Tea Parties and Toilet Water

We had some great friends over for dinner on Friday night. At some point in the middle of the chaos that 7 children in the house bring, their little boy and Avery decided to have a tea party.

They were so cute playing with their little Fisher Price Say Please Tea cups. They would disappear upstairs and randomly come down bringing cups of "tea" and ask every adult to take a sip. Fortunately, for me and our friends, we said we were too full and passed. Jarrod was another story. He had about two cups before it dawned on me that Avery nor her friend could reach the sink. 

I quickly removed the tea cups from their little hands and made the mad dash to every bathroom before I discovered it. Yep. Water all over the floor and the open toilet in the boys bathroom. And lets just say it wasn't clear water... 

I was completely mortified. But not as much as my poor husband. Its a good thing he has a stronger stomach than I!

I'm feeling a little bit like this after last week:

Jarrod had hernia surgery on Wednesday. Bless his heart. He was born with a hernia on his right side and had it fixed at 2 months. When he started noticing a problem we went to the doctor and they confirmed that the surgery needed to be redone. I tried to tell him time after time that he would NOT be up and about the next day. No, I have never had major surgery but I have had 3 babies that required a lot less cutting and a lot less stitching and still took a few days to recover. :-)

Needless to say, we are racking  up the percocet bill. And I am worn out! Taking care of 3 kids and a husband who can't walk by himself to go to the bathroom is a big job!

I have some super exciting news to share... I am officially ready for my half marathon!

Yep. I made it 12 miles on Sunday. It was one of the hardest but one of the most rewarding things ever. I felt good, kept a good pace, and finished in 1 hour, 55 minutes, and 49 seconds. And then I did the happy dance in the middle of the sidewalk. :-)

I have given up on this run soooo many times. I signed up in November to run and had not run farther than 5 miles at that point. I have had so many weeks where I felt like throwing in the towel and just saying never mind. But I didn't. And I finally feel ready... with 4 weeks left to train!

I'm hoping to get at least 2 more 12 mile runs in and then a little smaller 10 miler before the big day. Especially since yesterday I literally had to give myself a pep talk EVERY time I climbed the stairs in my house. Oh the soreness! My goal for the next for weeks is to work on stretching. I hate to stretch and my muscles the day after a long run are oh so tight. 

My training schedule this week looks like this:

Tuesday: 4 Miles

Wednesday: Cross Training/ Light Weights

Thursday: 6 Miles

Friday: Cross Training/Light Weights

Saturday: 4 Miles

Sunday: 12 Miles

Monday Melt

This little gal melts my heart every day. 

But her latest saying is really doing me in... "Mommy, did you know I wuv you?" Oh my heart. <3

What is Love?

Since its Valentine's Day, I've decided to get all sappy on you. I've been married almost 10 years to the love of my life. This handsome guy. 

I see these young couples dating and getting married and although I am no pro, I feel like 10 years of marriage has taught me a thing or two about love. The good, the bad and the ugly. I was 20 when we got married. Jarrod, 25. We dated 3 months, engaged for 6 months and were married almost a year after we met. Life has been life. We had the honeymoon stage and the newlywed stage. We've been madly in love and madly out of love. 

But one thing I've learned, love is a choice. 

Its not a feeling. Its not butterflies. Its not candy and flowers. Its not even what I thought love was when I walked down the aisle and said "I do." Sure, all those things are involved in love but sometimes love is fighting. Sometimes its yelling. And sometimes its walking out. But at the end of the day, love is nurturing love. Its growing love, its watering love, and its making love bloom. Its waking up in the morning and making a decision to stay married. Its standing beside your husband as he makes tough choices. Its moving cross country to go somewhere you have no desire to go. Its sacrifices. And its kisses and hugs. Its date nights and getaway weekends. Its friends with benefits. 

Yes, love is work. Love is hard. But love is wonderful. And I hope 50, 60, 70 years down the road, I will have finally perfected love. :-)

10 Year Anniversary!

Jarrod and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary this June! I'm not surprised we have stayed married that long... I've pretty much decided I like him enough to hang on to him. :-) What I am surprised about is how FAST 10 years has gone by! Wow. 

So we have never done anything more than a dinner and a movie for our anniversary (Having 3 kids in a 10 year period will do that to ya!) and I want to make this one special. We went on a cruise for our honeymoon so I am kinda leaning in that direction again. So the question is??? Where to go!

Kings Wharf, Bermuda looks nice and since the port is in Baltimore, its pretty convenient too.

Or we could take off back to Disney's Castaway Cay 

And Nassau, Bahamas

But it may be nice to go back to Cozumel  

 And Playa Del Carmen where we spent our Honeymoon...

 Then a part of me says to skip the cruise and jet straight to Hawaii! 

Where would you go?

Running Ragged

So, I'm having a severe running issue for the last few weeks... Shin splints. It is just in my right leg and I have done everything I know to get that muscle to cooperate. I bought new shoes and then added extra arch support. I've been stretching before and after and icing after each run. I took off a week from last Wednesday to last night and did manage to do 3 miles pretty comfortably. Butttttt, I was afraid to push it because I still felt the tinge of pain every now and then. Any runners out there have any other ideas to help this issue?

30, Flirty, and Fabulous!

So today I hit the big 3-0! Yep, I'm officially old. It is like a dream to me that I can be this old... you know, considering that I still look 18 and all... haha.

So here's a little recap of what my 20's held.

• On June 15th, 2002 I married the love of my life. Sooooo, not only do I turn 30 this year but also get to celebrate 10 years of marriage!
• In January of 2003, we bought our first house and got all moved in.
• I started painting a baby room, and then on June 20, 2003 we welcomed our first born son, Jayden, into the world. My life has never been the same since that moment of becoming a mom. I can't imagine that there will ever be a love so great and overwhelming as the love for your children.
• In December 2004, we found out we were pregnant again!
• And welcomed our second son, Evan, into the world on August 23rd, 2005.
• In 2006, we became self employed and started our own business in Ohio.
• Then in April of 2007, we moved to south Georgia to expand that business with my parents. 
• And I started working part time as a real estate agent and loved it.
• In December 2008, we were surprised with the pregnancy of our little princess!
• And we welcomed her into the world on September 8, 2009. 
• In 2010, we started riding the wave of this crazy economy.
• And then moved back to Ohio in January 2011. 
• We bought another house in April 2011 and once again got settled!

Of course there is a LOT of stuff in between. But the point is, I am SOOOO extremely blessed. A wonderful husband, 3 beautiful kiddos, a roof over my head and food on the table. What more could I ask for. I can't wait to see what my 30's hold if my 20's were that awesome.

Bring on the new decade!