So I have officially completed my first two 5K races. I have been working for a few months to build up my endurance and to feel comfortable with running outside. I have done one other race before, but honestly I was not prepared for it and ended up walking way more of the race than I wanted to. Being honest I probably spent 75% of that race walking. My goal was to be able to complete an entire race without walking. For some people this might come easy (just ask my husband who hasn't ran in years), but for me it was definitely a challenge.

The first race was in Kansas City at Rock the Parkway.  I was initially just going up to cheer on my sister in law as she completed her half marathon. Did I mention that she is the one that inspired this little challenge? Somehow she convinced me that I was ready for this race and that it would give me a starting point for the real race I was training for in May. My nerves were unreal as we were standing there that morning, but I tried so hard to act like I had it together. As I started off I remembered her words, "don't run too fast in the beginning, just keep your pace." I truly think this is what helped me have the endurance to make it through. After I made the turn and knew I was on the downhill slope, I allowed myself to think about what I was actually accomplishing. Towards the end of the race there were families standing on the side with signs, children cheering on their mothers, and friends encouraging their runner and strangers alike. Crossing the finish line was hard! Yes my legs were sore, I was starting to tire, but the feeling that came over me was so intense. It was a good thing I remembered there was going to be pictures....because I had been running with tears streaming for the last mile. I did it, and not only did I meet my goal of not walking, I finished almost 5 minutes under what I thought I would.

It has finally hit me that my sweet little boy is going to be 6 in a very short time. Not really sure why this age has been so much harder to handle than 5, but wow am I a mess! Riley is such a funny, sweet, and bright boy that it is sometimes hard for me to realize that he is quickly becoming a little man. I can remember holding him in my arms at night rocking him to sleep.  It was our special time to just be the two of us. There were plenty of nights that he would fall asleep in my arms and I would choose to hold him just a little bit longer. I never realized that it would go by so fast.

1. Our first dance song at our wedding was "I Wanna Know" by Joe
Danny and I met in college, so it is no surprise to anyone that our tastes in music were a little different back in the day compared to now. When we met there was no other song that could express our love better than the smooth tunes of Joe. It may not be the standard wedding song but it was definitely our song.

2. Feet
I seriously hate feet....they just look silly and the thought of them touching any part of me sends chills up my spine. Danny on the other hand seems to think that rubbing his feet on mine is the best thing ever. Ugh!

3. Homebody vs Social Butterfly
We could not be more different in how and where we want to spend our time if we tried. I think Danny would be more than happy to spend all of our time sitting at home together. On the other hand I would much rather be out and about surrounded by friends and family. Now, that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy spending time at home watching a movie and doing nothing at all sometimes.

4. Hannah's name
We came up with our daughters name before we were married one evening during a totally random conversation. It was one of those conversations that seems so funny at the time. When we were listing off possible names of our future children we were also stating what the appropriate nicknames could be. With Hannah we somehow came to the conclusion that it would be fun to be cheering for her from the stands yelling, "Hannah get a woot woot!" Like I said, way more funny at the time. =) Since that conversation there was never another name that came close to Hannah.

5. Pet lover
Our family owns two dogs and a fish. I can honestly say that before getting married I was not really a pet person. After spending time with Danny and seeing how much he cared for the pets he grew up with, it was easy to see how having pets would complete our family. Our puppies were definitely our furbabies until our kids came along.

6. Friday the 13th
The movie, the day, and spooky Halloween fun describe our special days. For some time we had a fun tradition to have a movie night on any Friday the 13th to watch those movies.  It usually included food, fun, my sister and cousin, as well as many of our favorite memories. It just so happened that we became on engaged on one of these Friday the 13th evenings.  Now whenever the date comes up it holds even more of a memory for us.

Over the past few months there have been many attempts at finding what routine works best for working out. Working out primarily in the afternoon is hard because my energy is so low and it is really easy to have conflicts that come up.  I don't have the availability to workout over the lunch hour, but I do think this would be a nice option to get in a little cardio when the weather is nice out. The magic time for me has been to get up bright and early and start my day off with a 4:45 am workout.  My runs have slowly progressed to about 35 minutes each day.  When I couple my run with lifting weights, I can easily put in a little over an hour.  

Each year it is easy to start off with a list of resolutions and ways to be better in the coming year.  The problem I usually have is that I feel like the list just hangs there over my head.  Taunting me if I haven't quite succeeded in each area.

This time of year always does two things to me....makes me crave being inside with a fire next to the Christmas tree snuggling up with my family OR it drives me crazy with all of the parties/events that we have to do in such a short amount of time.  Don't get me wrong I love all of these fun plans that the holidays bring, but wow is it a struggle to make it all work.

It is so easy to get caught up in all the little things that are going on in life.  The daily tasks of just getting the kids where they need to be, attending about a gazillion meetings (yes that is a real number), and just keeping up with life. I love Thanksgiving because it forces us to take a moment and be thankful for what really matters in life.

It's baby time and time to start planning a certain someone's baby shower.  I don't know about you but since the invention of pinterest I can easily get myself in over my head.  If only I had enough time to do EVERYTHING that I find on that site! There are definitely many nights that you can find me pinning away planning the next party, decorating my dream house, or looking at all the DIY projects.

Welcome to What's For Dinner Wednesday......I will be sharing recipes that I love to cook in our kitchen and sharing how easy it is to take recipes and make them "clean".  Starting out going clean can be very intimidating, but once you get the hang of it things can get really fun in the kitchen.  This week I am sharing a recipe using a new found favorite in our house....spaghetti squash.  Enjoy!

img source Martha Stewart

It has been pirates, maps, and treats galore around our house.  We recently celebrated our little man's 4th birthday pirate style.  The past few weeks I have been scouring the lovely world of pinterest trying to come up with the perfect ideas. So, we ended up with water balloon cannon balls, pirate treasure hunt, and the ever popular pinata. It was such a fun night filled with family and friends.  It was definitely one to put down in the memory books.

So much to catch up on and not even sure where to begin.....here we go!

 

I am starting to feel a little bad that all of these posts are going in on one day, but I have to take advantage of the time I have. =)

Something is changing in our household.  It isn't a family addition......no big vacations......can you guess?!?!

Riley is starting Preschool!!!  It is hard to believe he is old enough to be in school and spending three hours all by himself away from people he knows.  For the past three years if Riley was not with us he was with family members.  It is such an exciting time.....but I will admit that it is a little hard to let your baby go.  Even if it is only for three hours.

The time has seriously just flown by. My sweet little girl is growing up so quickly that I almost don't believe it sometimes. She is so funny and full of life. I am amazed at how quickly she picks things up and repeats everything you do or say. She is my little daredevil and is not afraid of much.....except bugs. She definitely DOES NOT LIKE BUGS!!!

For her birthday we were able to celebrate with friends and family and have a fun day at our house. We went with the Owl theme this year because she fell in love with the Owl pillows at Target one day while shopping. It was such a fun theme to work around and definitely tested my cake and cupcake making skills. Daddy was busy at work building our little chef a play kitchen. It turned out FAB-U-LOUS and was a huge hit! I even was able to help contribute a little by picking out the accessories and sewing the curtains and towels. Danny worked so hard at making sure everything was just right and it definitely shows the love that he poured into it. The kids play with this almost everyday still. I am guessing that this will be a hard one to top next year.

The 4th of July was such a fun filled weekend for all of us.  We had so much going on but it was really a lot of fun to see the kids get excited about the day.  For at least two nights prior we had many "explosions" until at least midnight.  Which, generally is not a big deal, except the kids would not sleep.  They were scared and didn't understand what was going on.  Thankfully, the 4th fell on a Sunday and we did not end up with another two or three nights of the festivities continuing. 

Sorry for the lack of posts here lately......as you can probably tell we have been busy around the Wilbert household.  Looking back I can't really determine what has taken up so much of our time but it feels like we have been going non stop for the past month.  I guess sometimes life can just catch up with you and all of the little things add up to a lot of time.  Over the past month Danny and I both have been very busy with our jobs and have definitely noticed that during the week it has been hard for all of us to be home at one time. 

All of this time away from the kids and my family definitely makes life hard.  I start to feel incredibly guilty and doubt myself as a momma.  Should we have waited longer to have kids, do I really need to work out tonight, why do I have no patience with the kiddos, and the list goes on and on.  Being a momma is so hard and life changing.  There are so many times that I think I am falling short and that I am going to let my kids and Danny down.

Since becoming a mom so many normal things have changed.  When you say them out loud I usually am met with a confused stare and misunderstanding.  I can no longer watch the news, watch movies with sick kids, etc......I hear about all of the bad news and wonder what I would do if that had been Riley or Hannah.  I think about how fast time is going and realize they are growing so quickly.  I feel like I am missing out on so much by being at work for 8+ hours a day. I second guess myself constantly.  Am I making the right decisons? Not just for them but for us as a family.

When I look in the mirror I am amazed sometimes at what I see staring back at me.  I can remember a time not that long ago when I would never dream of letting someone see me without makeup, or have something spilt on my clothes, or even think about not taking a shower that day.  There are days when life and family just takes over and I look so tired.  My body is not the same and no matter how hard I try I have realized that my body has changed.  There is almost a pride that comes with these stretch marks though.  I know that what I went through to have my sweet angels is worth more to me than looking perfectly put together all the time.  If I look tired......I probably am! There are days when I look at the clock and realize it is 7:30 pm and I have not taken a shower because I have been keeping two kids out of trouble.

The great thing about all of those "hard" times is that they are met with some of the most amazing moments in my life.  Words cannot explain how your heart just fills when you hear your baby laughing for the first time. There is such pride watching my kids learn something new and realizing that they can do it on their own.  My relationship with Danny has changed, but not in the way I thought it would.  I didn't think I could love him for wanting to change a diaper, clean up the puke, or that he would stop what he was doing just to sit and play with our kids.  I get to see a man who cares more about his family than anything else, and I realize just how lucky I am.  Each day I fall more in love with him.

So, I guess that is what I have been up to.  Being a momma and wife to the most amazing family.  No big events or plans, just life.  How lucky I am!