness, the 5 day old British Suffolk lambie that visited the Music for Moppets playgroup last week

I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off, that's how busy I've been (and for the record, that's not how it's done when you process chickens). Mr. P has been traveling lots, we've been renovating Newt's room and the general chaos of life with two young children.

If you haven't been over to Today's Parent, this is what you are missing:

My theory on why we are only have 2 kids (a call to Poison Control had a lot to do with it). My theory is well backed up by other mums - please weigh in too!)
Showed off the signs of spring around the farm (including a baby lamb at playgroup, which is AWESOME!)
Explained to Newt where hamburgers come from. It was harder than explaining chicken fingers.
Was chased by a large black dog on my 11 miler
And my breasts nearly exploded while driving down Canada's busiest highway.

How have you been doing?

On kale and chocolate

2011-03-11T19:01:00.002-06:00

If you have ever wondered what the difference between chocolate and kale is, it is roughly 9 minutes. At least when it comes to running.

I won't lie (there has been an ugly beautiful truth theme around them log world lately) and my ugly beautiful truth is that I have a very hard time controlling my eating. I binge eat. This past two weeks it has been chocolate. Mindless stuffing of my face with little chocolate squares. And it hasn't been pretty. Especially since I worked so hard in January to lose weight. It has almost come back on.

Here is what is has to do with kale. Earlier this week I went for a run to the end
of my road and back. This is 3.8 miles. It took me almost 40 minutes. It was awful. There were a lot of angry tears. Though at the end I ran more than I did the previous day (zero) so still a win.

Fast forward a few days of clean eating and kale. I am faster and feeling 100% better.

And now with 9 miles ahead of me tomorrow morning I've been fueling with creme eggs and a glass of red wine. Goes to show I am a slow learner.

Battle in the Saddle

2011-03-10T18:57:00.004-06:00

There is no "off-season" for cancer.

To everyone who wants to help make a difference & find a cure for cancer, please help me in raising funds for our team, All The Right Moves for our 24 Hour Battle in the Saddle to help raise funds for paediatric cancer research!

Annie & Rusty Smith are the proud parents of Tessa Smith, age 12 (here she is when she was 11, having just completed the Lindsay Milk Run , a community fun run). Tessa was diagnosed with a very rare cancer at the age of 3.5 months; Bilateral Retinoblastoma (cancer of both retinas). Tessa's right eye was enucleated (removed) at the age of 5 months & she received chemotherapy and laser therapy to shrink the tumours in her remaining 'good' (left) eye. Tessa's first 18 months of life were very busy travelling back & forth from Alberta (where we were living at the time), to Sick Kids in Toronto for treatments. Once in remission for longer than 6 months, her visits were continued at Children's Hospital in Calgary, AB. Rusty & Annie moved their family back to Ontario 7 years ago and Tessa is closely monitored by her original hospital, Sick Kids in Toronto. Tessa is doing amazing and is a very athletic & outgoing individual. She inspires many; us being her biggest fans!

I have volunteered to ride with my old schoolmate Lisa Falls (who I haven't seen since high school prom when I backed my car into her parents ditch so this will be SUPER fun - I can't wait!) and a crew of Tessa Smith's friends and family on April 8, 2011. This is an annual event - last year, the All The Right Moves Team raised $2000 & rode just over 800km (Annie, Tessa's mom alone cycled 257km). We want to exceed this and make our goal $2500. Can we do it? YES WE CAN; with your help!

Please donate - every little bit helps.

At this time, online donations are not set up. If you are able to help, here is how:

Please email me with your contact information and how much you would like to donate

Send me a direct message on Twitter: I am www.twitter.com/jenpinarski

Or send me a message on Facebook: facebook.com/jennifer.pinarski

I will keep you update on my blog about how the campaign is going - thank you again for reading and donating!

Mobile blogging, here I come!

2011-03-06T18:35:00.003-06:00

I am the last of my friends to get an iPhone. It seems like such an indulgence for this stay at home mom. I am rationalizing it because we canceled our land line and, despite being a stay at home mom, I am never home. And even though my husband thinks that I have lost my mind (I've been into kale and pilates far too much for his comfort) I love my iPhone. In fact, my phone was a bit of a savior when
I was out on my long run last weekend - I put a few books on tape and Sesame Street podcasts on here and Newt happily rode for nearly 6 snowy miles in the Chariot. And anyone that has a 4 year old boy knows how big of a feat that is.

Now what I need from you are your best mobile blogging tips. Here on Decaf, Please I use Blogger. Over at Prairie City Slicker for Today's Parent I use WordPress. For this post I am just using Blogger through the Google app, but is there a better way? I have tried dictating posts with Dragon Dictation and it was a mess. A hilarious mess, because my children were in the back seat of my car singing.

So blog world - what can you teach me?

Mixed tape

2011-02-23T05:04:00.003-06:00

When I synced my iPod for my long run on Sunday, I had it fill the free space with music. This was a bit of a risk since everyone in our house has very different tastes in music.
Newt: Raffi, AC/DC, Oasis
Me: Chick singer/songwriters, dance, The Rat Pack
Mr. P: Peeping Tom, Godflesh, Fear Factory

And EVERYONE knows that a good play list can make or break your run. And though can't say I'll be buying much Ufomammut from iTunes, shaking up my play list with some of my family's favourite songs made my run a lot of fun.

And meeting our neighbour's new llama helped too.

Happy Louis Riel

2011-02-21T09:40:00.003-06:00

Having spent a good chunk of my life in Manitoba, I feel I can safely wish everyone a Happy Louis Riel Day.

Not exactly sure what Louis Riel Day is (and as a former Manitoban, I'm still not exactly sure either), check out Death At Your Door instead of the official Louis Riel Day page. It's funnier and more accurate.

Happy birthday

2011-02-20T19:22:00.003-06:00

Morning Breath

2011-02-16T07:24:00.002-06:00

Getting ready for the school bus this morning, I saw that Newt still had tooth paste and milk all over his face. So I did the mommy wash - the thumb lick and swipe across his face.

Newt: Mommy, that has a gross smell. Please use a wipe next time.

Duly noted my boy.

Meanwhile, on Today's Parent

2011-02-14T20:44:00.002-06:00

With Mr. Pinarski away on a two week business trip in San Francisco, KMs for Care training is on hold, as is pilates classes. Instead of working out, I've been making the mistake of taking my children out in public and not looking at Newt's class calendar.

If you haven't been checking in on my Prairie City Slicker blog over at todaysparent.com, you have missed:

Giving into bedtime tickle fights while trying to get Newt & Gilly into bed
Ranting about children's educational workbooks mixing up hay & straw
Ruining (in my eyes) Newt's class Valentine's party
And being humiliated in public with my children jumping on bags of Doritos in the drug store (ironically, while trying to buy the February issue of Today's Parent) and
Posting more pictures of my family's dirty laundry

How have you been?

They know where I live

2011-02-05T07:14:00.005-06:00

Our back yard....

Our front yard...

Yesterday afternoon we counted 13 wild turkeys. And they are huge. And they know where I live. That said, Kevin rightly stated that the coyotes can't be that much of a problem if there are this many wild turkeys wandering around. I am more afraid of the turkeys than the coyotes.

On Pilates

2011-02-02T12:07:00.003-06:00

If you've followed my blog for awhile, you'll know that I don't like yoga. Or don't "get" yoga is more accurate. Or organized fitness classes. And I've always lumped Pilates into the same group - that yoga, Pilates and group classes were for people who can't do real sports, kind of like how duathlon is for people who can't swim.

I was SO wrong about Pilates. I would eat my words, but I can barely lift my arms.

One of my goals this year is to strengthen my core to improve my running and cycling. Inspired by a group of girls I grew up with who raved about Move Your Body Studio and trainer Tanya Willis, I took part in my first Pilates class on Monday night. I went in knowing my core is week, but I was surprised at how well I was able to do during the 60 minutes. In some ways, it reminded me of gym class, except I actually liked it (I hated gym and running in school, and was so thankful to have Osgood-Schlatters to blame for opting out of gym class).

What also surprised me was how weak and hungry I felt afterwards. I swear, the hunger was equal to a 3000m Masters swim. I was THAT hungry. And three days later my core and my triceps still ache. Clearly, I have a ways to go. But the class was amazing, Tanya inspiring and best of all, her studio is just around the corner (as around the corner as you can be in the country). I have grand plans of riding in the summer for classes, or trail running there (across the fields at the back of our farm). But first, I have to be able to sit up straight without crying.

The turkeys scare me

2011-01-30T15:02:00.002-06:00

On Saturday I completed my first long run since October 22, 2009. It was also my first non-pregnant long run in I can't remember how long. It was also my first run with my bear bells. I bought two sets of bells, because I figured that two bells were better than one. I had a hard time trying to decide where to put them. In they end, the hung out with my Nike+ and my RoadID.

I kept a careful eye out for tracks. Below are what I had hoped were dog tracks:

Because of course, domestic dogs hang out in the bush. Rats. Maybe there really are coyotes on my route.

On second thought, I think I am more afraid of the wild turkeys that I might run into. Check this out:

These are the tracks from the wild turkeys. I wear a size 8 shoe, giving you an idea of how honking huge these birds might be.

Either my singing or bells kept all of the animals away, and I finished my 6 mile run upright and smiling (and with a hill at the end because of course, I am a bad ass - and it was the only way to inch over 6 miles).

How were your long runs this weekend?

Meanwhile, on Today's Parent

2011-01-28T20:19:00.003-06:00

I can't find a single copy of the February 2010 Today's Parent. I vainly think it is because everyone in my town has bought a copy because Prairie City Slicker is in the Scrapbook section!

If you haven't visited me on todayparent.com this week, this is what you have been missing:

How was your week?

Bear bells ring, are you listening?

2011-01-27T10:37:00.003-06:00

Since registering for the KMs for Care, I've put in two training runs. The most successful one was two nights ago. I felt I was all decked out for a night run in the country: LED headlamp, Yaktrax, reflective gear. I felt like a total bad ass doing an interval run, followed by hill repeats.

Then I spoke with a girlfriend and neighbour last night. I told her I was hoping to head out for another night run. She asked whether or not I had bear bells. Because I am more city-fied than I care to admit, I told her that bears were hibernating and no, I didn't have bells.

She told me it wasn't bears that I needed bells for, but wolves and coyotes. And since I'm still woefully undertrained, there is no way that I can outrun a pack of wolves are coyotes. Luckily our local pet store carries bear bells. When I explained to the owner that I run at night, he suggested that I also buy an air horn, because if the wolves are hungry, bear bells will do little good in detering them from eating me.

And to think that running out of gels on a long run used to be my biggest worry.

2011 Warrior Dash

2011-01-18T20:17:00.004-06:00

Would it be strange to say that I want this to be my "A" race?

It's happens to the best of us

2011-01-16T11:22:00.005-06:00

New mama and one of my favourite runners, Kara Goucher is having a tough time with her new son.

"When I got pregnant I knew and accepted that running would never be my top priority again. While I hoped that I would often be able to put as much into it as I always had, I was prepared to make sacrifices as a runner for the sake of being a good mother."

Her recent post is so true and heartbreaking and is everything that we running mamas feel. I am fortunate that I run for fun and fitness and it isn't my career. Fingers crossed that all turns out well for her son and her first post-partum race.

http://karagoucher.competitor.com/2011/01/12/new-priorities/

Hill repeats

2011-01-14T08:31:00.003-06:00

Hill repeats with a running stroller is hard. Just sayin'. But being short on time and having a huge hill at the end of my driveway, I have no excuse to get out of the house and throw in a couple of repeats. A great way to kick off my half marathon training.

Lucky number 13

2011-01-05T08:40:00.004-06:00

Sunday, April 17, 2011.

First post-Gilly race. First race of 2011.

And my 13th half marathon!

Worst shape of my life

2010-12-15T13:48:00.002-06:00

I am in the worst shape of my life. Ever.

Here's how I came to this realization:Blogger: Decaf, Please - Create Post
Yesterday I was sitting and getting my hair cut. Gilly was on my lap and I leaned over to put her down (I love my new salon! There are lots of helping hands). I pulled a muscle in my lower back and now I am walking like I am a million years old. My baby is nearly 10 months old and I feel like junk. Even at my heaviest non-pregnant self (only a few pounds heavier than I am now), I was running and riding and swimming. Now I need a rest day between 5K runs.

And I don't mean to post this in a woe is me manner, more in the sheiße mann, where did the time go and what am I going to do about it?

Daring Baker's Challenge: crostata

2010-11-27T14:56:00.002-06:00

The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

I hate to say it, but this is the only Daring Bakers dessert that there were left overs for. Even filled with my favourite pastry cream, I am not a fan or just old school crostata. My crust was delicious and perfect. I had better luck with my pastry than Cara, who had this to say about this challenge:

I learned two new things this month. One, crostata is Italian for tart. Two, pasta frolla is translated to "pain in the ass pastry that is very good but so finicky and delicate that I will never make it again". No, it is, look it up. This pastry reminded me of a teenager, it had to be coaxed, prodded, placated and bribed in order to do what it was supposed to do in the first place. I dropped so many expletives trying to get this stuff into the pan I am expecting an invitation to join a pirate ship any day now.

I would make this again, but choose to do the fresh fruit version. Audax, another Daring Baker has details instructions and several tasty crostatas.

Front page news

2010-11-14T09:42:00.003-06:00

Yep, I'm What's Hot on TodaysParent.com. And I am very excited. And I am sorry for not giving all y'all much love lately. If you haven't been over to Prairie City Slicker lately, here's what I have been up to:

Hosted a Hallowe'en party, which led to my first baking gig
Attempted National November Blog Posting Month, and failed
Emo-barfed my worries about Gilly crying it out
Missed Newt's bus. Twice in one day
Ate too much mint chocolate chip ice cream
Oh, and there what that whole live rat in my freezer thing
Took a croupy Gilly to the ER because of the shortage of local doctors, but have committed to helping our local recruiting team bring more doctors to our community

How have you been?

Hallowe'en XC 5K Race Report

2010-10-31T16:00:00.004-05:00

I got lost. This is the closest that I got to racing.

At least the port-o-potties were nice and clean.

We arrived just as the awards were being handed out. A very disappointed Newt was nearly in tears. I was mega ticked off at myself. We enjoyed the post-race food and took a short hike down the trails. What a gorgeous race site. Now that I know how to get there, it will be a must run for 2011.

On the upside, the race director agreed to transfer my entry fees to this weekend's Dirty Du. Now all I need are nubby tires for my commuter and a babysitter, since Kevin is out of town for the next two weeks. Oh, and maybe a GPS might be handy too.

Farm Girl Friday

2010-10-29T08:03:00.003-05:00

Even Gilly drives the tractor. Though on our farm, green is the only colour we don't have.

I'm in it for the shoes

2010-10-27T20:52:00.004-05:00

I've registered for my first post-partum race. It is a trail 5k. 5K? I could do it in my sleep.

But....

It is a costume race.
Kevin will be out of town.
Gilly and Newt will be dressed up.
As will the Chariot that I will be pushing them in.

Pushing 50lbs of kids and a stroller on trails? While wearing a Cinderella dress and a tiara? Yup, it is a little nutty. But I NEED this race. Besides, a free pair of shoes goes to the best dressed and the race director said there is only 1 steep hill.

Daring Bakers' Challenge: doughnuts

2010-10-27T08:41:00.000-05:00

In our home, donuts are serious business. On the list of things in life that I love, donuts are a close second after friends and family. The fact that I served this month's challenge on our wedding china is not joke. I love donuts that much. All doughnuts deserve china.

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge Daring Baker to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious. I used Alton Brown's yeast doughnut recipe. They could be any flavour or have any filling. I chose to make our family favourites: Boston Cream for Kevin, maple iced for me and chocolate iced for Newt. I made the pastry cream for the Boston Cream using Martha Stewart's pastry cream recipe from her cookbook Cupcakes (which is almost ALWAYS in use in our home).

The recipe was very easy - too easy - and made plenty to share with family and friends. While they were fantastic the first day, they tasted even better the second day. The Boston Cream in particular, because the cream had a chance to mingle with the doughnut.

See, I told you I love doughnuts.

There's this little magazine you may have heard of....

2010-10-21T09:13:00.002-05:00

And I am one of their new Reader Bloggers.

From hundreds of applicants, myself and two other Canadian moms, Heba and Kirsten, won the Today's Parent Reader Blogger Challenge. Over the next few months I will be sharing with Today's Parent readers how our city family is adjusting to farm life.

What does that mean to all 48 followers of Decaf, Please? (C'mon lurkers, show me some love and follow me).

I'll still post here, but most of my farm life posts will be on my Prairie City Slicker blog
I've got some HUGE race plans for 2011, most of my training will be here
I've got some great support from Cheaty Monkey, another dual blog mama who writes Cheaty Monkey and Celebrity Candy for Today's Parent. She will be giving me tips on writing two blogs

I hang out on Facebook (too much) and on Twitter (too much). My posts for both blogs will be Tweeted, so follow me on Twitter (@jenpinarski) to see what I'm up to. Whether it's a photo shoot for a buck, dropping my laundry on cow poop or registering for an ultra-marathon in PEI, 2010 and 2011 are going to be a blast.

Farmer Friday

2010-10-15T08:29:00.002-05:00

Unlike most farm animals, goats cannot be easily bribed because they are really, really smart. Even with a tub full of grain, Newt could only get a few to come to us for a visit. Then again, maybe it was because a little loud person was trying to feed them single pieces of corn.

Like I said, goats are really, really smart.

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-13T20:24:00.001-05:00

This morning's 5.8K run was so foggy that I could doodle hearts on the outside of my Chariot while Gilly was dozing. I love fall runs.

It's less stressful to pay full price

2010-10-12T18:50:00.007-05:00

Each year I stress out about costumes. Before kids, it was the office Hallowe'en party. As as the token creative person in my office, the pressure was especially on to have a creative costume. I had great success as a alfalfa (the crop, not the Little Rascal) and dressing my dog up as a leaf cutter bee. Then there was the totally obscure year, where the office theme was Hollywood and I dressed up like The Color Purple (head to toe in purple, including painting my face with glitter glue). The worst years were when I was pregnant. Sure, there are lots of cute ideas for preggos, like painting your belly like a cute little pumpkin. If you've ever been pregnant, there is NO TIME where you feel like a cute little pumpkin. Pregnant Chicken has some spectacular costumes.

Now with children I feel the pressure to have GREAT costumes for them. Great handmade costumes, nevermind that I can't sew and my own past costumes have been glue gunned together. An added burden is that in Winnipeg, snow and sub-zero temperatures are quite common for trick or treating so any costume has to be able to fit over top of a snow suit and go well with Sorels.

What a relief this year is. Between a great editorial in October's Today's Parent and (potentially) a warmer October, Newt will be Spider-Man this year. In all of its 100% polyester, made in China, full price at Zellers glory. And the best part about buying it early, even at full price? Everyday he can be a superhero - even if it's just riding his bike to the end of the driveway to help me take out the garbage.

Beco breastfeeding - like magic, but messier

2010-10-07T08:30:00.001-05:00

Ever since getting my Beco, I've wondered how I can nurse in it. The literature and posts from users rave about how easy it was to do. But I wondered if it was like the breastfeeding videos that were looping in the hospital when Newt arrive: it was easy if your Girls weren't gigantically and painfully engorged, your baby not crying (or falling asleep). Finally on Beco's Facebook page, they posted Lauren's how-to video.

Like all aspects of breastfeeding, this one takes practice. I watched the video over and over again, disappointed that when the wee babe was latching on Lauren modestly turned her back to the camera. I don't blame her, but it left me wondering how exactly to get Gillian on. I hope between the video and the following tips that you will be able to successfully breastfeed your baby in your carrier (Beco or otherwise). I've nursed her in my Beco everywhere from the security check in at the airport to the toy aisle at a department store (which is when Next told me that it was just like magic - me being able to feed Gilly and while I let him play with obnoxious toys I'd never buy).

The first few times will be very awkward. I started when Gilly was 4 months old and had head control.
Don't wait until your baby is really hungry when you are learning how. First, because your baby will be angry and screaming. Second, if you're like me you will be overflowing and will get milk everywhere.
Be sure to wear a top that you can pull down, to the side or a nursing tank. I made the mistake yesterday of wearing a nursing-unfriendly top (a normal t-shirt like normal women wear) and it was a disaster. Screaming baby and milk everywhere while I tried to pull my shirt up.
If you are modest or don't like subjecting passerbys to your self-made splash zone, bring along your nursing cover to put over top while trying to get baby to latch on. This is what I do. Gilly is also very easily distracted that the cover helps keep her focused. This is also why I am so happy that Lauren posted her video because I am too shy.
I would guess that anatomy would play a big part in this. I need to make sure that Gilly is fairly loose because The Girls would otherwise smush her.
Did I mention practice?
Did I mention I love my Beco?

If you have successfully nursed your baby in your soft sided carrier and have more tips that I can add to this list, please send them to me by leaving a comment or sending me an email.

A beautiful burden - separation anxiety

2010-09-28T19:54:00.008-05:00

“You are the centre of her world, the mirror in which she sees herself and everything else, her manager who copes with her and helps her cope with other things. When you go away from her, you know where you are going and how soon you will return, but she does not…she only knows that you have vanished and that she feels bereft.”– Penelope Leach, Your Baby & Child from the article Early Separation Anxiety on Today's Parent.com

Clingy, separation anxiety, needy, mama's girl....call it what you will, but Gilly Bean is a babe that is not happy if I am out of arms reach. This isn't anything new, but the races that I had aimed for in the spring won't happen. In fact, my 6K run (and a few more 6K walks) are as much as I've done and each time she has been in the stroller. In fact, even just running over alone to my mom's home (which is only a few hundred feet away) always ends up being a short trip because within minutes my husband is calling me because Gilly is melting down. We have now slipped into co-sleeping most nights because that is the only way we sleep well. Or at all some nights. And like all parenting choices, I have received lots of advice on how to get her to be less clingy.

But here's the thing - it is a beautiful burden to be needed this much. And I know that this stage will not last forever, proven to me each morning that Newt runs to the bus, eager to start his day without us. There were times as an infant he was just as frantic. Google searches only come up with results about how bad separation anxiety is and how to overcome it. To some, it looks like I give in too easily to her. Maybe I do. Maybe it is because she likely is our last child. Maybe because in the pit of post-partum depression I wanted to walk away from her and keep walking and I still feel guilty. Or because I lost that precious 90 minutes of skin on skin bonding time immediately after her birth that I will never ever have back.

There are days where I've had to start using Lansinoh again because she is a sweet little lampry. There are days where I wish my husband could start lactating or that I could do something as simple as hang out laundry alone or even just go to the bathroom alone with the door closed.

But she is my baby - still so wee and only 7 months old. My job, I have chosen, is to be with both her and our son full time. To make them know that they are loved and cherished and safe. For them to know that I will always be there for them - whether it is now in the middle of the night for when Newt has a bad dream or when Gilly is needing me because no one else will do. This is my gift to them, just as it is a gift from my own mother to me. And for that we are blessed.

Daring Baker's Challenge - decorated sugar cookies

2010-09-27T19:37:00.004-05:00

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking. They needed to be decorated in the theme of September - for me that means gorgeous autumn leaves, especially now that we are surrounded by them in our new home.

Each month's challenge is always a surprise and this one tested my skills the most. What could be so difficult about a little sugar cookie and royal icing? First of all, they left out that royal icing's middle name is pain in the butt. There is a reason why I love fondant and buttercream. This was my first time working with royal icing. The supplied recipes for both the cookies and icing were perfect - it is the only time that I've made a sugar cookie that turned out. My visions of perfect maple leaves vanished after trying to flood my first cookie and it ended up all over my hands. And floor. And counter. And Gilly's head. Many dozen cookies later I had improved my technique (seen in the above photo). The best part of this challenge is having so many treats to share.

Cloth diapering - diaper sprayer review

2010-09-20T19:12:00.003-05:00

Shaking solids into a toilet is kind of like trying to shake overcooked pasta out of a pot into a very small serving dish. Sorry for the gross visual, but it just isn't that simple. After being covered wrist to elbow and not to mention all of the toilet and not being able to rinse my diapers out in the bathroom sink, I thought that I should order a diaper sprayer. Off the The Cloth Diaper Shop (again). I ordered The Sigma Products Sprayer for $41.99.

According to the product description, "All you need are a pair of pliers and 5 minutes." I had a wrench, a 3 year old and 6 month old. It was a toss up as to who was most helpful. Both win marks for extreme cuteness.

It did not take 5 minutes to install. It took 40 minutes to install. And then it leaked because I was letting Newt use the wrench to tighten it. Gilly was very good and just ate (clean) toilet paper. We finally got it installed and leak free.

This is what the installed product looks like online:
And this is what it looks like in real life, without all of the weird toilet eating plants:

I didn't mount the sprayer because I thought it was just weird. Do I really want the head near my own head? Or put in sight of Newt? Then I lost the bracket and screws and didn't need to worry. I leave it on the ground. Maybe if I had weird toilet plants like in the product photo I could camouflage the sprayer head in the shrubbery.

Using the sprayer:

The first few times I used my sprayer I was very frustrated at the lack of power coming from it, then realized I hadn't turned my tank filler upper knob on high power. Once I did that, the sprayer worked much better. Spraying diapers is still a messy job and I often end up with poopy bits all over the toilet bowl because I like having the highest pressure possible. I've tried spraying them when the poop is fresh and then letting it air dry a bit to see if one way works better than the other for getting most of the poop out. So far for me, there is no one best way because with all of the new foods Gilly is eating, there is no consistency to her poop. I find holding the diaper lengthways to work best, and then stretching it out to get everything out of the elastic folds. Because the outer layer on the bumGenius is so good, sometimes the pockets hold all of the poopy water and then I end up having to empty it. I still do a hot water and detergent rinse in the sink to try and get the stain out of the covers - I have given up on trying to get stains out of my inserts, so they get a good rinse in the sink but I don't worry about trying to get the real nasties out.

An extra benefit to the sprayer: it makes cleaning the toilet much easier.

But what you really want to ask me is if you need a diaper sprayer. I would say it depends. If you have a big laundry tub with wide drains in the same area as your washing machine, I would say skip it. In our home, the laundry tubs are not near the washing machine but the bathroom is so a diaper sprayer is the best solution for us. I think as she transitions from less breastmilk to more solids the sprayer will be even more helpful.

Have questions about cloth diapers or want more information about the sprayer? Leave me a comment or email me.

Cloth diapering - 3 month check in

2010-09-19T20:27:00.004-05:00

It has been three months since I switched to cloth diapers. I still wear mascara and my husband still thinks I'm quirky. Here is my no holds barred assessment of cloth diapering so farndnd:

We are still using bumGenius 3.0s one sized diapers on Newt overnight and Gilly 100%
Other than when we were moving and a horrible water mishap (see below) both children are in cloth diapers
Based disposable diapers costing $0.37 each, we have nearly recovered my $300 investment. Within the next two weeks we will have recovered 100% of my investment.
We've kept approximately 630 diapers out of a landfill
While some things about diapering in the country are easier than the city some things are harder. Easier is line drying. Harder is keeping earwigs out of my diaper pail. In fact, finding earwigs in the diaper pail in downright disgusting. But so is rotting human poop wrapped in plastic and buried in the ground for decades.
The hardest thing so far has been figuring out a new wash routine on the farm. The water here is full of iron and very, very hard. Even with a special water softening system, our hot water tank belches out iron and sediment into our washing machine. My gorgeous Blossom pocket diapers came out orange after the first wash and I cried. My inserts were orange too. But you know what? After being on Gilly's butt for another 18 months, they will be worse than orange. And I won't resell them. They will be donated or handed down. They still work as well as they did.
I think they may soon need to be stripped. Some of the insert are kind of funky smelling. I am going to use the boil method since super hot water isn't an option.
I have used The Cloth Diaper Shop for all of my orders and their service is fantastic.

Tomorrow: Diaper sprayer review

Farmer Friday - Colby's puppies

2010-09-17T08:15:00.004-05:00

One of the best things about living on the farm is meeting all of my mom's critters. These cuties belong to Colby, one of her miniature dachshunds. Her litter of 5 is 8 weeks old and are going to new homes this week. If you're a long time reader, you may remember Sherlock. Sherlock is Velcro's cousin, Velcro being the the daddy of this litter. More out of control adorableness will be coming in the next few weeks - my mom has more litters that will soon be old enough to go to new homes too!

Maiden Voyage

2010-09-13T19:45:00.004-05:00

For the first time since October 31, 2009, I ran. It wasn't fast and it wasn't easy but I loved every second of it.

At the 2K turnaround point - Billy Bean laughing in the sun.

Found this little guy inching across the road. I picked him up and he rode on top of the Chariot for the last 500m so that I could show Newt when he got home from school. It's no creepy gross spider like ShellyRM's buggy run, but I think I prefer this one.

I have been trying not to beat myself up too much for my hiatus from running or comparing to returning to running post-partum Baby #1 (I was racing 5 months later) or comparing myself to uber-mom TriSaraTops who completed a 70.3 (with a 15 minute PR) on the weekend. Her little girl was born a few days after Gilly AND she has a son AND she works full time. She rocks. Or the countless other moms: like Kim, who has 2 kids and completed a 70.3 and biked a distance equal to riding across Canada this summer, or Terry, single mom of 4 and full time student or Cara, full time mom of 2 girls, who took up distance cycling this summer to raise money for MS research, completed a 160K weekend ride and is planning a solo century in the next few weeks. The number of amazing women out there could make me feel terrible, but I am turning my frustration on its head and cheering on these ladies who inspire me and convince me that this sport will always be there and is worth the wait.

Here's the thing: my body can do amazing things. During my time away from running when I would need to remind myself of that, I always think back to my last race. My 22K trail race at 22 weeks pregnant. I came in last - so far behind that the support crew rode in with me, the awards had been handed out and only a few volunteers were left at the finish line. There were no finishers medals and all I got were a few cold post-race pancakes and hugs from the volunteers. That's all that I needed then. And now? Our baby girl laughing in the stroller, a few fuzzy caterpillars and meeting our son's school bus at the end of the day. For me, this is what running is now about.

Farmer Friday - pet spiders

2010-09-10T19:24:00.003-05:00

It must be a boy thing - Newt is fascinated with ALL bugs, even gross hairy spiders. Maybe especially spiders given his Spiderman obsession. We found this guy in a coffee mug/cat food scoop this morning. It took all of my willpower to not scream like a girl when Newt told me he wanted to hold it. I said if he wanted to snuggle with a spider he had to do it outside. He and the spider hung out outside until the supper perogies boiled (about 7 minutes if you're wondering how long that is).

First day of school

2010-09-09T13:27:00.003-05:00

This morning Newt got on the big yellow taxi (what we called it growing up) and took the 35 minute bus ride to the school I went to as a girl. Today was his first day of Junior Kindergarten.

While I selfishly wanted to keep him home one more year, moms all around me - including my own - encouraged me to register him. He is a bright, eager and sociable boy who needs this just as much as I do. He will be home in less than two hours and I can't wait to hear about his day. I am proud - and not nearly as a sad as I thought I would be.

I wonder whether he'll meet the children of people I went to school with, if he'll like the lunch that I packed or if he will get so involved with learning and play that he'll pee his pants. I wonder if he'll end up marrying the Grade 5 girl that is his bus buddy or be permanently assigned to the front of the bus to keep him from getting into mischief with his friends. I wonder if the bus driver is tired of hearing about Spiderman (since he's sitting to the right of the driver) or if the teacher will pronounce his Polish last name correctly. But most of all, my wish is that this will be the start of a journey that will inspire and drive him to greatness.

Daring Baker's Challenge - Baked Alaska

2010-09-03T06:06:00.002-05:00

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”. I chose to make a Baked Alaska with maple walnut ice cream.

Inspired by our move to the farm and recently reading The 100 Mile Diet, I wanted to make my Challenge with as many close-to-home grown ingredients as possible. The cream, milk and butter all came from Kawartha Dairy, the maple syrup from Kennedy Farms and the eggs from a friends 2 miles away. The walnuts, sugar, flour, salt and lemon juice were the only non-local ingredients. As always, the dessert was shared with friends and their children.

Swimsuit Stampede

2010-08-29T20:50:00.002-05:00

The only drawback to line drying your clothes above a pasture: losing your shorts to curious calves.

After breakfast I went out to hang this morning's laundry. I didn't have Kevin's swimsuit pinned snug enough and they blew into the pasture. They sat there for a few minutes until these four Gelbvieh calves decided to see what they tasted like. Then they started tossing them around and were entertained for about 10 minutes until their mamas started calling for them.

Farmer Friday - meet Windy

2010-08-27T20:06:00.003-05:00

Hands down, our favourite animal on the farm is Windy (believe me, that's a tough one because the farm is full of amazing animals!). Once a wee bottle fed calf that my mom cared for, Windy has grown up to be a bit of the farm mascot - at least to my city friends who ask about her each time I talk to them. If you know anything about bottle fed animals, they tend to be big sucks and love humans -this can sometimes get them into trouble (if you've read Kathy Sletto's memoir Keeping Watch there are some great stories about her rascally bottle fed lambs). At least a few mornings a week the cattle are grazing in the front of our house while we eat breakfast and all four of us run out to hang out with her.

She gave Gillian a bath and Gillian laughed her head off. Isaac and Windy are old pals, having met way back when she was still bottle fed. And yes, I am barefoot and in my PJs.

Supervising hanging out the laundry.

This is our new front lawn. Sure beats the old one.

City Slicker's Thoughts of Life on the Farm

2010-08-18T08:42:00.002-05:00

My husband has been sending our family and friends e-mail updates on how things have been going at the farm. Here is his week 3 update.

I thought I’d just let everyone know about some of the differences from living in Winnipeg to living out here on the farm. So far.

Considering there are cows EVERYWHERE out here, I’m trying to figure out why it’s almost $5.00 for a pound of lean ground beef and $4.00 for 2 L of milk.
There are flies everywhere.
Produce is much better here. Lots of local produce and from the Niagara region (I’m guessing). And fields of corn everywhere.
There are flies everywhere.
I had a mantis fall off a building almost on top of me in a town called Coboconk. I thought it was a leaf until I saw the legs.
There are hardly any mosquitoes here. But there are a few horseflies. Persistent little bastards they are.
HST = Abomination.
Doing a face plant off a bike causes just as much damage on a dirt road as it does on a paved road. (Isaac had his first real tumble and we had to pick dirt out of his helmet and lips)
There are flies everywhere.
Our water system is being replaced this week. The water tester who came out this past weekend had never seen such a high value of iron in water. I guess that explains why, besides having a refreshing shower with water smelling like blood, and feeling like Carrie from that movie…Carrie. I’m slowly turning magnetic and having to remove paperclips, nails, and utensils from my body; Jennifer’s blood is now being sought by medical lab companies as a blood assay for extremely high iron content; Isaac weights 92 pounds; and Gillian is orange.
Jug City is the name of a local convenience store, not a bar.
And then there’s the news. If this horrendous crime spree keeps up, we’ll need to move again. I can’t even make this up.
http://www.mykawartha.com/news/article/861435--man-in-golf-cart-charged
http://www.mykawartha.com/news/article/861276--teen-longs-for-stolen-skateboard

Farmer Friday - Earwigs

2010-08-13T06:36:00.001-05:00

We have taught Newt that bugs and critters, no matter how gross, are our friends and shouldn't be harmed. Everything he comes across is carefully picked up, inspected and put back gently where it belongs. In Winnipeg, the only exception were mosquitos. On the farm Newt cherishes all bugs and is especially fascinated by earwigs, the grossest bugs on the planet. I'm not allowed to stomp, flush or squish. They must be gently picked up and put outside with their friends.

Three things Thursday - where the wild things are

2010-08-12T19:02:00.003-05:00

Holding a hognosed snake at the summer fair.

This praying mantis literally fell from the sky and landed in front of us as we were buying treats at the local bakery.

Bushwhacking with the kids - I may need to invest in the hiking attachment for my Chariot.

Farmer Friday - weekend edition

2010-08-01T06:54:00.002-05:00

Once again, RoadID beat me to it.

Daring Bakers' Challenge: swiss swirl ice cream cake

2010-08-01T05:43:00.005-05:00

In order of appearance: dulce de leche ice cream, Mexican fudge, toasted coconut ice cream and cinnamon swiss rolls with cinnamon whipped cream

Each month since I joined the Daring Bakers there have been major life changing events. February was the birth of our daughter, March was learning to parent two children and April through July was consumed by our move from Manitoba to Ontario. It would make sense that I'd not participate in the Challenges because they are so time consuming. But for that reason the Challenges have helped me through the stress of the last few months and most importantly, provide a sweet way to thank our friends and neighbours for their support. I've been known to post bribes on Facebook of packing and child care help for home baked goods.

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home. Daring Bakers needed to make two kinds of ice cream, fudge, whipped cream and the swiss rolls. Yes, from scratch.

Instead of spending one afternoon packing, I searched sites for my ice cream and fudge flavours (vanilla and chocolate were provided, but we could choose other flavours). For the fudge I chose Mexican chocolate and for the ice creams I chose dulce de leche and toasted coconut. To tie everything together I added cinnamon to the Swiss rolls. (Links to recipes at the end of this post).

This Challenge called for making two Swiss rolls and then using them to create the shell for your bombe. My first roll turned out beautifully. My second one did not. Could have been the humidity or my batter for the second falling flat while the first one baked or the Gaelic ale that my husband brought back from Asheville, North Carolina. My bombe instantly turned into a layer cake.

The rest of the challenge was quite easy, including making the ice cream. I don't own a maker and you don't need one either. It is good to eat ice cream that doesn't contain weird sounding chemical stabilizers. It is even better to share delicious food with great neighbours. My Swiss swirl ice cream cake was served at a surprise going away party hosted by our neighbours.

The recipes
Makes 1 10" cake to share and 1 4" cake for yourself for quality control purposes

Mexican Fudge sauce from Epicurious (I added an extra 2 ounces of chocolate for 11 ounces total)
Dulce de leche ice cream from Epicurious (I left out the pecans. Note that this ice cream melts quickly-make it your top layer)
Dulce de leche for the ice cream from David Lebovitz (two cans required for above recipe with enough to spare to eat the sweetened condensed milk from the can and several spoonfuls of the finished dulce de leche, of course again, for quality control purposes)
Toasted coconut ice cream from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop
Swiss rolls and whip cream from Sunita's World - Life and Food (I added generous amounts of cinnamon to both)

Farmer Friday

2010-07-23T08:05:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the first edition of Farmer Friday. This is our last Friday in the city - this time next week we'll be on the farm. In honour of our new life on the farm I'll set aside Fridays to be about the great (and always funny) things that we are learning on the farm. Guaranteed 99% of them will come from my city slicker husband.

Why start a week early? Whenever a goat makes the headlines, I can't resist. July 21 was a rest day for Tour de France riders. To keep things entertaining, RoadID posted on Facebook a photo of Andy Schleck receiving a goat from fans. Of course it turned into a Contador slagfest and lots of goat puns. Find the complete story and photo here. Even better, the next stage featured a flock of sheep. Makes me wish I paid the thirty bucks to get the Versus coverage.

Three things Thursday

2010-07-22T08:37:00.004-05:00

You know you are 6 days from moving when:

Your house looks like this (and I was dissed by my friend's two year old for having yucky floors)

Your lunch looks like this (at least they were local farmer's market beans)

And your boxes are labelled like this (all of the random stuff in your house shoved into one box).

An outdoor revolution

2010-07-20T09:43:00.000-05:00

Last week Dean Karnazes on his Runner's World blog shared a report from the Outdoor Industry Association survey of participation in outdoor recreation activities across the United States. Results from the 2009 surveys were recently released and it appears overall that playing outdoors is on the rise - with the exception of kids aged 6-12. That group had an overall decrease of 9%. Comments on Dean's post range from pointing fingers at schools, government, city planners and parents. Buzz words like Nature Defifit Disorder and Globesity are tossed around.

I am in the fortune position of helping our children have the kind of childhood I remember - growing up on the farm, jumping in puddles, catching frogs and climbing trees. Even if I take a while to return to distance running or triathlon, I am committed to staying as fit as I can because chasing a three year old boy is hard work (sprint intervals are good training for this job).

How do you share your love of fitness and the outdoors with your children? Are you a city slicker that has to find innovative ways to bring the outdoors in? Read Dean's post and leave your own views on my blog or over at Dean's blog.

Right of Passage

2010-07-15T12:21:00.005-05:00

His first road rash - a true cyclist's right of passage.

Newt and his Norco Run Bike are inseparable. He's tought himself to balance and brake and skid. He's fast enough that I need to run to keep up with him. And like all three year old boys, he's adventurous and accident prone. He's endo-ed and wiped out and crashed more times than we can count (including a classic face plant into a mud puddle that had the entire family laughing). He shakes all of the crashes off as good as any pro and brags that he can crash as well as (in his words) "cool moutain biker dudes". Despite all of the crashes, it was only this week that he earned his own road rash. He shows it off to everyone he meets.

That's my boy.

Thankful

2010-07-13T13:50:00.003-05:00

I am blessed in that my family has been untouched by cancer. In going through my usual blogs this morning I read that Beginner Tri Baby learned that her mother may have breast cancer. I left a short comment to let her know that I am thinking of her, but please stop by her blog (especially if you are a cancer survivor or have friends and family that are cancer survivors) and leave a short note.

Cloth containment

2010-07-12T07:48:00.003-05:00

Deck drying my bumGenius 3.0 one size pocket diapers. Things I'll love about farm life: no heavy truck traffic or power lines in our backyard and being able to line dry our clothing.

Prior to giving up mascara and lipstick (I mean switching to cloth diapers), like most parents, I believed that cloth diapers had the potential to be blowouts waiting to happen. Though newborn poop is fairly beneign, it is messy. But at the risk of jinxing three weeks of successful cloth diapering, we've had only one blowout. High risk blowout situations including the Bumbo, Beco, exersaucer, bouncy chair and car seat have all been 100% contained. Even a Beco blowout while grocery shopping with Newt (which due to the laws of parenting, should have been a disgusting mess because you're in a public handling food and have a 3 year old in a gross public washroom while changing a poop covered baby on an even grosser public baby change table) should have been disasterous. I was almost disappointed to not have a good blog post about that one.

Because I don't do dolls

2010-07-08T14:19:00.005-05:00

Thank goodness Billy Bean enjoys Hot Wheels and monster trucks because I don't have a clue what to do with dolls. Now all I need to do is to snag me this sweet jersey and I'll be set.

And who knew that there is a Hot Wheels cycling team? Maybe I can time my fitness and holidays for 2011 to take part in their annual century ride.

And for the first time in 5 years I haven't been able to watch or listen to the Tour de France (no cable and my usual source is charging $30). To make up for it, I am reading Mark Cavendish's autobiography, Boy Racer. Though I knew little about Cav before I started reading it, I am a huge fan (sure, from the outside he appears to be a super cocky sprinter and admits to such in his autobiography) it is a great read. Besides, how can you not love him after today's Stage 5 win?

Race Report: St. Malo Multisport Tykes and Trikes

2010-07-02T10:44:00.004-05:00

The only true multisport Pinarski racing this year completed his first triathlon on June 26, 2010. The Tykes and Trikes has always been my favourite event of the St. Malo Multisport weekend, and even more so since Newt was competing this year. He's always been the cheerleader, never the cheer for and if was a blast for me as a parent to see him have so much fun. I am proud to inspire him to try new things.

Getting body marked. Gilly Bean waiting patiently in the Chariot all morning.
He was nervous going into the water and a promised myself that I wouldn't be the type of parent to force him to do something he didn't want to do. When he realized that he was at the back of the pack he took off like a shot.
Out of the water and into transition.

For nearly an hour on the day before the race, Newt wanted to practice his transitions. We used an inflatable pool and slip n slide, our garage and the driveway. On race day he was an ace.

Such a big boy, yet still my baby. He looks so wee here.

Cloth diaper convert

2010-06-29T07:35:00.004-05:00

Quitting my awesome job in order to raise our children and farm goats 1000 miles away is less surprising to my friends than my switch to cloth diapering. I used disposables on Newt and Gilly up until a week ago and both my husband and I laughed at people that used cloth. So why the sudden change? I blame Popular Mechanics for Kids and hormones.

Newt is a huge PMK fan. On an episode we watched a few weeks ago, they were digging through a landfill that they figured the garbage was 15-25 years old (using the very scientific technique of finding a magazine in the stench heap). The young host found disposable diapers that were still in one piece. That planted the seed of cloth diapering. Then we learned that there is a very strict 2 garbage bag rule on the farm. Then Pampers DryMax chemical burn stories started surfacing and Newt (who is diapered overnight) started getting rashes. And I got to thinking everytime I picked up a $30 case of diapers, I might as well just rip up my money at the check out, because that's what disposables are like. And I am still battling post-natal hormones which have turned me into a mother earth loving mother.

Like everything else I do, I did very little research on cloth diapering. When I decided I wanted to do cloth, I posed the question on Facebook to my friends and on the advice of Michelle, mama of 3, and The Naptime Renovator, mama of 4, chose bumGenius one size diapers, placing an order for 12 from The Cloth Diaper Shop and have not looked back.

So far everything I thought about Before Cloth is different than life After Disposables:

BC: I have to do HOW much more laundry?

AD: No more than I already did. Which isn't very often.

BC: Cloth diapers leak more than disposables

AD: Other than 1 gigantic #2 blowout which was more due to Gilly sitting in the Chariot and her being a save it up for 3 days kind of girl, I've not had any leaks, including overnight.

BC: What about staining? And the smell? Isn't it gross to wash poop?

AD: After going through potty learning a stubborn three year old buy, NOTHING can sick me out, especially breastfed infant poop. I soak my cloth diapers for a few minutes in hot water with a little Norwex detergent, throw it in the wash and I've not had a stain at all. So when it comes to diaper sprayers, in my opinion, save your money. That's what they invented faucets for. And if you're uber grossed out, then get some dishwashing gloves.

BC: They are much more work.

AD: I am lazy. And busy. I throw my cloth diapers in the spare bathroom sink and they sit there until I'm ready to wash them. One day I will get a pail or a bag. But like I said, I am lazy and a sink is always neaby. I also learned a trick from The Naptime Renovator that you can just change the insert with the O/S bumGenius instead of the whole diaper because the fleece wicks so well.

BC: I'll still use disposables at night and when we go out because they are easier.

AD: Why? I have to admit, the cloth does take up more room in my diaper bag and my cute diaper clutch that I had made isn't all that useful any more. But with the insert and a doubler using cloth at night and when you're out it is just as easy if you want to go longer between changes. And instead of a small wet bag I carry extra large ziplocks and carry my wet or dirty diapers in those.

BC: First it's chemical free sunscreen, then baking your own bread, then cancelling cable and now cloth diapers. Are you going to quit shaving your armpits and stop wearing makeup?

AD: Heck no. If if you notice me leaving the house without lipstick, please hold an intervention.

Thinking about switching to cloth too? Want some no holds barred opinions? Just ask. Or when I publish my Book About The Things No One Tells You In Books book, you can find them there. I will be wearing lipstick and mascara in my bio photo.

Daring Bakers' Challenge: redemption in the form of mascarpone mouse

2010-06-27T16:17:00.005-05:00

The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard.

I was looking forward to putting my disasterous piecee montee behind me and couldn't wait to find out what June's challenge was. At first glance I wasn't inspired. Pavlova? I make it at least three times a month. Mascarpone mousse? I hated making mascarpone. I put off the challenge as long as possible. But when I read the instructions and found out that I could BUY mascarpone (like normal people do) and that I could try out a new pavlova recipe I was excited to fire up the KitchenAid and put Isaac to work separating eggs (his favourite job). Though I bought the mascarpone, I did make the english cream with the recipe coming straight out of the Joy of Cooking. The result? Heaven on a plate (how could it not be when topped with sambuca english cream?). Despite my reservations, this was my favourite and most decadent challenge to date.

You will find the complete recipe on Dawn's website and can join the Daring Kitchen here.

Daring Bakers' Challenge: piece montee not a piece of cake

2010-06-19T09:32:00.005-05:00

At least Newt enjoyed it. He has turned into a dessert snob and now requests croquembouche on a regular basis.

The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri. This recipe had 3 main components that you needed to make from scratch: the pate a choux, the crème patissiere, and the glaze used to mount/decorate it. While a piece montée may be a bit time-consuming to assemble, the various components are relatively easy to make and don’t require any special ingredients.

When I log into The Daring Kitchen and see what the upcoming challenge is I always think of how amazing it will look. While most of my challenges have been created while both children are awake, with Gillian in the Beco and Isaac assisting, I had the treat of being able to work on this one while they were both asleep. I figured if I could pull of a perfect Tian with them awake, that the piece montee (also known as a croquembouche) would be a piece of cake with both of them having daytime times, very rare that they both nap at the same time. I had visions of delicate pastry puffs filled with perfect pastry cream in a gorgeous tower held together with delicate spun sugar.

Making the pate a choux and the creme patissiere was so easy, and within half an hour I had rows of perfect little cream puffs lined up (a mix of coffee and white chocolate flavoured). Unfortunately my catnapping Gilly Bean woke up as soon as I finished filling the last puff. Into the Beco she went while I made the caramel. To help me learn how to build my piece montee I watched this video of Martha Stewart making hers (muting it because I didn't want to listen to her guest). How hard could it be?

Ends up, very hard. I burned all of my finger tips and even my elbow on the caramel before I decided to stop dipping the cream puffs into the boiling sugar and water by hand. I used tongs and the puffs stuck to the tongs and ripped open. I tried to cover up the holes with strawberries (against my husband's advice). And when the instructions say to serve immediately, serve immediately. By the time we got around to enjoying the piece montee it was a soggy and lumpy pile. But as they say, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and both my husband and son had a great time tearing apart and eating this challenge.

2010 Race Calendar

2010-06-15T09:34:00.007-05:00

The cutest and biggest reason that my race calendar is blank this summer and I am OK with that.

When Newt arrived I bonded with him instantly, which is why when breastfeeding him was challenging and I made the choice to pump and bottle feed for the first few months, I felt like the worst mother on the planet (being berrated by lactation consultants and public health nurses didn't help either).

When Gilly Bean arrived I did not have that immediate bond. That bond took a lot of work and a lot of time. This surprised me and of course, made me feel like the worst mother in the world. But she was a natural nurser and I credit that with helping us bond. On the flip side of that, she hates, HATES the bottle and when I leave the house for more than 10 minutes. Hysterical, crying and screaming until she pukes kind of insanity that is hard on our whole family. This has made me take a closer look at my training and racing plans for 2010. Yes, I know that our family could work harder and helping her accept a bottle and cope when mommy leaves the room. But by that time she will be 8 months old, big enough to take on training runs and rides, on solids, and I'll have a crew of family to help out. The century I hoped to complete - not so much. 10K fun runs? Nope. Instead I'm aiming for a two fall events in my new (old) hometown that give me four months to prepare for.

Haliburton 25K trail run on September 11

Kawartha Rube-eh 75K cyclocross on October 2

It's hard to think back to the same stage with Newt. I had already dropped much of the baby weight and had a few duathlons and triathlons under my belt (despite having a C-section). I try not to worry about the things that I used to think that I was "giving up" and instead focus on what I am gaining - time with my children that I can't get back, a summer to enjoy running through slip 'n slides and reconnecting with my family. Yup, getting back to racing will be worth the wait.

A landfill free move

2010-06-04T14:59:00.006-05:00

Two adults and two children accumulate a lot of stuff. So much that I've started another blog to help us simplify and keep as many of our unwanted items out of the landfill. Using Kijiji, Facebook, Blogger and Twitter, I've got 55 days to reduce and recycle a combined 73 years worth of stuff.

Find it at http://landfillfreemove.blogspot.com/ where you can link to my Kijiji listing and follow me on Facebook to see how the items are being used.

If you have ideas that have helped you simplify your life, email them to me and I will include a tip of the day to help others live more with less.

Career change

2010-05-31T13:45:00.007-05:00

After interveiwing for this position for the last 33 years (the last 4 of which have been hands on, with double the workload since February) I've accepted the full-time postion of stay-at-home wife, mother, daughter and part-time goat farmer, effective July 29, 2010.

Goodbye, city life. Nearly 4 years after building our suburban house, we're giving it up for life on my family farm in central Ontario to be closer to my family and farm raise our children.

I'm 20 weeks pregnant here back on the family farm last November, with Newt and kids that are a few hours old. Who would have guessed that I'd grow up wanting to be a stay at home mom and goat farmer?

The view from where Newt and Gilly Bean will grow up. Beats beige stucco and a city mandated front yard street and a neighbourhood without sidewalks.

It's been 30 years of city living for my husband, 10 years of city living for me - long enough to know that we need to make a change for our children. As a farm rasied girl myself, there are values and a work ethic that I don't think city life can provide them. It also means that I am able to stay home and raise our children. Throw in a herd of goats with my city slicker husband and this blog just got a whole lot funnier (with a whole lot more caffeine required).

Runs in the family

2010-05-29T21:40:00.004-05:00

I believe a love of the outdoors and an active, healthy lifestyle are one of the most important gifts we can share with our children.

Newt on his first bike, a slick Norco Run Bike in his favourite colour. When I went to my LBS to bike up my road bike from its tune up, Newt spied it and I literally had to pry him off of it. I would have bought it on the spot but a frantic call from home from a frantic daddy trying to manage Gilly Bean's separation anxiety meant we had to leave quickly. For days all Newt talked about was his red bike. I know it will be well loved and since it is well built will also be treasured by Gilly Bean.

They love the Chariot. Newt always makes sure that Gilly is strapped in securely before we head out.

Chariot Carriers says it best: "We are guided by principles such as family togetherness, outdoor activities, health and fitness, balanced lifestyles, environmental sustainability, corporate responsibility, and an ongoing commitment to transforming your family outings into unforgettable memories. "

What lessons are you teaching your children by the lifestyle you lead?