Happy 1st Birthday Ty Ty.

To My Sweet Baby Ty Ty,

Happy Happy Happy 1st Birthday! This has been the fastest, crazies, most exhausting, and most rewarding year of my life.

One year ago tomorrow you were born in the comfort of our home in a room full of strength and love.  When you were put in my arms you were so quiet.  It took you a minute to let out your first cry and even that didn't last more than a few seconds.  You snuggled into me and just looked around at the big, cold, bright, new place and fell asleep.  Those first few minutes of your life sum up your personality to a T. You were the hardest baby to grow but have been the easiest, sweetest, snuggliest, little man since you took your first breath.  You've sat through volleyball practices, t-ball games, and long runs with me without a peep. You could live your life being carried around all day and be perfectly happy.

It's no secret that you were a HUGE surprise in our life...But EVERY day I am thankful God blessed us with you. I'm thankful for you snuggliness...your infectionous belly laugh...your sweet, sweet personality...the way you just go with the flow of our crazy life...but most of all I'm thankful for how having you made me realize that my life was missing something I didn't even know I needed.

 

In the last few weeks you've started to find your voice in our house and learned that to be heard above your crazy brothers you need to be LOUD.   You're also not afraid to join in their antics without a second thought...climbing, wrestling, and always trying to keep up.  Raising you and your brothers is no joke. You are a busy bunch....But what makes it all so much easier is how each of you love your mama oh so much...And what I want you to know not just today but every day...is that I love you more than you will ever know...at least not until you have your own babies and watch your heart walk around outside of your body every.single.day.

Happy Birthday Baby Ty Ty. You will forever be my favorite surprise of a lifetime.

Love, Your Mama.

Changing it up with some new workouts!

Last week I had 3 friends invite me to try some new workouts.  I'm game for just about anything so I tried them all ON TOP of my usual running...My knees are PISSED so I'm taking it easy this week with spinning and swimming only until Sunday. And by easy I mean my ass will still be kicked but my joints will just get a break. So I thought I would share my two cents about each of the new things I tried.

Body Pump: Loved it.

My friend Erica got the DVD for Christmas so I went to her house so we could do it together. It was awesome. I really like how a lot of it moved to the beat of the music.  I always workout better with music. My legs were SHAKING after the first round of squats.

We were doing it on my hub's lunch hour so we did the 30 minute workout and it was a GOOOOOD workout for the amount of time!  I should have used heavier weights for the arms......WELCOME TO THE GUN SHOWWWWW......Definitely a good at home workout.  I dreaded sitting on the toilet the next morning.

Crossfit: Not my thing.

I went with my friend Chelsea who is a crossfit lover.  I've witnessed it drastically change her body so there's no question if it works.

This is a hard one to review because from my understanding each "Box" is different. I think this one did not mix very well with my personality.  Like....someone telling me what to do in a somewhat drill sergeanty way. I spent my entire life doing the EXACT OPPOSITE of what my parents told me to do...so when someone tells me to run to get something...and run FASTER.... MORE HUSTLE... my first instinct is to walk.very.slowly. with both hands in the air and my middle fingers up.

Running is my first love. The reason I love it so much is that I am the only one telling me what to do. I'm the one telling me to go faster. More power. Be better. You can do more.

When I first met the trainer at this Crossfit I told him I'm a runner and THE FIRST THING he said was "well we may have to dial back your miles." STRIKE ONE, TWO, AND THREE.

I think my dislike for Crossfit boils down to being told what to do by a man that didn't have my respect yet. I-am-woman-hear-me-roar-ish.....most defiantly.

ROAR.

Swimming: Holy crap.
This is so much more of a workout than I ever imagined. I learned about this class through a friend and since I'm doing my first triathlon in June I knew I needed to work on my swimming.  Right now I can swim to save my own life...but not to compete in a triathlon. So that's what we are working on.

The first thing she had me do was swim 200 meters. I'm all like...oh yeah...200 meters that's like down and back right? The instructor looks at me like I have 3 heads and says....No, that would be 4 down and backs.

Oh snap.

So I swam it...and by swam I mean stayed above water.

By then end of the class I had swam roughly 1,600 meters using all different strokes and methods to improve my swimming efficiency....so I do more by working less.

This is COMPLETELY out of my comfort zone.  I HATE deep water, I haven't had swimming lessons since I was in grade school, and I still vividly remember our high school gym teacher making us tread water with our hands above our head.....scarred me for life. I've always used the swimming pool as a place to get a good tan and exhaust my children.

This kind of swimming is a whole new echelon of badassery.

Body Sculpt: I've been sore for 4 days.

This class is awesome for so many reasons.

1. It's a ministry put on by Chelsea Free Methodist Church called Faithful Fitness.

2. It costs $2 and INCLUDES CHILD CARE!!

3. They have different workouts Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so there's lots of options!

My biggest weakness is my strength and this class showed me muscles I didn't even know I had. I'm really excited to go back and again... $2!!!!!!!!! WITH CHILDCARE!?!??!?! For a GOOOOD workout!??! Can't beat it.

So there's the new things I've tried. Out of my comfort zone. Yes. But the best thing about them all is I tried them with friends. Friends make working out and new experiences so much more fun.

This morning I went to spin class since I was NOT running with a sore knee AND -15 windchills. The picture on the left is what my workout looked like this morning and the picture on the right is from April 25th, 2013 when I first started spinning.

Top Number: Average RPM\'s
Second Number: WATTS or the amount of effort exerted (my goal has always been to be around 160)

TALK ABOUT A NON SCALE VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the picture from this morning was AFTER cool down. When I looked after the workout my WATTS were 209. My ass was kicked.

These pictures are from the exact same days as the ones above. 

left: January 21, 2013

Right: April 25, 2013

Just.Keep.Going.

Why I Just Keep Going

A few months ago I was introduced a group of women that have completely changed my perception of myself and what I can do.  They inspired me to run my first half marathon, get moving on days I just want to stay in bed, and push myself farther than I ever thought possible.  

They taught me that girls compete with each other...and women inspire each other...

The question I get asked the most often is, "What's your motivation?" 

Here's the answer to that question.

Looking at my 2014!!

This year is going to be filled with a shit ton of badassery.  However...I must share first my last run of 2013... It sucked.

It was 7 degrees outside.

It was snowing.

The sidewalks were not shoveled and where they were shoveled it was filled with wet slush that crept into my shoes after the first block.

I didn't have one single second of runner's high....aka the goosebumps/adrenalin rush I work for each run.

I set out to run 6 miles to round out my 50 miles for December and only could muster 4.5...

It was the longest 4.5 miles I've ran in a LONG time.

Coming down the HILL OF DEATH I've ran a million times I realized that when I started running in April I couldn't run up this hill...I couldn't even run one mile and here I was bitching to myself because I wasn't going to run 6 MILES!?!?! So I stopped the pity party and kicked the last mile square in the ass.

Yes...My sister already very lovingly notified me that I need to have my eyebrows waxed............................I said I need the extra facial hair to run in the winter.

So after my run I got home...took a toasty hot shower...and thought...hm...It's the last day of 2013...I should see how much I've lost before the New Year starts...

I get on the scale and BAM... KAPOW.....HOLY SHITOLI 

I WEIGH 1 POUND LESS THAN THE DAY I GOT MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've learned a lot about the true meaning of health and fitness since I started this blog...I used to use the scale as a tool to determine if I was going to eat for the day.....................................

Now I use it as a tool to determine if what I'm doing is working...I give myself a 3ish pound window with a low and a high.  My low is the lowest number I've seen on the scale to date which had been stuck at 167 for a couple weeks...but with the holidays and the endless amount of cookies Dana's patients bring him.....I mean I can't just throw them out!! And I don't want the kids eating all that sugar because that would throw them into hyper active gremlin mode........................................... So I was ok with my low number not moving to much...My high number was 169...I hadn't been above that in 2 weeks either.  This window idea had completely changed how I look at the scale.  

But when I saw 165 I was over the moon!! I finally did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For the past 4 years I've wanted to just get back to what I weighed when I got married.  

Boom.

Now my low number will be 165 and my high number will be 168 and we will just keep going! I've had a lot of people ask me how much more weight I want to lose...I could not lose another pound and be happy.  BUT with all the running I'm doing in 2014 I REALLY think my body would thank me if I could gain more muscle and lose another 10 pounds of extra jiggle. 

Speaking of 2014...at 12:25 p.m. on January 1st, 2014...I registered for the Detroit Free Press International Half Marathon!! Whooo!! 

It was a rockin New Years Eve I tell ya.....................

I'm SO SO SO excited for this run!! There's a LOT of people which makes running so far so much easier.  There's TONS of people all along the course cheering you on which makes me 

1. Ugly cry 

2. Not focus on how far I have to run.

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!  So excited!! And this half marathon I get to cross the Canadian border...which will be the first time in my life I've been outside of the country!! AHH!! I ALMOST signed up for the full...But I've learned that whatever distance I set out to run has to make me happy...and right now 13.1 miles makes me happy.  26.2....not quite there yet...

The gremlins need to get a little older...and sleep a hellaba lot better. 

The Detroit Free Press International Half Marathon will be the culminating event of my amazing year of running. Here's a look and the links to all the big races I will be doing.

My first big race will be the Fifth Third River Bank Run on May 10th... it's a 25k and from what I understand a very large race...and there's a whole tribe of badasses I know that are running it.  Perfect way to start the running season.

Next will be my sister's wedding on May 31st where I run all over creation making sure this day is PERFECT for her. Pretty much equivalent to my first full marathon.

On June 22nd I will be doing my first Sprint Triathlon...The Iron Goddess...I'm good with everything except the swim...........................

Then on September 21st............ZACK'S 5TH BIRTHDAY..........I'm sure I will cry the first 5 miles thinking about how fast these last 5 years have gone.......I will be running the Detroit Women's Half Marathon.  I was going to run this last year but ran Women Rock Chicago instead.  I've heard great things about this race and how well organized it is.  I'm really looking foward to it! And the medal they gave out last year was a pink Detroit Tiger's D....It was awesome. And let's be honest...it's all about the bling.

Then finally on October 19th will be The Detroit Free Press International Half Marathon.  

I'm also hoping to run The Crim which is considered one of the largest 10 mile road races in the U.S. I couldn't do it last year because I had a volleyball tournament on that day..But I THINK I can this year!! 

So there's a look at my running plans for 2014...The most important thing to remember....I started running 8 months ago. It doesn't take long...It just takes a commitment. 

Left: April 2013... 3 months post baby number 3...weighing 200 pounds

Right: December 2013...11 months post baby number 3...weighing 165 pounds

Just.Keep.Going.

Bring it on 2014!! Running...Budgeting...Organizing..LET'S GO!

Every year MILLIONS of people sit down on January 1st...or 2nd depending on the level of hangover you may or may not have.......................and make their "New Years Resolutions"...Things they are going to improve in their lives in the upcoming year.  There are a bunch of lists out there of the top 10 New Years Resolutions...Guess what 3 are on EVERY>SINGLE>LIST.....

1. Lose weight
2. Get out of Debt
3. Organize my life.

Guess what 3 are also on every.single.list. of UNFULFILLED resolutions....................................................

Up untill last year I was part of that statistic...I would say...this year is it...I'm going to lose these 50 pounds of left over children I'm hanging onto...

Then life happened....please read...we could not stop making more children..........................................and I was never able to fulfill the ever popular WEIGHT LOSS resolution.

This year I can look back and finialy say....I FREAKIN DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!

I FINIALLY changed my life and the quality of life of my family....

Left: April 2013 after running my first mile

Right: December 2013 after running my 300th mile about 40 pounds and a shit ton of inches lighter!!

It's no secrete I'm incredibly proud of how I've changed my life in the past year...Having 3 kids under 4 is no freakin joke....and I knew I needed to be fit and healthy to give these little gremlins the quality of life they deserve...So I committed to it...and I did it...And I can FINALLY look back and say without a doubt I did everything I could to get me to where  I am.. 

I ran my ass off...literally... 

I ate better.

I put my need to be healthy way high up on my priority list.

And it happened.

I made a goal and worked my ass of to meet it...Yes I missed out on nap times to go for a run...and nights out with friends because I was running early in the morning the next day and I just wanted to go home, drink hot tea, and not wear pants............................

But I tell you what...accomplishing this goal FEELS AMAZING!

So I was thinking the other day...what if I could look back on 2014 and say the same thing about more than just my health?

What if I could organize my house like I've always wanted to...What if I could formulate a budget for our family that accelerated paying off our college debts...What if I could join the minority of people that actually stick to their "New Years Resolutions?" 

I've been searching Pintrest, Google +, and reading quite a bit lately on how to accomplish said goals..I've found some AWESOME resources...

I found the blog A Bowl Full of Lemons while I was pregnant with Tyler and I remember thinking...Yeah...that'll NEVER happen. Well my friends it's happening in 2014...I've already combined my TWO junk drawers into one organized one. Boom.

What am I going to do with my now empty other junk drawer? I don't know....there's just so much room for activities... So many possibilities!! 

Also happening in 2014....a wicked family budget...and by wicked I mean freakin awesome.  I have quite a few friends that follow Dave Ramsey and have had a lot of success.  I found this Debt Reduction Calculator that lets you list your debts and interest rates...then you can chose to continue paying the minimums, start a snowball, add extra money to your snowball...there's a bunch of different options and scenarios...and my favorite part...it tells you when you will have things paid in full and shows you how much you will be paying in interest over the coarse of the loan...  It's awesome. 

How can you write about paying off debt? That's such a personal thing!?! Yeah so is weight loss and I kicked that in the ass...I don't need to keep up with the Joneses...I am the freakin Joneses. 

I kid....But seriously...It all comes back to the quality of life I want to create for my kids...I wanted them to have a fit, healthy mom that can chase them around for hours, climb snow mountains, give piggy back rides home from the park, and pull their hefty bodies up gigantic sledding hills just so we can go down again. 

I also want them to live in a peaceful home...which includes not having to hunt for 15 minutes for ONE FREAKING GLOVE...............................I crave organization....like twizzlers.

I have a lot going on in 2014... 2 half marathons, a 25k (that's 15.5 miles for those of you grabbing your calculator), and MAYBE....MAAAYYYYYBE my first full marathon... MAYBE. 

My baby sister is GOOOOING TO THE CHAPEL AND SHE'S GOOOONNNA GET MAAAAARRRIED....I'm writing one hell-a-ba speech. I.cannot.wait.

My baby turns 1, my monster turns 3, and my big boy turns 5!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dana and I will celebrate 6 years of wedded bliss, 8 years of owning our own business, and make countless new memories of this life we love so much. 

All while staying healthy, organizing my life, and getting out of debt. 

Bring it on 2014....Bring.It.On.

Complete Randomness and the Holiday Hustle Race Recap!

It's been awhile!! But I haven't been sitting around eating twizzlers and mashed potato sandwiches

................... I've been BUSY getting our home sweet home ready for Christmas!! 

This is was last weekend's Christmas with my sister and her finace...Christmas 1 of 4.

I've spent A LOT of time sewing a quilt for said sister's Christmas present...I'm SO thankful for my crafty friends that literally do everything but cut and sew my projects together.  They tell me how much fabric...draw my pattern...come over when the friggin RUBIX CUBE of a pattern is IMPOSSIBLE to put together...And Max...don't forget Max...he didn't help the project go any faster. 

TA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Chevron Rag Quilt. I will be doing a HOW TO but not unitll AFTER Christmas. You can tell by the lack of blogging going on that this time of year is nudging me closer to that comfy, cosey,  padded room.

One of my biggest fears of the winter is how stir crazy I've gone the past few years... But I'VE BEEN PREGNANT for the past 4 years of my life which in my world is not all roses.............................

So I'm actually looking forward to this winter with the crazies...Partly because I'm doing things with them that I previously wouldn't...

The best advice I've ever been given is to take my boys outside for 30 minutes every day.  Even if that's as simple as a walk to the market that's 2 blocks from our house or driving around town searching for the biggest snow piles to play on.  Not only is it good for the babes but it gives me and GUARANTEED 30 minutes when we get home of hot chocolate and snuggles while we watch Wreck it Ralph...Then Max gets his second wind and we're off again. 

I've also been busy schooling all the kids at the Treehouse.

BUT in all seriousness this time of year is a double edge sword.  It's a time when some people jump off the healthy bandwagon and say EFF IT! It's the holidays and I'm eating mashed potato sandwiches...................................................But I'm sticking to my everything in moderation mantra.  The first week of December was B-E-A-utiful in Michigan! 45 degrees and perfect running conditions.  I rocked the shit out of my lunch hour run. NEVER have I ran over 5 miles with an average pace in the 9:30's. 

Then Mother Nature decided to catch on that it's December and we live in MICHIGAN and we got 7 inches of snow over the weekend. But I've just kept running. It's hard. Like running in sand hard. 

Though the highlight of December...The holiday hustle.  Not because of my time. Not because it was my first race pushing Tyler. Not because it was 20 degrees and I still ran. This was by far one of my proudest moments of my entire fitness journey because last year at this time I was 9 months pregnant with our 3rd babe in 3 1/2 years... I could hardly go from sitting to standing without help. I couldn't get out of bed without help. I was incredibly depressed. I hated playing with my kids. I was a very unpleasant person to be around. Everyday was a challenge and every morning I woke up and nothing had changed. As I've wrote about before...Tyler's pregnancy was horrible.  That was the first time in my life I've felt helpless. LIke there as nothing I could do that would make my days easier.  

For the finial event of this year  I thought it was only appropriate to push the little human that taught me so much before he was even born. So we packed up the entire circus and off the the race we went!

It's about 70 degrees in that little tent...He was warm as toast.

The highlights from this race: 

1. Ugly cried the first mile because....I can't believe my baby is turning one. I can't believe my baby is turning one. I've came so far in a year. I can't believe my baby is turning one. I can't believe my baby is turning one. 

2. There was NO passing people. This course was TIGHT and really hard to even just run with a stroller let alone pass people. So after I finished crying I gave up my goal of finishing under 30 minutes and just enjoyed the race.  

3. My hair COMPLETELY fell out of it's ponytail at mile 2 so I had to stop and put it back together. I need new ponytails. 

4. That was the hilliest 3 miles I've ever ran!! Not just bunny hills but nearly HILL OF DEATH hills the ENTIRE TIME!! I swear Ty gained 40 pounds by mile 2.5.

5. I will never forget seeing my sweet big boy waiving like a crazy person yelling GO MOMMY!! as I crossed the finish line. Priceless. 

We crossed the finish line at 30:44...Not the under 30 I was hoping for but 4 minutes faster than my last 5k pushing a stroller !!!

 Tyler was sound asleep. Max was MISERABLE and had been crying since I left because he wanted to "Run-to-Run with MOMMMMYYYYY".

We took some pictures and retreated to a toasty warm mini van. Yeah I rock that baby with PRIDE! 

Hubby was so excited to be there. Really he's amazing. Corralling 2 restless babes while I run for 30 minutes. In FREEZING weather. He is such a love. 

I apologize for the randomness that is this post.  But I wanted to make sure you know I'm still running. Still kicking ass and taking names. 

I'm working on a really big project for you all that will kick off your New Year in a seriously badass way. Stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 
Left: December 2012...8 months pregnant with baby number 3
Right: December 2013. Just. Keep. Going.

Monday Motivation!!!!!!

Thanksgiving is OVER and in 3 short weeks we will be celebrating CHRISTMAS!! I love the holidays for so many reasons but what's the best is the new traditions we are starting with our kids.  Elf on the shelf, Christmas Eve jammies, baby Jesus's birthday cake, making cookies and ornaments for friends.....Pintrest is the best.

I said this week was going to be a look at my 2014 plans BUT I spent all last night sewing a new rag quilt for Tyler so no the 2014 preview isn't quite ready...BUT here's some MONDAY MOTIVATION...on Tuesday...I know............................................................

One of my goals in November was to run 55 miles.  When I started running in April I ran about 6 miles a month.......Someone asked me the other day how I went from NOT running to running a half marathon...I'm not kidding when I say one block at a time.  I would start out walking and then my goal would be to run to the stop sign on the next block. Then the next time I went I would want to run to the tree past the stop sign...then the driveway past the stop sign past the tree...it just kept building.  When I was setting my November goals 55 miles seemed just outside of my comfort zone.  I consistently run about 12 miles/week.  So that would have put me right around 48...I thought with Thanksgiving adding a few extra miles would be a good idea since I was going to eat my weight in mashed potato sandwiches.....what...you've never put mashed potatoes on bread????????? You haven't lived.......................................................

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving we were staying in our hometown so I bundled up Tyler and out for a run we went.  Our home town had the first snow of the year the week before but by snow I mean 2 inches....and NO ONE shoveled their sidewalks..........................so I'm pushing a stroller through snow and ice packed sidewalks and streets for 3.7 miles. It sucked. I was so glad it was over and was excited for my Sunday morning run with NO stroller and to finish the last 4 miles of my 55 mile goal.

We went to Thanksgiving at my sisters house...ate food...including mashed potato sandwiches...took naps...and then we were talking about something and someone said...."Well since tomorrow is December 1st...."

WHAT THE HELL WHAT!?!?!? ?TOMORROW IS DECEMBER 1st!??!?!??!?!???!?!?! NOT MONDAY!?!??!???!?! How the hell did I eff that one up!?!?? I blame the gremlins....they mess with my mind.

So here I am...45 minutes from my moms house where all my running clothes are...celebrating Thanksgiving with my family...with 4 miles to run before midnight.

I had 2 choices.

1. Don't go and eat another mashed potato sandwich.
2. Leave a little early and run really fast so we could still go to a movie with my sister like we had planned that night.

I polled my badass running friends and the consensus was...I'm so close...4 miles away...and I would be really disappointed if I din't finish what I started. So we left a little early and I ran really fast and finished those 55 miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BADA-BINNNNNGGGGGGGGGG

55 miles in November!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then we went to the movies and I ate some buttery popcorn with absolutely no remorse what so ever!!!!!!!

Now onto December!! My goals this month are:

1. Log every ounce of food I put in my mouth....I'm on a 16 day streak of literally adding everything I've ate into MyFitnessPal...the good...bad...and ugly.

2. Run 50 miles...This number makes me happy and if there's anything Ive learned about goals it needs to be something that makes you happy..either pushes you out of your comfort zone, beats a previous goal, something that at the end of it you will say hell yes I did that.

This was one of those days...I went out for my usual 3 mile loop with the Max Man.  THe weather was PERFECT. 40 degrees and sunny...Max and I are running a Holiday Hustle on Saturday night so I wanted to see how fast I could go to get a good idea of a goal for Saturday...When I finished and looked at my time I was UNDER 30 MINUTES!!!!!!!!!! That's huge for me while pushing that hefty gremlin!! Note his "Glubs" and how he's showing off his muscles.  That kid...he's something else.

 Monday Motivation

Left: April 2013...........Right: November 2013

JUST>KEEP>GOING!!!!!!!!