Mothering

Life as a mom is hectic.  There is always somewhere to be, something to clean, someone to feed, someone to put down to sleep, emails to be read and sent, exercise to be done, etc.  I always feel like I am being pulled in a million different directions.  Overwhelming doesn't even begin to describe it.

Bryn had a very high fever 2 days ago and wanted to do nothing else but sleep.  And not just sleep, but sleep in my arms.  As I sat holding her, getting agitated and anxious because WHY CAN'T SHE JUST SLEEP IN HER CRIB??  Doesn't she know what I have to do? Kiley needs to go to dance! I need to eat! My arms are starting to hurt!  Right as I was reaching the pinnacle of my frustration, I looked down at my feverish little baby, asleep on my chest.  I realized that this time passes too quickly.  Soon I will be begging her for hugs.  At that moment, I was so thankful for her fever and for the reminder that my most important job right now is to take care of these two little children who will only need me to care for them for a short while. 

So the chores can wait, not eating lunch won't kill me, and letting Kiley play on the iPad for a little longer won't hurt her.  Right now, I am holding my sleeping baby.

Still here!

Yes, I am still alive.  I just can't ever find the words to post, unless it is a monthly update on Bryn.  We are still chugging away.  Marathon training is going ok, minus a few derailments due to a foot injury and a huge, painful blister on my heel.  I am somewhat back on track, but the foot injury keeps flaring up.  I just have to hang on for 2.5 more months!

Recent going-ons:
John turned 29!
I turn 27 on Saturday!
We went to Jacksonville for Labor Day weekend to visit my sister and parents
My parents are moving back to Huntsville, Al for a couple of years
Still trying to figure out how to control my Sunbeam class- they are delightful, just trouble!
Planning for Bryn's 1st birthday (sniff!)

And other than that, we have just been busy with day to day activities, including both girls getting a cold twice in one month! Fun times!

Bryn is 10 months old!

Bryn is now 10 months old!

This little girl is really starting to come into her own.  She is fake laughing when she hears other people laugh, "dancing" when she hears music, and clapping.  She is starting to pull herself up as well.  She also has 7 (!!!) teeth now, and I think she is working on a couple more.

We had to take a little trip to the allergist because I have heard a rattle in her chest pretty much since she was born and she wakes herself up coughing.  All the tests were negative, though, so we have no idea what the cause it.  It sure is annoying for mommy and baby though!

Bryn's new nickname is "destroyer" because she gets into EVERYTHING, as shown in the pictures above and below.  She has also broken the trash can in the girl's bathroom and cut her finger while doing it.  I have to watch every move Bryn makes to make sure she doesn't get into any more trouble!

She is a happy, mischievous little girl!  Bryn and her older sister are keeping me on my toes, that's for sure!

6 years

Yesterday John and I celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary!

August 5, 2006- we were BABIES!

I know that isn't John in the picture above, but it is one of my favorite pictures from our reception.  My dad was practically crying the whole time, but this one caught us laughing while dancing and I love it!  We look so much alike, too!

This was us on our 4th anniversary with a mini Kiley!

And this was us this past Saturday before we went on a date.  We wanted to go to Ted's, but the wait was too long so we drove around until we decided on this place called Kool Beanz Cafe, which had the oddest mix of patrons I had ever seen!  The food was good, but a little too expensive for me.  The cupcake shops I wanted to go to were closed, so we ended the night at Dairy Queen! Yumm, dipped cones!

I am so lucky to have John.  He makes me laugh all the time and he is a great father to our girls.  6 years down!

Bryn is 9 Months Old!

This month was even harder to get her to pose with the sign!

She is scoot-crawling everywhere these days.  I say scoot-crawl because she starts off crawling on her knees, then starts pulling with her arms and pushing with her right foot.  It is very zombie baby like!

Y'all- this girl loves food!  The only thing she hasn't liked was the chicken pureed with vegetables, but who can blame her!  She eats 2 meals and multiple finger food snacks and still nurses at least 6 times a day.  She is almost over the baby food thing.  She really loves to pick up the food for herself.

We have spent a lot of time at the pool because of the heat and Bryn loves it!  She splashes so much it is comical.

She has 6 teeth now- 3 on the bottom and 3 on the top.  Another top one is going to burst through any day.

Bryn and Kiley play this silly little game where Kiley puts her face right up to Bryn's face and Bryn tries to "eat" Kiley.  Kiley laughs hysterically at this, which then makes Bryn laugh hysterically.  These girls are really the best of friends.  It will be so fun to remember this when they are teenagers!

Bryn was also introduced to the wonderfulness of Chick-fil-a fries.  OMGosh she loves them (just like her mamma!)  In the above picture she was telling me all about how much she loves them!

Let's not talk about her sleep habits- she is pretty much perfect in every way but those!  Oh well, we just have to work on it!

Motivation

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I have had a couple of people ask my why the heck I want to run a marathon and what my motivation is.  The short answer is that I have always wanted to run one.  It was on my "bucket list", if you will.

The long answer is that it is something I never thought I could do, especially with 2 kids (one of them still nursing!)  The truth is, this is the perfect time.  I was in good shape after I had Bryn because I walked at least 2 miles a day, pushing a toddler in a stroller for the whole nine months of my pregnancy.  I started running right at the 6 week post partum mark and I trained for the 15k in Jacksonville that I run with my sister.  I felt so good running that race that I decided that I should just train for a marathon and if that doesn't work, then I could at least do a half marathon.  I am incredibly lucky that John works from home so that I do have the time to train while he watches the kids.  I used to run at his lunch break, but that got too dang hot for that, so now I wake up early before everyone gets up and do my running.  It hasn't been easy, but it makes me feel so good to know that my body can do this.

I have always been athletic, but I definitely do not have a runner's body.  I should probably eat less sweets than I do and eat better meals.  In spite of this, I have realized that running is more a mental thing than a physical thing.  It is so great to just get out there and check out for a couple of miles (or 14!) and I think it makes me a better mom.

My main motivation right now is someone close to me telling me that they don't think I am cut out to run a marathon.  Telling me that I can't is one sure fire way to get me to want to do it!

I still have 4 months to go and the next 2 months will probably be the hardest of my whole training schedule.  I appreciate any and all inspirational comments!

Another running post

So marathon training is still going!  I slacked a bit when we were at the beach, mostly because I didn't know where to run and the only way I could run was out and backs and I HATE doing out and backs.  I did run about 20 miles that week because I had to test out my new, awesome GPS watch that my dad surprised me with!  It is amazing!
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Before the beach, I ran a half marathon around the neighborhood and I about died.  After we got back, I continued the training and ran another half marathon on Saturday and I am happy to say it wasn't that bad!

My iPod has decided it is going to bite the dust, though.  I just need it to hold on until August 1 when I can upgrade my phone to an iPhone.  There is no way I am running 14 miles this Saturday without anything to distract me!

Beach Vacay!

We spent one glorious week with my family at a beach house on New Smyrna Beach (aka the shark bite capital of the world- and yes we did see a shark!)

My dad was obsessed with the idea of taking Kiley fishing, so he bought her her own princess fishing pole.  She had to go to the bathroom, so I was holding her pole and I reeled it in to re-cast it and this sting ray just happened to get stuck on the hook!  This was a cruel joke by Mother Nature, since I got stung by a stingray on my foot when I was 5 and have been scared of them ever since.  I was terrified to take this picture!  We let the poor guy go, of course.

Kiley soon grew tired of fishing, so we tried again at a different spot on a different day and she caught 3 little fish! She was so funny, she blew on them "because they needed to dry off" and wanted to take them home as pets. We released all 3 since they were so small!

We hung out at the beach and had some family friends over for a cookout.  It was very low-key and tons of fun!

This dress was my first ever sewing project!  Woohoo!

Little Miss Bryn loved the beach (after she got used to it) and spent the majority of the time trying to eat the sand and getting mad at me when I would push her hand away from her mouth.

We also took Kiley to see her first ever movie in a theater, Brave. We probably could have left right after the previews and she would have been satisfied.  The look on her face when she saw the big screen was priceless!  She liked the movie, even though she got scared in a couple of spots.

These girls are beach girls for sure!

Bryn is 8 months old!

I have to hurry and get this post written before we leave for a week to the beach tomorrow! Woo!

Bryn is 8 months old! This child is a dream, minus the whole not wanting to go to bed at night thing. She got 2 new teeth this month (her "fangs" on the top) and had tons of fun experiences, too!

We celebrated Memorial Day with my parents

Bryn got to hang out with her bff Ella Grace and go to her aunt's dance recital

She also got into a little bit of mischief with a blue marker while mommy wasn't looking

She still is sleeping in a swaddle.  To Bryn, there is no other way to sleep!

She also got to have her first date with Brennan!  And just look at the excitement on her little face!  She is ready to move!  Bryn is eating everything in sight and we started finger foods this month because she seemed ready (even if mom wasn't).  She loves it!  She isn't crawling yet, but is trying so hard.  She gets on her hands and knees, but goes backwards and gets stuck on stuff.  Heaven help me when she actually does get moving!

Marathon Training update!

I am still going strong on the marathon training.  John was asking me about why I do it- most people HATE running.  I thought about it and said that it makes me feel so strong to overcome my body's tiredness of running a long distance.  Running is such a mental thing- the quote at the bottom of my training schedule says "Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing.  You have to make the mind run the body.  Never let the body tell the mind what to do.  The body will always give up.  It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night.  But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired." -George S. Patton
So true!  I also told him that I don't even notice the time it takes me.  I put on my headphones and listen to the podcast that I download and go for 2 hours.  The weekday runs are a little harder because I am now getting up before the kids so I can go while it is still relatively cool.  By the time 4 or so rolls around, I am ready for a nap!

I am enjoying pushing my body to the limit.  I just hope it holds up for 5 more months so I can finish this huge goal!