Running Confessions

I do some of my best thinking either in the shower or running....I suspect it's because it's some of the rare moments I am alone to think. I went on my first run in 10 mos yesterday afternoon and I came to a few realizations that I thought might fit into the "confession" category of my life.

1. About one minute into my run I realized that I turn 30 in exactly 7 months! This was the perfect motivation to complete the entire two miles that I set out to run...it's one thing to get old but another entirely to "let yourself go."

2. Running motivation also came yesterday in the form of a nice new adidas running tank top to "hold it all in" - lets just say children and gravity have not been kind! Whatever works girls - if you need to bribe yourself to workout with a cute new workout outfit - do it!

3. I realized that my cardio condition is great, chasing two toddlers, constantly carrying things and running stairs have been good for it. What is not so great is my knees, shins and other bones/joints that are not a fan of all the extra weight I am carrying. I thought of the biggest loser contestants on their first workout and how they must feel....helped me to just keep going.

4. This is probably more of a comment on their standards and not my current appearance but I still got sideways glances from the trashmen, Artesian guy and the Clear Channel dude while running.... or maybe they were just scared of the way my thighs moved as I approached their passing vehicles?

5. Lets just say a little tan goes a LONG way...this definitely applies to the appearance of the aforementioned thighs! Tan helps!

6. When I have quiet moments I get to thinking about my Dad and how towards the end it winded him to even get up and walk across the room or to even try to talk to me on the phone. For those that don't know, he succumbed to lung failure in May due to many years of smoking. As I ran and felt the air push in and our of my healthy lungs I thought of him in better days when he used to be so active. I commit to continuing to run and take care of myself so that my kids won't be standing at my funeral (God willing) at the young age of 29 because I know what that felt like. I know smoking is terribly addictive and a hard life habit to change but if you are addicted please think of the years that you want to spend with your family and let that help you fight it!

7. Even the longest run can be tackled like life's most difficult challenges....simply put one foot in front of the other and pray it through when you need strength!

That's all for now friends but as I continue to get into running again I will probably have some more of these posts..the simple musings that run through my head while putting one foot in front of the other, hoping to drop some pounds, and gain some endurance!

Monday Confessions

MOnday has come again so quickly, the days are passing in blurs of taking care of kids, house, husband and myself. Our days as a family of four are truly numbered and we are not finding ourselves in the easiest of times. We are trying literally to take it one day at a time...so here goes for this week.

1. Kids and I are sick...awesome. At least the kids can get good meds, I can't because I am almost 38 wks prego!

2. I tried a Mc D's strawberry lemonade yesterday, a bit of a let down I must say. Not sure if there's a standard strawberry to lemonade ratio but mine definitely needed some more of the sweet strawberry to round out the tang of the lemon. I will give it a second shot though because I have a coupon for a free one :)

3. We bit the bullet and got a new (to us) stroller yesterday that will work for all 3 kids. We will look like a bus rolling through but if you haven't ever seen a Valco Runabout with the Joey seat..it's pretty cool!

4. I got to see Water for Elephants last week with a few girlfriends. I thought it was a great adaptation of the book, of course there were a few adjustments here and there to make it more "movie" worthy. I have to say, I liked Robert Pattinson as the lead Jacob and Reese Witherspoon as Marlena. They did a great job bringing the story to life!

5. Just for bragging rights, the nine month pregnant woman I am, snuck an entire Friendly's friend-z reeses cup ice cream into the movie theather in my purse. RPatz and reeses ice cream...what else is there?!

6. I had a few great yardsale finds this past weekend - the most exciting was a new desk chair for our home office. I had this cool old chair with "character" that was a curbside find that we have been using for years but it's getting tired. I scored a white Pottery Barn knock off office chair for $5! We put a cushion on it and no one will know the difference!

7. Speaking of curbside finds, I also got a free gently used changing table from a neighbor who was done with it. I absolutely love free! It also happened to match our cradle perfectly and fit into our room where we needed it to.

8. I am missing my dad, keep having the urge to give him a call or send him a text. I find myself reminded all the time lately of just how much he taught me. Even today, I was working on freshening up our "new to us" stroller and had to adjust the tires. The tires are like bike tires with quick releases...dad taught me all about that stuff so I was able to get the tires perfectly lined up and ready to go!

9. My husband revealed to me yesterday that there are two things he really despises - glitter and peeps. Go figure but I will be sure to avoid those around him! He also would never brag on himself but he just finished up a great website design project for an international missions group - New Harvest Missions International. You should not only check out his great design work but check out what Christian churches are up to in West Africa.

10. I am pretty much running on fumes these days...just taking it one thing at a time. Can't believe T3 (the baby) will be here so soon. In the midst of loss and chaos, we still have much to celebrate and be thankful for! Thanks again to all of you who have been supporting us through these trials!

Monday Vacation Confessions

We all know the feeling when you pull into your driveway after a long drive home from vacation...it's a nice mixture of it's good to be home and an awful dread of "back to reality". Even the best vacations always come to an end!

1. Driving over 9 hours 9 months pregnant wasn't great but it was worth the destination! We loved where we got to stay in Emerald Isle, NC.

2. The house we stayed in was actually for sale, only $2.8 million - anyone want to spot me a loan? You can visit of course :) It was beach front, 6 bed/6bath, with a pool on a deck overlooking the ocean.

3. I only used my hairdryer once on vacation..I embrace my natural hair texture in that kind of humidity :)

4.My kids were up every day at 6:30am ready to start the fun! It definitely is a different kind of vacation with toddlers.

5. I pretty much ate a dilly bar from Dairy Queen every day at 3pm....and sometimes repeated at 9pm! I think the dilly bars by the pool had an extra yumminess to them!

6. I read two books, Beachcombers by Nancy Thayer and Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. (Yes you can read a couple books during naptime hours sitting by the pool). They were definitely both good beach/summer reads. Beachcombers was set in Nantucket and had some great poignant family dynamics. Safe Haven was much more of an intense -don't-want-to-put-down book with some twists and turns. As many of Nicholas Sparks books are, it was set in his native state of North Carolina. I always feel like I need to read one of his books when I am visiting an NC beach, just feels right!

7. I decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about Glee, so I borrowed season one from the library and asked my sis Ashley to get into watching it with me. Needless to say, we were sucked in right away and need to get our hands on season two! Lets hope the library has that one too...

8. We got to NC on the night before Easter, knowing we wouldn't be joining our church families to celebrate Easter we decided to do it a little differently this year. We watched the Passion of the Christ which I must say is extremely powerful. I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it since I saw it in the theater years ago. I think it was the perfect way to remind me of Christ's sacrifice and truly contemplate Easter.

9. My kids absolutely loved every minute of being at the beach with the whole family. Our week was full of precious memories togeteher. I did take a good amount of pics and will post some soon. There were many moments when I found myself just watching and getting a little emotional because I know these memories are already fleeting. M & D are growing so fast. Sometimes when I take a snapshot I know that years down the road I will look at it with longing for these sweet days. (I remind myself of that when the terrible twos rear it's ugly head!). It was also precious to see them experiencing such great love from family - they have great relationships with their grandparents and aunts and uncles. It's wonderful to grow up in such a web of love and support!

10. Last but not least..I am having a baby in 26 days (if all goes according to plan)! holy cow! Coming home to that reality is even more of a wake up call than most post-vacation depressions. It's more like a post-vacation freak out to get ready for number three :) Just taking it one day at a time!

Dean LOVED the ocean, no fear at all (which of course made Mommy nervous!). Daddy loved having a mini-playmate at the beach. Matt even has a small surfboard he is saving to teach the kids on when they're ready :)

Macy loved walking on the sand but it took her some getting used to. I couldn't get enough of her cuteness and pretty much think she was the Coppertone baby come to life :)

For those who have wanted to see some belly pics, Matt offered to take a few our last night at the beach. 
It's funny, I love to take maternity photos but sort of shudder at the idea of getting them taken! Thanks Matt for making me feel pretty despite the triple chin :) 

Monday..time to confess

1. Totally just ate a hot dog with coke for lunch at Costco...hit the spot..remember don't judge me :)

2. Got a free $20 gift card today from target just for creating a baby registry!

3. Ants are attacking at our house, is this happening to anyone else?!

4. I had an amazing experience on Friday being a part of a workshop in NYC with Kamee June Photography. We had a model and stylist with us to create a fun atmosphere to photography on the NYC streets. If you haven't ever been to NYC in spring, you really should go! Trees were in bloom and everything was picturesque. Thanks to NYC Freshman, Gentry, for being our model and to Katrina Kirk for styling. It was a great day of shooting and friends! Plan to blog some shots from the shoot later this week for those who haven't already peeked on facebook!

5. I was suprised beyond belief yesterday when some friends threw me a baby shower for number 3! I REALLY was not expecting a thing because I am having 3 kids in two years and people were already SO generous when the twins came! I was SO TOUCHED and everything was beautiful - the theme of the shower was diapers, which was perfect because we will definitely need them with 3 booties in diapers at once! My awesome aunt tallied and we landed somewhere over 2100 diapers for our family! Thanks friends!

6. We are going on vaction Saturday, I have a ton of work to do but have vacation brain! It dawned on me this morning as I was peeling my eyes open that I now have to pack for this wonderful beach vacation. We are heading south with my hubby & his family for a last little getaway before baby arrives!

And on that note I am going to get back to other photography related tasks while the kids nap, I like to leave for a trip with all those loose ends tied up!

Monday Confessions

Today I will have to keep it "like a midget made out of sugar" - short & sweet!

1. I am swamped in a good way this week, lots of editing and more shoots coming later in the week.

2. Most exciting?! I am going to be a park of workshop in NYC on Friday with the fabulous Kamee, check her out if you haven't! Great west coast photographer heading up a styled wedding shoot in NYC that I get to participate in along with a few friends...REALLY EXCITED! Just imagine me waddling through NYC for this opportunity...praying now for great weather!

3. Still a crazy mom trying to hold it all together. Smack in the middle of reading Don't Make Me Count to Three by Ginger Plowman. It's a good read so far, tying together scripture and discipline. Hope I can learn how to implement it well.

4. Finished Water for Elephants last week, really enjoyed it. There of course was some vulgarity but hey - it's a story about a carnival in the depression..what do you expect?! It had a lot of fun as well as drama...good read and I am ready to watch RPatz & Reese Witherspoon bring it alive on the big screen when it comes out!

5. I broke my own rule today and let my kids play in the sandbox at the park. I usually refer to it as the "litter box" but after trying to chase them in two directions and Dean taking a big spill off a high playground ladder I thought "hey, they might actually stay in the same place for 5 minutes if I let them play in the sand." It worked like a charm and they played for a good 15 to 20 minutes in there!! I was pretty excited about that and had to dump all the sand off them before putting them back in our cleanly vaccuumed swagger wagon :)

Like I said this morning, going to view this week's to-do list as opportunities to do what I love and make a difference...try not to look at everything as an obligation! Happy Monday friends!