Why I Run

Hi Everyone,  

I hope you all are having a good week. Sorry about the delay in posting between catching a cold this weekend, Wes’ business getting busy and the olympics being on TV it’s been hard for me to find time to sit down and write.  

But I thought I would go ahead and write about why I run. Honestly, I feel like, if you were to ask anyone who runs, they don’t run just for the exercise benefit.  There are plenty of other exercises out there that can get you the same benefits as running so you have to get something extra from it.  So I’m gonna list a few of the reasons why I run. 

It’s relaxing.  I do understand how crazy this sounds but it’s true. I found this quote and it’s so true and I think about it often.  I discovered this quote a couple of years ago when I first got into running, before James.  

I think what’s so relaxing about it is because you can almost tune out all the other thoughts in the run, especially if you are struggling.  A lot of the times when I run all I find myself thinking about is my foot placement and my breath. With those thoughts and my music/podcasts coming through my headphones, I find myself not thinking about all that I have to do in the day, what the hard parts might be, where I might struggle.  There just isn’t room for that when you are running.

There was just something so relaxing and freeing about getting up early in the morning and just running. And while I don’t run as early as I used to, I still find it just as relaxing and I really think James does too.  Most of our runs, he’ll just sit in the stroller and eat this snacks and just be chill.  He doesn’t make a lot of sounds, he doesn’t try to climb out of the stroller, he just sits and lets me run.  Which leads me to my next point.

Puts you in a good mood.  Again this is something that sounds strange to non runners but I can tell a total difference in my mood and my patience when I do get a run in and when I don’t. And I can kind of tell with James.  He’s not as fussy during the day or maybe I just have more patience for it. 

Not only does it put you in a good mood afterwards, it always makes me what to be super productive. Half of my kitchen and bathrooms have been organized post run.  I don’t know if it’s the extra energy you are supposed to get from the exercising but I find myself looking at a problem and instead of saying, I’ll deal with it later, I pull everything out and fix it right then and there. 

Feeling my body move. There is something powerful about feeling your body when you run.  Feeling your leg muscles stretch and contract and your lungs expand.  You almost feel like this is what your body is meant to do, it just feels natural.  I don’t talk about it often but in the past couple of years I’ve had pain around my lower back/ hip muscle.  It’s not bad enough that I have seek professional help but it does cause a little pain in the morning or after a long car ride.  But the thing that I find amazing about running is that when I run, I don’t feel it.  The pain and tightness that would cause me to walk strange and bend down to pick something up at a weird angle is gone when I put my body to the edge and run. 

I like to say that I’m a runner.  This one is kind of vain but I like being able to say it and even though I’m still in the beginning stages of running and can only run a few minutes at a time. I am still a runner and if anyone asks what I enjoy doing, I say runner.  There is some satisfying about saying that.  

I would highly recommend running to anyone and not just for people looking to lose weight.  If you are finding that your day is just full of stress and not any free time for yourself. Try running.  You don't have to go out and run a mile, just get out there.  I like the app 10k runner.  It a free app and it breaks down training for a 10k into 14 weeks. You start out small, 30 second runs and build up from there. And you might think to yourself, oh I can't run or I'll look so slow.  But who cares, the people out there who are running aren't judging you, they will give you a smile to say, keep going, you got this.  Unless you run like Phoebe or Captain Jack, then there might be a little judgement. 

What is your most relaxing part of your day? 

What is your favorite exercise? how did you start? 

Taking a look inside my diaper bag

Hi Everyone,

Can you believe that it’s already Friday?  Or have you been counting down since Monday morning.  Today James and I are attending my first MOPS (moms of preschoolers) meetings.  Yes I know James isn’t in preschool yet but this group is for moms with kids from 0 -5. It’s held at my church and from everyone that I’ve connected with on the Facebook page seems really nice and helpful.  I think it will be a good thing.  The only thing I’m a little nervous about is that the meeting is from 9 - 11 which is James’ normal first nap time.  We did a test run at home on Wednesday by not putting him down for a normal morning nap and he seemed to do pretty well so I feel a lot better now going into today. 

I don’t know about you but I love seeing what other people pack in their diaper bags.  I always find them helpful for the item that I may have forgotten to pack or overlooked thinking I wouldn’t need it.  So I thought I would donate to the cause and let you have a peek inside my diaper bag.  

In full disclosure this is my third diaper bag - my first diaper bag was a backpack, an Eddie Bauer one.  Wes really pushed for that one and it was nice but I didn’t like how I had to dig way into it when I need to get something.  This diaper bag has actually become Wes’ everyday backpack.  He was going on a trip and he couldn’t find his backpack so he borrowed James and never gave it back.  I will save that it was nice to be able to just throw it over my shoulder and no have it slip down my arm. 

The second bag was a big diaper bag with a lot of storage and big openings.  This one was perfect for the prime months of 3 - 9.  When James still hadn't committed to a real schedule and I never know if I was gonna need something or not. But I got tired of how big the bag was and how heavy it got so I started to search for a new one.  

I decided to get a type of bag that I have always favored - a messenger bag from the SkipHop brand. And I’m so glad that I bought this bag, it holds just the right amount of things for me and has a ton of pockets. Even a shallow one for my keys that is on the outside of the main zipper compartment.  and I even use it when I don’t need to like I trip to the grocery store without James when before I would pull out my wallet and switch it over to a new purse. 

But back to the main topic of this blog, all the stuff that I put into my diaper bag for a 1 year old because what you need for a 1 year old is very different than 1 month old. 

I’m gonna try and name everything that I pulled out of my diaper bag last night. I didn’t go through the diaper bag beforehand so it was full of a bunch of random things. I tried to be good and write down everything but then I lost that piece of paper so I’m gonna try and name everything but I will probably forget something.

What I usually keep in there:

-Wallet

-toiletry bag

-a pair of socks (for gymboree)

-tissues

-boogie wipes

-paci wipes

-antibactierial wipes

-first aid kit

-snack bar (for me)

-burp cloth

-dirty diaper bags 

-snack cup (James)

-bucket hat (James)

-Sunglass (me)

-hand sanitizer

-food mat (for eating out)

-extra paci and paci strap 

-chap stick

-changing pad

-a wet bag with a extra diaper and wipes

Not pictured:

-sunglasses (James) I took them out for him to wear on a walk and haven’t put them back in yet

-sunscreen - we are down to our last tub and it is floating between the house and the bag

Extra stuff that was in there:

-receipts 
-school supply list (for my church backpack thing)
-old indians tickets
-extra toy and book
-almost gone snack bar for James
-extra paci
-James’ shoes 
-extra outfit for James
-left over snack bag

You might be interested on why I don’t carry an extra outfit  for James in my diaper bag.  I know he isn’t immune to accidents.  We actually had one at Ikea hence the change of clothes between the pictures.  But I usually keep extra diapers and an extra pair of clothes in my car. If we don’t take my car on a trip then I pack an extras with me.  But maybe I will do a post about the storage box in my trunk sometime. The reason why I had an extra pair is because I thought we were going to go to a water activity and I wanted to be prepared. 

Since Wes doesn’t take James too many places alone and doesn’t need my diaper bag I am able to refill as a I go through it.  I have been caught a couple of times down on the snack area but I am able to make do.  

I don’t really keep any toys in my diaper bag because James doesn’t seem to be to entertained by them so why carry them.  Thats also a big reason on why you need to make sure that your diaper bags works for you.  If you need to carry 4 diapers at all times, do that.  If toys will keep your kids from a melt down, go ahead with your bad self and pack toys.  No one is going to have the same diaper bag needs as you and your kids.  Do whatever works for you.

- Did you always carry the same diaper bag or did you go through a couple until you found one that works best for you? 
- What is/ was the one item in your diaper bag that you have to have with you? 

Nap time project - Envelope Pillow Case

Hello There,  Thanks for stopping by my little place in the web. I hope everyone is having a good day. 

After I got my couch from Ikea,  I noticed that something was missing to increase my comfort level. And we know that couches are all about comfort. I was missing extra pillows. The arms aren’t super high but you need a little support when you are laying down and relaxing.  So I did a little shopping and I couldn’t find some that was reasonable  and that I liked. So I decided to make my own. This project ended up being a really quick one, if you wash the fabric before hand it could totally be a nap time project. 

 When I was at Michael's I found some 20 x 20 pillow fillers, I wanted big pillows, and used a 50% and a 40% off coupon to bring the total for about $13 for both fillers.

Then James and I took a trip to Joann’s for some fabric.  I was really looking for some cute canvas fabric because I know thats is what a lot of the pillows are made out of and it’s a stiffer fabric and would load up well.  So sadly I couldn’t find any that I liked.  However, I did find some cute blue fabric.  

I found a pattern online and crunched some numbers to see how much I would need.  I get to the cutting table and realize that the fabric wasn’t a complete roll.  It looks like it had been returned or previously cut.  But with some help from the lady, we were able to figure out that I had enough fabric to make it work. I used a 50% off couple for the fabric.  So I think it was about $7 for the fabric. So this project clocked in just under $20 for both pillows.  Not to shabby. 

Step 1: Wash the fabric. This step is really important especially if you are planning on washing it if you get stains on it. Thats another thing thats nice about the envelope pillow case, you can remove it to either wash or just switch it out without having a tons of extra pillows laying around. 

Step 2: To make the pattern for the pillowcase : Take the length and width of the pillow and add two inches to it.  Cut it out.  To make the envelope part of the pillow case - measure out two other pieces of fabric the same width as the other but 5 inches shorter. I know this sounds super confusing.  It’s even more confusing when you are the fabric store with a baby who is upset that you stopped pushing the shopping cart.  

example:  For my 20 x 20 pillows.  I cut a piece of fabric that was 22 x 22 and two pieces of fabric that were 22 x 17.  

Step 3:  Lay the larger of the fabric pieces pattern side up then lay the two other pieces pattern side down on top of the larger piece. This allows you to line up the edges to make sure nothing is too off and would make the pillowcase lumpy.  Trim the edges if needed.  

Step 4: Taking the two smaller pieces measure up 1 inch on only one width of the fabric.  This is going to be your edge of your envelope.  All the other edges will be covered.  Fold the bottom of the fabric up to the inch line making an edge about 1/2 inch and iron and pin it. Sew along the hem.

Step 5:  After you finish sewing the seams, place the pieces back on top of the larger piece.  Line up the corners and pin the two pieces of fabric together.  You want to leave the middle flaps open.  Sew about 1/2 inch around the edges. 

Sidenote: Make sure you term your corners so they lay nice and flat and don't get bulky. 

Step 6: Flip the pillow case right side out and insert your pillow and your done.  

I can’t wait to do another pillow and maybe some more patterns to be able to mix it up a little bit. 

When you can’t find something at the store, do you find yourself making it or just going without it?

Do you like your couch to have a lot or little amount of pillows?

Toy Rotation

Hi Everyone,

 It’s Hump Day!  Are people still calling Wednesday that?  If not then just happy Wednesday. 

I think we as parents all start out with a dearest intentions of not being that house with all those kid toys.  You will keep them to a small number and your kids will play with them, all day every day. I will just wait a minute while all you current moms finish your laughing. Okay, lets get back to it.  

James has started to develop a decent amount of toys and he would play with half of them for a few minutes and be onto the next thing.  So while on pinterest I saw the idea of toy rotation.  I know this isn’t anything new and I have even do a little bit with James before.  I divided them into two groups and would switch every couple of days.  This worked okay but it wasn’t great.  So I read a couple of blogs and took a trip to target and hit up the dollar spot.  

I ended up getting 4 medium tubs with lids.  They came in a in a pack of two and were only $5.  I thought I would see how 4 boxes went and if it was a hit I could always add more.  Since school is getting close to start there were tons of educational things at the dollar spot.  I grabbed some little puzzles, some wood blocks and magnet letters, numbers, shape and animal books.

 I also grabbed a couple of new toys for James, a little grill that teaches him shapes and colors and even Spanish and a little flashlight that makes sounds and stuff.

Once we got home, James went down for a nap and I started organizing the boxes.  I bought out all of the James’ toys, took out the toys that he was just to old to play with and no longer interested at all, and looked for themes within the toys. The themes that I found where Balls, Cars, Shapes and others.

I made sure that I included books and a variety of items inside the tubs and even numbered them so I wouldn’t get confused.  I also split up this big toys items are going to rotate them in every so often.  

We have been doing the toy boxes for a couple of weeks now and I think they are going pretty well. In the morning, James get very excited when I bring him a new box to explore and the first time he found the wooden boxes he crawled with them all the way into the kitchen for breakfast. Somedays it entertains him more than others but his still favorite activity is to explore the house.  I think it’s just the stage he is at.  He is learning how to climb up and in things and walking around the house so it’s just a big playground.  Another nice feature about the toy tubs is the super fast clean up, it now only takes me a minute to pick up all the toys and pack them up for another day instead of a few minutes to track down and put together everything he had gotten into that day. 

I’m sure in a few weeks or so I might add a new box, maybe mix up the items in the boxes or add some new items, to keep things interested for James.  But right now they are working and didn’t really cost me too much to put together. 

-Megan

Do you often look to pinterest or other sites for inspirations?

What did you do when you realized that your kid just had way too many toys?

What I'm loving #1

Hi Everyone,

I hope you had a great weekend.

I thought I would do a fun little post about things that I’m loving right now. I always like reading these from other bloggers and they can always lead you to new things. 

1. Luna Protein Cookie Dough Bar - I once read in a magazine that a good way to get over your chocolate craving is to have a healthier chocolate bar.  So I found these luna bars and they are so delicious. I’m not gonna lie they don’t taste exactly like cookie dough but they are dipped in chocolate and have chocolate chips in them and something that resembles caramel.  So they totally fill that chocolate craving. They also  are great to throw in the diaper bag and go.  

2. Sunflowers -  I usually grab a big bouquet at the farmers market and they brighten up my kitchen.  If I good about changing the water and cutting the stems I can almost get two weeks out of one set.  

3. Ibotta - Ibotta is an app that you can get rebates or cash back for things that you buy.  All it takes is a couple minutes after you go shopping and you can get back a crazy amount of money, even more if you buy a lot of name brand stuff.  The thing that I love about this app over the other grocery apps is that you can get rebates for just regular stuff. I always grab the milk, bread and eggs one that I can use for any brand that I buy. They always have a lot of different stores that you can get rebates from and some of them aren’t even grocery stores.  I know joann’s fabric and old navy are offering $5 rebates.  Once you get $20 you can turn it into a gift card do a lot of different places.

4. My Favorite Murder (Podcast) - If you were in one of my many writing classes during college you would already know this little fact about me but death interest me.  And I don’t mean in the way that I’m gonna kill someone but dying and different ways to die, I find fascinating.  So when I stubbed across the podcast, My Favorite Murder, I couldn’t get enough. If you aren’t in anyway interested in this topic, feel free to skip down to the next item, you are interested or might be on the fence, I will tell you a little about the podcast.  My Favorite Murder podcast is hosted by two friends, Georgia and Karen, and they sit in Georgia’s house and talk about murders that they find interesting. It is a comedy podcast (they don’t make fun of the people killed) and they will even say this themselves, don’t came to them for the facts.  But they are amazing story tellers and you will get lost in it.  And totally laugh out loud more than once.

5.  Running -  I have been dabbing my foot into running again and it just feels so good.  I think thats when you know you are onto something that you might stick with.  Almost all of last week James was sick, fever, running nose sick.  So I couldn’t take him out with me on a run.  I know I could have gone in the morning before he woke up but he was having some rough nights and I wasn’t gonna do that.  But everyday I thought about how great it would to get out there and run.  To feel my legs stretch, to listen to my favorite podcast, to be a runner.  We finally got out on Saturday and it wasn’t my best run but I had to remind myself overtime isn’t going to be magical, that some runs are gonna be harder and some runs are gonna feel like magic. 

6.  Shopkicks - This is another app that I have found recently and I don’t think I’m at the love stage because of the options lately but when I first found it, I was in love.  This app allows you to get kicks or points for just going to stores and scanning certain products. Then you can use those points to get gift cards. 

7.  James’ Laugh - Okay, to be honest this thing I’m always loving. Day in or day out I can’t get enough of his laugh.  What I find so fascinating about it is the things that he finds that are so hilarious.  On Sunday, it was the word ribbit, like the sound a frog makes.  Last week, it was me dancing and tickling him with a tape measurer.  And oh man, don’t think I danced and tickled for as long as I could just to hear that sweet little giggle just a little bit longer. 

So thats just a little rundown on these that I’m really loving right now.

-Megan

Do you find yourself looking for new things to try or do you just stick with the old stuff?

Do you have any weird interests or hobbies that you don’t share with everyone because they might think it’s a little too weird?

Day In The Life #2

Hi Everyone,

I hope you guys had a great weekend.  We surprising had a pretty busy weekend running errands around town and making a trip to Ikea (more on that in another post). I thought I would do a Day in the Life from Saturday but we will start with Friday night.

9:00 pm -  I forgot to grab some cash at the grocery store and I always like to have some on hand for the farmer's market.  So after James went to sleep and Wes and I did a little work outside, I hopped in the car and went to the ATM.  

I snapped this photo and it reminded me how much I miss my morning runs.  There was just something so relaxing and peaceful about running before, it seems, like the whole world is awake.  So when I got home I asked Wes, would he be okay with it if I went for a run in the morning as long as I was home in time to nurse James.  He feels very passionate about his morning feeding.  I went to bed a little later than I would have liked and set my alarm for 5:30.


5:30 - Alarm goes off and I hit the snooze button. Snoozes goes off, I turn the whole alarm off.

6:00 - My other Alarm, aka James, goes off and there is no hitting snooze on him.  I nurse him and we wonder out into the living room.  We hang out and watch a little TV.

6:45 - I started breakfast.  On the menu for this week is french toast so I had a little extra prep to get done and didn't want a whinny baby while I was trying to make breakfast. Wes wakes up and plays with James on the floor with one his toy rotation boxes. 

7:00 - We eat breakfast and just play around the house/ get ready until it was time to leave for the farmer's Market which opens at 8am. 

8:00 - We leave for the farmer's market.  I was planning on taking my bike and pulling James behind me but Wes decided to come and didn't feeling like biking so we all piled into the car.

8:30 - Arrived at the farmer's market and did a couple laps around seeing if there is anything that I just had to have.  

After grabbing a waffle, we settled down to watch a band play.  I think we all enjoy watching the band.  James isn't quite at the point of dancing to the music but it's nice to just sit down, enjoy a waffle and relax.  It's a great start to the morning. 

9:15 - James started to get a little fussy so we packed up, I grabbed some flowers and we headed home.

9:30 - Almost as soon as we got home James went down for a nap.  Taking the opportunity of James' napping and Wes being home (aka napping on the couch) I took off to the store to grab a couple of things that I forgot at the store yesterday.  After I got home and James was still asleep (Score!!) I started on a little meal prepping. 

I diced and sliced some strawberries, got the veggies all chopped for dinner and made some oatmeal bites (not impressed, throw them out this morning)  for James for the next morning.  

Does anyone else all seem to be losing one of their wool balls?  Mine always get trapped in the clothes. 

James ended up napping a crazy long time so I was able to get a few more things done around the house like pick up and do a little laundry all while listening to my new favorite podcast - My Favorite Murderer.  If you are in anyway interested in Murder/ true crime I would check out the podcast. It literally makes me laugh out loud while listening to it. 

12:30 - James wakes up and by this time I was so ready for lunch.  So I started making some BLTs and I couldn't possibly make them without my little helper.  

The climbing gene is strong with this one.

1:30 - After lunch is all cleaned up, Wes said that he need to run an errand.  We order windows for James' nursery but they came in the wrong size so we had to return them.  We pilled into Wes' newish truck, first family trip in it and headed over to Home Depot.  We returned the windows with an issue (so thankful) and did a little drill window shopping.  

After leaving Home Depot, we went to Cabelas to do a little more window shopping and to look at fishing poles.  Wes recently bought a new fishing kayak and is now on the mission to outfit it. 

James and I enjoyed looking at the fish tank/ pond that they have in the store.  

3:30 - We finally get home and I want, hopefully quickly, to show signs that he was tired and ready for a nap.  Sadly those didn't come and we only took one nap that day. So we just played in the living room waiting for dinnertime.  

5:30 - I turn on the over to preheat and finish up prepping dinner.  The oven beeps and I put the chicken and veggies into oven and put a pot of water on the stove for the corn that we got at the farmer's market. 

6:30 - It's dinner time and man it was delicious and so simple.  For the chicken and veggies all I did was place them in baking dish sprinkle it with a garlic herb seasoning and some olive oil and that was it.  For the corn on the cob, I just boiled it and then melted some butter in the microwave, add some cajun seasoning and brushed it on the corn. Delicious!!

7:00ish - It wasn't bath night and thinking it was going to be an early night, we changed James into his PJ's and got him almost ready for bed.  An early bedtime didn't happen, he seems to be filled with energy after dinner and didn't show any signs of slowing down. 

8:00 - James finally slowed down and I put him to bed. 

I didn't really document the rest of the time.  I think we watch an episode of 'In An Instant' and it was really sad.  A lady was driving on a highway and a semi-truck over took her and pushed her off the highway bridge and she and her two kids were stuck on the side of the bridge, barely hanging on.  Everyone was fine but whenever I see a story or read a story that has to do with a baby, I can't help but get teared up. 

11:00 - After the show ended, we went to bed.