Monday Musings

First, let me just say how nice it was to finally have Kyle home for at least one full day this weekend! His schedule changed and he was able to come home early afternoon on Saturday and was off all day yesterday. It was really nice. 

It was overall a really productive weekend which I will never complain about. Saturday morning we headed off to H&R Block to have our taxes done, it's always such a relief when that is done. One less thing that we have to worry about. It's going to be nice to apply this refund as a principle payment on my car loan.

E is finally warming up to the idea of eating actual food (well baby food), we started out with rice cereal and she wasn't a fan. We moved onto oatmeal a few days ago and boy does she enjoy it. We have tried a few vegetables as well but nothing has seemed to be a favorite of hers yet. I'm going to take my sisters advice and just make my own baby food that way I can experiment with different things. She has been really happy the last few days, I attribute that to her tummy feeling fuller.

That night we went out to dinner, even though Kyle isn't home during the week for dinner I still cook so he can have the leftovers the next day. It was nice to have someone else cook for me haha. 

Sunday, we spent the morning getting rid of stuff in the garage (oh after he went out and got donuts, love that guy!!). It really is amazing how much nonsense you accumulate over time. Especially stuff that you convince yourself that you will use and then it sits in a box for months on end. We both have a hard time getting rid of things but we knew we had to. We moved on to the office closet and we got rid of even more stuff. I feel so much better now!  

In my last post I talked about the events I'm running at Disneyland, my sister had planned to come with me to cheer me on. But now she has decided to run with me! I am stoked!!!! Our costumes tie in together and they are awesome. This trip just got even better. Speaking of running, I went out for my first run yesterday since injuring my back. It wasn't perfect but it felt good. I'll be back where I want to be in no time.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Run Disney

One of the things that has me the most excited about running a Disney race is wearing a costume! I have been searching around for fun ideas and believe me there are so many cute ones out there. 

For the 10k on Saturday, I've decided that I am going with a Mr. Smee costume! It's simple but it's fun and I know it will be really comfortable which is huge for me. I will likely only wear the tank top, bandana, and skirt. Wearing glasses is a no go haha.

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For the half marathon on Saturday, I thought about going with a traditional Tinkerbell theme. However, I know that a lot of people are going that direction and I wanted to do something different.

I'm torn between Peter Pan and Wendy.

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Give me your thoughts, Peter Pan or Wendy?!

I love the idea of dressing up for races we have done it many times in the past but for me this is going to be the best one. You can't go wrong with dressing up as a Disney character and running through Disneyland and interacting with the characters.

Only 3 1/2 months until the fun begins! I can't wait.

Things I Have Learned

I thought it would be fun to write a post about things I have learned since becoming a Mom. I have been keeping little mental notes and figured it was time to write them down. 

*My body will NEVER be the same. Yes I may go back to my pre-pregnancy weight but nothing ever fits the same again. As much as I try to squeeze my hips in those jeans haha.

*You will find things like socks, pacifiers, and baby wipes in the most random places. I found a sock in my wallet, I have no clue how it got there but it was.

*It is possible to have a baby that sleeps and people will silently (or publicly) curse you because of it. Not sure why anyone would wish a non-sleeping baby on others but okay.

*Nothing compares to seeing your husband and baby together, it's magic.

*I will make the most obnoxious noises just to make my baby smile, it pretty awesome seeing that little gummy grin. 

*There is nothing more ear piercing the scream of a angry or wet baby. 

*I've learned to be incredibly quick when it comes to things like showering and making food especially when you are the only adult in the house. Gotta take advantage of nap time.

*I've learned that sometimes the only way to get things done with a cranky baby is to put her in the carrier and just wear her to get chores done. 

*That she may be in the cutest outfit with matching bow and I have spit up or other baby fluids on my shirt because I am too lazy to walk upstairs to change haha. 

*I've learned that family was right, this is the most difficult and rewarding job. 

*But the biggest lesson I've learned is that I have never and will never love anyone as much as I love her. I would not trade these experiences for anything.

Life Lately

I figured I would end the week with what is happening in our neck of the woods as of late.

*I am officially 9 weeks away from finishing grad school! I said that out loud to Kyle last night and it felt weird. In 36 months I will have received a bachelors and a masters, that is insane to me. I am so grateful for the Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits that Kyle transferred to me, because of that we paid nothing for my education.

*Since we are not going to New Orleans for the race in a few weeks. We decided to plan a fun trip with my family at the beginning of June, it will be a great way to end our time in Louisiana.

*Speaking of the move, I have all of the documents together that we need for housing (with the exception of Kyle's orders). It will be nice to send all of that information off and get put on the waitlist. Housing on post there is crazy because it's 1st come 1st serve. If you aren't there to accept a house, you are SOL. Thankfully we have friends there that we can give POA to so they can accept a house for us before we arrive.

*My back is slowly feeling better, yoga has really helped so far. It's not 100% but I'm getting there. Also, giving my body a break from running has been nice. I'll be doing a 5k next weekend to just keep my body moving but I'm not going to break any records. :)

*I finally did something for myself and got a new phone haha. Mine has had a pretty good crack in the screen for a while and I came due for an upgrade. I got the iphone 7 plus and I'm so glad I did. I've already tested out how waterproof it is haha.

*Last night we were able to see a very dear friend of ours who is home on leave from Afghanistan. He and his wife have been friends and mentors of ours since we got married, and now they have become family. It was his first time meeting E and it was really awesome. I am so thankful for all of the wonderful people that the Army has placed in our lives. They are E's psuedo grandparents now and we love it.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

A Girl and Her Furry Siblings

I know how most people feel about people calling pets their "kids" but I don't care, they are my babies too. 

Before Emmy was born I had purchased her a onesie that says "My Siblings Have Tails". I could not wait for her to fit into it. Well the time has come haha.

 I will say that she is absolutely fascinated by Fishy and Emma. She loves it when Emma licks her hands, she giggles with excitement, and it's the sweetest thing ever. She gets a huge grin on her face when she sees them and they don't seem to mind her either. It took Emma a bit to warm up to her but Fishy has always seemed to like her, he gets super upset when she cries and has to be near her. 

These pictures make me smile and laugh at the same time. E has such a funny personality and clearly tolerates me while I try to snap cute pictures.

I hope she always loves her furry siblings!

Shifting Focus

One of the things I have always prided myself on is knowing when I have to give up and admit defeat as much as it sucks to do.

Well, that moment has come. Most of you know that I have been training for the last few months for the Rock n Roll New Orleans Marathon. Training was going great until I began notice a slight pain that started in my lower back and began to radiate down my left leg. It wasn't completely unbearable but it certainly made me change the way in which I ran, which for any runner is a big no-no. Once you alter the way in which you run it's a recipe for disaster.

I did everything I could to alleviate the pain, soaked in epsom salt baths, stretched more but it just kept nagging at me. It finally got to the point where I couldn't run more than 3 miles without being reduced to tears. I finally made a doctors appointment and he immediately wanted to have xrays done (he is a runner too so he understands how frustrating it is). He said that it seemed like a form of sciatica and prescribed me pain medication as well as inflammation medication. 

I got the results from the xrays back on Friday and it was confirmed. I have degeneration of a vertebrae which is consistent with a diagnosis of sciatica. Based on this information I made the decision to drop out of the marathon, it is 3 weeks away and I knew that if I pushed myself to do it I would risk hurting myself more. Right now I am going to focus on low impact exercises (stationary bike, elliptical, etc), shorter distance easy runs (3-4 miles), and yoga. If that doesn't do the trick I will move onto physical therapy. While I would have loved to complete my 2nd marathon this year my goal now is running the Pixie Dust Challenge at Disneyland in May. Shifting my focus to May will give me plenty of time to alleviate the pain and rehab my back. 

It is hard to admit when things don't go exactly how you planned but at the end of the day my health is more important than any race. 

I'll be back and I'll be stronger than I was before.

Moving On.

It's that time again! The Smith Family is on the move and we are heading to:

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas!!!

This is exactly what we wanted and we are so excited for this new adventure. Of course, as with all things relating to the Army this could change but as of right now we are not anticipating that to happen. We will be there for at least 1 year unless Kyle decides to apply for an additional school. We have a lot of friends that are there right now and some that will be staying for a bit so we will get to see them. He has been to Leavenworth a few different time but I have never been so I am excited to see a new place and have E experience her very first (of many I'm sure) military move. 

I will say this though, we will miss Louisiana and Fort Polk greatly. We have absolutely LOVED our time here and it will always hold a special place in our hearts because E was born here. It's a special place and I wish more people realized what a great place it is.

We will move sometime in late June so we have plenty of time to purge and get this house ready to be packed up. Like I said in my goals we have a rule that if it hasn't been used in 6 months it gets tossed or donated. That will begin this weekend and I can't wait. 

I already have my PCS binder prepped and ready to go, just have to fill it with all the pertinent information and paperwork. I handle all of our moves which makes things so much easier because it allows Kyle to still focus on work and not worry about the things that I can handle on my own. Plus, I like having control haha. 

This will be our 5th move and we are ready to get this party started!

Have a great Thursday!

So Proud!

Well, we got the news today that we have been waiting for! 

Kyle has been selected for promotion to Major! 

I am so damn proud of him and all of the hard work he has put in the last 10 years in the Army. He is an amazing officer who puts the needs of soldiers before his own. He is a natural born leader and takes his job very seriously. He loves what he does and he does it because he wants to.

(this is an old photo but gosh I love it)

We will find out tomorrow where we will be moving to in June and we are so excited for this next adventure.

Goals for 2017

Every year I make it a point to focus on goals rather than resolutions. I find it much easier to achieve what I want to without feeling that there is added pressure. To me resolutions tend to get thrown to the side whereas goals are something that you should strive to complete.

I tend to limit how many goals I focus on because I do not want to be overwhelmed. 

Here is what I am focusing on this year:

*Finances. I rarely discuss finances on my blog but I figured I would break my own rule for the sake of this post. Kyle and I have always been pretty good with money and we do our best to not spend frivolously. We only have 2 pieces a debt, a small credit card and my car payment. Our goal this year is to pay off my car, we bought it last March and would love to have it paid off my the end of the year. With my plan this year which includes putting our entire tax return towards that loan and continuing to make additional principle payments we can successfully have my card paid off in December. Which would be 2 1/2 years early. In addition to that we will continue monthly transfers into savings as well as E's college account. 

*Health. While I do run on a regular basis I need to get back into my healthier eating habits. I don't eat terribly but I tend to skip meals and that is not good (believe me I know). I am going to start planning my breakfasts and lunches in advance so I have no excuse to not eat. 

*Be More Present. As we all know we live in a world where technology is such a huge part of our every day lives however it shouldn't have to be. I want to make it a point to have at least 2 hours daily where technology is not involved. I want to be present and focus on my family as well as myself. E is already growing too fast and I don't want to miss a moment.

*Declutter. With a move happening this year some major decluttering needs to happens. We have so much stuff that we don't use and it's getting out of control. We have a rule that if we haven't used something in 3 months it gets donated or tossed. I will begin this process this weekend and I can't wait!

I'm excited for attack these goals this year and make 2017 amazing!

Family Time

I am so glad that we were able to spend 7 days in Florida with my family. It has been amazing being only 7 hours away from them, being able to have that quality time together is wonderful.

 

We arrived on Monday and opened Christmas gifts, the kids were all spoiled and it was great seeing them so happy. We actually didn't take any pictures because we were just enjoying the moments. Celebrating E's 1st Christmas with family was priceless.

My sister and I were able to have a girls day on Tuesday. We drove to Panama City, had lunch, and did some shopping. It was so much fun to have that time together because we don't get to do it very often. We may or may not have spent way too much at Target haha but it was fun.

Wednesday, my Dad took us all out to dinner at BJ's Brewhouse in Pensacola. He loves doing this for Christmas and it has become a tradition the last few years. E even got a taste of mashed potatoes, she is a fan haha.

On Thursday my Dad and Kyle went shooting. My sisters neighbor took them out to his brothers house so they could shoot the arsenal of weapons that my Dad has haha. They had a great time and I was happy that they were able to spend that time together.

Friday, my sister had to work so we decided to take Kylie and Grayson out for the day. My Dad offered to watch E so we took them to lunch at Olive Garden and then to go Go-Karting. We had such a blast with them and we even hit up the arcade where they had a blast. We love having that time with them. That night we headed over to the neighbors house for a fun get together.

Saturday was NYE so we had a small BBQ with my sisters neighbors. We ate a lot of yummy food, played Cards Against Humanity and actually stayed up to ring in the New Year. Well, E went to bed but the rest of us stayed up. (Oh and before anyone asks yes that is an urn on the table, my Mom wanted to play cards :) )

Sunday was mostly a relaxed day we went bowling in the afternoon and then decided to take some family photos. We have not had a photo of all of us done in a very long time!

I love how it turned out!

I am definitely grateful for this time with family! I will certainly miss it when the time comes to move.

4 months!

Happy 2017! Can't wait to share a recap of our awesome trip to Florida but that will have to wait until later this week.

Let's talk about how our sweet baby girl is already 4 months old! I can't believe it. Time has flown by and it really has been so amazing. She is our little chunky monkey, she weighed 13lbs at a doctors appointment 2 weeks ago. She has her 4 month shots tomorrow and I'm dreading it.

Her personality has been in full bloom this month and it's hilarious. She loves to laugh and giggle, and will smile at everyone. She is reaching for everything (including mommy's hair), loves her Sophie giraffe, and pretty much everything goes in her mouth. She loves swatting at her toys in her bouncer and this trip to Florida really got her interested in her cousins. They loved making her laugh.

She is starting to enjoy tummy time because has figured out how to roll from stomach to back and she is so happy about that. She even scoots herself sideways and it's the cutest thing.

She is a bit of a night owl and will go to bed around 11pm (which is fine by me because I stay up to work on school) and sleep until 8-9am. She is still a champ on long road trips, we have perfected our set-up, which means I ride in the back with her to keep her entertained.

She is only really angry when she is hungry, but I don't blame her one bit.

She is such a joy and even with the hard and stressful times being a parent is so worth it!