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