Life Lately...

I fully recognize that I have been a fair weather/ MIA blogger. The truth is...lately I have felt a huge lack of motivation with just about everything. Will got a terrible cold...then Zak and I got his terrible cold (on our kid-less vacation)...then both the Grandma's got it and Mrs. Shipman's has now turned into Pneumonia! All in all we just aren't operating on all cylinders at our house. Last week I led worship for Kid Week (aka VBS) for our church. BTW- When did VBS turn into a night time thing?!?! It's the craziest thing! I know I know, year round schools conflict with morning VBS but those kiddos were about to pass out by 8:00pm and so was I! As a result, I ate out EVERY night last week as though I had the metabolism of a 16 year old boy without a care in the world... and then Monday morning hit and I weighed in.

It wasn't pretty. Not terrible, but certainly up a couple pounds. That is not the direction I was hoping for. We are hoping to get pregnant with baby number two this summer/early fall and I still am fighting the last 10 pounds I gained with Will with an additional 25 to lose! Isn't it amazing how time flies when you set a weight loss goal. The weeks fly by without the smallest budge to the scale and panic sets in. Sorry for the level of honestly but quite frankly, it's where I'm at.

But I digress... after last week I am trying to jump-start my lack luster enthusiasm for exercising, cooking healthy, doing 8 million loads of laundry. blogging, taking pictures of my Tasmanian devil toddler and keeping some order to this household. I find myself getting motivated for a few days and then just diving off the wagon to eat yet another meal at Chick fil a simply because it's easy. Zak's garden is producing boat loads so I am setting out to try and plan our meals around what is ready.

The other battle of my life is that Will has over night turned into the pickiest eater. He will NOT try new things and is boycotting all vegetables which makes me feel like the worlds worst mom. I haven't decided yet what my plan of action will be. Do I starve the kid until he decides that we really mean business or do I disguise vegetables in things he already likes. At this point, I am open to someone moving in and handling this for me. My sweet Will has the willpower of his Daddy and is not very easy to break! Pray for me!

Time to go move laundry.... I'll try to do better and post some sort of a life update soon!

Summertime at its finest!

My little gardener! I could just eat him up!

Running

Me and Dad post-race!

This post is long overdo...Just over 2 months ago, one of my Mom friends at the Y invited me to join this 5k training program that was meeting twice a week at Womble Park in Holly Springs. I was super excited and jumped right in. I had actually downloaded the C25K (couch to 5k) free app a few weeks prior and was well in to week 3 of training.

To say I am NOT a runner is the understatement of the year. I have never been very athletic and certainly had never run any substantial amount at any given time in my life. But, this was one goal I really wanted to check off the bucket list- training and completing a 5k.

That first week I could barely do the short 60 second of running with 90 seconds of walking in between. It seemed so very hard, my lungs were screaming out for air while my legs were begging me to stop. The next few weeks we gradually increased in difficulty and I felt myself improving by leaps and bounds. I found that the challenge would alternate from lunge capacity to my legs feeling like I was dragging bricks. None the less, I kept showing up each week faithfully completing the two group runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then I would make sure to get in my 3rd independent run on the weekend.

By week 5 we had worked up to 8 minutes of running with 5 minutes of walking. AT the end of that 5th week we were suppose to complete a final run of 20 minutes of consecutive running with no walking built in. When I realized that I was thinking, "there is absolutely NO WAY that I can do that! I will have to walk." The kind women that were leading our group told us to hold off on the 20 minute run that weekend. They understood the mental challenges of completing this first long run and wanted us to have the support of the group. The plan was to run together on Tuesday and then head out to celebrate over frozen yogurt.

I have to confess, the night before I was so nervous about the following days run and so much self doubt as to whether I would be able to complete it or not. The next day I prayed on the way to the park and the Lord showed up! It was by the grace of God but I completed the 20 minutes feeling stronger than I ever had. I could not possibly begin to explain the excitement I had knowing that this was the first day of my entire 29 years that I could EVER recall being able to run for 20 minutes straight!

From there things got soo much easier and each week leading up to our race I was able to run further and further without getting winded and continuing to push myself. I should have mentioned in the beginning though that I was and still am the worlds slowest runner. But even with that truth I was ok. My goal was to simply complete the upcoming race without walking even if that meant coming in last place!

Me and my buddy Melissa post-race!

We all signed up and got registered for "Run the Quay" an annual 5k run put on by the Fuquay Chamber of Commerce. The course took us through the historic old neighborhoods in the downtown area. The night before the race I could not sleep. I literally stayed awake until 4am!!! I was so nervous battling the discouraging thoughts that I would not be able to complete the race even though in my heart I new I was ready. I had been disciplined about the training and was as prepared as I could be. The next morning I woke up with only a few hours a sleep and headed out with the plan of meeting Zak and Will there once the race began.

We took off about 8:00am and Praise the Lord I completed the whole thing. And it was HARD!!! Lots of big hills and the last half mile of the race was completely up hill. But once I saw Zak and Will and the rest of my family cheering me on I just kept pushing harder. My Dad finished wayy ahead of me and came back and ran the last 1/8 of a mile with me encouraging me that I could do it. When I crossed that finish line I just felt like crying. It was such a rush of emotions! I was exhausted, excited, thrilled and so very very proud of myself! I completed the race in just over 42 minutes.

Needless to say, I've caught the running bug! I love it now. I even started training for a 10k! Nothing makes me feel as strong as completing a hard run. And while I haven't noticed major changes in the scale I have noticed significant changes in inches lost from both my legs and mid-section which has been very encouraging. If you've always thought you could never complete a 5k or grow to love running I would challenge you that you can! If I can do it you DEFINITELY can!

*** Side note- Some of you may have read on the blog back in September my Dad had a silent stroke followed by a seizure. It scared us all pretty bad because to look at my Dad he looks healthy as a horse. I asked Dad even before I started training with these women if he would want to train for a race to do together as he had previously been a pretty good runner. He eagerly agreed

and I think was looking forward to having the motivation to get out and exercise. Dad did soo great in the race and I was so proud. He ran just over a 10 minute mile which was awesome for having only trained for a month!

*** Second side note- Hilarious me, did not think to ask until about a month into our running schedule why all these women we were running with had their school aged kids running along side. Little did I know, but Melissa, Linda and I had joined a homeschooling running group! Dingy me. Hahah I still laugh about it. That's why these kids weren't in school! No I am not planning on homeschooling as that is the obvious next question! Definitely don't think I'm cut out for that, but I so appreciated them letting us train with their group!

Yes Please!

I read this post today on facebook and loved it! I would have worded a few things differently but LOVED the message! Here's to a lot more encouragement and a lot less criticism. We put enough of that on ourselves!


To the mom who's breastfeeding: Way to go! It really is an amazing gift to give your baby, for any amount of time that you can manage! You're a good mom. 

To the mom who's formula feeding: Isn't science amazing? To think there was a time when a baby with a mother who couldn't produce enough would suffer, but now? Better living through chemistry! You're a good mom. 

To the cloth diapering mom: Fluffy bums are the cutest, and so friendly on the bank account. You're a good mom. 

To the disposable diapering mom: Darn those things hold a lot, and it's excellent to not worry about leakage and laundry! You're a good mom. 

To the mom who stays home: I can imagine it isn't easy doing what you do, but to spend those precious years with your babies must be amazing. You're a good mom. 

To the mom who works: It's wonderful that you're sticking to your career, you're a positive role model for your children in so many ways, it's fantastic. You're a good mom. 

To the mom who had to feed her kids from the drive thru all week because you're too worn out to cook or go grocery shopping: You're feeding your kids, and hey, I bet they aren't complaining! Sometimes sanity can indeed be found in a red box with a big yellow M on it. You're a good mom. 

To the mom who gave her kids a homecooked breakfast lunch and dinner for the past week: Excellent! Good nutrition is important, and they're learning to enjoy healthy foods at an early age, a boon for the rest of their lives. You're a good mom. 

To the mom with the kids who are sitting quietly and using their manners in the fancy restaurant: Kudos, it takes a lot to maintain order with children in a place where they can't run around. You're a good mom. 

To the mom with the toddler having a meltdown in the cereal aisle: they always seem to pick the most embarrassing places to lose their minds don't they? We've all been through it. You're a good mom.

To the moms who judge other moms for ANY of the above? Glass houses, friend. Glass houses.

written by some random lady on facebook that I'm not even friends with! (Jill Smith)

I could just eat him up!

Starting off Mother's Day weekend right with my handsome little man. ... who is currently obsessed with wearing sunglasses. We'll let it slide for now, but something tells me his Daddy is not going to be ok with Will sporting women's sunglasses for very much longer!

Behind the Wheel

Just a little Driver's Ed with Pop!

Will: 18 Months!!!

How is it that my sweet baby boy is a year and a half old!!!! No!!!! Stop the clocks people! I am not ready for him to get any bigger....but bigger he gets! Will is handsome, funny, smart, determined and very very active!

We had Will's 18 month appointment on Monday and he did great! Praise Jesus, no shots at this one. The moment the doctor arrived he started talking up a storm. Pointing at everything and starting each sentence with "Oh!!....." Sentence is a lose term because the rest of what he said was only certain to him and certainly not English! But, none the less, the doctor was very impressed by how conversational he was. She said we may be in trouble if he truly has that much to say haha... the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  I only wish I had videoed it! But getting back to business...

The Skinny on Will:

Weight: 27 lbs, 6.4 oz (79%) The nurse we had was in training and documented his weight wrong (26 lbs) so I think this percentile may be higher, but let's be honest he's big enough either way!

Height: 33.5 in (84%)

Head: 48 cm (67%)

Eating: Well...at our house this has become the most dreaded part of parenting. The battle of the wills that comes at mealtimes. But after a long discussion with the pediatrician about how Will is slinging food and refusing to try things I think we have a better game plan. Cut back on the amount of milk and cut out snacks. The doctor said that any time she sees a toddler slinging food it's usually because they aren't hungry enough at meal times. In the last day or so I have noticed a remarkable improvement by limited his milk intake to 18 oz per day and cutting out the snacks before lunch and dinner. Peas continue to be the vegetable of choice, he eats ALL fruits, loves chicken, fish sticks, hot dogs, pizza and pork, but is not a fan of the lunch meats. He refuses to eat cheese unless its in a dish or on pizza and in general his mood towards meal times is as unpredictable as the weather, but we press on! We still give him a sippy cup of milk at bedtime and he drains it every night. Not sure when we will give that up??? Unfortunately we were so traumatized by sleep deprivation in the early part of Will's life that if he didn't eat, he didn't sleep. But that's our issue not his. My goal for the next month is to make sure that meal times are pleasant and NOT child centered. We can no longer try offering him everything in the refrigerator just to get him to eat! Lord help me!

Sleeping: Can't complain in this area. Will goes to bed between 7:30 and 7:45 and has been consistently waking up around 7:30. I do think some developmental growth has made it difficult for him to fall asleep as most nights he talks for 30 minutes before falling asleep and that is definitely a new thing. Naps have been pretty straight forward. Will goes down at 1:00 pm and if he doesn't wake up on his own then I go in and wake him up by 4:00 pm. What a treasured time of my day!

Development: Honestly, I don't even know where to start. He is talking up a storm and his vocabulary seems to grow by a handful of new words every day. It truly is an amazing thing to watch. He loves loves loves to play outside, blow bubbles and dancing has become a nightly occurrence in our house. He loves for me to play music and his favorite show is Curious George. Some days, Curious George is the only way I am able to get a shower. He has an amazing attention span as he will sit through long books patiently enjoying the pictures and the story. He also loves to grab a stack of books, hop up into one of our living room chairs and read books to himself which I absolutely love to watch as he expressively describes what he is seeing. He also loves to play this game that Cee Cee and Pop taught him where he counts "One...Two...Three.. Go!" and runs to the other side of the room! I can't believe how soon he will be counting to 10!

Currently, we are hard at work on manners and sharing. He says "Thank you" every time he hands someone something or receives something and has started saying "Sorry" when he disobeys, doesn't share, or has attempted to hurt one of the cats by chasing them with his golf clubs. He recently started saying "I love you, Dada" or Mamma and blows kisses to everyone! He is a huge snuggler and loves for me to hold him at night and sing to him. That has definitely become a cherished time for me. I can already see what a helpful big brother he will be! He tells me when that cats have jumped on the counters or table and firmly scolds them "No, No Charee!" (No, No Charlie).

On the flip side we are also in the thick of discipline as we are hearing a lot of "Nooooo!!!" and several tantrums or trying to hit us out of frustration. I hope this child does not follow in my footsteps for the amount of spankings I got, but he certainly gets plenty of pops on the hand for either telling momma no or disobeying. We are trying to bathe every day in prayer. Prayer that I would be gracious towards my sweet little boy, but also to love him enough to "train him up in the way that he should go" (Proverbs 22: 6). Such a weighty task!

Definitely time to get the camera out and capture the many faces of Will! But that's all we've got for now!