Weekend update plus running progress

You know those mornings when you try so hard to be productive and start the day out on the right note? No matter how hard you try, you fail. The day is tough and things keep going wrong. That's the day today, and last Monday, and the one before that. How do I break this cycle?? Note that it is only 9:09 AM and I am already saying this.

Mostly, this morning hasn't been awful; I think I'm just frustrated because my running progress has slowed considerably due to my calves not keeping up. As you know, this is nothing new, but I'm just tired of it and today it really got to me. I probably only ran half of the two miles I did, and while my calves are aching, the rest of my body is wondering when the work out begins.

Did you catch that? I went for my run at 7:30 this morning with the girls and Hannah, my parents' dog who is staying with us this week. I also purchased a kettlebell this weekend, but now realize that I got too small of a weight and will have to buy at least two more. I know I will like them and enjoy using the one I have, but man I feel like I am constantly spending money all the time. Hubby said, "why don't you just go to the gym?" in which I laughed and said, "will you stay home with the girls so I can do that?" He stopped making suggestions at that point. 

On to the weekend.... we spent some time outside (although it wasn't very hot and was about to rain so our timing was a little off) and my parents gave Josie her birthday present. They got her a sandbox that is a whole lot classier than the turtle shape I was planning on getting for her. It's the shape of ... a castle maybe? with a sun design on the cover. The cover is my favorite part because I'd prefer the girls to avoid cat liter boxes that take over sandboxes. Way to go grandparents!

We also had to say good bye to friends of ours that are moving all the way to the east coast. They happen to also be Josie's godparents, so we made yet another attempt to get a picture of the three of them. I don't know what the deal is, but I have never gotten even one good picture of them. This one is grainy and I had to be in it (cropped out later of course) to keep Josie semi happy. Ridiculous, yo!

We also went for a bike ride with auntie Lara and daddy even came too. Audrey was not having it so we stopped at a park to pull it together. It was too wet to play much, but we made the most of it.

Not pictured: Hubby and I had a date night on Friday night, we helped our friends above pack up for the move on Saturday night, we went to church on Sunday morning, and had more quality time with auntie Lara on Sunday afternoon. 

Looking at a calendar, the weekends are filling up so fast! It's crazy to think that we only have a handful of them left before we are moving and getting situated in a new home that will take up all of our time and energy. 




Want to leave a comment? Click on the title of this post and scroll to the bottom. You'll see the comment section there. Can't wait to read what you have to say!

Who doesn't love an update

Time for a little update.

Running: Slow and steady. I am running an average of two miles at a time. The other day while staying at the lake, I was able to slip away for a run all by myself and managed to get a PR post baby. I was so excited. I started out walking, not sure how much running I was in the mood for, but soon enough the beautiful weather, scenery, and hills called my name and I picked up my speed. Before I knew it, I had run a mile in under 11 minutes (with that walking in the beginning). I was pumped and even did a little fist pump all by my lonesome in the middle of nowhere. The second mile also included some walking and was completed in just over 11 minutes. Still good considering those hills that my sweet home town doesn't have. My body is not so used to those.

Even with that exciting run, I still am frustrated more often than not. Earlier this week, I ran/walked two miles but really I walked most of it while my calves screamed out in pain. Note to self: this feeling is why it is important to maintain and not slack when it comes to running. Once I get past this hump, I love running so so much and can really push myself. In the meantime, I need to endure the sorest calves known to man. This may be a slight exaggeration, but it is very slight.

I got a massage on Monday (thank you, sister, for the surprise gift) and the masseuse told me that I needed some serious work in my calves and feet because they were so tight. Really? I had no idea. I feel almost bruised today, but it felt oh so good to get them rubbed out yesterday. Today is a rest day but I'll be back at it tomorrow. 

I really need to start lifting weights steadily. I actually do enjoy lifting, I just never fit it in to the schedule with the girls. Maybe soon that will happen?



Audrey: Mostly happy, she's now 7 months old and I will have that update soon. I need to get my act together first, though. Easier said than done.



Josie: Almost two ohmygoodness where is my baby?? Her potty training journey has been interesting... She still has that one accident a day of the messier variety but usually can make it the rest of the day as long as I remind her. Any other accidents throughout the day are direct results of my forgetfulness. If we go regularly, she does great.

Her attitude, on the other hand, is ridiculous. Girl knows how to throw a full-blown tantrum but then can also turn on the charm 30 seconds later. Some days seem so long while others are clearly the days I will remember in years to come. I do love this age, but no ups are as good without the downs to show contrast. We have a lot of downs around here these days.

Hubby: So busy with work. Have I mentioned that I'm proud of him? He has a full-time employee now, which is new to us, so managing his business takes up a lot more of his time than before. I'm pretty sure he's still doing just as much physical work as before so that just means he's working even harder if that is possible. Thankfully, he still makes time for us when he can and the girls just adore him. He's a hit, all around.

Life: What a whirlwind. As you read in this post, we're in the calm before the storm between getting our house sold and moving. Our closing date is August 12th, so we have about two months to finish packing up this house while still enjoying summer. It's going to be a delicate balance. Already I can tell that I need to be creative with quite random things now that so much is packed away and kind of out of reach. (Our packed stuff is being stored at my in-laws. They graciously gave us their garage for the next couple of months but it's boxed up and not easy to access). For example, we only have two chairs for sitting outside so I'm moving them all over the place so that I can avoid the dirty ground and be somewhat comfortable while the kids play. Also? A lot of their toys are packed up and somehow I need to entertain them inside and outside. I feel like I'm packing for a week just to play in the garage. It's fun.

We're spending a lot of time at the lake (there are actually more toys and things for the girls to play with out there than at our house currently) and we'll be going to Mike's aunt's farm at least once as well. Weekends are mostly filled up and I will hopefully be able to keep things fun during the week.

And as promised, there will be another update regarding our new house soon. We're so excited over here. 

Here are some photos from our Father's day weekend. It was so much fun and relaxing. I loved having help with the girls (and took full advantage of it, thank you mom!) and the weather was perfect. LOOVE weekends like this.

I was just a little nervous when teeny tiny Josie was running on this huge (to me) bridge. Of course, she did fine. :)

Tea party with auntie

The gift from us... a white birch tree. He was sufficiently excited.

Father's day, we love him!

Father's Day, girls lover their daddy

Want to leave a comment? Click on the title of this post and scroll to the bottom. You'll see the comment section there. Can't wait to read what you have to say!

The difference two weeks can make

High quality, just the way we like it.

A story for you.

Friday, May 31st - My MIL told me about a house near hers that was for sale. She'd been to a garage sale there and thought it was worth mentioning to me (so glad she did!). I looked it up online since it hadn't shown up on my auto-sent emails due to the garage stalls not being the same number (2 instead of 3). Well look at that! A 5 bedroom house in our city that isn't a bilevel. And it's in our price range. And it's on the river. Interesting. I called hubby and had him look at the information. I then called the Realtor to see if we could see it. She told us that there would be an open house on Sunday and we hung up. Later in the evening, my impatience took over and I decided to email her to see it sooner than that.

Saturday, June 1st - At 8:00 AM, we loaded up the girls and went to meet the Realtor at the house. We looked around and were smitten. There were a lot of things to change and update, but it was move-in-ready and had a lot of potential. Neither of us acted too excited, though. We knew that it was a long shot. The house seemed over priced and had some funky things about it.

Sunday through Tuesday - We thought about it and talked about it with family and friends

Wednesday, June 5th - I called our old Realtor from when we had bought our current home and he said we should come in right away if we wanted to make an offer because it's a seller's market. We went in that evening (with the girls, what were we thinking??) and made a super low offer with no negotiations allowed and tried to keep our expectations low. We were expecting a big fat NO.

Friday, June 7th - Our Realtor told us that we did in fact get the big fat NO, but good news! They had lowered the price by 10,000. Interesting. Was this their way of countering our low offer? We decided to make another offer that was above what we had originally thought was our "lowest" and met them more in the middle. They countered, and we accepted! 

The deal was that there were two contingencies. One, our house had to sell before we can close so we can have the new house financed. Two, the house had to pass an inspection. With that information in hand, we knew we needed to get to work on our current house as it was not even close to ready to sell.

We spent the whole weekend and early part of the next week moving half of our stuff out to make the home seem more spacious and comfortable, and hubby worked extra hard on getting the little things done (like trim, yard work, paint touch ups, etc). Hubby's parents helped with all of it (what a huge help they were ohmygoodness) and my sister came down to help babysit the girls so I could focus on the task at hand. Seriously, family can be so great. 

Tuesday, June 11th - our Realtor came over to fill out the disclosure and take pictures. Our house has never looked so good. 

Wednesday, June 12th - We started getting calls from other Realtors looking to set up times to show our house to their clients. A total of 8 showings in the first day - not bad! The girls and I high tailed it out of there to the lake. Do you know how hard it is to keep a house perfectly staged with two kids under two? The answer: impossible. Off we went. 

Wednesday, June 12th at 11:00 PM - Hubby calls to tell me that our house is sold. Excuse me? It hasn't even been listed for 24 hours.



God is so good.
And by the way, this story is true. More details to come!




Want to leave a comment? Click on the title of this post and scroll to the bottom. You'll see the comment section there. Can't wait to read what you have to say!

Josie says

We asked what her baby's name is. She said "Ida." Wherever did she hear that name??

Her morning routine often involves holding her baby while looking out the patio door at the school across the street. This morning, I heard her say repeatedly, like over 50 times, "You're such a big girl, you're such a big girl!" Apparently I say that often to baby Audrey. Also, she just put her baby in time out, all the time shaking her head with a stern expression on her face. Josie is only in time out like twice a month! Thankfully she isn't putting her baby in time out all the time. That would make a mama have to rethink things.

To her Pappa, while standing near the fire pit: "Pappa make the dirt hot?"

While Pappa was in the hospital after surgery, we had a few meals with him to keep him company and get out of the house. The next day, after Grammy had left go see him (which Josie knew she was doing), she asked, "Eat lunch in the little room?" I'm thankful her impressions of the hospital are one of "going back while enjoying a good meal" instead of being afraid.

Pappa: "Josie? Did you go on the tractor today?
Josie: "I did."
Pappa: "What did you see?"
Josie: "La-la-la loons!"
Pappa: "What else did you see?"
Josie: "......... I see cows!!" (her favorite. ever.)





Want to leave a comment? Click on the title of this post and scroll to the bottom. You'll see the comment section there. Can't wait to read what you have to say!