Tough Mudder

Hey everyone!

Tyler and I are participating in a Tough Mudder event, down in Austin, Texas on October 6th.

We are super excited! 

The Tough Mudder donates a bunch of money to the Wounded Warrior Project, and asks each of its participants to help raise even more... if you would like to donate under our name (and it gets us a discount off our entry fee) here is the link.

My parents are coming out here to watch the kids for us AND a good friend and her brother are coming out from the DC area! We go way back to the Misawa days! And also another fellow Misawa dweller is joining us, but she already lives in Austin! It is going to be so fun!

Wish us luck!

(I know, an awful lot of exclamation points!!!)

Right now :)

Right Now I am::

:: soaking in the sun while I can! The weather here has been crazy: snowing on Sunday and in the 70's by Tuesday!

:: wearing mostly leggings and loose shirts... but I have lost some baby weight! Down to 180, woohoo! Only 30 more to go!

:: wondering if Colton will get this stomach bug that has been around since Saturday :(

:: hoping that he doesn't get that silly stomach bug!

:: laughing because that is all you can do when it there is sickness going on around your place, right?! But really laughing at all the funny things the kids are saying. Yesterday, Ayla went around saying "That is highly over-rated." To everything... it was cute.

:: enjoying our evenings at OUR park. 

:: smiling because these kids of mine crack me up. Kellen is singing Bob the Builder on a regular basis, and keeps adding more words daily. It is kind of fun to see his progression.

:: deciding whether or not I should continue to work out like I have been doing because of an ankle problem... hmmm... these ailments are annoying :)

:: feeling pretty tired most days... but entirely happy. I really enjoy my life.

:: reading LOTS! I just finished two books in three days (I guess that is what happens when you spend your day in bed sick!) Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman (good read in my opinion) and Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares (the end of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants stories; also a good read in my opinion)

:: knitting not much, but thinking of finishing up a diaper cover that has been waiting for months. Also thinking of knitting a little vest for a doll named Rainbow (and maybe one for Rose)

:: working at getting the kids into a cleaning routine (Not to mention myself included) Every day I have them pick chores and help around the house... and if they get in trouble, they get an extra chore. Sometimes we even get Kellen to lend a hand!

:: thinking about turning our house in Montana into a vacation rental in a couple years... like here and here. (our house isn't as awesome as these, but it is near there, and ... well, it is a thought for the future)

:: watching movies with my husband on the weekend. We saw Win Win the other night... very good. We also watched the Hangover II, which we both thought wasn't as good as the first, but still pretty funny!

:: remembering fun times had in the Navy with my girls! Three of the four of us (we will miss you Bryr!) will be meeting in Austin in March, and I.AM.SO.EXCITED!!!

:: itching to get out running, but ailments (ankle, knee and back) seem to be at every corner! frustrating, for sure!

:: wanting to stop buying THINGS! I look around my house and see piles of things, useful things, but things that seem to clutter and make me FULL.

:: wishing that we could live somewhere that has beautiful trees... Astoria would be nice :)

Running is fun

Seriously, it is! Back in high school I started running because I injured my knee in basketball (and didn't know that I actually more than likely tore my ACL at this time), and couldn't participate in sports with side to side action, otherwise my knee would give out... not fun!
Anyways, I started running track in high school and fell in love with the 800meter. This is twice around the track... not really long distance, but not a sprint either. And I was good. I hate to toot my own horn, but really, I won a lot of races back then. (Went to State my junior year to compete... but totally failed there :) )
I gave up running a bit after high school... admittedly got fat, and then decided to join the Navy 2 years later. And needed to get in shape before bootcamp.
So I ran.
Now, I don't remember how far or for how long I was running before I went to bootcamp, but running did help me lose 20 lbs before I left. Which is always good, right?
Well, bootcamp really wasn't that hard. I passed easily.
But I kept running.

I ran when I was stationed in California, learning Russian. I would go through my list of vocabulary words that I had to memorize while I ran along the beautiful ocean. (oh, how I miss that place) My favorite memory is saying dostapremchatelnoste while I ran... it means places worth seeing, if I remember correctly. It still is my favorite Russian word. I ran many miles there.

Then in Texas, I ran and ran around the old flight line. My ex-boyfriend would run with me sometimes. But it was Texas and during the summer, so it pretty much sucked! My favorite story from there was when we were doing a "fun run" which is basically a run that you had to go to (you know, attendance was taken and stuff), and my good buddies- Bianca, Bryr and Traci - were all there with me. Bianca HATED running (yet she looked great and smoked like a chimney) and immediately after attendance was taken and we were running for fun, she headed back to the dorms to smoke with some wise-ass comment (oh, I love you Bianca).
NOW, Bianca is a marathon runner who is super fast and super fit, and oh how I envy her (and am so proud of her!)

When I was stationed overseas, in Japan, I took up biking too. I would bike to work (4 miles) and then run home. Sometimes I would take the long way, which doubled the distance. And then the next day I would run to work and bike home. I was in the best shape of my life. And I LOVED running.

It has always been the time for me to decompress I guess, and answer all my questions that I had been pondering, and sometimes coming up with some really good answers - or not.

Well, I started running again. Monday was day one, and boy was it hard. I had a million excuses to NOT start running until after the holidays. And then, I just decided to do it. And it felt good. Until I got home :) Then I was SO sore.
I hadn't ran in a year and a half.
A YEAR and a HALF, people!
My knee surgery and then pregnancy were my reasons for not then, but since my knee is fixed up and I am gladly not pregnant anymore... I had to do something.

And I ran again today. I am a little less sore right now too.

I am so glad I started back up... now I need to keep it up.

I will keep you (whoever reads this... wait, WHO reads this?) posted.

OH! And I just purchased a Vitamix (used of course) so now I think I am getting back on the green smoothie wagon! I would love to lose some more of this baby weight (16 lbs to pre-Soren, and about 35 to pre-Colton ISH!)

{WIP} Works in Progress

In my mind, I have a lot of WIP; but in reality, this is the only one! A knitting project at the start of summer! It is a beanbag baby pillow with a knitted top. It will be pretty big, and look just like an oversized pillow, but intended for Kellen to be placed on (don't worry, he won't sink into the bag and suffocate). I just have to get it done before he starts crawling! This thing is taking MUCH more time than I anticipated. Maybe it is because it is usually done with Kellen on my lap, grabbing hold of it! What fun memories this thing will bring though. I brought it camping with us in Glacier; I spend my quiet time in the evenings knitting it; and my littlest one nestled on my lap "helping"; also the other two kiddoes like to get out my other knitting needles and a ball of yarn, and pretend to knit right along with me!
Finished dimensions are supposed to be 29"x29" but I am not sure. However, I think it will be used as a floor pillow for sitting on and playing with for years to come... Ayla has already requested one for herself... maybe.

Other projects I am looking forward to soon:
~a skirt for myself
~towel hoodies for all the kids out of either terry cloth or beach towels... haven't decided.
~towel dress for myself (found here)
~knitted swimsuit (!) for Ayla here.
~knitted toys for Kellen
~matching shirts from Oliver + S for the boys
~WAY too many things to list!!!!

Mother's Day and Hiking

For Mother's Day, we went hiking. The kids made me proud, with Colton hiking the whole way (which was a good 2 miles) by himself, and Ayla making it part way. Clifford and Mr. Lemur did awesome too with only minor complaints! The kids loved bringing their "babies" and having them climb trees and such. I think Mr. Lemur really helped Colton hike, crazy as that sounds! So cute though. Earlier that day, they (the kids and Tyler) brought me breakfast in bed... it was a great mother's day.... one of my favorites!

I have been doing a lot of hiking. Three days a week, some friends and I meet at 7pm and hike together -- without kids (well, sometimes Kellen comes) It is fantastic! I am feeling the muscles get stronger throughout, and having good conversation with good friends is beyond priceless.

I have a couple new goals and what not:

for every 20 lbs. I loose, I get to purchase a new outfit
(I am not talking Target either... I mean an outfit that I have always wanted, but haven't gotten because it is too expensive)

make more of the kids clothes.... they are always cuter!
(I need a good pattern for the basics....or just cut up old clothes and figure it out...
any ideas?)

New Years approaching

New Years is always a time for "resolutions".... I am not a fan of these, because I never seem to follow them to a "T". Things change; you adapt yourself and your plans. Especially with a new baby coming, a resolution seems silly... so here are a few goals I have in mind for the turn of the year:

* keeping better track of our food bill for the month. This is a HUGE one for our family. We have never really had a tough time with our finances (and still don't) but it would be nice to have a handle on what we really do spend on our lives. And food is always a constant! So, to do this, we have decided to try the envelope method: you decide how many envelopes you need and label them. We have narrowed it down to our two trouble spots - Food and Miscellaneous. Set a budget for yourself and put that cash for the month in the envelope. No more using debit and credit cards for these things, only use your cash stash. In addition to this, we plan on writing down on the envelopes where the money is going and when. Hopefully this will help us in our quest to gain insight in this area of our lives.

* exercise a couple days a week. I used to be really good about this; and then the kids came, and that went out the window! I only have been exercising when I feel like it. Walking is included in this goal... it is a great exercise and relatively easy to do with a couple kids. I also plan on continuing yoga weekly. I think this is improving my back and overall health. I really hope to lose this baby weight ASAP after little one is here!

* be more patient with the kids. Pretty self-explanatory. I feel like I get a little overwhelmed at times (which I guess is slightly understandable with little sleep and pregnancy and what not!), but I feel like I take it out on the kids for little things.

* stick to a punishment for actions made by kiddoes. Tyler and I both have a hard time with this. One of the kids does something really bad, something is taken away (either favorite toy or an activity) for a day or so, and we end up giving in before the allotted time. Or we say no treats until after dinner, and then I find myself giving them a little treat... it always seems easier at the time. Today they were really whiny at the grocery store and I mentioned to them that if they didn't start acting a bit better, they wouldn't get a granola bar that was picked out. Well, they didn't act better, and I didn't give them a granola bar! Yeah Brooke!

* start my projects earlier. I would love to make a list of birthdays, holidays and write down exactly what I would like to accomplish for these occasions. Time gets away from us all, and most celebrations seem to sneak up on me! So yes, I plan to think of next Christmas already! Ha, who am I kidding! This is going to be hard!

* appreciate my kids and husband every day. Maybe not every second or minute, but at least everyday! It is so easy to take these everyday people for granted and not let them know how much I love and cherish them on a daily basis.... I will try hard on this one. They deserve it!