Month: March 2014

struggle, struggle

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

Resolution Running: Fail.

I started off strong – what I mean by that is that I ran about 14 miles the first half of January. Then I was sick for six weeks with some sort of incapacitating illness or another including two stomach bugs, two rounds of strep, and the flu.  The one I got the flu shot for.  When I wasn’t sick (rare), my kids were. Or my husband was.  So there were two solid months of no running.  The last time that I ran in January, I didn’t make it very far before terrible knee pain struck and forced me to stop. I could  not run through it.

Since then, I’ve wanted to run. Some days my knee feels great. Other days, a sudden pain will take my breath away. At times, it hurts to walk.  It’s so random because literally, some days, it feels like nothing is wrong.  All along, I have felt the urge to run. I have the urge to push my body past where I think it can take me.  Now it is {finally} getting warmer out and I picture myself with nothing but my feet, my thoughts, and my iPod, running around the neighborhood.  I want to run.

I ran two weeks ago on the treadmill and only made it .8 miles before that debilitating knee pain was too much to take. I just started running a year ago. Is it possible that my running days are already over? If this was caused from an injury, wouldn’t the 6-8 week break be enough time for it to heal?

People have asked me about wearing a knee brace – I don’t know the first thing about it.  I went to the orthopedic doctor about my knee 2 years ago and he wanted me to have a $1500 MRI. It was in the middle of us selling our house and moving in with my in-laws so I never got it done. Then I lost 25 pounds, started running and didn’t have anymore knee trouble. Until January.  Maybe I need to go back to the doctor. This is a totally different pain/problem than what I had 2 years ago, but just as troublesome.

My goal of running 300 miles this year (25 miles a month) is definitely not going to happen. At this point, I just need to find something I enjoy doing that keeps me active. I’m dying to hike, but the weather hasn’t quite gotten there yet for taking the boys.  There aren’t a lot of super awesome hiking spots close by (nothing less than 30+ minutes) so it’s not like I’ll be doing that 3x or more per week anyway.

My weight is … okay. For now.  When I was sick, my weight loss reached 31 pounds (from when I started losing weight over a year ago). My original goal was to lose and stay within a 20-24 pound loss range. On average, I’ve maintained about a 25-26 pound weight loss.  I think since I was sick, I got in the habit of thinking I can eat whatever because it wouldn’t matter if I gained that 5 pounds back.  I’ve definitely gained that 5 pounds back but haven’t stepped on the scale in a bit because I don’t think I want to know if I’ve exceeded that.  I know I’m sort of okay, because my clothes still fit.  But I definitely don’t feel as healthy or energetic or lean as I do when I’m eating better and exercising regularly.

That’s what’s going on with my health/fitness goal right now…not the end of the world, but definitely not as positive of a report as I’d like to give.  I’m excited to go for lots of walks with (and without) the boys now that it’s getting warmer.  More outside time = less inactivity and less TV.

xo,
~C~

theo’s fourth birthday: a lego-tastic celebration

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

The celebrating started two days before Theo’s birthday, on Thursday March 6th.  His Montessori school has a neat birthday tradition and invited us and Theo’s grandparents to attend.  My mom even drove up from Tennessee the night before to be there in time.  We were quite the crowd in his little classroom but I loved it and wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Here’s Theo’s teacher, Ms. Holly, talking about Theo and asking me what Theo was like each year of his life.  I made the scrapbook page with one photo of him from each year.  Theo got to hold the globe and walk around the sun one time for each birthday so far.  They sung a couple of cute songs as well as the traditional birthday song, then we went outside for treats – Theo asked for chocolate muffins so I made enough brownies in a mini muffin tin for the class and teachers.  
Not wanting to take time away from that brownie to pose for a picture with Ms. Holly. 
Friday was extra nice – the first time in many years that I just spent a day with my mom. We sent the boys to the sitter to get things ready for Theo’s small party on Saturday.  It was nice just hanging out, shopping, eating lunch, and talking without the constant distractions from my sweet little energetic, talkative, attention-sucking boys.  We picked them up, let them play outside for an hour or so, then continued working on party stuff. 
First time the grass got mowed in 2014. 

Making minifigure cups and gift bags for our guests.

Saturday – Theo’s 4th birthday! Party day! Swim lessons and so much stuff to do! 
Dexter helping Grammy with the lemon bars.

Aunt Chelle and Pop Pop are ready to party. 

Some of Theo’s favorite foods: assorted berries.

My mom made the awesome banner!

Even though it’s not a Lego, Ryan and I decided Theo needs a bike. It wasn’t the most popular gift and we were prepared for that.  He’s such a homebody – he loves to play Legos, games, read books, etc. so we wanted to do something to encourage him to get outside this spring and summer.  He liked it.  I wouldn’t say he looooved it.  Don’t worry, we also got him a few little Legos.

Three minifigures and two small sets to be exact. 

Create your own Mini-fig table.

Lining up for that tasty food.  We had:
-Cocktail Meatballs-
-Mini Corn Dogs-
-Assorted Veggies & Dip-
-Queso & Chips-
-Berry Salad-
-Lemon Bars-

Fun with punching balloons

Not too sure about this.

Of course, one of the best parts of the day was seeing his excitement as he opened his gifts.

At Theo’s request, Nana made him a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. It was delicious. I found the cute Lego cake topper (that was not technically a cake topper) on Amazon. 

Our “not-really-a-party” that turned into a little bit of a party was so much fun. We were so happy to have all of our guests in attendance at our little bit of a party. 
Salazar Family
Weir Family
Nana and Pop Pop

Grammy
The Beals/Jeffries
Too bad little buddy was done-zo with pics by the time we got around to attempting …
Sunday, coincidentally, Brickworld was going on at the State Fairgrounds. What better way to round out this little guy’s Lego birthday bonanza than to surround ourselves with MORE LEGOS?

45,000 square feet of massive Lego displays. The boys were in heaven.

It didn’t hurt that they got yet another mini-figure. I mean, at a place like that, how could we say no?

Loved the look on Dexter’s face when he spotted me watching him from outside this madness. He was so excited to show me his tower. It was funny, there were several kids in there his same age and they were all building the same things…towers. It’s a start to the Lego addiction!
It was a really great weekend and birthday celebration for my FOUR year old boy – that still sounds weird! 
Dexter is already talking about his Batman & Robin party so the bar has been raised…the expectation is there. Here we go again!
xo,
~C~

catch the moment: week ten

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

Week 10 proved to be a fantastic week!  The weather is warming and we celebrated our big boy’s 4th birthday. I’ve yet to get his party post up yet but did write his love letter before time got away from me. I’ve got so much to write about but am struggling to find the time to blog lately. Thank goodness for this project – it definitely keeps me coming back, even when I’m feeling stretched for time.

Linking up again with our hostesses, Mindi (Simply Stavish), Sarah (Nurse Loves Farmer), and Stephanie (Behind the Camera and Dreaming).

Without further jibber jabber, here are week ten’s photos:

64/365: March 5th. I found this love letter in Theo’s back pocket after school. Apparently he made an “all diamond ring” for his favorite teacher.

65/365: March 6th. This was the day of Theo’s birthday celebration at school.  It was so super cute (and one of the things I need to include when I write about his birthday party) but this photo is grainy because I had to zoom in to crop out other students in the class.  

66/365: March 7th. Our first day in 2014 playing outside!  It was in the 50s, which felt just about like the 70s considering the long, cold winter we’ve had. You can see the snow still in the background, even after many days above freezing. 

67/365: March 8th. Theo’s 4th birthday. I felt lucky, loved, and happy to have so much family around to celebrate Theo’s special day. Especially my mama!

68/365: March 9th. Theo playing with his new Lego Movie trash chomper set. A gift from friends, of course! 

69/365: March 10th. Monthly dinner date with my friend that lives too far away. Hello fresh-made-at the-table guacamole! And tequila sunrise!  I think I have a new favorite restuarant. (Locals, it’s Adobo Grill downtown, have you been there??)

70/365:  March 11th.  Had to pull off to the side of the road on my way to work when I saw the beautiful fog rolling across the field with the sunrise in the background — see? Daylight Savings Time is good for something after all! 
So, I just realized as I was putting this post together that it was very THEO heavy, which makes sense since it was his birthday week.  But there was this photo from Day 70 that almost made the cut. I just have to share it since it almost looks like Dexter moved out: 
70/365 (BONUS!): March 11th. Second time playing outside this year and I treated the boys to their first ring pops.  Theo’s was gone in minutes and we ended up throwing Dexter’s away hours later because he couldn’t seem to figure out how to eat the whole thing. It was a glorious 65 degree day that has me excited for more Spring weather! 
SOOOooo the weekly question for you — which photo was your favorite? I love the genuine smiles on my mom’s and Theo’s faces on Day 67.  I’m also in love with 69, 70, and 70(bonus).  Sorry — I can’t pick just one this week!  What? I told you it was a great week…
xo,
~C~