Snapshots of the Weekend

I really do feel like the weekends come and go way too quickly! 

Here is ours in a few snapshots.

It started with E getting a haircut. She got her first haircut back in December courtesy of my sister but alas her hair is like mine and grows ridiculously fast. She sat so well and just let Ms. Teri cut her hair. I was honestly shocked at how well she did. I have a feeling that we will be getting her hair trimmed quite often haha. 

Friday ended with a family outing to Freddy's for custard. Last week for some reason was just exhausting and we were all over it. It was so worth it. Of course, nothing beats a family outing that involves this deliciousness.

Saturday, we were supposed to run a 10k but due to cold temperatures that involved icy conditions it got moved to this coming weekend. I'm so glad it did. 

Instead we lounged around all morning, had lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, and then celebrated our friend's daughters 4th birthday. It ended with lots of daddy snuggles.

Sunday, we decided to venture to somewhere we have never been before. Independence, Missouri. On the way we stopped for lunch at Rock and Run Brewery and Pub in Liberty. It was delicious! Their pizza was amazing as were the pretzels with beer cheese. 

The reason we went to Independence was to visit the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum. It was amazing! I have never been to a presidential library before, I was so impressed. Being able to see his office that he worked in was pretty awesome. It's a beautiful place and I highly recommend it if you have never been. We drove 1/2 mile away to see the home he shared with his wife and daughter. 

We are planning on visiting the Eisenhower museum this coming weekend. 

The day ended with a 6.5 mile run with friends and then lounging on the couch watching the Olympics. Kyle and I love when the Olympics roll around, it's so fun just relaxing and watching all of the events.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

What Do You Do For You?

I think as adults we all get lost in the day to day cycle of life. We all have responsibilities that take so much of our time that we forget to take time for ourselves. We focus on work, school, kids, volunteering, and whatever else comes our way. Of course, this is not a bad thing, but it can run us ragged. It can wear us down to the point where we are dragging and where we just can't focus on much anymore. 

It is absolutely critical to find something to help let go of that stress, anxiety, anxiety, or exhaustion. To let go off all the things you are dealing with day to day and just decompress. Being able to focus on something that takes that all away is important for mind, body, and soul. 

While I have loved running for the last few years and it has been something that I enjoy doing, I have come to realize over the last 6 months that it's something that I need. Kyle has come to realize this as well. Being able to lace up my shoes and go out the door and just lose myself, it's one of the most freeing feelings. I notice that when I don't get a run in that I don't feel great, I feel the stress of whatever is going on and it wears me down. Kyle is amazing because he knows it's what I need and he pushes me to go. He has never once said no, he has always encouraged this passion of mine. 

 I have discovered as of late that night runs are magical. I can go after E is in bed and knock out a good run. 

Or I can enjoy the sunshine while pushing E and soak it up.

Or we can run as a family and be together.

Or I can run with friends and know that at any given time there is a supportive group of women who are up for a run.

Or I can run a race and push myself to be the best I can be in that moment.

There are so many ways to decompress and it is important to find the thing that does that for you. It could be something as simple as taking a bath every night or going for a walk. It could be painting or writing. Heck, it could be hiding in your closet for 15 minutes to eat that pieces of chocolate you've been wanting. It doesn't have to be something that costs money, it just has to be something that helps ease the stress or exhaustion that you are feeling. 

We all need to feel like we are the best versions of ourselves!

Do something for yourself today! 

Thoughts on Thursday

I've been slacking a bit lately on blogging but I promise to get back on track! Here are some thoughts I've been having lately.

*E finally has her cardiology appointment on February 23rd. As it has gotten closer, I've noticed that I have been on edge a bit. I'm anxious, nervous, and to be honest a bit scared. I wrote about her condition in this post. I will take her for a blood draw next week to prepare for that appointment to have her cholesterol levels tested. The appointment will last approximately 3 hours as we will meet the entire cardiology team as well as a nutritionist. Thankfully, Kyle will be able to get out of class to attend. 

*I am approximately 7 months away from running the Chicago Marathon. Cue the freakout. I know it's still pretty far away but with how fast time has been going it will be here before I know it. As most of you know I am fundraising as part of the Homes for our Heroes team. It's an amazing organization that provides homes for severely injured service members and their families. I am so excited to be a part of an amazing team doing so much good. 

This is my fundraising page, if you feel so inclined to donate, it is greatly appreciated.

Team HFOT Chicago Marathon

*I am officially in the PCS funk. It's that weird feeling of knowing we are leaving but still trying to stay connected to where we are. I love our friends here and everything about Kansas but knowing we are leaving makes me want to disconnect. It always happens for me and it's really a defense mechanism and how I cope. Then add in the stress of the move itself, it's game over. Does anyone else experience this?

*I have been trying to do really well with the nutrition portion of this FIT Challenge but I'm not going to lie some days I just want cake and guess what!? I'm going to eat the cake. Life is too damn short not to. Despite that feeling every now and again, I'm proud of embracing this the best I can. It's all about moderation, right? ;) 

*We do have a lot of fun events coming up mostly involving my SLAM group, we have a Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day themed classes coming up followed by a Valentine's Day party for the kiddos. I'm excited for that. While we don't really celebrate it, it is fun getting in the spirit for E. I'm sure she will end up with some giant stuffed animal and some candy haha. I put together some goodies for our niece and nephew to send them, it's so fun being able to do that. 

Speaking of themed classes, I realized that I failed to share the photos from our 80s class. Oh my gosh! So fun!

On that note, have a great Thursday!!

Weekend Wrap-Up!

How is it already Monday again!? These weekends are going by far too quickly for my liking. 

The weekend started out with an evening with just me and E while Kyle attended a promotion reception for a fellow classmate. We knew that we wouldn't stay long if we all went and I wanted Kyle to stay and enjoy some down time. 

While he was gone, E and I headed off to the city to pick up race packets for a half I was doing on Saturday with a friend. It turned into a dinner out which was so fun! Where did our baby go?! She was such a big girl coloring all by herself.

I got E down for bed after we got home and then I followed pretty quickly.

I was up at 5:30 to get ready for the Chocolate Rush half marathon. A sweet friend from SLAM was running and I wanted to do it with her as support. She had a goal in mind so we ran together and I knew as I kept looking at my watch that she was going to crush it. I was so proud of her, it was an awesome moment.

The rest of the day was spent running errands and relaxing because we had another race in the morning haha.

We were able to sleep in a bit longer yesterday but we were up at 6:30am for the Kickoff 5k. We knew it was going to be cold but thankfully E has this amazing Bundleme and this weather shield to keep her warm. When the race started at 9am it was 20 degrees but felt like 12, oh and it started snowing haha! 

It was a great race though! I ran the first mile with my friend Lauren and finished out the rest solo. We had a blast!

As we were leaving the snow really started to fall and we ended up with over an inch and gosh it was cold. 

This was my view as I left the commissary

It calmed down later in the afternoon and it was pretty to look at.

We ended the night face timing with family and watching the Super Bowl. We didn't go to any parties or have any traditional super bowl snacks, it was actually really nice.

E was enamored by it all! She stood there watching for about 20 minutes. 

It was a really fun weekend but it's onto a new week!

Hope you all had a great one.

Kyle's Promotion Ceremony

I know that a lot of you have seen these photos shared on social media over the last few days but I would be remiss if I did not blog about such a special event. As you all know Kyle was officially promoted to Major last week. We found out in November that it was happening this month and we immediately began working out the logistics of it. I wasn't able to be there when he was promoted to Captain so I wanted this day to be special for him. I am so incredibly proud of him and all that he has accomplished in his military career. 

We knew that there was only one person that we wanted to preside over and promote Kyle. BG LaNeve and his family have been in our lives for 10 years (Kyle has worked for him at 3 different posts). He has mentored Kyle his entire career and his wife, Kim, has done the same for me. Along with their two kids, they have become more like family. It took some working out but we were thrilled when everything fell into place and they both flew to Kansas to be here for this day. 

The best thing was that he also promoted Kyle to 1LT. While we were changing Kyle's shoulder boards this time, I leaned over and said to him, "I feel like we have done this before." It was special.

(November 2008)

I'm not going to the lie the day of the ceremony I was a bit stressed out haha. The ceremony was at 2pm but I needed to be there by 1pm (Kyle wasn't done with class until 12:20) to set up at the library and get everything taken in for the reception. I picked up the cake and the food and hightailed it back to post. Thankfully, Kyle's classmates are amazing and helped so much. 

However, once everyone started showing up the excitement kicked in. We were so thrilled that so many friends made the time to come. Quite a few from various assignments are here now and it was awesome having them. One of the highlights was Kyle's 1SG from when he was a company commander was there. She drove 2 hours to be there for the ceremony and it meant so much. 

I was able to set up a computer in the library to live stream the ceremony on FB so family and friends who are far away could watch. It was wonderful having our families "there". E did so good, she wandered around the room and interacted with everyone. Kim ended up holding her for a good portion of the ceremony because she wanted nothing to do with me haha.

E was ready for the ceremony!

I hadn't seen Kim in almost a year and it was amazing to see her. 

 BG telling stories

 This photo will always make me laugh. He is telling an infamous story about Kyle walking our little dog with a pink leash when he was a 2LT haha.

 I think at this moment he said that they keep Kyle around because of me haha (his words not mine)

 Publishing the orders.

 Putting on his new shoulder boards!

 Love this photo!

 Reciting the Oath

 E is ready to get her flowers!

Kyle and his former 1SG.

 The cake was a huge hit! I wish I had taken a photo of the inside, Kyle requested funfetti and that's exactly what he got haha.

We are beyond grateful for these two and all they have done for us.

I love this family of mine! <3

It truly was an amazing day and one that we will never forget. 

*Credit for the photos goes to the amazing Liz Perez from Liz Perez Photography*

Weekend Recap

I feel like the last week or so has flown by in a blur. I haven't posted since last Tuesday but gosh we have been busy. 

On Friday we held Kyle's promotion ceremony and while I will be sharing a post just for that soon, I did want to share a few photos. It was such a special day.

On Saturday, we were able to sleep in a bit before getting the day started. We headed to our favorite local place (The Depot) for breakfast before heading off to run errands. 

I was on the hunt for a dress for a wedding in March and Kyle needed to be fitted for new suits. We were successful on both accounts. We finished the day by getting our taxes done haha. Now that is a truly exciting way to end a Saturday night.

Sunday morning we were up at 5:30am to get ready for a race in Kansas City. We picked up two friends of mine and headed off to the Groundhog Run. It was held in a completely underground facility called the SubTropolis that stays between 65 and 70 degrees year round. It's a 55,000,000 sq foot manmade cave system/business complex and it is the largest in the world. They had both a 5k and a 10k, that started at different times. This actually worked out because they didn't allow strollers. I ran the 5k at 8am and Kyle ran the 10k at 10am (I'm running a half this weekend and let him have the longer distance haha). 

A lot of ladies from my SLAM participated and it was a lot of fun. However, I will say that running underground was completely surreal. The scenery never changed so that messed with our minds a bit haha. It got really hot in some areas and really cool in others when a breeze would come through. 

I was really happy with my time and despite the conditions I was only 10 seconds off my best time. Kyle was thrilled with his time as well. 

I've been doing my best to log more miles lately and later in the afternoon I met up with friends and knocked out another 4 miles. It felt great!

After the craziness over the last week, we enjoyed a quiet night at home. It was definitely needed.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Fit Challenge

A few weeks ago I signed up for a challenge through my workout group, Stroller Strong Moms. It's a 9 week long fit challenge that focuses on both fitness and nutrition. The goal is to improve our fitness and diet all while supporting each other and having a good time.

Last week was the beginning stage of the challenge and we all took a fitness assessment. It consisted of:

1 minute of thrusters (27)

1 minute of hand release push-ups (24)

1/2 mile run (3:38)

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

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

We were also weighed and measured.

A few photos from my assessment day.

We recorded all of our scores and over these next 9 weeks we will work to improve. We were able to write down our fitness and nutrition goals as well. Each week we are given different smaller challenges (this week is to drink only water). 

The fitness aspect of the challenge I am really excited about. One of my goals is to get my 5k time down by 2 minutes. We ran a 5k over the weekend and I was able to gain a PR! I shaved 26 seconds off my time and I'm excited to continue to work on this.

 Sunday I wanted to log 10 miles and thankfully a group of us were already meeting up to do 6. I convinced another friend to meet me for 4 miles beforehand. So thankful for my SLAMsisters, Kyle joked that we would look like a gang running around post haha.

Hopefully I can continue to improve my fitness over the next 9 weeks and really focus on my goals.

Now the nutrition is the part that I struggled with. I absolutely love food, there is no question about that. We are meat eaters in our house and most of the nutrition plan is plant based. Cue the freak out. One of my goals was to make at least 2 meatless meals per week. The meals use a lot of fresh vegetables, lentils, beans, and a ton of spices. I committed to doing this and I want to make the most of it. I want to be better about the choices I make which also includes making sure I eat breakfast (I'm terrible when it comes to this). Let's be honest, I'll slip up and that's okay. I'm going to make modest changes but not get down on myself if I have ice cream or a sweet treat.

Here are two of the meals that I have made so far. For the record, they are delicious!

Brussels-Sprouts Stir Fry

Spaghetti and Trees

(If you are interested in the recipes, let me know and I can send them to you!) I've got 3 more meatless planned this week and I'm excited to try them. 

I am excited to see how things go over the next 9 weeks. It will be fun to cheer each other on during this challenge and see what we can accomplish.

Have you ever done a challenge like this before?