Ask Me Anything!

Over the last few months I've noticed that I have quite a few new readers! Hi!!!!! :) I thought it would be fun for my readers to ask me questions. I always enjoy posts like that because it's a great way to get to know the blogger better.  

I am an open book and those who have been following me for a long period of time know that to be true. So please, ask me anything! 

I'll compile the questions and answer them in a post next week.

I can't wait to see what y'all come up with!

Have a great weekend!!

Life Lately

In a lot of ways I feel like this past weekend went by at a snails pace. I blame the fact that Kyle worked 8pm-8am both Friday and Saturday. I'm used to him working odd hours but E wasn't a fan, she kept trying to distract him so he wouldn't leave haha. 

She walked up to him before he left one of the days and said "daddy, dance?!". My heart instantly melted and I'm pretty sure he was trying not to cry haha. It was so sweet!

To kill some time on Saturday morning, E and I headed to post for the monthly 5k fun run put on by MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation). It was a great event and a few of my fellow SLAM moms were there as well.

It was ridiculously humid because it rained the night before but it was a great event. I had fun pushing E (which I rarely do) and afterwards we continued on for another 4 miles so I could check off my training run haha. She was content as usual, as long as she has her iPad and bunny snacks she is happy.

That evening she and I went to a birthday party for a friend's son. She played hard and passed out once it was bed time. 

On Sunday, I had a long run that I needed to get done and with Kyle working odd hours I had to adjust when I could get it done. He got home at around 11 and I was able to head to post to get it done. This was a 15 mile run and the longest distance I have run since the El Paso Marathon. I'm not going to lie, I struggled big time. It was mentally hard, I wanted to give up at every mile but I kept pushing. I had to remind myself that it was about the miles and not the pace at which I was running. I felt such a huge sense of relief and pride when I finished.

It's runs like these that reinvigorate me and remind me that I can do this! The rest of Sunday was really lazy for all of us haha. Kyle was running on a few hours of sleep and I was wiped out from the run. We just hung out at home and loved every second.

Yesterday was my birthday! It was a perfectly low key and wonderful day. It started out with my SLAM class and 33 birthday burpees! Woo hoo haha! E and I swung by Starbucks to get my free birthday drink and we ran some errands. She took a nap and I enjoyed a quiet hour to just relax. I was spoiled by family and friends with calls and messages. It was great!

One of my favorite gifts was from E. She got me this precious "Mom" necklace. 

We celebrated with dinner at Mod Pizza and cake/ice cream at home. It was perfect.

It was such a wonderful day spent with my two favorite people and I'm so thankful for all the love. I'll get to celebrate again this weekend with my family here and I can't wait! It's going to be amazing. 

I hope y'all had a great weekend!

PS: I'm still working on Part II of my home tour. It's coming soon, I promise!! :) 

Being A Parent Is Hard

Back in October I shared this post about Emersyn being diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolemia type 2a. For a quick breakdown, this is what the condition is. It is caused by a defect of the 19th chromosome. It is characterized by high levels of cholesterol as well as high levels of bad cholesterol know as low density lipoprotein (LDL). This defect makes the body unable to remove the LDL from the blood, which can cause narrowing of the arteries at a very early age. Only one parent has to pass this gene onto their children in order for them to get it. If both parents carry this gene and pass it, it can create significant problems and be harder to treat. If this condition goes untreated it can lead to heart disease, heart attack, and stroke at an early age. It is something that should be taken seriously and treated accordingly. Kyle and his Mom both have this condition so we do have experience with it. 

Back in February, E was seen by a pediatric cardiologist in Kansas City and these were her numbers at that appointment:

Total Cholesterol: 242 (less 170 is preferred) 

LDL: 166 (less than 110 is preferred)

Triglyceride: 171 (less than 150 is preferred)

These levels are high for an adult let alone at the time a 17 month old. We were told by her doctor to monitor her diet and make changes. More leafy greens, lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, etc. She was already eating most of those things. Exercise is another huge factor and let's face it she never stops moving so that's not an issue. This was our one and only appointment with that doctor as we were moving. 

Once we arrived in NC we met with her PCM to get a referral to a pediatric cardiologist and thankfully there is one at the hospital on post. She had her first appointment with him this past Tuesday. She did amazing. She was a rockstar during both her EKG and Echocardiogram.

After these tests came the blood draw, which I always dread. However, they make it extremely easy here. They swaddled her on a table with one arm out so she couldn't shift. It made things so much better. Afterward we met with the doctor to discuss treatments possibilities but nothing was official until we got the lab results back. She was exhausted after the appointment and fell asleep in the car.

We received the results back on Wednesday and they are scary. 

Total Cholesterol: 262

LDL: 200

Triglycerides: 242

All of these numbers have risen significantly in a 5 month period. To see these type of numbers for a 22 month old is horrifying. Seeing that her LDLs have jumped 34 points is what really concerns us. We knew at this point that diet and exercise weren't cutting it and that we had to move forward with medication. Our biggest fear is that if we wait and her numbers continue to rise that she could potentially have a heart attack by the time she is 5. That is devastating to think about. Her doctor advised us of the possible side effects of the medications but they are minor compared to what could happen to her. Kyle was on this same medication when he was younger, so I'm thankful that she has him to guide her but gosh it's hard. 

Her medication is in powder form that is typically mixed with water, milk, or juice but let's face it trying to get a toddler to take any sort of medicine is difficult. When I talked to the pharmacist yesterday she gave me the okay to mix it with yogurt. She has to take this medicine 3 times a day and   I knew yogurt would make it so much easier. 

She will have a re-check in 6 months to see if this medication is helping. If it is, she will continue taking it until she is 8-10 years old and then she can be prescribed a statin (lipitor). Kyle has been on lipitor and zetia for his since he was 18. All we can do at this point is provide her with the tools that she needs to help her live a healthy life. She will always have this condition but we can help her manage it. We just hate that she has to live with it and I wish I could take it away so she doesn't have to. 

What I'm Loving Lately

After sharing my favorite running shorts in my last post I was inspired to share some of the other favorites things lately, most have to do with food. Let's face it when you're training for a marathon, you are ALWAYS hungry haha.

One of the things I have always struggled with is drinking enough water. We have a ridiculous amount of water bottles but none that are bigger than 20oz. I found this Contigo 40oz water bottle on Amazon and I'm loving it! I feel like I'm finally drinking enough water to keep myself hydrated during the day. It was only $16.84, that's a steal to me.

I don't know about you but later in the evenings I'm always looking for something to snack on. A few months back I came across the Angie's Boom Chicka Pop Sweet and Salty Kettle Corn. Holy cow, it's AMAZING!!! I'm obsessed. Haha. It's the perfect snack at the end of the day. I don't feel guilty eating it either as 1 cup is only 70 calories. 

One thing I have been trying to do lately is simplify dinners. That's where sheet pan meals come into play. They are life changing! I can throw everything on a pan, put it the oven, and 20-30 minutes later we have a full meal. A few days ago I made sheet pan steak fajitas. They were delicious and so easy. This is the recipe I used and they came out perfect. E loved the vegetables and ate a bite or two of steak (she is not a red meat kinda kid). You can make them with chicken too and they are just as delicious. I think I'm going to test out shrimp next time.

How many of you have ever had rolled ice cream?! I knew about it but had never had it until a few weeks ago. OH! It's life changing haha. Our town recently had a place open and we stopped in to check it out. We were not disappointed. It was so fun watching them make it! If you have a rolled ice cream place near you, run, don't walk there! 

This last item isn't food related! Haha shocker. A few weeks at a July 4th race I noticed that my current running sunglasses broke. I'm not going to lie, I was really upset! These have been with me every step of my running journey. RIP $5 Esprit sunglasses. I needed to find a new pair and finally jump on the Goodr bandwagon that most of my SLAM friends wear. They have quite a few to choose from but I got these. The name of the color made me laugh. I'm happy to report that so far so good! Let's hope it continues.

What are some of your favorite things lately!?

Weekend Snapshots + A Favorite!

One of the things we knew when we came back to NC was that Kyle would be busy. Well, the fun has already begun haha. 

He had to work late on Friday so I wanted to make sure that E and I had a fun day planned. We met up with friends after SLAM to go blueberry picking. Doing things like this were always favorites when we lived in Kansas and this experience was no different. She was so happy running around with her bucket and picking blueberries off the bushes. We were able to get almost 2 pounds for only $2.86! We made blueberry streusel muffins with plenty leftover for E to eat. 

Since Kyle was working late, I knew getting my training run in meant taking E. She is such a good companion and just goes with the flow. Running with a stroller is HARD. I don't care how many times you do it, it takes so much effort.

Since we knew Kyle had to go to work on Saturday we decided to grab breakfast out. We went to placed called Metro Diner. Holy cow, it was delicious!!! Out of everything pictured my favorite item were the grits. I'm a sucker for good grits and these did not disappoint.

After Kyle left for work E and I headed up to Raleigh to do a little shopping. As usual Starbucks was involved and she enjoyed her lemon pound cake haha. This is the face of pure joy.

Sunday was more low key mostly due to my long run. I was up at 4:30am so I could drive to post. I knew that trying to get 14 miles in my neighborhood would be difficult. I felt great right off the bat and then thanks to uneven pavement at mile 3, I tripped and fell. As a runner you figure out quickly that if you fall, you fall on your side and that's just what I did. My knee was scraped but my shoulder and hand took the brunt. I got up, brushed myself off, and continued on. I felt a huge sense of relief and pride at the end of the run. I was proud of my pace and this is what I'm aiming for. I'm a little sore today from the fall but I'll be just fine. 

Yesterday was our nephew, Grayson's 7th birthday!!! How is he already 7!? I can't handle it. We will get to see him in a few weeks and I can't wait. 

Now on to one of my favorite things as of late!! Since I spent the majority of my time in workout clothes, it was so important to me to find a quality pair of running shorts. I usually wore target or old navy but found that they caused horrible chaffing if I ran more than 6 miles. I was finally convinced to try the Run Times Short II from Lululemon. I was a bit hesitant to spend $58 on a pair of running shorts but Kyle reminded me that I'm an athlete and it's important to invest in good products. Well, it's safe to say that I'm hooked! Not only are they comfortable but I have had ZERO chaffing since switching in April. Plus, they come in really fun patterns and colors. SO, if you are looking for good athletic shorts, check these out.

Hope y'all had a great weekend!!!!

Mid-Week Musings

On Sunday, I wrapped up my first week of marathon training! Now I just have 12 more weeks to get through haha. I previously talked about making this training schedule work and so far I've done just that. I think my favorite runs are my early morning Sunday long runs. I get up way before everyone else and just get it done. This past Sunday was unusually cool and it felt amazing. I know it's not always going to be that way haha.

 Speaking of training, I purchased this tank top and it's so accurate. Just give me all the cupcakes!

In the middle of all this training we made a pretty big change in our house. We transitioned E into a toddler bed. We knew it was getting to be that time and we wanted to just get it over with. She looks so tiny in her bed now (which is weird because it's just her crib converted). I'm happy to report that last night was day 3 and she is doing wonderful!!! 

Another transition is about to occur that we also knew needed to happen. Getting rid of the infamous pacifier. She had a dentist appointment yesterday and everything looks great except for her top front teeth. They are farther apart than they should be and the dentist recommended that we wean her off the pacifier. She doesn't want it to impact the growth of her adult teeth. So today begins that process. I'm not about to make her give that up cold turkey. It will take a few days. 

She was happy before the dentist, not so much during the appointment. She has time to forget about it before her next appointment in 6 months haha. 

Kyle's schedule is becoming a little busier with longer days so we are taking advantage of the time we have. On Sunday we took E to one of our favorite places. The Cape Fear Botanical Gardens. We went there several times when we lived here last and it has changed so much! The gardens themselves are beautiful but the walking trails are amazing. E had a blast running all over and picking up sticks haha.

I am taking E to a gymnastics class today, I'm curious as to how she will do! Fingers crossed she likes it, it would be fun to sign her up for classes.

Hope y'all have a great day! 

Home Tour: Part 1

A few weeks ago I promised that I would do a home tour once we were all unpacked, well the time has come! However, I'm going to do it in two parts. Solely because the upstairs is a mess and it will take a bit longer to take photos but I have the downstairs ready. 

So, without further ado, here is our home!

In my last post I shared that we were replacing the pine straw with mulch. We finally finished on Friday night and I'm so happy with how it looks. Next project is to work on the grass. The early summer was really hard on it and scorched it. Time to bring it back to life. 

When you walk in the front door you walk into a wonderfully open foyer. One thing I noticed when I first looked at the house was the wall color and the lack of textured walls. It's a very light gray and smooth, it's such a nice change from stark white or brown tones. I don't have much on the walls in this area because I'm so particular. However, I do have my home sign that I made when we lived in Kansas. Eventually I will add more but for now this works. 

You can go right and enter the living room or go left and hit the stairs or continue down the hallway to the dining room. This is the hallway to the left. We decided to hang our college degrees here, it's fun walking by them and reminiscing. 

Once down the hallway there is a utility closet that I love!! It's nice having a dedicated place for vacuums, brooms, and other random household items. There wasn't an electrical outlet or light in there so my dad installed both when he was here. 

Next to this closet is the powder room. It's the perfect size and has a window, which for some reason I  really like. 

Next up is the dining room. The dining room, kitchen, and living room all flow together. However, to me it feels like there is a division between the different spaces. Our new table fits perfectly and the window add the perfect natural light during the day.

When looking at house one of the things I wouldn't budge on was having a pantry. I had to have one. We didn't have one in our house in Kansas and it drove me nuts! We have a really good size one in this house and it's perfect. 

Next is the kitchen. It's one of my favorite spaces to be in. Between the cabinets and the gray backsplash it's amazing.

 We decided to purchase barstools for the bar and so glad we did. They match the dining room table and it's make everything flow so well.

One of the first things I purchased when we moved in was new living room furniture. Our couch and end tables were finally delivered yesterday. I feel like a grown up now haha. I love how this space looks.

My Dad was kind enough to mount the TV so Kyle didn't have to do that after he arrived. We are still working on the cord situation (Kyle has a plan) but I love my builtins and have grand plans to reorganize. I will get to it eventually. We decided to bring E's teepee down from her playroom. It's awesome because it hides the few toys down here and she loves playing in it. 

Well, that's the tour of the downstairs! I hope you enjoyed it and I can't wait to share the upstairs with you.

Happy Monday!

This and That

I feel like we have finally found our groove here! It's nice to have that routine of things to do everyday and we are all loving it. One of the big things that I checked off my list was registering E for preschool! She will start in September! It's a 3 days a week program and she will go for 3 hours a day. I think it's going to be great for the both of us. 

We started the weekend on Friday with a SLAM pool party and potluck. It was a beautiful but hot day. E was so happy but was not amused at my desire to take a photo beforehand haha.

Saturday morning it was an early start for us. We headed up to UNC Chapel Hill for a 5k. It was an absolutely beautiful race. The campus is gorgeous and the surrounding area was relatively shaded which helped quell the heat a bit. I felt really good the whole race and was pleasantly surprised that despite the heat I finished in 23:34. It was enough for 3rd place overall female. Kyle as usual was awesome especially since he is the one pushing E.

After we got home we spent the afternoon just relaxing and trying to stay cool. I headed off later that night for first Mom's Night Out here. It was so much fun. We met up for pedicures first which I was so happy about. This place was awesome and actually had a pretty extensive menu of different pedicures. It was worth every penny.

Then had dinner at a pizza place that can only be described as Subway for Pizza. It was amazing!!! I liked it so much that I took Kyle there on Monday haha.

Sunday was more low key and we spent time finally putting together the gallery wall I had been envisioning. I am obsessed with how it turned out!

On one of my many trips to Walmart on Sunday, I snagged this bubble machine for E. It's safe to say that she is obsessed. It easily is hours of entertainment for her.

One of the things that I have been wanting to do since we moved in was get rid of the pine straw in our planters. It was driving me crazy because it's just essentially dead grass and I hate it. We took a trip to Lowe's, got what we needed and got to work. 

Thank goodness for sales because this stuff isn't cheap haha. I am so happy with how it all turned out and now it doesn't bug me when I look at our yard.

E had her first swim lesson yesterday and she loved it. She is a little fish. She goes twice a week for 30 minutes each time which I think is perfect for her.

Now that I've written it all out we have been pretty busy the last few days. I'm not hating it though!

We don't have any big plans for the 4th tomorrow with the exception of a 4 mile race in the morning. I'm sure we will figure something out.

Whatever you all decide to do, I hope you are safe and enjoy the day celebrating with family and friends. Happy 4th of July!!