Never wanna say goodbye

Thanks to Brynn being in school, Camryn being with my mother-in-law, and the DMV experiencing technical difficulties "statewide" today, I had some time to peruse the running store as thoroughly as I wanted, for as long as I wanted.  The number of sports bras I tried on reached the double digits, but I found one I think will get the job done.  Who knew that "encapsulation" would be something I'd find really appealing about a sports bra?  I also found a pair of running shorts that a) do not make me look like I'm wearing a diaper, 2) do not sit so tight on my waist that the muffin top I've worked so hard to eradicate magically reappears, and d) won't (fingers crossed) chafe my thighs until they are raw and bloody (try taking a dip in the salty ocean with chafing on any part of your body...yowzas!!!).  Running in place in the dressing room can only tell you but so much, so tomorrow's run will be do or die for this polyester pair.  

And for the coup de gras, I wandered over to the shoe section to find what I was really looking for...the pair of sneakers that would get me through my next 300-400 miles.  I'm not sure if you've seen the latest trend in running shoes, but they're pretty hideous.  It's like the 80s threw up in a Nike factory somewhere.  For a girl whose favorite color to wear is gray, this is a tough sell:

Of course function is more important than form here, but I just can't put those things on my feet!  I told the expert assisting me the type of shoes I've had success with in the past, and she brought me these:

The orange is a bit brighter in person, but I could handle this pop of color, especially when my legs take on the golden hue of a summer tan.  One lap to the front door and back and I was sold.  She asked how they felt and all I could mutter was, "I. Love. Them."  I was so excited that it didn't take trying on a half dozen pair to get it right that I paid for my new gear and drove home feeling like my life had been changed forever.  I was in a state of euphoric bliss, envisioning how delightful tomorrow's miles would be, running on these new cloud-like shoes.  Then I got home, looked at my receipt, and felt like those very clouds just unleashed a downpour on my parade.  What I hadn't realized in the store was that my new, perfect, heavenly shoes cost about 50% more than I normally spend, and I knew immediately I was going to have to return them.  I once had to return a kitten to an animal shelter because my husband had no interest in the responsibility of having a pet at the time (or at any time, for that matter!)...returning these shoes might feel worse.  Having test driven a Cadillac, it's going to be really hard lacing up a pair of Pintos.  The good news is I can probably find a slightly inferior shoe to get me by until these angels show up on clearance when the newer version arrives in a few months.  But I'll never forget the time we had together, sweet, beautiful Asics.  I hope you find a home with someone who appreciates your comforting sole, and when the time (or in this case, price) is right, I hope we can be reunited and go on long strolls together at dawn.  Godspeed, dear friends.

Fantastic voyage

That song "Home" by Phillip Phillips (poor guy) gets me every time.  Since I'm not an American Idol follower, the first time I heard the song was on a video someone posted on Facebook about a college freshman's first week at Ithaca College.  The lyrics and the video stroll down memory lane brought me to tears.  The song later became popular on the radio, and I would have requests from the backseat to turn it up whenever it came on the radio in the car.  The next time I cried while hearing "Home" was during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  A somber event, I know.  Staten Island's P.S. 22 Chorus sang it on a parade float, and I couldn't help but get emotional when I thought about all they and the residents of the northeast had gone through during and after Hurricane Sandy.  

Fast forward a few months, and I'm driving back from NY with my mom and daughters after a spring break trip visiting some of my favorite people on the planet.  We're crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, and "Home" comes on the radio.  I didn't cry this time, but I couldn't help but think of how serendipitous the timing was.  In October, it will be an entire decade since I made the life changing decision to leave my home in New York and make one here in Virginia Beach, and I truly can't believe how great it has all worked out for me. My life today is not what 24 year old me had envisioned, but a million times better.  In the words of Phillip Phillips, I've made this place my home, and I couldn't be happier.  

While I think Virginia Beach is a fantastic place to raise my children, I think it's important they know where their mother comes from and how it's made me who I am today.  I also want them to feel as at home in New York as I do, so I make it a point to take them up there as often as I can.  It's far from easy, and I often feel the need to lock myself in a quiet room by the time I get home, but it is so worth the effort.  It helps that my children are pretty easy to please.

Me:  "Brynn, what do you want to do in the city today?"

Brynn:  "Ride the subway."

Um, done. 

While it still seemed a bit new to Camryn, Brynn looked like a lifetime member of the Straphangers Union.  The hustle and bustle of the big city didn't phase her one bit, and she walked around like she owned the town.  Camryn held her own, walking as much as she could since I was a horrible mother and forgot her stroller.  All they wanted for lunch were bagels with crumbs (everything bagels to the rest of us), so bagels with crumbs they got:

It was cold and windy during our trip, so we opted for some indoor fun at FAO Schwartz.  The girls oohed and ahhhed at all of stuffed animals that greeted us in the lobby, but were particularly drawn to the plastic figures one can find in the dollar section at Target (but were being sold for the bargain price of $14.99 and up at the world's most famous toy store):

And of course there was the Big piano:

One unexpected experience happened when we were waiting to cross the street in front of the Plaza hotel...the horse and buggies were lined up, waiting for passengers to take around Central Park, when one of the drivers offered Brynn a carrot to feed to his horse:

As we're told, this friendly fella was a retired racehorse named "Til We Meet Again" and was celebrating his 13th birthday the next day.  

With two tired rock star kids, we made the trek back to Brooklyn for a little dinner and relaxation.  Mommy was a mere afterthought at bedtime when Dayna and Michel offered to read some bedtime stories:

The following day, we said goodbye to Brooklyn and headed north to Westchester, where I gave Brynn and Camryn a brief tour of where I grew up.  We drove past the house I grew up in, my grandparents' house, a few of my schools and places of work, and they loved hearing my stories along the way.  I pointed out where I used to wait for the bus for middle school, which they thought was particularly fascinating.  Their little minds were officially blown when they learned I rode one of those "two buses stuck together" home from school!  

We stopped for some pizza for lunch before we went to visit the East family in Scahhhhhhsdale.  We were greeted with sheer excitement from Charlotte and sweet smiles from Jackson and Logan.  The kids all burned off some energy in Charlotte's bounce house, which is always a hit with my little jumping beans:

Jackson and Logan weren't going to be left out of the fun:

The girls all had a big sleepover in Charlotte's room that night, and I enjoyed a much needed night of solo slumber after spending the last two nights with a coughing, kicking Camryn.  From Scahhhsdale it was on to Lahhhhchmont, where I surprised the girls with a little souvenir of our Mommy/daughter trip to NY:

It's a "piece of my heart" necklace set, with mine being the large round circle with the two hearts cut out, and Brynn and Camryn each having the cut out heart on their own chain.  I fell in love with the concept when I saw something similar on Pinterest, and sent the picture along to Felix at Rubino Jewelers because I knew he could make it happen for me.  It's pretty awesome having your own personal jeweler!!!  I may be Fancy, but Felix and his brother are ridiculously talented at their craft...pay them a visit!!!

From Lahhhchmont, it was back to New Rochelle to pick up Grandma and head back to Virginia.  It was a long ride home, but Brynn and Camryn were awesome in the car.  I loved hearing Camryn tell Daddy, "We had a really good trip!" and look forward to making another like it again soon.  Maybe next time we can have some extra company in the form of Hannah and Gia:

Right, because they came to visit us last weekend before we left for New York!  They popped in Saturday night, had an Easter egg hunt (or 12) Sunday morning,  and hit the road again to spend their Spring Break in Florida.  Incredibly surreal to have Dayna, Karen, and these unbelievably adorable girls all under one roof.  It doesn't happen often, so we made the most of our teeny bit of time spent together.  Still so weird to look at them all together!

This week felt like a visit to some of my favorite memories of my past, from childhood through high school, college, and even early adulthood.  I am so lucky that I still have these awesome people in my life, even if I am so far removed from where I grew up.  I feel even more lucky to have two awesome little girls who love hearing me reminisce and want to know more about their mom when she was a kid.  And while life may make it tougher to get up there as often as I'd like, I vow to bring these girls to New York every chance I get so they will always feel at home in a place I once called home.  

2013.1

Those Psimases sure are some runnin' fools!  From left to right, we have Ryan's first ever half marathon medal, Brynn's first ever Final Mile medal, Camryn's first ever Leprechaun Dash medal, and my third half marathon medal (that's right, I'm a seasoned veteran to the 13.1).  

I could not be prouder of my little family, as we've all worked really hard to earn those medals this year.  Brynn showed up to Shamrock practice every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon since the start of the new year and logged 25 miles before the day of the race.  Camryn went along for the ride, sometimes literally and on my back, collecting dots on her hand for laps completed as well.  Sometimes we had the added pleasure of Jude's company, too.  Here are my little runners on the last day of practice:

Race day came and rain threatened to make the girls' races a little more of an adventure than we expected, but we got them pumped up with some music in the car while we waited for the showers to pass.  Camryn's race was first, and she ran as fast as her little legs would take her with Daddy by her side.  She was so proud of herself at the finish:

Brynn's race was next, and she couldn't help but be excited when surrounded by over 400 of her Three Oaks schoolmates.  I was probably more excited than she was, getting to run our first race side by side.  I loved looking over at Brynn throughout the mile and seeing she had her game face on.  So proud of that girl!

Both Brynn and Camryn said they had a great time and want to do it again next year, which is music to our ears.  

Ryan and I have also shown up all winter, in the form of early morning strength workouts and logging our miles however we could fit them in.  We've trained through every weather condition Mother Nature threw at us...rain (from gentle mist to total downpours), sleet (ouch), sideways snow, and winds over 30 mph.  It sucked.  Hard.  But the feeling of accomplishment (and hot shower and coffee) when we finished those tough runs is unlike anything else.  I get it now, and I feel like I've earned my stripes and should start calling myself a runner.  Unless you have to have gnarly toenails to be considered a runner...if so, I'm not there yet, thankfully.

Coming off a few great races this winter, Ryan and I set our goals for the Shamrock half marathon pretty high.  I wanted to finish under 1:50 and break into the top 50 in my age group.  Once we got into our corral, I changed my goal to finishing in 1:45 and stayed with the 1:45 pacers for a couple of miles.  Once I found my groove, I got ahead of the pacers and never looked back, finishing in 1:42:50 and beating my two previous half marathon times by 11 minutes.  Coming in 40th in my age group was icing on the cake.  I won't go on about how Ryan did, as it would completely embarrass him, but you can look up his ridiculous time on the internet.  Since my in-laws were kind enough to keep the girls all day, Ryan and I enjoyed the post race party to celebrate our accomplishments.  

A little race re-cap, as is tradition:

Favorite sign - "Worst parade ever"

Favorite shirt on another runner - "13.1 miles?  Ain't nobody got time for that!"
Favorite fellow runners - the blind guy and the woman he was tethered to

Favorite spectator - the toddler standing in the front door of his house along Atlantic Avenue in nothing but a t-shirt, green tie and his underoos

 I think the luck of the Irish was on our side in the form of a tail wind for the second half of the race, but hopefully we've shown our kids that hard work trumps good luck almost every time.  We told them we didn't all get medals because we won the race, but we got them because we did our best.  Today, each passing hour brings another sore muscle group, but I'm basking in the glow of a mission accomplished and looking forward to the next chance to do my best.  Ache on, little body.

"The future is not set - there is no fate but what we make for ourselves."  ~Irish proverb

Sassy Silhouettes

Although Fancy Fonts started out as a one trick pony, providing calligraphy services to anyone who would pay me, I've worked hard over the last two years to expand my empire and appeal to the masses.  I'm always on the lookout for something I can Fancy, whether I'm out shopping or even at a birthday party for one of my kids' friends.  My Fancy fans continue to be my greatest resource for new ideas, and with the addition of Pinterest to my arsenal, watch out people!  It's gonna get real Fancy up in here!!!  

  Until now, I hadn't made anything Fancy for my nephew since he was born in November because I wanted to get a chance to get to know him a little first.  I couldn't do the obvious sports theme or fire trucks because, while sports and fire trucks will inevitably be a part of Jude's life, it was just too expected.  I had my mind set on making him a canvas, so I went straight to the source via text message:

FF:  If you were a canvas for Jude's room, what would you look like?

Meg5han:  Hmmmmm.

Followed by this picture:

Now, animals are right up there next to people on top of my list of Things I Suck at Drawing, but I can usually manage a silhouette.  And thanks to a feverish kid who didn't mind laying low today, I was able to bang this little dude out this afternoon:

I'm hoping this opens the floodgates to a whole new world of Fancy for you all!  I plan to work on a few more with the oh so trendy zig zag background on different sizes and shapes of canvases, providing you with a versatile product that will fit in any room of your house.  Think housewarming, baby shower, and wedding gifts as well!  The more I create, the better I'll get!  Not to mention that all of my canvases are 20% off during the Fancy Fonts March Madness sale...message me on Facebook or email me at karen.psimas@yahoo.com with questions and orders.

Growing old, not up

If you think maturity comes with age, you are sooooooo stupid!  Or you've never met my husband.  Nothing entertains that guy more than a good fart, fart story, or anything flatulent-related.  And I'm the first to admit that his amusement is rather contagious.  This fact will be important later in this post.

My guff-loving husband and I were registered for a race with a Valentine's Day theme, and I thought it would be fun to register as a couple since we had that option.  He refused to sign up as a couple last year, so I thought I'd hit him up again and see if he'd go for it this year.  Again, he was against it...typical "table for one" behavior from Ryan, as his mother likes to put it.  So I did a little research on last year's couples' race times, and I thought Ryan and I could finish in the top 10 if we both had really good races.  Knowing how competitive he is, I informed Ryan of my findings, which was pretty much the same thing as dangling a carrot in front of a rabbit's nose.  I saw that glimmer in his eye, and knew a great team name would push him over the edge and into submission.  I knew the obvious alliterations like "The Pspeedy Psimases" and "Psimas Psweethearts" would be too cheesy for my guy Ry, so I really had to dig deep here.  

And this is where Ryan's love of farts comes into the story.  What's even funnier than a fart?  A shart, of course.  ***If you don't know what a shart is, I'm afraid you'll just have to Google it.  Or watch "Along Came Polly."***  I knew Ryan would enjoy the name Team Shart, but I think it was the slogan that sealed the deal:

TEAM SHART:  BLOWING AWAY THE COMPETITION AND LEAVING THEM IN OUR TRACKS!

Yeah, when I married Ryan, it was so we could grow old together...we never said we'd grow up, too!

Not to discount the Valentine's Day theme of the race, I Fancied up the sleeves to add a cheesy component to the sharts...I mean shirts:

Team Shart fared well, despite the cold and windy weather at race time.  I beat my goal time by three minutes, Ryan finished in under an hour, and we placed 5th as a couple.  With the Shamrock half marathon just five weeks away, there is no rest for the weary.  We'll need to come up with some lofty goals for ourselves for this race and try to live up to the Team Shart slogan.  With Ryan's contagious "suck it up" training mentality and the luck of the Irish on our side (not to mention the promise of free beer at the finish line), I think we'll be alright.

Hangin'

My college roommate, Karen, was the first of my college friends to have a baby.  Some of my favorite memories are of Dayna and I making the trek from one end of New York State to the other to visit Karen and little Hannah.  While most girls our age would be out partying if they got together with their old college friends, the three of us would hang out in Karen's apartment, our sides splitting with laughter over whatever it was Hannah was doing to entertain us (ie, pulling on her hair whenever she heard a Hebrew term such as "mazel tov" or "Rosh Hashanah."  Guess you had to be there.).  After one solid laughter-induced ab workout, Karen looked at her daughter and said, "I'm so glad my kid can hang."  

"I'm so glad my kid can hang" has stuck with me ever since.  Thankfully, eleven years later, I have kids of my own who can hang.  Ryan and I aren't a couple who have date nights...while I consider myself to be a rather cheap date, factor in a babysitter's wages and you end up with an empty wallet.  But we have a lot of fun, and we include our kids in our fun.  They love movie nights at home, bike rides as far as their little legs will take them, and hearing live music at the oceanfront, even in the dead of winter.  Last weekend, while we were enjoying this:

and this:

Brynn and Camryn were enjoying this:

The band shown above would be The Deloreans, a local 80s cover band that's totally rad.  Brynn and Camryn have been warned that the next time we go see The Deloreans play, we'll be in full 80s attire.  And Kevin takes complete credit for that dude becoming Billy Idol, but that's neither here nor there.  The point is, my kids can hang.  

Not only can they hang when we create the fun for them, but they are ambassadors of their own fun as well.  I was overwhelmed by the number of techy toys in stores this past holiday season, and I texted Meghan, my go-to gal for all things educational, to see if there was anything in particular she thought my kids should have. Her professional opinion was forego all of it and foster my girls' imaginations.  Best.  Advice.  Ever.  Instead of zoning out playing games on gadgets, this is what happens in the Psimas house:

BMX practice.  In pajamas and dress shoes.

Staircase sledding with trash bags

Wildin' out dance party on Mom and Dad's bed.  I believe they've got the moves like Jagger.

I'm so glad my kids can hang.

No one likes a copycat

I'm going to be a jerk and steal the theme of my sister-in-law's blog for this one post.  Meghan is currently blogging about "Don'ts for mothers," which chronicles little tidbits of knowledge she's learning as she enjoys the journey that is raising another human being.  If you don't already follow her, you should.  It's a good read every time.  

My contribution to "Don'ts for Mothers" is this:  

Don't bother cleaning your house until your children move out of it.  It will only drive you bonkers.  Case in point:

BEFORE

AFTER

***Cue angels singing on high***

Brynn was minimally helpful cleaning up the playroom, and Camryn kept herself entertained looking through the books she was asked to put in their bin.  At one point, they were both just standing there, watching me.  Want to piss me off?  Stand there watching me while I clean up YOUR mess.  I snapped at them for doing nothing, so they decided to go upstairs and play instead.  While I was irritated I was doing this job alone, it was better than them just watching.  

Feeling good about what I had accomplished, it was onto the next task...vacuuming the bedrooms.  Up the stairs I went, only to find:

Ah yes, those would be the stuffed animals we put in that big pink tub to take upstairs instead of having them clutter up the playroom I just cleaned.  Completely defeated, I decided vacuuming will wait until tomorrow and went for a run.  F it.