so stinkin’ excited

A lot has happened since my last post! I’ve started my own business/ministry and it’s really just falling into place. I believe that’s because God gave me the vision and he’s working out all of the details. 🙂 Check out my website!

My logo!

I’m teaching my first Thrive Cardio & Strength workout tomorrow…I’ve taken contemporary Christian music and choreographed a 30 minute routine. We’re going to start the session with a prayer and end with a short devotional. Then, I’m having my first seminar at my church on June 15.

Life is good on the home front too! I’m enjoying the extra time with my boys (including my husband) and my part-time job doing web development is going well. We develop our sites on WordPress now, so that helps!

What’s going on in your world?

busy as a bee

A busy honeybee on a spring crocus

I’m really too busy to be posting, but I couldn’t not share this with you. I spent the day with my mom yesterday since it was her birthday, on our way into the restaurant for lunch, she pointed out these beautiful little flowers with honeybees buzzing around. I was so stinkin’ excited! This winter has seemed to last forever, even though it’s been relatively mild. I just love spring and summer and I could have just laid down in those flowers all day. It was about 60 degrees and sunny. What a lovely day.

Life is moving along at lightning pace, but I’ve gotten a better grip on a work/home life balance. I’m looking forward to the month of April when (fingers crossed) things should slow down a bit.

Baby Elam (now 7 months old) cut his first tooth on my birthday a couple weeks ago. It made me crazy. Little Ezra (3 years old) is potty trained and says the wildest things. I’m so blessed. My husband is a sweety, too. 😉

Enjoy the weekend, wherever you are and whatever you do!

oh, blog, how i’ve missed you!

I have missed blogging so much (among other things). My life is moving is warp speed, which I’m sure is the case for most of you. Since November, I’ve been Acting Director at the fitness facility where I work. It’s been challenging, both professionally and personally. The holidays were good and I tried to separate work from home life, but I did find myself thinking about work too much while at home.

My boys are growing up so quickly and they seem to change daily. The oldest will be 3 at the end of the month and the baby will be 6 months in a couple of weeks as well. They’ll be 18 before I can blink, I’m sure. I really am trying to enjoy every minute with them. Don’t get me wrong, there are moments that are trying when your two year old screams, “No, mommy!” when you try to tell him something to do, but thankfully those moments are fewer than the good ones.

I did manage to set some 2015 goals for myself a week or so ago. If I don’t get them down on paper and in my face this month, they aren’t going to happen. This is what I have on tap for me this year:

• Spend time studying and applying what I learn about the Fruit of The Spirit
• Take each aerobics class offered at our wellness facility in order to better help members and guests
• Spend more quality time with my husband, kids, and extended family
• Compete in one sprint and one international triathlon (I missed last year since I was pregnant)
• Get back to meal planning and cooking
• Reduce the sugar in my toddler’s diet
• Expand our vegetable garden and can/freeze some produce at harvest

I looked back over my 2014 goals and I’m happy to report I met most of them! These are the ones I missed…

• Help lead one person to Christ – No one came to me and said they were saved because of anything I said or did this year, but I hope I’ve witnessed more. I feel like I have been more comfortable in that over the past year.
• Perform at least one pull up – I give up on that one. I don’t think I’ll ever do that.
• Potty train our son – They say that happens on the kid’s own time. I have to add that back to the 2015 list because it has to happen this year or BUST!

What’s goals have you set for yourself this year? I hope to make it back to blog before February…at least by Groundhog Day!

what a blessed life

I’ve not blogged in over a month and for that, I’m terribly sorry. I received a promotion at work so my life went from busy to extremely busy. Life is going by at warp speed.

Last night, I was lying in bed and the baby (now 4 months old and 18 pounds!) woke up around 11 pm. He really didn’t need to eat that soon, so I got him adjusted with his pacifier. I was just dozing off when the house started to shake and I finally woke up wondering what the heck was going on. Then I realized it was some type of aircraft over our house. I said, “Mike!” (my husband’s name) and started looking out the window. I saw one aircraft go over and then another was behind it kind of zig-zagging along. It was very strange so late at night. The husband said one was an Osprey (I think the loud one). It was unsettling and disturbing. I ended up feeding the baby and laying there thinking too much.

I thought about the mom who, at that very moment, was nursing her child with bombs going off around her. I wondered about folks who go to bed every night listening to planes fly over and fearing for their lives. How good we have it. How blessed we are.

Even in the hustle and bustle of life and the busy holiday season, I think God finds ways for us to slow down and thank Him for his many blessings. All we have to do is listen.

In case I don’t get back here before Christmas, please have a very merry Christmas and remember that “Jesus is the reason for the season.”

My sweet little blessings…

family portraits

We had family photos made a couple of weeks ago and I’m so happy with how they turned out. The photographer is a talented friend of mine and I think she did a great job. I almost cry when I look at the pictures because I am just so thankful for the blessing of a happy, healthy family.

My sweet family – Oct. 2014

scary halloween happenings

This morning, I fed the baby and got up really quietly to take a shower in hopes the babe would go back to sleep and I wouldn’t wake up the toddler. Husband was gone to work. I’m in the shower, when the bathroom door opens, then closes. I hope it’s my toddler! Finally after it opens and shuts a few times, here comes my NAKED two-year-old. Of course I ask him why he’s naked and he tells me he had an accident and his bed’s wet. Good Friday morning!

Then, the second “scary” thing of the morning…I totally forgot to dress up! I mean, it didn’t even cross my mind until I got to work this morning and saw other people dressed up. I knew it was Halloween and I had intended to dress up, but I just plain forgot in the rush this morning.

Today is my late grandpa Bill’s birthday. Freaky, huh?

like a good neighbor

My husband sent me flowers Friday (ain’t that sweet?) and my son saw them on the counter Saturday morning. He asks, “Momma, where did those flowers come from?” in his cute two-year-old voice. I replied, “Your daddy sent them to me.” He looked at me and said, “Mr. Faux?” My husband and I both laughed because Mr. Faux is our retired neighbor.

My husband then said, “Like a good neighbor…” and Ezra finished with “State Farm is there.” It was hilarious. Kids say the darndest things!

Here’s a picture of my boys this morning before I left for work. Ezra was showing Elam is rubber snake. Oh, and notice the pacifier…I’ve told Ezra we’re trading it in for Halloween candy next Friday. We’re going to throw away the pacifiers…should be an interesting weekend!

recipes and halloween

I got on a kick this week and cooked a bit more than I have in a while. Baby Elam is finally starting to take some longer naps, plus I had Wednesday off which allowed me to cook a bit. Here are the recipes I used:

• Wheat Beer Bread – I’ve always wanted to make bread, but it seems so daunting. This recipe was easy-peasy and I whipped it up in just about 5 minutes last night. I liked the bread, but my husband wasn’t much into it. I also baked fish my dad had caught in the river and then I sauted up kale in oil olive and threw in a can of drained black eyed peas. Good supper.
• Apple Muffins – I follow the blog “100 Days of Real Food” and she posted a neat muffin recipe to try. I didn’t have walnuts and I only had 1/2 the syrup it called for, so I left out the nuts and did half syrup/half honey for the sweetener. Ezra gobbled his down and Mike (hubby) even liked them.
• Baked  Eggplant – A vegan man that is a member of the gym where I work brought me an eggplant earlier this week that I needed to use, so I made this dish for my mom and me. I added Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder. I liked it but mom loved it and made it again at her house. I served it over raditorre pasta with marinara sauce.
• Monkey Bread – This one I learned in middle school home economics and it just stuck. You take a can of biscuits and cut them into quarters, then roll in melted butter. After that, dip them in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon and bake at 350 for a few minutes. Ezra actually helped with this one and ate the raw dough (just a little). He’s such a picky eater that I let him just about anything that won’t make him sick! 🙂 It’s not the most healthy dish, but it’s a nice little treat from time to time. I need to find some wheat biscuit dough or make some from scratch.

Speaking of picky eaters, earlier this week I downloaded some neat docs and watched a short video by Tribe Wellness about picky eaters and how to remedy the issue. I learned some good tips and I encourage you to check it out if interested.

Another cool thing on the “100 Days of Real Food” blog was alternatives to Halloween candy. My son is having a pre-school party for Halloween and I think I will take some non-candy treats for that. The teacher sent home a list of what each kid needs to bring…the list included cupcakes, cookies, chips, cheese puffs, and pizza. I am responsible for the chips and I think I will bring some fruit salad to show folks you can still have fun with good foods…

Well, let’s get ready for the weekend. I hope yours is filled with fun, good food, and some physical activity!

i’m back

Holding my sweet baby Elam

I’m back…back to work and hopefully back to blogging a bit. What have I been doing? Spending a lot of time holding a baby and chasing a 2 year old. But, I returned to work last week, so now I am back to being a lifeguard, personal trainer and hopefully group exercise instructor in October.

I’ve missed blogging and have had a million ideas of what I could blog about, but never could find the time to actually sit down and write it out. But now that I’m back to work, I can get my thoughts out during my breaks and such.

Baby is doing well and is already 7 weeks old, which is hard to believe. His brother likes him and is good to  him, so that makes my life easier. Having two small kids is chaotic and I thank God that I have a good husband to help me out.

I really enjoyed my break and bonding with my boys. I miss spending time with them already. My older son started preschool two days a week last week and that went well, thankfully. Here’s a shot my sister caught of him on Labor Day weekend playing with an old Halloween decoration we had in the yard…

Ezra and the skull

Now, it’s time to get back into shape (just did a good 20 minute workout) and get back into a groove. And, get back into meal planning/cooking. I really miss eating well, so that’s one of my biggest goals. Here goes nothing!

a new normal

Little Elam is 2 weeks old today and our family is settling into a new normal. Ezra is a great big brother. Yesterday, he shared his building blocks and asked “Can I touch his leg?” It was very sweet. Thankfully, my husband has had 2 weeks off work and still has one more before it’s back to the daily grind. I am off until the week of Labor Day, thankfully. Physically, I feel almost back to my old self again and my stomach is quickly disappearing. I took a 20 minute walk yesterday for the first time since Elam arrived and it felt good. I hope to keep walking a few times a week and incorporate some light strength training as well. Need to get some of this jiggly tightened up!

My garden is producing an abundance of tomatoes and those sunflowers are even more gorgeous. I’m so glad I decided to have a garden and that it’s turned out so well. I have a few zucchini still coming out and there are some butternut squash ripening nicely. I found a watermelon the vine that’s about 2 inches around, so we’ll see if it turns into anything. I found a recipe for crock pot spaghetti sauce I’m going to try with all these tomatoes so they don’t go to waste.

I’m so thankful for the blessings the good Lord has given me. It’s like the song my son has learned to sing…

This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made
I will rejoice, I will rejoice and be glad in it

Rejoice and be glad today!

One of the gorgeous sunflowers in my garden

Ezra sharing his blocks with Elam

Elam’s Sunday afternoon nap

The bumble bees love the sunflowers