My Messy Life

I have a three year old. Well not yet but in less than a month my boy will be three. He has taught me so much about myself in the last three years. More than I have taught him for sure.

Anyways, it is the day before my 27th birthday. My birthday eve if you will. I was looking at my living room while watching another episode of Top Gear (British version) as I so frequently do and I saw this:

We bought this for our son a year ago for his second birthday. And then I noticed this on our side table:

This is his Elmo bag and on that hook is the Skeeter hat his Uncle "Hipp" gave him for Christmas that he wears everywhere. If I would have snapped a picture, you would also see the stack of mail on the table, the random blankets laying around every room and floor that my dog and running companion burrows in, the stack of dishes that lays in wait in the sink, and the laundry, folded in baskets, waiting to be put away. My house is full of projects and tasks yet to be completed. 

But it dawns on me tonight: my house is also full of a family that played with the dog, laughing, until the dog was too tired to move. It is full of a family that laughed until our faces hurt. It is full of a family that had a 30 minute serious and in depth conversation about who is who on the Island of Sodor (Thomas the Tank is big in these parts - Googling was involved). It is full of a family that looks forward to family movie night that usually happens to be pizza night too.

I am BLESSED!

I am turning 27 tomorrow and entering my late 20s officially. For a very long time, I haven't enjoyed my birthday. I view it as just another day not to be noticed or marked by anything really. But for this birthday, after really seeing the things and people in my life, I am grateful. I cannot wait for the next year of my life.

26 has been hard. I have been tested and tried countless times. But every time I have found the good (even for the things that have followed me into 27). I have an amazing husband who is attempting to bake me a cake at this moment. I have a son who amazes me daily with how much he knows and who he is becoming. I have a dog who is a better person than most of the people I know. 

I love my family. I love my life. I may get things wrong every so often. I may have dirty floors and unwashed laundry. I may have toys everywhere and dusty furniture. I may act ungrateful and frustrated. I have a dog that barks at everything and anything and a son that has his major "Hulk" moments. But I have happiness and joy. I have unconditional love with no strings attached. I have a happy family with crazy memories and inside jokes.

For 27, I am done with pretenses and appearances. I am who I am and that is  pretty awesome. I am going to embrace this next year. I thank God for everything he has given me. I would be nothing without Him. 

So join me in embracing a new year! A new outlook. A new beginning!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Kathy

Quick Post

So there has been a lot on my mind lately and organizing those thoughts is proving to be impossible difficult.
So in an effort to get those ideas in order, I'm going to do a quick post of the things that are sticking out most to me right now.

My Birthday

My birthday is in a week. I will be 27. Not sure if I'm looking forward to this or not. I don't have an issue getting older but I typically don't really enjoy my birthdays. I usually make a big deal about other people's birthdays but when it comes to my own, nothing. Last year, for my birthday, I took my husband to the doctor to get a cyst removed from his arm and then the day after, helped my sister-in-law move to her new apartment.

Not exactly a huge party. And its not that people forget or anything. I'm just never very thrilled about the day.

This year though, I'm going to try to change my attitude. I would like a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, so... Darling Husband, if you are reading this - HINT HINT...

(P.S. Dear, there is a recipe for said cake in my recipe binder. Its listed under baked goods.)

 

My Son's Birthday

My wonderful son is turning 3 next month! I can't believe its been three years since that crazy ball of human came into my life. It was love at first sight for the first time (sorry dear husband, I fell in love with you after a few months... Although, I really did like you a lot and you were really cute when we met ;) ). I guess what's been on mind about this is kids are so different from what I was when I was his age. I learned how to write and read in Kindergarten. Now, they have to go there knowing how. I'm just not sure what my expectations are supposed to be and that scares me. But, I'm trying to trust that he will be fine no matter where he is or what he knows.

 

My ball of human... This is quite possibly the worst picture we ever took of him when he was born but it is BY FAR the funniest :)

 

My Son's Tantrum

Oh welcome back temper tantrums!!! I think that I've figured out that right before my son hits a spurt (language development or physical development) he regresses. Well, behaviorally, he backslid so fast I think it caused an earthquake. He started biting, pinching, and kicking his little friends again. Oh and he loves hitting me when he doesn't get his way. Not good. We are taking away toys, enforcing time outs, and trying to emphasize the good behavior but right now I'm not sure he's actually listening. Its like he enjoys watching us punish him so he purposefully misbehaves. Really looking forward to that being over.

 

Running and Weight Loss

The running is going well. I'm finishing up week 3 and starting week 4. I only have a 2.5 mile run tomorrow (my long run for the week) but next Saturday I'm at 6.5. SO excited. My shins and calves are talking to me but its nothing that I would chalk up to needing time off. I just have to stretch more and start running with my compression sleeves again to get over this hurdle. Oh and never forget the ice. The weight loss, however, is going backwards. I can't figure out a decent diet plan to accompany my training that will fuel me as a runner and still promote weight loss. So that is really frustrating.

 

Emotional Well-Being

I won't lie when I say that I have been dealt some pretty rough hands these past few months. I'll talk about them on here at some point because these hands have become so much of who I am now. They are just too raw to bring them up right now because I am still unsure of how I feel about all of what has happened. Physically, I'm healthy and I have a fantastic husband, dog, and son. I'm not heading for a mental break or anything either. I just feel a little bit like Eeyore with the rain cloud following me everywhere right now. Being 26 and 2013 has been the year of 1 step forward, 1.5 steps back. I'm looking forward to and hoping that 27 is going to be better.

 

Not that that was quick or anything but I feel mildly better getting it out of my head for the time-being.

So, how is the second half of 2013 looking up for everyone?

 

Kathy

 

 

Crazy - An Update as to Where I've Been Hiding Lately

WOW!!!!

So I've been absent lately. I'm sorry about this. Life just got very, very busy. The last few weeks have been quite the rollercoaster of activity and excitement.

 

Here's a recap:

 

4th of July has come and gone (I know I haven't posted since before that but I'll start with what little I can remember right now). The family and I went back home to visit for a long weekend. We left on the 4th in the AM and drove 2 hours to Cleveland (where both our families live and where we are from). My PILs (parents-in-law) were in Canada for a Barbershop Competition (my FIL sings in a pretty impressive chorus) and so we stayed at their house to cat sit (HILARIOUS story about that later) and just went and spent the days with my family. We had a lot of family time. My son got to play with his cousins which was nice and is that boy in love with my dad. Seeing the two of them together is one of the happiest things in my life to think about.

 

6th of July, my son, the hubs, and I ran in a 5k that can only be hosted in Parma, Oh - Run for the Pierogis. I KNOW!!! You can't make that up. This is the second year that I've run it. Last year, my siblings and I ran it and the Hubs watched with our son. This year, we all did it, including our son (who cruised along in the jogging stroller). Highlight from this race is that afterwards, our son wanted to put on our race numbers and "go for a run". He has since woken up every morning asking to go for a run. I did alright in the race - especially compared to the year before (the weather was in the 90s at 830 in the morning). I think I hit an 11:30 mile but since I'm in the full 1/2 marathon swing

currently, I actually had to run an additional mile to get my training run in.

 

1/2 Marathon training has commenced officially!! Yes, I think its like 95 days until my race in October. I'm officially in week three of training - physically at least. Tomorrow is Week 3 Run 2 - 30 minute run. I say physically because my body now is at the point that it wants to go exercise so getting up at 5AM isn't bad. Nutritionally, however, is a different story. I don't think I can eat enough chocolate right now. I'm following the Jeff Galloway plan because 1) its the most flexible to fit in with my husbands training plan (he's also running the 1/2 in October) and 2) I only have to do 2, 30 minute jogs during the week and 1 long run on the weekend. Since its time based during the week, I can wake up early and get 30 minutes in before the Hubs leaves for work. Its ideal. Also, I'm not looking at breaking records for this 1/2. I'm just looking to finish before the course closes.

 

The cats... Oscar is on the right, Emmy on the left...



 

Cat sitting... Yea... Apparently, I'm allergic to cats! So when we go up to Cleveland to visit and stay with the PILs, I always notice, the first morning there I am groggy, congested, watery-eyed, and itchy beyond belief. I have always chalked it up to just being back in Cleveland where the air is different because when we would leave the house, symptoms would go away. I never attributed it to the cats. Well this past time up there, I somehow got put in charge of feeding the cats. That is NO problem. But since I fed them, they decided that they loved me more than my husband. You know how cats do that kneading thing to you before they lay down on you? Yea, Oscar, cat number 1, decided to knead me all the time and then plunk his fat butt (he's a chunker) on me. Next thing I know, my legs are itching like they have poison ivy all over them and I'm starting to get hives. That's a recent development but they have never sat on me before this past weekend. Enter Benadryl and plenty of it.

This is kind of bittersweet. I'm am by no means a cat person. But I am an animal person and my in-law's cats are probably the least obnoxious cats I know. You can't help but want to love on them. Our trips up to Cleveland now are going to be interesting. I don't have a problem staying at the PIL's house, provided I am medicated and also, hopefully, the cats will be less enamored with me next time around.

 

Its been crazy the last few days. Its going to keep being crazy over the next few weeks. In our future, we are helping two separate family members move, 2 birthdays (mine and my son's), dentist appointments, 2 people doing 1/2 marathon training, combatting with raising a toddler who is into EVERYTHING, and who knows what else.

 

Pray for me...

 

Kathy



Practical Advice for Getting a Root Canal - Warning: The Word Puss is Use Quite Often...

I'm back... again...
Its been a busy few days. For the Memorial day weekend, the troops and I went to visit family and just escape for a few days. It was nice to catch up with people back home. There were a lot of good memories made this time around. My son went on his first train ride (Thomas was in town so we did that with my husband's family) and we spent time visiting with my husband's grandparents which was fantastic, and I got to spend some good time with my Dad so overall it was really nice. We also had a nice little fire at my parents and my son didn't set himself on fire so it was a win all around!

The most recent and exciting update though is Root Canal- Part Deux!
For those of you out there who have never experienced a root canal, you're not missing much. I will share my story and advice with you now so you can be in the know!
The back story is I have very bad enamel on my teeth. Despite my OCD flossing and brushing, I just get cavities and never have a nice clean dental check up. Its a fact of life that I will live with until I die. Dentists ask me what I would like to change about my smile and I respond, "Nothing, I think its lovely. Just make it last until I'm in the ground please..." and then they laugh.
Well, my teeth got really weak when I was pregnant with my son. The kid just drained all the calcium out of my body. I cracked two teeth when I was pregnant with him. For those of you who know tooth numbering, I cracked my 2nd and 3rd molars (Upper right back 2 molars). I had to have crowns placed on them but the back most molar always gave me issues with pain. Being the GENIUS I am, I ignored it and chalked it up to clenching too much when I sleep.
ADVICE NUMBER 1: If you have tooth pain, don't be an idiot like me and ignore it!
Well the pain continued on and off until about the middle of this past March when it became constant. Due to scheduling issues, I kept putting off the doctor until I woke up one morning and my gum was swollen, pussy, and the tooth felt loose.
ADVICE NUMBER 2: Make sure you go to your regular check ups!
I went to my normal dentist (where the best dental hygienist on the face of the planet works FYI) and they did x-rays and essentially wouldn't touch my tooth until and Endodontist did a root canal. Endodontists are specialized in inflicting the most aggravating and annoying dental work imaginable on the general public. The infection in this tooth was so large that it was just a giant black shadow around the root.
ADVICE NUMBER 3: Really, DON'T IGNORE ADVICE NUMBER 1!
So Dr. Root Canal sat me back in the chair, put this blue, plastic suffocating device over my mouth and began work. When the words "wow... umm.... just... this is just a lot of puss..." and "I haven't had one drain like this in forever" come out of a dentist's mouth, its pretty impressive and I did feel quite proud of myself. That was until he told me that the extent of infection meant he needed to let it drain for longer and that I would have to come back.
ADVICE NUMBER 4: Floss regularly.
So I went through 2 rounds of antibiotics (which physically just wiped me out) and 10 days of "draining" and I didn't have any pain. I saw the light. Until the tooth started pussing again. The light turned off. So I went back for root canal part deux and Dr. Root Canal starts working. At one point in time, he was sucking infection out of the gum and said he removed about 2 tablespoons of puss. Once again, I felt proud of myself. UNTIL, he started cementing up the root canals and sticking every instrument he had in my mouth.
ADVICE NUMBER 5: If you need a root canal, I suggested for the days prior, do some jaw exercises to strengthen your jaw in preparation for keeping it wide open for 2 plus hours.
Once Dr. Root Canal was done torturing me, he took a final x-ray. We compared the before and after. Before it was a big, black, shadowy mess. After, it was a smaller black, shadowy mess but this time, the cement in my root canals showed up so I look like I have a bionic tooth! Apparently, the infection in my tooth was so bad it ate at the bone and went into my sinuses. I won't be fully healed for a few months as the bone - yes I said BONE - starts to grow back.
ADVICE NUMBER 6: Be nice to your dentists. Its not their fault your teeth are a mess and they have the ability to either be gentle with you or not. Butter them up and make them laugh before they start your procedure. They could be having a rough day and you don't want that taken out on you...
I am glad that the majority of the work is over. This root canal and infected tooth is symbolic, representative, evidence (etc.) of a really rough time that I've been through and from which I am still healing. It quite literally is the straw - as in the straw and the camel's back. Has it broken my back? Not quite. I'm still kicking. I've very slowly found my humor again. But the straw is still there. And its a constant reminder of what has happened. I think I'll be able to talk about it some more in the near future but not quite yet. I will say that I am very blessed to have the people in my life - my dentists with awesome hygienists, my root canal dentist that thankfully appreciated my humor and was as gentle as he could be, my regular doctors who make sure I'm healthy, and my family who support me, love me, and pray for me.
So until later, have a great day and GO BRUSH YOUR TEETH!

Kathy

Slow Down Saturday and Q-Balls

Happy Saturday everyone!
Its the weekend! Its nice to finally have two days to settle down, prioritize, and spend some time with my boys. My folks are coming to town on Tuesday for a short visit so I need to get our place cleaned up and finish my spring cleaning (that I started about 4 weeks ago...). I've taken a few days off of working out mostly because I am just feel very run down. Today is the last day of my antibiotic (root canal next Friday - yay...) so I hope once that works its way out of my system, I'll start feeling better.

So a goal as of late is to start using everything I have at my disposal before replacing. This means using almost everything in my cupboard and fridge before going to the store and REALLY focusing on only going to the store once every 10 days or so. This has forced my hand at creative ways of preparing food that will be both healthy and edible (especially to the discerning palates of my husband and toddler).
My husband and I have been eating healthier and recently discovered the amazing powers of Quinoa. But really, I only had one recipe and I can only eat so much chicken so I made up this recipe for Quinoa bites - "Q-Balls" (as my husband dubbed them). The troops devoured them so they were a hit. So many people asked me for the recipe that I'm going to start something new and share it on here.

Not the best angle for a picture but these are finished and in the pan

Ingredients

1 Cup water (or chicken stock for extra flavor)

1/2 quinoa

1 large to extra large egg

1/2 Cup Parmasean Cheese

1/2 Cup diced, raw onion

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 oregano

 

Hardware

Saucepan

Large Mixing Bowl

Mini Muffin Pan (Sprayed with olive oil or Pam)

Preheated oven at 350*

 

Directions

1. Prepare the Quinoa by bring the 1 cups of liquid and 1/2 cup of quinoa to a boil in a saucepan and then reduce it to a simmer and cook, covered, until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is tender. Cool to room temperature
2. In a separate bowl, mix the onion (keep it raw), cheese, egg, and herbs together. This will be pastey and chunky but this is ok.
3. Add the room temperature quinoa to the mixture. You want this at room temp so you don't prematurely melt the cheese or scramble the egg.
4. Dish your mixture into a lubed mini muffin tin. This will be sticky and will definitely stick to the muffin tin if not sprayed thoroughly. *You can use a muffin liner but not metallic - use paper.
5. Put in the middle rack of the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until slightly golden on top.
6. Remove from the muffin tin (if a little sticky still, run a knife along the side of the muffin tin to release).
7. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before enjoying so they set up a bit.

These are good alone or what I did was make a marinara to dip them in so it was like a little Italian bite of deliciousness. My husband ate 9 of the 12 so I think they were a hit.

Enjoy!!!

Back at it Again

The last 2 weeks have been ups and downs and craziness. My wonderful sister (in-law - we all know how I don't like that phrase) graduated from undergrad on the 5th so that weekend was full of family in town and really good food and making cracks about how she's a big girl now. Follow that with a week of doctor's appointments, dentist appointments, and the never ending goal of potty training the most STUBBORN almost three year old, there was barely time for running or making dinner. Finally, this past weekend was mother's day and so flipping cold I stayed in bed...

So here is a quick run down:

Graduation

It was awesome seeing my husband's family. We did family photos on that Saturday morning around campus (as my husband, his parents, and his sisters all graduated from the same school) and my son cooperated - occasionally. It all culminated in my sis-in-law graduating on Sunday and then a nice big family dinner with aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. At the end of it when we were all saying goodbye, my husband's grandfather - Dido - gave me a hug and thanked my husband and I for having such a beautiful son. <Enter tear trickling down the face here.> He then said "Having a family is the best thing in the world, right?" <Enter several more tears shed in the car on the way home due to the sentiment behind the message and the love I have for that man.>

Potty Training

Yea... We have our good days and bad days. Yesterday was a good day. Today not so much. I will say this though, all those websites you see that say you can potty train your kid in 3 days are a big HOAX! They never took into account my kid...

Health

I need a root canal!! Found that out last Wednesday. I found a great new dentist (and by great I mean PHENOMENAL). The technician who cleaned my teeth and did my x-rays was just who God wanted me to run into at the time. She was sweet and caring and way more empathetic than any other medical professional I have ever encountered. I don't have fear of the dentist. I used to but then a C-Section cured me of that (nothing is worse than that). But this woman... I have never laughed so hard at a dental visit before LOL. Only bummer part of all of it is I need a root canal and got put on an antibiotic that is kicking my butt. One is scheduled for next Friday... woo...

 The sky I was given to accompany my 5k on Mother's Day...

Running

Its going as well as it can right now given my antibiotic and injuries. I did a virtual 5k on Sunday for Mother's Day. I rocked it out of the park... Definitely my fastest 5k time yet. But its now Wednesday and I'm still feeling it. I really need to get better at stretching. Yesterday, I went for my first run with my son in the jogging stroller and totally wasn't prepared for it. I started too fast without realizing that I had to push my 36lbs. kid in a 20lbs. stroller in 75* weather. Well, I made it 18 minutes and then walked the rest. I was tight, didn't fuel well enough during the day (ice cream before a run probably not advisable), and just didn't have control over my own pace. Lesson learned...

My view from the road yesterday... I love corn fields and can't wait till they are planted!

Mother's Day

It was nice. Quiet. My husband made breakfast and dinner and gave me the ability to go for my 5k. We called all the mothers in our lives (grandmothers, great grandmothers, mothers, aunts) and had my son leave voice mails for them. Seriously, I wish I had a recording of them because they were HILARIOUS.

I'm still dealing with some emotional baggage that I can't quite come out and talk about yet. I'm doing a lot of reflection and meditation and really starting to see things for how they are, not just what I'm perceiving. The weather is getting beautiful now so I'm outside a lot more and hanging out with my son is just tons of fun. Except getting him to stop playing outside in which case its an utter disaster.

Have a wonderful day friends!!!!!

Kathy

Spring Time is Here

Hello spring time... Nice of you to join us finally.

However, due to the WONDERFUL and UNPREDICTABLE weather where I am, I think we bypassed spring, straight to summer, and next week we'll make another detour back to winter... Got to love trying to figure out what wardrobe we should be in.
Yesterday was beautiful. I woke up and went for a run in the morning. I'm just running for time right now, not distance. I did 30 straight minutes and went just over 2.6 miles so I'm getting back into the swing of things now. It was so foggy and I got really wet but it was cool and refreshing. Besides, I love being able to say I ran through a cloud.

But not only did I put those miles in, I also went for a 4 mile walk with my beautiful sis-in-law (which really she's just my sister... I've known her longer than my husband (her brother) and the in-law title just gets in the way...) and my son, got mildly sun burnt, and just had a nice day. My son has never hit the pillow as hard as his head hit it last night. A lovely side-effect of nice spring weather. Might hit the park up with him today but its supposed to be hotter and sunnier than yesterday so, we're playing that by ear. I might instead bake some of his favorite cookies with him - its his great, great grandfather's recipe that I got from my husband's grandmother (only the best baker in the world...).
We heard back from the vet. Nothing is wrong with my dog (other than his psychological issues of thinking he's a human in a dog body) so probably after his round of anti-biotics is done and he's fully vaccinated, we'll be up and running together again. Our community also opened a new dog park by the trail we run so I really want to check that out with him. Hopefully, he won't try and eat any of the dogs. It will be nice to have him back. He's a good pace dog to keep me from running to hard too quickly and I don't know how much longer until the weather get hot that we'll be able to run together. He's the only long distance Jack Russel I know...
My legs are feeling a lot better right now. I think a few more weeks of just running slowly, running for a set amount of time and not pace, and listening to my body are in order before I start my training program. But that's a start. I need to build my endurance back up and that's just going to take time. I've also decided to stop weighing myself for the time being. Its just dragging me down. I know I'm eating well and I'm exercising regularly so I just need to trust that.
I am just looking forward to the spring and summer. I got my husband hooked on sitting on our patio at night so yay! No more television!! I am looking forward to walks with my boys (husband, son, and dog) and trips to the park and everything smelling like sunscreen. I'm still definitely a fall and winter person. Watching me swim is like watching a fish try to fly. I'm not a huge fan of hot and I burn like toast left under the broiler too long but I do love the concept and metaphor of spring and summer. New birth, new growth, new adventures.

What are your exciting nice weather plans?

Kathy