Why Modesty Matters To Me:

Recently I read a blog post about a new website in which women of my religion, in an effort to shed the shame, the inferiority, guilt and the objectification that some associate with being a woman, have decided to pose nude and post these photos online to show that they are now unapologetic about their bodies. 

It is very evident these women are hurting. Somewhere a long the line someone told them their body was evil. That they were a sinner just because they were born a female. That we are supposed to cover up in an attempt to save men from themselves. Men aren't able to control their own thoughts so its our fault if they think bad ones. Or that their body belongs to their husbands and not themselves. Or that their bodies were nothing more than the vessel in which children are born. And they believed it. 

Unlike these women, I was most gratefully surrounded by parents, teachers, youth leaders, church leaders and others who never, not once taught me that my body was something to be ashamed of. That being a woman meant that I was powerful, capable, strong and a force to be reckoned with. Being a woman meant I had been given a power to share with God in creating the bodies in which his spirit children would dwell and the home in which they would be nurtured and taught about him. A responsibility to hold that trust sacred. That my body is made in the image of my Heavenly Mother. That I have the ability to accomplish so many great and wonderful things because I am a woman! That my body is beautiful! Not just in a spiritual sense but also physically! That feeling confident in my body was important! That I should never be ashamed for what I am, a daughter of God. That it was ok to feel beautiful and attractive! And that sex wasn't something to be scared of. That it isn't evil. That it was something to look forward too, of course with the right person at the right time. That it wasn't something to be ashamed of or embarrassed about.

 Today the world seems to think that a woman's confidence is defined on how little she is willing to wear and how much she is willing to show. I can see the logic these women are following. They were taught to wear modest clothing for the wrong reasons. And I can see how they would think literally shedding their clothes could be seen as a symbol of them shedding all that hurt, guilt and shame they had been taught to feel. To show how confident they are in being a woman.

Although I can understand the logic behind their symbolism I feel the logic is a bit skewed. Confidence seems to be something people are projecting more and actually living less. As if confidence is something that must be proven or displayed. To me that seems to be the antithesis of confidence. If we are truly confident in who we are, we don't feel the need to validate it for anyone else.

I dress modestly because of all the things I have been taught about my body, one has always stood out to me.

IT IS SACRED.

And I treat it as such. Meaning I don't feel the need to share it with the world, who WILL objectify it, judge it, degrade it, pick it apart (No thigh gap, no curves, short torso...) and make it seem less worthy if I don't measure up to society's definition of beauty. No matter what my intentions are for posting a picture of that nature online, it will be scrutinized. I waited till I was married to be intimate not because my body belongs to my husband but because I knew I was saving that part of me for the person who was going to earn it. The privilege of getting to be that one man required him to measure up to MY standards. And even now that we are married it is still always on my terms. Once a picture of you gets put online you lose control of who sees it, who takes the photo and what they do with it. But not posting pictures of me means I am in complete control!  I don't need anyone's approval or scrutiny. I know my body is beautiful and I don't need to show it in protest or as proof of my confidence.

I loved this quote from the blog I read:

"Believing that my body is sacred doesn’t mean that I think that it’s secret. A private property sign doesn’t keep a building hidden, it just means that the owner wants to decide who, how, when and why access is gained. So you bet your bottom dollar that there are G-14 classified areas of my temple, and if you don’t have the clarifications, you can’t view em’, plain and simple."

Let me be clear that I don't wear t-shirts and Bermuda shorts because I am afraid. It isn't a mark of shame or submission as the weaker gender. In fact, it is the exact opposite. Because I view my body as one of the most incredible and precious gifts I have ever been given, I cover up. The privilege of being able to see it's full beauty belongs to one person.

But MODESTY like we talk about in the church is so much more than hemlines and hair cuts! All people see are the CAN'T DO's and not the WHY or even WHAT it really is:

"Modesty is an attitude of propriety and decency in dress, grooming, language, and behavior. If we are modest, we do not draw undue attention to ourselves. Instead, we seek to “glorify God in [our] body, and in [our] spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:20; see also 1 Corinthians 6:19)."

So much more than clothes. It's about embodying an entire attitude focused not on directing attention to ourselves but to God. Nude photos don't do that...

And as I read the stories of these women I feel in my heart that they are hurting. No one please misunderstand that. But I don't agree that posting nude photos is the way to show their new found confidence. You can be completely confident in being a woman without putting yourself on display, and it is my confidence in my body and my appreciation for it's sacredness that I have chosen to dress accordingly.

Rabbits: Have a holly jolly...wait what?

Guys I can not believe its here! Christmas carols, the smell of our tree is filling the apartment, the halls are decked with bows of holly...

OH WAIT!!

There is still one amazing holiday to celebrate before we get to all that!

Call me a Scrooge all you want but personally I choose to put off the holly jollies till the day after Black Thursday *Cough* I mean Thanksgiving! 

Wait...you haven't heard of Thanksgiving?? It's this holiday between Halloween and Christmas where we celebrate the Native Americans giving turkey to the pilgrims! But it is also a day where we stop and really count our blessings. Yes, should everyday be Thanksgiving? Of course, but then we'd all be sleepy and fat from eating all that cranberry smothered turkey and pie! Such gluttony is best left to one day a year.  

 I have nothing against Christmas. In fact I am such a die hard Christmas-put-offer because I love it so much! The anticipation of the holiday makes for an awesome day after Thanksgiving!

So while the stores will start playing Christmas carols and the early bird shopping has begun, I will not be participating! 

To kick off this Thankful Season I am sharing this with you in hopes it takes over your brain and reminds you that is not Christmas yet :)

            

(Disclaimer: Anyone can celebrate however they want too! This is just ONE opinion and this is just how I celebrate. To each their own!)

Learning how to help my child with moving:

Combination of moving soon, haven't had a good night sleep in I don't know how long and being sick for more than a week, my resolve drained to empty yesterday when nothing seemed to go right!

Will noticed the boxes yesterday. Before this, moving was something they didn't understand. So they willingly went along with it.

This time is different. Will has made some AMAZING friends here.

I showed him his future school on Google Maps because he has been asking about school.

Then he asked if all his friends would be there too. I told him no, that we are moving to where his new school is. He got really sad and then suddenly really happy!

"Mom, I have a great idea! What if all my friends move with us?"

"I'm sorry buddy, but they have to stay here with there mommies and daddies."

"But I want them to come with me..."

Talk about breaking your heart.

Last night we had our ward Halloween Party. To see Will playing with his friends just broke me. I cried... And my husband was all like:

Now I have spent all morning researching ideas on how to help him cope. I was surprised to see that I am already doing most of the suggestions. Maybe I have a better handle on the motherhood thing than I think!

Here are somethings to do to help your children prepare for a move!

Get them involved in house hunting: I've been looking up places to live and I've been asking Will on his opinion. He gets really excited to see what could be his new room or backyard.

Take them around the new city: Google Maps is amazing! We spent a good hour "driving" around our new town. We saw his new school, playgrounds, favorite fast food place and new exciting things for him to see!

Show them their school website: Sometimes these websites have pictures of the students participating in fun activities. Will asked who they were. I said, "New friends!" He is still sad to leave his friends here but he is excited to meet new people.

Have them help pack: This gives them a sense of purpose. And it helps because the move suddenly is something they are a part of and not something that is happening too them and that they can't control. 

A BIG NEWS Update:

I know you didn't really miss this blog but I am going to pretend you did! I've been gone for about a month and a lot has happened since then...lets recap:

The government shut down

Pumpkin Patch time!

An incredibly inspired General Conference.

Bill Nye got voted off Dancing with the Stars :(

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland started!

Oreos were proven just as addictive as heroine...I don't have a problem!

My boys watched the Little Mermaid probably a million times...

The government un-shut down (doesn't mean it is functioning like I'd like it too...)

My sister found out she is having a BOY! (And she stole the last name my husband and I can agree on...)

AND we found out we will be moving around the beginning of January. Talk about kicking off the new year!

In case you somehow missed the giddy squeals, my husband got accepted to Army Flight School and we just found out when we will be going! We thought we had till April at the EARLIEST. So let the packing begin!

Kayli Moments: Bee edition

You know those times where you watch a movie you saw as a kid and haven't seen in years and you are surprised at all the innuendo and language stuff you didn't catch before?

This is the opposite of that...

Yesterday at our Primary practice, some teachers were entertaining the mass of squirmy children to the tune of "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee."

I didn't like that song as a kid...

Something about mashing up babies didn't sit well with me.

Why were we teaching kids to lick up the squashed infant?? Are we really teaching children that cannibalism is ok?

Yesterday it clicked...

It's not:

"I'm squishing up the baby, bumblebee!" (As if telling a bumblebee about your killing spree.)

it's:

"I'm squishing up the baby bumblebee!" (As in I just killed a bug.)

My whole life I thought this song was a story of  a kid telling a bee about how he squashed and ate a baby he had found...

I feel so much better about my childhood teachers who taught me this song!

Apparently I'm not an old dog quite yet:

We had the amazing opportunity to trade in our gas guzzlin' car for one that gets 49 mpg!

The major downside is it has one of these:

(Image src)

Clayton LOVES driving manually. I was trained on an automatic. He tried to teach me with his last stick shift but there was never a NEED for me to learn. But in the interest of saving money we needed to SHIFT GEARS (lol) to a cheaper commuter car. We only have one so of course that meant I needed to learn. Because sometimes my husband leaves town and I need to drive places. And this time, there was a countdown! I had to learn how to drive this thing comfortably in less than a week.

But I am confident to report that I have learned a new trick! There is still some finessing to do but I can get from point A to point B.

This is a huge deal for me guys! I was in a pretty bad accident in 07'. Ever since then, I haven't been the most confident driver. The drivers around here are nutso and that doesn't help. Now we throw in a clutch and the whole thing seemed so overwhelming.

But today I successfully completed my first solo on post to freeway drive!

The kids are having to adjust because like always they were being their needy selves, asking me to pick up everything they drop. But a good:

Usually does the trick :)

Will is 5: PART-y 2!

Because of work, Clayton was out of town for Will's birthday. We knew that it was a possibility so we planned his actual party way out there. So we could do our best to make sure he would be there. 

(I'm really proud of how this came out! We didn't make the cake part but I did the characters!
Be nice, it was my first time!)

(The cake melted in the sun...but still tasted good!)

I love this little cutie! I can't believe he is 5... He is such a great kid.

Dancing With the Stars: I'm literally GEEKing out over here!

You probably know by now that I LOVE SCIENCE.

I also LOVE "Dancing with the Stars" on ABC.

For the first time EVER, these two loves are coming together!

(For image source and the rest of the cast, click here!)

That's RIGHT! BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY is going to be on Dancing with the Stars this season!!!  I am such a science geek in major part due to this guy!

I don't know that he will be a great dancer. 

But still it will be awesome to watch him on TV again!

SO EXCITED!!!

Rabbits: September Edition

I was so excited for August to be done. BIG things are happening in September.

The biggest is that my husband's application for the Army flight school is going to be reviewed this month. We should know come the beginning of October if he made it.

This is IT.

Three years of military service, one hardship tour and one pcs have all been for this chance.

While there has been a lot of stress with being military thus far. It has been a great journey. I have seen parts of the world I never thought I would. It has forced me to develop a more trusting relationship with Jesus Christ. I have been blessed to be able to let my husband serve this country. Even if my husband is not accepted, while that would be devastating, I will always be grateful for what I have experienced during our time in service. I have learned that I am strong and independent. I have learned that sometimes I need the help of others in a big way. I have learned that sometimes all that I needed to know was that Heavenly Father knew I was struggling, that he was aware of how much I missed my husband and that he CARED. 

We are so excited for the possibilities flight school will bring!

This month is also going to be filled with fun. Plenty to keep me busy so I'm not thinking about application results constantly.  

In other news:

The summer fitness challenge is complete. I didn't make it to my goal but before anyone gets disappointed in me, know that I was close and went much farther than I thought I would! Now I am going to go back to doing my Insanity work outs! It's the perfect indoor work out now that it's getting all rainy and gloomy. I'm excited for next summer's challenge!

Friday Confessional: A New Guilty Pleasure

Ok guys... I don't hate to admit this. 

I probably should but I have no shame.

I love it THAT MUCH!

I was laughing so hard the first time I watched it that I was LITERALLY crying.

Not the overstated "literally." The literal literally! 

You can tell a lot about someone by what they laugh at...I'm scared 

to know what that says about me!

Common Sense Doesn't Apply to Laundry Detergent Pods...apparently:

I was surprised the first time I saw this on the news: "Another child is hospitalized for ingesting pods and the parents are mad at Tide!"

"Tide left their product within reach of your child?" I thought as the camera crew followed the child's mother to the top of the washer and dryer where she had left the container. I couldn't believe these people were actually blaming Tide. Now I am not a Tide fanatic. I make my own detergent but I couldn't believe they were blaming the company for the fact that they left the dangerous product where a child could get it. I hoped this blame projecting was going to be an isolated event...

It hasn't been. 

Just last week I saw yet another set of parent's upset at Tide because their child got to the pods and ate them. Where did the child get them? Again from on top of the washer. They've been making dishwasher pod type things for years now (I do use those!) and I haven't heard of anyone blaming Cascade or Dawn for accidental ingestion. We know to keep those locked under the kitchen sink, but laundry detergent for some reason doesn't get the same consideration.

"But kids think they are candy," the media screams! Kids think pills are candy, which is why they stay tucked away in a locked cabinet! That's what keep out of reach of children MEANS!
(Besides, anyone with kids knows that just about everything will go in those mouths regardless of if it looks like candy or not! Except veggies...)

Now parents, we make mistakes. Maybe they were having a hectic day and just didn't put the pods up. We do little things like that. Except the scary part of being a parent is the fact that little mistakes like that can end up with a hospital trip or worse. I always get really sad when I hear stories like this. It's unfortunate and I completely feel for the family. They are mistakes and I know the guilt that comes from it. But I also get irritated when the parents blame anything other than themselves. 

Accepting responsibility for our mistakes is PARENTING 101!!

If I were to leave a knife on the counter and my child got a hold of it, no one would go and a tirade against Cutco! What would make the news is how much a of a negligent parent I was.

Again, the scary part of being a parent is when we make little mistakes like that! I put stuff down all the time I mean to put away later but when it comes to the dangerous stuff, when we leave anything within reach of children, that says on the box we shouldn't, we automatically accept the risks and consequences.

You shouldn't have to read a warning label to tell you to keep laundry detergent out of your child's reach. To add insult to injury it is there just in case you couldn't put two and two together.

While I didn't believe it was really their responsibility to make any changes, Tide has since changed the container so children can't see the pods inside and they are working on making a tougher latch.

But the ultimate responsibility lies in the hands of the parents who buy the products and bring them into their home. Plain and simple.

(Disclaimer: I am not trying to make anyone feel bad if they have experienced something like this. What I am addressing are those parents who want to blame someone else. I've had to call poison control before because my son ate some berries that I knew were there but failed to identify if they were poisonous or not. Thankfully he didn't eat enough of them to cause any side effects. One of those treat the symptom type scenarios. I felt so incredibly guilty and still do. Mistakes happen and when they do we as parents have to take responsibility for them.)

Will is 5: PART-y One

I love my son. He is amazing! And he is also FIVE!!! 

Originally my husband was told he would get to come home on this little guy's birthday,

but you know how those things in the Army most of the time sometimes go :)

So I took the kids to visit Nonni and Papa so he could be around more people he loves than 

just me. (I'm already boring and he is only celebrating his fifth birthday...yikes!)

So my mom took him to pick out a cake and this is what he wanted: Drum rrroolll please...

Yes your eyes are not deceiving you! That is a blue slug bug car cake COMPLETE with Han Solo Angry Bird and finally topped with star shaped candles. 

This is pretty much exactly how he decided he wanted his bedroom decorated :)

Love this kid!

Kayli Moment: Spider Edition!

I know I can't be alone when I admit I am afraid of spiders. It's the number one ranked phobia! Even over dying. Hey, if it was rational it wouldn't be a phobia.

Since I've been married I let Clayton do battle with the eight legged freaks but obviously he isn't always here to protect me. So I ge t to handle the nasties myself.

A couple nights ago, I walk into my bedroom ready to pass out after watching several episodes of "Army Wives." When I noticed a big spider in that spot where the ceiling and the wall meet. 

Spiders love that place! As a child I would always scan the perimeter of this spot because that's where I would always see them. Then I would scream bloody murder till my father killed it. 

But that night it was just me...

Unfortunately it had decided to bunker down above my husband's dresser, which doubles as our office desk...which means clutter. I knew that if I were to get the spider with the broom and miss, it would fall and it would hide rather well in that mess. So I got the bug repellent and doused him good. That way I knew if he got away before I could finish the job it would only be a matter of time... Muahahaha! Before I could grab the broom the sucker base jumped from the ceiling into the mess. 

A little voice from the back of my mind whispers, "Hey remember that show on Animal Planet where you learned that not all spiders can be killed by your awesome bug spray?" Crap...there is no way I would be sleeping until I confirmed the creep was dead. 

I began to jiggle things on the desk to scare the thing out of hiding. Finally I spotted him sitting on my wedding photo. Obviously, the right tool for where he now taunted me was not the broom. I knew it had to be a toilet paper in the hand scenario. I hate doing this. Usually I don't pick them up until I've gotten them good with a shoe or broom and I know they aren't going to jump up my arm. Bravely I nabbed him with perfect ninja like precision.

And all the people watching were like:

If people had been watching...

I breathed a sigh of relief...but wasn't completely settled. Something wasn't right. 

You see, I watched A LOT of Animal Planet growing up. And while I don't like being near them in person, I am fascinated by spider shows. Maybe I was hoping that the more I learned about them, the less fearful I would be. So far, not working...

I remembered what the spider looked like before I mashed him too a pulp... How I had known instantly he was a male... a BIG male. And if you know anything about spiders, you know how big this HAS to make the female. That's right folks. In the spider world the female is drastically more macho than the males. In fact after they've mated the female will usually eat the male. The only time I have ever seen male spiders in my house is before or after I find the female. And I hadn't found her yet. 

I just knew this wasn't over. I managed to sleep that night, of course having nightmares of being cast in Arachnophobia: The Sequel. I didn't find her the next night. But tonight I walked in ready to zonk on my bed and sure enough there she was. Ready for her revenge. I had killed her dinner mate and she wasn't about to let that stand. She wasn't even trying to hide! She knew how big she was and she wasn't shy about it. The bug spray was still by my bed side and I quickly grabbed it. She saw this and got scared and ran to hide in the groove of the open window. I soaked the window sill. I grabbed a flash light because I couldn't see if she was still there and sure enough she started to dart back into the room. But I was faster and quickly slammed the window right on top of her. 

I opened the window back up to confirm she was dead.

She wasn't. I grabbed my keys which as a nifty self defense stick attached too it. And with some totally awesome jedi moves, squished her. Now my window is closed again and I totally have the hebejebes! 

Now to try and sleep...wish me luck!

Third Anniversary:

It's our third anniversary of being in the Army!

Three years since our recruiter was like:

And we were all like:

And now my husband is all like:

And I'm all like:

And life goes on!

Motherhood: The Mess of Silence

All mother's want is some peace and quiet...

But all we are really getting...

Is a Nesquick explosion. What this picture doesn't show you is his clothes which were COVERED and our poor couch :)

Rabbits: August Crazy Edition

I haven't done a Rabbit's post in awhile so here goes nothing!

First off if you don't know what "Rabbits" is, let me explain:

It all started as a European tradition that on the first of every month, you say "Rabbits!" to everyone you see before they say it to you. The more people you get, the more luck you have for the month. 

It has now become a cut throat and diabolical day where family and friends call/text/Facebook/email each other as soon as that clock hits 12:01 am. To give you an idea of how this is escalating: A few months ago, family friends planted blow up bunnies all over my parent's house. Hilarious and awesome!

Sometimes I win...but most of the time I lose. 

But I NEED to win today guys!

 Because August is going to be like:

It's going to be CRAZY!!

 So don't be upset if you call me and I'm all like:

I am also gearing up for the greatest week in TV land, you guessed it:

SHARK WEEK starts this Sunday, so you know where I will be :)

I just want August to be done y'all!

So with that I will say Happy Rabbits-ing and

...with August!

Inflation is crazy!

There is one thing about living in an apartment I love:

In the summer, sweet little neighbor kids come banging on our door and ask if we would be willing to pay them to take our trash to the dumpster. 

Last year was the first time we experienced this and we were impressed!

These kids wanted a mere $.25 for each bag. What made this so impressive was that our last complex only had ONE dumpster. ONE! And it was literally on the farthest side of the complex from us. We never walked our bags all the way there. We loaded them up in the car and drove, if that gives you any idea of just how far that is. So when these kids came by we were excited!

Despite the joy of having our own garbage service, we could not stay in that apartment. Too many other problems (gun going off in the apartment above us at 3 am for example) and we had to move. We were really excited to see that not only did our new place have a BUNCH of dumpsters but one was right outside our door! No more smelly bags in the car!

Yesterday, we had a knock on the door and two sweet little girls asked if we would pay them to take our trash to the dumpster. My husband asked how much they would charge, not expecting it to be much since we could almost throw our trash out the window and make it in the dumpster. 

But instead it's like:

Because they wanted $2!!!!! Uh seriously?? Two bucks for what I have no issue doing myself? 

So you may be wondering what happened next:

We gave it too them because we are complete suckers... 

Spend it well little kids! 

Military Life and My Anxious Child:

 Our children don't know exactly what Clayton does.

They know he is a helicopter mechanic. But they don't know what a soldier is. They don't know why he fixes Apaches and what the Apache was made for. They know that sometimes he goes to work before they wake up but comes home before they go to bed. They know that sometimes they won't see him that day. They know that it could be several "sleeps" before they get to see him again. But they don't know WHY:

Will is almost five! I can't believe it!

From about three months of age he became this super mellow kid. Before that it was three months of almost non-stop crying. I used to joke that he had met his quota for tears and that's why he just seemed to go with the flow. 

I never would have suspected that to change when we joined the army. He was just a super chill kid! 

When my husband first left, it didn't phase him, but he was only a week from turning two. However, after my husband had to go back to AIT after a two week Christmas break, he figured it out. Daddy was had been gone for awhile, came back and now was gone again. 

Suddenly the kid who would walk into nursery no problem didn't want to leave my side. And that is when I noticed the anxious side to him that had really always been there but had no reason to present itself.

Boy did it have a good reason now!

I know some families are very hard core army with their children. Their kids understand that daddy/mommy is going to go fight the bad guys. And that's great, but I hesitate to go there with my kids. They get so anxious about when they are going to see him again, I don't want them to worry about IF they are going to see him again. Not yet. I want them to sleep soundly not knowing about the bad guys that their daddy helps keep at bay. And right now that works for us.

Sad? Why you should still express gratitude:

I saw this amazing video this morning and I just wanted to share it with you all... being the three amazing people who follow this blog :) This video highlights a small study that was done in response to another study that proves that the more gratitude we show in our lives, the happier we are!

If your life just seems miserable or you are sad about things going on that you can't control, try upping your expressions of gratitude! 
To me the opposite of expressing gratitude would be venting.
There is an old proverb that says, "An empty cup makes the most noise (venting)." 
I've noticed a trend in people, the one's who feel empty are the one's who are constantly or consistently venting... But science has proven that venting actually stresses you out more! Venting about their husbands, their wives, their children, their financial situations, their job status, laundry (you caught me)...the more we vent the more miserable we are. The more we can't see the good outside of the bad.
So in conclusion:
Venting = more stress, less happiness (BOO!)
Expressing gratitude = MORE happiness (YAY!)
And who doesn't want to be more happy?

Should we have named him Joseph?

We recently returned from an amazing stay-cation at my parents! So many great memories.

Like this one:

I was standing out in my parent's backyard when all the sudden my four year old son runs out of the house screaming with his hands up in the air. 

He gets all the way to me, stops, looks up and says, "I saw Sammie naked and it scared me!!" (Sammie is a two year old girl). Then he threw up his arms again and continued to run through the back yard screaming. 

I laughed and thought, "Yep, just keep doing this till you are married kid!"

My Favorite Independence Day Quotes:

Last year I shared my Independence Day playlist. This year I wanted to share my favorite Independence day quote but then I realized I couldn't pick just one...so you're welcome:

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness.  You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."  ~Erma Bombeck 

"Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty."  ~Louis D. Brandeis

Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.  ~Albert Camus

If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in time of peace.  ~Hamilton Fish

Have a great Independence Day!

Military Wife Motto:

You may be surprised to know that the unofficial military wife motto isn't patriotic or has anything to do with how proud of our soldiers we are. But it has everything to do with our crazy way of life:

"Write EVERYTHING in pencil!!"

Nothing seems harder for friends and family to understand. When I try to even explain to a friend that I never really know when my husband will get home each day they are all like:

Yep! It's crazy! And I'm having to embrace this motto more and more during "training season." I don't know that training season exists for everyone, it just seems to be that this time of year my husband is gone for a month here and there. Holidays and birthdays are threatened to be incomplete without his presence. You would think there would be an official declaration of events for these out of town trainings but even when you think you've got the official word, there are those pesky Army rumors that make you question everything.

 For example:

Come February, I will be moving. It could either be back to my parents (husband deploys) or Alabama (husband gets picked up for flight school). That will be big year for us with Will going to kindergarten then. I don't know if he will be enrolling in my old school or a completely new one! Then I hear the deployment is actually in February so I might be moving in January. The BEST part of this whole little scenario? I won't know where I am going until January. That's right! I won't know where I am moving until four short weeks before I have too! I am wigging out guys! 

Plans are never set in stone and 95% of the time I am left saying:

And:

I wish someone had told me about this because I am a planner. I would like to actually own one of those super nice Franklin Covey planners but my handwriting looks horrible in pencil. And there would be eraser shavings EVERYWHERE!

Ultimately I'm going to need one of these when I make it through this with even part of my sanity intact:

SUCCESS!

Summer Fitness Challenge: Week FOUR!!

I have actually learned something. I used to think I hated to run...but realize now that I love it! What I hate is people staring at me when I do it because:

Last Sunday I had someone tell me that their husband saw me running and tried to wave at me. I was basically mortified! And hoped he saw me at the start of my run and not at the end where I am a sweating panting mess. It's not even a hot mess guys!! It's just gross. I can't wait until invisibility cloaks become available to muggles... I would use it for this a lot! And laugh when people see a double stroller charging down the hill :)

Until that glorious moment occurs I am stuck with this:

Awkward glance at me all you want people! It may not be pretty (graceful or coordinated) but its healthy!

I am at a whopping 35.43 miles! And that means something!!

Like THEY say (Because they are so smart!..sometimes):

"If you still look cute at the end of your workout,
YOU DIDN'T TRAIN HARD ENOUGH!"

Tacoma Nature Center:

Saturday we went to the Tacoma Nature Center. To be honest...I wasn't too impressed. When I read the trail went around Snake Lake I was expecting a lake. But it was more like a bog. But the walk was good! The park was cute but not as epic as some of the other parks Tacoma has to offer. I did learn about a new species of ant I had never heard of before!

Thatcher Ants! I'm not going to lie, with how many there were, scenes from Indiana Jones (The one with the Crystal Skull) ran through my mind. 

(These guys don't dig...the build! This hill was COVERED in ants!)

All in all it was a fun day but not what we expected. 

Kids in Stroller Tips:

This Summer Fitness Challenge has been awesome. I know I sound like a broken record but really it has been a blast! I am going to start compiling a list of ideas on here that I have used to keep kids busy while on the longer runs:

1. Pinwheels! They are great for keeping kids entertained and they motivate me to stay on pace :)

2. Snacks! Ok this one is obvious but it REALLY helps my kids.

3. Run with a friend and swap kids! I got this from a friend and thought it was genius. Switching a kid so that they each have a new travel buddy is a great way to keep them entertained. 

I'm actually glad we only bought one:

We have two boys, which means when we get toys, we have to buy two!

Two windmills, two hot wheels, two everything!

For some reason, if we only have one of something, even if it is the lamest toy I've ever seen, both boys will want THAT one. 

We try to avoid this as much as possible...

A couple of weeks ago, however, we somehow lost all our parenting know-how and only bought ONE!

Meet Mimi. This little girl was the result of a $5 donation to our local zoo. Little Man has a whole pack of stuffed dogs like this so we thought we would just add to the collection! Totally spacing the scenario that was about to unfold. We handed the puppy to Will and sure enough, Caden began to cry...

Parental FACE PALM!

We tried to solve it by taking the toy from Will until we got home and Caden wouldn't notice, but then he started crying. I thought the contention would only last during our trip but I was wrong.

That first night started off awful. Both boys wanted to sleep with it. We had obviously bought it to go into Will's pack but we never thought Caden would care so much!

So I decided to let Caden sleep with it first, I thought Will needed a lesson in sharing. Will went into  hysterics. The kind you know just won't end until he gets what he wants. But I knew I couldn't reward the behavior. So I try to tell him that we are going to have joint custody and that he gets her tomorrow. But he couldn't hear me. He wanted Mimi NOW!

Then the most beautiful thing happened. Caden climbed up and handed his distraught brother the toy. Not expecting anything back he climbed down and into bed. I was SHOCKED!

Caden is in nursery and at the age where mentally it is almost impossible for them to understand the concept of sharing let alone with no egging on from a parent! The nursery manual even says that the leaders aren't supposed to make children share. TRUE STORY!

I praised Caden to Heaven and back to make sure I solidified that he did a GREAT thing. William thanked him and Caden responded with "Ah welcome!"

Now this wasn't the end of the fights. Heck they are fighting over her right now. But they have also been sharing a lot more too! A LOT MORE!! Not just with each other but with other kids also! 

For once I am glad we only bought one!

Summer Fitness Challenge Update: Week 3

With last weekend being Father's Day I missed some time to really keep up with my mileage and was worried I wouldn't hit my goal by today. I knew from the minute I signed on to do this I would need to stay ahead to not let this stress me out (as if trying to get back into running wasn't stressful enough!). Thankfully because a friend invited me to go running I actually had my best week yet! 10.68 miles! I know all of my awesome running friends are probably scoffing at those numbers but cut me some slack. I'm not built for running. My legs are short! Anyhoo, I ran the farthest today than I have in a LONG time. I will admit that I did have to stop to walk a couple of times though but still this is progress right? 

Currently I am at 29.23 miles! I'm just a little ahead of where I need to be to be tracking, which is good! It's tough when you want to be ahead by one unit when that unit is A MILE!

Summer Fitness Challenge: Second Week + a mini rant

It's week two! This has been such a great adventure so far and we are still at the beginning!

I was hoping to get in two more miles today but it's raining. Hopefully I will be able too but we will see.

I am currently at 18.2 miles! That's right on track with what I need to be but I want to try and keep ahead. Trying to make up miles would be stressful!

My weight is down two pounds and I've lost half an inch on my waist! The best part is I'm not sore which makes it a lot easier to get out there and get my miles in!

..................................................................RANT...............................................................

So I know that individually these people don't realize they are adding to a very annoying problem, but they are and it's frustrating.

Every time I go out for a run, complete strangers seem to think it's ok to provide a commentary on how they think I'm doing:

"You need to go faster to make their windmills move!"

"Not too fast now!"

"It's easier to run on the road!"

And a note to drivers turning left: If you have a "Left turn yields..." sign and I have the light up walking man telling me its ok to cross: YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY! I do, so don't give me the finger when you almost hit me, because you were completely at fault.

Rant over :)

Summer Fitness Challenge Update: Week two!

So the first week of the challenge is down! I have 11 miles under my belt! So far I am tracking for my goal of 120 miles. The diet plan I was going to stick too last week didn't stick. I've been dealing with some stuff and part of it is headaches almost everyday and some of those days, the headache wouldn't go away and some bubbly caffeinated beverages were called for. It still didn't make it go away completely but I am doing better.  This week I am going to add to my goal list as I recommit to sticking too it!

1. Count my calories (Using myfitness pal)

2. Drink 64+ ounces of water daily

3. Eat six small meals a day consisting of less sugar and more protien

4. Wear a heart monitor during cardio to keep me in my fat burning zone

5. Lift weights on the days in between cardio

6. Get 8 hours of sleep a night (If my children love me!)

7. Limit dairy to one serving a day!

Yikes this is going to be HARD for me but I am hoping it will help! 

Also I asked Cat (The founder of this challenge) what  tips she had for keeping my little guys happy while they sit in the stroller for 45 minutes at a time. (Yes I am a slow poke but the whole way home from my two mile run is up hill!) She responded with a blog post that I thought was great!