Captured Moments

A few days ago we received our family photos. Words can't describe how much I love them. This is the first time we have had professional photos taken as a family and I am so glad we did. I apologize in advance for the photo dump but I couldn't help myself. 

These are captured moments that I will always cherish.

I hope you all have an amazing weekend!

 We are running an 8k tomorrow in a nearby town that's part of Amelia Earhart festival, so it should be a great time. :)

On another happy note, our amazing nephew, Grayson turns 6 tomorrow. So I want to wish him a very Happy Birthday!! We love you buddy!

Let's Be Honest

I thought it was time for a let's be honest post. They are so fun to write.

Let's be honest....It's hard to believe that we will likely be moving again in less than a year. If an additional course doesn't work out for Kyle off we go to a new home! Don't get me wrong I love the adventure, but man it's tiring the older you get haha.

Let's be honest....I'm really tired of people sending me messages about their MLM businesses. Especially when it is someone I'm friends with on social media who I haven't personally spoken to in years. Don't use my kid as an excuse to send me a message when all you really want to do is peddle your product. If you want me to consider buying your product just ask me.

Let's be honest....I'm desperately trying to find my running mojo again. I've had a few really good runs lately so hopefully I can get back to where I want to be. We signed up for another race so that's enough motivation to get my butt into gear. 

Let's be honest....I had a brief thought of trying the Keto diet but let's be honest we love bread and potato products way too much in this house. Kyle and I would be hungry and desperately trying to sneak bread into the house like a kid hiding a candy bar from his parents. We don't eat terribly but this would not make for a happy home haha. Good on those who can do it, you guys are rockstars!

Let's be honest....I'm not a fan of last minute plans. I'm trying to get better but I usually have my days planned so when something comes up I tend to get frustrated. I need to be better about just going with the flow.

Let's be honest....I am LOVING the Kansas weather. It is a huge change from the humidity of Louisiana, while it is still hot it is not unbearable and that to me is a huge win. I hear people say it's humid here but I'm definitely not feeling it, well I could be immune to it at this point.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Enjoying The Time

Kyle signed back into work today (but he won't officially start anything until Monday) so we are starting to get back into a routine. It has been great having him home for the last month but I know we are both ready for that routine, we all thrive on it. 

We have done our best to make the most of the time together though.

1. We explored the Omaha Zoo. It was only a 2 1/2 hour drive, but it was so worth it! A lot of the bigger areas were enclosed and it made for a much better experience. 

2. We signed E up for hourly care for a few hours so Kyle and I could run some errands and have a day date. We decided to check our Top Golf in Kansas City. If you have one close and have never gone you must! It was so much fun. We had our own golf bay so we could play for as long as we wanted (you pay by the hour) and you spend the time hitting golf balls at targets. We also had our own server, so we had a few drinks and ate some delicious food. It was so nice to have that time together. 

3. E has been loving her water table. My sister bought it as an early gift for her birthday and it has been a HUGE hit. We spend every night out front so she can play for an hour or so.

4. This past weekend we hosted a BBQ at our house. We brought together new friends (and neighbors) and old friends. It was such a blast! Getting to hang out with friends and enjoy good food and conversation was great. This was the only photo I took haha, the bacon wrapped cream cheese filled jalapeños. Of course it was of food. A blogging friend of mine Erica is even one of our new neighbors!! :) 

5. We are loving these Kansas evenings. We sit out on the porch and just take it all in. 

Everyone is enjoying their new home, including Emma and Fishy.

Have a great Monday!!!

Good Times!

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July! 

Our day was relatively low key which is never a bad thing. We started out with a 5k in a neighboring town and it was a lot of fun. Well as much fun as running in a torrential downpour can be haha. As soon as the cannon went off to mark the start of the race it started raining. It started as a light drizzle and just escalated from there. One upside to running in the rain is that you aren't focused on running you are focused the rain. It made the time go by fast. 

E of course had the best seat in the house and with our trusty stroller cover she was dry as a bone at the end. 

Later in the day we headed over to a neighbors house for a BBQ. One thing about the military life is that you will likely always run into people you knew years ago. These neighbors we have known for 9 years, we were at Bragg and Polk together. It was a fun low-key get together, we ate, chatted and enjoyed the company.

E was very festive for the day! 

We have been doing our best to keep busy during the day. E had a playdate with a few kiddos and then we took her to a Gymboree class yesterday. She really enjoyed both! I look forward to keeping her busy all summer.

We had family photos taken yesterday so I will leave you with this preview.

I can't wait to share the rest!

Happy Thursday!

Practicing Self-Care

Over the last few weeks I've seen a few different articles discussing the concept of self-care. It really made me think particularly what it means to me and how I utilize it in my own life. I'll be the first to admit that since having E I don't make self-care a priority. I'm usually focused on other things and believe me when I say it's not a bad thing but neglecting yourself isn't a good thing either. A quote I found defines self-care perfectly:

"Self care is about taking proper care of yourself and treating yourself as kindly as you treat others."

I believe that it's important to be the best version of yourself in order to take care of those around you. Too often people think that self-care involves money. That's just not true, it could be something as simple as lighting candles and taking a bubble bath. It could be putting on your favorite pair of cozy pajamas and reading a book. It could even be committing to getting more sleep or deciding to stop doing something you don't enjoy. There are a variety of ways to practice this concept.

One of the things for me is going for a run solo. I do enjoy running with E and I had to do that a lot in Louisiana because of Kyle's job but there were days when I just wanted it to be me. I'm not going to lie I was in a funk for a while. It's not that I wasn't happy with my life, I just wasn't happy with me. I was on edge, emotional, and just cranky. I finally realized that I needed that time to just recharge. Kyle's schedule will be drastically different here and I'm looking forward to the times where I can just zone out and clear my head alone. I want this to be a priority and I want to be the best version of myself that I can be so that I can be better especially for E. I want to show her that taking care of yourself is important. Just because I choose to focus on myself for 30 minutes a day doesn't mean that I am taking anything away from my daughter or my husband.

I've heard a lot of people call self-care a selfish act, it simply is not. It is a way for a person to take care of themselves in order to better care for others. Yes, when you have kids it becomes trickier but lean on your significant other, family, and friends if you can. Just as you make your significant other and children a priority you need to make yourself one as well.

Do you practice self-care? If not, what are some ways you could start?