A cold run and the scale MOVES!

A couple of questions...

Who in their right mind signs up for a half marathon in April? Did I not realize I would be training during some freaking cold ass months!

Who's bright idea was it to train while hubby is going to school 2 nights a week and Momma is holding down the fort? Thank God, for parents.

It was nice yesterday, when I say "nice", I mean it was above 35. I took advantage and called in reinforcements, my parents. They picked up Easton and I high tailed it home to change and get a quick 3 miles in before it got a. colder and b. too dark. I like to think that, even with my cold weather gear on, I burned double the calories from shivering the first mile.  Oh, and don't let the pace fool you, 7:42 is not normal. I was pushing hard to finish strong. BTW... I so have my mother's chin. Damn double down chin!

Did you see the moon?

 And in the true spirit of being a working mom, I served my daughter pizza, hot dog, mixed veggies, and peaches. She gobbled it all up. Hey, I was crunched for time and that was available in the fridge.

After some play time, I asked Easton if she wanted to take a shower with me. The girl couldn't get her clothes off fast enough.

 No, she isn't sleeping. She is pretending because she doesn't want to get out.

 Faker!

And today... Momma is putting away the water!

Good news: I am in the 160's!  For months, and I mean several annoying months, I was teetering between 173 and 175. Ugh... finally with some help from Jillian, running, and somewhat clean eating I am at 167.6. 

Morning Shenanigans!

Do you ever wonder what other people do in the morning? Maybe I am just nosy (never been told that *wink*wink), but I always wonder what other people’s lives are like, especially those with kids. Are they running around frantic trying to get out the door? Do they have a super-duper trick that saves time in the morning? I am just curious. So I thought, why don’t I document our current morning shenanigans. So here we are, Bug and I, and our morning routine! (note: all pictures were taken with my phone, so some may suck)

Beep, Beep, Beep... it’s 5:00 a.m. I rollover and text a college buddy. We are texting each other to hold us accountable for getting our ass’ out of bed and working out. And so far it is working. Start the day right!

Beep, Beep, Beep… its 5:15 a.m, I am up. First priority, shut Easton’s door. Lord knows we don't need her getting up this early. I meander my way to our bathroom. Here I am in all my morning glory, glasses, retainer, oversized t-shirt, my husbands pajama bottoms from college. I know I am smokin'!

Now, don't everyone say how lucky my husband is all at once.

5:25 a.m.: After a quick change in attire and popping in my contacts, I am ready to sweat!

My body needs fuel in order to function that early in the morning. So I pop one of these no-bake energy bites!

These are squatting rows, or some shit like that, nonetheless they suck and burn and I wanna die after doing them. And yes, those are only three pound weights, don't judge! I switch back and forth between 3 and 5 pound weights. Depends on the exercises.

6:00 a.m.: From this hot and sweaty mess to...

Yeah, I look pissed. You would to after 27 minutes with Jillian!

6:45 a.m.: A showered, energized, and prettier Momma.

While I shower, Josh has woken up and got ready for work. With a kiss and "I love you" goodbye, he is off to bring home the bacon!

Behind me is Easton's door. She is still fast asleep and I am dressed and off to make my lunch.

I have been really doing my best to eat clean. Every morning when I get to work I have a big bowl of oatmeal. Not that instant stuff, this is the quick oats, some cinnamon, and brown sugar. Oatmeal is good stuff in that it keeps you full for a long period of time and is low in calories. Add a banana and some honey to spice it up. See those energy balls? Yep, I pack 4 of those little bad boys for the day. I am really on a chicken taco/fajita kick right now. So most days I do a whole wheat tortilla, chicken fajita mix, and half of an avocado. And you can't forget your fruit and greek yogurt!

7:00 a.m.: Once I load up the car I go and wake up bug.

At this point she is saying " I tired. I wanna go to bed. Go away."...

Then rolls over, covers back up, and goes back to bed.

So I scope her up and we spend a few minutes rocking while she wakes up. I am SO THANKFUL she still wants to rock. We do it every night before bedtime.

There is nothing like morning snuggles

This morning was a special treat. Look at the wad of hair I battled.

I may have threatened to shave it all off if she didn't let me finish brushing it. We are picking up detangler this weekend!

Shinny pearly whites!

You see that face above? Not the sweet one to the left. Nope, look towards the right. That is a face of a kid on the verge of a whiny fit. In a matter of seconds, we are battling over sparkly boots vs. rubber boots. Sparkle won. 

7:15ish (on a good day): With cheese stick in hand, we are in the car and on our way to daycare.

Easton the GREAT LISTENER! Hot Damn!

Some days I think Josh and I rock as parents. Other days, not so much. Monday night we were freaking rockstars!

Monday after the kids poured out of the gymnastics room, the gymnastics teacher begam walking towards Easton and I. As she is making her way towards us, my first thought was "Crap, what did she do. Bite, hit, push". I have no reason to think these things at all. Easton is a great kid, but I instantly thought the worst and that she was in trouble. I cringed at the sight of the teacher walking towards us.

Boy, was I wrong! The teacher told me how great of a listener Easton always is during class. That she followed instructions very well and was such a good kid. Awww, my heart beamed with pride! During class she had told Easton she was such a great listener and that she was going to tell her Momma. As the teach is telling me these things, Easton is grinning from ear to ear with pride. As we put her coat on, I told Easton good news from teachers = milkshake from McDonalds!

It was for sure a proud parenting moment. One of those moments you think "We are raising a wonderful little girl. Hot damn, we are doing things right!". Seriously though, I was very proud of our Bug and even more excited I wasn't wasting $50 every month.... just kidding... kinda.

With a vanilla milkshake in hand, we called Daddy to share the news!

Our little dancing diva that night at dance class:

    

Here Easton is loving her milkshake!

I'm Baaaaack

Today I went on my first run since the beginning of November. Yikes, two month break!
The moment my stride began to pick up I remembered just how much I love to run. How I missed it and the way it made me feel. It was a gorgeous day to run. The weather couldn't have been any better, not too cold and not too hot. As my feet hit the pavement, my mind cleared, my body found it's rhythm, and I cranked up my music and rocked out. I set out to just finish 2 miles, but as I inched closer to 2 I started thinking about 3. Before I knew it I was committed to 4. So 43 minutes later I had pounded out 4 miles and burned 542 calories. Not too shabby, not too shabby. Even if my pace was a little slower.

I am still doing 30 day shred. Still hating loving it. I am on level 2 and see the most tone in my arms and legs. Unlike last go around, I am not bumping up to the next level after 10 days. Instead, I am doing each level until I master tolerate each move for the entire time. So this will be an ongoing thing. It is also acting as my strength training as I begin training for my second half marathon.

I have really noticed that if I work out in the morning I make better food choices the rest of day. Pretty much if I am going to drag my ass out of bed at 5 am, listen to Jillian Michael's say "don't phone this in", then hell if I am going to screw up all that with freaking handfuls of chocolate. Start the day off right... End the day right.

I am excited about the new faces that will be joining us for our second half marathon. Two college roomies and a cousin! I hope they love it as much as Vern and I did. Finishing 13.1 miles is amazing!

PS.... I love No-Bake Energy Balls. Check them out on pinterest. Make them... you won't regret it. They are my favorite pre and post workout bites. They may also be my mid-day snack.... or dinner dessert.

PEACE OUT 2012

Great things happened in 2012. Debt shrunk, life decisions were made, goals were reached, money was found, happiness was had by all, and so much more. 2012 was a great year. I am going to touch on the moments that stick out in my mind.

Josh's big red truck was paid off... then sold. Now we have a Dakota and Harley in the garage. It was a goal to get his truck paid off. Not only did we meet that goal, but, by trading in the Big Red, we freed up so gas money!


Please humor as I toot my own horn. Cha-Ching! Momma get a big ol' raise! We will just leave it at it was over a $12,000 increase to my salary! Booyah! It wasn't just handed to me by my boss. That would be way too easy. I had a meeting with my boss and told I needed a raise. Yes, I actually walked into his office, shut the door, and told him I needed a raise. Timing is everything. There was shit going down at work with our CFO resigning and some rehiring. I think my boss thought I was going to leave/follow the CFO. Like I said timing is everything. I asked for a certain $ and my boss meet it + an additional $3,000. So yay to big raises in 2012! Now before you start saying I went all blackmail and took advantage of a bad situation. Know that, 1. In the 5 years I had been working here I had yet to receive a substantial raise, other than cost of living. 2. I was being paid less than the front desk that answers phones and is Excel and Word ignorant. Really!? Yes, really! 3. I did some market research and found out that I was extremely underpaid in the position that I hold. So, like I said it was deserved and earned!

We survived another year of parenthood. Easton turned 2 in July and hasn't looked backed or stopped for a second. The kid is funny. Everyday I look at her and listen to what she is saying and I think to myself that Josh and I must be doing something right. Thank God, because I thought we would surely screw up parenting. But by golly, we are plugging right along.

My Tahoe shot to shit! A whole new motor replacement. Cha-Ching! $4,500.00 later and the baby runs like new and we don't have a car payment! I was pretty annoyed with this whole deal. Just when you think you are getting somewhere.. BAM... shit breaks down!

Early in the fall, Josh began talk of making a career change. By November, it was decided he was headed back to school to become an EMT in hopes to become a Firefighter. A MAJOR career change for him. Not to mention a drastic cut in pay for the first couple of years (insert panic Momma, here). First class up, Human Anatomy and Physiology + lab. He will go to class weekly, Monday and Wednesday from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Josh also was accepted as a volunteer firefighter on the Fairmount Township Fire Department (Basehor's fire department). Hopefully in 2 years Josh will be finished with school and on full time fire department.

First Day of School!

In October I completed my first half marathon! I spent most of my summer training for it and was lucky enough to take this challenge on with my best friend, Vern. The moment I crossed the finish line was one of the proudest moments of my life. Seriously, it came damn close to knocking giving birth to Easton bug out of its spot.  And now I am addicted to half marathons and look forward to kicking ass in my second half this April. 

January of 2012 I made a commitment to 'Mission: Momma Gets her Body back'. It was actually listed in our 2012 goals. I am extremely happy to report MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! No my belly doesn't look like it did pre-Bug. That shit is going to need a little nip/tuck. But I am at the weight and size when Josh and I got married. Booyah! Now I am working on toning my jiggles up!

Rocking my pre-baby jeans in June!

Of course with highs comes the lows. We attended too many funerals of dear friends this year. A life cut short too soon and a life that had seen decades. They will always be in our heart.

Two thousand and twelve was a fantastic year for the Bosleys. Two thousand and thirteen is going to be full of BIG changes and events... house renovations, school, a 3 year old and maybe, just maybe, a baby. Of course, I will keep you all posted...

SNOW DAY!

This was the first year Easton could truly enjoy snow and she LOVED it!

 

Christmas 2012

Like the past three Christmas, Josh and I went into Easton's room and woke her up a little after 8 am Christmas morning. I think we were more excited to see what Santa had brought then Easton. I figure this would be the last year of us being more excited. Next year, a whole new ball game. I grabbed her out of bed, took her potty and sent her down the hall to see what Santa had left. Of course my brother was waiting with video and my mom was click away with the camera. Whoop, Whoop! Easton instantly became shy with the mini audience awaiting her. Everyone staring out her to see how she would react. She ran over to Papa. With a little encouragement, she began playing with her toys. That was Santa. She understands what Santa is. In fact, when we went to see Santa she strutted right up to him, climbed on his lap, told him she wanted a live puppy (THANK YOU PAPA!), smiled for the camera, and took her candy cane.

No big deal. So she does understand the idea of Santa, but she isn't to the point she is running down stairs in Awww of the gifts Santa brought. Next year.... whole different story, I hope.

Presents... hmmm... Josh and I did a lot of unwrapping. She simply did not want to unwrap anything else once she opened a toy. She wanted to play. Can you blame her?!

Christmas was great and we are lucky to be blessed with such wonderful family and friends.  I will leave you with a lot of pictures.

Chocolate Milk and Snickerdoodles for Santa. Eight carrots for the Reindeer.

Santa was busy this year... building 76 brick blocks for one special little girl

On our way to see what Santa left

Womp... womp... Shy!

  

 

Merry Christmas from the Bosleys!