Addison's 11th Birthday

Birthday Questions answered by a 11 year old Addison
1. Favorite  color: Purple
2. Favorite Toy: Pottery Wheel
3. Favorite Fruit: peaches
4. Favorite TV show: America's got Talent 
5. Favorite thing to eat for lunch: Coby Jack and Salami sandwich
6. Favorite Outfit:  Red, white and blue Nike capris and tshirt outfit.
7. Favorite Game:  Clue
8. Favorite Snack:  Animal Crackers
9. Favorite Animal:  Dog
10. Favorite song:  The House that Built me
11. Favorite Book:  Arf
12. Best Friend: Sidney
13. Favorite Cereal: Cocoa Puffs
14. Favorite thing to do outside: Go on Jumpy water slide
15. Favorite drink:  Mello Yellow
16. Favorite Holiday: Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  Bean Bag
18. Favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cinnamon toast and cereal
19. What do you want to eat for your birthday dinner? Hot Dogs, Mashed Potatoes, Corn.
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Not sure now.

Addison selected to celebrate her birthday at the lake with her friend Sidney instead of having a party...so that is just what she did. 8 Fun filled days at the lake. The girls never had an argument. They were super sweet the entire time. It was amazing.

Addi is a dog lover, art lover, who spends a lot of time in her room. She is amazingly good at the piano, and we rarely have to remind her to practice. It is refreshing. She may not like sports of any kind, but she will walk the dog whenever asked. She dreams of getting a Labrador retriever. Addi loves to sport Nike or Under Armour capri pants instead of shorts but will wear shorts with much encouragement. Addi is a strong willed girl but is very sweet.

Although fun to see Addison grow up...so sad to say good-bye to our baby girl.

The Lake 2017

Since we took our family vacation over spring break, it gave us more freedom to get to the lake as a family. Chris got to join us this year!!

Addi, Asher, Addi's friend Sidney, and I drove to the lake on Thursday, June 29 staying through Friday, July 7. Addi did not want a birthday party with a bunch of friends this year, she just wanted her friend Sidney to go to the lake with us. Done. Chris and Alivia joined us with Alivia's friend Katy and Asher's friend Conner July 1-5 (Alivia stayed until July 7 with me though). Talk about craziness! 6 kids at the lake is crazy!! The food, the chaos! WE WILL NOT DO THAT AGAIN!!!

The kids enjoyed tubing on Grandma's latest toy, a 3 person jet ski he bought from his neighbor that moved away. It is very nice. It was super nice to be able to pull the kids on the tube behind it, too. Chris brought a nice 3 person tube from Costco. The kids had a blast on that, too. Gotta have a new toy every year. I swear next year I will get a platform. Really, I mean it (Well, unless Chris puts a pool in our backyard...then never mind).

Conner and Katy tried water sking, Alivia skied again while Asher skied and got up for a short while. Hopefully he will ski again on our next trip later this month.

Chris got out the canoe and we all took peaceful canoe rides with him. Chris and my Dad got up at 5:30 daily to chase the sunrise on the jet skis. Chris got some fun GoPro footage of those rides, too. We did a little boating to see the big houses on the lake. The kids ate us out of the house. Grandma was a pro at serving them I tell you. Grandma and Grandpa left Thursday and I was not as efficiant without them, that is for sure!

We took all 6 kids to the candy store. Chris bought candy and souvineers for all over them. Addi, Sidney and I went to the outlets and did a little back to school shopping. Those girls like shopping way more than I do!!

We had an amazing time. Sadly, both Addison and Asher's friends will probably move away this year (milatary). It was fun for the kids to spend quality time with their friends before they move.

My Mom and Dad are amazing hosts. Thank you!! We love the lake. We missed it the second we left.

We will be back...sooner than later. I am thinking next week!

Whole30: After

Well, Chris and I successfully finished our whole30 on June 30. Chris did not weigh himself before, during or after...so who knows?!?! I did not weigh myself in the end because I was out of town but lost 4 pounds perviously. I am sure I am back to my normal weight now. :)

So day 1 off of whole30 I stuck to the whole 30. Then Chris joined me at the lake bringing snacks. I had the chips I bought from Costco 2 days in a row. I did not notice any side effects per say...but did notice better energy on my runs the next day (keep in mind I was not eating much in the way of carbs at this point due to not tolerating sweet potatoes or acorn squash). The third day I ate Costco Chocolate Chip cookies. OMG these were so good. So I ate whole30 all day and had 2 cookies for dessert at dinner. I, again, did not notice any side effects, but went to bed shortly after eating them. The next morning, my stomach was sore during my run. I can not have gluten and it was obvious. Since then, I have had the same pop chips every day and had a chocolate chip larabar. Yesterday I was whole30 except the larabar. I realize I do not need the chips, I just love them. :) Unfortunately, we have 3 LARGE Costco sized bags of them at home and the kids do not like them. Chris, there are chips for you!

Chris and I both agreed that the whole30 was like food prison. We were less happy in the same bubble of foods we could eat. Having kids and eating like that is pretty difficult, in my opinion. With that said, I will try to eat mostly whole30, maybe 80/20 or better. So far I have been eating whole30 with one new thing added in daily. Today's chocolate chip larabar tasted like heaven. It tasted amazing. My chipotle chicken salad (where the chicken was the only non compliant thing) last night was amazing. I have not had pizza yet as I am dreading the side effects. But, I have gotten to not enjoy pizza anymore anyway for that reason.

Both Chris and I have stuck with our eggs for breakfast. Lunch I started eating romaine lettuce wraps with no sugar added turkey from Costco (called plainville turkey slices I believe). Just turkey wrapped in lettuce with salt and pepper and mustard. I started eating this in the last days of whole30 and have continued to eat these wraps. I like them! Great thing to take to lunch at work, too. Dinner is usually whole 30 compliant, too.

Overall, I would recommend whole30. But it is VERY STRICT and probably has a poor success rate. Chris failed on several occasions and should have started over (but he would have just quit and not started over so we let his slip up slide).

Wanna try Whole30? I wanna hear what you think!

Whole30: Final week!

OMG we are inches so close to the end of our final Whole30 we can taste it. ;)

Already, I am starting to prep for our upcoming vacation and stocking up on non whole30 items. Not like we are going to go crazy...but I did buy some pop chip type things at Costco that I want to try. Honestly, I really do not know what I will do differently. I am a very habitual eater. Very. I like to eat the same things over and over once I find something I like. Whole30 has led me to find new favorites to eat over and over. :) My new thing...LEMON LARABARS! They are great to eat at work when I have very little time to eat. They are to die for!

Breakfast: I am sticking with my egg whites, watermelon and coffee. I do not care what people say, watermelon is the bomb. It is mostly water...so I am not giving it up. I balance it with other fruits like my mix of strawberries and blueberries.

Lunch: I keep lunch simple with canned salmon (not as gross as it sounds but not the best either), vegetables and fruit. If I am very lazy I have more egg whites. They are full of protein so a great addition. And, after 4 years of eating them, I am still not sick of them.

Dinner: Shrimp, chicken of some sort or salmon. I am very bored with dinner. I do love my grilled sweet potatoes for dinner. I have decided I can not stomach acorn squash. I believe it messes me up. I have eaten it a few times and got very bloated and uncomfortable. NOT WORTH IT!

Snacks: Larabars. I have tried to eliminate the morning snack. BUT, I just can't. I run at 5am, eat breakfast before 7am so I am hungry by 10. Sometimes I cross train, too, after running and after breakfast. Honestly, I would be better off having almonds or something over a larabar. But, I like my larabars.

This week I leave on vacation on Thursday. Chris will meet me on the 1st. I am sad we can not celebrate together. I am hoping. I will not be probably taking a complete after weight, either. Honestly, I do not think I lost any weight. I may have to start with, then I gained it back as I figured out what to eat. I do not think eating on vacation will be too bad since we are staying at my parents lake home, cooking our own food, etc.

On day 24...the end is near.

Benefits:
Energy is steadily getting better.
Skin is better

Cons:
No tiger blood yet.
Still feel like I am missing something
Date nights are not the same when we cook our meals at home

 Day 26!
I can see the end...we are almost there!
Tiger blood may be near. I ran with my running mate this morning with paces in the 7:20s and I did not die. There were strikes of lightening chasing us mind you, so perhaps that was it??? Anyway, I felt much better. I did feel like I was dying trying to do my BBG Leg workout later, but whatever. I will take running and not falling apart at this point.

That was the good news. Bad news...the sweet potatoes and the acorn squash are killing me. So I googled it. Neither are good for IBS which I have. Excellent. Seriously, I feel like death after eating them. It does not take long either and my stomach is in so much pain I can not move. I had a potato before the pool last week and looked pregnant at the pool (nice right?!). I usually eat them at night, but who wants to feel like that at night either? Sadly, I can not be eating them. I have a couple left that Asher will help me finish off. Then it is back to the other vegetables that are not as carb filled. Sad day for this runner girl.

I weighed myself today because I will be working tomorrow night (so will not weigh Wednesday for sure), and I leave Thursday to the lake. Our last day is Friday so I should weigh Saturday. I am not taking a scale to the lake. So...this is it. Looks like I lost 4 pounds. I guess I had that to lose. Honestly, this is my "heavy" part of the month, too. I am shocked actually. It will not take me long to gain that back though. Honestly, I can not tell. My clothes pretty much fit the same. I must have lost 2 pounds per breast. I am sure I lost the weight in the first couple weeks and just maintained it the last 2 weeks because I am eating A LOT!

Favorite food now: Lemon Larabars!! OMG YUM! I will be eating them at work while watching my peers eat cookies and pizza. I am not kidding. These are amazing and a must try. Again, Larabars are discouraged on the whole30...But they are better than eating, I don't know, A COOKIE!! I eat my protein, veggie first THEN my Larabar. I don't care because they are amazing.

Today we ate out for the first time since June 4. I wanted to take the kids out to lunch to see Chris, where he works now, etc. We ate at McAlister's Deli. Chris and I both got Garden Salads. I left starving. It was not worth my craving to eat out. I came home, ate some watermelon and a half of lemon larabar. I need chicken. :)

Nough said. Just a few more days. We can do this!!

Day 29

Quick post bc I am off to the LAKE!! So excited!
 Down to just a couple of days.

Benefits:
Leaner body
Don't have to count calories (I don't do this anyway)
Eat healthy
Clearer skin (Except during hormonal periods like now...seems worse!!).

Cons:
Feel sad a lot
Date nights are not the same
Social situations can be a nightmare
LOTS of cooking and cleaning up!!
Lots of shopping

Overall, I am happy we did the whole30. I would not, however, do it again. Seriously, the first 20 some days were that bad. If I was not working out or running it would have been much easier. BUT, I do work out and run. Therefore, no I would not do it again. I would encourage others to give it a go if they need to clean up their diets and hope to lose some weight. My diet was not THAT bad before and I did not have weight to lose but I am part of a team (and Chris' diet needed a refresher!). I will update when we are DONE! YEAH!! Not sure what is next...but I am looking forward to it!!

Whole30 Week 3

Week 3! Days 15-21

OMG We are half way!!

After feeling like death a couple days ago (and honestly a little yesterday), today is much better. I ran with only stopping a couple times. I ran a slower pace, but it is progress. I will probably feel like poo again after working tonight, but I can't do anything about it.

Today I got up before dawn and got 6 miles in, car pooled Alivia, picked up Chris' Father's Day gift, picked up some prescriptions, all before 8:15. Got home and walked the dog. Yikes, it was hot already. That is pretty much going to be my day. I will shower and take a nap. Asher was asked to go out with a friend, Addi is still at the Lake, and Alivia in in Catholic Ed. I am sure my nap will be short, very short. I am just hoping to get home honestly.

Breakfast: Same (sorry, I love it), eggs, watermelon
Snack: Mini larabar.
Lunch: Not sure. I may eat when I wake up from my nap. More eggs possibly.
Dinner: Salmon, sweet potato, strawberries.

I have my 1 protein (chicken breast), 2 fruits and 2 vegetables packed for my 13 hours at work. I did not get hungry last time so let's hope for the same this time! Day 15 out!

Day 20!
I missed several days due to work, then a serious storm hit us and we were without power from Friday evening to Monday evening! Talk about challenging whole30. It would have been so easy to just order Jimmy Johns or Papa Johns delivery during that time. Instead, we luckily have a gas stove and a outdoor grill where we did our cooking and chilled our food in numerous coolers. Serious nightmare. Thankfully, we are back on and still on (some got power and then lost it again. :( ).

Still eating about the same thing. My larabars have gone up some because a lot of our food we threw out. The first day Chris lived on larabars, not kidding. We went to the local grocery store to get breakfast (and black coffee) and they had just got their power back on and were throwing out food. So, we missed breakfast. By noon, we figured we can just lite our stove and ate breakfast. Luckily, we made it work and did not resort to trying to eat out. Chris has a business meeting today and has to eat out. We shall see how that goes.

Good news! By day 15-16, I got my energy back on my runs! Seriously, that took long enough. Today I walked the dog 3 miles and got hot, and my BBG workout was sluggish. I feel weak and sick now post workout. Hoping my run tomorrow goes better now that I can get my food back on track.

Breakfast: Eggs, watermelon and blueberries.
Lunch: Egg whites, acorn squash, strawberry/blueberry mix
Dinner: Grilled chicken breast, grilled sweet potatoes (I just cut them into cubes, place in foil and grill with Chris' chicken (he eats legs and thighs so it takes longer. Add salt and pepper and easy and amazing! I need the energy for my running, too!).

As we approach the end of the third week, I do not think I have lost any weight. I did not have any to lose any really anyway. I feel like I am eating a lot more food than I am used to but do not feel as energetic. Chris and I have discussed post whole30. We do plan to add dairy probably first. I will try and eat breakfast, lunch and dinner (where I was just eating yogurt and fruit before for lunch with my favorite gluten free chips or crackers). We will just have to see.

Day 21: 3 weeks in!!

Breakfast: Egg whites, watermelon, black coffee
Lunch: Egg whites, acorn squash, strawberries/blueberries
Dinner: Shrimp, grilled sweet potato, watermelon/blueberries

Went to the second movie on th whole30, this time in a bistro theater. Seriously, that was cruel. All the yummy food that we had to look at. I can care less about popcorn. We went to a later movie. Honestly, I may not have eaten anything anyway (maybe just had an Ice to drink)..

I ran this morning with my typical running mate. I felt a little better. She is speedy, and I was able to hold my own for the most part. Luckily I am not training for anything at the moment. Still need to decide on next races (and I hope to add back more carbs for that!). Chris and I are not feeling the tiger blood yet, though. Still tired a lot. I have decreased my workouts due to less energy. I think whatever weight I've lost is minimal 2-3 pounds tops (which will quickly come right back), and I am still not my energetic self.  I have not had any known cheats. Yesterday was hard, though. I wanted chocolate so bad. The kids had candy from the candy store (Addi got at the lake) all spread out on the counter. I could smell the chocolate. So cruel. Chris does cheat. He has little cheats every day (found out he is making his scrambled eggs with a little milk! He is allergic to milk, too!). I believe his lunch out yesterday was successful. We have 9 days left! OMG!!!! So exciting!! Chipotle for our reward. I will get a chicken salad! I can not wait!!

Still unsure what I will do after the 30 days. At this point, I know I'll add back 1 greek yogurt per day for sure. I also know I will add gluten free crackers. From there, I am not sure. I love pizza, but I am not supposed to eat it due to my gluten sensitivity. I try to have a piece of only good pizza when I can because come on, pizza is SO GOOD!

The countdown to the end has started (or wait, I have been counting down to the end since the beginning!).

Our Crazy Summer

The kids got out of school on May 25, Alivia's birthday. We had Memorial Day Weekend, then it's been very busy ever since.

Week 1:
Alivia had cross country camp all week at the high school. She loved it.  Meanwhile Asher had Creighton Soccer Camp. He loves that every year. On June 1, I started a new job. Well, kinda new. I started working for CHI. I will be working at ONE hospital instead of working for the agency and floating all over. I negotiated a good salary so that I did not take a pay cut. After my quick orientation on the first, I did not work again until the 11th (Long story I will not get into. It is just a good thing I don't NEED to work, right?). Addison started to get annoyed that everyone was gone all the time.

Week 2:
Alivia started to go to cross country conditioning at the high school every morning at 7am. I pick her up at 740 (although it goes until 8:30) and drive her to Catholic Ed. I home schooled Addi and Asher this year (another long story. Let's just say the book is $20 but the cost of Catholic Ed is $130, which is more than double what it was when Liv started and more than double what my friends pay in Omaha. That made Alivia go because she gets confirmed next Spring. I am looking into other options for Addi and Asher). Anyway, Liv is in Catholic Ed until noon. Monday through Thursday, Liv then went to soccer camp at the high school. Meanwhile, Asher was going to soccer try out training. I was beginning to think I was living in my car and very thankful I was not working. Addison, well, she stayed in her room most of the week. In the afternoons we went to the movies Tuesday, the Dentist Wednesday, and Addi had piano Thursday. By Thursday, Addi was frustrated. I asked to take her to the pool, but she said, "We have been gone all week!" She then decided she would go to the lake with my parents this week. We did go to the pool on Saturday (convincing Addi to go) finally.

Week 3 (current week).
Liv is in her second and final week EVER of Catholic Ed. She is continuing to go to cross country conditioning in the mornings. I can not believe she is getting up that early EVERY WEEKDAY MORNING! Asher is in the midst of soccer try outs. He is only trying out for one team, so we are hoping this works out! Addison left Monday morning for the Lake. She is on the boat right now having a picnic lunch with her Grandparents. That is what summer is all about! Liv is shopping with Chris' mom this afternoon. Asher is watching a movie with his friend. Tomorrow I work. So the afternoon I will somehow take a nap. Always a challenge. I do not work much in the summer for very good reasons. I CAN'T SLEEP!

Week 4 will finally be free. I can hardly wait. We can go to the zoo, the forest, hit the pool and plan our trip to the lake! Yeah! Oh, I do work 2 nights next week sans the sleep again and the sugar in my diet (really, try and stay awake all night without sugar! I downed a lot of coffee to keep my eyes open!).

Hope your summer is as fun as ours. Gotta make note, because some day I will miss this.

Whole30 Week 2

Yeah, we survived the first week. Barely. Seriously, that was rough.

What we learned from week one.
*Whole30 requires a lot of planning. Planning our meals in advance has helped. Chris is not so good about this and gets hungry. I can not go hungry.
* Whole30 requires a lot of shopping. We are a family of 5. It is a lot of shopping! I run out of things so quickly.
*Have whole30 ready snacks on hand. I used to snack in the morning and afternoon. I am better about snacking. I am eating more protein at breakfast so I am not hungry mid morning. Afternoons I am eating a larabar. Perhaps they are not that good if you have options, but they are really good when they are your only option. I have been eating the apple pie while Chris takes either apple pie or banana bread. The cashew cookie is really good too (waiting on my Amazon shipment of these today!).
*For me, this is a lot of food! The breakfast and dinner are really not that much different than I was eating. But, I am so hungry by dinner that I eat and eat. Last night I had 10 minutes to eat. I probably ate too fast and was nauseated while carting my kids around to their evening activities. I have been spending 90% of my time in the car, so I do not have time for eating slow.

Pros:
*Better body image at this point.
*Better sleep at night.

Cons:
Cooking
Cooking clean up
The shopping
Lack of energy while exercising (this is improving but I have a ways to go yet).
Starting to break out on my face (but it is summer and so that could be it I don't know).

I have not seen much of Chris due to kids activities, and he does not say much about how things are going. He does not complain other than to say, "Throwing in a mini pizza would cut a lot of time out here." I can tell you if we were not doing whole30, the kids would be living on mini pizzas and hotdogs because we are not home much.

I can tell I have lost weight or my weight has been distributed differently. My arms look weak and frail in the mirror. Not really what I am going for. But, I also feel weak and frail so maybe that is it. I eat WAY more protein in a day and I think I am eating WAY more food without being hungry. Since Chris is usually hungry, he has probably lost a fail amount of weight. When we did Paleo 3 years ago, he lost nearly 20 pounds in a month. HE IS NOT A BIG GUY! If he lost 20 pounds this time he would weight less than 150 pounds on his 5' 9" muscular body. We can not have that. On Paleo, I only lost 3 pounds, but I do not carry any extra weight.

Day 8

My 7 mile run and ab workout (OMG that was killer) was better but I am still lacking the energy prior to whole30. I ran alone today (my friend is getting sick of me stopping all the time probably), but my music helped a little. The last couple runs I have been getting really bad side aches. I am a marathoner...I never get side aches. Very annoying. I am able to walk the dog with way my pep in my stride now though, at least today.

Breakfast: Lots of egg whites with coconut oil, watermelon.
Lunch: Leftover chicken breast, sweet potato, handful of strawberries (if the kids haven't eaten them already).
Afternoon snack: Apple pie larabar
Dinner: Thinking salmon, veggies, frozen bananas and watermelon. I am really getting tired of protein and veggies. Tonight we really will not have time to eat again due to kids activities. In the past I would have made a smoothie and called it good. It is hard for me to have time to cook AND eat it!

Day 9. Lethargy, light headed.
Very tired.
I did get up and run this morning, but I skipped cross training and mowed the lawn instead. I am very tired. Not sure if it is from Chris waking me at 4am for weeks (to go to Crossfit) or I am just tired. I had dreams that I cheated on the whole30 and decided not to start over. It was like I was making brownies and ate some crumbs or something. Seriously, I am now dreaming of food?

Breakfast: Eggs whites, strawberries and watermelon, coffee
AM Snack: I'm hungry today, feel weak. So cashew cookie larabar mini served it's purpose followed by a handful of plain almonds.
Lunch: Eggs again (bc I am lazy), sweet potato, few frozen grapes
Dinner: I suggested going to Panera for a salad that we could not eat most of. Chris was like, um, no. So, shrimp, grilled veges it is. Ugh. In the end, I ended up eating yet MORE EGGS and a little fruit. I had zero appetite. My stomach was churning after my lunch of veggies. We watched Netflix and went to bed early. We really wanted to quit today.

Honestly, meals are boring. I'm bored. SO FREAKING BORED. I am working Sunday night (for the first time in 3 weeks!) and am really worried I am going to get really hungry at work. I am not even sure what to bring to eat. So, I have decided to eat dinner very early (I leave for work at like 5:30pm). Then eat another meal at midnight if I am lucky. I get off at 7am. Not sure I can make it until then with just a larabar. See? It is a lot of hours with just one meal in the middle. I plan on bringing a larabar, almonds, fruit, sweet potato or squash and some form of protein (probably another chicken breast). I usually just snack all night because my stomach gets very upset at night. So, this will be very interesting. I am dreading it for so many reasons.

Day 10

Busy Day! I got up at my normal 5am and ran 7 miles, cross trained abs, walked the dog all before eating breakfast at 8am. At 8:30 it was off to soccer practice. We chilled until hitting up the pool this afternoon. Now I miss snacking at the pool. Honestly, I usually brought grapes anyway. But sometimes I would bring Gluten free snacks like nut thins or something.  Today, eating wise, I was not as nauseated as I was yesterday. I still am running to the bathroom a lot, but I am sleeping through the night now (I sound like a baby). Tomorrow night I head back to work. My food will be really wacky as I eat all day and all night since I am up for 24 hours with only a brief nap (Be nice to your night nurse!).

Breakfast: Egg whites, fruit, black coffee
Snack: Mini cashew cookie larabar.
Lunch: Eggs again (Can one live on eggs alone?), sweet potato, strawberries
Snack: Mini cherry? I think Larabar (I was at the pool with the kids. This is not a good snack).
Dinner: LOTS of shrimp, acorn squash, few watermelon.

I am very full after meals. I have to admit, I usually was only full after dinner previously. I am eating more egg whites than before, but admittedly this is the breakfast I have eaten for 3 years. I do not get bored of egg whites. YUM! I know, I am odd. I wish I could take them to work somehow. I bet they would smell awful reheated.

The kids are eating much better but not sticking with whole30. They are all eating more fruits, vegetables and protein as they are eating what we eat most meals. They hate it though. They miss pizza. I did fix them organic chicken nuggets today because I had nothing prepared to feed them because I was gone all morning. They complained less. Chris skipped lunch, saying there was nothing to eat. He had banana larabar.

I know we are probably having too much fruit. It is not replacing sugar for us, just filling our plates and stomachs. I can not lose weight, and I need energy to run. I feel like I have lost weight because my chest is flatter if at all possible. Sigh.

Day 11

Back to work tonight! SCARY!! I am taking a houseful of food! I have prepared steamed cauliflower, acorn squash and watermelon. For snacks I have almonds and larabars on hand. I recall starving at work when we did the first 30 days of paleo. Now I need to figure out what to bring for protein! I miss my Greek Yogurt! I baked a couple large chicken breasts for lunch so will probably take the left overs. The kids are totally bored with our meals, and I am too.

Breakfast: The usual egg whites, fruit, no coffee so I can take in prep for working.
Snack: Mini cashew cookie larabar
Lunch: Chicken breast, rainbow califlower, raspberries.
Dinner: Egg whites, sweet potato, fruit.

Night snack: Larabar mini. (remember, I am working 6:30 PM to 7am. There are a lot of meals in there. I am going to go with one meal at maybe 1-2 if I have time to heat it. Probably eat the chicken and vege then. If I get hungry I have watermelon, almonds or larabars to snack on. I am sure I will be too tired to prepare anything in the morning so will just go to bed. I do have to run my daughter a couple places before I can nap. YEAH. I am sure I will want to do that!).

Tonight at work will be the trick. I always bring snacks because there is not a lot of time always to eat. I will miss my rice krispy treats or rice rollers, grape laffy taffy (yes, I always take these to work), and my little baggie of gluten free crackers or chips. I will miss it all. I totally miss chocolate STILL. I may be full after meals but I am far from satisfied. It is annoying.

Day 12/13

So I kinda survived my first night back to work but I seem to be paying a pretty heavy price today. I took 2 veges, one fruit, nuts, 2 mini larabars and a chicken breast. I ate all of it. I had to do some car pooling after work before I crashed. We had storms at lunch time (dog freaked out) and Liv got home from Catholic Ed (thank goodness for carpool!) so I was up at 12:30. I made sure the kids (Liv and Asher because Addi is at the Lake with her Grandparents) had lunch. I knew I could not go back to sleep without eating so I fixed an egg, watermelon. After eating, I fell asleep to Netflix. I woke up at 4 and knew I needed to try and do at least BBG legs. Ugh. I drug myself downstairs to do it. No energy. I was zapped.
Dinner was grilled chicken thighs. Asher and I thought they were good, Chris ate one. Normally he would eat at least 2. Not sure if he is sticking to the plan because I am not seeing him eat at all. He is not eating good anyway because while I was at work Asher told me he had a larabar, watermelon and some pistachios for dinner.  Anyway, I also ate a sweet potato before enjoying more House of Cards on Netflix.

Today. I tried to run. I was lethargic, drained, heavy legs, just a mess. It did not go well. It was hot, in the 70s, at 5am so that did not help either. I somehow got home. I really have no idea how. I am a total mess. I ate my egg breakfast but don't have an appetite. Following my run, my chest hurts right below my left breast. I tried walking it off by walking the dog. Nope, still there. I suffered through an easier 9 minute BBG challenge, but the pain is still there. If only we had insurance that covered anything I may see a Dr. But I don't, so today I am going to rest some and hope tomorrow is better.

Breakfast: Eggs, watermelon, coffee
Snack: Mini cashew cookie larabar (did not help my chest pain). I know I am eating too many larabars. But, I need the calories. I just am so weak!
Lunch: Chicken breast, sweet potato, raspberries
Dinner: Shrimp, another sweet potato (I made Chris red potatoes. Asher ate them, Chris just smelled one. UGH), raspberries.
Snack: Another mini larabar (again, I don't care! It is not a cupcake!).

We are inching closer to the halfway mark. At this point, I am dying. I think eating this way is depressing. I have zero energy.

Day 14:
OMG we are almost halfway. By we I mean I am. I am not totally sure Chris is 100% in the whole30. Actually, I know he isn't. The kids have told me of 3 cheats (a chocolate chip larabar - contains added sugar, and 2 gararades containing 36g of SUGAR EACH! Seriously). I have no cheated that I am aware of, but have dreams of cheating (that's an issue I think. I should not be dreaming of food).

Yesterday was horrible. I continuted to have this weird chest pain all day. I ran a few errands with the kids. Otherwise we stayed at home and I did laundry while they played. (Addi remains at the lake with her Grandparents).

Today it was storming when it was morning run time. So, I slept another 45 minutes or so, then got up at did BBG arms before breakfast. I went to get Alivia from cross country conditioning at 7:40, drove her to Catholic Ed, before returning home to complete working out. I then did a Hasfit kickboxing workout. That was a fun change for me. I was able to get through both workouts. I do not have my energy back, but I was able to complete them. Tomorrow I go back for another night at work. I will try and get up in the morning to run but I will not cross train. I hope my run goes better. I have Friday off running since I will be working overnight.

I have learned to eat a lot of protein, that is for sure. I am guessing my protein is about 30-35% of my day versus maybe 20-25% before whole30. The greek yogurt I was eating offers up some protein but not as much as a chicken breast or a large portion of egg whites. Still, I prefer the yogurt, I'm not going to lie. And yesterday, the kids got ice cream. It totally killed me to watch them eat it. It was so hot and muggy and the ice cream looked perfect. Believe it or not, Asher did not eat his and put it in the freezer where it remains now. Sigh.

Breakfast: Same egg whites, watermelon, coffee. I probably should have veggies at breafast but I like my eggs plain and just do not feel like adding sweet potato hash or something to my breakfast.
Lunch: More egg whites (Asher asked if egg whites were that good for you? They are not bad, offer good protein, and offer me up a quick lunch when I was already cooking him lunch of leftover chicken thighs, left over potatoes and a cutie).
Dinner: Chicken breast (and legs for Chris and Asher who prefer them), baked sweet potato, strawberriy/blueberry/orange/raspberry salad.
Snack: Mini apple larabar.

Tomorrow will be the 3 week mark and the half way point!! Yippee!!

PS I miss baking, chocolate and ice cream. I am not fat nor am I overweight, so I am looking forward to treating myself occasionally with these things. I suppose I can eat less candy. I miss candy but I know now I definitely do not need it.

Check here for week 1.
Check here for week 3.

The Whole30 Challenge

Week One:

Today, June 1, marks day one of our Whole30 challenge. We are making it a family affair. With that said, the Whole30 is flexible for the kids and not flexible for Chris and I. Why?

In January, Chris said he needed to eat better. He had me buy all paleo foods. He ate good until January 3, then went back to his normal ways. I was not going to eat Paleo. So, that did not help him.

Chris has had a challenging 2017. His job was extremely toxic, he was job hunting, stressed, and then got a new job. Fast forward to today. His depressed eating patterns have continued. He may have gained some weight (although he carries it better than I would if I gained weight) but it is more about his eating being an example for our kids and keeping healthy now that we are in our 40's. He got up at 4:15 one morning, went to crossfit at 5, came back and ate chocolate chip cookies for breakfast. Not kidding. Alivia, who is the least healthiest eater, eats her fair share of chocolate chip cookies, too. A few hours into Whole30, Alivia had goldfish crackers after cross country camp. I have to remember, she is a 13 year old very active girl who is a very selective eater. She is not going to do well with this challenge at all.

Today we ate eggs, bacon and fruit for breakfast. Lunch was more of a challenge because I was at work and Grandma was here. She made Asher a hamburger (with just mustard and no bun) with watermelon, strawberries mix. Alivia had a turkey meat taco salad that we pre made (basically lettuce, tomatoes and meat with my approved spices), and my mom said Addi had fruit and complained a lot. Nice. :) I am sure my mom thinks I am crazy and being cruel.I had a chicken salad, fruit and vegetables. I was content but not satisfied. I missed my rice roller, chips, chocolate, etc.

By afternoon snack time, the kids and I were invading the fruit. I know, we are to limit our fruit intake. BUT WE ARE HUNGRY!! I can not imagine what Chris will be like when he gets home. He packed larabars, banana and maybe some apples. He did not even pack a salad. He said he had a big breakfast (at 630 am!). Alivia has a soccer game at 5:45. So we are not even sure what time we will get dinner (the game is 545 to 7 on the schedule. UGH!). The plan is shrimp and grilled vegetables.

Chris did his 5am crossfit class and I cross trained for 70 minutes (a 40 minute hasfit and the 28 min bbg). Running rest day today for me. Tomorrow I hope to get a nice run in.

I miss sugar. Tomorrow will be better...I hope.

Whole 30 Day 5 

I clearly need to do more research. Like what to expect when on Whole30. Gees. Friday I ran and felt like I was going to die. Saturday I got up early and do not recall feeling too crappy on my run (but I have the whole30 brain fog, so I'm not sure). I ran 6 miles before 6:15. An hour later was at a soccer game. I really do not recall feeling too bad, tired, lethargic, but not overly so.

Yesterday we celebrated my Mom's 70th birthday. Think eating out, cupcakes and icecream. Seriously. Chris got chicken plain and I had a salad where I asked for most of it to be excluded. My dry salad was disgusting but I ate it. Chris and I have both been really dizzy, light headed, so I have been trying to drink a lot today. It is very hot here, so perhaps that is it? I also have been sweating on my runs (which I do not normally do), so perhaps that is it? Who knows.

Today I tried running with my friend at 5am. Tried. I was dying. Not kidding. I was miserable. I wished someone could come and get me. I stopped every few feet. I told my friend I lacked energy to continue. No water, hot temps, Whole30 = feeling like total poo. Whole30 is not for those who run 7 miles before their work outs. Not kidding. BBG did not happen today. I felt like death.

After breakfast and carpooling my kids to camp, Catholic Ed and everywhere in between, it was lunch. I did not feel like more chicken so I had more eggs. OMG really. I had egg whites, a plate full of veges, almonds and a larabar. I also had grapes and watermelon as I cleaned them. I feel somewhat better now, not as weak anyway. Not sure I could run away from a robber but I'd try (where this morning I would just let the robber have me).

The Whole30 website has a timeline. Day 5 is "Kill all things." Good thing I did not read this before committing to do it. Days 6-7 are I just want a nap. Great because day 7 is National Running Day or whatever. I was planning on at least running that day. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Looks like my pants will get tight (Won't be going to the pool those days!) before reaching 10-11 which are reportedly the hardest days. Well I thought these were the hardest days. Great, they get worse?!?! All I have to say is I am looking forward to getting me some Tiger Blood come day 16. I want to run again! This stinks BIG TIME! BUT I CAN NOT QUIT!!

Pros:
My skin looks better (Chris thinks I am seeing things).
I am sleeping great (because I can not move my body).

Cons:
Extreme lethargy
All the cooking, all the dishes. Seriously, the dishes and the cooking. It is nuts!
Cranky
Yesterday Chris saw pizza in the clouds and I dreamed of a Dr. Pepper while running with my daughter. I probably have not had a Dr. Pepper in 15 years. Clearly, I am craving me some sugar!

Until next time. I am going to take a nap! (I wish).

Day 6

Made it to day 6. Yesterday was so ugly. I was hoping today would be better. I did not run today because I knew I was not up to it. I got up at 4:55 as Chris left for the gym (okay he left at 4:40 but I rested a few more minutes) and went downstairs and cross trained. I did BBG legs followed by a hasfit tabata. Maybe whole30 is more for people less active. Again today, burpees seemed next to impossible. It was really hard to get through my BBG. This was the first time since day 1 I have done weights due to lethargy. I just did weights today in hopes of being able to finish the work out. Perhaps I should just walk...?

Breakfast: 4 egg whites, watermelon(Chris has scrambled eggs aka just eggs mixed up and bacon and fruit).
AM snack: Cashew Cookie Larabar (yum), mini one.
Lunch: Salmon, baked sweet potato, more watermelon (I know, but it is so good!).
Planned Dinner: Shrimp, acorn squash, and let's be honest, more watermelon
Snack at this afternoon's movie: apple pie larabar (hey, it is better than popcorn!).

I feel like I am eating way more food but still lack energy. I selected to take my kids to a movie today because I needed to save my energy for the running tonight for all their activities. Sad, but true! I walked into the pantry and eyed all the food I could not have. I feel full yet not satified.

Pro:
Not sure today
Cons:
No energy, going to the bathroom all the time like I am pregnant (which I am not), not feeling satified.

One more day down!

Whole 30: Day 7! 

I did eat fairly healthy before, but today I finally am feeling a little better. I feel like I can bring down a load of laundry without the help of my 9 year old son (not kidding). I ran a 7 something mile for 6 miles on this National Running Day but did have to stop some (which is not like me). Slow but sure. I did complete BBG arms, too. That is saying something.  I hope to run tomorrow too, and hoping for good things.

Breakfast: Egg whites (and a lot of them), 1 cup watermelon, black coffee
Lunch: Egg whites again (short on time), baked sweet potato (hoping this helps my energy), 1c. strawberries
Planned Dinner: Grilled Chicken Breast, acorn squash, maybe some watermelon if I get it cut.
Snack: Apple larabar and 5-10 shelled pistachios.

My kids are not eating whole30. That was a nightmare. I would have had to throw away my pantry in advance for them to do it. They cheat often when I am not looking, believe me. They had popcorn at the movies. My daughter is in all sorts of camps and eats all the provided snacks. All in all, they are eating more protein, fruit and vegetables and trying new things. So, that is all good.

Pros of week one:
* I feel more toned...? (see con though).
* I am eating more protein...maybe 30 percent is coming from protein. So, that is good. I know I was eating like 70 percent carbs before! YIKES!

Cons:
*Cooking
*Dishes
*Feeling lethargic most of the week
*Grocery shopping!! Gees, I went to the store so many times.
* I feel like I am eating ALL THE TIME! I mean if I am not cooking, cleaning up, car pooling, I am eating. Just a lot more food than I am used to.

Helps to preplan my meals. Chris does not do this so starves at work. Sorry but not sorry, plan it out! I am sure he has lost 5 pounds (not that we are going to weigh ourselves or anything). I feel emaciated. Not kidding. Now that my energy is improving, I am hoping that will improve too.

That's a wrap on week 1! 1/4 of the way there. That was not that hard (I guess).

Check here for week 2.

Alivia Becomes a Teenager!

Alivia is now 13!! Where does the time go? Gees I feel old.

Alivia celebrated her birthday the weekend before her birthday since her birthday fell on Memorial Day weekend. All of her friends were able to attend! It rained, but she made the best of it. She wanted to jump on the trampoline, play badminton, and play ladder ball with her friends. They took fun pictures, ate cake, and played a hide and seek game (and found my long lost credit card!). It was a fun group of girls. And, to top it off, they all game back on the last day of school, Alivia's actual birthday, and played in the back yard for a couple hours, ate ice cream and sang Happy Birthday to Alivia at her birth time. It was really cute.

Alivia has had a busy year. She did really well in the 7th grade, making the honor society, honor roll and ending the year with all A's. She is a perfectionist and works really hard. She kept busy with soccer all year round (indoor and outdoor) as well as running in cross country and track, making conferences in both. She held her own and appears to like running. We have no idea where she gets that! ;)

In Alivia's free time she likes to go shopping at the Outlets with Katy at the Under Armour and Nike Stores. She is in her room A LOT. She craves quiet and down time, too.

For her birthday, we bought her soccer gear, then returned the soccer gear after she decided she no longer liked soccer. Her coach said something to her after coming to practice without her cleats or shin guards because she came straight from a track meet. I did not think she would have time for soccer so did not bring her stuff with us. He should have yelled at me! She is not sure if she will try out the end of June. So for her birthday, we finally caved and gave her an iPhone. FINALLY. All of her friends have had a phone, some for years. Many are from divorced households so their situations are different. But, the ones from more stable homes have had phones a while too. SO, we caved. So far she can care less about it. But, she is not allowed to have any social media...so that makes a difference.

Alivia is a sweet, responsible, loving girl, but she is a teenager. She does have her teenager moments. We love her all the same. Happy Birthday, Alivia!

Birthday Questions answered by a 13 year old Alivia:
1. Favorite  color: Blue
2. Favorite Toy:  ipad
3. Favorite Fruit: strawberries
4. Favorite TV show:  Don't have one
5. Favorite thing to eat for lunch: Hotdog
6. Favorite Outfit:  Black Nike Shorts and a t-shirt
7. Favorite Game:  Color Switch
8. Favorite Snack: Chocolate Pudding Cake
9. Favorite Animal:  Dog
10. Favorite song: Stay (Alessia Cara)
11. Favorite Book:  Dog's Purpose
12. Best Friend: Katy
13. Favorite Cereal: Cocoa Krispies
14. Favorite thing to do outside: Run or play soccer
15. Favorite drink:  Lemonade
16. Favorite Holiday:   Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Prayer Bear & Great Grandma Pat's Doggy she gave me
18. Favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Cereal or yogurt
19. What do you want to eat for your birthday dinner? Mamas Beef pizza, Chocolate pudding cake and DQ ice cream
20. What do you want to be when you grow up?  A vet.

Spring Break 2017: The Grand Canyon and Beyond

The Austin Spring breaks typically look quite similar, finding fun things to do locally. This year we decided to mix it up a bit and take our family vacation during spring break. Addison selected to go to the Grand Canyon, and I read spring break time was a great time to visit this beautiful National Park. So, it was a go.
We flew out of Omaha on Saturday morning all feeling well. Leading up to this trip, Asher had been sick for nearly a week. But, he had felt better the last few days before our departure. Anyway, we landed in Las Vegas and after an hour wait for the rental car (yes, not joking), we were off and driving the 4 LONG BORING hours to the Grand Canyon. If you select to do this, select a car with great gas mileage because there are not many gas stations after you leave Vegas. There is not much of anything! We were dreaming of water without a place to stop. We had a Camry, so the gas situation was great.
We arrived to see the Grand Canyon before Sunset Saturday afternoon. We were in awe when we stepped out of the car to see the view. It was jaw dropping. Nobody in our family had been there, so it was fun to experience it together. We took a view pictures and checked a few things out before sunset. The town we stayed in, Tusayan, Arizona, was just outside of the Grand Canyon National Park Entrance. The town is about a half mile long with hotels and a few restaurants on each end. Beyond the hotels are endless trees. That's it. The town had one gas station with a convenience store (that charges $7.99 for a box of wheat thins. Let's just say, you best have what you need before you get here). The town does have a Wendy's and a McDonalds. The first night, we fueled up on Wendy's. We have never eaten at a Wendy's because we are not typically fast food type people. But, they had something for all of us. The end of the first day.

In the middle of the night, we were awakened by Addison getting sick. She was vomiting. Great. Thank goodness I brought anti bacterial wipes. My alarm went off at 6am and I thought it was super dark for my run but whatever. I ran around the town in circles (so boring) in the dark. When I got back to the room I realized my phone had not updated to the spring ahead time change and I had just gone running at 5am instead of 6am! Everyone was awake when I returned to the room from my run.  Addison was still sick but thought she could make the ride into the park to see the Grand Canyon. We visited all the hot spots to see the great views of the canyon. All the while, Chris was stopping the car so Addison could get sick outside the car. It was horrible. The Canyon was beautiful, the weather was nice in the 60s. Since we left our room by 7am, we were finishing up at the visitors center by 12:30. Addison was still sick, so we needed to return to the hotel so she could rest. It was not super busy, but we could see it could get busier as the day went on. Since Addison was sick, there was no hiking in the canyon for us this trip. We spend the afternoon resting while the kids hit the spa. We did find a walking trail nearby that I decided I would try and run the next morning (against Chris' wishes because this trail ran into the woods. Although pretty, it was spooky to run alone). We grabbed food easy on the stomach and went to bed.

Sunday night I was awakened by Asher vomiting. Seriously! I walked into the bathroom and it looked like a vomit bomb went off in there. I am not sure if it was the smell or the mess, but I broke out in a sweat and had to leave the room into the cold outside so I did not throw up myself. I layed on the cold concrete deck. As I looked over, I realized my options were to try not to get sick or to throw up on cars. I held out. Once recovered myself, I went into find Chris with his face covered cleaning up the bathroom with the wipes I had brought along. It was awful. Poor Asher had the whole GI works too, and spent the night on a make shift bed right outside the bathroom.

I got up at 6am Monday and went running. I felt nauseated from the night before but knew the fresh air could only help. I ran the trail into the woods after sunrise. It was beautiful yet cold. It was a damp, maybe 30 degrees, but it felt so much colder. Once back at the room, the family was starting to crawl out of bed after yet another horrible night. Asher showered and got into clean clothes and made his way to the car. He was ready for bed and we were just getting up. He curled into a ball in the backseat as we made our way to Sedona. On the way we visited the Slide Rock State Park. $10! parking fee seems a bit steep for the maybe 2 hours we were there. Gees! It was pretty, but obviously the water was much too cold to swim (although idiots were getting it). The idea is to slide through the rocks in the water. Looked like fun if the temperature was right. It was hot, pushing 80, but the water felt like 40 degrees. The girls and I checked out the area first while Chris and Asher used the restroom. An hour past and Asher still could not leave the restroom. So, I stayed with Asher while Chris went with the girls to see the area. What a nightmare. Poor Asher said he felt dizzy and his stomach hurt all day. We drove through the beautiful Oak Creek Canyon before reaching Sedona. We attempted to see the sights around Sedona but what a traffic nightmre! I guess spring break is there big time because the temperatures are more reasonable. We saw the Chapel of the Holy Cross (The Chapel in Nebraska near Gretna is much better), Red Rock State Park (VERY EXPENSIVE!! And with a sick kid, we could not hike. So it was a total waste of money because there is nothing to this place! Take our recommendation and skip it!), Cathedral Rock, the Sedona Airport Vortex, Bell Rock, before heading back to the hotel. It was hot, in the 80s, so the girls went to the pool. Asher, now feeling a little better, went outside to dangle his feet. He did get in briefly but was too cold and weak to swim. Poor kid. We found our favorite Chipotle for dinner (Asher wanted plain rice and chips but did not eat any of it) and then visited the art area for Addison. She even got to see some local artists making pottery and is hoping to find a pottery class here at home. We survived another day.

Tuesday we climbed into the car and make our way back to Vegas, stopping at the Hoover Dam and Red Rock National Conservation Area. Although I don't believe Asher got sick Monday night, he was weak and very sick all day. Chris had to carry him all over the Hoover Dam area. Addison was completely scared by the Hoover Dam. Not sure what she thought would happen, but she did not want any part of it. The kids loved the Red Rock National Conservation Area. It is gorgeous, fun climbing and HOT! The kids loved the climbing. Asher was too weak to do much of any climbing but the girls got their fill (and Chris too). We got into Vegas around 3, checked into our hotel, and returned the rental car that we now hated. We then walked to Vegas to find food. Asher still did not have an appetite, poor thing, and had to be carried. And Chris thought he would not be getting a workout in! We saw our first homeless women sticking her head into a trash can (and she was higher than a kite) and Addison wanted to help her. Oh goodness, she is one we can not help today, Addison. That night, Alivia took her turn at getting sick. Now all the kids have had it.

Wednesday was the walking day from hell. We had not looked into Vegas buses yet or we would have known that the bus stop to the strip was right next to our hotel! No joke! Instead we walked 13 miles walking the strip! I ran 7 early in the morning, so I was exhausted! Vegas was very hot, upper 80s, so we walked the strip, went to the M&M store, Hershey store, and Coke store and took in the crazy sights. Vegas IS NOT FOR KIDS. We knew this before hand but we were flying out here so decided we may as well show them the lights and sounds. Oh my word, the place is gross. As a psych nurse, I can attest that Vegas has a real mental health issue. They leave their mental health to walk the strip at all hours, flipping out, screaming at their voices. If that was not scary enough, the rest of the people and the street performers will scare you. We got our picture taken with Mickey Mouse and friends. Little did we know we were to pay them for the picture. We thought they were with the hotel! We learned to just keep walking. YUCK! After a few hours, we all knew Vegas was not our thing. The smoke was enough to make you gag. Ugh. After all our walking, it was time to hit the pool. Alivia was feeling better, too, and went to the pool, too. We figured out the bus system so we could go to Fremont Street to see their light show. It was to go hourly from dusk to midnight nightly. We arrived at 6:15 and sunset was at 6:35. We figured the first show would be at 7 since that is dusk. Nope No luck. We were stuck there in the tunnel of cigarette smoke, naked people, and lack of good food choices for an hour. Yuck! The kids got icecream (for dinner!) as we waited at complained a lot. The show was not what we expected. I would recommend skipping Fremont Street too unless smoke and naked people are your thing. We then bused it to the Bellagio Hotel to see their water show. The water show is fabulous but SHORT! One song! I remembered it being longer. We got another song while we waited for the bus. At this point, everyone was tired, hungry and could care less about a water show. Made it through another day.

We were awake most of the night with Asher vomiting again. He again slept outside the bathroom. I believe he was sick 3x turning the trip, so I must have forgotten one time. It seemed like he was sick the entire trip because he never ate. Ugh. Anyway, Friday we woke up ready to just relax. We took the bus (YEAH FOR THAT!) down to the Coke, M&M and Hershey store for Alivia and repeated some of the treats. Asher was super weak and was carried. We got back to the hotel before noon and the girls swam all afternoon. It was very hot. It was nice to feel the sun and the water after being in the Nebraska cold. Asher stayed in the room with Chris and caught up on TV and got some rest. We ordered dinner into the room as we packed up for home.

Friday we got up early and flew out of Vegas, arriving back into Omaha at 1pm. We were tired and happy to be home.

We feel lucky to be able to take family trips together. We loved the Grand Canyon and will call the rest of it an experience. Not sure on our next vacation so I best get to planning!

Merry Christmas from the Austin Family 2016

Merry Christmas from the Austin Family!

What a year! I am sure we say that every year, but this year was plain busy!

Chris has been busy at work for Nelnet where is a UX designer. Don't ask me what that is because I have no idea. I need to Google it someday. 4-5 days a week, you will find Chris setting his alarm for 4:20 so he can get up and hit his 5am Cross fit work out. Now, I would call that plain nuts, but I can't talk (I'll get to that). He wants to keep his body strong and young, although he tells me every day how much "older" he is than me. So funny. Chris always enjoys helping assist on Alivia's soccer team. He likes the attitudes of the girls, and they seem to really like his positive coaching. In July, Chris and his brother attempted to summit Capitol Peak in Colorado. They got close, but realized they may have bitten off more than they could chew. I am sure they have dreams for their next hiking adventure, but Chris tries to keep these dreams a secret. Chris also ran his first 1/2 marathon! He did a great job, and there may even be talks of running another one! Chris has big dreams for 2016, so it will be interesting where he takes us in the upcoming year.

Alivia is now 12 years old and in 7th Grade at the Papillion Middle School. Yes, she is in JUNIOR HIGH! CRAZY! I am telling you, Chris and I can't seem to keep up. Alivia is an active girl, taking soccer up after Chris and running, maybe, after me. She ran in Cross Country this year making the State Team, which she was quite excited about. Let's just say, there are way more girls at her meets than I ever saw back in the day. Alivia likes to play striker in soccer, but plays any position except goalie. She is quite "dainty" as my Mom likes to say, so needs to work on her aggression a little. She will get there with all of her passion. She is now in the midst of indoor soccer with the Papillion Soccer Club. She spends her free time meticulously doing her homework, helping with the household cleaning, and hanging out with her friends (notably Katy). She is quite the responsible preteen these days. No boyfriends yet, but she has a boy who would love to change that. Alivia actually told the boy "I am too young to date!" We love her.

Addison is now 10 year old. She is quite the handful. Really. But we love her all the same. "Addison is creative," Chris tells me often as she spills paint all down the hallway (we now have new carpet).  Addison does like to create. She paints canvases, works with clay, paints pictures, and is getting better everyday on the piano. She has an active imagination and is already looking to the future. She wants to be a vet and will decorate her clinic with her artwork. Addison spends her time creating and playing with her friends, notably Sidney and Avery.

Asher just turned 9 years old. He is very active. He is usually having a Nerf war with some of the endless boys who show up at our house to play or he is playing a game of soccer here or at a game. Asher had a tough year in soccer (I will NOT get into that nightmare), but he showed how grown up he was and never shed a tear (where I would have been crying the entire season. Oh wait, maybe I was.). He is now at a new, more respectful (we hope) soccer club where we hope he gets to play soccer and have fun. Asher is also playing indoor soccer. Asher has a fun sense of humor, too, although Addison and Alivia struggle to see it sometimes.

And that leaves me. I am boring. I'm still working for Noll a minimum of 24 hours a month where I float between local CHI Hospitals in their behavior health units. I try to work 2 twelve hour shifts during the school year (and in the off soccer season) and work MUCH less in the summer, sometimes just getting that 24 hour a month minimum in. The biggest perk is that I get to pick when I work. The way I look at it is, I left my career to stay at home with the kids because I did not want to miss them growing up. Working during the school year allows to me to work while they sleep and are in school without missing much. Win win. The nights are totally killing me, but that's a whole other story. In my free time (that small window where I am not grocery shopping, doing laundry, cleaning, or fulfilling some other mom duty) you will find me running or doing my BBG workouts (Google it. They are awesome!).  I tend to set my alarm way too early to get my daily run in, too. In April, I achieved my dream of running the Boston Marathon. The marathon itself was not how I dreamed it to be, but finishing it was. I only ran one other half marathon with Chris in the fall, and it was just as ugly. Chris believes I should retire from running races as my body rejects them, but we shall see. I have no big plans for 2016, but I just hope to enjoy the year.

My mom taught me the importance of family vacations. The entire family (my parents included) went on the trip to the Boston Marathon in April. The kids had a blast, and Alivia left with the goal of running it someday. We also took a road trip to Yellowstone, Tetons, Jackson, and ending at Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park. We did a lot of hiking and sight seeing. It was a lot of fun, and we saw beautiful country! We ended the travel year in July with 21 days at my parents lake home at the Lake of the Ozarks. Lake life is so relaxing, but 21 days without Chris got to be a bit long. We are looking forward to our annual trip again this year.

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and Best wishes in 2017!

Love,
Chris, Krista, Alvia, Addison and Asher

Happy 9th Birthday Asher!

Life is getting ahead of me. Totally. I am now only blogging on birthdays?!?! What has happened? Makes me so sad.

Anyway. Asher is now 9. He celebrated much of the month of November. He had his friend party on November 19th to beat the Thanksgiving rush. He had a nerf war party. Happy to report, no injuries. :) Yeah!

On his birthday, we had the Grandparents over for his choice of dinner. This year he selected to have Mamas Pizza and DQ ice cream cake. Let's just say nobody left hungry. Asher's dream was to get Nerf guns. Well, he got much of the guns he asked for (saving the rest for Christmas).

Asher, who is on the small side for his age (15% for height and a little less for weight), is full of energy. He is usually on the go. If he isn't having a nerf war with the neighborhood boys, hanging out with his friend Michael, or playing soccer, you may find him chilling somewhere with his iPad watching Nerf war videos (no joke!. He likes to watch twin toys or something). He is a usually sweet boy but has broken much of our home. If it is not broken, it probably is soon to be broken. Currently we have a broken fireplace shelf due to Asher trying to make a fort with weights and it not working out well. He is a boy, so I am told I need to forgive him. :) Asher keeps busy with soccer year around. This year has been a challenging year. He just recently resigned (sounds better if I call it that) from the Metro Omaha Wolves. Don't go there is all I will say. His coach was downright scary and the director did not care. Three boys left the team and Asher was one of them. They did keep most of our money, however, adding fuel to my raging fire. I wish there was a complaint site for horrible soccer clubs! Asher is playing indoor now and will soon join a new team. Here's to hoping this next team knows how to treat kids (and not abuse them!). But, Asher stepped up and talked to the coach of his team (who was mean) and acting all grown up about it. I found that quite brave for a small 8 year old. Just saying. :)

Now for the 9 year old's favorites.
Birthday Questions
1. Favorite  color: Blue
2. Favorite Toy:  Nerf Gun
3. Favorite Fruit: Apple
4. Favorite TV show:  Kickin it on Netflix
5. Favorite thing to eat for lunch: Which wich (which I brought for his birthday to school).
6. Favorite Outfit:  nike and under armour
7. Favorite Game:  soccer
8. Favorite Snack: kit kat
9. Favorite Animal:  dog
10. Favorite song:  Not sure
11. Favorite Book:  Not sure
12. Best Friend:  Michael (or Henry)
13. Favorite Cereal:Cocoa Crackles or Chocolate Krispies
14. Favorite thing to do outside: soccer
15. Favorite drink:  yellow lemonade
16. Favorite Holiday:   Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Nothing (but I find him sleeping in Alivia's room many nights!)
18. Favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Cocoa Crackles or Chocolate Krispies
19. What do you want to eat for your birthday dinner?Mamas Cheese Pizza
20. What do you want to be when you grow up?  a Pilot I think

Happy 9th Birthday Asher! I just hope I can continue to keep up with you!

Addison's 10th Birthday Room Makeover

Addison turned 10 in July while we were at the Lake. For the kids' 10th birthdays, we makeover their rooms, starting with Alivia, now Addison. Being at the lake, it just was not done in time for her birthday. She did see the bedding and some of the accessories prior to her birthday, but her room remained the same.

Addison was in a full bed. I am not talking about any full bed, this full bed was once her crib, then her toddler bed, then her full bed. A lot of memories were in her bed. She did not want to part with it but she wanted a queen sized bed like Alivia now has and Asher has always had (because he inherited our spare bedroom bed from Ethan Allen. Lucky kiddo if you ask me!).

So, the first thing did was making a shopping trip to Nebraska Furniture Mart where Addison selected her bed and nightstand. She was excited. I did not buy it that day because I was hoping Chris could come with me and help me select the mattress. As time went on, I could see that was not going to happen. So, my parents agreed to help me with the selections. My mom laid on the beds and selected the mattress for me. :) Thank you.

Next up was selecting a paint color. Her colors were gray, teal and white. We selected Sherwin Williams March Wind. Who knew 2 gallons of paint are now just under $100?!?! Crazy.

Over Labor Day weekend, we were finally free. No soccer on a weekend is unheard of. So, against Chris' will, we hunkered down and redid Addison's room. Once we got going it all went pretty fast. And, the results are nothing less than peaceful.

Addison loves her new room and so do we. Chris and I are totally jealous that it isn't our room. Maybe next year?

 She still needs a new office chair,

 some more art,

And a new lamp (that is on order). It will come together eventually.

Lake Life 2016

After being home only a week, the girls loaded in Grandma and Grandpa's car and headed to the Lake of the Ozarks on July 1.  I worked July 1 and July 2 to get my 24 hours of required hours in and was planning on leaving for the lake on July 3 or 4. When the days came, I was exhausted and didn't want to go. So, Asher and I left July 5.

The lake is a peace of relaxing paradise, fewer worries and lots of water fun. I told the kids we would stay until they wanted to go home. I lied, because they never wanted to go home. I was so homesick I wanted to go home immediately. Addison's birthday, July 12, came and went, and the kids still did not want to go home. Chris was unable to visit because he did not want to drive 5.5 hours for just a short weekend visit and he was using the rest of his vacation to go to Aspen, CO, to hike Capitol Peak with his brother. If he was there, I could have stayed forever.

My parents stayed until the day after Addison's big 10th birthday. On her birthday we went to see the Secret Life of Pets at Osage Beach, got ice cream, before coming home and swimming. This year, we tubed and Alivia learned how to ski! It was awesome! I even skiied a little. I, of course, ran every day in the hot, humid lake temps nearly dying every day. Crazy weather. The kids went down the slide every which way, jumped and dove and went crazy. We just love the lake.

We visited Ha Ha Tonka State park for the first time this year. We will have to visit again which it is not 100 degrees. I decided next year we will visit the Bridal Cave and eat out. We did not eat out at one lake restaurant. Disappointing.

We love the lake. We were sad to leave. After 21 days away, it was time.

Pics to follow.

Family Vacation 2016: Yellowstone

It's always a big deal for me where we go for vacation. As our kids get older, I see vacations as valuable time together, opportunities for them to see things, and I see these years dwindling. It makes me sad honestly.

So in June, after much planning, we packed the pilot for a 9 day trip to Yellowstone. It was a vacation of a lifetime!

Day one. Many hours in the car. Really. We drove from Papillion to Cody, WY. 13 hours in the car. We were all about to freak when we climbed out of the car in Cody. Cody is not impressive at all, but it close to Yellowstone's East Entrance. We arrived, grabbed dinner from the cooler, and the kids hit the pool. We stayed at one of the few options of hotels, the local Holiday Inn. I was not impressed. The outdoor pool was dirty, breakfast was not included, and the room was quite small. It worked for a night and a place to lay our heads. And, it offered up a pretty morning run.

Day two. Happy Father's Day! Day 2 got us into Yellowstone National Park. It was beautiful!! We drove through the East Entrance seeing Yellowstone Lake. The kids loved playing at the beach. I wish we would have stayed longer here (in hindsight) but I felt we needed to keep moving since we got an early start. This place gets busy as the day goes on. We traveled North on the Grand Loop Road, visiting the Upper and Lower Falls, Uncle Tom's steep and scary staired trail, Mammoth Springs (which I found disappointing and crowded). By the end of the day we were all very tired and Yellowstone had become super busy. Time to get to Gardiner to stay for the night.

If Cody is unimpressive, Gardiner is  way worse. I was not prepared. The town has very little. Let's just say I had to run the town a couple times to get any mileage at all. We stayed at the Super 8. It was an okay place to stay. It had a tiny indoor pool that the kids loved. The staff here were amazing and very informative. We ate right across the street at a little local grill and ate outside.

Monday we woke to drive right into the North Entrance of Yellowstone. WE visited Norris Basin, Upper and lower Geyser Basins and Old Faithful (which was a late day (maybe too late day) stop. This was the Geyser day. All of them were different, did different things and were so pretty. Old Faithful wasn't that cool, really, I thought steamboat was way cooler. That's just me. Old Faithful was very crowded. But, it did have the best icecream! We ended the day staying in West Yellowstone, aka big tourist trap. It was another non impressive town. Our hotel here was the most expensive by far but was nice. Believe it was well over $300 for the one night. It offered nice sized room, small indoor pool, and a nice outdoor running trail near by that I found after circling the small town and getting no distance in. I could have ran miles on this trail but feared bears (or worse). It was gorgeous. I digress. We had very good pizza for dinner after swimming.

Tuesday we finished up Yellowstone and worked our way through the Tetons, visited Jenny Lake, before arriving in Jackson. Once in Jackson, we road the alpine ski slides (not recommended) and the cowboy coaster (totally recommended!). We stayed at the Quality Inn 49er in Jackson. Room was dated but pool area was updated. And, it included a very nice breakfast. We enjoyed staying here the 2 nights. Jackson is a fun place to visit. We did not get to enjoy the food as we went with ice cream recommendation one night ($40 for ice cream the kids did not like), got subs another night, etc.

Wednesday we got up, the kids swam a bit, before we went down to climb these amazing rock walls at the park near the cowboy coaster. The kids and Chris LOVED IT! They climbed (and maybe I did too) until it was time for our whitewater experience at Barker-Ewing Whitewater. We LOVED this! The air temp was 80 but the water temp was only 41. We should have rented wet suits. We would have had more fun. We all froze the entire time but we kept in the boat. Asher was on the floor in the front to start with until he was just froze solid from taking the brunt of all the water. Chris and I were up front too and Addi was in the middle. We were all very wet. We all had fun despite how cold we were. Chris says this is the best part of the trip.

Thursday we got up with another long drive ahead of us. But first, we hit the rock wall for another climb. So fun! We drove from Jackson to the Rocky Mountain National Park through. Again, in hindsight, probably too big of a day for 3 kids. We drove through the Arapaho National Forest. It looked dead. I was through there when I was a kid but I remembered it to be green (as it probably was then). The roads are so winding it makes you dizzy. Of course, I was driving.  The Rocky Mountain National Park was beautiful. I do not, however, like the exposure on the drive as you get far up the mountain. Chris drove for this part. The kids did not seem to mind this as I freaked out as Chris took corners too fast in my opinion. :) Moving at all is too fast. After RMNP we arrived in Estes Park. We settled into our hotel, the kids swam in the indoor pool, before we drove into town to have a burger at Penelope's on Main Street. We were not impressed. :) We started souvenir shopping before calling it a night. We stayed in Estes 3 nights, which was so nice!

We got up early, which turned out to be just early enough, and got to Bear Lake and snagged the last parking spot. It was a close call. We hiked and hiked until the kids thought they would die. We hiked several miles. We were all exhausted. Back to the hotel for more swimming before a nice dinner at Poppy's Pizza a Grill. Chris and I have eaten here before and love it. We love Estes Park. :)

Saturday was our last day. We again snagged the last spot in the parking lot as they closed the park to cars! Seriously. If on the weekend, you must be there by 6am. We hiked to Alberta Falls and Mills Lake. Beautiful!!! We were all exhausted. We got back to Estes, swam, and then stayed in for our last meal with local pizza from Village Pizza. It was just okay. Not sure I would eat there again. Our pizza was burnt and the kids refused to eat it, instead eating whatever food we had left from what we packed. That's sad.

Sunday we woke to saying good-bye. One last picture in front of the park sign after yet another daily run around Estes and we were homeward bound. Back to where we can crossfit and sweat with Kayla, eat home cooked meals (especially eggs for breakfast!), where most people speak and understand ENGLISH!, where going to the bathroom does not include a squatie or porta potty, and we can sleep in our own beds. We loved Yellowstone, Tetons, Jackson, Arapaho, Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park but it's good to be home sweet home.

Pics to come.

I RAN THE BOSTON MARATHON!!

I have to keep telling myself, "I ran the Boston Marathon" over and over to make myself feel better.

We arrived in Boston on Saturday afternoon. Because of my inexperience, I did not book my hotel when I qualified, so we had to stay in Quincy in a Best Western. Since it was SO FAR AWAY via the T, we did not get the expo on Saturday. I could not convince Chris, the kids, or my parents to go. Saturday we went out to eat and walked the .7 miles to the T and tried to figure it out. Really, it is like a puzzle. The walk to the T from the hotel is not bad. But it is just that you are so far away from the events of the marathon.

Sunday we awoke and Chris and I went out for a little shake out run. It was nice, but I was a bottle of nerves and just wanted to get to the expo. I had to remember, I was traveling with my kids and my older parents, neither of which are ever in a hurry. ;) I could tell they were all frustrated with me.

A walk to the T, several stops and a transfer, we were within walking distance to the expo. We just followed the crowd. The expo was CRAZY!! It was so crowded you couldn't move. They were out of a lot of stuff by the time Sunday rolled around. If you go to the Boston Marathon, go to the expo on the FIRST day! Then stay 2 days after to enjoy the city. Believe me, you will thank me.

I did get a visor and a shirt for me and Addison got a unicorn. :) I got my sole mate Jen something since she let me borrow her garmin.

Everyone was worn out after that, so we T'd it back to the hotel. It was 12:45 by the time we returned. I needed to be eating my final carb meal (I believe in eating the last big meal at lunch so it is all digested and eat a lighter dinner). My parents wanted to eat at the hotel. So I ordered a veggie wrap and rice. The rice worked, the veggie wrap didn't. It all worked out. I went up and napped and prepared my gear for Marathon Monday.

Marathon Monday. 
I loaded the shuttle from my hotel to Boston at 7am. Yes, our hotel had a shuttle and a sack breakfast for us!! I ate oatmeal and a banana though. They dropped us off right near the buses. It was amazing. So thankful for that. I met a girl named Teri who was in the blue group I was running in on the bus from the hotel. I sat with her at the Athletics Village. The Athlete's village was crazy. People everywhere, half hour lines to use the porta potties (that you hoped had toilet paper), bagels, fruit, water provided, but it was HOT. What is going on? They said it was to be a high of 60 and the announcer in Hopkinton said it was 75 at to start drinking now. Great. I am going to die.

At 10:05 we started the mile walk to the start. No, I am not kidding about the mile. On the way, more porta potties and another line. No joke. Crazy.

Got to the start, not kidding, 2 minutes before the start. Insane.

As I started, the crowds were roaring. People everywhere. I was emotional. My feet felt heavy. I ran and listened to the crowds and the music, in disbelief that I was running the Boston Marathon.

The 10k went by quickly. The running crowd was so thick that I could not really run a pace. The first couple of miles I was trapped behind shoulder to shoulder people with a women wearing a boot for a broken foot in front of me. Okay, come on, what was she doing running? Her doctor did not medically clear her to run.

If you check the garmin I borrowed from my friend Jen, I started getting sick and slowing about 9-10 miles, earlier than even I knew. I knew at half I was not going to PR because I did not feel well. I stopped fueling at the half because I could not put anything in my mouth. I actually threw out my fuel! I sipped water, but eventually I could not do that anymore. The Popsicles that I thought would cool me off made me more nauseated.  But, I knew Chris would and the kids would be at 17...so I pressed on.

I saw them at 17 and told Chris, "Oh my God, this SUCKS!" I kissed all of them and ran off. I wanted to cry. I was in single digit territory but I knew the worst of the race was to come. I am going to die.

I decided to walk water stops at first. It did not last. Once I walked, I got dizzy and could not see straight. I would try and run for a bit, then get so terribly nauseated that I would have to stop and lean over my knees. Around mile 18 I met a girl on the course who was walking. I approached her basically saying I felt her pain. We decided to finish together. I am not sure why she stuck with me because I was a walking, jogging zombie for the rest of the race. I WALKED the entire heartbreak hill. I am totally crushed looking back on it, but I was just so sick. I would look up and it would take a moment to be able to see. I ran right past my parents at mile 21 at the Boston College. I felt so bad. They came all the way there with posters to cheer for me and I ran right past them!! That makes me so sad.

Mile by mile, we walked mostly, ran a little between. It. was. horrible.

At less than a mile, you think I could run. I tried, stopped, and then tried some more. When I saw the 2 turns, we ran. Probably not as fast as it felt, but we were running. As we approached the finish, Mary and I grabbed hands and crossed the finish line.

We had just finished the Boston Marathon. It was not pretty. It was not the 3:37-3:39 I had hoped for, but we had finished. I was a mess.4:26 even was my time. ARE YOU KIDDING ME! That was a 10 minute mile (and probably change). CRUSHED.

The finish shoot just kept going, pictures, water, food, OMG where is the medic tent?!?! I sat down. I was done. I was so dizzy I could not see, my legs were done, my mind was more than done, please shoot me.

Mary told the people that I needed the tent and they wheeled me away. Once in the tent, I crumbled in a heap. My pulse was only 45! WTH and my temp was only 92 but I was hot! I guess I was wet from dumping water on myself, then we had a nice headwind off the ocean after mile 20 that was cold. It cooled me (although way too late). My Blood pressure was low but it usually is. They said my labs were whacked but did not tell me what that meant and I was hoarse and could not talk. Oh, that's the other thing, I lost my voice. NEVER has that happened! They gave me nearly 2L of IV fluid and Zofran to stop the vomiting through my IV. I wanted to leave because Chris had called and I knew he was mad, frustrated, and waiting with the kids. I got up to walk, vomited, and was told I had to stay. This happened another time when they told me to eat so I ate a blue chip for the food bag, vomited, and laid back down. Eventually, I pulled it together to get up and walk out of the tent. The Doctors and staff in the tent were amazing!! Very nice, very patient, very understanding.

Once outside, I had to somehow get home. My Dad helped me get to the train. Then Chris got on the other side and tried to help me down the stairs, up the stairs, to the train. Some lady gave up her seat on the train that was standing only after my dad yelled for someone to give up their seat (as I sat there holding my vomit bag. Nice huh). I made it back to the hotel and the hotel shuttle nicely (with $$) picked us up at the T station. :) I moaned through a quick shower and went to bed. I woke later STARVING but had no food. I snacked on whatever crackers we had in the room and dreamed about breakfast the next day.

Tuesday, after breakfast, we did whatever Boston sight seeing we could do before we had to take the hotel shuttle back to the airport. The hotel shuttle left at noon, so we left at noon even though our flight was at 4! Frustrating.

I ran the Boston Marathon. It was not the dream come true run for me, but I did achieve my dream of running it. I set out running my first marathon to Boston Qualify in 2014 and qualified on my second marathon 3 months later in 2014, beating my first time by 15 minutes in much better weather conditions. I need some time off to run Half Marathons. Maybe full marathons are not for me. I would love to PR and run Boston again. I know I have it in me. Maybe I will find a friend to run with me. :) Any takers?  Running Boston with a friend would be AMAZING! You may have to leave me to vomit at mile 17 though.

So all in all the Boston Marathon is a tough course. I did not feel the first part of the race being downhill. It seemed like rolling hills to me. I know the course dropped at 17 because there is a big drop there. Then big UPhills. Heartbreak hill is a big hill. It appeared steep to me, too. But, I was dizzy and could not tell you my name at that point, so don't ask me. There was nothing like coming in for a finish. If you run Boston, video that. I didn't do that but wish I had. That would have been cool.

So, for now, I am Krista13.1. Chris says I am a running addict and will not quit. Maybe he is right, I don't know yet. For now, I have a 10k planned with Alivia, who has her eyes set on running the Boston Marathon (no joke!). Maybe she will even run her first half with me this fall?!?!? Crazy right? She will be 12, so I have to check on the rules for sure. I am sure she could not it. But, she does get overheated. I hope to do 2 half marathons in the fall. I am not planning on 2017 yet. Who knows. Maybe a marathon. But I need a running mate. Any takers?

For now, my mantra is "I ran the Boston Marathon." Period.