7 Years

7 years......7 years of not having my Mom on this earth. Tomorrow marks 7 years since my beautiful Mom lost her battle with cancer. Some days it feels like it just happened yesterday and others it feels so long ago. I remember getting that phone call so early in the morning and hearing the words I dreaded hearing for 10 months. I had just seen her 2 days prior and I was alone in North Carolina. Kyle was away training and I was lost. It was the worst feeling I have ever felt. 

I wonder everyday how things would be different if she were still here. I think about how proud she would be of my niece Kylie, she was only 4 when my Mom passed away but they were so close. I think about how much she would love my nephew, Grayson, and his silly personality. My sister was pregnant with him when she died. Then, I think about how thrilled she would be that we were finally blessed with E. 

I think about all of the memories we could have made as a family and then I find myself getting angry because she was taken from us far too soon. It doesn't matter how long it has been because I still see or experience something and go to call her, only to realize I can't. I'm sad that I don't have her here anymore. I'm sad that my daughter will never know her grandma but I will tell E about her so that she knows her in that way. Grief is such a weird thing to deal with, the pain never truly goes away you just learn to cope. 

I know that she would be proud of all of us and all that we have accomplished. I know that she would be so happy for my Dad that he is finally retired and living his life the way he wants to. 

I will continue to honor her in everything I do and be thankful for all of the memories I have of her.  I will continue to try and make her proud.

So I say to all of you, hold your loved ones tight. Tell them you love them and be thankful for the time, however long or short. 

I miss you everyday, Mom. I love you.

Fit Challenge: Results

Back in January, I posted here about the start of my workout groups Fit Challenge. Well 2 weeks ago we concluded the 9 week challenge. To be honest, I was completely unsure of this challenge, I knew I wanted to improve but I wasn't 100% committed. However, as time went on I got excited about it. I was excited to push myself and to focus on the nutrition aspect. 

Here is a recap of my initial assessment stats taken in January:

2 minutes of step ups (1 minute on each leg): 124

1 minute of thrusters: 27

1 minute of hand release push ups: 24

1/2 mile run: 3:38

Plank (for as long as you can): 1:44

Weight: 117.3

Body Fat %: 26.6

Waist: 28

Hip: 36

Thigh: 19.5

Over the course of the challenge, I focused a lot on nutrition. Eating more fresh vegetables and limiting meat to twice a week. However, there were days when I wanted something sweet and I indulged. It's okay to do that. I also increased my water intake, to me that is one of the most important things you can do. 

Here are my fit challenge results after 9 weeks:

2 minutes of step ups (1 minute on each leg): 139

1 minute of thrusters: 37

1 minute of hand release push ups: 31

1/2 mile run: 3:27

Plank (for as long as you can): 3:07

Weight: 112.4

Body Fat %: 22.7

Waist: 26

Hip: 33.5

Thigh: 19

While it was amazing to see the numbers change, what is more important is how I feel. I feel stronger and I feel more confident. It is amazing what you can do when you set a goal for yourself and you stick with it. It doesn't always go smoothly but what matters is how you feel in the end. Would I have been disappointed if I didn't see these type of results? No, because I knew that I did my best and I was confident in my abilities. 

More than anything it was inspiring and amazing to see this group of women work so damn hard to achieve goals that they had set for themselves. I was inspired every single day watching them push themselves. It made me push myself harder. 

(this was taken during our assessment as I was counting for my partner)

I really did learn so much over these 9 weeks especially when it comes to food. We have made a conscious effort to eat a few meatless meals a week and incorporate a wider variety of vegetables, it's been pretty great. Small changes can makes the biggest differences. It's all about how we fuel our bodies and that can change so many things.

Normally, I would feel weird about posting something like this, but more than anything I feel like it can serve as motivation for those who are looking to set goals but scared about the process. You can do anything you set your mind to! Anything is possible.

Mission Accomplished

So sorry for the radio silence on the blog for the last few days! Last week, I headed off to North Carolina to house hunt. It really was a whirlwind trip, I got there Wednesday afternoon and left Friday morning. 

I was lucky enough to have a wonderful friend let me stay with her and she was awesome enough to go house hunting with me. We have been working with a realtor for the last few months. She created a listing cart with homes to consider and when I got there I had roughly 18 to look at. We eliminated a few right off the bat before we even looked at them. 

The first home we looked at was absolutely perfect. It had everything we wanted. It's a new construction with 4 bedrooms plus a bonus room, 3.5 bathrooms, and a fenced in backyard. It was also the price point that we were comfortable being in. I knew deep down that it was the house we wanted but I agreed to look at more just to be sure. By the end of the day and seeing a few more houses, I knew the first house was it.

We submitted an offer and waited. The next day we saw a few more houses and then ended up back at first house. While we were there we got notification that the builder accepted our offer with all of the things we asked for to include blinds on all of the windows. To say we were thrilled is an understatement. My friend and I celebrated with a cupcake, dinner out, and some wine. It was so nice to have that time with her. 

It's in the most desired school district, close to stores/restaurants, and is 23 minutes from where Kyle will be working, walking distance to the pre-school that I want E to attend, and it just felt like home. Win! 

Without further adieu, here is the house we will call home at the end of May!

Living Room

 The built-ins are just amazing!

 My new kitchen!

 Dining Room

 Master bathroom

 Master Bathroom

 I couldn't say no to the bathtub haha.

The backyard is amazing, this is just one side of it!

One of my favorite things is that there is a Jack and Jill bathroom between two of the bedrooms. It's such a fun concept and one that I have always loved. E will have her own bathroom which will be nice. Also, plenty of space for visitors! Which I hope we will get a lot of.

I only took a few photos but I can't wait to share more when we move in. 

I am so happy that I left NC with a house! I didn't want to just settle for anything so I am thrilled that we were able to find something that fit all of our needs and wants. It was definitely meant to be!

Weekend in Review

Happy Tuesday and Happy Spring Break to those who are getting to enjoy that this week! 

We have been having some pretty dreary weather lately but it hasn't stopped us from enjoying some fun activities. On Friday, we had planned to head to the zoo but the temperatures were a little bit too cold so we opted for an indoor activity. 

We headed to Union Station to check out the Art of the Brick exhibit by Nathan Sawaya. All I can say is wow! It was absolutely incredible and we were amazed at the things he created completely out of legos. He is an attorney turned professional artist and builds these amazing creations. 

My favorite is by far his recreation of American Gothic. It has always been my favorite painting and seeing it in lego form was neat. Each piece has a description that tells you how many legos it took to complete. The T-Rex was over 80,000 legos. 

The Yellow Man is his most iconic piece and one that people associate him with. 

If there is an exhibit near you please go! You won't be disappointed. 

Afterwards we headed off to a late lunch at Jack Stack BBQ, it was delicious and probably one of our top choices for a restaurant here. Since we were in the Plaza District we headed around the corner to Cheesecake Factory for dessert. I don't like cheesecake but this sundae is the best! E couldn't decide who she wanted to share with haha so she shared both of our desserts.

Saturday was more low key. I started the day with pedicures with friends and then had brunch with Kyle and E. An afternoon 6 mile run with a good friend was a nice way to spend some time.

We ended the night by watching the movie "Get Out". If you haven't seen it, you must! It's so much better than I expected it to be. 

Sunday morning we headed off to Kansas City for the Great Plains 10k. *I can see your shocked faces right now in regards to us running another race haha*. It was much colder than we expected it to be but we survived. 

It was an amazing course and the last mile was completely downhill. My favorite!!! It was another great race and one that we can check off as a PR.

The rest of the day was spent visiting with some friends that are moving here in June and relaxing. 

Since Kyle is off this week he will be able to come with me all week, well he will go without me for a few days. Nothing beats a blurry burpee photo haha.

I hope you all had a great weekend!!!

Friday Favorites

It's Friday!!! Which for us means the start of Spring Break for Kyle! Woo! We are starting the day with a SLAM workout. I love that Kyle enjoys coming with me on his days off. He is the first to admit that it kicks his butt. 

It's always fitting to end the week with some favorites! Here are mine lately.

1. The weather! 

It is finally warming up here and we have been graced with blue skies! This is the Kansas weather that I will miss. We have been taking advantage of it and going on lots of walks.

2. Themed Races. 

I am a sucker for a good theme haha. Last week we ran the Westport St. Patrick's Day 4 miler. It also happened to be our SLAM event for the month. It was so much fun running with everyone. I love any excuse to dress up and have a good time haha.

3. Morning quiet time.

For those who have kiddos you understand how precious it is to have quiet time before the chaos of the day starts. I've been getting up a bit earlier lately and just enjoying that time, there have also been mornings where E has slept later. This time usually consists of solitaire and tea. I'm loving it.

4. Russell Stover's Caramel Bunny. 

Easter honestly is the holiday with the best candy haha. I cannot resist these caramel bunnies. They are so delicious, especially cold. Caramel and chocolate is my downfall.

5. E and her ability to climb down the stairs. 

She recently discovered that she can go down the stairs backwards. It is the cutest thing and she gets so excited when we let her. It's fun seeing her grow and learn how to do things like this. 

I hope you all have a great weekend! We are looking forward to lots of family time. 

Mid-Week Musings

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I took another unexpected mini blogging break, I felt like I was lacking things to talk about. I feel like we have so much going on but not enough to talk about consistently. Hopefully, I can pull it all together and have new content flowing soon!

*Spring break for Kyle starts on Friday and we are so excited. Even though I'm heading to NC for a few days we will still have 7 days to do stuff together as a family. I am sure it will include lots of trips to Kansas City and maybe a few other surrounding cities for fun day trips. I love that CGSC gives students spring break off, it's definitely a nice treat. 

*The last few weeks I have been adding new recipes to our rotation. I have to share one that is now a favorite. Cheesy Enchilada Rice Skillet. It is absolutely delicious! I used brown rice and omitted the green enchilada sauce and used 1 cup of red. To be honest you don't even need the cheese because it's good without it. It's even better the next day. 

*My trip to NC is coming up quickly! However, it's going to be so odd traveling solo. I haven't done that since last May when I went to Disneyland with my sister. We knew that it would be so much easier if I made this trip by myself. I can look at as many houses as I need to without having a schedule. Not to jinx anything but the house we really want is still available so it just needs to last another week haha! I will miss Kyle and E though.

*I wrote a post last month about not knowing what I wanted to do professionally. Well, after some soul searching and conversations with a few people I've figured it out. I am going to get certified with USA Track and Field as a coach. I would like to focus on working with kids and help them achieve their running goals. Since my degrees are in Psychology and Child Development this would be the perfect way to marry the two. I am also talking to the owner of Stroller Strong Moms Fayetteville about helping out with their track portion of class. I would love to be able to motivate and inspire people to run! This does not have to be something that I get paid to do but something that I'm passionate about doing and volunteering my time to do. 

*I shared this story recently on FB but I wanted to share it here. Last month, Kyle noticed that his classmate sitting next to him was choking. Without thinking twice or drawing attention to the situation he got up and administered the heimlich maneuver. He doesn't think what he did was a big deal but he saved the life of his classmate. Last Friday, he was recognized by the leadership of CGSC for his actions. He received a coin and personal letter from the Deputy Commander. I am so proud of him for acting so quickly. 

Have a great Wednesday!!!

Thoughts on Thursday

How is it already Thursday!? I swear the weeks are just flying by lately!

Here are some of my thoughts running through my head.

*One of things that has me the most excited about moving back to NC is being close to my family again. It will only be a 10 hour drive which is FAR better than the 15 hours it is now. I miss not seeing them regularly and it will be so great to have them come up to visit us with ease (we won't be living on post this time!). 

*Thanks to so many amazing friends (some who follow this blog) and family I have successfully reached my fundraising goal for Team Homes for our Troops for the Chicago Marathon! While I may have reached my goal the fundraising doesn't have to stop, I want to continue to support and raise money for this organization. You all have been amazing! Speaking of this event, I booked my hotel and my airfare! It's really happening! 

*I took both Emma and Fishy to the vet this week and $250 later they are up to date on everything. Let me say that taking pets and a toddler to the vet together is interesting haha. It's hard to decipher which one is whining the most.  

*I am OVER this Kansas weather. It honestly does not know what it wants to do. We had beautiful and sunny 60 degree weather over the weekend followed by horrendous winds and cold temperatures again. Get your act together, I want to enjoy it here for the next 2 1/2 months. Don't ruin it.

*We have a lot of fun things planned over the next few weeks. We are trying to take advantage of the time we do have before the chaos of moving really kicks in. There is a lego exhibit called Art of the Brick at Union Station that I've been wanting to check out, hoping to check that off this weekend since it's only here for a limited time. 

*Lastly, I've been thinking a lot about my Mom lately. This is a constant occurrence but this month marks 7 years since she passed away. It's hard to believe that it has been that long, some days it feels like yesterday. We are working on coming up with something to do on that day to honor her. We have a few ideas but I hope we can make it a special day and share with E how awesome her grandma was.

Wishing you all a great Thursday!

Weekend in Review!

The first weekend of March is in the books and it was a fun one! 

We kicked it off with the Storybook 5k on Saturday morning! To be honest I wasn't feeling that great at the beginning, my legs felt heavy and tired. I was hoping for a PR but honestly was not expecting it. A friend of mine from SLAM was running it as well and we ran together for the first mile. I started to warm up and felt great so I kicked it up. I was right behind Kyle so he was a huge motivation for me. We had about a 1/2 mile left when I heard a race volunteer tell me that I was the 2nd female. Cue shock. 

I crossed the finish line and knew I PR'd! I was beyond thrilled with the fact that I took a little over a minute off my time. To be 2nd overall female and 1st in my age group was huge, I never expected that.

It was such a fun race and we couldn't have asked for better weather! Finally!

Later that day we were able to get all dressed for the wedding of one of Kyle's classmates. A good friend watched E for us so we could enjoy the festivities.

It was a beautiful wedding and I'm so glad that we were able to attend. 

We were thankful that E let us sleep in a bit on Sunday morning. We enjoyed some homemade cinnamon rolls before heading off to Weston Bend State Park to do some hiking. There are a ton of trails and it's just beautiful.

We found a lookout point that was amazing. It was near the Missouri river and you could see right across to Fort Leavenworth.

Afterwards we had lunch at one of our favorite places in Weston called Tin Kitchen. They have some of the best BBQ!

It was such a great day out as a family. Days like this are the best!

I ended the night with watching The Oscars with a good friend, it was so fun! 

I hope you all had a great weekend!

18 Months Later.....

It is hard to believe that as of yesterday we have a 1.5 year old! I mean honestly where has the time gone?! Kyle and I look at each other every day and thank our lucky stars that we get to be her parents and also that we have successfully kept her alive haha. 

It's hard to believe that E was ever this tiny.

She is now a boisterous 22 pound ball of energy haha! There is honestly no holding her back from doing anything. She is on the go all day long and the only time she is still is when she is sleeping, in the stroller, or carseat. 

 She has THE best personality! She is probably one of the friendliest and funniest kids I've ever come across. This shirt fits her to a tee. She says hi to everyone and loves to make her presence known. She  is obsessed with video chatting with family, she gets so excited. I can't tell you how many times that she has successfully turned my phone off airplane mode during SLAM and called both my Dad and sister. Haha. 

She has 10 teeth now and will pretty much eat anything and everything you put in front of her. She will always try something at least once. However, I am pretty certain that she is singlehandedly keeping the blueberry industry afloat right now. Of course, she will never say no to a delicious donut.

Sleep is one area that has never been a challenge (sorry to all those sleep deprived parents). She LOVES her sleep. She is down for the night between 6-7pm and does not get up until 6:30-7am. I attribute this to her being independent, she does not like being smothered or cuddled. So believe me we jump at the chance when she wants to sit still with us. 

As with most kids she is a sponge, she will repeat what she hears and she really enjoys her books.  She will usually carry a few around the house and end up in our laps so we can read to her. Or she will sit at her table in her play area and flip pages.

She is incredibly smart and somehow has already mastered sarcasm (pretty sure we are screwed lol). She will also give us looks like she is secretly judging us and I instantly see me, my sister, my niece, and my mom in that moment haha. She is all sass with a side of sweet. ;)

Emma and Fishy are still trying to figure her out. She loves them a whole lot and the shrieks of "puppy" and "kitty" are constantly echoing through the house. She gets as close to them as they will let her before they scamper away. A few petting sessions happen here and there, so that's a success.

It's hard to imagine what our lives would be like without her. She has brought so much joy and it's amazing watching her grow.

While being a parent is one of the most rewarding experiences it is also hard, really freaking hard. You're constantly wondering if you are doing the right thing for them and making the right choices. You also wonder, am I teaching them enough, are they growing, thriving, and where they should be socially and physiologically. At the end of the day, if they are happy and healthy, then job well done!