Becoming His 31

Cleaning out my closet + Paring down my wardrobe!

8:31 PM

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I didn't get to get in a run last Monday because Mark got called in to work - but I was back out there today!

There was this new article in Runners World magazine that referred to a recent study showing that veteran runners who followed a 30-20-10 interval run improved their 5k time by 4%... which is close to 1 minute off of their times. The study was supporting the fact that these runners could run less overall mileage with this training plan and still improve their times. That sounded great to me since I don't get to run as frequently or as far as I have in the past.

Basically the training plan has you do 3 parts - Warm up, 30-20-10, rest intervals.

1.) Warm up - 1 mile jog, easy pace.

2.) 30-20-10 - 30 second jog, 20 second training pace, 10 second sprint. Immediately repeat this cycle 4 more times for a total of 5 repeats.

3.) Rest Interval - Jog for 2 minutes and then repeat step 2 two or three more times.

In the allotted time I give myself to run (which is about 30 minutes, so I can also get home and maybe do some core work and shower before Reaghan gets up from her nap) I was able to get in 2 1/2 cycles. So the first two cycles I did the full 5 repeats, but the last cycle I only got in 3 repeats before I made it back home.

The first cycle wasn't too hard and the repeats seemed to go by really fast! But by the end of the 2nd cycle I was struggling haha. I don't know about you, but I'm always self conscious when doing sprint repeats just running around the neighborhood - I'm sure people are wondering what I'm doing! (...then again, people probably aren't paying any attention to me at all...) The loop that I do is about 2.9 miles and during this workout I finished it in 27:45. Next time I'll run a little bit further to make it 3.1 miles (5k) and see if my time starts improving!

The only down side to this 30-20-10 thing - it was super hard to run with Piper! She didn't really understand why we were suddenly running fast and then slow and then fast and then slow. I think she was getting annoyed that I would pull her up short to slow down after only a 10 second sprint. haha poor girl. But she made it!

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Flower Beds

New Landscaping!

9:00 PM

~Throwback Thursday - November 2011~

When we first bought our house (3 1/2 years ago!) our front yard left a lot to be desired... and we actually haven't changed too much about it. Landscaping and upping the curb appeal was always low on the totem pole of things to be done. Other then cleaning up the flower bed to the right, everything has pretty much stayed the same. But you guys - this spring/summer is finally the year for making some big changes to the front of the house.

The first to go? The big, ugly, overgrown, boxwood shrubs under the windows!

Digging the stumps out was 100,000x harder than we anticipated. We had to dig and pull and saw and shake those babies to get them to reluctantly let go of the earth! It was ridiculous. I tried to talk Mark in to renting a backhoe to dig them out but He didn't think it was necessary. So with blood, sweat and ~~tears~~ (just kidding, but I did kind of want to cry at one point) we finally got them out!

After the roots were out, it was smooth sailing! We tilled up the ground a bit, shaped a new bed design, filled it in with some new soil and planted some new (much smaller and prettier) foliage!

We want to plant a pretty bush (maybe an Azalea?) between the two windows to give a little height dimension back to the area. Also, do you see the enormous Arbor Vitae at the corner? If you look back at the first picture you can see this thing has grown a couple of feet since we've moved in! We want to have that removed as well. But... we're going to need a professional for that job, and we'll probably have that done in the fall. Once that comes out, I want to wrap the flower bed around the corner and down the side of the house, and then plant a pretty flowering tree for Reaghan's first birthday. ( A Dogwood maybe?)

It might not look like much, but I'm just so thrilled to be able to see the brick under the windows! I feel like it adds new life to the house.

I'll be sure to take another picture when the plants have grown a bit. :)

Next up on the curb appeal project - painting the shutters, front door, porch railing and all of the trim!

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Beach

Salty Air

7:28 PM

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Exercise

Monday Workout {3}

9:00 PM

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7 months

See Reaghan Grow! {7 Months}

8:42 PM

The 17th of this month came and went and with it, another month of growing and reaching milestones for Reaghan! Here is what she's been up to since our last update!

No drs. appointment this month, in fact we don't have to go back until her 9 month appointment, but I stepped on the scale with her and she weighs around 16.5 pounds.
She is wearing anything from 6-9 months clothes but 9 months are still a bit big on her. She fits nicely into size 3 diapers.
She sleeps through the night for the most part! She goes down between 8:30-9 every night and will usually wake up around 7:30. Every once in a while she'll wake up in the middle of the night and needs help getting back to sleep. I try to get her to fall back asleep without feeding because I know she can sleep a good 10 hours without eating. But if sleep just isn't happening after about an hour of going in and out patting her back than I'll go ahead and feed her.
She usually takes 2 naps a day: 1-2 hours in the morning and 1-2 hours in the afternoon. Depending on how early our day starts, she might squeeze in a 20-30 minute cat nap in the evenings.
She is very vocal! She has started babbling sounds like mama, dada, yaya and baba. "baba" was first followed by "mama" and "dada" is a more recent sound. She also loves to squeal and grunt!
She's started to use her own fingers to make sounds with her mouth. She'll open and close her fists so her fingers pluck at her bottom lip! Its ridiculously adorable.
She started army crawling and can go forward and turn herself around! We were so excited when all of a sudden one night (4/7) she just started scooting forward! I have to keep a close eye on her now and can no longer sit her on my bed while getting ready in the morning. Our whole routine is starting to change!
Reaghan participated in her first race on the 11th. We tested out our BoB stroller and Mark and I ran a 5k with her along with Ann, Jason and Brooklyn.
She eats solid foods 1-2 times a day; every night for dinner and I'm starting to include breakfast. Surprisingly she likes veggies more than fruits! Sweet potatoes and Squash seem to be her favorite. I did let her gnaw on a pear I was eating the other day though, and she loved it.
We celebrated her first Easter with her and enjoyed worshipping with her at Church, dressing her up in a pretty dress and taking pictures with her Easter basket.
Her hair is growing in nice and fuzzy. She looks like a little fuzzy chick.
She met her Great Grandma for the first time! We are so excited that we're getting to spend a little time with her before she heads back to Ohio.

She is always looking for something to do with her hands!

It is getting harder and harder to take her monthly pictures! Today she was interested in just about everything except for looking at me and smiling.

She obviously has way more important things to do than pose for a picture...

like eating her blanket for instance. ;)

I finally got her to look right at me and of course it turned out blurry! But her little pose is so cute I had to share it.

Mom, may I please get down and play with my toys now???

I said no. So this is what happened. Which meant she did in fact get to get down and play with her toys because she was over sitting still.

I couldn't blame her! Her brain and body seem to be on super development mode these last few weeks! Keep growing baby girl. We are so blessed that you are healthy in mind and body.

:::Behind the Scenes:::

No pictures mama! I just want to roll around!

(Still not rolling from back to belly on her own though. She can do it with a little help!)

Piper tried to help me out again this month,

but all she succeeded in doing was wrinkling up the blanket ; )

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Wednesday Morning

6:15 AM

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Exercise

Monday Workout! {2}

8:47 PM

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Chicken Tacos

Ministry Meal: Chicken Taco Dinner!

8:33 PM

The women of our church are fantastic about setting up meal trains for members that are sick or for new mommy's. Mark and I were blessed with meals for a little over a week after Reaghan was born and it was so nice not to have to worry about what to make for dinner during that time. I love being a part of taking meals to others too because it is such a tangible way to reach out and say "Hey, I care about you, I'm here for you, and I'm praying for you." You know?

One of the favorite meals Mark and I got from a family from our church was Chicken Tacos, so when the time came the other day for me to sign up and take a meal to another new mommy, (and no one had already put down that they were bringing tacos!) I decided to take a few pages from said family's book and bring them this yummy meal!

So what makes this such a great dinner?

I think my favorite thing about this meal is that it is all broken down into little components that gives the receiver of the meal the freedom to assemble it just how they like their tacos to be made.

What did we include in the dinner?

Shredded chicken seasoned with taco seasoning. (I just cook mine in the crockpot - 4 chicken breasts, 1 can of chicken broth and 1 packet of taco seasoning on low for 4-6 hours!) The chicken keeps so well in the fridge and tastes just as good heated up! Which is great if you have to drop off dinner before its actually dinner time and also for any left overs!
Soft Tortillas
Chopped Tomatoes
Shredded Lettuce
Cheese
Sour Cream
Avocados
Tortilla Chips
Salsa
Taco Sauce
Homemade Chocolate Chip cookies for dessert
Simply lemonade - because you need a refreshing beverage to go along with tacos!

The family receiving the meal can use all of it on their tacos, or if they're like my husband, just the meat and cheese! And if they don't want to use it on the tacos, or if there are left overs, the toppings can be used on other dinners. (Like tomatoes on a salad or sour cream on baked potatoes!)

All of this fit nicely in a reusable grocery bag (that I got from a birth expo, ha!) and I make sure the bag is one that I won't mind never seeing again!

Some other things I've learned from receiving meals and taking meals to others:

Put everything in disposable or plastic containers that you don't expect to get back.
Make sure to add sides - pasta dish? Be sure to bring rolls and butter or salad. Chicken dish? Bring veggies. Taco dinner? Chips and Salsa or guacamole! :)
Add special touches - something for dessert, drinks for dinner, or even something for breakfast the next morning if your budget allows.
Paper plates/utensils for easy clean up.

I'm definitely not trying to toot my own horn here. This meal was given to us by a good friend and I loved it so much I just wanted to pay it forward by giving this meal to another family and by sharing the ministry meal love here as well!

Do you have any tips for taking meals to friends who are in need?

What is your favorite meal to share?