Feeling like a BAMR...

Friday this appeared on the ZOOMA racing series Facebook page...


It had the caption "No excuses this weekend."

I chuckled when I saw it because I knew I was scheduled to run 7 miles on Saturday and 10 miles on Sunday.  I also knew it was supposed to rain all weekend.  This is why I got a treadmill last year.  I can run inside when it is cold and rainy.

Saturday when I woke up it was lightly drizzling and I got my treadmill ready to go.  I really hate to be wet!  I checked the radar again and saw heavy rain was coming.  Drew said I should run outside and I caved.  I decided to run in the rain.

Off I went in the light drizzle which was a lovely distraction for the humidity.  Three miles into my run it started to pour.  I started to head home.  Just short of two miles later I was one block from my house and it was just drizzling again.  I had a choice...keep running in the rain or change and hit the treadmill to finish.

I decided to only make one set of clothes dirty and keep running in the rain.  When I began my run I passed a gentleman that I see almost every morning.  We both agreed we were a little crazy.  I saw him again after the downpour.  This time he said we were really earning it today and I so agree. 

Running in the rain is not easy.  It is slippery.  I was worried about blisters because my feet were so wet.  I was worried about chafing because I was soaked.  Things that sometimes ache were very achy.  But, it was all worth it.  Looking back at my run, I really enjoyed it.  It was cleansing in a way.  I felt more refreshed after those 7 miles than I have in a long time.  It reminded me that I enjoy running and I enjoy it a lot!  I was definitely feeling a runner's high when I finished.  I also felt like a Bad A** Mother Runner for running in the rain.

Finished and soaked from head to toe!

Do you know what else happened?  I ran fast.  Well, fast for me at this point in my training and I was happy!

The end of birthday madness...argh!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was Jonah's final birthday celebration.  Last weekend we were in Galveston for a mini vacation and our family celebration.  Tuesday was the real deal and there were cupcakes.  Today was the friend party!  This momma is ready for a birthday break!

I am a big believer in small parties.  I don't like the stress of lots of kids.  I also think my kids get overwhelmed with too many friends at a party.  It is no fun for anyone.  I set a limit at three friends.  Well, we ended up with five, but it worked well.

I did not allow myself much time to plan for this party.  On Thursday at Target I decided on a Pirate theme mostly because the items were on clearance.  Jonah has always liked pirates so I knew he would be really happy with my plan.  He was!  So after two hours of shopping, internet searching, and random other planning our party was planned!

Our little pirate station

I just love this sign

Yes, I baked yet another cake.  I am so over baking and I never thought I would say that! It was delicious and eaten by all!

For the party, Jonah wanted to play outside, but the weather altered our plans.  Knowing it was going to rain, I decided the boys could play Mario Cart on the Wii.  They all loved that.  Then they watched Scooby Doo Pirate Adventures.  It was a nice quiet time for them and it allowed me to finish preparing the food.

For dinner the boys had pirate ships (hot dogs in buns with a celery and cheese mast and flag), fish, little ships (apple and orange slices), and blood punch (Sprite with Kool aid ice cubes).  It may be cheesy, but I love themed food for parties.  The boys thought it was so fun especially the drink.  They enjoyed watching the Sprite get "bloody".  The joy of simple things is wonderful!

After opening presents, it was time for cake.  I hope one of Jonah's wishes comes true!

Everyone received a little "loot" when they left.  I got lots of compliments on the goody bags, which I had so much fun putting together.  I bought plain bags and decorated them with pirate stickers.  The were filled with pirate crayons, pirate mazes and word searches, candy, granola bars, and jibbitz bracelets (the things that go in Crocs). 

All the pirates!

Jonah thanked me for his party and said it was lots of fun.  I love that he enjoyed the simplicity of just playing with his friends with a fun little twist.  That makes my momma heart so happy! 

Happy Birthday Jonah....until next year!

Lululemon newbie

Today I ventured into Lululemon for the first time.  My friend had a gift card to spend so I very generously offered to go with her.  I have looked at their stuff online and seen people wearing their items at races, etc.  It is nice stuff.  There is no disputing that.  However, I have a pretty strict policy on how much I will spend on my running clothing.  If I cannot buy it at Target, I don't wear it.  That is pretty much it.  I like the C9 line and I feel like the super expensive stuff is just a waste of money.  I would rather have three shirts than one for the same amount of money.  I pretty much think that about all my clothing and shoes.  My only exception is sneakers.  Those are definitely worth the money.

Lucky for me Drew will buy me expensive running clothing and I do enjoy it.  But, is it really necessary?  Well, today I caved.  I bought myself a nice little tank for running.  Living in Texas, I can wear this thing 9 months out of the year.  It is cute and feminine, don't you think?

The front...I love the light pink color!

The back sold me....LOVE!

Unfortunately it is going to rain all weekend.  I refuse to wear this pretty little thing in the rain so I will have to wait until next week to try it.  I am super excited!

Being Grateful

One of the things the moms at my church do is a 15 week challenge entitled "From Stressed to Blessed".  Our fearless leader, Carmalyn, posts the weekly challenges on Facebook.  The purpose is to find and/or recognize JOY!  It is a very simple online group of women who make lists of things that relate to our weekly challenge.  Things that we are thankful for, things that make us smile, things that make us happy.  You get the idea!

I love to participate because it reminds me that I have more than I deserve in my life.  I have many, many things which make my life great.  There is way more good in my life than bad or even slightly not good.  But, the daily grind sometimes takes it toll on my mind and more importantly my attitude.  When this happens I forget about all the great things and can only focus on the annoying things about my day.  If my attitude is crap, then things typically don't go well at my house.  My attitude eases its way into my kiddos and their behaviors become even less desirable.  It is such a horrible cycle and I am guessing I am not the only mom who repeats this cycle on occasion.

So, I was super happy to see this little challenge begin this week.  It has helped me focus less on what I have to do and more on what I get to do.  For example, after baking and assembling a 7 layer cake last week, I had to bake 50+ cupcakes for Jonah to take to the gym on Tuesday.  I was not thrilled to be baking again, but I was happy that Jonah has a great group of people who wanted to celebrate his birthday and eat cupcakes. 

These little list reminders show up on Facebook almost every morning and it is a great way to begin my day.  Check it out....Stressed to Blessed!  Anyone can join and maybe your day will be a little better!

My challenge from yesterday was to list five things I was thankful for in my house.  It forced me to focus on the positive and not see my "to do" list! My list was my comfy bed, my breakfast room table, my new shower head, the sound of my kids voices, and our blackboard!

So, readers what are you grateful for about your home or life or morning or whatever today?  Or, who are you grateful for today?

Share and hopefully we will all gain a little thankfulness from everyone's lists!!

Wordless Wednesday

I managed to convince my family to take nice pictures when we were in Galveston.  By nice, I mean we combed our hair and put on real clothing!  The backgrounds are too washed out in some of them, but I think it was a success with only a few strange looks from Elena!

Jonah is 7!!

Seven years ago today, Jonah came roaring into the world on the heels of Hurricane Rita.  You were 6 days over due.  My labor was crazy fast (think 30 minutes tops).  You were healthy and perfect after some initial scary moments.  Then just like that, you were so calm.  Jonah, you slept and ate perfectly.  You did not cry much.  You were such a go with the flow kind of baby.

Boy have times changed.  You are so different from those first few months.  You are a live wire all the time.  You have more energy than I knew could be possible.  You never sit still.  Maybe never is a strong word, but I am thinking 98% of the time you are moving.  Registering you for gymnastics was one of my best decisions.  You love it and get to move your body all the time.  If Daddy and I would let you go five days a week you would!  You like the challenge and none of it seems hard.  I pray you continue to love it and always remember that when it gets tough!

You feel deeply.  It does not matter if you are happy, sad, or indifferent.  You feel it 100%!  You can cry big tears and smile a big smile!  Once you feel an emotion, it is with you.  You stay sad for a long time or happy for a long time.  Jonah, I hope I can teach you to let go a little quicker.  I hate to see you so sad for so long.  Feel and move on buddy boy!

You are a character.  You enjoy being silly.  You make up dances.  You make silly faces.  But, you are also a rule follower.  You like for things to go as expected. Remember to be flexible Jonah.  It will make your life easier I promise.

I know this year is going to be a great.  First grade will be so fun for you.  You love to learn and to be with your friends.  Gymnastics will be awesome.  You are going to shine with your new skills and confidence.  Trying basketball this winter will be a fun challenge.  I cannot wait to see you play a team sport!  And, you are now a Tiger Scout.  Phew, you are going to be busy and I know you will love every minute of it.

I am so proud of you silly boy!  You are confident.  You are strong.  You are amazing!  You are a true delight and I am so proud to be your mommy!

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”  

Hebrews 10: 35-36

Galveston Weekend

When I asked Jonah how he wanted to celebrate his birthday he said he wanted to go to the beach.  That is easy!  To make it even more fun, Drew and I decided to spend the weekend at the beach to celebrate Jonah and to have a mini vacation.

We took Emma and Jonah out of school early on Friday hoping to miss all of Houston's fun Friday traffic.  We arrived at our condo just before 4pm and were at the pool by 4:10.  After some quick swimming we headed to the beach.  Jonah loves the beach.  He loves to run in the water.  He loves to try to body surf.  He really could spend all day in the water.  Emma and Samuel were much braver here than this summer.  Granted the water was calmer so it was much more kid friendly.  Elena likes the water, but is still nervous.  She prefers to play in the sand.

The condo complex also had two pools.  The one was an infinity pool which was very pretty.  The second was a lazy river pool with a small swimming area as well.  With all these great places to swim, the crazy kids wanted to spend time in the hot tubs.  It was 90 degrees so why is beyond me.  I stayed in the pool!

We celebrated Jonah's birthday early on Saturday (it is really on Tuesday).  He wanted tacos for dinner...his favorite.  He asked for a 7 layer cake because he is going to be 7!  I baked 3 8x8 chocolate cakes and 4 8x8 vanilla cakes and assembled them at the condo.  It turned out so much better than I imagined and tasted great as well!

 Jonah wanted 7 candles on the big cake and then the #7 candle on his piece of cake!  I think he just wanted us to sing twice and make two wishes.

Drew and I realized that this is the very first vacation that just the 6 of us have taken...EVER! We definitely made the correct decision to go to Galveston for the weekend.  We had a great weekend playing and just being together.  It was really wonderful!