Savvy and Sweet

So. Much.

2013-06-01T11:50:00.001-04:00

I know I've been absent for quite awhile. Believe me, we have been insanely busy. In the past month and a half a crazy number of big things have happened, and each of these things could easily be it's own post, but everything happened so fast that I'm resigned to just giving you the short version. Here we go:

Week of April 7th:
We find out...that we're pregnant! Super exciting! Also one of the worst weeks ever to cut caffeine from your diet because its the week of my biggest work event of the year. Which also means I am crazy busy.

The rest of April and the first week of May:
Life is less crazy now that my big work event is done, but the first trimester of pregnancy brings complete exhaustion. So tired. All the time. And work is hectic because 2 event staff (same position as me) have announced they are leaving along with 1 administrative staff. It's the busiest time of the year for us, so this is really tough AND there is a temporary hiring freeze, so those positions can't be filled right away. It's a long, complicated, story, but basically those positions are going to be filled in the next month or two, just not right now. The problem is that our busiest time IS the next two months.

On the 25th of April our sweet little C turned 2- unbelievable! We celebrated as a family with a trip to the zoo and a stop by the fair for an elephant ear. We delayed the birthday party a couple of weeks until my family would be in town.

At the end of the first week of May we head over to Michigan State to watch my brother in law graduate. C was extremely good and clapped enthusiastically at all the right times.

2nd week of May:
Lots of work meetings to kickoff the week and C's 2-year well child doctor's appointment. Everything went well- he's high on the charts for weight, a little low on height (though I'm sure he'll have a crazy growth spurt soon) and right in the middle for his head circumference. We round the week out with my parents and grandmas coming to down and we all go to my sister's college graduation on Saturday and then all of Hubby G's family coming over on Sunday to have a family birthday party for C. C had a blast- we got him the Melissa and Doug Deluxe Kitchen and it was definitely a hit! Unfortunately BOTH of my grandmas were sick- some kind of food poisoning or 24-hour bug. Not fun, but luckily they were both feeling better the next day when they had a 9 hour car ride back home.

3rd week of May:
The week started out rough- I attended a funeral on Tuesday for an amazing 7-year old named Oliver. I had come to know him and his family, mostly his dad, through work. Oliver's dad works at one of the colleges that I work closely with and over the past few years he has shared his story several times about being a Caregiver to Oliver through his cancer journey with neuroblastoma. Oliver was truly an amazing little boy and although attending his funeral was heart breaking, it was also something I felt like I really needed to do to support his amazing family and to celebrate his wonderful little life.

On top of that, I called my mom in the evening to wish her a happy birthday and learned that she was actually on the way to the hospital with my grandma. My grandpa had had an accident with his gator (if you're unfamiliar, it's kind of like a 4-wheeler, but with a mini-truck bed type thing). He was pushing it out of his garage into their backyard and since the yard is on a bit of a slope, it started getting away from him and he tried to jump in to hit the brakes. Unfortunately he couldn't stop it and he was half in/half out when it crashed into some trees at the edge of their yard. He was ok, but definitely needed to see a doctor. He insisted on pulling the gator out of the trees with his truck before heading to the hospital, and when the doctor told him he should have "just let it go- it's just a machine" he replied, "No. It's a JOHN DEERE". They found that he had broken a rib and had some internal bleeding near his kidneys. They decided to transfer him to the bigger hospital 2 hours away because he was also on blood thinners because of a major heart bypass surgery he had a few years ago. Obviously internal bleeding + blood thinners is not a good combination, so they had to take him off the blood thinners and keep a close eye on him. By a couple days later the doctors said everything seemed to be looking good and the internal bleeding had stopped and they sent him home.

On Saturday night around 10:30 my dad called- which is late and unusual for him. He said that my grandma had called while my parents, sister, and her boyfriend were at the wedding reception for a close family friend and said that she had called 911 because my grandpa was unresponsive. He had just been sitting in his chair and suddenly dropped the remote. My grandma called his name and tried to wake him up, but he didn't respond. My family left right away and arrived at my grandma's house while the paramedics were trying to revive him. They were unsuccessful though, and my grandpa died peacefully, at home, exactly the way he would have wanted to on Saturday, May 18th.

Since we had all thought he was on the mend after his accident earlier in the week, this was definitely very unexpected. It's definitely one of those times that's it's especially hard to be so far away. Hubby G and I worked to rearrange our schedules at the beginning of the week so that we could leave early in the morning on Thursday and head up to be with my family. On top of all the normal schedule re-arranging that we were doing, our house officially went on the market on Monday. Clearly this was not good timing, but we already had the process underway before all of this happened. Basically we're in a position that we don't HAVE to move, but there's a decent chance that we could sell our house for a profit and then move to a little bit bigger house. Anyway, it was hectic while we were up in the U.P., but we got to go with my family on Saturday to my grandparents farm (picture a big piece of land with trees and a pond, not a barn with animals) and spread my grandpa's ashes all over. It was exactly what he would have wanted and although we were all still really sad, it was also comforting too.

4th week of May:
We headed back home on Memorial Day and had another busy week of work and now the added craziness of several house showings. Add to the crazy: another one of our event staff announced they were leaving, bringing the total to 3 event staff now that we're short. Like I mentioned, it's our absolute busiest season of the year and at this point, there's no way that the management can cover all of the events that don't have staff now. So, now I'm picking up a 5th event for the year...and it's happening later this month.

We're almost up to current times guys!!

1st week of June:
It's event week for me! That means lots of event prep all week long in addition to a last minute evening meeting add on for the 5th event that I picked up as of last week so that I have a chance to meet the committee and team captains. My event is 24 hours beginning on Friday at 2pm and ending Saturday at 2pm, but since there's a lot of set up, I have my packed rental cargo van on the road to head to my event location that is about an hour from my house at 7am on Friday morning. The event went really smoothly. A unique thing about my job is that it's not unusual at all to sleep in the back of your rented cargo van during your event. I mean, the reality of it is that you're working 30+ hours all at once and you need sleep to be able to continue functioning until the end of the event. They're outdoor events so when all your supplies are unloaded from your van, that's your only personal space to change clothes, take a break, and get some sleep. I brought plenty of padding and blankets and got 4 hours of sleep during the night which is actually probably more than average for these events. I survived, made it back home, actually checked out a street party that had a band I was interested in seeing on Saturday evening with Hubby G and Caeden. By the time we made it home though, I was definitely exhausted.

2nd week of June- that's this week!!
Although I was exhausted on Saturday night, I had to get up early with C and volunteer in our church nursery on Sunday morning. I tried to soak up every second of Sunday though, because beginning Monday, I work 17 days in a row. And that FINALLY brings us up to today! Starting tomorrow afternoon I'm helping register participants for the 4-day, 100-mile run I staff for work and I'll be staffing that event Thursday-Sunday and my parents will be in town visiting for the weekend as well.

Next week I'm back at work prepping for that 5th event that I picked up which takes place next Saturday/Sunday (it's another 24 hour event). I'll head back into work that following Monday just to hit the road to Chicago for an overnight meeting until Tuesday. Thankfully, blessedly, after that, I'm on a much needed vacation for the rest of the week and the whole following week!!

So yeah....sorry for the crazy long post and packing so much in all at once. But that has been life lately- no way around it! I hope that I'll be able to post again soon and delve into some more of the fun details of this second pregnancy (!!) and some more of this house-selling adventure we're on.

Thanks for hanging with me!

Paying For Maternity Leave

2013-03-23T21:16:00.001-04:00

Paying/planning financially for maternity leave is a topic that Laura suggested awhile back, so I'm taking a stab at it.

The short of it is this: it's different in every state and differs by your employer, so there's not one easy answer.

I can tell you my situation though when I was on maternity leave with C. My employer's policy is this: you have to use any sick or vacation time you have banked up and that's all you get paid for. So basically if you have 12 weeks worth of time banked away you'll be getting regular paycheck all throughout your maternity leave. Building up 12 whole weeks of time is no small feat though, so a more likely scenario is that you'll get paid for some of your time off and the rest you're outta luck or you just have to take a shorter leave time so you don't feel that pinch.

Either way (in my situation at least), maternity leave zaps ALL of your vacation time for the rest of the year. Which I don't really disagree with since you weren't at work doing your job for 12 weeks, but it also just really sucks because its not like you were sitting around eating bonbons with your feet up drinking cocktails during that time. More like the extreme opposite- sleep deprived, downing water as much as possible (if you're nursing), and frequently covered in spit up. Yeah...not having any vacation time for the rest of the year just sucks.

In my case I was told that I wouldn't be able to get any short term disability because the amount of time I wasn't going to be getting a full paycheck wasn't much thanks to 3 years worth of saved-up sick days plus vacation time. That being said, you better believe I was determined to work right up until I was in labor to maximize that time! I was fortunate to have a complication free pregnancy, so that was definitely do-able. The day before my due date I was at work (it was a Friday) helping organize our warehouse space. I took breaks to sit when I felt I needed to and when people asked, "when are you due again?" I loved seeing the looks on their faces when I nonchalantly replied, "tomorrow". I really was feeling pretty good though and there were no signs of impending labor, so really no reason to start my maternity leave.

The following Monday morning, officially 2 days past my due date, I still didn't have any clear signs of labor, but I just had a feeling that it was coming. So I texted my boss and said "no baby news yet, but I think later today! I'm going to officially start my maternity leave." And that was that. C was born that night.

Ok. So I realize that last part is probably pretty atypical.

But if you have a scheduled c-section or a complication-free and easy-going pregnancy you never know. It very well could be as simple as that.

Regardless of the state you live in, the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) is the same. Your employer must give you 12 weeks of job-protected leave following the birth or adoption of a child. Keep in mind that there is no requirement to pay you anything during your FMLA time however, so that explains why you may cut your time short. Also, if your employer is an agency of less than 50, FMLA does not apply, so be sure to check with your company policy regarding leave time.

When it comes to your significant other, again- there is a lot of variation. Hubby G banked up his vacation time and took off 3 weeks before heading back to work, but that was straight up vacation time he used.

When it comes down to it, the best thing you can do is schedule a good chunk of time to chat with a representative in HR for your employer or whoever is the most knowledgeable on your benefits package. That way if you are eligible to apply for short term disability or if there is any other paperwork or hoops to jump through you're proactive about it and won't get burned.

Or just move to Sweden. Or Canada if you don't want to go as far as Sweden. or really anywhere other than the U.S. to have a better maternity leave situation. For real- check this out:

Source

I hope the U.S. gets a better plan for moms and families soon!

Feeling the Blogging Bug

2013-03-23T07:41:00.001-04:00

I know I've been MIA for a bit- spring is another intensely busy time at work, so I've had little free time. BUT as always, I miss blogging! So I'm going to try to do more posts via mobile. I've had BlogPress on my phone for a long time, but I never felt like it was a great alternative to posting from my computer because I didn't know how to insert links. But I've finally figured it out! So I'll see how this goes.

Latest updates around here: C is climbing EVERYTHING, we've tried a couple new breweries, and I've fallen off the wagon with my running routine.

Hopefully more posts coming soon!

Goofy toddler picture just for kicks.

The Hostess With The Mostess

2013-02-21T17:02:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we had a few friends over for dinner. It wasn't anything too fancy, but I like referring to it as a dinner party, so we'll go with that. We hadn't seen these friends in a really long time, so it was really fun to catch up, plus one couple is pregnant with their first child, so I was loving all the baby prep talk.

Maybe it's tied to my recent ego-boosting running routine, but as we were enjoying our evening I thought to myself, "if this isn't having it all, I don't know what is".

Earlier in the day Hubby G had taken C to the gym with him so that he could get a workout in, C could hang out in the child care center for an hour, and I could clean the house without trying to chase after C at the same time. I volunteered myself for the house cleaning project because 1) I don't mind cleaning and 2) it was with the understanding that I would get 1.5 hours of alone time with the treadmill at the gym the next morning (pure bliss for me!)

I got the house cleaned from top to bottom and got myself dressed and ready by the time Hubby G and C arrived back home. In the hour or so from then until our company came I got some lunch ready for C and printed cute little name tags for everyone that slip into these mini frame napkin rings that we have- gettin' real fancy around here!

We caught up and chatted with our company, played a card game, and I made a dinner that included a salad, fettuccine with alfredo sauce from scratch (that recipe is crazy easy AND crazy delicious!), sauteed green beans, and garlic bread all in about 45 minutes. After we had given our food a little time to settle, we enjoyed angel food cake (Betty Crocker style- I'm not THAT good) that I had made earlier in the morning.

I was just thinking back to those first few months, heck the first YEAR of C's life when something like this dinner party seemed like it would be absolutely impossible. And it seemed like it would NEVER be possible- very dramatic, I know, but when you're a new parent it really does feel that way. At the end of the evening it just felt so good to know how much I was able to accomplish and how I felt like I had been a great hostess. That alone would have felt pretty good, but what made it feel great was knowing that I was a great hostess while also being a wife, mother, and working a full-time job during the week. It really made me feel like having it all isn't impossible.

So any new or future moms out there- remember this. As crazy as the first year is, it get easier- you get better at balancing- juggling- everything. And when you find that balance, you feel like a rock star.

Feelin' Like A Boss

2013-02-11T16:22:00.001-05:00

Although I haven’t had much time for blogging lately, I have been feeling particularly inspired. And you know what’s causing this burst of inspiration?

Running like the wind my friends.

I am thinking of my friend Laura already as I type this because although her husband recently got into running, she has said that he’s been doing so on the down-low, which she appreciated because it can be incredibly annoying to hear about it every.single.time someone hits the pavement.

Laura: be glad you are on the west coast my friend, because I cannot shut up over here.

I can totally understand where she’s coming from because even as I write this- I can see how it could get annoying. And I stand by my comment that I left on her blog post...the joke "how can you tell if someone is a runner? They'll tell you." is hilariously true. GUILTY AS CHARGED. Times a million lately :)

BUT, I can’t shut up about it because it has put me in such a phenomenal mood the past couple of weeks! When I go running, it puts me into a semi-meditative state where I think of 1 of 3 things:

1. Nothing
2. Lip syncing whatever song is playing on my iPhone
3. How awesome I am

Just think about that for a minute. Just think about how you might feel if the only thoughts floating around in your brain were one of the above three. IT’S FREAKING AMAZING.

AND, in addition to being on a post-meditative run mental high once my workout is done, I get a sweet runner's high rush of endorphins which, by their chemical nature, create a feeling of euphoria and happiness. Double the fun my friends, double the fun.

Basically, I feel like I can conquer the world.

For instance: this morning I was sleepy and cozy and comfy in my bed when my alarm went off at 4:55 am. I dragged myself out of bed (lured by the promise of euphoria) and got ready to go to the gym. C derailed my plans for a few minutes when he decided that he too needed to start the day before the crack of dawn, but Hubby G is an amazing supportive husband who got up and hung out with our little early riser so that I could still go to the gym (thanks babe!!) I arrived at the gym before 6:00 AM with a 35 minute run scheduled and a goal of knocking out 4 miles in that time- a pretty aggressive goal for me, but if I’m gonna get my butt out of bed that early in the morning, I figure I may as well go hard. I completed just over 4 miles in my 35 minutes of treadmill meditation and was back home before 6:30 AM.

I’m just saying...how can I not feel like a superwoman when I can go around saying that I ran 4 miles before a lot of people even woke up for the day, got a little one ready for daycare (shout out to the hubs for help with this every morning though!) put in a full day of work in the non-profit sector (saving the world- duh), made dinner while wrangling a toddler, and I still have time to just hang out with our awesome little family in the evening? I just can’t.

I'm also reading Run Like A Mother by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea and it's just feeding my ridiculously chipper attitude. I highly recommend it to any moms out there who are runners or want to get into running. It has also caused me to refer to myself as a badass mother runner whilst in my mid-run I-am-awesome meditation time.

I can't figure out how to embed the video, but I was so amped on running that I made a Vine video when I was getting ready at the gym last week. Also, you should get Vine and we should follow each other. I'm obsessed.

I'm training for the River Bank Run 25k again this year, so I've got at least a few solid months of endorphin-fueled positivity in my future as long as I stick to the training schedule. And at this rate, the thought of long runs on Saturdays gets me feeling near-giddy, so the likelihood of staying with it is looking pretty darn good!

Real Life: A Typical Day - January 2013

2013-01-25T12:12:00.001-05:00

Here's a glimpse at Real Life Right Now:

5 AM: Alarm goes off to go to the gym. I turn it off and ignore it because I feel like I really NEED an extra hour and a half of sleep

6:30 AM: Second alarm goes off and I hit snooze. Finally make it out of bed at about 6:45 AM.

6:45 AM: Go downstairs and start making coffee if Hubby G hasn't already started it.

6:47 AM: C wakes up and I head upstairs to get him changed into a fresh diaper and dressed for the day. While this is happening Hubby G packs lunches for himself and for me and also puts C's breakfast on his high chair tray.

6:53 AM: I bring C downstairs and get him situated in his high chair to eat breakfast.

6:55 AM: Hubby G gets ready for work and I take Colby outside to go to the bathroom. We don't have a fenced in yard and Colby doesn't listen so I have to put on boots and a coat and actually walk around the backyard with him while he takes his time finding a place to do his business. I enjoy the fresh air early in the morning, but sometimes I wish he wasn't so picky about finding a place to do his dirty work.

7:03 AM: I give Colby his breakfast and finish getting my work bag and C's daycare bag ready. Hubby G is finishing getting ready for work.

7:10 AM: Hubby G loads all of our bags into the car for us. He says goodbye to C and I and heads off to work. C stays in his high chair and while he's finishing up his breakfast, I bust out the iPad and he shrieks with delight. I pull up Mickey Mouse on the Disney Junior app and let him watch an episode.

7:15 AM: I get ready for work.

7:40 AM: I gather up any random items that are needed that didn't get loaded into the vehicle by Hubby G and put them on the garage steps. I pull out coats, shoes, hats, and mittens for C and I while the Mickey Mouse episode is wrapping up.

7:47 AM: I get C dressed in his coat, shoes, hat, etc. and then get all my outer wear on.

7:55 AM: We say goodbye to Colby and head out to the van. I get C strapped in his car seat and grab my last random items off the garage steps and put them in the car.

8:00 AM: We arrive at daycare and I drop C off. Taking off his out door gear, updating his teachers about how his night went, and saying goodbye always takes longer than one would guess.

8:10 AM: Leave daycare and head to work.

8:30 AM: Arrive at work, be inspired by awesome volunteers, analyze some data, and plan for upcoming meetings.

5:00 PM: Leave work and head to daycare. I don't have the option of staying late to wrap anything up that I've been working on because daycare closes at 6 and you're charged $1 per minute that you're late. And because Hubby G is still at work, there's no option for him to pick up C instead of me.

5:30 PM: See C's face absolutely LIGHT UP when he sees me at daycare. Highlight of the day hands down! Get his coat on and get the run down on his day from his teachers.

5:50 PM: Back at home. Get C and all of us stuff and my stuff unloaded from the car and in the house.

6:00 PM: Figure out dinner. If possible, give C leftovers for dinner right then. He gets to a certain tipping point between about 6:00 PM and 6:30 PM where if you make him wait too long for dinner (because you know, you have to MAKE something) he goes into total meltdown tired mode and there's no coming back from it. When you're past that point of no return he will no longer eat dinner even if you try to give something to him and he's crabby the rest of the night.

6:15 PM: Make dinner- either something fast that C will be eating too or something that will take a little longer because C is satisfied with leftovers. If C is eating leftovers, AWESOME. That means he's contained in his high chair and I can actually effectively make dinner. If he's not eating I'm preparing food as fast as I possibly can while he's pulling on my legs and wanting to be picked up.

6:30 PM: C eats his dinner or plays if he's all done eating already. I try to strategically work on dinner while also keeping an eye on C so that it's still hot when Hubby G gets home.

7:15 PM: Hubby G and I eat dinner while also taking turns playing with C and keeping him occupied. We catch up on our days and one of takes Colby outside.

7:45 PM: Hang out and play with C. Pull a bunch of toys out of the toy box and sometimes give C a bath.

8:15 PM: Get C ready for bed- diaper change and PJ's and try to get him to wind down and get ready to sleep. Usually by this time he's back and forth between running around like a crazy man and having a meltdown because he's tired.

8:30 PM: Rock C to sleep upstairs in his room. Sometimes this is more of a process than others...it just depends on how much he wants to fight sleep that night.

9:00 PM: Put C down in his crib then head downstairs to clean up toys, dishes from dinner, and whatever else is lying around.

9:30 PM: Hang out with Hubby G. Watch a TV show, blog, work on my smashbook, RELAX.

10:30 PM: Falling asleep. Head up to bed and catch some z's so I'm ready for a new day!

That's what life is like right now! Week days like this feel like they're non-stop, because really, they are. Being a mom to a toddler means that the amount of personal, non-work, do whatever I want to time is only 1 hour per day on a week day. Weekends are definitely a welcome sight for us!!

So- tell me dear readers: If you have young kids, is this a similar week day for you? Obviously there's some significant differences if you don't work out side the home, but tell me about them! If you don't have kids, is this type of schedule for a day what you may have imagined for a family with two working parents?

27

2013-01-20T22:09:00.001-05:00

Ahh....27 feels pretty good.

Although truth be told, I think I feel a little older than 27. Not by much, but at least by a couple years. Mostly because it seems like within our circles of friends, co-workers, and acquaintances, many of them are recently married or engaged- about 3ish years after Hubby G and I tied the knot. And there's no denying that getting married, buying a house, and starting a family are some pretty big life steps that just change things about your life in general.

I was somewhat surprised that after I did a little digging I found that the average age of mothers at the time of birth of their first child in the United States is only 25.1. I definitely expected that to be a bit higher. I was 25 when C was born, and even though some of my peers had or were having babies at that time, it just seems like so many more are at that point now- close to two years later. So there's your little tid bit of knowledge for today- are you surprised by that or is it about what you expected?

In other birthday news, the cosmic/karmic/mother nature/Godly forces of the world seem to have come together for awesomeness. Behold:

This year my birthday coincides with MLK Day, so not only do I celebrate on a day which also celebrates such a powerful, positive, and peaceful presence in our nation's history, I also get the day off work.
My whole entire birthday week is supposed to have below freezing temperatures here in my neck of the woods. I LOVE cold weather and the mild winters that we have had last year and so far this year really bum me out. Bring on the cold!!
Accompanying the freezing temps is something that makes me even happier- SNOW! And a forecast of 6-10 inches on my birthday no less! The weather better actually pull through with this one because the extended forecast is showing warmer temps starting next week and I need my snow fix.

Also, we are buying a new car tomorrow. Hubby G sold our 2003 GMC Envoy for a good price at the end of last week and we're looking to purchase something that will get better gas mileage but still be able to handle a car seat comfortably. I'll keep you updated on what we pick!

I have a feeling that the year of 27 is going to bring some great things...the new Savvy & Sweet Baby Planning website is already in the works (guys...I got my 99% finalized logo...I'm in love!!) so here's to another great year!!

Changing Focus

2013-01-18T17:32:00.001-05:00

...or rather finding focus really.

I don't mind one single bit that this little blog of mine hasn't really had much of a focus other than me and my little family. That's what a personal blog is all about, right? Whatever the heck YOU want it to be about. I've skittered around with thoughts on home ownership, our crazy but most amazing dog in the world, marriage, pregnancy, and quite a bit on motherhood.

And it's all been good. Great, even. I like hopping around to wherever my mood takes me on the particular day I have time to write.

I have no doubt that I will continue to sprinkle in a little bit of this, that, and life in general moving forward, but in following what my head and heart are calling me to do with this blog, I'm going to focus in a bit more on pregnancy, babies, and motherhood. It's something that I love to write about and as things start to gain traction with Savvy & Sweet Baby Planning (more on that in a minute!) it makes sense that this blog be a more focused partner in my business endeavor.

So about the moving and shaking of Savvy & Sweet Baby Planning- things are happening and I couldn't be more excited!! This week I had the privilege of meeting with Chris of Mindshare Web Design here in Grand Rapids. It was AWESOME. He was friendly and asked me lots of questions and was patient when I wasn't sure of all the answers since I told him I'm really just getting started with this business. He's a dad of a young family including twin girls and he said that he could definitely see the value in the service that I'm hoping to provide. Just that makes my heart swell with happiness. He's currently working on a logo for me (!!) and after that's finalized he will be moving on to the actual website. As I'm sitting here, I really can't convey how excited I am about taking this big step forward in this crazy little dream of mine...I just want to type an endless string of exclamation points because it's one of those there-are-no-words-just-giddy-squealing kinds of excitement.

So readers...please help me out! What types of pregnancy, baby, or motherhood topics would you be interested in reading? Here's a list I've come up with so far:

-Product reviews (maternity products as well as baby products)
-Healthy Life
-Real Life (no holds barred, the good, the bad, and the ugly of real life pregnancy and motherhood)

What else?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

2013 Goals

2013-01-02T21:25:00.001-05:00

We cleaned and organized the house from top to bottom yesterday, so getting much of anything else accomplished was impossible. But the second day of the year still feels just as good for setting my ten goals of 2013!

I really liked several of my 2012 goals but I didn't want to have a huge number of repeats on my ten item list, so I took the 2012 goals that I was successful with that I wanted to keep for 2013 and combined them all into my first "maintain" goal. Numbers 3 and 8 on the list are repeats from 2012, but since I didn't complete them last year they still get their own spot on the list for this year.

So here they are: My Ten Goals For 2013:

1. Maintain for 2013: run in a race, create a DVD scrapbook for Caeden 1-2 years, read at least 5 books
2. Exercise at least 4x per week
3. Post at least 100 blog posts
4. Keep some type of record of things to be grateful for consistently through the year
5. Make good use of my smashbook (Look! I'm off to a good start!)

6. Take on at least 1 Savvy & Sweet Baby Planning client
7. Do at least one, purposeful and documented act of kindness every month
8. Go on an overnight date night with Hubby G
9. Commit to one "no screens allowed" night per week (no phones, iPad, or TV allowed)
10. Eat/drink better: more fruits and veggies and more water with at least one month dedicated to drinking only water.

There they are! I think I like this list of ten goals better than any others I've made in the past. I'm excited about them! So much so that I woke up early and hit the gym to exercise this morning (yeah #2!), drank a whole huge jug of water today (#10) and got started on my tracking system of things I'm grateful for (#4). Feels like a great start to 2013 already!

Any 2013 goals or resolutions in your life? Any we may happen to have in common? I'd love to hear about them!

A Look Back At 2012

2012-12-30T23:15:00.000-05:00

Every year I do a little recap on the goals I set at the beginning of the year before I post my goals for the new year. So let's take a little look back on 2012:

1. Run in a race

SUCCESS! And I'd say this was a huge success considering that this one had been on my list of goals for a few years. Plus, the race was nothing to sneeze at- the River Bank Run 25k...that's 15.5 miles!! More than a half marathon!

2. Read at least 5 books

Success...I think? I finished up Steig Larsson's trilogy early in 2012 and then read all three Fifty Shades books. I'm pretty sure I read another that I'm just not remembering.

3. Write at least 100 blog posts (average about 2 per week)

FAIL. I clocked in at 78...79 with this one. Actually not as far off as I would have guessed without looking! Here's hoping I can improve upon this in 2013 :)

4. Cook or bake at least 10 new things- and keep track!

Half success. I DEFINTELY cooked 10 new things- thank you Pinterest! Keep track though? Absolutely not. I'm not that sure if I'm interested in keeping track of all the new things I try in 2013...we'll see if this one makes a come back on the 2013 goals.

5. Learn a few basic signs and teach Baby C to sign

Success. C mastered the sign for "more" like it was nobody's business and also occasionally did "eat" and "all done"

6. Create a birth -1 year scrapbook for Baby C

Success. Not a traditional scrapbook, but I did spend HOURS creating a birth - 1 year DVD with pictures AND videos and fancy music and credits. I had a hard time narrowing down my selection of photos and videos so the movie ended up being 25 minutes long- something only a parent or grandparent could bear to sit through, but I don't care!

7. Create our wedding album

FAIL...and even worse...that's a fail TIMES THREE. I have no excuses.

8. Take more photographs

Success! Unbeknownst to most of you fabulous blog readers, we purchased a fancy new DSLR a couple months back! I'm still learning how to use it, but there's currently 1500 photos chillin on the memory card, so I KNOW I've taken plenty more photos this year! Here's a few:

9. Organize a business plan

Fail-ish. Although I can't say that I really completed this one, I have made some (very slow) progress with Savvy and Sweet Baby Planning. And I'm excited to say that I'll have a fancy-pants new website for that little venture coming soon- hopefully in early 2013, so stay tuned! I also got a chance to use my lovely friend and co-worker who just had her baby earlier this month as a bit of a guinea pig, so I learned a few things there as well.

10. Plan a one night getaway with Hubby G

FAIL. We have have gotten more chances to go on date nights, but no over night getaways for us...maybe in 2013!?

I'll (wo)man up and say that I did a terrible job of being mindful of these 2012 goals throughout the year with the exception of the race one. That being said, as I was writing this post I was a little surprised at how many ended up in the "success" column! I hope to be a bit more mindful of my goals for 2013...but we'll see if that actually happens! I cannot believe that 2012 is nearly over already...where has the year gone!? Time flies when you're having fun I guess :)

Hope you all had wonderful holidays!! I'll be posting my ten 2013 goals soon after we're officially in the new year :)

Newtown

2012-12-17T15:42:00.002-05:00

It just doesn't feel appropriate to move along with a blog post about my day to day life without at least addressing the tragedy that occurred on Friday. The depth of the sorrow that the Newtown community must be feeling is unimaginable. Last week C had to get blood drawn and while holding my little boy while he cried from that very temporary discomfort and (for him) scary situation, my chest tightened and tears pricked my eyes. Knowing how I feel when my little boy has even just a few seconds of pain and feels scared makes my heart absolutely break for the families of the children in Newtown- I can't possibly know the depth of the pain and sadness they are feeling. I know how those few seconds felt when C was getting his blood drawn- but multiply that times and infinite amount? I just can't comprehend that- it hurts too much to even think about. And a sorrow of such comprehensible proportions is what weighs so heavily on so many hearts in these days following this awful event.

My heart breaks not only for the lives that were lost, but also for the emergency personnel and the survivors. The survivors especially. The news reports say that the attack was on two classrooms and 20 children were killed. I'm venturing a guess that 20 children is only about half the students from those two classes...meaning that around 20 six and seven year-olds witnessed unspeakable horror. Those last two sentences were hard to type. I feel like actually typing it makes it feel more real...and the awful part is that there's nothing un-real about it at all. Typing it only makes it feel more real to me- someone who, though hurting and thinking and praying for those families, is removed from the families themselves. Again, I can't imagine that feeling multiplied times an infinite amount...it seems to much for a heart to bear.

But bear it, it does. How? How do the hearts of these families find their way back together after they break in countless pieces? Again, I don't know- I can't imagine. But I do know the tiny fraction of their heartbreak in what I feel and I know that for me, what helps to mend the heart is hearing things like the story of teacher Victoria Soto protecting the children in her class and hiding them. Hearing of the beautiful lives the children had and the lasting impact they made in their short time here on earth. Hearing that after such a horrific act, Emilie Parker's father Robbie stated that he is praying for all of the families who lost loved ones- including the shooter's family. It's those shining slivers of faith, hope, and love that powerfully slice through the darkness and offer at least glimpses of the good that exists in the world. That show us that no matter what, not all is lost. These things- they don't just magically fix everything or make the pain go away. But it's powerful to know that they exist in the world- that they can persevere through the most terrible of circumstances.

I pray for all the families affected by this awful tragedy and have been hugging my little boy a little tighter and longer than usual. If you're looking for a way to help, Roo Ciambrello of Nice Girl Notes has compiled a good list of options.

I often pray the Hail Mary in times of need. The prayer has especially spoken to me since I became a mother myself and even more so around Christmas time as we prepare for the birth of her son, Jesus. So with all of those affected by the Newton, Connecticut tragedy:

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.

Amen

Thanksgiving 2012

2012-11-28T17:30:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving this year was very low key. And quiet. And exactly what we needed. We had Thanksgiving with my in-laws the weekend before the actual holiday and then I had the whooooooole week of Thanksgiving off.

It.was.GLORIOUS.

For 9 days I had no schedule to adhere to and no commitments other than to take care of C and hang out with Hubby G. On Thanksgiving day we cooked a turkey (sort of crazy for just us, but whatevs) and a few other small side dishes and called it good. Because we didn't have anywhere that we needed to go and no huge amounts of cooking that we had to do, we did a little shopping in the morning too.

For Black Friday Hubby G got up early to take advantage of a great deal on a gym membership (sort of random) for the both of us- we're now locked in for $15/month TOTAL for the two of us! PLUS they have childcare for $1/hour if we ever want to go at the same time and need someone to watch C! Definitely worth getting up early. After nabbing that deal though, Hubby G came home and we slowly got ready for the day and then headed out for some shopping after most of the craziness had subsided. And I shopped for skinny jeans.

We are planning on visiting my family for Christmas and word on the street is that basically every single member of my extended family will be in town, which hasn't happened in a really long time. It is going to be really fun and I'm definitely looking forward to it, but all those people means that it's going to be a little bit crazy too, so that makes me feel like between our quiet Thanksgiving and our fun and people-filled Christmas we'll have a good balance for the holiday season!

Skinny Jeans

2012-11-23T22:23:00.001-05:00

I bought skinny jeans for the first time today. I'm cheap and don't buy expensive jeans, so I got some from Old Navy for a cool $19. I hate buying pants, but jeans are slightly less painful because most stores actually carry them in long lengths (pretty much any store you go to doesn't carry any pants in long lengths- only regular and short lengths. It drives me insane.) So anyway, I found them in my size and length and they fit GREAT- woop woop!

I was on a pants-purchasing high, so I decided to at least look to see if the fun colors of the Rockstar style pants maybe, just MAYBE had longs in stock.

I found a pair! In my size! In a fun purple hue! And by some miracle, in LONG length!

Since they were a different style, I decided to try them on just to be sure I liked them.

Good choice.

As I tweeted earlier tonight, I don't understand why so many people like these pants.

Or why they're advertised as being "A Perfect Fit For Every Body"

I'm 5 foot 10 inches and wear a size 6. I'm not super skinny, but I would say I fall into the "lean" category. I'm only explaining that to give you some context. I tried on these pants (in a size 6- same size and brand as the jeans I had just tried on and fit fantastically) and they were crazy uncomfortable due to the fact that they were TIGHTER THAN SPANDEX. I mean, I clearly read the label that described them as "Super Skinny" so I knew they would be form fitting, but this was beyond form fitting.

So they obviously weren't for me, which is fine, but I just want to talk to one of the very many people who love these Old Navy Rock Star pants and find out if perhaps I'm doing something wrong?? I just don't get it!

De-Friending

2012-11-17T06:14:00.000-05:00

Ahh Facebook. I'm an addict and not shamed to admit it. There's not many things that will cause me to de-friend someone. There are plenty of people who post things that I don't agree with (the political posts are the worst- thank goodness the election is over!) but having a different opinion than my own won't cause me to de-friend someone. Because even if I don't agree with some of your opinions, I probably still like you or think your kid or dog is super cute. And some people post (in my opinion) totally ridiculous things, but I still find some entertainment value in either their posts or the comments that follow. Examples:

23 like and 8 comments...seriously??

But one thing that I just can't stand that WILL cause me to de-friend is being too complainy. I have one Facebook friend (really more like an acquaintance) who posts frequently complaining about her husband. A recent example:

(Referring to opening day for deer hunting season)

I just can't stand these kinds of posts- they're not constructive whatsoever. I even agree with the frustration- I think she totally deserves at least a "thank you". I understand the need to vent when frustrated, but a basically public forum like Facebook is simply not the place to do it. Sorry, but you have officially been de-friended.

If you've run across some awesomely ridiculous Facebook posts recently, please share!

Savvy and Sweet Recipes: Peanut Butter Pie

2012-11-16T20:11:00.001-05:00

This is one of my favorite recipes because it covers some pretty serious criteria for awesomeness:
-Delicious
-Easy
-Short prep time
-No baking involved
If that doesn't spell amazing, I don't know what does! I got this recipe from my mom. I brought this pie to my in-laws shortly after Hubby G and I started dating and it was a huge hit- so much so that it was requested that I bring it for Thanksgiving dinner this year! If you happen to be looking for an easy dessert recipe to have at your holiday feast this year, I highly recommend this one!
Ingredients:
(Makes 2 pies, but you can easily cut the recipe in half if you are crazy and only want one!)
16 oz. cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
2/3 creamy peanut butter
16 oz cool whip
2 graham or Oreo pie crusts
Mix cream cheese, sugar, milk, and peanut butter with a mixer until well blended.

Fold in Cool Whip.

Fill pie crusts.

Freeze for at least 1 hour (a few hours is probably best though)
That's it!!

I Survived Another Fall

2012-11-16T15:21:00.002-05:00

I've mentioned it before, but Fall is my absolute busiest time of the year. And I'm happy to announce that I've officially survived once again and will have slightly more time to try to write more!

The last three weeks were the peak of the craziness. I had a bunch of meetings during Week 1 of the three week blitz, then in week two I worked 50 hours including a big event all day on a Saturday.

Week 2 was also accompanied by a visit with my brother-in-law who lives out of state, a sick baby mid-week, and a sick me paired with a sick Hubby G the day before the aforementioned big event for work. Awesome timing. The good news is that my mother-in-law, mom, and sister were all in town at some point during the sickness, so we had some much needed help taking care of C when we were so ill.

Week 3 was prep time for an even bigger work event that spans 12+ hours and goes through the night. By 9 am on Saturday morning when I was back at home and collapsing into bed after 24+ hours with no sleep, I could not have been happier to say I was finally DONE with the craziness. I apologize if you follow me on Instagram because for the last two weeks I have bombarded my account with photos from said work events.

My desk has exploded.

So beginning NOW I am on a very well deserved vacation from work for the next 9 days and the prospect of doing NOTHING work-related for that amount of time is a bit of a shock since I have been working like a crazy lady lately.

So. excited!!!

Getting Back On Track

2012-10-08T21:00:00.001-04:00

I am out of shape yo.

I finally went for a run yesterday and it went something like this:

First 1/2 mile: feeling good! I'm glad I decide to hit the pavement today!

Second 1/2 mile: this is kind of hard when you haven't done it in months...

Third 1/2 mile: good grief, I'm glad I'm only going two miles today. Am I back home yet?

Last 1/2 mile: dying.

And my legs are sore today. And I had absolutely every intention of waking up early this morning and running again, but C woke up at 1:30 AM last night and didn't go back down in his crib until 2:30, so the hour less of sleep that I had planned on using for running got re-allocated to snuggling C. Not gonna lie, I wasn't too heartbroken about it. Snuggling is pretty darn awesome.

The other thing I'm trying to do is drink more water. I used to be awesome at drinking tons of water, but I know that lately I've been really terrible at at. So I bought myself a new water bottle today and my goal is to fill and empty it twice a day- 80 oz.

I foresee many trips to the bathroom in my future.

Thing is, my weight hasn't really changed. But I KNOW I'm out of shape. Like 'skinny-fat' which, I would more so classify myself as average vs. skinny, but whatever. The point is that I weighed myself the other day with my fancy body-fat analyzing scale and it said I'm 25% fat. NOT GOOD. That is in the high range for a female of my age and height.

So operation "get back in shape" is ON.

Amish Paradise

2012-09-27T20:56:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I took the day off of work and Hubby G, Cade, and I went down to Shipshewana, Indiana for a little day trip. I'd never been before, but Hubby G's family went all the time when he was growing up. It's Amish country with lots and lots of Amish families selling yummy food and there is also a huge flea market.

My favorite quirky flea market vendors:

These are dog strollers. Inside the vendor's tent was a huge array of small dog clothing, but the dog strollers outside really stole the show.

A booth selling nothing but scissors and scissor-like tools. Really? I had no idea a niche in the market even existed for this gentleman selling a whole booth's worth of scissors, but here you have it.

The flea market was so big it took us a good hour and a half to walk through it all, and according to Hubby G, there weren't even as many vendors as usual because it was late in the season.

After the flea market we checked out an Amish market and then headed to lunch at an Amish buffet restaurant. The food was delicious and Cade loved the homemade noodles. We made one more stop at the cheese factory before calling it a day and heading home.

Our haul from the day:

Flea market- giraffe artwork for Cade's room, quote board, 2 scarves for me, 3 bars of handmade soap, and (not pictured) Amish peanut butter, salsa, and pumpkin butter

Amish Bakery- Peanut butter cookies, pizza bread, pumpkin bread, homemade noodles

Cheese factory- Amish farmer's cheese and peanut butter fudge

For all of that AND including our lunch at the buffet restaurant we spent a grand total of $130. I thought that was pretty darn good! That's a lot of goodies we came back with! I definitely looking forward to going back next summer sometime when the flea market has even more treasures.

A Common Love...

2012-09-25T18:41:00.001-04:00

...of raspberries. The best fruit in the whole world (according to C and I)

Currently: 9.10.12

2012-09-10T18:22:00.001-04:00

Disliking: C's obsession with eyes. I don't know what the fascination is, but he LOVES sticking his fingers in our eyes. Or Colby's. Thank heavens that Colby is the most patient dog on earth. The worst part? Every time we sternly move his hands away from ours or Colby's eyes ad tell him some variation of "no" he just laughs at us like we're playing a game. So. Frustrating.

Drinking: V8 Splash or Blue Moon. Seriously, it's taken over our fridge:

Learning: how much I appreciate crock pot meals. I don't use my crockpot all that often because I only know a few recipes that I use it for, but man, it is SO nice to come home to dinner already done! If you have a favorite crockpot recipe for me to try, please post in the comments!!

Loving: how our cute little neighbor girls come over all the time and ask if C can come out to play. I have no idea why they think that he's so fun to play with since he's not even walking yet, but it's super cute regardless.

Managing: my schedule. The fall is the craziest time of year for me at work and my schedule is insanity. 8 more weeks: my countdown is on.

Dune Buggies

2012-09-07T18:48:00.001-04:00

Guys, I drove a dune buggy today! On actual sand dunes! It was crazy!

My whole office went to Silver Lake and rode around like crazy people on the sand dunes. I was not so sure about this to begin with because I am not a fan of driving fast without even a path to follow (I just don't get it...it's the same with jet ski's- I don't like them because I just don't get the point of driving around aimlessly. I know, it's kind of weird). Anyway, I actually had fun! My friend who was in the buggy with me had a similar opinion of dune buggies, so we were a good match. We started off slow at first, which resulted in us getting stuck three times in the first half hour. After that though, we got the hang of it and relaxed a bit.

The best part though was mid way through when our co-workers led us through this series of short but steep hills- definitely more our style! The big hills were just so huge and intimidating and we really didn't want to get stuck again, so this new route was perfect. We even (inadvertently) got some air over one of those hills! Such daredevils.

So, despite my initial reservations, I would totally recommend trying out a dune buggy if you ever get the opportunity. Apparently the ones we went to (in Silver Lake, Michigan) are the only ones east of the Mississippi, but I guess there are some big ones out west somewhere. Good times!

Currently

2012-08-17T13:49:00.003-04:00

Alright. It's been over a month since my last post and I don't feel guilty about it because I just haven't felt inspired and no one wants to read uninspired writing. I literally have eight different half-finished posts in my drafts that I started, but then was never motivated enough to finish. Also, we've been really busy doing fun family things, so that's a good trade-off in my book!

I have however, missed writing. So to get me back in the mode, I'm trying out the "Currently" link up. Here goes!

I'm Currently....

Happy about: The cooler weather! I HATE the heat. My yooper genetics were not made for it. Lately the temps have dropped to the 70's and I love it! Also, my cooler-weather wardrobe is much cuter. Honestly...I can't wait for it to snow. I know, to say such things is blasphemy for a lot of people but it's the truth.

Searching for: Some kind of console-ish piece of furniture for our main floor living room. I'd like to find something second-hand if possible. We have two open spots in our living room right near the entrance way and we really need a piece of furniture to help wrangle things like mail, keys, my purse, and other stuff like that. Right now, all those items just end up hanging out on our kitchen table and I would LOVE to have a place to put that stuff that's closer to the door. And a place to set down my cup of hot coffee in the morning while trying to hold C and open the door at the same time would be a HUGE upgrade as well!

Making: Lots of new recipes! I started using a new app/website called Food On The Table and I really like it. You can select your grocery store and it pulls the sale items every week so that you can find recipes that use the sale items. Then it automatically creates a grocery list for you based on the recipes that you picked! So far I've made: Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta, Pecan Crusted Chicken Breasts, and Crock Pot Roast Beef with Vegetables just to name a few.

Feeling: Anticipatory. Is that a real word? I think so...I didn't get the red squiggle lines underneath it, so it must be real. One of my busier times for work is coming up, but not quite here yet and I'm kind of excited for it to get here. I definitely love the break that comes with July and August in my job, but I also love the flurry of activity that the fall brings!

Going: Crazy trying to keep C away from the stairs! He just learned how to climb up them last weekend and now he's unstoppable. We have baby gates, but when we're down in our family room the gate is at the top of the stairs, so he's constantly making a bee line for them to practice his new-found climbing abilities. Even though it's kind of a pain to keep grabbing him and taking him away from the stairs, it's also pretty cool seeing how fast he's learning lately and moving around like crazy :)

Feels good to be writing again!

Having It All

2012-07-03T09:35:00.001-04:00

I think I've read around 5 articles now that are all reactions to The Atlantic article by Ann-Marie Slaughter entitled, "Why Women Still Can't Have It All" Several of the reaction articles that I read seem to boil it down to trying to define what success really is, and they make long winded analysis of the many different ways success can be measured and thought about. As I was reading these, although I found the articles interesting, I couldn't help but feel like they were just making things even more over-complicated. Because as I was reading I was thinking about how I define success and to me, it's pretty simple: happiness.

If you're happy, you've succeeded.

Really, doesn't that just make sense? I know, it's so simple that it smacks you in the forehead a bit, right? I totally get that "success" is measured in different ways for different people and it means different things to different people. But happiness isn't that complicated. I mean, sure, it can be complicated to figure out what exactly makes you happy and gets you to that place, but the actual state of being happy isn't complicated like "success" is.

I also understand that if we're being honest, sometimes we can have or do everything we need to create happiness for ourselves, but the one missing piece is recognition by others. Most days I feel like I "have it all"- I work at a very rewarding job helping others, I have quality time with my son and husband, and I'm really happy with how those things balance each other. But sometimes I wish someone would give me a big shiny star and say, "Wow! You work full time and cloth diaper and continue to breast feed your son past a year and on top of that you just ran 65 miles in 4 days! You are a SUPERWOMAN!"

Yes, it would be nice to hear that from someone. But on most days, I look at what I'm doing with my life and I'm happy with it and that's enough. I know that I'm doing all of those things and achieving my goals on my own timeframe and that doesn't make me any less of a superwoman. I have enough confidence and security in myself and my happiness to just make that declaration to myself and keep moving onward.

I think that a lot of people who try to fit into a definition of "success"-especially mothers- just end up unhappy, regardless of how well they meet an expectation of success. I don't care if you are a stay at home mom or a working mom or something in between- chances are, if you're trying to mold yourself into someone else's definition of success, you won't be happy. And the people around you who are making their own way and happy with it are going to wonder why the heck you make yourself jump through such crazy hoops.

Just relax. Be happy. Take life as it comes. Ahhh....success.

3 Years

2012-06-27T06:04:00.000-04:00

Today marks the 3 year wedding anniversary of Hubby G and I.

I can't believe how fast 3 years have flown by and how much has happened in 3 years!

We bought a house
We adopted a dog
We announced that we were expecting
I turned a quarter-century old
Our sweet baby boy was born
We learned how to be parents and while both working full time

...Plus a million other things! I think sometimes we feel like, "has it only been 3 years?!" because SO much has happened in those three years and other times we're like, "It's ALREADY been 3 years?!" Because as cheesy and mushy as it sounds, Hubby G and I are so in love and such a great team and I don't feel like any of that newlywed-honeymoon phase has really worn off. I'm so grateful to have found such an amazing partner in life who is so unconditionally supportive. In a world where divorce has become so commonplace, it's comforting to have someone by my side who believes that divorce isn't an option. And the reason that neither of us feel that it isn't an option is because we respect and love one another and we know that a relationship takes work. And it's ok to tell the other person that they're totally bugging you and driving you crazy. Some days are just like that. And sometimes all we need is just to say, "You are driving me crazy right now!!" followed up with, "I love you even when you drive me crazy. Now leave me alone."

Thank you for an amazing 3 years together Gabriel. I love you so much!

Strides For Life 2012

2012-06-22T10:35:00.001-04:00

On Sunday I finished up the amazing 4-day, 100-mile journey that is Strides For Life. I ended up running 65 miles of it and worked aid stations for the rest of the miles. My emotions are still running high from this amazing event, and I feel like it's hard to put it all into words, so I'll start by breaking it down by day.

The group just before heading out on Day 1

Day 1:
Thursday was hot and sunny. I was actually sick with a fever the day before and had a rough night, which is why I chose to work aid stations during the 2nd and 5th legs of the day. It was so fun to see all my Strides friends together again though. Many of these people only see each other just these 4 days a year, but you would never know it. Everyone is just like family and picks up right where they left off from the year before.

Day 2:
I decided that I was going to try to run the full day and I made it! Temperatures were in the high 80's, but the frequent aid stations made it bearable. After leg 4 I decided to walk the last leg because it was a short one and I could tell I was dehydrated and overheated. I actually ended up catching a ride for the last mile because I could just tell that I was over doing it. Sure enough, I was nauseous and sick by the time I got home. I decided right then and there that I wouldn't run at all on Day 3 just so I could give myself time to recover and rehydrate.

Day 3:
Even though I felt much better, I knew I wasn't totally rehydrated, so I stuck with my plan to work the aid stations all day. I really like working the aid stations because it's fun to cheer for people, so I didn't mind it one bit! It was another scorcher with temps in the low 90's, so it was definitely a good decision to take it easy.

Day 4:
My goal was to run the full 25 miles on this final day, and I'm happy to report that I made it! The morning started off overcast and rainy, which for a group of runners that already had 75 miles in high heat under their belts, was a definite blessing! The absolute best thing about day 4 is the last little bit of the run. Everyone meets just a little way from the official finish and puts on their new Strides For Life t-shirt, has a popsicle, and then finishes the last bit of the 100 mile journey TOGETHER as one big group. It's powerful, emotional, stuff.

At the end there's also a picnic for all the runners plus their family and friends who have gathered to see them finish this epic journey. You would think that the greatest feeling flowing from the group would be relief that they made it through the 100 miles and they're done with it for the year, but something else that's actually quite remarkable happens. I can only speak for myself, but my most immediate feeling was that I was trying to hold on and savor every last second with this amazing group of people. I didn't want it to be over. Who runs 100 miles and doesn't want it to be over?!? These people. I'm not saying that everyone was ready to run another 100 miles right then and there (or even another 5!), but this group of people is truly a family. They refer to themselves as the "Strides family" in a non-nonchalant, off-hand way, but there is more meaning and conviction behind that than I could ever put into words. It reminds you what that family feeling really is- something that's hard to put into words and doesn't need to be put into words anyway. You can just feel that it's there.

This year at the picnic, a beautiful handmade quilt that was made by one of our runners was presented to another runner. The runner that received it lost his wife a little over a year ago to cancer. Every single time I think about this moment at the picnic I get choked up and tears immediately come to my eyes. His wife ran Strides with us 2 years ago- my first year participating- between her cancer treatments, so she was truly a part of the Strides family. At the time things were looking good, but a little over a year ago things took a turn for the worse. All of us had signed this quilt and when it was presented to him, the chair of Strides said, "We know it's been a tough year for you and your family, but whenever you feel like you need a hug, you can wrap this quilt around you and have a hug from your Strides family." I don't think there was a dry eye there. The pain of losing a family member- even if part of this unconventional Strides family was heavy in all of our hearts, but at the same time, we were all so glad to be able to be there for this runner and let him know that we're all here for him and we will all continue to fight back in his wife's memory and do whatever we can to change the cancer future.

I had the tough job of following up that emotional moment with a few words and I knew going into it that there was little chance that I would get through it without crying myself. Even though I've talked through my message several times before and I'd practiced it several times before, I still got emotional. To me, there's absolutely no reason not to get emotional. My message was this: Current statistics tell us that 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women WILL BE affected by cancer at some point in their lives. To me, that means that my husband or my son will one day hear those terrible words, "you have cancer" and that thought just breaks my heart. I never want either of them to go through a cancer diagnosis. So if there is absolutely anything that can be done now to change that cancer future, it's definitely worth doing. It is because of people like these runners who participate in Strides For Life and raise money for the American Cancer Society that lives are being changed- lives are being saved. Sometimes it feels like there's so little we can do, but when we come together we are stronger than cancer ever will be. Between the funds raised and the bonds formed within this special group of people, we are sending cancer a strong message: We will not give up. We will fight back, and we will change the cancer future.

If anyone is still interested in making a donation, please click here! We've already raised $20,000 and would love to continue adding to that total to save more lives faster.