{Winning Prizes}

I promised that I would share a little something about the special "prizes" that I received in the mail and after all, a girl can’t go breaking any of her promises!

I’m sure that you all know by now that I have found my teeny tiny place within the world of running. I’m not an expert by any means and I don’t consider myself to be anywhere near the best of the best. However, I do enjoy everything that running does for me. There is something that takes over the moment I lace up my shoes. I don’t know if I can quite put it into words. Running gives me a tranquil energy which helps me in more ways than I can even begin to express. Running has given me the ability to strive for new goals in life. It pushes me to do better and to be better. It’s not always easy and sometimes the challenges seem unbearable but, the rewards are totally and complete worth it. The sense of accomplishment that comes from running is something that no one can strip away from you because as a runner, you earn every single step you take; that first mile without stopping, crossing the first 5K line, making it towards the first 5 mile marker or that 10K flag, and then finishing strong at the half marathon event that inspired all of your hard work and dedication. This has been part of my journey so far. As I look back, I can’t help but smile because even though I’ve suffered from sprains and swollen knees, even though I’ve lost a toe nail once or twice, and even though I’ve felt that soreness that pierces deep down into my bones, I can say with everything that I am, that I am a runner!

Jason and I are down to 3 months before we head off to the sunshine state to run in what will probably be the biggest run of our lives. 3 MONTHS!!! I am literally one big ball of mixed emotions. Everything from nervous to excited to scared to ecstatic! As the little runner on our countdown ticker moves closer towards the finish line, I realize that there is SO much that I don’t know!

WELCOME 

TO THE 

WONDERFUL WORLD 

OF 

BLOGGING!

I have found some truly amazing stories. Most of the people that I have found have been truly inspiring. It is incredible how one little thing can simply transform one’s life.  What’s even more amazing is that a lot of people try to reach others by hosting reviews and giveaways and because of these little deals, I have been able to find some pretty neat stuff that just so happens to be on the market these days. I always like to read what other’s have to say about certain things especially if it happens to be a product that I really want to try but I don’t quite know if I should.

Here is the thing about giveaways, you read all about the product, you fall in love with it and think to yourself “gosh I really just HAVE to have that!” You enter hoping to maybe be at least in the top 100, knowing that you will probably land smack down at the very bottom of the list. You never in a million years expect to win because seriously what are the chances, but then guess what? You win! Completely...Utterly...EXCITING and definitely a pretty great way to brighten one’s day, especially after a particular visit to the dentist!

My first prize came from Lift Your Sole. If you have never heard of this company, you should find them online right now because they are AMAZING! I’m not a huge jewelry buff. I don’t like to wear a lot of bling (mostly because I do more damage to myself than actual dazzling). I do however love simplicity and I love things that have deep meaning. Lift Your Sole is small company that creates pieces of jewelry for the runner in all of us. These pieces help women express their passion, their accomplishments, and most of all their strengths, which in my opinion happens to encompass the very being of our souls.

I entered a special giveaway that they were hosting by submitting my answer as to why I felt “runners have more heart”. Well, I ended up being one of the winners and this was my special gift.

I had some choices with my little runner’s heart

Blank

RUN

13.1

26.2

I thought about adding the numbers but I don’t know just yet which run will end up being my favorite. I know that I love to run the 1/2 marathon race (as of right now that is my favorite race to run) but I have yet to complete a full marathon. So, I decided to add the word “RUN” because those three letters inspired the foundation for my answer to the question.

When I set out for my runs, these are the friends that usually go with me.

Sometimes I find new friends to bring and of course, I am always looking around in hopes of discovering new friendships.

My second prize came from Miss Teacher over at Juice Boxes and Crayolas. First of all how can I not follow her adorable little blog? As if the name isn’t cute enough, she also teaches and she’s a runner!! Yup, when I finally grow up and get a job, that’s exactly the trophy I hope to hold!

Miss Teacher likes to host giveaways! I think she might have one going on right now (if my memory serves me correctly). A couple of weeks ago, she hosted a giveaway for Bondi Band. I know I just mentioned something like this a few paragraphs ago but seriously if you haven’t heard of this amazing hair band, you have to check them out. I AM A HUGE FAN!!! 

Bondi Bands are really comfortable to wear, they have the best quotes on them, they help keep your hair in place, and best of all they keep sweat from pouring down your face and from getting in your eyes. 

This is the Bondi Band that I won from Miss Teacher!

Let me explain my situation, I am a Cali girl! I don’t sweat or at least I didn’t until I moved to the south. When I was training for my first half marathon I never had a problem with sweat dripping down my face. I never had a problem with my hair getting in my way or getting completely gross. The perks of living by the beach in Southern California...it’s between 60* and 70* ALL YEAR ROUND!!!

Well, then we got orders to Louisiana! The first time I ran outside, I thought I was going to die!!! Not only did the heat completely kick my behind but, I was completely grossed out by all of the sweat dripping down every part of my body and my hair...we won’t even talk about that!!! It literally looked like I had jumped into a pool when I was done.

I learned some very valuable lessons on my first few runs in the south

It doesn’t matter if you run inside or outside....you are going to sweat!

Cooling down takes a little longer that normal. Don’t think that taking a shower is going to help you stop sweating because it doesn’t!

When sweat gets in your eyes…IT BURNS!!!

~Before My 6 Mile Run~ 

 ~After~

Sweaty...YES (even though it's fall it's still humid and hot outside)

Smelly...probably

However, for 6 miles I didn't have to worry about my hair getting in my face or sweat blurring my vision!

I have since lost my newly acquired Bondi Band to my aspiring 11 year old cross country kid. She decided that it suited her better than me because she is after all a Mall and as we all know, the Mall's do love their chocolate!

P.S Thank you to the wonderful creators over at Lift Your Sole for my beautiful necklace and to Miss Teacher for hosting a great giveaway! I'm a pretty happy girl right now =)

{Embrace the Camera: September 29th}

My favorite part of the night

is 

when 3 sets of teeth have been brushed & flossed

jammies have found their way onto 3 little bodies

&

little ears are waiting to listen to a special bedtime story (or two).

This time…

I was in for a treat

because instead of having her nose buried

in that ever so famous Babysitter Club series,

Miss Bry decided to join the reading party on the couch!

"Children are made

readers on the laps of

their parents"

~ Emilie Buchwald

~ Happy Thursday {Embracers} ~

{Turn That Frown Upside Down}

Yesterday was one of those days when an unexpected event (a visit to the dentist) leaves you feeling as if you’d been run over by a semi-truck. Ironically enough, it was nothing too horrible but I guess when you aren’t expecting something and you despise the dentist as much as I do, things like really low blood pressure, uncontrollable shaking, and a few irrepressible tears tend to take over. However, I did make it through my little ordeal and I even walked out of the office with a few extra happy pills. Happy pills aren't my favorite items to carry around with me and my body doesn't really care for them all that much but nonetheless, I was armed and ready to go. 

When I got home things completely turned around! It was one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days flipped upside down which ended in a pretty memorable day. I was welcomed by some really great kid news and some pretty awesome “prizes” that were labeled just for me! Great kid news can always make any day brighter and "prizes"...I mean, what girl doesn't want something special waiting just for her?!?! 

First

Bryanna and Kalyssa were named “student of the week” for their classes.

As a middle schooler, this means that Miss Bry gets to enjoy special privileges throughout her day as she moves from class to class for the whole week. Her favorite classroom perk so far, is being able to sit in a bean bag chair while listening and doing work instead of that plain ol’ boring desk. Her favorite perk outside of class...free concessions! (Ice cream and popcorn to name a few).

Miss K got to put together a special project to share with her friends. She got to pick a choice card from a game they play in class and her choice was “all about my special trip”. 

Can you guess what trip she picked to share about?

Start spreading the news

I'm leaving today

I want to be a part of it

New York New York 

After some thought and careful consideration, she chose to pick some things to share about our second family trip to New York City because after all, she is in 2nd grade!

Second

Travin FINALLY conquered his battle between shoe and lace!

We have been working on this skill for awhile. At first he really didn’t have an interest and then he got to a point where he was just completely mad and frustrated over the whole situation. If you know my son at all, then you know that he has his own agenda when it comes to life. When he is ready to do something, he will let you know but until then.....yup, I just have to wait.

I knew from last year, that one of the “I Can Goals” (a special goal for the kids to accomplish outside of school) for 1^st grade was “I Can Tie My Shoes”. Trav has been working really hard at home in order to make sure that he meets all of his added weekly goals. I will admit that shoe tying got a little jumbled around on our to do list. However, last weekend we went shopping just so we could buy Trav a pair of “big kid” shoes. We told him that he had to learn how to tie them because those where to be his new shoes for school. Over the weekend, we started our new learning journey. 

We practiced with a special book...He got frustrated!

We practiced with his shoes...He got mad!

We tried the bunny ear method...He got discouraged!

So this is what we came up with.

As luck would have it, the "I Can Goal" for this week is..."I Can Tie My Shoes"

The song worked some special magic because after school yesterday, he flew through the door excited to share that he got to tie his shoes in class ALL BY HIMSELF!! 

Did you know that bunny ears are for girls and arrows and bows are for boys??? DUH MOM!!! Everyone knows that! 

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, I got some rather amazing “prizes” in the mail!!! But, you will have to wait until my next post to read all about them.

{Post Deployment}

It’s quite ironic how much life can change in a matter of a few months. When Jason deployed I thought that I would be completely overwhelmed with kids, schedules, and just plain life. Although it was tough and yes a little overwhelming at times to be without my partner in crime, I was able to barrel my way through it. Somehow we managed to make it on time to every school event, every practice, and every game. I didn’t always have make-up on, most of the time my hair was flung up in a messy ponytail but, the kid’s clothes matched, their shoes were on the right feet, and most importantly, they were clean and fed. We stayed consistent with what we did and how we did things and for the most part it worked out pretty dang well and like I said, my kids were clean and fed...enough said...right?!?! =)

I try to look back at that time just to remember how we got through it all. I know I have a birthday coming up soon and all but I really don’t think my mind should be that far gone...just yet. Maybe it’s the fact that everything is literally one big pile of BLUR! I truly have no clue as to how I did it, I guess I just did.

So, here we are today. 

~Post Deployment~

Can I even call it that anymore? Jason has been home for over 2 months now. There are a lot of things that can happen during the deployment process that people don't warn you about. There are so many resources out there to fill one in on how hard the transition is before and during the deployment but what about after? There were things that made me feel as if something was truly wrong with me. There were things that made me feel lost and scared, lonely and worried. It wasn't until I found some resources on my own that I realized that I'm not crazy and that these things are bound to happen when two people are put through the stresses of a deployment.

It’s a little weird these days because he’s here but then again he really isn't. It’s quite interesting the changes that take place when your husband becomes Big Boss Man of a main shop. I’m sure most of you can guess what it all entails especially the longer hours and carrying the weight of everyone else’s issues. Why? Well, simply because it’s his a** that’s on the line, not anyone else’s. For those of you who know Jason, you know that he doesn't take much (anything) from others. He will stand up for himself and the things that he believes in. He won’t let other’s walk all over him or take advantage of him. Best of all, he doesn't play off of the political card that is often dealt to him. These are all things that I admire about my husband because a lot of people can’t or won’t do that (no finger pointing allowed). It’s been pretty amazing to watch Jason grow in his career throughout the past 13 years. I've seen some pretty shady things happen to a lot of people including Jason. One trait that makes me so proud to stand beside my Boss Man is the fact that he respects his troops. He will do whatever he can to make sure that they as well as their families are taken care of first.

With all of that being said, he does his job well and he does it right. So, it’s no surprise that the demands have come down with full force and that ever so famous level of expectation has been raised. I am confident in my husband’s abilities. I know what he is capable of doing. So I know that he will do what needs to get done. However, sometimes it’s hard to not be a little selfish. Sometimes it’s hard to not be that wife who just wants to spend a little time with her husband. Sometimes it’s hard to want to ask for more than what is given. I do understand that he has a job to do. Watching him is actually quite heart breaking because he is constantly being pulled in different directions. He tries really hard to make sure that he doesn’t miss out on the important things when it comes to the kids even if that means working different hours, showing up late to games in uniform, or waiting until 8 or 9 o’clock at night to eat dinner so that he can be at a soccer practice or a t-ball game.

I don’t exactly know what my expectations were when he got back or even if I had any because my focus was just to have him back home. I’m sure somewhere in the back of my mind I envisioned this little slice of perfection landing right in the middle of my living room floor. Somehow I just knew that everything would go back to normal as soon as he walked through the door. Our routine would pick up right where it left off, the kids would go back to being the kids we had before he left, and I would have that extra 50,000 pound sack lifted off of my shoulders.

However...

Life always has a way of paving curves in the road and honestly, we are in the midst of trying to figure out which way to turn next.

Life is a journey full of new learning adventures.

As for this new adventure of ours, I am learning that post deployment or not, routines will constantly change because kids have a way of keeping you on your toes. Kids should never have to go backwards because they have so much growing to do.

As far as that 50,000 pound sack...the weight is still there. But, I think that’s just an added accessory that comes along with that special badge the moment one becomes a mommy.

    

{What's Up This Week?}

Guess what today is???

I know that I made a promise to a very special Granddad to keep up with Thursday’s sessions of {embrace} the camera. 

This week I totally and completely failed =(

Is it crazy to say that taking a simple picture of the 5 of us together has become somewhat of a challenge? It’s actually quiet hard to get a shot with me and one of the kids let alone daddy and one of the kids. 

For those of you who haven’t hit the stage in life where you are trying to keep up with different schedules, all I can say is enjoy the peace you have right now while you have it! 

For those of you who told me that life would settle down “get easier” as my kids got older...you SO LIED to me and I'd like my money back now please! =)

I can honestly say that having two babies 18 months apart and one in kindergarten was by far easier. At least then I had swings, bouncy chairs, and a stroller to keep them all in one place.   

Every morning, I make sure to have my cup of coffee in my hand before I make my way over to our family calendar. I swear I have to take in a personal Zen moment before I can look at what each day has in store for me. Three kids involved in several different activities can be quiet the interesting weekly mission to accomplish. Include a husband’s schedule (which changes daily) and trying to keep up with my studies, a day or two of work, a meeting here and there, and trying to train for a marathon and a half... Needless to say, I am very much in love with my little family calendar.  Who knew that a white board with different colored erasable markers (everyone is color coded in our house) would be the BEST invention ever!!!

I apologize for being a bit of a slacker with the camera this week at least when it comes to special {embrace} moments. However, I always try to have a little something tucked away for a rainy day.

There usually is something going on in our house on a daily basis. Quiet doesn't exist! =) This week was of course no different.

I know that you were all just dying to get a small glimpse at our shining faces

but really,

it's all about these beautiful faces!

This week,

Travin got a special birthday delivery all the way from Germany!! 

The pajamas and the bag were not planned. Besties just happen to think alike...must be that Disney Dork trait we both share within our hearts =)

Did you know that German chocolates have

 little toys inside?

 We didn't either. Nor did we know how to open them!

Kalyssa finally got her wish granted and was able to start playing soccer.

 Waiting ALL summer was so tough but now she is an official Bobcat!

We can't leave out that Miss Bryanna got to cross off one of her top life list items...

Watching her absolute favorite singer Taylor Swift in concert with her BFF!!

Hmm...Do you think she had an AMAZING time???

{Embracing 6}

When I was 1

I had just begun

When I was 2

I was nearly new

When I was 3

I was barely me

When I was 4

I had grown a little more

When I was 5

I was more alive

But now I'm 6

and I'm clever than ever

So I think I'll be 6

from now until forever

which happens to be

next September

A single birthday note

A special pan"cake" dinner

Because sometimes being a brother 

is even better than being a superhero!

Presents

Games

and building blocks too!

Nothing compares to a smile like that!

Unless 

You add an ice cream surprise!

Daddy

Mommy

Travin too

{embracing} each other 

at the end of the day!

Happy Birthday

lil' man!