Running with Racheal

Ants

2013-05-22T06:10:00.001-05:00

I can't stop itching

Yesterday we found an army of ants in our pantry. After work Abby and I emptied out the ENTIRE pantry, wiped every item down, and put it back.

Usually, I am happy to have a fully stocked pantry. Yesterday, not so much.

I think we found the culprit - a halfway opened bottle of syrup hiding in the back. I am the only one who has used that syrup, so the only logical answer in that the ants opened the lid.

Ever since seeing those ants i feel like they are crawling all over me. I feel a tickle on my leg, look down, and there is nothing there. Ick.

Any advice on getting rid of ants? We have had a lot of rain lately, so I think that brings them in the house. The exterminator is the last option - I don't want Ina around all those nasty fumes.

In other news - want to come over for dinner? I have a lot of food in my pantry.

In other, other news, Ina found her feet.

Or I should say, she found out they can reach to her mouth.

Looks like we have to stop painting her toes for a while.

Eats

Breakfast - a delicious green monster smoothie

In the mix - 1.5 frozen bananas, 2 handfuls of fresh spinach, 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder, 1/2 C greek yogurt, 1 C skim milk, 1 T peanut butter

Lunch: turkey, spinach, and hummus on a bagel thin with cottage cheese and pineapple

Snack: I grabbed a few handfuls of things in the pantry (and checked for ants) - mixed nuts, raisins, and butterscotch chips

Dinner - salad and stuffed peppers following this recipe

Thought for the day

Allergies

2013-05-21T06:36:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I shamelessly carried a roll of toliet paper from the bathroom back to my desk.

I didn't have allergies for most of my life - however, I think I am hitting the jackpot now. Ugh.

The past few days have been yucky - coughing, sneezing, running nose, scratchy throat.

Gross.

Dan has always had allergies, so he is weirdly happy that I now get to join in his misery. After both coughing and sneezing, we take turns "shhshhing" each other to not wake Ina.

Could someone please send a lifetime supply of tissues to our house?

I tried to run yesterday with Ina, but soon found that I couldn't breathe, so I called it at 2.5 miles.

Today I am taking an extra rest day - and any medication I can find that doesn't cross into breast milk.

Because I can't let a second of my life go without being captured on the blog - on Sunday my family met to celebrate my niece (weird to say - still getting used to Matt and Cindy being married!) Jayelin's birthday. Here are a few pictures:

(Hi Amanda!)

I love birthday parties - an extra day to have the family around.

Eats

Breakfast - my first smoothie of the season! In the mix: 1.5 frozen bananas, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 C frozen berries, 1/2 C Greek yogurt, 1 C skim milk, 1 T peanut butter.

This baby kept me full until lunch.

Lunch - cottage cheese and fresh pineapple with a sweet potato that I stuck in the microwave

Snack - handful of mixed nuts

Dinner - buffalo chicken and potato casserole following *this recipe*

Girls on the Run Race 2013

2013-05-20T06:29:00.001-05:00

Saturday was my first (of hopefully very many) Girls on the Run events.

Like my cheer buddy cape?

The day ended great, but started out, well, interesting.

First, Dan and I were in a tiff. I don't remember how it started or ended, but the middle involved the task of collapsing the BOB stroller to fit it in the back of my car.

Dan thought the wheels should come off.

I looked up a video on YouTube.

After putting the wheels back on we were good to go.

As soon as we arrived at the event Ina had the biggest blowout to date. Not kidding - the stuff was in her ears. We had to strip her down in the parking lot.

After quickly feeding Ina, picking up my packet, and saying hi to my friends Ashley and Liz I met up with my team.

I met a new girl who I was assigned to run with and supervise before the event. Her name was Emily. Emily asked if she could get her hair spray painted. I secretly wanted mine pained too, so away we went.

After waiting in line for 5 minutes Emily and I were next up. I turned down to ask her what color she wanted to get and saw that Emily had her hand over her face and blood dripping out of it.

I almost fainted (not a blood girl) but then pulled myself together and realized she just had a bloody nose. There was a lot of blood. A lot.

I tried to tell her everything was going to be OK and hurried her to find the first aid station. After asking so many people I finally found the ambulance with a few EMTs who were assigned to the race. They helped clean her off and hold her nose, but even after 10 minutes the bleeding wasn't stopping. One of the EMTs said something about going to the hospital.

Yikes.

The only thing I knew was Emily's first name. Emily knew her last name, but not much else. She didn't know her phone number, her address, etc. I couldn't find her coach in the pack of people. I slightly freaked out, but finally found the race director who was able to look up her information just as her coach happened to see us. Whew.

Emily was a tough girl, but as soon as she saw her coach, someone she knew, she broke down in tears. Poor thing.

By this time the race had already started, but the race director instructed me to meet the race and go "randomly cheer on girls."

I met up with the race around the one mile mark and immediately had goosebumps covering my body. There was so much excitement as girls, women, men, and the rare boy raced around me, cheering each other on. It was so great to see everyone working together. I loved it.

After jogging around by myself for a bit, I found a few girls who didn't have any adults with them and ran with them the rest of the way.

One of the girls was having a hard time finishing. It was hard to know how much to push and encourage her to run. I had already taken one kid to the ambulance, I didn't want to take another. It didn't really matter though, because once we saw the finish line, she was a trooper and finished strong.

I don't have words to describe the look of excitement / accomplishment / pride she had on her face.

I can't wait until next season. Hopefully I will be able to go to a few more practices and get to know my team a little more.

If you have a GOTR around you, I would strongly encourage you to sign up / volunteer to do something. Obviously, there is always a story to tell.

Pictures from Ina's First Time Eating Cereal

2013-05-19T08:00:00.001-05:00

Ina's first foodie pic.

She was pretty excited

She loved it - didn't even spit any out.

She kept on trying to grab the bowl and or spoon.

She thought she could do it herself.

I can't wait to see what other foods she loves!

Click here for the video - it is worth watching just to see her excitement. :)

My Weight Watchers Simply Filling Review

2013-05-17T06:28:00.001-05:00

Good Morning! Everyone do the Friday dance with me!

This week went by like a tortoise for me - anyone else?

Today I am posting my review of Weight Watcher's Simple Filling plan - their alternative to the calculating points plan. Howevever, it is a bit anti-climactic because my diet didn't really change. I was already eating fruit, veggies, lean protein, and whole grains. I used the same recipes I have always used and substituted power food options when I could.

What did change was my attitude. It was so nice to change things up and not feel the need to calculate the points of everything I was eating, and then add up what I had eaten the entire day.

I have to be honest here and say that I completely stopped calculating points / tracking. Although the SF plan includes doing so for non-power foods, I instead ate those in moderation and ate until I was satisfied.

Let me say that again - I ate in moderation and until I was satisfied. I have been trying to lose weight since I have been breathing and never, ever in my life have I been able to eat in moderation without measuring / calculating points.

I wish I could point to what changed, and the only thing I can think of is that I am getting the nutrients that I need by eating mostly power foods, so my body doesn't feel the need to overeat or binge.

In the six weeks I have followed SF, I have lost 6 pounds. I know that isn't ground-breaking to most, but a pound a week is recommended when nursing. Anything more could impact my supply and I don't know what I would do if Ina's rolls started disappearing.

Seriously - don't her arms look like sausage casings?!? They are so cute I could just eat them!

Here are some other positives I found about SF:

Less calculating. I do know however, as I get closer to my goal weight, I will have to be a little more strict with tracking non power foods
So much nutrition! I had no problem meeting all of the good health guidelines everyday.
I weirdly rarely craved dessert - I cannot say the same for a glass of wine.
SF is truly not a "diet" but a lifestyle. I could eat like this for the rest of my life and be a happy camper.

A few negatives:

I jumped off the artificial sweetener train a long time ago - but WW hasn't yet. Although SF allows things like diet soda or fat free yogurt flavored with artificial sweetener, I chose not to eat those and hardly consider them "power foods."
I love fat free milk, yogurt, and half and half. I can tolerate fat free sour cream. I don't do fat free cheese, so instead I had low-fat (in moderation) and it worked out just fine.
I also don't think the low-calorie bread options are all that great nutrition-wise. As Dan says, it is just like eating air. So, when I choose to have bread, which isn't that often, I have a "real" piece of whole wheat.

Some SF resources:

The Weight Watchers Website

Danica's Daily - a blogger who reports everything she eats and follows SF (and lives close to Nappa Valley - so jealous!)

Carol's SF Creations - a old-school recipe blog. I love it!

Lastly, I have a disclaimer. Although I am currently happy with the SF plan, I am sure that I will go back to calculating points later on in life. I think calculating points / tracking is a great option for losing weight and would recommend it to anyone. I am going to steal Katie's term and say this is a weight-loss project, and right now SF is the tool I am using to get it done.

Have a great weekend!

My Tri Checklist

2013-05-16T06:27:00.001-05:00

Good morning! Just a quick post before I head into my (early!) WW meeting.

As it turns out, training for a triathalon takes a lot of planning and preparation. Unlike running, where, for the most part, I can put on a pair of tennis shoes and walk out my front door.

I posted this list the other day on Instagram.

I haven't gotten very far, except that I do have a (free!) bike / trainer. Now I just need to learn how to use it. No biggie.

Last night Courtney and her fam came over for dinner and she was nice enough to lend me a few tri suit / outfit / leotard things.

Next on the list - sign up for a gym membership and get in the pool. I am also thinking of signing up for a Masters swimming class, as it has been quite a few years since I have swam for sport, but where does a girl find the time?

Eats

Breakfast - hard boiled egg sandwhich while feeding Ina - multi-tasking!

Lunch - shrimp - quinoa salad with cottage cheese and pineapple

Dinner - spinach artichoke dip chicken following this recipe with whole wheat spaghetti and roasted green beans.

The picture does not do it justice!

Courtney brought over angel food cake with strawberries and ice cream for dessert.

Super yum!

Run

Ina and I squeezed out 2.5 miles - we ran out of time!

Have a good Friday-eve! :)

Will this Matter in 5 Years?

2013-05-15T06:38:00.001-05:00

Lately, I have been getting very upset with myself so I am trying to practice asking the following questions:

Will this matter in 5 years? Will this matter in one year? Will this matter tomorrow?

The answer is always no.

Like when I misplaced Ina's Royals sweat-suit pants that match her jacket that she wore to her first game. I tore apart the whole house looking for them. We still can't find them.

Although she did look really cute in her jeans.

Or when last night, I made stir fry for dinner. It was ready and Dan wasn't home, so I put the pan on low with the lid on and went to read Ina some nursery rhymes. When Dan walked through the door he asked what was burning, and sure enough, the sauce I had made was a black tar at the bottom of the pan.

In case you are wondering, it takes a lot of soy sauce and sriracha to mask the flavor of "burnt."

Or when I hop / run down the stairs with my coffee cup in my hand and spill coffee on the stairs and myself. Then do the same exact thing the next day.

Grrrr! I get more mad at myself than I do anyone else, and even though I know that all of these are very minor, at the moment I want to scream.

Please tell me I am not alone. What do you do to forgive yourself?

This always makes me feel better.

Exercise

After I completed the Fluidity video I was still feeling antsy, because I hadn't run since Sunday. So Ina and I went out for a slow 3 miles.

She loved it so much she fell asleep - holding her plastic keys.

Other Eats

Breakfast - overnight oats with bananas and leftover baklava filling

Lunch - greek taco filling, tzatziki, quinoa, and a cucumber.

Thought for the day

(source)

Tri Something New Week 1: Barre

2013-05-14T06:51:00.001-05:00

It has been a great morning so far.

I woke up to a Kansas City win on my phone,

I actually remembered to pre-set my coffee maker last night and didn't have to blindly fumble with the darn thing to get my caffeine fix, and I have this contraption in my living room.

In the spirit of trying something new each week I asked my friend / neighbor / running partner if I could borrow her fluidity bar / DVD for the day.

I have read great things about barre-type workouts and knew this would be high on the list of new things to try.

I popped in the DVD and because I am blindly optimistic, I channeled my inner-ballerina (she was very hard to find) and started at the intermediate level. Twenty minutes later I was trembling.

Pros:

Low impact - but don't let that fool you. Low impact does not equal low effort. Because I run I have strong legs and they were doable, but the core / ab portion of the video had me crying.
Low key - I could get used to waking up to this type of soothing working with multiple rest periods for stretching. I was even able to do the workout in my pajamas. Ha!
All over workout - arms, abs, core, and even my legs are tired this morning

Cons

This is mostly a strength workout - my heart rate stayed pretty low the entire time, which was nice in some ways, but I would always complement this with a run or some type of cardio. (As opposed to JM videos - she has your heart pounding for 20 minutes straight.)
Moola - I know the fluidity system is super expensive (Thanks Kim for letting me borrow it!), and barre classes in Kansas City are $20 a pop.

Want to try a barre workout at home for free? The Fitnessista has a video you can try - all you need is a chair.

Eats

Breakfast - I "repurposed" my grandma's coconut iced Devil's food cake by adding Greek yogurt, strawberries and bananas.

Lunch was leftover Greek taco filling with quinoa, a diced cucumber, and tzatziki sauce.

Dan made spaghetti for dinner while I worked and we enjoyed it on the back patio.

Thought for the day

(source)

My Mother's Day Presents

2013-05-13T07:27:00.001-05:00

Good morning and Happy Mother's Day (one day late)!

Here a few of the "gifts" I received.

- A 10 mile run. Now I know that might not sound like much of a gift, but anytime I have almost 2 hours to myself that isn't for work or grocery shopping is pretty amazing these days.

(This guy lives on my long country route and follows me at least 4 miles.) Although I love the time I get to run, I miss my little family so much when I am gone!

- After the 10 mile run I came home, pushed mowed my back yard, and deemed myself worn-out enough to drink a beer in the shower.

Who needs the spa or a massage when you can have a cold refreshing Bud Light Lime next to the dog shampoo?

- Saturday night we went to dinner with friends at a newer restaurant in Kansas City- Louie's Wine Dive. I am a fan. Any place that has kegs of wine AND sriracha on the menu is great in my book. Thanks to Dan's family for watching Ina!

- Sunday after church I had 20 guests at my house to celebrate some of the moms in our family. We had a Greek menu:

Greek tacos following this recipe

Panzanella following this recipe

Baklava cups following this recpe

My mom made moussaka and brought hummus and pita chips. Many brought dessert. It was delish.

- After lunch was the best gift of all. Sitting in the backyard with my family on a beauitful day well into the evening.

Talking.

Driving.

Throwing the frisbee.

Playing washers.

It was a great first mother's day.

Pictures from Ina's First Royals Game

2013-05-11T06:54:00.001-05:00

Girls on the Run

2013-05-10T06:47:00.001-05:00

Good morning and Happy Friday!

On Wednesday after work I drove across the city to an urban elementary school for my first Girls on the Run practice. I volunteered to be a cheer buddy for the race next weekend, was assigned to a team, and invited to a practice to meet the girls.

Have you heard of Girls on the Run? I hadn't until I was introduced to the blog world.

For those of you who don't know, Girls on the Run is (from their website):

Girls on the Run® is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to creating a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams.

Meeting twice a week in small teams of 8-20 girls, we teach life skills through dynamic, interactive lessons and running games. The 24-lesson curriculum is taught by certified Girls on the Run coaches and includes three parts: understanding ourselves, valuing relationships and teamwork and understanding how we connect with and shape the world at large.

Running is used to inspire and motivate girls, encourage lifelong health and fitness, and build confidence through accomplishment. Important social, psychological, and physical skills and abilities are developed and reinforced throughout the program. At each season's conclusion, the girls and their running buddies complete a 5k running event which gives them a tangible sense of achievement as well as a framework for setting and achieving life goals. The result—making the seemingly impossible, possible, and teaching girls that they can.

I had no idea what to expect as the secretary to the school buzzed me in the front door. I randomly walked around the school and a young girl stopped as she was skipping to bathroom and asked, "Are you looking for the Girls on the Run practice?" and directed me to the gym.

As soon as I walked into the gym, I found seven girls sitting on the gym floor decorating posters. (Not exactly what I had pictured for running practice, but I went with it.) I was introduced as their special guest, handed a snack (Special K with dried fruit in a ziplock bag), and told to make a poster for the practice 5K the following week. I immediately had girls handing me a pair of scissors, a marker, and some paint.

In the next hour I made eight new friends.

Kiana, who wants to start going by KK because she "needs" a nickname, shares my birthday month. A fact she found so intriuiging that she told the coach, all the other girls, and her mom. She also sang a song for me. A song that she found the courage to sing in front of 400 people after starting Girls on the Run.

Jessie, who loved the fact that she has the same name as my sister and had the most decorated poster.

Abby, who wasn't in the gym when I arrived, but huffed in later because she had to go home to grab her running shoes.

KeKe (not to be confused with KK) and her older sister Kiya wore jeans and dress shoes to practice. However, that didn't stop them from beating the socks off of me in my running clothes and shoes as we raced around the parking lot (no track at this school) stopping at each lap to write a positive note on their teammates posters.

Mikia had a smart phone with an app that allowed her to take care of a baby. We bonded over the progress our babies were making. Her baby, Toby, can roll over and giggles when you touch his belly. He is slightly more advanced than Ina, but I tried not to get jealous.

Trinity wore noise canceling headphones as she huffed around the parking lot. She was in the zone. I did stop to help her after her shoelace was stuck on the fence and talked to her about her dad and her YaYa (grandma).

Piper was the orator of the group. At the end of the practice, we all joined hands and gave each other congratulations. Like a politician, she started, "I want to thank both the group and some individuals..."

It was a great practice. After just one hour I could really see the benefits these girls were receiving. They were polite. They helped each other. They were positive. Not all of them ran the entire time, but they were moving the entire time.

I shouldn't be surprised. Running has helped me so much, why shouldn't it help the younger generation?

I am so looking forward to the race next weekend. This is a movement worth supporting.

I can't wait to get more involved during the Fall season.

http://www.girlsontherun.org/

Team Tri Something New

2013-05-09T07:04:00.001-05:00

I am a runner.

I love running.

I love it so much that I rarely do anything else. Other than the occasional Jillian Michaels video my only other option is lacing my shoes and hitting the pavement.

I have known for a long time that I need to break out of my fitness shell. It is waaayy too comfortable in here.

FitFluential and Under Armour challenged me with the What's Beautiful campaign I made the crazy deicision to sign up for a triathalon.

Did you think of a challenge for yourself yet? If not, no worries.

Kim from Living, Laughing and Losing and I have thought of one for you.

Join us in the challenge to try one new type of fitness each week! Come on, it will be fun.

To join our team, click here.

If you try something new, send us a picture and a description of what you did and we will feature it in a wrap-up post.

I see playing hopscotch in my future.

Or maybe synchronized swimming. Who knows?

Working from Grandma's

Abby, Ina, and I drove down to my grandma's hosue last night to meet our cousins.

(Hallaway rocking her "baby Ina")

I will never get over seeing my babies kiss each other.

Is there anything sweeter?

What I've Been Eating Lately

2013-05-08T06:52:00.001-05:00

Poor Ina had a fever last night.

I came home from my run and started to feed her. When she felt hot to my touch after I ran 4 miles I knew something was up. I calmly put the thermometer in her ear and it beeped back 101.2.

Minor, I know, but the first time I have seen anything above 98.7 with my baby girl. I called the Children's Mercy nurses desk, texted my sister, and gave her some Tylenol.

Long story short - if she is breathing fine and the temperature doesn't get above 102 she probably has a little virus or is teething.

I gave her some Tylenol and stripped her down to her diaper. Ten minutes later you wouldn't know she had a fever - she was squealing, playing, and laughing.

Whew.

I owe you guys a complete review of Simply Filling, and I still plan to do it, but I thought I would add now that I haven't been putting food pics because I have been eating the same thing over and over again. Besides the Cinco de Mayo indulgence or the occasional Pop Tart (why can't I quit those?) I have been staying on track.

Overnight oats for breakfast. My new favorite combo is strawberries and walnuts.

I ate yesterday's while working on my back porch.

Carb + protein + veg / fruit for dinner.

(quinoa, salsa chicken, refried beans and enchilada sauce with cottage cheese and pineapple)

Salad + baked potato + Italian chicken for dinner (plus vino).

Snacks: oranges, carrots, hard boiled eggs, and popcorn.

Exercise

I have been pretty consistent on my running - even though I have had to switch to the evening. Little Miss wakes up for the day at 6ish, so I am all tied up until after work.

Sometimes I take her with me, which combines my two loves and is the best thing in the world!

Stay tuned tomorrow for an exciting challenge on switching things up.

What's Beautiful

2013-05-07T06:39:00.001-05:00

Question: What is beautiful?

The dictionary's answer:

beau·ti·ful

adj.

1. Having qualities that delight the senses, especially the sense of sight.

2. Excellent; wonderful.

Society's answer:

[source]

My answer:

(Inster and me after our 3 mile run yesterday. She has her "in the run zone" face on.)

I am so excited to team up with FitFluential and Under Armour to participate in UA's What's Beautiful Challenge.

What's Beautiful is a community and a competition to redefine the female athlete. (Sorry fellas, this is for ladies only.)

To show the world that we are beautiful. I love it!

Under Armour is calling female athletes to challenge themselves in a big way and then use the What's Beautiful community to motivate them and guide them through that challenge.

This is so awesome and exciting!

Just entering the What's Beautiful website gave me goosebumps as I saw all the women who were working to take themselves to the next level.

My challenge? After thinking long and hard on what would truly challenge me I have decided to participate in a triathlon.

Yikes.

Eeek.

Oh my.

I can't believe I am doing this, but this is the beauty of What's Beautiful. To push myself out of my running comfort zone.

What to join this awesome community of ladies? What to challenge yourself?

Pick a challenge. It can be anything. Want to run a mile? Want do 100 pushups? Want to master a yoga pose? What to climb to the top of Pike's Peak?

You CAN do it.

Bonus - if you participate you are eligible to win tons of cool prizes including Under Armour gear and a TRIP to COSTA RICA.

I hope you join us! If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

Puppies - Want One?

2013-05-06T06:51:00.001-05:00

I think there is an equation that shows that the cuteness of puppies increases exponentially by how many puppies there are.

One puppy is cute.

Seven puppies are mega cute (or cute^7, whichever you prefer).

A puppy and a baby?

Cute x infinity.

My dad's dogs had 7 brittany spaniel puppies and yesterday the family went out to play with them.

These puppies are a few months old, and up until now I have tried to keep my distance. I already have 2 dogs and 2 kids to take care of (counting Dan).

A puppy just wouldn't work.

But, those puppy eyes put a spell on me.

Please save me.

We have two pure bred brittany spaniel girl puppies (pictured below) that are still available - for free.

Want one? Email me at racheal@runningwithracheal.com.

Other than playing with puppies, we went through the usual grandma's house shennanigans.

Good food for Cinco de Mayo.

Playing on the horse swing.

Talking with the family.

(Thanks for the super-cute outfit Parsons family!)

Dan also went "shopping" at a house that is getting ready for an auction. He was there for 3 hours.

I am now the proud owner of a cabinet with a hole in it and a $20 refrigerator. Yipee.

I hope you have a great week!

SmarteRita Review + Birthday Weekend

2013-05-05T06:32:00.001-05:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I thought we could celebrate together by enjoying a (healthier) marg.

When I was contacted to try SmarteRita I couldn't send the reply email fast enough!

Why? I love almost any margarita, but this one is only 100 calories for 4 oz. and is made with only natural flavors and colors, including agave as a sweetener.

With one sip I knew I was a fan, it was sweet, but not too sweet (a margarita requirement for me). Very refreshing. It did, after all, help me to put together Ina's jumperoo.

To top things off, I was also sent the SkinnyGirl margarita to compare. Although I liked the SkinnyGirl too, it had more of an aftertaste and tasted "diet" while SmarteRita tasted more like a margarita I would order at a restaurant.

Dan tasted SmarteRita and said, "That actually tastes like a margarita!" He was not a fan of SkinnyGirl.

Abby liked SkinnyGirl better, although, to be fair, she is a Bethany Frankel fan. Ha!

I also sometimes order a "homemade" skinny margarita - tequila with a little bit of triple sec and a splash of lime juice. If you order be careful- this drink packs a punch!

Cheers!

Other news

- This has been a birthday weekend so far. Friday night we celebrated my friend Meghan's birthday with some Indian food takeout.

Yesterday was my niece Hallaway's first birthday party.

She received 45 different outfits and will having a rocking summer wardrobe. I have decided I am going to have a first birthday party. You are all invited!

- Jillian Michaels on Friday + 9 hilly miles on Saturday = sore legs on Sunday. My legs are so sore this morning that when I looked at the stairs, I seriously contemplated falling down them so I wouldn't have to bend my knees. Today will be a needed and appreciated rest day!

- Obligatory Ina Mae picture (with my cousin Ashley).

I wouldn't want you guys to forget what she looks like!

Questions of the Day

Who makes your favorite margarita? I am a Margaritaville girl through and through - nothing beats sitting on the Vegas strip in the sun sipping on a marg with a night full of Pai Gow in my future.

Are you doing anything to celebrate this 5th of May? After church we headed to my grandparents' for some more family fun.

Can Someone Teach Me How to Make Coffee?

2013-05-04T06:50:00.001-05:00

After a 3 year relationship, I had to break up with my Keurig.

It was time.

Out with the old.

In with the new.

As I carried my Keurig down to the basement I said a silent thanks for all the early mornings and cold Winters it got me through.

I LOVED my Keurig. It was perfect for me to drink one cup of coffee in the morning on my way out the door. But now things have changed - with two coffee drinkers living in the house and me working from home two days a week, it didn't make sense to make coffee one cup at a time. It was a waste of both money and resources.

And, there is a little problem.

I don't know how to make coffee. Cue gasp.

I try, I really do. But it always tastes burnt, too weak, or too strong, or the coffee maker overflows. One time, when I was the first one awake at my grandma's house, I tried to make a pot and ended up breaking her coffee maker. She seriously had to order a new one.

This time, I am determined. Any tips? Specifically, what are your water to coffee ratios? I feel like what is suggested in the directions is so much!

I am also excited to be able to try different types of coffee and not be limited to the packaged K-cups. Any favorite suggestions? I recently brewed this and love it!

I hope you have a lovely weekend. Any big plans? I have a long run date with Kim and then we are going to Hallaway's first birthday party. Remember when she was born? How has it already been a year?

My 5 Favorite Things about Five Months

2013-05-03T06:41:00.001-05:00

1. Bath time

Ina thinks she is the luckiest 5 month old in the world because she gets to go to the spa every night.

Or at least every night the kitchen sink is empty enough that her pink tub can fit. (I will be honest and say that some nights Ina takes a shower with daddy just because I can't stand the thought of unloading the dishwasher and loading it again.)

Anyways, the second Ina hears her bathwater running she gets in this relaxed zone. We put her in the tub and she pulls the faucet closer to her so the water will pour down her belly. She props her legs over the side and sinks as low as she can in the water without her mouth going under. In fact, I am constantly having to scoot her back up so she doesn't go under.

I try to splash the water and get her excited, and for a few seconds she is, but then she reverts back to her relaxed zone. So, for the most part, we just let her stay there and calm down enough to go to sleep.

2. The incredible rate she is growing

One night all of her 3 month sleepers fit. The next night none of them did. Now Ina is rocking the off-the-shoulder look.

She has one 6 month sleeper, which she initiated with a diaper blow-out after wearing it for an hour. Aunt Jess, if you are reading this, we are ready for the next size of Hallaway's clothes.

3. Her attentiveness

Ina sees everything around her now. She loves watching the dogs play. She notices people as they walk by. She appears to watch baseball games with us. She is most interested in anything we are putting in our mouths. She stares at us while we eat, and every once in a while her little jaw moves up and down with mine while I am chewing. She also loves watching us drink and has an extra fondness for my Disney princess coffee cup. When I am feeding her, I try to sneak a drink, but every time she stops eating and follows the cup. Eventually, I gave in.

I want to hold off on solid foods as long as possible, although I don't know how much longer we can wait. Her doctor gave us the go-ahead a month ago, but I want to try to get as close as we can to the 6 month exclusively breast fed mark. She is sleeping through the night for the most part, so I don't see a need to start solids right away.

4. Her kitchen help

I am sure you have noticed from all the pictures I post that Ina loves to hang out in the kitchen with me while I cook. I sit her in her Bumbo and then try to do most tasks close by.

I try to tell her about everything I am doing and hand her anything she seems extra interested in (except knives).

5. Putting Ina to sleep.

I had dreams of having a baby that I could put in her crib, close the door, and she would fall asleep within a few minutes. However, all the adult attention she gets has made her used to getting "put to sleep" on the reg. I don't mind too much.

Once I find the magical combination of bouncing, humming, patting, and rocking, Ina starts making this sucking / smacking sound that she uses to self-soothe. Dan and I love that sound and have tried to recreate it without success (probably because we have teeth). Then, a few moments later, her rigid body gives in. She completely conforms to my chest and her breathing gets heavier. I know without even looking at her that her eyes are closed and her mouth is open. This would be the perfect opportunity to put her down and do one of the thousand things I have to do, but I usually soak in that sweetness for at least a few minutes. My favorite is after her 4 am feeding - the world is still so quiet and I literally try to breathe her in.

Love Songs to Ina Mae 5 Months - My Girl

2013-05-02T06:32:00.001-05:00

I've got sunshine on a cloudy day

When it's cold outside, I've got the month of May

I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way

My girl. My girl. My girl.

Talkin' 'bout my girl.

My girl.

I've got so much honey the bees envy me

I've got a sweeter song than the birds in the trees

I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way

My girl. My girl. My girl.

Talkin' 'bout my girl.

My girl.

I don't need no money, fortune, or fame

I've got all the riches baby one man can claim

I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way

My girl. My girl. My girl.

Talkin' 'bout my girl.

My girl.

My New Boyfriend?

2013-05-01T05:46:00.001-05:00

Joe is getting a worried.

I met a new guy.

His name is B.O.B and I think I am in love.

Last night was our first official family walk with the B.O.B stroller and the pups.

When we put Ina in the B.O.B she was a little fussy. Dan quickly had the idea to walk with the dogs in front of the stroller so she could watch them.

She was in a trance for the next hour. She loved it!

However, we were a little ambitious in our distance and were about a mile away from home when Ina's "I'm hungry" cry started.

I have been wanting to test out the stroller while jogging - Ina's head / neck have been strong for quite sometime.

So, as necessity is the mother of invention, we left Dan and the dogs to get home a little faster. Within seconds of moving at a jogging pace Ina was asleep.

I ended up stopping and waiting for the rest of the fam to catch up, but I was so happy to know that we can now jog together!

I see many late morning or early evening runs in our future. Although, I can safely rule out the possibility of taking Ina with me on a long run, at least for now. Mr. B.O.B is quite heavy.

We ended up covering over 3 miles AND Dan even finished it out with a light jog. I was one proud momma.

Eats

Breakfast - overnight oats with frozen berries and crunchy PB

Lunch - leftover turkey burgers, sweet potato fries, and roasted green beans.

(With every bite of that amazing turkey burger I was more assured that I made the right choice when picking a husband. It was that good.)

Dinner - before our walk I chopped up the veggies to make this cabbage salad (but used half the called for dressing) and then invented a little Mexican pizza.

For two pre-made whole wheat pizza crusts I mixed together a can of refried beans and a can of enchilada sauce to use as the "sauce" and then added leftover crockpot salsa chicken, green chiles, jalapenos, cilantro, cheese, and black olives.

'Twas amazing. While watching my boys in blue kick some booty.

A great night.

Garden 2013

2013-04-30T06:36:00.001-05:00

I don't like to brag, but last year we rocked out our garden.

Not one plant died before producing copious amount of veg. Our bowls runneth over. Literally, we grew more than we could pick / eat.

I think that mostly had to do with the fact that I was pregnant and wanted little to nothing to do with vegetables.

However, this year I am sans fetus and ready to chow down on some delicious and nutritious vegetables.

Bonus - Ina will start to eat solids soon and it is so rewarding to know that I can help grow some of her food.

On Sunday I invested an hour of precious weekend time to plant the garden.

In the mix we have:

tomatoes - lots of different kinds
jalapeños
green and red bell peppers
zucchini
butternut squash
brussel sprouts
cauliflower
sweet onions

(Now if I could only make those dead trees come back to life.)

I also started an herb pot with cilantro and sweet basil. I plan on adding a few more herbs soon -probably mint, rosemary, and thyme.

I really wanted to plant green onions, but couldn't find them anywhere. Maybe they only come in seeds?

What are you planting in your garden this year?

Eats

Breakfast - strawberry banana overnight oats

Lunch / snacks - leftover crockpot bolognese sauce with whole wheat pasta, orange, and hard boiled eggs

Snack - bran cereal with skim milk

Dinner- Dan made some amazing cilantro jalapeño lime turkey burgers with sweet potato fries and green beans

Run

I had originally planned on not running yesterday, but last night was a rough night on the parent-o-meter and I needed to blow off some steam. So, I vented off 2.5 miles way past my bedtime. Running = therapy.

Thought for the day

Why I Race

2013-04-29T05:28:00.001-05:00

A few months ago, I signed up to run The Trolley Run, a 4 mile race from Kansas City's Waldo area to the Country Club Plaza. Bonus - I was lucky enough to have the company I work for sponsor me.

However, when I woke up Sunday morning to an alarm I asked myself, Whhyyyy!?!

Why am I waking up this early to run 4 miles?

Why am I driving to run 4 miles? I could run 4 miles out my front door.

Why am I waking up my baby and my husband to take me to a 4 mile race?

Once I stepped out of the car, I remembered why.

I remembered how good it feels to run early on a beautiful morning.

I remembered how much I love the racing community.

I remembered how much I love running with others who love to run.

I remembered how much I love running in my city.

A city I am so very proud of.

I remembered how Kristen Chenoweth can motivate me to kick up the gears and finish the race fast.

Well, fast for me. I had no idea what my pace was, I just ran. Here were my results:

No wonder I am so sore this morning - I usually run a 10 minute mile. 36:29 isn't my 4 mile PR, but 5 months post-partum I'll take it.

Once the run was over I was thankful I had drug myself out of bed and I rode the high of the run thoughout the rest of the day.

After the run, we raced home to shower and get ready for church.

Then we ate lunch, gardened (more on that tomorrow), and watch some baseball, then headed to my grandma's house for family dinner.

By then, Ina had such a big day, she wasn't really interested in the family. Poor girl. Oh well we are still trying.

Have a good week! <3

Friday Photos and Saturday Snapshots

2013-04-28T06:14:00.001-05:00

(Hi Julie!)

Visitors

2013-04-26T10:16:00.001-05:00

In case you were wondering - operation baby training is going well.

Ina still isn't super excited for visitors, progress is slow, but we are in it for the long haul.

Yesterday my grandparents stopped by and she let my grandma hold her.

Then my brother's family came over for dinner.

She was okay, and went back and forth from wimpering to pouting, to crying, and then a random smile popped in every once in a while.

I tried to have everything together by making a crock pot bologense sauce following this recipe, but because of my lack of supply I had to make THREE different pots of pasta. This led to water boiling over, time lag, and general chaos.

General chaos - my speciality.

My sister-in-law was a sweetie and made WW friendly raspberry lemon cake. Mmmmm....

Either way it was a fun night

Happy Friday!

Did You Know?

2013-04-25T06:30:00.001-05:00

Did you know that there is such a thing as a cantaloupe / honeydew combination called a galia?

My boyfriend told me about it and Abby, Ina, and I are fans. That will be a regular addition to my shopping cart this summer.

Did you know that Trader Joe's now makes CRUNCHY cookie butter?

I was so excited I could barely hold still to take the picture. I am already thinking of the delicious recipes...

Did you know that cumin doesn't taste as good in overnight oats as cinnamon? Apparently I was so excited to tell you about my overnight oats prep yesterday that I grabbed the cumin jar, which, in my defense, looks exactly like the cinnamon jar.

Yum.

Did you know that increasing your speed on the treadmill by 0.1 mph every 3 minutes can make you really sore the next day?

Yes, of course you knew that. Now I know that too. I ran 3.2 miles in 30 minutes and haven't been sore from running in quite some time. It feels so good!

Other Eats

Lunch - leftover pork tenderloin and roasted veggies from the day before.

This was just as good the next day - I will repeat that recipe for sure!

Dinner - cheesy veggie beef bake following *this recipe* with roasted potatoes