5k: done & done!

It's official: Matt & I have completed our first 5k! The decision to run a 5k was kind of a spur-of-the-moment type deal. Matt ran into a co-worker in the hallway at his office one day last month and the guy invited him to run in it. Since the 5k was to raise money for another co-worker who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma back in 2005, Matt readily agreed. He then called me to share the news that he had signed us up. I was excited about it. I've run consistently since middle school, including a brief cross country stint in high school. Even as an adult, I've continued to run once or twice a week. However (and this is a big however!), I am definitely a casual runner. My regular runs are usually about a mile and a half, at whatever pace I feel like. So, a 5k was a little bit out of my comfort zone.

Then there's Matt. Matt works out regularly, but his work outs consist primarily of weight training. He is not a runner by any means. And to say that he doesn't enjoy running is an understatement. So he took on a training program in the month leading up to the race to prepare himself. I just stuck to my regular running schedule, but downloaded the Map My Run app (I highly recommend it, if anyone is wondering) so I could make sure I ran 3.15 miles (the 5k distance) and I could monitor my pace.

Then came race day. We hit the road bright and early and headed to a park about a half hour from our house (my mom was kind enough to watch the kiddos). It was such a different experience for me; I'm used to running solo through our neighborhood, on flat pavement with a few hills here and there but no overwhelmingly steep inclines. Well, the 5k was nothing like my leisurely neighborhood runs. First of all, running in a mob of people is kind of intimidating. I felt pressured to run at a faster pace than I could maintain initially, just to keep up with the crowd. However, I realized pretty quickly that I'd have to pace myself if I was going to finish the race so I slowed down to a more manageable pace. The mob began to thin out shortly thereafter; the elite runners (and miraculously, my husband was in that crowd!) were a small group ahead of everyone else; I was in the middle; and then there was a much larger group bringing up the rear.

The terrain was rough! Running through the woods isn't quite like running through neighborhood streets. There were some very steep hills and we were running on a mulch covered path. I will be totally honest: I couldn't have been more excited to see that finish line. Matt finished in 25 minutes and estimates that I crossed the line about a minute to a minute and a half after him (the race was untimed to save money, but Matt used his Map My Run app to time himself during the race).

So, I can now officially cross running a 5k off of my to-do list!

Pre-race: all smiles & anticipation

 

And post-race with my cherry red face.

Wordless (well, kind of) Wednesday

I'd call my participation in Wordless Wednesday over the years sporadic at best. But I had a couple of pictures I wanted to share, so I figured- what better day to post them? (Maybe I should erase that intro since it is Wordless Wednesday? Nah.)

Lego Fest came to our town a couple of weeks ago and my parents were gracious enough to get tickets for my boys and for my sister's family. Macey and I sat this event out (Macey would've been more interested in taste-testing the Legos than building with them) but the boys had a blast. This is just prior to leaving for the event; Camden was a tad excited.

 

My sweet girl playing in the dirt on one of those amazing warm days we had in between ice storms. We were so glad to be outside. Saying that we're ready for spring is a drastic understatement.

 

The Bubble Guppies must be by her side at all times. Even while sleeping.

 

Thanks to this awesome Home Depot employee, Camden had a dream come true the other night: he got to "drive" the tractor around the store.

 

 

Chatty Macey strikes again

When Camden was 18 months old, I remember reading posts on my "birth board" (an online forum of mothers whose children were also born in November 2009) on Babycenter about toddlers who were talking. I mean, really and truly talking- not just babbling or saying the occasional "dog" or "uh oh". I also remember feeling both really anxious about the fact that Camden was not talking yet and also kind of questioning the validity of these mothers' stories. I thought maybe they were interpreting their kids' babbles as meaningful conversation. Because surely an 18 month old wasn't really talking.

Then along came Macey. And I became one of those mothers whose 18 month old was speaking in short sentences. It's still unbelievable to me. This girl can talk. Not only can she imitate almost any word, but she can put together two word sentences with relative ease these days and we've even heard some three word sentences come out of that tiny little girl. Last weekend, we were talking about going outside to play while the weather was nice. Macey walked over to Camden and clearly said, "Bro, ride Jeep." She was asking (or, more likely, telling) Camden that she wanted to go for a ride in his little blue Jeep. And so we did.

It's crazy how drastically different my children have been when it comes to verbal development. I have had two polar opposite ends of the spectrum experiences; neither child was just a typical talker. Let me be clear, though: I'm not suggesting that one means of verbal development is superior to the other. While I have certainly enjoyed hearing what's on the mind of my tiny toddler and I definitely don't miss the stress that can come along with having a late talker, Camden waiting to speak until he was just over two years old has most assuredly not slowed down his verbal development at all. He is one articulate four year old.

And just for fun- click the link below to hear Macey's newest word: scissors. I had to record it because it was just so funny and strange to hear that tiny little voice saying such a big word. (Disclaimer: the scissors were removed from her hands after the making of this video.)

Click me!

The Future

When I quit my job to be a stay at home mom when Camden was born, we always knew that I would go back to work eventually. We never really decided exactly when. Initially, I thought maybe I'd go back to work after he was a year old. Thankfully, we were fortunate enough that I was able to stay home longer than that. Then along came another baby bump and Macey made her debut and going back to work got pushed back again. Matt and I never discussed it very much, beyond making the occasional, "When you go back to work..." comments.

Then there's school. As we all know, I've been taking classes here and there, off and on, for a decade. (For the record, there was a much bigger off than on period during that time frame.) But, I was still only taking a class or two at a time, with the reasoning that I wasn't planning on going back to work for a few more years anyway, so why rush it? It's unusual for a planner like me not to have a really defined plan, but it worked for us for the past several years just to have me stay at home with the knowledge that I'd eventually rejoin the work force.

As the kids get older and kindergarten (for Camden) and preschool (for Macey) are approaching, having a plan has been brought to the forefront of my mind. Gone are the days of idly taking classes here and there. I mentioned a while back that I met with the head of my department at school and laid out a real plan for graduation. I now have a time frame, which feels like a bizarre concoction of sadness and excitement, with a lot of bittersweet mixed in.

Here's the deal: I will start student teaching in the fall of 2016. That's a little over two years from now. That gives me two more years to take classes slowly, so that I don't overwhelm myself and miss out on these last precious years as a stay at home mom. In 2016, Camden will be in first grade (just typing that is unreal) and Macey will be in her second year of preschool. That seems like a fair time to begin the transition.

Student teaching will last a full year. The first semester will be mostly observations and the second semester will be full fledged teaching (without a salary, of course). There are still details to work out, like who will care for Macey after preschool (I'm really hoping to avoid any kind of daycare and am hoping that my mom and sister can split the time). But, I know it'll all come together.

And then, (drumroll)...I will re-enter the workforce as a teacher in 2017 (assuming I can find a job- ha!).

I know, I know- that's still 3 years away. And I'm grateful for that. I'm cherishing these last few years at home. But it's still nice to have a less vague idea of what the future holds for my little family.

Dinner Battles: The Update

I don't know what happened to change my mind, but the other day, I just decided I was done cooking two separate meals each time we eat dinner. I mean, really- it's a lot of extra work. And how long was I going to keep this up? I just decided to be done with it. But, I still needed Camden to eat dinner every night, so I also needed a plan.

Then it hit me: rewards work well with Camden. It's a much bigger motivational tool for him than, say, simply eating dinner to avoid going to time out. So, I devised a plan: each time he eats dinner (meaning, whatever I cook for everyone that night) without complaints, he gets a quarter. And once he has enough quarters, we'll go to the toy aisle at Target and let him pick out a small toy. I told him this plan and he was elated. He's already decided what he wants to buy with his money. And he's so excited every time he gets a quarter. Right now, he's proudly carrying them around in a tiny pouch. But, I ordered him his very own wallet (pictured below) that should arrive any day now.

So, this new plan has been in effect for 2 days now. And since the implementation of this plan, he has eaten what we've eaten for dinner both nights, including: chicken and broccoli stir fry and baked ziti. These are things he would've ordinarily turned his nose up to and requested chicken nuggets or pizza instead. So, yeah- I'd call that a win. And can I just say how awesome it is to cook only one meal a night? Yes, it's pretty amazing.

Now, there will definitely be nights that I'll make separate meals for the kids. When Matt and I are eating things that aren't kid friendly or that they genuinely just dislike, I'll have no problem serving fish sticks. I just want those nights to be the exception, and not the rule.

Here's to many successful family dinners ahead.

Dinner Time Battles

Breakfast and lunch time are a non-event at our house. The kids willingly sit down and eat; there are rarely protests and it's generally quite pleasant. Dinner time, on the other hand, is the opposite of what I'd consider pleasant. It goes something like this:

"Camden, it's dinner time. Go sit in your seat, please."

[Camden continues playing or watching TV; he has become the victim of selective hearing.]

"Camden, go to the dinner table. It's time to eat."

The second request is typically met with some loud sighs and groans, and a very slow and sluggish walk to the table. He then surveys his plate, says some kind of variation of, "Yuck", and then the negotiations begin: "I will eat ___ but not ____." (Fill in two items from his plate; there's no real rhyme or reason to his selection.)

For the next twenty minutes, I have to constantly remind him to keep taking bites and we almost always end the meal the same way: anything green (think peas, green beans, etc.) are left sitting on his plate. I count out a certain number of bites for him and he begrudgingly (and very slowly) eats the green item in question.

For these reasons, I often end up making two dinners each night: one for Camden and Macey, and one for Matt and me. I know, I know-- there are many people out there that would never do such a thing. I've heard all of the arguments: "I'm not a short-order cook!", "If they don't what I cook, they don't eat", "They will grow up to be picky eaters if you don't make them eat what you eat", and on and on. And I don't necessarily disagree, but I'll be honest: this is just not my hill to die on when it comes to parenting issues. I'd rather my kids eat something healthy of their liking, even if it's not what Matt and I are eating, than not eat at all. Maybe I'd feel differently if I made babies whose weight hovered in the 90th percentiles instead of the 10 percentile range, but probably not. I can recall a time period when we had mashed potatoes with dinner almost every single night of the week because that's all my two-year-old brother wanted to eat. He's now one of the most adventurous eaters I know; he will try anything and everything. Kids can (and usually do) grow out of these phases.

However, this doesn't mean I'm finding dinner time particularly enjoyable at the moment. I'd like Camden to enjoy dinner the way he enjoys eating breakfast and lunch. I'd like to sit at the dinner table without negotiating. And I'd love to cook only one meal per night if possible.

So, I ask-- what kid-friendly meals do you make regularly? What are your children's favorites? Bonus points if these meals have hidden veggies in them!

Life as a SAHM

I remember when I was pregnant with Camden, sitting in my little cubicle at work, clients and co-workers would often ask me what my plan was as far as work was concerned after he was born. "I plan to take a year off," I'd tell them, "And then I'm not sure beyond that." The truth was, I didn't know that I'd be interested in staying home for more than a year. I wasn't sure if I was cut out to be a stay at home mom. I'd think things like, What on earth would I do all day? and I'd be so bored without any adult interaction. I think those are common misconceptions about being a stay at home mom: that we sit around the house in our PJs all day without anything to do besides channel surf. And yes- there are occasional days when the yoga pants and the TV stay on longer than they should. But those days are few and far between. I'm sure it's different in every house with a stay at home mom, but I thought I'd give you a quick glimpse into a 'typical' day at our house:

7:45-8: Time to wake up! Camden & Macey usually wake up right around the same time. Thankfully, Macey is content to lay in her crib and talk to her Bubble Guppies for a while, giving me time to get myself and Camden dressed. First, we head to Camden's room and put his clothes on. He then plays in his room while I get myself dressed and ready (I always shower at night now. I used to be a morning shower-taker, but after Macey gave up her morning nap, that just wasn't happening anymore).

8:15- We scoop a happy Macey out of her crib (and get our morning, "Hi, Mommy! Hi, bro!" greeting) and head downstairs. I give both of the kids breakfast (usually pancakes, cereal, or mini muffins) and then make my own breakfast and coffee.

8:40- My sister and nephew arrive and it's time to head out for preschool. I load Camden and Will into the car and hit the road. Macey uses this time to play with my sister.

9:30- I return home after getting the boys settled into their classroom. Then I get Macey dressed and do my daily chore. In my life pre-kids, Saturday was my "big cleaning" day. I'd spend a few hours and clean the entire house. When I was pregnant with Camden, I decided that devoting a few hours to cleaning the house probably wasn't going to work with a small child chasing me around. So, I decided to devote a day each week to cleaning a particular area of our house (for example, on Tuesdays, I vacuum downstairs; on Wednesdays, I clean the bathrooms upstairs). No, it's not fun having something to clean each day, but it only takes 20-30 minutes tops and then I don't have to devote half of a day to cleaning the entire house. (On field study days, this is the time of day I head out to the school for a couple of hours.)

10-11:30- This is the time when I do a variety of things: I pack lunches for the following day (for Matt and Camden); I do any prep work that needs to be done for dinner; I make a weekly dinner menu and grocery list;  and/or I run any errands that need to be run that day (grocery store, etc.).

11:30- Lunch time for Macey! (I usually eat shortly thereafter)

12:00- After lunch, Macey and I usually play outside (weather permitting), go for a walk, or play in the playroom until it's time for Camden to get home from school. (A couple of days a week, this is also the time a kid I recently started babysitting shows up for a few hours.)

1:00- Camden's home! I unpack Camden's things from school and we talk about his day.

1:15- Nap time for Macey Jean. I take her upstairs (with Bubble Guppies in hand, of course), put on her trusty sleep sack, and tell her goodnight. She normally jumps and plays for 10-15 minutes before falling into an exhausted sleep.

1:30-3- While Macey naps, Camden and I normally do "play time". We take about 20-30 minutes to play a game or activity of his choice. He loves this time and looks forward to it every day. After play time, I often work on a short 'school' activity with him (lately it's been practicing his handwriting) or we watch a TV show together.

3-4:30- Once Macey is up from her nap, we have a snack. Then, we often head outside (again, weather permitting) and go for a walk or head down to the cul-de-sac and meet up with neighbors and cousins to play.

5- Time to head inside and get started on dinner. I usually have an episode of Bubble Guppies playing during this time so that I can get dinner started without a toddler climbing my legs. Sometimes this work well; other times, I cook dinner one-handed while juggling a little blonde girl on my hip.

5:30- Camden, Macey, and I eat dinner. Unfortunately, Matt only eats with us on weekends. He doesn't get home until 6:30 or later, and the kids can't wait that long to eat (and, let's face it-- neither can I). So, after we finish eating, I clean up and do dishes and stick a plate for Matt in the fridge.

6:30- Daddy's home! The kids are always excited to greet Matt and play with him for a few minutes before it's his dinner time.

7- This is often the time we head upstairs to take a bath. They're now getting to the ages where they actually request to take a bath. Camden will suggest it and Macey will overhear him and start repeating, "bath?!" while looking upstairs.

7:30-8:15- The freshly cleaned kids head back downstairs to play with Daddy after bath time. They usually play in the playroom while I go back upstairs to shower.

8:15- Time for bed! We've switched up our bedtime routine; I put Camden to bed and Matt takes Macey. We used to do it the other way around, but we found that Macey would stay up later and later (sometimes not falling asleep until after 9) if I was in her room. She doesn't take advantage of her Daddy that way, so for now, Daddy puts her to bed. Camden and I brush his teeth and then talk about our day and/or he'll request that I tell him a story before he goes to sleep.

8:30- Kids are asleep (or hopefully they are anyway!). What I do in this time depends on the day. I always straighten up the family room & play room. Many times, I head upstairs to do some homework. I spend some time with Matt.  And sometimes I even get to catch up on my terrible reality TV shows.

10-11-  Sometime in this range, I head to bed, hope that both kids sleep soundly, and get ready to do it all over again the next day.

So, there you have it, folks-- not exactly the lounging around kind of day that I pictured life as a stay at home mom to be like while pregnant the first time around. There's no time for boredom. And yes, sometimes I do miss adult interaction during the day, but I still wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world. I'm so glad I get to be home during these precious, formative years. I'm soaking it all in, because I know that it's only a couple short years before I return to the outside workforce.

[If this post is too long for you, feel free to refer to my Interview with Camden post to get the Cliffs Notes version of what it is I do all day: nothing.]

18 months already?!

My sweet girl,

You're 18 months old! I have no idea how that happened so quickly. I promise you that it wasn't really a year and a half ago that your Daddy and I played hours of Family Feud on the laptop while waiting for you to make your appearance. I feel like you've always been here- a part of me, a part of this family. You were definitely our missing puzzle piece and I thank God every day that you're ours.

Who are you at 18 months old? It's hard to sum you up in bullet points like I normally do for these letters. You're so full of life; you're happy-go-lucky and so joyful. Truly, the only time you're fussy is right when you wake up from your afternoon nap. The rest of the time, you are perfectly content just to be around everyone.

Which brings me to my next point: you love people. There's nothing more exciting to you than a large family gathering where you can run around with the big kids (because, let's face it- you totally think you're one of them). You find your brother and cousins to be hilarious and fascinating (and they're all so good to you, too). You have this incredibly adorable squeal-laugh that you do when something is very exciting (especially something that's very exciting that you're not supposed to be doing!).

You greet everyone and everything- constantly. I think I hear, "Hi, Mommy" about 5,000 time a day and it doesn't get any less adorable with time. Other greetings we often hear are: "Hi, Daddy", "Hi, bro", "Hi, Aggie [our dog, Maggie]", "Hi, ____ [insert any food here: cookie, cheese, peas, juice,], "Hi, shoes", "Hi, Nan", "Hi, Pop", "Hi, La-la" [your aunt, Lauren], and many more. You also like to look in the mirror and say, "Hi, May May."  Daddy thinks you would make an excellent Wal-Mart greeter.

You've expanded your vocabulary to include some more small sentences (in addition to the above greetings). Some examples? "Mommy, back" (when I tell you I'll be right back when I run upstairs). And "Thank you, Nan", after Nan handed you a box of chocolates. There are others too-- like "bro, shoes" (while bringing Camden his sneakers). You're quite the conversationalist and your voice is so incredibly precious.

Your current obsession is the Bubble Guppies. Because of this, your Nan got you 3 stuffed Bubble Guppies characters and oh my goodness- you will not part with them. You've never been particularly attached to any toy and you've never had a "lovie" in the past; well, now you do. Your "bubbles" go with you everywhere, including to your crib at nap and bed time. We hear you say "bubbles" countless times a day while pushing them around in your shopping cart or hiding them in various spots around the house (which later leads to a frantic 45 minute search for them before bedtime because you can not and will not sleep without them).

Now for the bullet points:

• You haven't had your 18 month check up yet, but you weigh around 19 lbs, 10 oz on our home scale.
• You're in size 3 diapers and 12-18 month clothing.
• You nap one time a day, from 1:30-3ish.
• Bed time is 8:15-8:30 and you're usually up around 8am.
• Your favorite foods are: pasta with alfredo sauce, mac & cheese, beefaroni, peanut butter sandwiches, yogurt, bananas, cheese, crackers, peas, pancakes, muffins, green beans, chicken nuggets, fish sticks.
• Your favorite toys are: the aforementioned Bubble Guppies, your shopping cart, your Klip Klop stable, your pink riding horse (you love "neigh neighs").
• You also love: your family, car rides (as long as they're not too long), your brother, being outside, running away from me and hiding when I tell you any of the following: it's time to get dressed, time to change your diaper, time to take a nap, or time to go to bed.

I feel like there's so much more I could say about you and it still wouldn't really capture who you are. You're fun-loving and a tad mischievous. You're silly and wild and carefree. You're smart and loving and kind. You have the greatest smile and funniest silly faces. You're an entertainer who loves to make people laugh. You are so affectionate and give the best hugs and kisses. You're so precious and such a blessing.

Happy 18 months, Macey Jean. You are so loved.

Love,
Mommy