Mother / Daughter Photo Shoot 2013

This one is my favorite.

I picked up a Groupon for a JC Penny photo shoot and while Lena wasn't super happy that day we did manage to get a few good shots and few funny and memorable ones.  All of the good shots were literally taken in the first 60 seconds of the photo shoot.

We always get one good tongue shot!

This one makes me laugh so hard.  Lena was screaming her head off, she was so mad at me.

It is starting to feel like a long, long time...

It has been almost two years since I was last very pregnant and it is starting to feel like it has been a long, long time since then.   The old strong sad feelings of infertility have been plaguing me lately.  I notice pregnant women everywhere, newborn babies look so incredibly and yet painfully adorable, I add in my head a list of friends, family members, and acquaintances who have "lapped me" with another pregnancy since Lena has been born.

The most painful thing to an infertile woman is not the image of a friend or family member doting on their new baby or showing off a cute pregnant belly or the latest ultrasound picture on Facebook;  it is witnessing the mistreatment of a child by an ungrateful parent.  It happened to me the other day and I just wanted to slap the parents in the face and hold them down until they understood what a gift and a miracle the life of each child truly is.

All this, it's not really about fairness or jealousy; it is about a longing I have deep within.  It is different this time around though.  I am a mom.  Boy that feels good to say.  Life is full, fast, and busy and it leaves little time to languish in the longing.

Lord, fill me up with your love, contentment, and thankfulness.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS!!!

If you want to know what I'm selling in these boxes come visit my EBAY store!

FINALLY my EBAY store is open for business today!  I have been gathering items from our house and things that friends and family members have donated.  I have prepped them, boxed them, weighed and measured them, researched them, and I am slowly adding several items to my store everyday.  Right now I have Pottery Barn Kids stuff listed and some cloth diapers but I am adding clothing items, sporting goods, other baby items, tools, electronics, etc. in the coming days.  In less than a month we will have to pay another $2500 to do our 5th embryo transfer and also we will have to spend several hundred more to restock our meds.  If you would like to help us meet our financial goals visit our EBAY store or if you are local you can donate items for me to list in my store.  All of the profits go directly into our adoption fund bank account.  Thanks everyone!

VISIT THE SHACK FAMILY EBAY STORE!

Long Beach Tri 2013

Long Beach Triathlon 2013 Official Results

Finish Time 1:46:52

Swim- 21:45 T1- 4:01 Bike- 4352 T2- 1:51 Run- 35:25

Placed 9/17 Athenas and 516/610 overall

Just finished a .5 mile swim, 11 mile bike ride, and 3 mile run!

Today I finished my third Long Beach Sprint Triathlon and I raced to a personal record by 5 minutes!  After having been on a "no exercise" order for over two weeks I tried to make the most of the 10 days I had to prepare for the triathlon since I didn't sign up until I found out I wasn't pregnant.  I had to rely on muscle memory and was able to pack on some muscle and lose over a percent of body fat before the race.  Whenever Dan and I come to a difficult point in our infertility/adoption journey I react in one of two ways:  take a fabulous and exotic vacation or compete in a physically changing race.  It feels good to be able to do things that I generally wouldn't be able to do if I were pregnant.

Beautiful pre-race sunrise!

We arrived in Long Beach in the dark early morning hours and watched a beautiful sunrise as I headed out to the starting line.  Unlike last year's rough surf and thick fog, the ocean water was glassy and the skies were clear.  Dan was my cheer/support squad this year and did a great job motivating me and taking pictures.

Dan, my biggest fan!

The swim went well although I realized that I need to swim closer to the pylons.  Towards the end of the .5 mile swim I swam right into a huge kelp bed and totally freaked out.  The lifeguard on the surfboard next to me must have gotten a good laugh as I screamed "Eweee!  Gross!   Yuck!"  Given the better swim conditions I did finish the swim 3-4 minutes faster than last year.

Traditional pre-race warrior pose!

Right before the race start!

I raced in the Athena/Clydesdale division again this year which I love!  I would say that the majority of the competitors at this race were young in-shape people in their 20s.  It was fun to race with a huge variety of people who are just out there to set goals and accomplish them.  

I was able to improve my transition time from the swim to the bike by a whole minute which was something that I had focused on.  The run from the beach to the transition area through heavy sand is one of the more difficult parts of the triathlon.  

The bike portion of the race was my biggest improvement.  I completed it two minutes faster than last year.  Dan had taken me to work the hills in Chino Hills and I want to do some more hill work to improve my bike time even more next time.  

I did not complete any training runs or practice swims before this triathlon and I could tell.  I was in good physical condition because of my work in bootcamp but I lacked the endurance that I needed to improve my time in that area.  I did feel MUCH better physically than my 3 mile run in last year's triathlon and I probably could have pushed myself a little harder.  I competed 50 pounds lighter than what I weighed in last year's triathlon.  I wore the same trisuit - check out my comparison pics:

Long Beach Tri 2013 - 194 lbs

Long Beach Tri 2012 - 245 lbs

Miss Lena stayed with Grandma and Grandpa since she wasn't feeling too well with a cold.  When I got home from the race she loved wearing my new race medal.  I am excited that I was able to meet my goal to set a personal record today and to have a fun experience in the midst of a personal trial.  (I miscarried our little baby from our August transfer the day before the race.)  I am looking forward to being in Long Beach again next month to race the Long Beach Half Marathon.  Time to start putting some miles on my new Nike's!