September Fitness Goals

I've been singing the same tune for what seems like months. My exercise and weight loss/gain is a freakin' yo yo and I've done nothing to stop it. Moving is always so hard on my body. I tend to go for easy and fast which usually results in choosing foods that are absolutely terrible, not to mention fake. Oh, but they taste good, don't they? I'm hovering around 119-121 lbs right now. It fluctuates a lot. Regardless, my clothes don't fit as well and I have just an overall sluggish feeling. I'm hoping I can turn this around in September by making (and sticking to) some fitness goals.

1. 50 Miles in September
2. Ab Challenge
3. Hydrate
4. Paleo approach to breakfast & lunch

I've had a few good workouts since I've been home, though. J is commuting nearly three hours total to work everyday so it's hard to have him watch the kiddos. By the time he gets home, he's tired and dealing with loan/house responsibilities. I've tried to workout with the kids, but you know how that goes sometimes. They've gotta be quick!

What are your fitness goals next month?



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Welcome Home

I've had the urge to write a lot lately, but the time hasn't been there. We've been busy and in the moments that are slow, we've been trying to relax. Easier said than done. Baby A didn't go to sleep until 11:30 last night and the night before? He was up every.single.hour. We are so tired and feeling awful that we're keeping everyone in the house awake, too. I may or may not have been strolling around a whiny kid in the dark last night, barefoot, and holding back tears. Why does life feel so much harder when a baby won't sleep? Ha! Honestly, he has NEVER been like this. Even as a newborn and young babe, he slept more than this. It's quite an adjustment.

Good news, though...

I've got an appointment today to get my tubes tied.

Kidding.

The good news is that we have found a house we love and pending inspections going well today, it's ours! Isn't she a beauty?

We love it and can't wait to settle in. It will be awhile, though. You know what I'm talking about if you've ever worked with the VA before!

I hope we'll be happy there for a long time. I'm sure we will. We are used to making houses we don't love home and we really really like this one! We are looking forward to not mooching off our families anymore. Whether it's dog sitting, baby sitting, groceries, or moving help, we have exhausted our welcome here, I'm sure. We are very blessed by the wonderful friends and family who have helped us in our journey "home"!

I can't believe this kitchen will soon be part of our very own home...

I'm going to bake all kinds of goodies in there.

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and show you a glimpse into our house since so many of you requested it on facebook and IG. More to come in the next few weeks.

Love,

8 Months

Dear Baby A,

As I'm writing, I'm listening to your cries that are breaking me. You've been a handful the last couple of weeks. I'm hoping a tooth is about to pop through or that you're simply out of whack from our latest move (your second in your short eight months of age). Feel better, my son.

This month, you've started attempting to crawl. You get in position but often end up heading backwards instead. Your brother did that, too. Rolling about is still your primary means of travel, though. It won't be long before you are into all kinds of shenanigans and then what will I do?

You eat like a champ. Your little belly is like a garbage disposal. You dive passionately after any food I'm eating and you down your baby food in minutes. I quit trying to do "baby led weaning" with you because I was terrified you were going to choke. Purees have been working just fine and you've tried a large variety of foods now. You eat solids three times a day and nurse or take a bottle constantly. Perhaps you're in the middle of a growth spurt. Growin' boy!

I'm sorry we've thrown a kink in your well established sleep routine. I feel bad about that. Meanwhile, I'm praying for patience in getting you back to your happy, healthy self. I love you bunches and bunches.

Looking forward to seeing those cute little cheeks spread out in a happy smile again! You're the sweetest, cutest little eight month old I ever did see.

Love,
Mom

Monday (creative title lacking)

Mondays really are awful, aren't they? There's the argument that stay at home moms (SAHM) don't get a weekend really because they're always on the job, but at least on Saturday and Sunday I can expect that my husband will at least change one diaper between the two of them and that's one less diaper for me. Then Monday rolls around and the youngest won't eat, yet he wants to chew on his spoon, thereby making an awful mess of carrots on his neck, face, and shirt. Then he won't take a bath sitting up apparently and the baby bath is tucked away in a garage a couple houses down the street. Then the two year old is bored, maybe? So he runs around whining excessively and smacking random objects in frustration. Now everyone is crying for no good reason..and how do I deal? By eating a leftover hotdog, piece of birthday cake, and coke from the night before because nothing says I'm stressed like getting fat.

This move has been awfully stressful on us. I think it's just because this is it. We aren't moving again for awhile. We get to buy a house. It's a lot different this time. I'm nearly thirty years old and I've never bought a house. It's all new to us. We want to do it right, but we also are in a hurry to get out of my parents' house because, let's be honest, we are freeloadin'. It's so easy to take their groceries, use up their water for showers, and weasel our way back into their routines. I don't know why I feel this way because many people have offered up their homes to us, but I just feel bad. Undeserving of help.

We went house hunting on Saturday. We looked at seven houses and it was a very long day. Looking at houses is supposed to be fun, but I felt bad all day for leaving one of the kids with his uncle all day (on his birthday!). When we were done, all I could think about was that we didn't love any of the houses and we were no closer to finding a home than we were the week before. Now, another week will go by because we can't house shop throughout the week because of J's job hours and how far away we'd have to drive to look at a house.

I know I sound so ridiculous. Everything we've ever wanted has happened for us. We have a happy marriage, beautiful & sweet children, and now we live in East Tennessee again! And it really has only been a week. I'm sure we'll find a place soon and we shouldn't rush the process, but I'm just feeling the pressure to get my crew into a place of our own before we all go a little crazy. Baby A just isn't adjusting well. His sleep patterns have changed drastically and he has been so fussy lately. I know kids need stability and I feel bad for interrupting that for him, too. Ugh.

It's definitely a Monday.

Operation Move Family Out in One Weekend

Wow. What a whirlwind week. That's how much time we had from hearing the good news that J got the job in TN and actually being in TN along with all of our household. It's crazy. Only a week before that, we were still settling into life in the big city. It was becoming comfortable. I had made a friend that I got to see almost daily because she was my (next door!) neighbor. We'd go on walks around the neighborhood and chat about our sweet kids. She kept me sane. I will surely miss her. Things were lookin' up in Jacksonville. I can't believe that just two weeks ago this possibility didn't even exist. And here I am- writing from my mom's house- the boys are napping in my old childhood room and it's as if I never ever left. Anyway, I just wanted to say a huge thank you for all of the comments and congrats you left for us on my last post! We appreciate you celebrating with us. Now that Operation: Move Family Out in One Weekend has been accomplished, we are on to Operation Find Family A Home. It might be a long process, but God has worked out so many of the details in this situation that I've lost count of all the blessings. It is amazing! I just know He has a plan for this part, too.

The drive really wasn't so bad. I imagined total chaos. I pictured me pulling all my hairs out. Or crying uncontrollably along with my two under two. Because this move was so last minute, we had to get out immediately and we weren't very prepared. Thankfully, J's dad came to our rescue (again) and helped us get moved out by our deadline. Friday afternoon we found out that someone was renting our place which was awesome news because we were locked in until January if they couldn't rent it out. A huge financial burden was lifted, but then suddenly we realized, umm nothing is packed. We didn't really have the first box. Saturday was insane. We packed up everything we own in a day and loaded the Uhaul to the brim. We'll see if it's all broken when we finally get to unpack it all! Anyway, we pulled out of our home in Florida on Sunday. J's dad was driving the Uhaul, J was driving his truck and towing another, and I was driving the third car with the babes inside. An eight hour drive was ahead of me and I was NOT looking forward to it.

My boys did so well. I don't give them enough credit sometimes. They were little angels mostly. I mean YOU wouldn't think so if you'd been riding with us, but as for myself, I thought they were great. I'm with them all the time and I know what they're capable of! Those sweet boys didn't sleep, but they didn't cry too much either. I arrived in TN in crazy, good time (I only stopped once). Still, the stress of packing up our lives for the fifth move in four years was wearing on me and I was so happy to walk into my parents' house and hand off a kid or two. The first night was tough on Baby A. He woke up a lot and we didn't get much sleep. I think the unfamiliarity of it all coupled with his change in schedule has really screwed him up. I'm hoping I can get him back on some sort of predictable schedule this week. We're all very tired...

but so happy to be home.

Homecoming

We very recently got completely unpacked and pictures hung on the walls so naturally it's time to move again. You think I'm kidding, but I am not. Get this: We're moving to Tennessee! Home sweet home to me.

I can't believe it. I'm still in awe of God's blessings for us. Let me explain how all this happened, how God had his hand in this from the beginning...

When we moved here to Jacksonville, FL we did so with the knowledge that we would probably be here for awhile and then we'd have to move again in a few years. Our list of hopeful locations was small. We wanted to be in the south, for sure. But honestly, we wanted to be pretty close to family. Our dream location was Chattanooga, but there was no shot at getting it because the guy who maintained that territory was young with no plans of leaving. We began to accept that Florida was about as close to family as we were going to get for a good long while and who were we to complain? It's not so bad here. His position here in Jacksonville was one of which he was basically a student. He was working in sales under someone who was showing him the ropes. Typically, it takes about a year to move on up the ladder.
Anyway, J received an email that went out to several people. In it, Chattanooga was indicated as an open territory. Immediately, J began to make phone calls. He texted me with the news and asked me to start praying. I asked A LOT of other people to start praying. We just felt as if God has placed this opportunity in front of us; it had been highly unlikely before. His superiors weren't even sure if they could get him an interview since he was a very new employee, but within hours we got news that he could travel to sit down and meet with the person who was doing the hiring. It was so exciting for both of us! We began to feel God comforting us, saying He is always with us and that He has our best interests in mind. Our prayers began to change into, "Lord, your will be done." I won't lie and say we wouldn't have been disappointed if His will ended up not taking us back to Tennessee, but at the same time we knew in our minds that our prayers were being heard and that God was going to take care of us either way. There was nervousness-yes! But there was a peace in our household, too.
Captain J went off to ATL for a week to work with that team and interview for the position. He felt prepared and confident and that's all we could have asked for. Meanwhile, back at home, I was taking care of our boys and toying with the idea that we would actually be living in Tennessee by Christmas time. Daydreaming was distracting, but so much fun.
Long story short, the position is his! He starts in Chattanooga immediately. As I'm typing, there is much to be done. Loose ends to tie up. Lots of them. But none of them matter much because I know all of this is going to work out. I just know it.
Nothing is packed.
We don't have a house to move into in TN.
No place to put Holly while we wait to buy or rent.
We're stuck with this lease until January 2014 yet we are leaving tomorrow.
We're in a real pickle.

None of that matters, though. We're going home!

Four years ago- almost to the day- I packed up my life and moved to Alaska. Four states and two kids later, and we're all headed back to where our hearts have always been. We're so grateful.

God is good. Thanks for praying.

Favs: Workout Gear Edition

1. CamelBak eddy- I use these constantly throughout the day. I find that the straws are deceptive. I drink more with them!

2. Polar FT40 HRM- I love to use this to track my heart rate and calories burned.

3. Shorts & Bra by Champion- Workout gear doesn't have to be expensive. I find affordable, comfortable, and cute gear at Target all the time.

I have yet to find the perfect running shoe. I also haven't found a good pair of running earphones. The ones I bought from skull candy are total pieces of poo poo, just so you know.

Anyway, yesterday I had an amazing workout in just thirty minutes. My arms are sore today! I tried Bobbi's Spider Thrusters- man, oh days. Those are tough. Go to her site and check it out.

Just look how many calories I burned by incorporating these with a little cardio and other arm exercises:

Do you have favorite workout gear that I need to know about?

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