A Day of Thanks

November 28, 2013 by scootadoot

Victoria

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Yes, I love food. That’s a given. But really, what I love so much about the holiday is that it’s all about family.

As a child, we always went to my aunt and uncle’s house for the day, along with my grandparents and others in my extended family. After J and I married, we alternated spending Thanksgiving between J’s family and mine. We all contributed to the meal, and ate together – brothers, sisters, parents and cousins. And after the meal, we’d all go for a long walk.

Walking by the barn one snowy Thanksgiving weekend

(And may I say, my in-laws are incredible cooks, so each holiday meal tops the last. That goes for table settings and decorations as well.)

Last year, we headed off to Maine for the week, where we hiked all over Mt. Desert Island and dined like royalty. We had a blast, and plan to return for another holiday week in Bar Harbor another year.

Hiking with my family in Acadia National Park last Thanksgiving. Photo credit: (Uncle) Kreg Ulery

Thanksgiving to me is about spending time with loved ones. No matter the location, no matter the meal, no matter the activity, it’s about being thankful for what we have and one another.

Jessica

It’s the most wonderful tiiiiime of the year!

I adore Thanksgiving. I grew up celebrating it (and every other holiday) with my raucous extended family and I’ve carried that feeling with me through the years even though we’re all spread out now. Wah. The great news is that Mister Jess’s family is local, so we often spend the day with them. We’ll be doing that again this year, and I fully anticipate enjoying everything I love about this holiday: good food, great company, lots of thanks and lots of laughter. What’s not to love?!

Brooke

I’ve always loved Thanksgiving. Gathering around a table to share food and conversation with my family fills me with warm fuzzies. It’s the perfect place and time to feel connected to my most important people.On Thanksgiving morning, my mom would make pumpkin pancakes and then we’d watch the parade on tv- something I do with my own kids now.

Getting ready to watch the Macy’s parade on my middle baby’s first Thanksgiving.

As a child, it was my job to make and set out place cards at our dinner table. My grandma would hand me a stack of cards and a fancy pen and send me to work. Now that my girls are old enough, I’m continuing the tradition. Last year, the girls and I made turkey place cards out of wine corks.

Last Thanksgiving, less than two weeks before Little Dude arrived!

In the past we’ve hosted Thanksgiving, but last year, I was close to giving birth, and this year, our dining room has become a playroom for the kids. We’ll go to my in-laws to eat, but we’ll bring our Thanksgiving tablecloth- a tradition we began three years ago. We started with a white tablecloth, and each year, using fabric markers, we add a drawing, or turkey handprints for the kids (to see how they’ve grown) and a sentence about something for which we’re grateful.

My husband soothing our oldest girl on her first Thanksgiving- she was a little peanut at one month old!

I always make dessert. I’ve been planning my pie menu for weeks- can’t have just one, we need options!

Meridith

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays although when I was younger it was difficult for me to pinpoint exactly why. I don’t really like turkey (I’m more of a sides type of girl). We never had a set house we went to – usually my cousins hosted it or my family did, depending on the year and the circumstances.

When I married Jay and started a family of my own, my in-laws began to host the holiday with great regularity and invite my parents each year to join in the festivities, too.

Thanksgivings of days gone by.

Since I’ve grown up and gained perspective, I’ve realized why it’s my favorite; Thanksgiving is about being grateful for what we have and furthermore, for helping those in need. Being that we don’t host Thanksgiving, our free holiday turkey from the grocery store is donated, along with other canned goods and non-perishable items. A holiday with the sole intention of being with family and helping other families? That is my kind of holiday!

Additionally, we celebrate Hanukkah so we’ll be partying it up Thanksgivukkah style!

Cam

My Thanksgiving traditions are pretty typical. My large, Italian family gathers, we each bring a dish…I usually bring cookies, and we eat too much food and drink too much wine and laugh way too loudly.. And trust me when I say, in my family, food is no joke.

I mean, we have lasagna as a side dish. For the last couple years, I’ve began the day of gluttony with the Claremont Turkey Trot. Running the 5k first thing in the morning makes me feel less guilty about the large quantities of calories I’m about to ingest.

Sensing a theme here?

This year, however, I will not be running. I will be participating is a special Thanksgiving R.I.P.P.E.D. class at T3 Fitness. Because I really, really love food and wine!

Bec

I have always loved Thanksgiving, both the day itself and the idea of a day to give thanks. My oldest memories are of going to my grandmother’s house. My Grampa, a truly wonderful man that I am thankful to have known, used to pay me if I could find lumps in the mashed potatoes. A nickle a lump, and he always made good on it.

As I got older, and our family grew, my mom started hosting Thanksgiving, I loved helping out with the prep. My specialty was mashed butternut squash with so much butter and brown sugar that my teeth, and my arteries, ache just thinking about it. We always wound up with extra people at our house, and it was always a special day.

My first Thanksgiving on my own was a hot mess. I had no idea how to coordinate it so everything was ready at the same time. My gravy was beyond gross. We lived in North Carolina at the time, where my husband was stationed, and anyone we knew that couldn’t go home for the holiday came to our place. So while the meal was not winning any prizes, we gave people a place to go, and that was something special. My years in the South gave me a love of Southern Cornbread Dressing and Sweet Potato Casserole.

I’ve hosted all but one Thanksgiving since we moved back to Massachusetts thirteen years ago. My cooking skills have improved, my menu has gotten bigger and more varied, and my guest list changes yearly, but the feeling of being surrounded by friends and family has been my constant. We’ve had years without Pumpkin Pie. We’ve had years where the pies outnumbered the guests (10 to 8). We’ve had years with snow, and rain, and sleet. But every year, I’ve had a day filled with good food and good people whom I love dearly.

For all the things I have in my life, on this day, and every day, I am truly thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Our first meeting

November 26, 2013 by vfreile

Before we ever met in person, Meri and I were pen pals. We wrote letters almost daily for months before we finally met in person this week, 21 years ago.

I had been dying to meet Meri in person for months and, somehow, successfully badgered my parents to let me spend Thanksgiving break in NJ with Meri and her family.

It’s become quite the joke in both our families, that my parents were willing to ship me off to strangers for a few days, and that Meri’s family didn’t reject inviting an unknown teenage girl into their own home.

“They seemed like good people,” my mother says when prodded about the decision. Our moms spoke on the phone several weeks prior, approved of each other and decided to permit my trip.

Mother knows best. But little did any of us know, this journey was the first of many meetings for Meri and me.

I should further explain our background. Meri and I were pen pals for many months before our famed in-person meeting. We actually met through a mutual friend who I befriended at a concert in NJ one year prior. Meri was a close friend of the concertgoer, who months later moved to the Midwest.

We wrote daily, chatted on the phone and send each other “audio letters,” that’s a recorded, rambling message on a cassette tape. We shared a love of writing, music, books and Disney. And we loved address labels and stationary – still do!

The day before Thanksgiving I boarded a train alone for Trenton, NJ. Little did I know I was traveling on the busiest travel day of the year. I also didn’t have a clue I’d need to switch trains in Philly without anyone to guide me. Sure, I was 16 but I still hadn’t gotten my driver’s license and had never traveled solo before.

And, of course, I had overpacked. (Because every girl needs two suitcases and a video camera for a 4-day adventure to visit her bestie. Right?!)

I was a bit overwhelmed in the travel hustle, but managed the board the correct train (twice!) and hours later arrived in Trenton. Meri and her dad were waiting for me at the station.

We hugged, squealed and giggled like (well) teenage girls. Then we made a music video. (I wish I could say I was kidding, but I’m not. We were so cool.)

Exhibit A of our coolness factor

The weekend festivities went all too fast. We danced, we sang, we swapped stories. We enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with Meri’s family, which was also my first holiday away from my own home. We attended several parties with Meri’s friends and watched Aladdin in the theater.

It should be noted we are wearing each others jackets. Why? Because.

We spent Black Friday in NYC – where ironically we did not shop, but visited the Natural Museum of History and Hayden Planetarium (I fell asleep!) then walked all over Central Park and midtown, avoiding subway vents on each block because we were afraid we’d fall down to the tracks.

All dressed up and nowhere to go.

We stayed up until early morning hours gossiping and giggling.

And of course, we took lots of photos. We still laugh at our fateful decision to get portraits taken as a pair. That’s where we came up with this beauty:

The weekend was the first of many get-togethers over the next two decades.

Together, we’ve explored NYC many times, sang along in concert with boy bands, savored chocolate in Hershey, PA, hiked a canyon in California and ran hand-in-hand through Cinderella’s Castle in Florida.

I cheered alongside Mer’s parents as she earned her masters degree.

And she cheered as I ran my first marathon.

Philly Marathon 2010

We were each bridesmaids in the other’s wedding and I am auntie to her two incredible sons.

Christmas 2012

Ironically, we both lost touch with our mutual friend, but we were blessed with each other. And this week, I can’t think of a better reason to be thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Who else is thankful for a longtime best friend? How did you meet? Will you also share embarrassing photos with us? Tell us more in the comments.

Race Recap: The Ugly Sweater Run

November 22, 2013 by writeitdownjess

If you want to destroy my sweater, whoa whoa whoa…

I’m sure most of the people who participated in The Ugly Sweater Run last Saturday in San Rafael did destroy their sweaters after they were done with this race. Or maybe they kept them because they love tremendously ugly things. My ugly sweater is buried at the bottom of my laundry basket. Mister Jess’s sweater will live in infamy forever (more on that later).

I digress.

The Ugly Sweater Run. It is the ugliest of races, but certainly a lot of fun! The concept is pretty self-explanatory, but I’ll explain anyway: it’s a holiday-themed 5K that celebrates the glorious eye sore that is the ugly sweater. The uglier the better, in fact. From a participant standpoint, it’s a fun challenge trying to find the most offensive-looking sweater imaginable. No easy feat, let me tell you, but my girl Target came through. In fact, I found atrocious outfits for the whole family! Oh, what fun it is to dress in gaudy holiday-wear.

My outfit ended up looking a little something like this:

Unfortunately I was a dime a dozen on race day, at least where my sweater was concerned. Is Target a popular place to shop?

Our kids (furry and human) got in on the action too:

So mad.

But the real show stopper here was Mister Jess. Hopefully he won’t file for divorce when he finds out I’m showing this picture to all of you:

Yep. Target had this gem tucked into a corner. Kind of a no-brainer.

So, we got all gussied up, piled into the car, and made our way up to San Rafael.

I will note that when I signed up for this race, I saw “San Francisco” in the title and thought, “DONE.” I didn’t even bother to check that it was actually in the city, which was my mistake. I’ve found that a lot of races tend to say “hey, we’re hosting in San Francisco!” and actually mean “well, it’s kiiiiind of in San Francisco. As in the Bay Area. As in not in San Francisco.” But hey, no problem. We were willing to hop up to Marin for this unique experience.

I digress again.

We got to the Marin County Fairgrounds where the race was being held and were inundated with ugliness. There were ugly sweaters EVERYWHERE. And not just sweaters, but entire awful outfits. It was amazing. People were also decked out in the Ugly Sweater Run knit hats given out during packet pick-up the day before. Those are not ugly at all and will definitely be worn by me if it ever gets cold here this winter.

One of my favorites. Obviously homemade, obviously amazing.

If you look closely, there is a runner dressed like a Christmas tree, complete with a star on her head.

If you look closely, there is a runner dressed like a Christmas tree, complete with a star topper on her head.

About the weather: it was effing hot. Like, 70 plus degrees out, which is just a 100% nightmare when you’re dressed in wool. Or polyester. Either way, our running outfits weren’t breathable so Mister Jess and I basically started sweating as soon as we stepped out of the car.

Still we marched on. We made our way to the start line, where they were blowing fake snow out of a fake snow machine (is there a proper name for that? Dunno) and a pretty awesome emcee was pumping up the crowd. This was one of the smaller races I’ve participated in. I’m not the greatest estimator, I’d guess there were maybe 1,000 people there. It was a very enthusiastic crowd, though, so what we lacked in numbers we made up for in “woot woot”s.

Looks like Christmas, feels like Florida.

We stuck Le Pup in the BOB with Bug, which people thought was pretty hysterical. In fact, we were popular as a whole – ugly family-ed out, complete with Korean Santa (Mister Jess gave himself that title).

Ready to roll!

There were a few countdowns from 10, but one finally stuck and then we were off. The course was completely flat, which I appreciated given that I hadn’t run in…er, months. Mister Jess hadn’t either, but he still managed to run ahead of me the entire time. And that was with three flat tires on the jogging stroller. Yes, we were lucky enough to get flats on every single tire on the BOB. Not fun. For the dude, at least. Bug and Reily were sitting pretty, and I was basically just trying to keep up/not sweat to death/not think about how parched I was.

There was a photo op station set up not far from the start line, so we stopped there and opped (yay, a break! I needed it).

Under the blazing sun.

Then we continued on. At about the halfway point, there was a water station set up, which I gratefully stopped for. In addition to the water, volunteers were also passing out hot chocolate. An adorable idea, but I couldn’t even look at it. I imagine it’ll go over better in a place where it’s not 100 degrees with 200% humidity.

At one point, we were plodding along – or I was plodding; Mister Jess was bopping along – and a runner passed us and said “hey, Korean Santa!” Oddly enough, this gave me a small burst of energy. We were race-famous! Or at least we were to this guy.

The course was not entirely exciting. We ran along a dirt path for much of the race, and toward the end circled around a pond. I was getting tired. It was 150 degrees. Needed a drink. Took one from Bug’s sippy cup. Not my finest moment. Sweated. Took a break under the guise of releasing Reily from the stroller to “stretch his legs.” Followed him around a bit while he peed on every blade of grass. Sweated. Decided I needed to run the last stretch to the finish line. Picked up the pace!

Approximately 50 miles later (or 1.5, whatever), we passed through the enchanted forest – four blow-up trees that were being danced around by some dudes, one of whom was twerking – and then the finish line! So elated. So sweaty.

As if to drive the point home that this was a fun race not a race race, there was no clock at the finish line so I have no idea what our time was. Completely beside the point anyway. I signed up for this race to get ugly, not to PR!

Salvation!

We did it!

Overall, this was a great race. Well organized, fun, and FUN. It obviously doesn’t take itself seriously and wants its participants to do the same. Running is just an added benefit to what The Ugly Sweater Run is really about: dreaming up the most atrocious running outfit you’ll ever wear, and having the opportunity to post humorous selfies on various social media platforms.

Are any of our Scoot readers doing this race? Have you already done it? Are you as obsessed with Mister Jess’s Korean Santa outfit as I am? Talk to me in the comments!

Happy Anniversary to Me

November 12, 2013 by beewhobabbles

Well, it was a pretty humdrum weekend for most of us at the Scoot A Doot blog…

Kidding.

If you follow any of us on twitter, Instagram or Facebook, you know that 4/6 of us were at Disney for the Wine and Dine half marathon. For me, it wasn’t a PR, but it was right around what I expected to run- 10 minute miles- for a chip time of 2:11:33. I’m pleased and now I’m plotting. But more on all that later this week.

Yesterday, I celebrated seven years of marriage with my mister. (I use the term “celebrated” loosely, as we basically cuddled together on the couch with some wine, once lunches were made and children were asleep. That’s the stuff that wedded bliss is made of.) Saying “I do”to this guy was the best decision I’ve ever made. He makes me laugh, he listens to me rant about politics, he buys me pretty shoes. He’s the best dad, he’s a supportive partner, and sometimes he even does the dishes without being asked. He makes me crazy happy.

Today, I’m sharing some pictures from our family photo album.

Married! One of my faves from our wedding day.

The night our little miss was born and we became a family of three.

Christmas is a lot more fun with kids! This was our holiday card picture the year our second girl arrived.

Christmas is a lot of fun with kids. This was our holiday card picture the year our second girl arrived.

Our fifth anniversary trip to Sonoma and Napa. We love wine almost as much as we love each other!

Gooooo Knights! Football season means race training for me and football for him.

After running the Tangled 5k at Disney in 2011.

Family silliness after our oldest’s pre-k graduation.

Married? How do you celebrate your anniversary? If you got married pre-pinterest, would you want to do it all over again just for the planning fun?

Red wine? White wine? College football or NFL? Talky in the comments!

The Most Important Thing About Me

October 25, 2013 by camoozle

My 8 year old daughter recently had to write a paragraph on the most important things about herself. I was excited to read this because my daughter is quite precocious. She comes up with some pretty unique ideas and I couldn’t wait to read about her view on herself. She included a lot of the typical 8 year old priorities: her pets, her toys, she wants to be a comedian when she grows up…but the MOST important thing about her was quite alarming.

She wrote that the MOST important thing about her was that she’s skinny.

Gasp! Choke! Surely, this must be a mistake! My child can’t possibly be that shallow!

How could this have happened? I spent my young life with eating disorders and poor self-esteem and I spent my young adult life recovering from it. It wasn’t until I read the book “Intuitive Eating” by Evelyn Tribole that I really made peace with food. I’ve gone out of my way to promote healthy eating habits in my children. I don’t make them eat when they don’t want to. I limit their food choices. I make sure they pay attention to their bodies when they’re choosing snacks. It’s always been the one thing I want to protect my children from – food and body issues. And yet, somehow, my daughter came to the conclusion that being skinny was the most important thing about her.

She’s got spirit!

My gut reaction was to start looking for the culprit. Who did this to my child? Was it the Disney Channel and their preteen sitcoms? Or because we let her do cheerleading? Was it the kids at school or the commercials on television or the magazines or the books…

Was it me? Was it my five gym memberships and my protein shakes and my race medals? These are good things, right? Exercise is a good habit, right?

It could very well be all of the above. It could be none of these. But somehow, in her 8 year old brain, healthy and active translated to skinny.

I made her change it. That’s the benefit of having my kids attend the school I teach at. I can obnoxiously intervene any time I want! And intervene I did. We had quite the discussion about how body shape doesn’t make anyone any better than anyone else. We talked about how people come in all shapes and sizes and that what matters is how people treat others. We came up with better adjectives. Active, strong, athletic…and we finally agreed upon healthy.

Healthy. We rarely see health being advertised on television. No celebrity is revered for their excellent organs or spectacular blood pressure. At one point in our evolution, healthy meant viable meant offspring meant survival of the species. And now healthy has become a synonym for skinny.

I do not accept. My kids deserve more. They’re always watching, listening, learning the rules, learning how to cope, taking this world apart and putting it all back together so they can see how it works. And how it’s working lately is not so hot.

Hopefully, I cleared this up with my girl. Because the most important thing about ME is this job called parenting. It’s the most important thing I’ll ever do and being skinny isn’t going to make it any easier. But being physically and mentally healthy just might.

We are the champions!

U Can Finish 5 Miler and 2 Mile

October 21, 2013 by beewhobabbles

Last Sunday, I skipped my long run in favor of running the U Can Finish 5 Miler & 2 mile with my friend and honorary Chick, Sara.

The race course is through the University of Central Florida campus and runners can choose to complete the five mile (as my guy did), the two mile or if you’re an overachiever like Sara and me (and you love collecting bling), you can run both races and earn a Distance Dare medal. Plus bragging rights.

I ran this race back in 2011, so I was familiar with the course. Most of it is on the streets through campus, which is nice because the runners can spread out. A small portion of each race is on narrower sidewalks in between buildings- this hits far enough in on the five mile that the crowds have thinned, so it isn’t a big deal. On the two, it’s a slightly annoying because you pretty much end up walking at certain points. Still, as UCF alums (Josh and Sara) and a fan by marriage (me), we were happy to be charging through Knights country.

Sara and I have been running together for about five months now, and at the beginning of September, I told her that I wanted help her run at a 9:30-9:35 pace for the race. This is faster than we usually run together, so we switched up our normal routine and met at the gym once a week to run at race pace. I knew we could do it, and I told her that I would stay with her no matter what (but we were SO reaching our goal. Maybe I’m a little bit bossy. It runs in the Chick family.)

We donned our (matching) gold and black outfits and met about 30 minutes before the race began. I hadn’t slept much the night before (little dude is still waking quite a bit) but having a clear goal energized me. The pumpkin spice coffee didn’t hurt either.

Ready to run!

This was my first race since having the baby, and it felt so good to be out there again. To get up before sunrise, pin a bib on my shirt, hear all of the garmins beep before the race began, and run with a big group of people. Coincidentally, my last race (at the beginning of my pregnancy) was a 5k on the UCF campus, at which I ran with Sara’s husband.

The first three miles were great- my legs felt good and I talked Sara’s ear off about a variety of topics; including the appropriate age to wear an embroidered t-shirt, our daughters matching Halloween costumes (PNK sorority monsters), and tailgating plans for the upcoming football game.

It was harder to keep pace on the last two miles. Before the race, we agreed that I would keep time, so I set up the virtual pacer on my (purple) Garmin 10. It beeps if you’re ahead or behind pace, so I knew how we were faring. We slowed a bit, then sped up, and I tried to give my friend some words of encouragement and hoped I wasn’t irritating her. She has strong legs and a solid running foundation. She’s a marathoner! She just hadn’t ever trained to run faster. I really wanted to see her achieve this goal because I totally knew she could.

Passing the site of Spirit Splash. During homecoming week, students are invited to jump in this fountain.

Passing Alphie on Greek Row. Sara and I are both diamond girls.

In the end, we crossed the finish line with an average pace of 9:31 (me) and 9:32 (Sara). We did it! I am so proud of her and I enjoyed every minute of racing together. She’s helped me stay motivated as I’ve gotten back into running shape- meeting me in the early morning or once our kids were in bed, so I didn’t have to do it on my own (because let’s face it- I’m one tired mama. If I didn’t have someone holding me accountable, I’m not sure I’d be half-marathon ready at this point.) I was happy to be able to give some motivation back to her.

Once we finished the five, we had some downtime before the two miler. I wanted to see Josh finish, so I started to walk back along the course. I spotted him about a quarter of a mile before the finish and jumped in to run alongside him for a tiny stretch- and give him some encouragement too. I’m less peppy cheerleader to him and a little more drill sergeant, but he sped up. Probably to get away from me, but hey, whatever works.

After J finished, we all met up with our families and had a quick snack. Race fuel has become a tricky business for me, because I recently got Invisalign invisible braces. (which are actually pretty visible, if you’re wondering.) The aligners have to be taken out if I want to eat, and then I’m supposed to brush and floss before putting them on again. For this race, I decided to drink some Gatorade between the two races and hoped that was enough for me.

We enjoyed our family time a bit too much and ended up dashing to the two mile start after it had begun. As a result, we ended up with the strollers, the walkers and the kids. It would have been fine (I stick to the outside of the pack anyway) except, as I mentioned before, a portion of this course is narrow. I don’t like running in a tight crowd, and Sara and I hadn’t agreed to run together for the two, so I took off on my own. I finished quickly, collected my medal and walked over to meet our families.

Family stretch!

Next up was the kids dash, in which my two girls, and Sara’s daughter and son ran. They got t-shirts, ribbons and Rice Krispie treats once they finished. Happy runners, everyone.

“I ran as fast as I could, just like you told me to, Mommy.” A, my oldest. Proud kids and proud mama here.

I’m glad to be racing again! This is a fun local race and I love that the entire family can participate.

Next up for me is Wine and Dine, and I think I’m going to do the OUC half shortly after that. Seems like I’ve been bitten by the racing bug again.

Speaking of wining and dining, here we are at a party last night. Don’t we clean up nice?

Have you ever paced anyone for a race? Are you peppy or commanding? Any upcoming races? Talk to me in the comments!

Chick Chat: Spend a night with the Chicks (and their families!)

October 18, 2013 by scootadoot

You get to see us out and about the town (our towns and other towns) in our race recaps. But we thought we’d take some time to share what we’re doing when we aren’t jet-setting. Which, let’s be honest, is way more often than not!

Cam:

When we’re not scrambling to get baths and make school lunches, we like to play a little non-competitive game! Yep, we’re a family of gamers, from Candyland to XBOX, the Cam Fam likes to get their game on.

My kids enjoy games like Kinect adventures or Wii Bowling. They usually play until they get bored or until one of them loses and blames it on the other one. I’m more of a First Person Shooter RPG kind of gal, choosing to kick a little zombie ass on Left 4 Dead or taking on dragons in Skyrim. Once in a while, when we’re feeling classy, we’ll play chess or cribbage. And we can’t forget Rock Band! I totally got skills when it comes to playing the fake drums on easy.

Brooke:

I actually can’t remember the last time we had a night “in” as a family! We’re a “work hard, play hard” bunch, so we’re usually out at the local arcade, bowling, at the movies or spending time with friends.

Met some pals at Downtown Disney to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.

The kids love to play board and card games- UNO is a current favorite- but that’s more of a Sunday afternoon activity for us. We also take the cards out to restaurants.

A recent date with J- to celebrate a friend’s wedding. Yes, he’s working and I’m…happy.

On nights that we don’t do family outings, we get those kids in bed early, and Josh and I go out on a date. We love to try new restaurants or visit our favorites; usually a local sushi place or the best Italian restaurant in town (where we’ll be tonight for my birthday!).

Vic:

Hubs and I stay in – a lot. It’s not a bad thing, as our nights in actually save a bunch of dough.

Sure we love a nice meal out, but we both have odd diets and quite honestly, what hubs makes in the kitchen is FAR better than most of what we find in area restaurants. Our typical “Friday night in” scenario involves one or both of us cooking an incredible meal, often using vegetables and herbs from our own garden, paired with Finger Lakes wine for me and some sort of scotch for him. We cook at a leisurely pace on our evenings in, and often, I’ll make a dessert too — banana bread or apple crisp are my favorites. The latest treat was pumpkin bread with chocolate chips… NOM!

Once we have our dinner set to go, we will watch a movie or a DVRed TV show recorded earlier in the week. Who am I kidding, it’s usually Law and Order: SVU.

Mer:

Scouts. Piano lessons. PTO meetings. Late nights at work. It always seems like there’s something to keep us apart, lately. That’s why I love when we actually all get a night in at home together.

There are four in my brood, six if you count our dog and fish. Activities vary but usually include cooking dinner which is most often my task, although my kids love helping in the kitchen. After Jay arrives home (to the sounds of cheers), we eat dinner together and then it’s either “roughhousing” time or games. A lot of that depends on energy levels of the adults!

Two of the favorite games of the moment – both are cute and age appropriate for my 4 and 8 year old boys.

We’re a very routine driven family, which helps my kids immensely so once it’s winding down time, they know what to expect:

1. Bath (or shower)

2. Books – These days “books” consists of Little picking out a zillion books and everyone in the family reading to him. And sometimes, he reads to us!

They are obsessed with each other. And I can’t get enough of them.

3. Bed

After both boys are in bed, Jay and I usually veg out on the couch with a tv show or movie. We catch up on the afternoon’s events (we’re able to have most lunches together too so we’re really lucky in that respect), chatting as we remember things. And hang out for as long as we can stay awake!

Jess:

Since Bug is still a baby (but not for long, wah!), his bedtime is super early. It’s all we can do to get home, eat dinner, and get him ready for bed. It’s like a sprint to the finish line every night.

Needless to say, when he’s all tucked into his crib, Mister Jess and I sprawl out on our couches and chillax (as the kids call it). We DVR most of our shows, so we’ll catch up on those, watch a movie on OnDemand since our movie theater days are few and far between right now, and just generally bum around.

Once in a blue moon, I’ll go out with friends, but oftentimes I’m tucked into bed by 9:30 PM. That kid of mine is an early riser. We do all our partying at 6 AM!

So there you have it! Bec is off with her fam, spending quality time! What do your nights look like? Who’s family would you fit in with? And we’d like to take a moment to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our October Chicks! Vic’s birthday was last Saturday and Brooke’s is today. Big hugs to you both!

Road Tested: PocketFuel Whole Food Fuel

September 19, 2013 by scootadoot

I’ve always loved peanut butter, but my nut butter obsession reached new heights when I first visited Meri for the Rothman 8k two years ago. Meri made us whipped oatmeal for breakfast, along with a mini buffet of topping options (she’s an excellent hostess), including different nut butters. Who knew there was more out there than plain old peanut butter? Not me, that’s who.

Fast forward to today, when I currently have 5 different jars of nut butter in my pantry. I love it in oatmeal, on fruit, toast, pancakes, a spoon. So, when PocketFuel sent us their selection of nut butters, I elbowed my way to the front of the line for the opportunity to try them. I let Meri join me- because I’m such a good friend- and because she got me started on all this yumminess in the first place.

Nut butter heaven

PocketFuel Whole Food Fuel is made from 100% natural, whole food ingredients found in nuts, seeds and fruits. It provides a natural energy boost before or during your workout by delivering a balanced combination of simple and complex carbohydrates. It boosts blood sugar immediately but also helps to sustain energy for hours.

PocketFuel also works as a recovery fuel, as carbohydrates replace the energy lost and protein begins to repair and strengthen muscles.

PocketFuel is a natural powerhouse of electrolytes; it contains sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and chloride to refuel and rehydrate your body. But most importantly, how does it taste? Meri and I, along with our husbands, put these to the test this month.

Mer:

I’m a routine driven person. Especially when it’s five in the morning and my brain is struggling to catch up with my body. I lay my gym clothes out the night before (although there has been a time or two when something – usually my bra – winds up inside out). My keys, towel and wallet are always in the same spot but a few weeks ago, I also added a PocketFuel the night prior.

During the summer I joined up with the Rise and Run Club and although the sun is not rising nearly as early as it was over the summer, I’m still trying to tackle a couple of miles before my hour weight training session. (Or I was before I hurt my quad last week.) But as you know, working out for a couple of hours requires fuel! Vic had told me of her love for PocketFuel so I was really interested in giving it a try. Usually I grab a banana prior to my workout so I went with the Banana Blueberry PocketFuel to try first.

Squishing the almond butter around in the packet, I read over the nutrition label; since there were two servings I decided to have half prior to my run and then eat the rest in between the run and weights, during my stretch. I don’t usually bring “snacks” to the gym, but hey, why not?

The Banana Blueberry was delish! I love almond butter as is, but wasn’t sure what I’d think of the fruit taste. It was the perfect mix of the flavors, nothing was too overpowering and I LOVED the crunchy texture from the almonds. Additionally, I really liked that I was able to eat it in two servings – it was easy to recap and take along with me.

Since I devoured the Banana Blueberry, I decided to go the dilution route for the Chocolate Haze – hazelnut butter. After another training session, I headed home, ready to give the Chocolate Haze a whirl… with almond milk. The PocketFuel folks suggest a 1:1 ratio of liquid to PocketFuel. I had a bit of a heavy pour on the almond milk but the mix was tasty!

Of the two, well, I’m an almond butter girl, through and through. Hazelnut butter is delicious but I feel like the almond butter was more filling. As I said earlier, I’m a routine driven person, and I’m planning on adding PocketFuel to my routine.

Since sharing is caring, my husband, Jay got to try the Pineapple Coconut almond butter and Vanilla Haze hazelnut butter. Generally speaking, I don’t like coconut, so he said he’d take one for the team (because he doesn’t particularly like pineapple or coconut. That’s a good man right there).

Given that bit of information, it’s no surprise that he tried the Vanilla Haze first. He had it prior to a training session. After he returned home he reported back that his head was clearer and he was more awake during the session (he works out at 6am too).

Two days later, he tried the Pineapple Coconut. He was a bit hesitant, given the flavors, but he was pleasantly surprised with the almond butter. He said there were only mind hints of pineapple and coconut, they were not overpowering at all. He actually enjoyed that more than the Vanilla Haze!

Only downside? He could feel where pieces of coconut got stuck in the seams of the pocket and no amount of squishing he did could free them up.

Thanks for sharing with us, Brooke!

Brooke:

Josh and I are both working out several days per week. I’m in the middle of half-marathon training, and he’s just getting back in to running (and training for a 5 miler). I’m an early morning runner, so adding some nut butter to my oatmeal is the perfect breakfast because it gives me some extra protein and a big boost in flavor. I love that the fuel package is resealable; it’s incredibly convenient. Even better, the ingredients are all things I can pronounce. All things that occur in nature. My favorite flavor is the Coconut Cherry. I love coconut, and I could have squeezed it straight from the package into my mouth. (I totally did that. Sorry, not sorry.)

Breakfast of champions. Or busy parents. You know.

Josh is always on the go- he takes one of our girls to school, heads to the gym, and then he eats post workout. He tried the butters on toast and oatmeal, and he loved the Chia, Goji & Honey in his cold oats. He told me that he felt full and energized through lunch time, and for a guy who usually skips lunch in favor of work- well, that’s a great thing.

PocketFuel provided samples of their nut butters for free. All opinions expressed are our own.

PocketFuel wants to share their natural, whole food energy with you! One reader will receive a sample pack of nut butters. Please click the link below to enter. We will verify the winning entry via Rafflecopter. This giveaway runs from now until 9/25 at midnight.

Click the pic to enter!

We Might Be Giants

August 26, 2013 by writeitdownjess

Or at least we were for one day when Mister Jess and I (and Bug, too, by default) ran The Giant Race 5K.

Somehow, despite the fact that the city of San Francisco is obsessed with their baseball team, I’d never heard of this event. But when my darling friend Val mentioned on Facebook that she’d signed up for it, I looked it up, decided it would be the perfect inaugural post-baby race to run, and signed right up!

It’ll be such great motivation to train! I thought. I’m going to be SO READY to run! I told myself.

Fast forward to August 4th and yeah, I hadn’t trained at all. Whoops! Needless to say, I was a little nervous about running 3.1 miles when I hadn’t run even one mile in well over a year. Add on to that the fact that Mister Jess was determined to run the whole thing without stopping and I was getting a little dewy underneath my Scoot A Doot t-shirt.

Sorry, you want me to RUN?

Ain’t no thing, says Mister Jess.

We got to the start line in front of AT&T Park (where the Giants play, of course) about ten minutes to 11am when the race was expected to start. Knowing nothing about this race previously, I was wholly unprepared for just how many people were there.

There were thousands upon thousands of racers dressed up in orange and black, sporting Giants gear, ready to run on behalf of their beloved baseball team and Project Open Hand, a very worthy cause the race was raising money for. We ended up at the back of the crowd. The early bird gets the better spot and all that, which was fine by me due to the whole not training for the race thing. I was happy to start in the caboose.

Nervous smile! BOB cameo!

Because there were so many people, it took us forever to get to the actual start line and once we officially began racing we were barely walking, never mind running.

This is easy! I thought. For about two minutes.

But then people started dispersing and spreading out and, you know, running. Mister Jess looked at me and said, “Ready?”

Apparently it was not a rhetorical question, so run we did.

The course went from AT&T Park down the Embarcadero toward Pier 39 and then looped back to finish at AT&T Park. It’s certainly one of the prettier courses I’ve run, although I think you’d be challenged to find a course in San Francisco that doesn’t have some kind of scenic eye candy. We ran along the bay, past the Bay Bridge and the various piers, bobbing and weaving through the crowd with our BOB and a straight passed out Bug.

I was already feeling pretty fatigued less than a mile in, but Mister Jess was a great running partner, encouraging me to keep running even if I needed to slow my pace. Despite the fact that he hadn’t trained for the race at all, he was running next to me like we were on a walk in the park. Annoying, but forgivable since he was keeping me motivated.

By the time we reached the halfway point, though, I was really feeling it and had to slow to a walk. Disappointing and probably completely in my head, but I was tired, sore and parched. We turned back toward AT&T Park and walked until I got my bearings and breath back. After a few minutes, I was ready to pick up the pace again. The natural competitor in me (buried deep down, but it’s there!) didn’t want my finish time to be too skewed.

Yep, loving life.

It had been so long since I’d run a race that I completely forgot about the rush. You know the rush: when you’re less than a mile from the finish and you’ve got spectators cheering you on, saying things like, “you’re almost there!” The endorphins kick in and suddenly there’s that burst of energy and you’re like, “I’M ALMOST THERE!”

Add on to that the fact that we could hear cheers coming from AT&T Park where people were waiting to welcome us across the finish line and I had a renewed sense of what I like to call Hell Yeah.

Experiencing the rush!

Hell Yeah!

What’s around the river – er, stadium bend?

If you ever want to cross a race finish line on the hallowed ground of a major league baseball field, then The Giant Race is for you. Mister Jess is a big sports buff, so when we got here:

And here:

He was pretty geeked out. And even though I barely know the difference between a touchdown and a home run, I have to admit that it was awesome running onto that field and seeing people cheering for us from the stands. It gave me a tiny taste of what it must be like for the Giants to play there. It was a truly unique experience that I wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere else, and definitely a race moment I will remember forever.

Another thing I’ll remember forever? Getting my first medal!

I’m done!

And I’ve got a medal!

My boys!

After we’d crossed the finish line, grabbed our medals, and took off our time chips, we went to hang out in the grass for a few minutes. Bug was less than impressed with his first experience with grass (pssh, city kid).

Two eyebrows are worth a thousand words.

Hmm. Can I eat this?

After soaking up the atmosphere we packed it up, packed it in, and left the park to feed our hungry bellies. I was nowhere close to PRing, but I finished the race and ran the majority of it, so I had to pat myself on the back for a job well done.

Overall, this was a very well organized, super fun race with a unique finish line experience. As soon as we were done, I turned to Mister Jess and said, “we’re doing this again next year.” If I can’t be a Giant all the time, at least I can every August!

What’s the most unique race course you’ve ever run? When did you get your first medal? Tell me about it in the comments!

A little ‘Chick on Chick’ action – Part 3

August 16, 2013 by writeitdownjess

Ready for the third installment of Chick-on-Chick interviews? Join us as we ask questions and sing “Getting To Know You” – but not at the same time. Missed the first two interviews? Just click here and here to get to know Meri and Bec!

Jess on Brooke

Brooke and I met a few years ago and hit it off right away. We have a ton in common: we are mega girly-girls, huge readers, love to shop, and our adorable boys were born within weeks of each other. Needless to say, it’s probably a good thing that we are on separate coasts or I’d be at her house every day wanting to hang out! She is sweet, funny, has a killer smile and is basically just all-around fabulous.

Want to get to know her better? Of course you do. Read on!

Jess: You’ve got some of the cutest kids in the world. What’s your favorite thing to do with them?

Brooke: Awww, thanks! I think they’re pretty cool too. I love to do art projects with them. We have an art cart that is loaded with paints, pencils, crayons, markers, oil pastels-you name it, we’ve got it. They love to draw and paint, and it’s neat to see what they create when they have free art time. Of course, I organize projects for them too. A friend and I co-hosted “Messy Art Mondays” this summer, and we had a lot of fun with that.

Jess: And what’s your favorite thing to do when you have that oh-so-coveted “me time”?

Brooke: Sleep! Go to yoga (which I get to do this weekend). Read. It’s hard with the baby- he’s still nursing frequently and sleeping on me. We do attachment parenting, so I don’t get a lot of alone time, and if I do, it isn’t a very long amount of time! That’s why hot yoga is difficult to schedule; the class itself is 80 minutes long, plus a 35 minute drive there, and then home, at which point I have to shower because I’m literally drenched.

Jess: Ah yes, I love trying to time activities between nursing sessions and/or naps! It’s the ultimate ticking clock.

Jess: Do you have a favorite tradition from childhood? Is it something you’ve implemented with your own kiddos, or have you made new traditions as a family?

Brooke: My childhood traditions were centered around holidays. We always went to sunrise service on Easter, which we started doing two years ago (before that it was way too hard to make a 6am church service). We watched “A Christmas Story” on Christmas Eve, which we don’t do yet because the kids are a little young. My husband’s family always had an Easter egg hunt, and we do that still, with my in-laws (and we grown-ups hunt for eggs with money in them!).

One of our new traditions is a holiday party the day before Christmas Eve; we have a group of friends and family who come over for tacos and margaritas.

Jess: Christmas Eve would be one of the times you’d find me on your doorstep. Tacos and margaritas are two of my favorite things.

Jess: We’re both big shoppers. It’s one of the first thing we did together when we hung out, and I adore your style! What do you have your eye on these days (so I can add it to my own list)?

Brooke: I love your style! That was before we had talked a lot online, and we clicked right away, over shoes and make-up at Nordstrom. I can’t wait to go back to SF so I can see you again.

I really want these boots: http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/search/28752921.jsp?cm_vc=SEARCH_RESULTS. Anthro has some pretty shoes this season!

Jess: You need to come back soon! My wallet would disagree, but what does it know? I love those boots, by the way. I always think of you when I go to Anthro.

Jess: You can only watch one movie for the rest of your life. What is it?

Brooke: Oh geez, that’s a tough question. Probably Sleepless in Seattle or maybe Clueless or Mean Girls. Those are movies I’ve watched over and over again and they never get old.

Jess: Tell me about your best date ever.

Brooke: Ever?! Hmmm. You know, I dated a very romantic boy in high school who took me for a picnic on the beach. He came up with the idea all on his own, and that was the first time I felt really wooed, you know? Of course, my first date with Josh would have to be labeled the “best ever” since he became my husband and my best friend and the love of my life. We met to hear some live music at a local bar- ten years ago this month, actually.

Jess: Awww. You two are adorable. A beach picnic in high school is pretty romantic, too, especially for high school!

Jess: When it comes to fitness, what’s something you’ve achieved that you’re really proud of?

Brooke: My PR half, definitely. (1:57:52) I hope I have a faster time in me but if not, I know I worked really hard to achieve that time.

Jess: You are a rock star, B!

Jess: This interview wouldn’t be complete without a book-related question. It’s how most of us Scoot chicks met, after all! So, tell me: what’s a book you could read over and over again?

Brooke: Any of the Pigeon books by Mo Willems, haha. I do read those over and over already. Probably Pride and Prejudice. I adore Mr. Darcy!

There you have it, the fabulosity that is Chick Brooke! Did I miss any questions? Anything you want to know for future Chick interviews? If so, let us know in the comments!

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