Thankful Thursday

Something about today has me counting my blessings.  I love when that happens.  Here's a glimpse into  just some of what's been valuable to me over the last 24 hours...

Forgotten toys we rediscovered that entertained up for HOURS...

...and giggles compliments of my favorite guys who never cease to surprise me with their creativity...

 They crack me up!

I'm also thankful for early morning wake-up calls that help me to have a productive morning that includes a long run...

...with a bonus construction site sighting for the boys...

Gotta love excavators :-)  Also gotta love new music that gave you just the message I needed to hear this morning...

...you've got to check out their song "Be Still"...such a good reminder for my anxious self.  Thank God, literally, that he's got things under control even when I feel somewhat out of control.  My kids are becoming big fans of the music as well.  Love when that happens.  

You know what else is great?!  Starbucks gift cards from friends that allowed me to indulge in one of my favorite treats this morning...

...that's right folks, I got the biggest dark roast I could!  YUM!!!

I'm also thankful for the fantastic photos Lindsey Potter sent our way today.  She is an amazingly talented, generous photographer!!!  Check out another one of my favorites...

We are in love with the way she captured our family!!!!

I'm also thankful that my husband continues to be able to be home so we can enjoy family time to the fullest.  On that note, I'm off to indulge myself in some more one-on-one time with my husband while my kiddos nap.  Have a lovely, thankful day!!!

Weekend Recap

Our weekend started off pretty well.  We took a walk in the gorgeous weather Friday night...

Colton insisted on bringing his "big spoon" and Mason decided to bring along a pinecone.  Whatever makes them happy...

We called it an early night, had kind of a rough night of sleep with coughing fits, were up super early as a result, and decided to hit the road bright and early for a "longish" run Saturday morning...

Love my running group!  

We hadn't done a long run since my training days before the half marathon.  I had hoped to cover 10 miles but settled for the 7.5 miles we covered before getting caught in the rain.  The boys thought the rain was great but I quickly tired of the judgmental looks we I seemed to be getting from the drivers as the passed me by so we called it a day.

We spent most of the rest of the day running a few errands and playing outside.

When they were getting dressed that morning, I told them Carson gave them their shirts for their birthday.  They then proceeded to point to their shirts and say "Carson" all day long.  Smart little boogers!

Boots go with everything, right?  Haha  They're addicted to those things.

The silliness continued that night after bath time.  They were pretty fired up so I let them stay up later than usual, figuring they'd sleep in later in the morning...

We love to rock out to "Row Row Row Your Boat--The Alligator version."  They love that jam.

Silly Colton!

Sweet Mason!

Other than runny noses, I thought we were in the clear but they kept me on my toes that night with a HORRIFIC night of sleep.  The poor guys were so congested, and Mason especially couldn't seem to get any rest since ever time he was finally able to fall asleep, a coughing fit would wake him again.   It was miserable!  We decided to quit trying to sleep and instead got up to snuggle on the couch and watch Elmo.  Those of you who know me, know that I must have been DESPERATE since I NEVER let the boys watch tv.

We made it to church but Mason wanted nothing to do with the nursery so I let him sit with me in church.  You know something's wrong when he will sit still in church.  After snuggling with him through the service and feeling his chest rattle with every breath he took, I decided it was time to take him to the dr.

After 2 hours of waiting at the Urgent Care clinic, we finally saw the doctor, who decided he needed amoxicillin.  Poor guys--his first prescription!   He spent most of the rest of the day like this...

...and Colton and I tried to play quietly...

It's tough to be quiet when you're wearing your dino boots in the house though.  It didn't seem to bother Mason one bit though.

He seems to be feeling much better today and thankfully all Colton has is a runny nose...still!  Hope it doesn't turn into anything more.

Mason working in the play kitchen.   

Colton and his new friend Elmo.  

We survived some play time this morning and they are taking AWESOME naps this afternoon.  Sometimes rest is the best medicine.

Obviously yesterday was a rest day from exercise since I had sick kiddos to deal with but I was able to squeeze in a tabata workout as part of the Best Body Fitness Boot Camp this afternoon.  Since I couldn't get outside for any cardio,  I decided to tackle today's upper body workout along with Wednesday's lower body workout.  I'll just squeeze in the sprints later in the week when we can make it to the gym.  I'm learning to be flexible...

Those tabata intervals were crazy--two exercises paired together, like pushups and bench presses for example, 20 seconds of exercise with 10 seconds of rest in between, each exercise repeated 4 times, alternating back and forth between exercises.  It starts off feeling pretty easy but don't let it fool you.  It's a killer workout!  My arms are still shaking 1 hour after finishing up.  I needed that!

Oh...and before I forget.  I did make these yummy treats this weekend before the boys got sick.  I highly recommend them!  I substituted peanut butter for the almonds in the crust since I didn't have any almonds on hand.  It was still SUPER yummy.  

Thank goodness for neighbors who show up to keep you company at clinics, friends who drop of meds for your sick kiddos, friends who offer to help even if you don't accept it, and friends who force their help on you cause they know you're too proud to accept it.  Thanks for family who give you emotional support from afar as well.  You are all loved and appreciated.  I don't know what I'd do without you.  Sick days really do have a way of making you appreciate the healthy ones.  I thank God for my health and the ability to take care of my children.  I'll try not to take it for granted so much.

Last Long Run, Some Outdoor Fun, and A Yummy Vegan Lunch

I didn't get to bed quite as early as I had hoped to last night but that didn't keep me from getting a good night's sleep and enough energy to power through the last long run of my half marathon training plan.  My 12 mile run is in the books and I feel like I can safely say I am ready for the race in 2 weeks.  This morning's conditions were all the encouragement I needed.  If I can run 12 miles pushing 100 pounds on a morning with a severe wind advisory , I feel confident I can run 13 miles stroller-free, whatever the conditions might be.  Bring it on!

This morning's run was slower than usual, thanks to the wind...

The boys were quite good for me in the stroller this morning.  I know 2 hours in a stroller could be trying for anyone but enjoy watching the trucks and dogs we see on our journey.  Some snacks help keep them entertained as well.  Today they tried out this new bread...

...along with some string cheese.  They're jumping on the pumpkin band wagon along with all of us.  They gave it two thumbs up.  I'm thinking about whipping up some french toast with it.  Wonder how I can make a vegan french toast..???

Today I've done quite well with my vegan efforts.  I tried out a sweet potato pancake recipe this morning after my long run.  It was inspired by this recipe but I tweaked it to make it vegan, substituting extra flax (2 tablespoons instead of 1/2) for the egg whites along with a splash of almond milk (maybe 1/8 cup?).  I also added some applesauce (probably a 1/4 cup) and a half scoop of brown rice protein powder.  They ended up tasting ALOT like pumpkin pie and were the perfect post-run meal.  I inhaled them!

Once breakfast was cleaned up, we headed outside to enjoy this fall-like weather we're having, fall-like for Florida at least.  I'm pretty sure it's still in the 80s today...

The boys had a blast and I had fun watching them.  They're really making progress on their jumping.

When it was time to refuel, we headed in for some pomegranate seeds and carrots with hummus.  YUM!  And all organic too.  Double yum!

They couldn't eat them fast enough.  So cute!

While they snacked, I threw together a yummy vegan lunch...

...I'll definitely be having another bowl of this today.  Thank goodness I made a big bowl of it.  Into the mix went:

• 1 cup quinoa, cooked
• 1 cup brown rice, cooked
• 1 can black beans, rinced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped and seeded
• 1 small avocado, diced
• 2 cloves minced garlic

I topped it all with a dressing made with:

• 1 T dijon
• juice from 1 lemon juice
• 1 T cumin
• salt and pepper, to taste
• splash of olive oil

I highly recommend you try it out!  It's incredibly satisfying and insanely delicous.  Let me know what you think if you try it out.

While the boys keep napping, I'm hoping to do some yoga to stretch out these tired legs and also hoping to get some reading done.  Here's to hoping the boys take a long nap.  

I'm hoping I can stay up late enough to watch this tonight too...

I'm in the mood to laugh.  Happy Saturday everyone!

My Crazy Version of A Rest Day

It was so nice to wake up and realize there was nothing that I HAD to do on the calendar today.  Other than getting some groceries, dropping off some bank deposits, and making a couple of phone calls, my schedule was wide open.  I did originally plan to get in some yoga as well on my rest day from my half marathon training plan but I switched up my plan a bit as the day progressed.  Let me just tell you I'm a glutton for punishment and it appears I have my priorities a little out of whack.  You'll see why as you read on...

Our day kicked off with a leisurely breakfast of scrambled eggs, Morningstar sausages (my boys and husband love these things and I've learned to like them too), and a waffle topped with strawberry jam...oh, and of course, COFFEE.  Now that the Intelligentsia coffee is gone, we have moved on to the Caribou Mahogany blend.  We already miss those yummy Intelligentsia beans...Hopefully there are more in our house in the near future.  The Caribou blend smelled a bit like cigars...not sure what I think of that.

After we cleaned up breakfast and made ourselves presentable for the day, we headed off to one of our favorite places to visit, Publix.  We can't seem to get enough of that place and go there at least once a week, usually twice.  Lucky for us, Gina was there again this morning to give us balloons.  She's so good to the boys!

I had trouble getting them to look at me.  There were
too many other interesting things going on in the parking lot.

Our next stop was the bank where the boys got some lovely blue suckers.  They thought it was funny when they got home and could see their blue lips in the mirror.

Once again, they're not very smiley today.  So serious!  Maybe they knew what was next up on my plan for the day...haha.

As I unloaded the groceries, I started thinking, "What if I just do my long run today?"  My friend had just invited us over for "world famous margaritas" and I didn't want to have to miss out on enjoying them since I had a long run scheduled for first thing tomorrow morning.  (Last time I drank the night before a run, my run was less than stellar and I didn't want to repeat that event.)  This is what I meant when I told you earlier I have my priorities out of whack--I ran so I could drink!  What's wrong with me???  To my defense I also wanted to have tomorrow to dedicate completely to family.  If I squeezed in my run today, I wouldn't have to worry about it tomorrow.  I could make tomorrow my rest day and I'd much rather have my rest day on a day when we can have our whole family together.

Once the groceries were all put away, I had made up my mind to go for it.  I chugged some caffeine and electrolytes in the form of one of these delicious little babies...

(Thanks to Lindsey for the recommendation.  She described them perfectly, "like heaven and sunshine.")  I don't even like coconut water but I LOVE these.  Check them out!  Once it was polished off, I loaded up the boys in the stroller along with their snacks and water for all of us and we hit the road.  Did I mention it was 11:30 at this point and 87 degrees outside.  This is the part where I'm a glutton for punishment.  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

I can't claim that this was the best run of my life.  In fact, it might have been one of the most torturous runs of my life, but I figure if I can survive 9+ miles in midday heat pushing 100+ pounds of stroller weight, 13 miles at 6 am on October 28 should feel easy, right?  I'm not gonna lie.  I NEVER take walk breaks and I took at least 5 little breaks to chug water and convince myself to keep going.  On top of it all, MapMyRun wasn't working.  Check out what it was telling me...

 8.36 miles in 33 minutes and 45 seconds.  I wish! I think it was more like 9.5 miles in 1 hr 35 minutes. Only 3 more long runs until the big race.  I won't be doing any of them in the midday heat EVER again.  Lesson learned!  

At least the views were pretty.  I ran over that bridge you see in the distance.  It was probably the coolest part of the run with the breezes off the water.  Thank goodness for that relief!  Somehow the cloud cover that I thought I'd have when I left the house seemed to disappear as I ran.  Not cool!

Once we got back home, I chugged LOTS of water and finally felt like scarfing down a giant salad after my shower.  I love the combination of almonds, craisins, blue cheese, Organic girl super greens, black beans and balsamic.  YUMMY!

I didn't take a photo of my salad but if you haven't tried these salad blends, it's time you did.  I just bought a baby kale mix I can't wait to try as well.

I have a batch of black bean brownies in the oven as we speak.  I used this recipe and changed it up a bit by adding peanut butter to the mix in place of the oil and using a dark chocolate bar in place of the chocolate chips.  I hope they turn out as yummy as the batter tasted.

Now, I think I've got time now to squeeze in some of the yoga I had planned for today and them hopefully I can prop my feet up and read more about Tamar.  Monday's book club discussion is sneaking up on me and I have some work to do on my book.  Thank goodness I'm enjoying it.

It makes me really glad I don't live in Bible times and I got to choose my amazing husband.  I cannot imagine having an arranged marriage.

Only 2 hours or so til I get to enjoy a highly anticipated margarita.  Hope you have something fun planned for your Friday night as well.  Cheers!