Spring Break Part I [North Carolina]

Traveling is always something that we've wanted to do, but has been on the back burner until well, now. Our oldest turns five in June (how, God, how?!?!?) and our daughter is three and a half. If you had asked me a while ago if I would have thought I'd take them camping in a tent for two nights and then drive five more hours to another state besides, I would have said heck to the no. I just never knew what life LOOKED like traveling with kids. Largely because I didn't know what it looked like for just ME, as a twenty-nine year old woman. I went on family vacations (lots), sure, but in my own adult years? My husband and I have been to St. Augustine, Florida and then Gulfport, MS; and that is in 8.5 years of marriage. So here we are, on a VERY big trip, and so far, it tops the charts. The memories we've made with our kids, watching them learn, adventure, explore, and GROW as tiny humans--this time is irreplaceable. We're so thankful our two VERY dear friends Tim and Clayton joined us, without them, we wouldn't have laughed [or kept our sanity] NEARLY as much. This is largely a giant photo dump, and I plan on organizing my thoughts and emotions into another post. So for now, curl up and enjoy part one of our adventuring! (Oh, and the baseball cap that I hardly took off this entire trip? Gigi Pip's Laci Hat in Red--seriously, SO stinken cute and comfy, and no hair washing required, haha! Total win for two solid nights in a tent and hiking up mountains!)

Turning 29, Planning for Spring Break, and Dealing with Disappointment.

Some of you have seen my Torteous Twenties post and if not, you can check that out here. But alas, I had a birthday this week and it was a glorious weekend/week of celebrating with dear friends and family. The day after I turned 29, I ran 9 miles with two of my friends I have been training with, and I NEVER would have imagined I could do that. Lo and behold, God continuously likes to shock me; and I'm now in a season of trusting, resting, and relying on Him for some healing. I ran 5.5 miles this Wednesday, 3.3 over hills on Thursday, and as soon as I stopped, my left knee started right back to square one of popping, catching, and causing me some good pain. It woke me often throughout the night last night, which hasn't actually happened before...I texted my good friend who is a PT and she said, "If you listen to your body when it whispers, then you won't have to listen to it scream." I'm tearing up just typing that, largely because I believe there is so much truth in it, but also because I know my body is whispering to me RIGHT now. And that's hard. In five weeks I've gone from not knowing I could run further than 3 miles consistently, to running good distances every single week. 

I know it's not the end of the world, but I never would have imagined that I'd be so disappointed to sit out a TEN mile race. I was so looking forward to running with my friend Lauren and to seeing my husband and kids at the finish line... but I'm still excited to cheer my friend on and to hear how she did. And now we get an earlier start on our vacation, so that's of course VERY exciting. I'm praying that a week off from running--maybe some hiking and strength training periodically, will help mend my knee and I am ultimately praying I CAN do the mini marathon at the end of April. So fingers crossed and I won't mind one bit if you add me to your prayers!

Anyway, this week looked like playing outside, sitting by the heater when it randomly got cold, learning about spring, drawing spring scenes, and planting wildflowers to grow inside. I love watching my kids learn and absorb information; it has been a ton of fun teaching them over the past couple of months. Also, Pierson visited the allergist and he is apparently allergic to cats, dogs, and mold [soooooo since we live in a zoo of animals that's not exactly good news]...but the doctor was AMAZING and he's on some medications now to hopefully help him with all of this. He's just had a bad bout of bronchitis and a double ear infection he couldn't kick, but I think we are finally on the mend. I also got to watch my friend Lauren's son Jadon this week. He's 14 months old and my kids ADORE him (as you can see from the photos below).  It's surreal that my husband's spring break has arrived. Tomorrow we head for Asheville, NC to camp for two nights + then we are staying at Myrtle Beach in a condo. Our two best friends Tim + Clayton are joining us--it's going to be SO much fun. [And probably also incredibly exhausting... but well worth it I already know!]

A Week On Slowness, Holidays, and Double Ear Infections

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY, Y'ALL! The teacher in me is obsessed with all things holiday, so every single month I seriously scour the calendar for what holiday I can focus on next. March is one of my favorite months, with this holiday, the beginning of official spring, and my birthday (next weekend) of course. Before I go too much further, I want to share these easy treats with you, so that if in the event you're like, "Oh shoot, I want to do something for St. Patty's Day with my kids but totally forgot!" these are beyond simple and quick to do with them. 

St. Patrick's Day Rice Krispy Treats
Inspired by Classy Clutter

Ingredients: 
1/4 cup of butter
4 cups of soft marshmallows
5 cups of Rice Krispie cereal
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
green food coloring
approximately 3/4 cup of Lucky Charm’s marshmallows – Reese was my helper in picking out the marshmallows from the Lucky Charms cereal box, and setting them aside in a bowl. She may or may not have snuck a few (or dozen...)

Directions: 
Melt the butter over low heat until completely melted. Slowly add marshmallows and stir often to avoid burning. When marshmallow/butter mixture is completely melted, add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and your green food coloring and mix well. Remove from heat and stir in your Rice Krispie cereal. Once mixture is mostly combined, stir in the Lucky Charm’s marshmallows.  

I forgot how much I like Rice Krispy Treats, making them St. Patrick's Day themed was so much fun! Now on to some more pictures from our week. It was overall pretty slow, and I didn't have a lot of motivation to do many lessons... but Pierson learned how to spell "me" and "the" and he recognizes them in books now, so that's a huge accomplishment! 

It was also the first week I've dreaded running.... such a bummer, I have been on such a high, that I always looked forward to trying to run further! I did 4 miles on the treadmill and got super discouraged from some knee/ankle pain, took the inserts out and ran 3 the next day, and that was the best post-run I've felt yet. So I'm going to attempt a short one today, and then I have a 10k TOMORROW. Yikes!! I'm telling myself I've ran 7 and didn't die, so surely I can do the 6.4 or whatever it is, right? 

And Pierson went to the doctor today. He hasn't been able to hear us well AT ALL (I'm talking, I have to be NEXT to his ear drum sometimes in order for him to hear!) and the doctor said he has a double ear infection. He's been in monthly since December with ear infections and bronchitis, so we were referred to an allergist. I had to have allergy shots monthly as a kid, so it wouldn't be a huge shocker if he's an allergy kid as well... just hoping for GOOD news, and that they won't say, "Oh yeah, he's allergic to ALL of your pets!" Prayers appreciated! 

PS: The beautiful table you see in 99% of my photos is by the incredibly talented Brent, with Louisville Farm Tables. It's been a dream of ours for a loong time to have a table such as this. It's 8-feet long, gorgeous, and we love hosting our friends and family around it! 

A Brave Week

My husband had Monday off from work and yet somehow the week still managed to seem extremely long. Wednesday we both thought that it was Thursday and the end of the week dragged onnnn. The temps have been less than favorable, but on Thursday we reached 70's again and I was bound and determined to make it a GREAT day for all. 

I packed the backpack, grabbed the dogs leashes, and luckily also remembered my full frame camera. I don't remember the last time the pups haven't just been to our park that's across the street, and I forgot how much Elsa, our Golden, lives for water. The day was BEAUTIFUL, and while I Instagram storied it all, my husband texted and said, "Wow! You're feeling BRAVE!" The aftermath looked like all four of us getting insanely muddy, and the dogs getting bathed by me with freezing cold water in our backyard--but it the morning definitely won the GREAT award! 

One of my favorite things about the week was that I got to hang out with my friend Lauren and her son Jadon TWICE. I wish I had remembered to take a few pictures of THEM, but I'm so blessed by her. She's also the one helping me find motivation to run and train for the mini marathon, that part coming later ;) 

Our week also looked like slow mornings, playing Jenga, me having third and fourth cups of coffee, Bible stories, and by the end of the week, painting a solar system [ALL Pierson!] Oh, and Reese's all red she has declared the Red Sea.... Asa joked and said, "So he's our Realist and she's our Impressionist!"

 Reese also had ONE great nap day [she usually only makes it an hour] and stayed asleep until her "clock turned green," so I promised her popsicles if this could happen. That was also the day we went hiking; imagine that, she actually got wore out!

Okay last but not least. Lauren asked me a LONG time ago if I would run Louisville's mini marathon with her and I completely laughed her off. I have never trained to run, and my "good" runs at the gym have been 2-3 miles, TOPS. One afternoon, a rather stressed out one, I did four miles on the treadmill. Later I asked Asa, "Why did I do that? That was random. I don't even have a fitness GOAL, and I'm SUPER sore." (I seriously could hardly walk?!) I told Lauren and she said, "If you can run 4 miles, you can run further." So it got me thinking. I told her I would meet up with her one weekend and run outside with her and some other ladies, just to see HOW far I could do. That's the other thing, I don't think I had ran outside in years at that point!! To my disbelief, we ran 6.3 without stopping a single time, and I felt GOOD! 

My ankles and left knee did start bothering me soon after 3-4 days of running a week, so she and I went to our local running store Feet Fleet and had our gate/feet examined. I left with brand new running shoes and an insert, because two employees informed me how badly my ankles pronate--which explains the soreness and tenderness I've been feeling. 

Well, she and I planned for 7 miles to be our long run this week; after doing 5.3, 4.5 and 3. We made a new route and set out and oh my gosh, we did it. (She's done 7 before, but 6.3 had definitely been THE longest I've ever ran in my life). I am SO thankful for her pushing me and I can't remember the last time I've felt this accomplished. 

SO? 13.1 miles...here I come! I hope!