Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!

My day was beautiful! Jesse made Norwegian pancakes for breakfast. Yum! My inlaws took the boys after breakfast so Jesse and I could go mountain biking together. It has been so long since we have been able to get out on the trails together. They've actually added new trails since the last time we went. We rode about 5 miles through the woods and around the lake. The new trail we went on is awesome. It is well maintained and scenic. It's also friendly enough that there are no spots on it where I feel inclined to get off my bike and walk it over hazardous conditions. It was the perfect morning ride. Afterwards, my father in law made lunch for everyone. He made hamburgers, which became my favorite food while I was pregnant with Trent and never changed back after he was born. Outdoor adventures, good food, and great company make me a happy mama!

Everything is Growing!

First of all, bear with me this week. My computer decided that it had lived long enough. So, until I get a replacement set up, my pictures and posts will be iphone quality. That being said...

So excited to see my garden looking so good so far. We've had some crazy weather here lately, including a lot of rain. (Side note, thank you to everyone who checked in on us after the tornadoes came through. We are safe and incredibly blessed.) In the front yard, we have tomatoes, eggplants, beans, and peppers. In the backyard, we have all the herbs (due to the proximity to the kitchen), more beans, and my lime tree.

Container Garden

And look who else is growing!

5 months

Beautiful Produce

I love my new CSA. Last year, I couldn't get into my first choice CSA because it was full. This year, they emailed me at the beginning of the season to let me know they had an opening. I love, love, love the new one! The produce is fresh and beautiful, and the family that runs it is easy to work with and well organized. But, the BEST part is that they plant such a variety! This time of year 'greens' are in season. I like most greens, but no one in our family is a huge fan of turnip greens or collard greens. This week we received bok choy, strawberries, onions, salad mix, and radishes. The strawberries are delicious and the onions are so sweet. It's so much fun to open the box each week and see what's inside!

Florida Trip

Last week we visited my grandparents in south Florida. We had a such a good time. It was a refreshing break. My grandparents do an amazing job keeping up with the kiddos too. I hope I'm that energetic when I'm 80-plus!

We experienced a lot of firsts. It was Sean's first ride in the car that was longer than 4 hours. It was the boys first time sharing a room. It was Sean's first time meeting his great grandparents. It was Trent's first time at Nanny and Poppy's house where he could walk...

The trip down went really smoothly. The car rides are always the toughest part. Trent did much better than he has done in the past. Overall, the boys did surprisingly well sharing a room. Sean still gets up at random intervals each night, so I was anticipating him waking his brother up each time, but Trent always went right back to sleep.

Trent had fun hanging out on Poppy's fishing dock and riding toys in the driveway. While we were in Florida, we went to the local park a couple of times, the zoo, and the beach. Trent had a ball at all of them. Sean had his own little tent to snooze in while we were at the beach.

Feeding Deer at the Zoo

Macaw, Macaw!

Daddy provides a better view

Hanging Out

Bonding with Poppy

Born to Run

I have been intrigued by the whole barefoot running craze. Vibram Five Fingers have moved from a group of avid runners wearing toe shoes to a full blown fad. The other day when I tried them on, school children were buying a few pairs. I wanted to know more about why people were choosing to run barefoot. Enter this book by Christopher McDougall:



I really enjoyed reading the book. As an avid runner, it was both inspirational and informative. Some interesting quotes from the book:

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle - when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

"Shoes block pain, not impact! Pain teaches us to run comfortable! From the moment you start going barefoot, you will change the way you run."

"When your feet aren't artificially protected, you're forced to vary your pace and watch your speed: the instant you get recklessly fast and sloppy, the pain shooting up your shins will slow you down."


On Thursday, I gave it a try. I ran 3 miles with "barefoot" shoes. I did not purchase the Vibram 5 fingers. When I tried them on, I had a ridiculous time attempting to get each toe in the appropriate toe spot. I could not commit to spending half the day getting shoes on my feet. Plus, aesthetically, they fall somewhere in between froglike and Big Foot. So I bought a pair of Merrell's that have a thin bottom. They protect your feet from objects on the road but with the thin bottom and large toe box, they still encourage proper running form.

The shoes did force me to focus on my form. In traditional, cushioned running shoes, you end up pounding your heels because of all the extra padding. When running barefoot, it causes you to shorten your stride and land in the middle of your foot. I really enjoyed the run and they are really comfortable. You feel like you could run forever. They also make great every day shoes. I was told to proceed slowly though as your body has to adapt to the new form. The barefoot running wakes muscles you didn't use as much when running with traditional shoes. My calves have been tight for two days!

Growing Boys

Big Bro "helping" Lil Bro

Last Tuesday, the boys had their 2 year and 4 month doctor appointments. It was my first time taking both boys to the doctor by myself, but they did great. They're both on track developmentally and physically. Trent continues to be consistent in his height/weight ranges. He is 37 inches tall (97th percentile) and 32.5 lbs (95 percentile). Sean is 26.5 inches tall (95th percentile) and 15 lbs 14.5 oz (75th percentile). The doctor gave Sean the green light to start on solid foods so we'll be starting that sometime in the near future. Overall, good checkups for both!

Blessings

I'm a big Laura Story fan. In turn, so are my boys. It's kind of comical because they can be upset and as soon as I start playing Laura Story music or singing Laura Story songs, they calm down. She has a beautiful voice and her songs have great lyrics. She has a new album coming out on the 12th. You can download the new album here.
Her new single is called Blessings.