I thought that we were taking a silly picture, but apparently only I was ...

Friday night at Cerulean:

And because I'm too unmotivated to actually write something original, I'll leave you with my latest Facebook status updates. HEY, it's better than nothing!!


Our neighbor (whom we've affectionately dubbed Beer Guy) just completely biffed it on the sidewalk. :( But then he got up and kept on going like it ain't no thang. I was impressed. At first I was sad and then I was like, "You go, Beer Guy! You just pick right up where you fell off!!!"

Traveling with children is sort of like driving in reverse for half the trip.

Yesterday I went to the gym for the first time in over a year. Today my entire body hurts. Nate might need to assist me in getting dressed and brushing my hair. I'm not even kidding.

Just got back from the Rec Center. Who needs sleep anyway?!

Today I ran errands with the kids and there was no whining, no crying, no stomping ... nothing!!! It was great! I'm really proud of myself for behaving so well.

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 1 Thess 3:12   (in response to the marriage equality debate)

Snow haters are going to be complaining in July when it's 103 degrees and no one can go outside for fear of sudden death by heat exposure.

I just accidently used Nate's toothbrush. Again.

We're watching Safety Not Guaranteed. 
 
I haven't had cravings for Easter candy this year, but decided that I would at least split a Cadbury Creme Egg with Nate. I went to Walgreens to get one and they were all GONE. Now ... do I steal one from my children that their grandma gave them or not? What to do ... what to do ...
 
"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much." -Jim Rohn
 
phgggghhjhholghbhjmaziejgugugtutyyugf - this one was from Mazie

Today I've army crawled under a chair for a dog toy so the dog would stop barking incessantly, narrowly escaped a spit-up explosion with my cat-like agility and speed, effectively redirected a four year old out of meltdown over "raisins in a baggie" and bravely changed a diaper that was so vile it almost melted my nose off. I stare danger right in the FACE. I need a theme song.

I did it!!

Started it. Finished it. Didn't throw up.

Official time was 39:44, app time was 38:57.

Not my best time, but I DID IT!!

I do, however need to add a fourth goal for my next 5k ... not to potty in my pants at the finish line. The main reason my time was so slow was because I had to "go" and I mean really go. It makes for a great first race memory!

Jenny, Aaron and I ran together. Our friends Tim and Amber finished the race before us and then came back to run with us to the finish line. It was so COOL! I had Amber on my left, Jenny on my right, Tim and Aaron behind me and friends and family on the sidelines cheering for me. It was surreal. So hard, so uplifting, so satisfying. I can't wait for the next one.

Jenny and I before the race

(when I should have been using the ladies' room)

 

I will not die. I will not die. I will die.

(my friend Aaron is behind us and he made his best time yet!)

Woohoo!! I made it!!

 

 Group shot!

So thankful for her support :)

There has been so much going on that writing it all out has felt overwhelming. So I haven't. :)

I will make some bullet point to catch you up on what I've been doing/going through:

• My first 5k is on Saturday. I'm excited, nervous and elated. I can't believe I'm really doing it ... it's something that I never thought I'd be able to accomplish.

• I've established three goals for the 5k:
• 1. Start it
• 2. Finish it
• 3. Don't throw up

• I hurt my knee two weeks ago so I've had to slow my time down ... I'm disappointed, but that's how it goes when you're a runner. I'm a runner!

We generate fears while we sit; we overcome them by action.

Fear is nature's way of warning us to get busy. – Dr. Henry Link

  

• I've been delving into some deep, DEEEEEP personal development lately. My new "job" with Zija is focused so much on this aspect ... it's an AMAZING company. Some of the books I've read lately:
• The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
• The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson ... I LOVE this one
• Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy
• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

• I've also been listening to speakers such as Jim Rohn and John C. Maxwell for at least 70 minutes a week

• The change in my confidence, dedication, attitude and joy has been absolutely phenomenal and mind-blowing

•  My new business, which I started in the middle of February, has already brought in enough extra income for a second car or for a nice family vacation. The business has been life-changing on many levels for us

• My parents started on my brand of Moringa oleifera a few weeks ago and my Dad said he has no joint pain and he is SO much happier. My mom has had chronic hip pain for a long time now ... been on prednisone, daily ibuprofen and cortisone shots. She started on our SmartMix and today said that she has stopped all pain meds and has ZERO HIP PAIN. I'm so happy I could cry!!!!!!! On Monday she was on all fours playing with her grandchildren. Unbelievable.

•  Nate has been taking ibuprofen almost daily for a long time for stress/sinus headaches and those have all but disappeared since starting on our SuperMix. He said he can think more clearly and has more energy!!!

• I get paid to share this with people. I earn a nice income from the comfort of my home simply by doing what I love most ... helping others. God has His hand on this.

Girl time at Cerulean

I ran on Sunday again and came in at 36:50. New personal best! My knee is killing me now so I didn't run again today, just did some online workouts. I did a little research and it seems that I need to ice the knee after each run and strengthen my quads. I found a great quad workout by Denise Austin (googly eyes, "we're burnin' butter!") that I'm going to start doing.

Today Mazie was really grouchy and she told me several times that she didn't feel like being nice. That she just wanted to be mean for no reason. I told her I completely understood. ;)

Ooh, ooh. I ate lunch at Cerulean yesterday with my mentor (she bought. she's a good mentor) and then got my hair cut. It was nice to get out and feel like a normal human for a bit. I got suckered into buying some anti-frizz stuff. I am a total sucker for hair oils. I'm so weak.

This weekend I'm going out with some girl friends for a bit and then we're meeting up with our husbands. I think we'll walk down to Cerulean and order a fancypants drink and pretend we're really classy and living in the lap of luxury for a bit. Pretending is fun!

Beh. I need to go to bed. Night!

I mailed my check and registration form (no online registration ... rather antiquated) in for the 5k! I'm still working on my time. Right now I'm at about a 15 minute mile on the treadmill. I ran it in 38 minutes outside when my friend Jenny was running with me. She runs a little ahead of me the entire time and it motivates to me run faster. Plus, it's comforting to have her there in case I pass out or die

Look at this boy!!!

 

He laughed for the first time today. He's sooooo sweet and cuddly I can't even stand it. He just adores me, too. It's a good feeling. Being adored and adoring right back. I love him so!


Speaking of love, I also love these. Who doesn't love an almond that plays a chocolate almond barked piano?

I stumbled across this happening the other day.

Ain't nothing wrong with a real man enjoying the comforts of a small, fluffy pink chair.

Running

I'm now running 3.1 miles (5k) each time I run which is at least three times a week. Today Nate and I went to Ft. Wayne to the running store and I got fitted for running shoes. It helps when my ankles aren't caving in on themselves. It helps alot. The shoes I got are ... hhmm, I can't even remember what kind I got. Let me ask Nate .....
Ok, he said Asics. Now he's up and getting them from the bedroom to see which ones exactly. I'd say he's pretty excited about this whole running venture, you know?
He's back. I got GT2000.
Sounds impressive? I suppose so. They keep my ankles from bending in and touching the ground so high five to that!

A little pic for those that need a visual of what I mean by my ankles caving in (pronating)

I bought a 5k sticker, too. You know how people put those stickers on their car windows that read '13.1' or '26.2'? Well, I have a 5k!! I told Nate it's a little embarrassing because it's such a piddly distance but he told me that considering how far I've come that I should stick it on the window with pride. Good GRIEF my husband is the sweetest.

I got my first bloody toenail yesterday. I took my shoes off and when I saw the blood on my sock my first thought was, "Yeah, girl. Go on an' get it. Run, baby!!" My second thought was, "Oh, I feel sick. I don't want to take my sock off. What if I lost my toenail? *barf barf*" BUT, my toenail is still in tact, just bloody. Wootwoot!

Tomorrow my friend Jenny and I are running the 5k course that we'll be running in March. Hope I don't die.

It's crazy to think about how I could barely run for three minutes at a time a month ago and now I'm running for mileS. Mile with an S on the end. So, so loving this.

I truly to owe it all to Moringa oleifera. No more post partum depression, my brain isn't foggy, I'm losing weight like woah and I can RUN. My lungs are so much stronger.

Ok, time to watch Skyfall with Nate on the couch. Not running. :)

Everyone looking at the camera. Everyone acting like normal humans.

This is weird.

Ok, that's more like it. Everyone ignoring me. Everyone acting silly. 

I love them so much.

This (click here) is a clip from a documentary that the Discovery Channel did on Moringa Oleifera (what I started taking a few weeks ago). It's fascinating.

The next best thing to having someone to adore is being adored.

Howdy! Life is normalizing around here and I'm feeling better. Whew ... that was ROUGH. Hormones are touchy things. I went from being pregnant, to nursing to not nursing to starting my cycle again. I could've been committed. I feel like I'm coming out of the tunnel now. I see the light. Run to the light. RUNNNNNNN.

Speaking of running which made me think of exercise which made me think of weight which made me think of Reece's ... Mmmm, Reece's. Every time I have a baby my clothes get really loose and then, a few weeks later they get really tight. I guess I'll blame those hormones again. It's rather disheartening. I haven't changed anything and yet my pants are snug. And not the good kind of snug. The bad kind. The kind that hurts a little. :/

Freya is sick, but on the mend.
Mazie woke up with a cough.
Bjorn only gets up once a night now (at 4 a.m.) and then sleeps again until 8.

Bjorn's nighttime looks like this:
6 p.m. - feed
6:30 - bed
10 - feed
4 feed
8 feed and awake for the day
Totally doable and I feel like a normal person for the most part.

Things have been going well. We're dealing with some family stuff right now and that's never enjoyable. I'm so, so, SO thankful for a husband that does what is honorable and wise for the protection and betterment of our little family. I feel safe with him. We all do.
He has changed so much over the past several years. As he heals and grows and I just admire him more and more. So in love. Get a room!

 Poor sicky chicky

Freya builds a snowman (I can't remember where Mazie was)

Not sure what the snowman's so angry about

Just hanging out (in the same gray sweatshirt), talking about life ...

Bookworms

I'd heard third babies were the easiest ... it's TRUE

(besides the feeding them every 3.5 hours, 24/7 for weeks on end part).

Bjorn is such a mellow little guy!!

He is so CUTE

I forgot to mention that I have pink hair again! I got it done before Christmas as a present from Nate.

Check out my fan club in the background.

 How we spend our afternoons lately. I really hate taking naps, but it's the only way to stay sane right now. Plus, I get to snuggle that little monkey.

(I look angry. I'm not angry. Sleep deprived? Yes. Angry? No.)

 After playing in the snow the girls took a bath and then I set them up

in front of the fireplace to get cozy warm

 Happy baby bath

Recently the girls and I read this library book and found a recipe in the back for "moon cookies". The story is about what different animals think the moon is made of ... flour, butter, sugar, etc. The cookies are a combination of each animal's guess.

The cookies weren't really that tasty. I think it's because I used a gluten-free flour mix. Or maybe the moon just isn't that good. Either way, we had fun and I scored points for being *that* mom, you know ... the one in the kitchen doing all sort of creative kitchen things, which is totally not me.

Every time he sees his arm it's a new discovery. "Ooh, hey. What's that? It moves ... crazy. I've never seen anything like this before ..."

(he's so cute. he melts my heart!)

Tonight at Walgreens (my great escape. i go there several evenings a week, no joke.) I smelled Kim Kardashian's perfume (after I checked to make sure no one was looking. fyi, i did own one of Brittany Spears' perfume once. No shame. Oh, and Paris Hilton's. Ok, now I'm kind of embarrassed.) which reminded me of Michael Kors. I haven't smelled that one in years. All of these memories that I haven't had in years came rushing back ... so many things I had forgotten about. It made me smile and want to cry at the same time. Weird. So much has changed.

 I was in the bathroom at midnight and rang in the new year by myself. Fail. Last night was rough, rough, rough. I don't even have the energy to go into all the details. The sleep deprivation really got to me and I had a meltdown.
Bottom line: I need to accept help when it's offered to me. I'm more concerned about protecting others that I end up really hurting myself (which in turn hurts others). I'm a mess. Nate and I had a talk this evening about the changes that need to be made and what area(s) of our lives need improvement. (I really couldn't think of anything that I need to improve on ... )
Tomorrow is a new day and I'm committing to being more aware of my needs and limitations. Also, I'm committing to eating at least one chocolate covered cherry a day until they're gone. Someone's gotta do it!

I love this picture

This is right before they went out to build a snowman