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!

Summer Fitness Challenge Kick-Off: Day one

So if you read my post yesterday, you learned I was crazy enough to sign up for this challenge. I'm excited, don't get me wrong but it's pretty daunting! 120 miles in three months?? 13 full weeks and some odd days to do be almost exact! Roughly speaking I need to do a little more than 9 miles a week. AGAIN...daunting! But doable. We have a park that is almost exactly two miles from my house. I figure if I do that twice a week and then throw in a walk to a park that is a mile away then I will be set! I am doing this to be healthy and I will be measuring and weighing in each week. I want to lose 10 pounds. I know that doesn't seem like much but these last ten pounds just won't let go! Here is how I plan to reach my goal:

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!)

(Day one!)


One of the things I am afraid of is all the stroller time these boys will be getting. They get bored on the long jog/walk to the park. But these pinwheels helped a BUNCH today!