Family Triathlon

On Saturday, Bridger and Kacy completed their first Triathlon! The kids and I participated in the 2nd Annual Sherwood Family Triathlon. Adorned in our Superman shirts, we were team "SuperSchaffer" as we completed the 50 yd swim, 2 mile bike, and 1/2 mile run.

During the swim, I am sure I was quite the spectacle. Bridger had these floaty pads on his back and chest, which helped his head stay above the water. I put Kacy on on a big kick board and I was holding on to her while pulling the kick board while Bridger was holding onto me while I was doing a very technical treading water/doggie paddle combo on my back. Despite our obvious lack of Olympic finesse, we had a great time. Bridger was sad that the swimming part was so short, but we perked up again once we were loaded in the bike trailer ready to roll.

Next year I might let Bridger do the bike leg, but I thought that 2 miles would be just a little long for his Big Wheels Tricycle.

When we got to the run, I unhooked my bike, and put the jogging wheel on the stroller. I asked B if he wanted to ride with Kacy (who fell asleep on the bike leg) or run with me. He chose to run, and Bridger ran the whole 1/2 mile! I was so proud of him. We did stop for a couple of water breaks, but every time he saw another runner coming, he would get motivated to keep on going! It was awesome!

Jim was climbing Mt. Adams, so he missed out on the fun, but I am so glad I got to do it with the kids. We even got medals at the finish line!

Rescued!

My husband is amazing!

Let me back up and tell you why in this particular instance. Easter weekend he was out of town and I had both kids at home - totally normal. That is until Bridger decides to microwave my phone. Yes, that's right - He put my phone in the microwave! Not only did I loose all my contacts and the only form of communication I had with my family on Easter, but the pictures stored in my phone were also lost...

Well... that was until Jim worked his tech-magic and resurrected some of the pictures off the old memory card and was actually able to store them on the computer.

I didn't really realize how much I love phone photos until I was just looking back at these and memories started flooding back. The quality is never great, but they are usually taken to capture candid and precious moments of every day life.
These were both last summer(ish) when Bridger was 1 1/2 years old. Above, B had an Elmo costume on. Below, we were practicing face painting at home.
This was B playing his own version of a card game where a card was being held in each crease between his toes.

Just some cute ones...
Making some project at Home Depot
One walk we were on when I started having contractions...

Kacy's first smile! She was 3 weeks old here!I love my kids!

A big Thank You!

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much for dealing with my moment of exasperation last week. I really am not usually a stressed-out person. However, I appreciate the kind words of advise, support and love I received from publicly airing my grievances. It was comforting to hear from family and friends who I admire so much also experience similar feelings.

It is amazing the perspective that can be gained from writing things down, or at least clearly communicating things that are important. I suppose I had gotten out of the habit. Just as an update, Jim took the list to heart and made some major progress on the honey-do list. Overall, I am grateful for my breakdown, because picking things back up and moving forward has been so fulfilling.

Here's to making it a great week!

The Undone List

Jim and I agree on most things. We are both adventurous and easy going, which is one of the core reasons we get along so well. However, we were having a 'discussion' last night on how we sometimes think very differently and sometimes have different priorities. I realized that the things that might keep us up at night could showcase a core difference in our personalities. For example, if Jim were to lie awake in bed, he probably would be thinking about three main themes: solutions to work projects, new inventions that would make him a millionaire, or his next route to do in his running regime. However, when it is time for me to settle down at night, my brain is reeling with my "Undone List" for the day. These are all the things I wanted to accomplish that day but was unsuccessful, so I feel overwhelmed and inadequate and that I should have done better. I tried to express my undone list to him and why I have such a problem winding down at night, even though I am exhausted - so I thought I would try to write it down so he can get a glimpse of ALL that goes on in my head and so that I can take steps to admitting I might have a problem.

So, here is goes - My Undone List:

1. Clear the kitchen counter tops.
2. Clean the kitchen.
3. Plan out tomorrow's meals.
4. Organize my pots & pans drawer.
5. Get rid of unused knives and other kitchen tools
6. Find the spare gaskets for the magic bullet.
7. Clear off the window sill
8. Paint behind the stove
9. Paint second coat in living rooms
10. Hang pictures in living room
11. Clear & organize desk
12. Do monthly budget
13. Pay tithing
14. Organize pantry
15. Straighten up guest room
16. Prep guest room for guests this weekend
17. Organize office files
18. Clean garage
19. Organize garage
20. Clean out gutters
21. Pull out weeds in yard
22. Cut back grass
23. Rake up moss
24. Wash outside windows
25. Touch up paint on front door
26. Water lawn
27. Choose paint colors for living room
28. Paint living room
29. Price out carpet cleaners
30. Vacuum carpet
31. Sweep & mop floors
32. Catch up on laundry
33. Buy a rod for Bridger's closet
34. Read Potty Training book
35. Potty Train Bridger
36. Teach B to recognize the alphabet & shapes & colors
37. Take out clothes that don't fit the kids anymore
38. Hang up new size of clothes for Kacy
39. Teach Kacy baby sign language
40. Clean & organize play room
41. Prepare playroom for guests
42. Clean Kids bathroom
43. Pick up our room
44. Hang pictures in Master bedroom
45. Fix caulking in Master bathroom
46. Read scriptures
47. Read my book of the week
48. Write in my journal
49. Catch up on our blog
50. Catch up on our friend's blog
51. Do visiting teaching
52. Write my talk for next week
53. Go workout
54. Lose 20 pounds
55. Renew CPR & First Aid certification
56. Renew my ACE Personal Training certification
57. Create a new workout plan
58. Call friend that just had a baby to see if I can help
59. Catch up with friends I have not seen in a while
60. Plan our next party/get-together
61. Copy CD's of family pictures and send them to family
62. Write thank you notes
63. Print up pictures
64. Send pictures to family across the country
65. Find a sitter for date night
66. Plan a fun date night
67. Have uh-hum... alone time with my hubby
68. Price out airfare for Christmas
69. Call my cousins that we haven't seen in a while & invite them over
70. Practice the Piano
71. Dust off the guitar
72. Enroll Bridger in Swim lessons or tumbling
73. Plan our next Family Home Evening

I better stop there, because I could go on if I tried. Oh yeah, this is in addition to doing all the normal day-to-day stuff that goes with raising kids: changing diapers, making meals, feeding those meals to kids, cleaning kids, clothing kids, doing whatever Jim needs me to do, keeping my family happy & healthy, etc.

There is a part of me that knows there is no way to get everything done I want to get done on any given day. However, that never stops my brain from going 100 miles an hour at night and the feeling of disappointment that ensues knowing that I wasn't able to do everything. I usually try not to let the undone list get the best of me, but yesterday was a day where I think it won.

Am I alone in this? Do I have a problem? Is this a woman's thing?

This has been a good thing for me to write it all down in one place. I realize that I can't do everything everyday. However, I don't think that stops me from thinking about the things I want to get done if I could and me feeling like these things still need to get done.

Sigh... Sorry for the boring post. I would love to hear if anyone out there feels overwhelmed from their "undone list" at times too? What helps? Thanks for humoring me!

A visit from Jess!

We had Jim's sister, Jessica, come out for a visit for a week. It seems like any time we have a guest, we try our best to pack in as much play as we can and show off all our favorite Oregon things to do. This was no exception.

As you can see, we immediately put Jess to work:

We went to a concert at the Portland Rose Gardens: (see those two fabulous dancers in the front?)

Jim & Jess strike a pose...

May have stayed a little too late for this one:

We went berry picking and saw horses:

We went to the coast...

and got VERY sandy. (Click on this pic for a close up - it is everywhere!)

More sand...

Bridger could throw rocks all day. We joked that we could have left him at this beach alone and he would still be throwing rocks at the end of the day. (Don't worry mom, we didn't really leave him alone!) Just found it amusing how into it he was.

We also visited the Newport Aquarium. Bridger made this fantastic shark picture.

We pretended to get eaten by a shark. (It was "Shark Week" after all.)
Went deep sea diving
Ate some ribs...
Saw some Jellies...

All around we had a great time!

Thanks Jess for visiting us! It makes us feel special and gives us a great reason to have a fun-filled week!
P.S. Sorry you rolled your ankle on the hike. Hope it is better now... :(

Toothy Smile!

So, not the greatest photo, but you can see those two bottom teeth poking out!