So I’m going to do something kinda nuts. I am going to do something I’ve never attempted before and had no reason to try. I’m going to test my patience, my tolerance for pain and my character. I’m going to want to give up. I’m going to need support. I’m going to run a half marathon in July (even though I’ve never ran a full mile without stopping) and I’m doing it in honor of a kid at Youth Homes. Some kid I haven’t met and probably never will. I’m doing this because I can’t come up with any more excuses. I’m doing it because I am in awe of what this kid will need to do to survive.

This kid will wake up each morning and might need to fight their urge to self medicate with drugs or alcohol. At age 4, 9, 15, 12, 17 ½ …they will need to overcome self abuse, self hatred, insecurity, chemical dependency, rape, incest, hunger, poverty, mental illness, ignorance, and negative role models that they happen to love deeply. At times they will feel small and alone and need to build themselves up with little or no support from family. And the amazing thing is they do overcome these things (or learn how to deal with them) with time, practice, self determination, love and support.

So, at age 37 I can no longer crack jokes about being middle-aged because I woke up one day and arrived here. After three kids, I have three real big reasons to get healthier. As I contemplate how hard it is to run 5 minutes in a row after a lifetime of never really (not kidding) exercising into a full sweat, I know it pales in comparison to what kids struggle with each day as they try to get healthier with the odds against them. Knowing the odds are against me too…no time, weak bodied and weaker mindset…I will do this, largely in part, because I know you will help me get it done. If I have your support, then that kid will feel the support of the entire community that has in a sense “adopted” them for now through the Youth Homes.

I’m asking you to join the Youth Homes Run 4 Kids team and run or walk the half or whole marathon on July 11, 2010. If you can’t do that, please give a donation. I need to raise $500 (although I’d like to raise more) and I would love your support. In the coming weeks, each team member is able to create their own firstgiving.com page to receive gifts easily. To find these and other information regarding the YHI Run 4 Kids team please go to www.youthhomes.com starting in March 2010 to learn how you can support me or another team member. To join the team yourself, contact Ramey Kodadek by phone at 406-721-2704 x222 or by email.

Kim Anderson is a new stay at home Mom of three. She recently “retired” from her desk job as the Development Director for Youth Homes Inc. Currently, Kim spends her days taking care of her two younger children and pursuing her passion in art. She is also currently volunteering to write a blog called, The Reluctant Runner as a member of the YHI Run 4 Kids Team that will participate in the Missoula Marathon on July 11, 2010.

It seems like the latest running “buzz” is barefoot running. This does not mean you should start running without shoes. The thought is that running barefoot is the best way to help you understand proper running form and posture, resulting in less injuries. Instead of running in bare feet, try scaling down the cushion in your shoe slightly. You will lessen the heel strike and land on the mid-foot area, reducing pronation. Another bonus is a shorter stride and more efficient form.

Provided by Kayla Johnson, owner of Top Notch Training. Kayla is a certified personal trainer that provides one-on-one training in your home or office.

My daughter Lucille poured cold water on my face first thing Saturday morning and I’m not over it yet.

She made her way to our pillows as she does most every morning and stood, I thought, looking out the window above our heads. The window was locked. I knew she was safe so I kept my eyes closed hoping to squeeze out a few more minutes of sleep in the early morning.

“Up, up,” I heard her say. I knew she meant cup, and thinking there was no cup in sight, I looked up to see what she was doing. That’s when I saw she was holding a glass of water right above my head. Before I could reach her or even utter a word, she poured a full pint glass of cold water in my face.

It was 6:15 a.m.

I jumped out of bed shouting four letter words. I was soaked, my pillow was soaked and Lucille was smiling. I threw off my tank top, dried my face and, I’m pretty sure, screamed into the towel. Lucille made her way to the bathroom.

“Mama wet!” she said. Yeah, mama wet indeed.

I scooped her up, put on some dry clothes and headed straight for the coffee pot because, really, that’s the only place a story like this leads. Seth later said all he heard was shouting, stomping and then, coffee grinding.

I was officially, as he says, on the cranky bus. I am not a morning person. But since having children I’ve had to cut short my daily grumpfest in order to care for them. Saturday was a different story. It was late afternoon before I could begin to approach the world with some measure of joy. It took days before I could see how hilarious it all must have looked to Lucille.

Almost two years ago, Seth brought Eliza into our room about an hour after I pushed Lucille, hand to her face, out of me. Wrapped tight in a blanket, Lucille lay in the bend of arm where she has pretty much remained since.

“Hey baby,” Eliza said as she waved to her sister. She had no idea this little creature was now a fixture in our lives.

“This is Lucille,” I said. “Can you say Lucille?”

“Juicy!” she said.

And just like that, our youngest daughter had a nickname.

Juicy. Juice-deet. Juicy girl. The Juice.

If you ask my little 20- month old sprite what her name is she says, “Juicille!”

We’ve often been asked if Lucille goes by Lucy and we have to shuffle our feet and say, “Well, actually, no. We call her Juicy.” Then we rush to tell the story of Eliza and no Ls and, well, here we are.

Juicy is tiny. At barely 20 pounds she’s long and lean with a page-boy haircut and a perpetual fistful of animal crackers. She eats all the time. If she doesn’t’ have her head stuck in the pantry, she’s chirping, “’nack, ‘nack, ‘nack!” at me because she wants a snack. She probably eats a gallon of yogurt every week and often out eats Eliza at dinner.

Despite her feisty nickname, Juicy has, up until the last few weeks, been a pretty mellow baby. She loves to read and will often sit, looking at book by herself for a long time. She sleeps pretty well and isn’t a picky eater.

But lately it’s clear that she’s headed fast and furious toward two. She pinches, she pulls her sister’s hair, wants to suck on the computer cord and test all of the outlets with her wet little finger. She climbs the stairs and laughs with glee when I run after her. She bites and when I try in my stearnest of voices to tell her no, she throws her head back and cackles because, evidently, it is so, so funny.

Last week she refused to take a nap so I resorted to that tried and true, greenhouse-gas-spewing sleep trick known as the long drive. We drove for half an hour and I was sure she was asleep. I looked in the back seat to see her grabbing her foot, trying to chew on her heel. A few minutes later we passed a pasture with horses. She shouted, “Moo! Moo!” and, again thinking she must be asleep, I nearly drove off the road.

A few days later, she took a blue Crayola marker to my computer. When I said, “no, no Juice!” She smiled and ran away still wielding the Crayola.

But even after all of this, nothing could have prepared me for the dousing I took on Saturday.

I suspect she notices that, as the little sister, she’s always been a bit along for the ride. And now she’s taking this chance to stake her claim, let us know she’s her own little person and after Saturday I, for one, am paying attention.

The hard part is, she’s the cutest pixie you ever seen. She gives sweet kisses on the mouth and hugs around the neck. She loves Eliza and “EJ!” is the first thing she says when she wakes up. And, she is still metaphorically in the crook of my arm.

“Mama, hold me,” she says. And even with wet hair and grumpy outlook, Saturday morning I did.

Jennifer Savage is a writer and mama of Eliza and Lucille. Lately, she’s learning to be a city girl. She writes from her home in Missoula, Montana. She is also one of Mamalode’s favorite writers and you can fall in love with her too at Savagemama.com Read more of Jennifer’s mamalode articles here

Please help kick off this new section by submitting photos of your sporting kids!

Here’s a link to an announcement of the section and the guidelines for submission

“Wings!  Wings!  Wings!  They are wonderful flying things. Wings flutter and flap and they make things go. Some go high and some go low. Some fly fast and some fly slow. Some wings are red, and some wings are blue. Wings help you fly, that’s what they do!”

Riley used to love the book Wings on Things by Marc Brown when he was little. Each time I would say “Go pick out a book” his little hands would grab the Wings book and he would crawl up on my lap excited to hear the familiar rhymes. I read it so many times that I still have most of it memorized to this day.  My youngest son just found this book under his bed. We have been reading it, and it is bringing back a lot of memories! It just so happens that we rediscovered it just a few days before Riley heads to Minnesota on an airplane for the first time without mom and dad at his side.

Riley has been chosen along with five other students from Montana to take part in a trip in conjunction with the Missoula Watershed Network and Salish Kootenai College to participate alongside scientists, teachers, high school and undergraduate students in scientific lake studies and to take part in a science camp. It is such an honor for him to attend this all-expense paid trip but as a mom I have to admit, I have to let go a little. Riley turns thirteen this month and transitions from tween to teen. The timing and irony is not lost on me.

“……Wings of many sizes. Big and small and short and tall.”

As a baby and toddler, Riley was always even-tempered and mellow. I guess nature gives you what you can handle at the time, because being a first time mom was overwhelming for me. I was overprotective, nervous, and suffering from postpartum depression. I couldn’t leave him for long and when I finally returned to work I would drive 25 minutes to take him to my dear friend’s day care because she was the only one I trusted. Yet, true to his nature he would just go with the flow. He taught me how to lighten up.

“   …….There are wings that drum. There are wings that hum. Buzzing wings that buzz are dangerous to touch.  Those wingers with stingers we don’t like them very much.”

As a preschooler Riley loved nature. We were outside constantly, no matter the weather. He would spend hours catching bugs, butterflies, and ants. One time he snuck a whole jar of spiders into his room. I freaked out when I found them, but he was just fine. His life revolved around questioning the nature of things. I remember him asking me one time when we saw a bald gentleman in town: “Mom, why did God forget to plant hair seeds on that guys head?” He taught me how to laugh more frequently.

“…….Wings flying high writing words in the sky…..”

I remember the first day of Kindergarten for Riley. I couldn’t comprehend how time flew by so fast. Where had the five years gone?  I was pregnant with child number three, happy to have a little time with my daughter, who was a preschooler, but also a little dismal to have my role as mom redefined. Riley clung to me that first day, but soon he became more confident and dove head first into learning. He would come home and ask how many hours were left before he could go back to Mrs. Schendels class. He taught me that new experiences are sometimes intimidating but are usually also rewarding.

“…Wings on pets.  Wings in nets.  Wings are on eagles.  Never on beagles…..”

Riley’s seventh birthday party included his entire class coming to our house. We live a block from a fire station and the gracious firemen were happy to accommodate our group for a field trip. My friend Jenna stayed with me and as a true teacher she helped me line up eighteen kids and walk them down to the station. Our trusty dog got out of the yard to follow her favorite boy and happened to trip him up just as the firemen were getting ready to let all the kids spray the hose. He landed on his knee and immediately cut it wide open.

Luckily, those wonderful firemen were EMTs and they quickly patched up the birthday boy. However, he needed stitches. He refused to go to the ER, though, until the party was over, so he sat on the sidelines watching his friends play games at his party. He remembered to say “thank you” for each of his gifts as he carefully unwrapped them. After his friends were gone, I hauled him into the Emergency Room where the doctor sewed six stitches into his knee. He was offered seven, to accommodate his age, but he said “No thanks.” Watching him bite his lip and smile, he taught me bravery.

“…Wings can take you most any place.  There are wings everywhere- even in space!”

As a mother, I have watched Riley tackle so many new adventures. I have watched his tenacity and persistence as he learned how to ride a unicycle. I have witnessed him embrace his love of music and blossom into a wonderful artist. I have seen the joy on his face as he caught his very first fish by himself. I have witnessed him tackle the bunny hill, the greens, blues, and eventually black diamond runs on the ski slopes. I have beamed with pride as he has brought home perfect grades but more proud of him that he continually loves to learn and educate himself. I have seen him sprout wings.

So this mama waves goodbye to her son as he boards an airplane this week. This mama also says “fasten your seat belt” as Riley takes flight as a teenager this month. I know that adventure, learning, and joy can only continue to happen in his young life if I encourage him to trust his wings, and if I allow him to fly.

Next time on the Tween Chronicles:   Stuck in the Middle

Jen Slayden is a long time Missoulian who thrives in the chaos of being a mother of three while also being a Certified Life Coach, musician and educator. She enjoys writing about all of life’s little lessons on her blog, which you can find at www.bigskylifecoach.com .

Don’t forget to check out our calendar to find fun events around town!

This course is for you if you have ever wondered if anyone is listening to you, or if you have noticed the challenge of truly hearing what others are saying to you. While most of us keep busy talking, fixing and doing, we don’t take the time to connect with what is going on inside ourselves. This course is all about Mama Time.

Course Name:
The course is called the Power of Connection — Transforming the quality of the relationships and partnerships in your life.

Course Description:
Connecting is not just a powerful skill. It will help you become a more fulfilled individual, a more caring friend, a more loving partner, a more successful parent, a more productive colleague and a more effective leader.

The techniques you learn in this course will enhance all the relationship and partnerships in your life.

Course Times: (18 hours total)
Sunday, Mar 14, 2010: 12 pm – 6 pm
Tuesday, Mar 16, 2010: 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Thursday, Mar 18, 2010: 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Sunday, Mar 21, 2010: 12 pm – 6 pm

Location:
TBA, near downtown Missoula

Price:
A generous grant has been offered to all participants of this March course for 50% off. Full price is $250. If you ask for the grant, the price is $125.

To register, download and complete this form.

I enjoy knowing where stuff is. I don’t think I am an exceptionally organized person but compared to the man I married, I am an overly caffeinated Martha Stewart in your kitchen pantry.

There are reasons people have sock drawers and toothbrush holders. I prefer to wear matching socks that reside in one location and to easily locate my toothbrush. My husband doesn’t use drawers and the toothbrush lives where the toothbrush falls. These small organizational differences have been the subject of many chats over the years. And, after several failed compromises, he uses the guest room as a closet and I find his toothbrush and put it back in the bathroom cabinet every morning.

It works. There are many ways to move through the world and, really, toothbrushes and socks are small potatoes. And I most certainly have my own annoying habits like never filling the car with gas even when the gas light is flashing or leaving piles of earrings and bobby pins on virtually every surface of our home. There are, however, some things that just have to be one way. Things where I am right and he is wrong.

Like The Diaper Bag.

It seems so simple to me. There are pockets. It is much easier for everyone involved if the same shit goes into the same pocket all the time. The handy diaper carrying case that holds the contents tidily. The plastic clam shell container saves money and resources by conveniently containing the wipes. Outside pocket left for the spit up rag, outside pocket right for the snot rag. Inside pocket right for the disinfectant wipes, inside pocket left for the snacks. Water bottle in side mesh pocket, EMPTY dirty diaper bag in the bottom, sling rolled in a coil slid down the right side next to my wallet, change of clothes on the left side, keys in top zippered section, cell phone in the cell phone holder.

It’s like an outlaw’s holster. It would totally suck if he went to grab his pistol on a draw and found his peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the gun holder. He would die. All because things weren’t in the right place.

When I am changing my daughter’s diaper and mustard-colored poo is dangerously close to taking over my person, I find it enjoyable to grab wipes without difficulty. Or, when my toddler is in the backpack, arching her body against mine, yelling I WANT A FRUIT LEATHER, I take pleasure in a streamlined snag of the snack bag.

And really, it must be more difficult to make a lasagna of diapers and covers and clothes and water bottles and slings and keys. And then remove the wipes from the case and sprinkle them randomly throughout the bag. And then shoehorn the wadded lasagna in the swollen diaper bag, without looking to see which of those items was already in there. Do you think that sounds INSANE? Me too. My husband prefers this method.

We joke about it but I think my jokes might be edging toward biting sarcasm. It’s just one of those things that we don’t see eye to eye on. It’s one of those things that will be a funny story. Some day. For now, I am remain grateful kids are only in diapers for a few years.

A fourth generation Montanan raising a fifth, Nici Holt Cline is a mama to Margot and Ruby, wife, gardener, crafter and runner who loves to write and take photos. She writes regularly on her popular blog dig this chick.  You can read “Mama Digs” every Monday exclusively at www.mamalode.com. Read more of Nici’s mamalode articles here

The fair offers all types of resources that help women flourish and succeed whether it’s education, home improvement, parenting, safety, finance, fitness, decorating, leadership, beauty, or career advancement.

After the women’s fair, stop by the Doubletree for the Missoula Collective Sale. Missoula’s Best boutiques — Betty’s Divine, Charlotte’s, J. Elaine’s, Nolita and Coco Atelier — are coming together to blow out some fashionable and lovely Spring and Winter Merchandise! All goods are 50% to 70% off and the sale runs from 11-7 on Saturday too!

If you miss these events on Saturday, stop by one of the following businesses to get the latest issue of our magazine. And tell them, Mamalode sent you!

Local Businesses with Mamalode copies:
Caffe Dolce, Good Food Store, Betty’s Divine and the Hip Strip, Nature Boy and Walking Stick Toys, T9, the mall, Missoula Public Library, Children’s Museum, Loopy, Noteworthy, Junga Juice, Community Medical Center, Western Montana Clinic, Lifestyle Fitness, Alpine PT, Peak Health and Wellness, Mismo, Bitterroot Gymnastics, Main Street Pilates and MORE should have their mags.

And the same spot, too, where she came into the world and drew her first breath. I, squatting on the floor, gripping the green sheet that covered the bed, listening to the crinkling of the plastic one beneath it push, push, pushing for the duration of the contraction, then standing, leaning over with hands on bed, catching my breath until the next one thundered through my body.

Our bedroom is the place where the five of us (dog and cat included) come together in sanctuary and serenity each night—fourteen legs, five beating hearts, one family.

Ashley Kim is a native Georgian whose heart belongs as much to the ponderosa pine forests and frigid waters of Montana as to the salt marshes and tidal creeks of her youth. She has been married to “the hot guy from biology” for eight years and has spent the eight months since her daughter’s birth trying to find herself again.

Although there are benefits to getting your workout finished in the morning, an afternoon/evening session will help you sleep better. Your body shuts down faster after a workout in order to repair muscles and restore energy. Include cardio and strength training and your body temperature could lower for up to six hours post workout which many believe helps you fall
asleep. Source: Shape Magazine

Provided by Kayla Johnson, owner of Top Notch Training. Kayla is a certified personal trainer that provides one-on-one training in your home or office.