Stay-Cation and May's Favorite Things

Hey Ya’ll!!!

Hope you’re all doing well. 

Last week I was supposed to be enjoying my work trip to St. Croix, before it was cancelled 18 hrs before we were supposed to leave. I decided not to dwell on it too much, mostly because I wasn’t out anything {hotel, plane, rental,ect..}

So instead, I took a hiatus from work and decided on a stay-cation.  Not as picturesque, warm or sunny as I would of liked it to be, but there was no work phone calls or emails and we SLEPT in..until like 7AM and Graham would tell me he wanted to cuddle when he crawled into bed with me. I’ll take it!!!

May marks 4 months into the deployment and so far things are going well. 

I’ve had my days that I wanted to curl up into a ball and cry, scream, drink you name it. There hasn’t been anything life altering happen, so far everyone and all animals are alive and let’s hope it stays that way. 

We are also a little over half way until we get to meet baby #2.  I think we have finally gotten our name selection down to 3-4 names.  We have a front-runner but will most likely wait until he gets here to see if the name fits.

Since the weather is warming up I wanted to share some of my favorite things for May!

1.     Kiki La’ Rue…I’m a Tom boy at heart and seriously could live in shorts and t-shirt.  I came across Kiki La’ Rue probably about a year ago and fell in love. Becka and the ladies at Kiki La’ Rue do awesome work. Packages are sent and received in a very timely manner and there has always been a personal note with every order I have received.  I’ve noticed since having Graham I haven’t felt near as cute in clothes and since wearing KLR, I can no longer say that.

2.      Outdoor Swing Set…I just picked this up for Graham for his birthday next month!!! The kid loves to be outside swinging or on the slides so I’m sure he will love it which means I will too until it’s time to come inside and he doesn’t want to and has a major meltdown. Or until he falls from the monkeybars and it’s a trip to the ER. Let’s hope that’s not the case. I’ll take a meltdown over a broken arm. We got a pretty decent deal on our at Toys R Us.

3.     Quest Bars…YUM. I’m not a huge fan of protein drinks, mixes or bars but these are pretty darn good.  High in protein low in sugars and they have a ton a different flavors. Most Vitamin shops carry them but if they are out check out amazon.

4.     Batiste Dry Shampoo….I’m a wash your hair everyday sort of girl. I might be able to make it to the next day but not very often.  I’ve found a new love for dry shampoo and normally get mine from TJMAXX because it tends to be a little cheaper there. I’m by far no expert but my pick is the Batiste Dry Shampoo.

5.     Silikids…I’ve been on the hunt for a sippy cup that doesn’t leak!!! During my searches, I came across the silikids sippy cups and I’m definitely looking at ordering some. Silicone tops that will fit with almost any cup and not leak….i’m a sucker. I’m gonna totally order some.

6.     Native Shoes…I found these on the super cute Shay Shull’s website, mix and match momma.  These look like they will be the perfect little summer shoes.  They can be found on Zappos, Amazon, Nordstrom

7.     Gold Bond Ultimate Lotion…LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! I swear this winter killed my hands and I am still doing damage control on them. This stuff is great. Its not super greasy like some thicker lotions, rubs in great too.

8.     Amazon Prime…I couldn’t agree more with Emily from Beauty and the Greek. Central Illinois is lacking in accessibility to a lot of products and with Amazon Prime…bam..normally cheaper, ships to your house in 2-3 days and you can order it all in the privacy of your own home and never have to leave to deal with the crazies! Sounds like a win to me.  I signed up for Amazon Prime right before Christmas this year so I could save on the shipping on our Christmas gifts this year. And I have to say I’ve fallen in love. I’ll only buy items w/ Prime on them now J

9.     Aussie Moist 3 minute conditioner…another LOVE LOVE LOVE product!!! Even though my hair won’t last more than a day without a wash and it’s still super dry feeling. I LOVE Aussie’s 3 minute conditioner. I use it all the time. It’s a total must have for me.

10.  Coach Poppy Blossom…might be my new fave scent. It’s a nice light, vibrant, fruity/floral smell. And Ulta had it on sale for 50% off. SCORE!!!.

 

Nashville Country Music Marathon Recap

OH...what a fun weekend in Nashville.

I almost forgot what it was like to have an adult girls weekend away. 

It was just what I needed.

Friday I met up with Holly & Kelly, and we grabbed some Mexican for lunch and headed down south to Nashville for the Rock and Roll Country Music Marathon. 

This was my 12th 1/2. My times have not been the best lately. It could be because I hadn't trained or the fact that I'm 20 weeks pregnant.  

We got to the expo in time to run in and grab our packets and head to dinner.  The expo was a slight cluster but it all worked out in the end.  After the expo we headed over to Cabana's for drinks and dinner and meet some of my other fave bloggers, Aubrey Leigh , and Janessa.  It was a blast meeting eveyone. Aubrey's husband, Tommy was such a trooper, a table for of women chatting away.

After dinner, it was time to check into the hotel and get ready for bed.

Saturday, we gave ourselves enough time to get ready to get to the race on time...but traffic we were cutting it close. The race started and 0700 and about 6:57 we were still a few blocks away so Holly and I jumped out and made our way to the start line, to find 40 corrals and about 33,000 people.  It was 08:02 before we crossed the start line.  

Holly and Janessa were shooting for 2:30...I just wanted to finish. I stuck with them for a few miles then decided to let them have it.  It was too hot for my pregnant self and the fact that it felt like I had to pee every mile didn't help.

The course was so hilly, but the crowd support was amazing. It was seriously probably the best crowd supported race I've ever been to.

I came up on Janessa around mile 10 and it was great to see someone I knew along the course. I think it gave me the motivation I needed to finish.  

I ended up finishing in 3:09, a minute faster than the Lincoln Presidential 1/2 I had done a few weeks before. I was surprised on how not sore I was after this race...Hey I'll take it.

Mandy from House of Rose also completed the Country Music Marathon too. I swear the videos and pics she post IDK how she does it. She always looks super cute, even 11 miles into a race in 75 degree heat. I looked like a hot mess. She's a rock star.

After the race, Holly and I took hooker showers and loaded on the deodorant, body spray and lotion and headed over to the Pharmacy for lunch. The beer garden was awesome and the burgers were yummy too.

 Amber from Crafty Healthy Mommy, was amazing and got there early to get us a table.  She was a doll. I seriously could of hung out with her all afternoon and chatted. Aubry and Tommy came and met us for lunch and we also met Alyse and Faye.  

After lunch Holly, Kelly and I made the trek back to IL/MO.  Kelly was AMAZING. She was our coach/driver/cheerleader for the weekend.

I had a great weekend and can't wait to do it again.

Easter weekend

Another busy week in the books.

Sadly, it doesn’t look like its going to be slowing down much either 

I swear, I tell myself that I shouldn’t schedule so much stuff…but I can’t help it.

Last week at work was longer than most. I like I ended up working 65 hrs then went and got my little man and wrapped up anything that I had going on at home then back at it.

It definitely helps with making the week go by fast but man..there isn’t time to enjoy it.

Friday after work, I packed up the minivan, got Graham and headed down south.  It was a nice little get away. No work, barely any cell reception, grandma was there to spoil Graham.

Saturday I was able to do a little alone shopping. Which was nice. It’s the little things once you have kids.

So I headed down to Carbondale to grab some lunch and some retail therapy.  I of course had to stop at Quarto’s. One of my college fave pizza places. And…as always they did not disappoint.

And you get to keep your cup too J I swear I had a cupboard full of Quartro’s cups in college.

Sunday, my brother and his girlfriend came up and we all had breakfast and opened Easter baskets…Yes we still do Easter baskets.  After Graham went through all his stuff, we went outside to hunt Easter Eggs!!

My mom gave me a hard time because I placed all the eggs in 1 area…he grabbed a few then wanted to head to the tractor so I then asked if she seen why I placed them the way that I did?

The rest of Sunday consisted of face timing w dad, Family time and eating.

Monday, my grandma and grandpa came over to go fishing and Graham caught his 1st fish.

It’s hard to see his excitement in this picture but he was excited when he went to reel the fish in at first. However,once it was out of the water…he wanted no part of it.

We made a few detours on the way home..Chic Fil A, Sam’s… you know the necessities.

Since the weather was so nice when we got home, I decided to do some yard work. Graham of course wanted to help…in nothing but his boots and….yup nothing else.Gotta love country living.

At What Point Do You Call Yourself a Runner?

Sorry I've been MIA...I've been swamped at work and have finally gotten a moment to slow down.

Two weekends ago I finished my 11^th half marathon.

The weather was perfect for a wog (that’s what I’m calling it now).

 It’s walking + jogging=wogging

The Springfield ½  isn’t a large race, it’s actually quiet small. They finally had over 2,000 people sign up for this year’s race. I will say that next year, please have more porta potties. There was such a long line at the beginning that I knew there was no way we would get in to use them before the race started.

But I should of just waited then crossed the start line because at the start of the race we were hanging with the 2:30 group for about 2 miles. Then the 1 lone porta potty was sitting there are mile 2 and I had to potty. So knowing there wasn’t many other stops along the route I should stop now. Almost 10 mins later….we were able to use the facilities and get back into the race.

Sadly, my motivation to catch back up with the 2:30 was not gonna happen. I was in no place to even try it. I hadn’t trained or had done any sort of running since the Little Rock Marathon a month before. So what did I do…we just enjoyed the beautiful sunny and took our time.

Which I’m glad we did, because I was not even close to prepared for this race. I didn’t bring anything with me so around mile 7, I was STARVING!!!

I can only speak for self when I say with both pregnancy, when I get hungry I have about a 5 mins window before I need to get something into my system.  Well that definitely wasn’t going to be happening so luckily the next few water stops had some Gatorade so I was able to get some sugar into my body.

Note to self, for the RnR Nashville at the end of the month…I’m bringing snacks :) 

 Yesterday I received a few emails with pics from the weekend’s race and we got on the discussion at what point do you consider yourself a runner?

(I’m the squirrel in the snow leopard compression socks and sweat band on the right)

Many people tend to think that I must be fast because I’ve done, as they put it “so many races”.  In compared to others I know I have not done that many. I think people believe that because I have my medals displayed in my office.

So far I’ve completed:

5K=a lot I haven’t actually kept track of them my last count was 10

10K= 1

1/2 marathon= 11 (I’ll be completing # 12 later this month)

Full Marathon= 4

In all actuality, I’m not fast at all…not even close. 2:20 is my fastest half and 5:30 for a full marathon.  I’m telling myself after this baby…I’m actually going to train and put out a little effort just to see what I’m capable of. 

I think that is what is keeping me from calling myself a “runner” is that  I don’t train, I just finish races.

Since I’ve started “running” I’ve learned that there are no stereotypes in runners.  Runners come in all shapes in sizes. You see a  lean in shape person in front of you before the race and tell yourself “man, I bet they’re fast” and then you’re passing them along the route. On the other hand, you can come across someone who you may feel is larger than you and they leave you in their dust.  We cannot stereotype runners, they will amaze you every time.

At what point do you consider yourself a runner?

Baby #2

Baby #2 is a….

Boy!!!

(I figured since john was 6,000 miles away, I'd let him share the news)

Where you right? I wasn’t lol

Nope….I had a feeling (REALLY hoping) for a girl this time.  With Graham, I was never sick, queasy nothing.  This time around…I was never really sick just queasy here and there and not 100%.  With Graham I wanted sweats, cherry coke and a cheeseburger all the time…this time not so much…Fruit, water, buffalo chicken.

 

As much as I thought I would be having a girl, a part of me knew before I went in for the sonogram that it was going to be a boy. IDK if it was just dumb luck or it was meant for me to find out in the very beginning but as soon as the tech started the sono….there it was balls and wiener plan as day, with in the first 3 seconds. I suddenly felt gender disappointment and wanted her to stop the sono say thanks and have a nice day. But since I was face timing with Daddy…figured I’d stick it out and let him see his baby from 6k miles away.

When I found out Graham was a boy I cried and canceled out gender reveal party. Childish….Maybe but I wasn’t handling it well. John already had a son from before and I wanted a girl so if we decide on baby #2 it could be whatever. John gave me until the end of the day to pout then said I had to get over it.

 I realized that at this point there isn’t a damn thing I could do but accept that I am going to be in a house full of boys. A BOY MOM!!!! Dirty, stinky, messy boys.  Lord help me.  I actually thought to myself, how in the world does Mandy, from House of Rose do it?  3 boys under 7!!!! Bless her heart.

So I decided to make some gender reveal cupcakes and take them to work. Figured it was the least I could do since I shortchanged it the last time because I was pouting.

Am I thrilled to be having another boy? Honestly, no not really, but what can I do about it…nothing

Am I grateful and relieved he’s healthy? Without a doubt. That’s almost a stupid question.  

I have no doubt that Graham is going to be an awesome big brother.  He loves his bubba so much I know that he will love his younger brother too. I’m hoping that having a brother closer in age, they will become best buds.  There is 11yr difference between Graham and his older brother, so I think it’s safe to say that they will never be close or at least until they are much older.

As for me, I’m working on accepting a future of trucks, wheelers, broken bones, guns, hunting, snakes, and sporting events (which won’t be too bad) instead of dolls, dresses, bows, dances and makeup. I have to tell myself, that I think God knows that I don’t have the patience for the drama that girls can bring to the table.

Now the hard part is trying to come up with a second boy name. We have a few names on our list but nothing we are falling in love with. So if you have any suggestions for boy names that are not super popular, and no nick names…like you can name him William and call him Bill…No I would name him Bill if I wanted to call him that.

Sorry pet peeve.  But seriously, if you have any boy names, I’d love to hear them

And if you have any tips on being a BOY MOM, I’m listening!

My Baby Must Have List

1.       Diapers....Since Graham was my 1st baby I had no idea what diapers I would like. So of course I went the name brand route to start with.  Huggies were terrible for him because he had such little legs that he had blow outs all the time.  One day I got completely feed up with Huggies diapers and took $200 worth of diapers back to Walmart.  I really liked the Pampers swaddlers, it was great for his little skinny legs. It wasn't until a friend recommended the Target Brand diapers that I decided to give them a try.  They worked great and WAY cheaper too.

2.       Wipes....Hands down Huggies One & Done!!! They are AMAZING! I use less wipes because it will only take one maybe two wipes to take care of a mess.  They are so much more durable than other wipes. I seriously by them in the bulk packages.

3.       Moby Wrap....Graham loved the Moby wrap and I loved how well he fit in there and how much I was able to get done with a sleeping baby wrapped up on me.  I can safely say that we used the Moby wrap at least once a day. 

4.       Ergo Baby Carrier...Once Graham was big enough we switched to  the Ergo Baby Carrier.  It's a staple in our house, the Ergo stays in the van and we still use it to this day. Graham will be 2 in June and he loves it. He'll pass right out in it and I'm still able to get stuff done.

5.       Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper<https://www.armsreach.com/shop/retired-products/the-mini-convertible-baby-bassinet>...this was great especially in the beginning with all the last night around the clock feedings.  I simple got him out of there, feed him, burped him and back down he went. It was too easy. We co-sleep with Graham until about 6 months and then transitioned him into his crib.  The transition was flawless.

6.       Bloom Fresco Highchair<http://www.amazon.com/Bloom-Fresco-Chrome-Contemporary-Chair/dp/B008PD2A9I>...ok...so these are a little pricey....but I LOVE our Bloom Fresco Highchair.  Its seriously one of the very few highchairs that allow a child from 0-6 months to fit into them.  Tilt that puppy back and strap them in and they are content.  If I was in the kitchen doing something and I wasn't wearing Graham he was in the Bloom Highchair.  In reality, we should never have to buy another highchair because it transitions to so many different phases, so the initial prices sucks, but it pays for its self in the long run.

7.       Speaking of running...BOB Strollers<http://www.bobgear.com/strollers> are a MUST if you like to get out and about and running/jogging/wogging whatever you want to call it.  I came across a killer deal on a Bugaboo stroll and bought it and never used it because we only use our BOB.  My husband loves it, so much we are looking at getting a double BOB for Graham and baby #2.  Again it's another one of those expensive ass baby items...but with us both being runners and such we got our money's worth out of it.

8.       Medela Breast Pump<http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/products/573/pump-in-style-advanced>...if you plan on breast-feeding this is a total must. As much as I enjoyed feeling like a milk cow...I loved my Medela pump.  After a few uses I went to Babies R Us and bought the Medela buster to hold the suction cones on to the boobies so I could pump two bottles at once and actually use my hands at the same time...if need be.

9.       Diaper Bags...My first diaper bag was a Timi & Leslie bag and I really liked it because it didn't look like a diaper bag at all. It was nice and big but the quality wasn't the best.  I've bounced around through a few different bags but haven't fallen in love with one yet. I did come across the Boken Diaper Bag<http://www.bokenessentials.com/> and I'm really debating on getting one.

10.   Video monitor...This came in handy when Graham was napping and we were in the other room, outside or at night once we moved him to his crib.  It was great because you could see if he was really away or just moving around and being restless.

11.   Diaper pail...this is another must for all the stinky diapers.  We went with the Diaper Genie and LOVE it. We have not had any issues and it keeps the smell contained

Wedding Recap

Happy St Patty’s Day!!! Hope you all have your Green on.

I was backing up my computer and came across our wedding pictures and realized that I hadn’t written much about our wedding.

Since the crib midget is sleeping, I figured I’d take a few moments and give yea a recap.

Our main goal to our wedding was low key, no stress and we wanted friends and family to join in and have a good time, nothing over the top just relaxing and simple.

We got engaged August 15, 2013 and were married Nov 9, 2013.  Which is NOT a lot of time in the wedding world. We had time working against so we needed to plan and plan fast.  Thanks to Pinterest and all of its amazing ideas, I was able to pull a wedding together pretty fast.

We managed to get everything booked {photographer, location, caterer, DJ} wedding dress bought, and decorations with in no time.

We decided to do all of our pictures prior to the ceremony.  I always hate going to wedding and having to wait forever for the bride and groom. We wanted everything to be done prior to the ceremony.

We had roughly 100 of our closest friends and family able to make it, which was just fine with us.  Our ceremony and reception where all in the same place, so we rolled right from the ceremony to food and drinks

John had the most amazing speech written up and before the dancing he stopped everything and read it out loud. I SOOO wish someone would of caught it on video but no one had a clue he was going to do it.  It was so sweet.

I apologies now for the picture overload

My fave Ginger

 Giving daddy the "last chance to run" sign

 Gotta get a pic with the boots

 The boys

 The Tierney's 

 Us with our Parents

The Girls

Navy dresses are from JCrew, cardigans are from Old Navy  flower girl dress I made.

 Right before the "first look"

 I loved how my broach bouquet turned out.

Reception Pics

Our guest book

 Our Ceremony Backdrop

 Shotgun shell boutonniere that I made.

So that was the quick and dirty.  I did as much DIY-ing as I had time for.  If you have any questions on where I ordered items or how I made them...Just ask!!!