S Club Mama

I have totally made that face before when Big A is talking (and vice versa). :D

I may not be Lightning McQueen but I sure have ran fast my last two runs! *Disclaimer: I know these times aren't really fast but they are really fast for me.* On Wednesday, the weather was so beautiful (50 degrees) and Moose had been asking to go to the race track (high school track) for a few days. So I put on my running gear with the plans to run 3 miles while my boys piddled around on the track and football field. Great plan, right? Two laps in, Moose said, "I want to go home." Um... so I pulled out the "hey, there are crackers in your backpack." While my kids devoured half a sleeve of crackers (can't believe it wasn't more), I finished my other 10 laps. Those laps averaged out to 8:57-minute miles (26:51). I'm sure part of that was a flat track, but I'm still going to take it! I was without my iPod so listening to myself breathe was awful. Another part was the need to get it done before my kids said they wanted to go home or start throw

Moose was born July 1, 2007 all perfect and beautiful, like all other babies are to their mothers. I spent the rest of that summer, feeding, sleeping, changing diapers, and loving on this sweet little piece of creation that God gave me. In September 2007, I started my senior year of college. Everyone (everyone and their dog, to be exact) told me that the first day of daycare would be hard and then it would get easier. I had arranged for a friend to watch Moose most of the time, but when she and I had a class together he would go to the school daycare. The best circumstances we could afford (we paid this girl just next to nothing, literally). Note to everyone (and their dog) who said it would get easier: you were WRONG! For me, it got harder and harder and harder. Months into my semester and I was miserable leaving my sweet baby in the care of anyone but myself. I didn't know if he was fed on time, if he cried when I left, if he watched tv all day. And I hated that. I wanted to

I have been blessed to be a full-time SAHM for about 4 years now. I never thought that would be me - sitting at home, watching soap operas, folding laundry. Well, minus the soap operas, that's me! And I love it. Even the tantrums and poopy pants don't negate the time spent cuddling, reading books, dancing, blowing bubbles (and bubbles and bubbles and bubbles). The smiles given at just the moment when you think you can't stay in this house any longer. The well-timed movie quote that either cracks you up or lifts your heart. I know those moments can come after work hours, but I really love that I can have the quantity of time I do with my children. My boys aren't perfect; far from it, but there's not a job in the world I'd love more than this one. However, my time with them is numbered (unless #3 comes along...). Squirt turns 3 this summer; Moose will most likely be going to kindergarten next year (what???). That's 2 years at home. And then what? I've th

Have you ever wanted to be a deep person? I have. Ever since I started really living for the Lord in college, I've wanted to be deep. I've wanted to be educated about the Lord, welcoming to His people, in sync with the Lord. I've wanted a mentor - a deep person to teach me to be a deep person. When I had the opportunity to pick a book to review, I was drawn to Going Deep by Gordon MacDonald. I can't say I chose the book by its cover but I definitely made a good choice choosing by its title. This book was just what I was looking for to challenge me. Mr. MacDonald writes about a fictional church in New England. In the period of two years, you learn about Pastor MacDonald (GMAC) and his "great idea." This great idea turns into a group called Cultivating Deep People which is lead by him and his wife, Gail. They choose (not taking volunteers to the dismay of a few congregants) participants who they felt had what it took to be a leader in the church. Not in the

for bleach, Febreeze, candles, soap, and my washer and dryer. I think (I think??) sickness has finally left the S Clubhouse. Squirt got sick last night but I'm chalking it up to this: weakened stomach + crying fit (I brushed his hair, heaven forbid) = throw up. Anyway, I'm gearing up to work with my first running coach on Monday! I'm so excited. Well, it's online coaching but she said she's starting me Monday. I just did a little workout (15 minutes worth) and I'm not dead (although I don't think my stomach could have taken a real Jillian DVD today). I feel pretty good. I'm ready to watch Courageous tonight (date night at church!!) and run tomorrow. This weekend will be some nice R&R (and probably a ton of laundry folding). What's on your plate this weekend? I've been slacking on the picture taking lately. I need to capture some memories (and wear bottom eye liner apparently). Big A & I on our last date night!

Oh my... if this is how 2012 is going to go, can it be December 31st yet?? Squirt got sick on New Year's Eve. Then one of the little boys I baby-sit got sick here about a week ago. Squirt's been sick again (acting like he's teething but he has all of his teeth for now) for a few days (appetite is hardly there at all). Moose was up all.night.long. puking and otherwise. Which means I was up all.night.long. dragging him to the toilet. That boys profusely hates to be sick. I was so proud of him for telling me he was going to be sick, though! But my stomach was crampy all night and I've been nauseous all night. I laid on their floor all.night.long. on a crib mattress. I'd lay on my right side, roll over about 15 minutes later, my stomach would start cramping and about 15 minutes later, Moose would cry out like he does right before throwing up. It was probably every 30 minutes. Horrible. Now I'm so tired. Watching Cars 2. Probably watching Cars after that. Maybe so

 We all know (or you should know) that I love Pinterest. I have several boards that I'm always adding to: food, crafts, clothes, hair, etc. I also love my readers, so I want you to know what I've been up to in regards to my pins (because I'm sure you're on the edge of your seats!).  These are a few crafts I did around the Christmas season. First up, the mother's nest with eggs. I originally made this when I taught this craft to my MOPS group, but then ended up making the charms for some friends for Christmas. My eggs are blue for my boys, not birthstones. :D These bracelets are not the same, if you look closely. I made these for my sisters; I thought they were cute. I'm not sure if they liked them or not but oh well. I tried. They are tougher to make than they look; making sure it all stays tight enough. This is just a variation on the mother's nest with eggs necklace. My SIL, MIL, and mom don't wear necklaces (that I've noticed), so

The winner of the Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Flour is #3 (chosen by random.org): Catherine Agnes ! The winner of the Mediterranean Snacks Lentil Chips multi-pack is #7 (chosen by random.org): Deanna G ! Thank you to everyone who entered!!

Squirt got sick on New Year's Eve in the midst of our celebration. He was jumping in the ball pit we got from Grandma Fonda and Auntie Amber for their birthday and .... just spewed everywhere (so maybe the title to this post should also say bye-bye ball pit because I was not cleaning out all of those crevices. Yuck). And the poor kid just kept going, so I got to enjoy the rest of the festivities (playing board games!) while Big A got to (chose to) hang out with Squirt in his room to avoid more clean up than necessary (he even slept in Moose's bed while Moose got to cuddle with mama!!). last picture with the pa-pa (back in October)  The boy made it through that night without his pa-pa (pacifier). Just plumb fell asleep without it. So...Big A & I decided that if he could go without it while being sick, then it was time to just chuck it. And we did. He asked for it the next day at nap time, but we just told him, "when you got sick your pa-pa got dirty so no more pa-

After our first appointment with an allergist, Dr. B, we were not happy with the entire experience. His tests showed that Moose was allergic to everything under the sun: molds, grasses, foods, animals. He's never had a rash or any sort of reaction (although this doctor said he had neurological reactions); and the only allergy tie-in I've ever seen to autism is to gluten and casein (proteins found in wheat and dairy). I had read/heard about many testimonials from parents of other ASD kids who have seen improvements (usually on a large scale) when their child was placed on a GFCF (gluten-free, casein-free) diet. I believe that most of these kids had GI (gastrointestinal) problems and/or allergies to gluten/casein - Moose does not have any GI problems. skin tests at Dr. B's 10/11 Now, I'm level-headed enough to realize that scientists and medical professionals do not always recommend this diet because there is not enough proof about it. I also know that sometimes do

I know, I know. Tuesday's almost over (at least here in CST). However, I just finished reading my friend Erin's post about her word of the year: simplify . I wanted to share with you MY word of the year because it's a tough one and I need some support with it! Ten Things I Will Be INTENTIONAL With This Year: 1. My words. I have a big, quick-talking, foolish mouth. There is proverb after proverb in Scripture that talks about foolish speech. James 3:6-12 talks about the tongue being a fire, an evil fire. One of my biggest struggles is cursing. Not in every day speech but when I'm upset or stub my toe. I'm much better than I have been, but I'm nowhere near the standard to which I hold myself. 2. My time. I am lazy. Most people don't know that about me. They assume that because I'm dedicated to running that I am a get-up-and-go type of person. I'm not. I am fairly certain I'm a good portion sloth. I love to hang out and sit around. I love not

I decided yesterday that I wanted to actually make something with my sewing machine. I didn't want to continue to practice making straight seams. I also know that the best way to learn something is to do it, over and over. So I found this link to a 10-minute colored pencil roll on Pinterest. if anyone knows how to end my stitch lines without having little threads leftover hanging all over, I'd appreciate tips. my zig zags all rolled up Squirt seems to like it. I got these colors so he'd stop eating & breaking his colors (he doesn't eat them often but he does break them a lot). I hope it'll help when we travel. I'm also hoping to make a similar thing for Moose's cars (and probably one for Squirt's cars too).

While researching online, I've scoured numerous gluten-free blogs and come across one company's name: Udi's. Udi's Gluten Free Foods offers a variety of foods for those living a GF lifestyle. We got to try out their cinnamon rolls , granola (vanilla), whole grain bread , and snickerdoodle cookies. Can I just say what a pleasant surprise taste-wise all of these products were? Of all the gluten-free products we have tested, these have been my favorite. The whole grain bread loaf was still on the small size and for 12 oz, it's $5 which is still expensive but I'll pay for the better quality. What I mean is: this tastes like "real" bread! I liked it, Moose liked it, Squirt liked it, I don't think we saved enough for Big A to try... A blog friend of mine has recommended this bread on her blog, so I was really hoping it would be good. And she was right - by far the best bread we've tried. The granola was something I kept to myself. I shar

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you rang in the new year better than our little Squirt did here. Let's just say too much junk food, bounce house, and staying up too late resulted in many changing of the sheets (and destroying of our bounce house). Big A is ever the best husband and daddy in the world - now snoozing in a twin bed with our little puker. I'll be sharing my king-sized with Moose here shortly. 2011 was a great year for us and I wanted to share some of our highlights (no particular order). 1. Moving to Kansas & closer to friends. 2. Moose being diagnosed with autism. 3. Moose starting pre-school. 4. Getting involved in our church: women's ministry president & Big A's Sunday school class. 5. Running 640 miles (including elliptical & walking = 667). 6. Beating Big A in two half marathons. :) 7. Meeting former Biggest Loser contestants. 8. Being so motivated by so many other people who have asked me (me?) about getting started toward fitnes