February
February has historically been a good month for me. February is the month in which…
-I ran my first marathon (Myrtle Beach, 2001)
–I met Dan (Valentine’s Day, 2008)
-We closed on our house (2010)
–Sweet Pea was born (2012)

Birthdays, Books, and Clothes
It feels like Sweet Pea was born yesterday. And suddenly I’m drowning in my baby’s Hello Kitty birthday party supplies. While searching for Hello Kitty stuff on Amazon, a book called “Hello Kitty Must Die” popped up and I had to click on it, because, how could I not. I then promptly requested a hold at the library. I am at the beginning of Grit right now, and to be honest, I’m anxious, you guys. Really anxious. Because Grit and Today Will be Different made it to the hold shelf at the exact same time and I’m pretty sure I’m going to end up paying a bunch in late fees because neither are renewable. #libraryjunkieproblems.

In other news, I found an amazing top. It’s soft, it’s flattering, and it has thumbholes. I bought it as a running top, but so far, I’ve worn it for general use, including dinner at Linger with a friend (which is certainly not a thing I generally do— it was fantastic and a bit unusual for me to a) go to Denver to b) meet up with a girlfriend c) without our kids). I got paid nothing to endorse this top. In fact, I paid probably way too much for the top. I just like it so much, I feel like it would be rude not to mention it here.

Running
Speaking of running, I don’t want to jinx anything, but I’ve been consistently running 20+ miles a week (this week I got up to 29) without pain. I’ve consistently been doing this 12 minute Foundation Exercises You Tube Video right before I run, and I swear it is magic. I kept hearing about these exercises and filing them away in the “not interested” part of my brain until finally I realized the universe was trying to tell me something. So I listened, and even though they’re meant to to cure back pain, which I don’t have, they seem to be doing something wonderful for me, as far as avoiding the little aches and pains in my hips, glutes, ankle, and foot, which I am convinced are a result of low back/pelvic instability. I have yet to read the book explaining the science behind the exercises, but I’ve requested a hold on that book, too. My plan is to run the Horsetooth Half Marathon in late April.

Vacationing
We went to Lake Tahoe to visit family in January, for almost a week. Very little running happened, as snow was piled up like I’ve never seen. Of course that made my inner runner super anxious but I told her to chill out because life happens and family vacations for total amateur runners do not involve leaving said family for over an hour to find a treadmill. This is what did happen: lots of relaxing, skiing, sledding, reading and Catan. It was lovely. Also, I cracked a little early, while in Tahoe, as far as my No Alcohol in January thing. I was four days from the end of the month when I got the chance to spend the morning skiing on perfect powder day, under a bluebird sky. Dan and I skied together all afternoon, then went to dinner sans kids. I have no regrets about enjoying a glass of wine with that meal. I will say, avoiding alcohol for nearly a month felt pretty good. I never felt deprived. If anything, I felt better. I slept better, and the dark circles under my eyes faded.

Speaking
Right before we went to Tahoe, I had a chance to give a talk on Impostor Syndrome at Flatirons Running, which was a lot of fun. I swear Impostor Syndrome is a real thing. Watch me prove it in this video:

I also gave a workshop on Impostor Syndrome at the DU’s Annual Women’s Conference and it was awesome. There were at least 60 people crammed into the room, with some pulling in chairs, and a few sitting on the floor. I felt discombobulated when I practiced it alone in my basement. When I practiced on Dan, I felt a lot better about it. And when I did it for real, I felt 100% on. I couldn’t have asked for a more engaged audience.

Writing
I wrote How Ten Minutes a Day Changed my Relationship With My Preschooler for Parent.co, and it elicited a ton of engagement on Facebook. It turns out, many of us struggle with our preschoolers. If you’ve ever wondered how so much difficult can be packed into three feet, I have a huge high five for you. As Brene Brown put it so eloquently, “The two most powerful words when we’re in struggle: Me too.”

Other posts I published on Parent.co recently that Facebook might not have shown you:
How to Successfully Take Your Kids Skiing (and a big shout-out to all the knowledgeable parents who gave me tips for this one)
I Don’t Mind That My Toddler Has No Interest in Potty Training (because it’s not fair to just write about her big sis)
How to Show Your Kids You Love Them on Valentine’s Day. I didn’t include giving them candy with breakfast, but I am totally doing that tomorrow.

Several years ago I summed up all Valentine’s Days of my life in a blog post that is one of my faves. Click here if you’re curious about all the unfortunate ways in which I spent Valentine’s Day with before I met Dan, and how I scored an amazing door as a V-day gift in 2005. (Hint: an awesome guy I will love forever whose name rhymes with Brad gave it to me).

What are you wearing, reading, writing, or doing lately that’s noteworthy?

Happy Valentine’s Day!