Crash and Burn

Mondays are always for catching up. Especially after having visitors over the weekend. The to-do list was seriously three pages long. And today, I was ready for it.

The day started off strong with . . .

• 2 loads of dishes 
• 2 loads of laundry
• 1 hour of playtime
• 2 hours of work
• 2 photo sessions booked 

It's amazing how dirty dishes and laundry pile up -- especially with a baby. I feel like I use that as an excuse, but she goes through clothes like crazy. Add to that diaper laundry. Well, let's just say the water company must be loving us this year. We try our best to conserve, but it's difficult.

When Ada woke from her first nap, I got to cooking:

• 4 cups of walnut basil pesto for freezing
• 2 gigantic spaghetti squashes -- 1/2 for freezing, 1/2 for the week
• 1 tasty dinner using some of the squash and leftover mushrooms 
• Lunch pasta and eggs, for both of us 

I haven't roasted spaghetti squash in quite some time. I didn't remember how hard it is to cut the darned then in half. So, I roasted it whole -- the oven on 400 degrees F. Just put the squash on a rimmed baking sheet, prodded a few times with a sharp knife for ventilation, and baked for 60 to 90 minutes.

THEN I cut it in half after it cooled a bit. Worked great! I'll probably just do it this way from now on to avoid random trips to the ER. (Seriously: knives + me = trouble.)

After Ada's second nap:

• 1 nursery rearranged for better access to chalkboard wall
• 1 batch of peanut butter oatmeal cookies
• 2 visitors (my parents)
• Quick cleanup of ground floor (for plumber -- estimates for kitchen/furnace projects)

Very exciting news is that initial rough estimates are looking good for kitchen project 2012. I'll have more news on this in like a week once we get some firmer numbers. However, Stephen's "check engine" light is on (again) . . . who knows what that might mean!


One huge task remained: I had to run 11 miles. My long run from yesterday -- the longest of the training cycle so far. I postponed it so we could enjoy some Sunday activities with Stephen's parents (including going to our favorite brewery for lunch, above).

But with all the kicking butt and taking names, I got distracted.

Nowhere in the above lists do you see glasses of water. I also didn't include the 4 draining nursing sessions. Yeah -- not so smart. I got about 5 miles from home at a much, much slower pace than usual, and realized I was incredibly dehydrated. It felt like I had cotton balls in my mouth. Though I was running beside a river, there wasn't a drop of drinkable water in sight.

So, I settled with running 9 miles (took a shortcut home) and feel pretty good about it training-wise. I've dropped to Hal Higdon's intermediate half plan because I've had a hard time committing to the long runs. Not because I have a baby. I just have more stuff I've wanted to do on weekends that has taken precedence.

Let this be a reminder to drink a glass of water -- right now. I'm pounding 'em like it's my job. Which, it is. If I'm not hydrated, I can't feed Ada what she needs. When I worked a desk job, I drank water like crazy. It was a good excuses to get up and walk around. Now? I admit it's more difficult to remember.

Have you ever crashed and burned with a dehydration issue? How do you remember to drink your H20?


And today on Writing Chapter Three, I have a gazillion weaning/nursing-related questions. Ada's eating like a champ -- here she is munching on some spaghetti squash. Anyway, if you can help, I'd appreciate it!

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!