How Does Your Garden Grow?

 After a small disaster involving a 2 year old our garden is growing!! (Jake picked several of our squash plants right after they had popped out of the ground!)

It has really changed over the last couple of weeks. All of the things we planted as seeds have spouted out of the ground & the few things we planted as plants are a lot taller.

We have a small problem with bugs & we are working to find a way to get rid of them. We really aren't fans of pesticides (click link to read a little about it) & feel if we are going to grow it at home we might as well do it as safe as we can! We have been researching ways to get rid of the harmful bugs. One thing I have found over and over again is marigolds. A lot of bugs don't like marigolds so we planted some marigolds throughout the garden. I figure if it doesn't keep the bugs away at least it looks pretty. But we will see how they do.

Several of our plants have the little flowers on them that will soon turn into their vegetable! I can't wait to see the stuff growing.

Aside from the small disaster...Jake & I have so much fun checking on our garden, watering, & learning all about the things that are growing. He is going to be so much fun to take out and pick stuff with once it is ready. If you have any tips on gardening I would love to hear about them. Especially for birds...we have a lot of them in our back yard every morning and I hear that once things are growing birds will eat them!

Menu Plan (5/12-5/18)

                                                             Bean Salad Wrap
                                                          
Wednesday:
Lunch: bean salad wrap & apples
Dinner: meatloaf, rice & veggies

Thursday:
Breakfast: eggs, toast, & banana
Lunch: bean salad wrap & pineapple
Dinner: fajitas, home made pico de gallo

Friday:
Breakfast: cereal & apples
Lunch: chicken salad sandwiches, tangerines, & broccoli
Dinner: Chicken Tetrazzini & green beans

Saturday: 
Breakfast: apple & banana muffins
Lunch:  Welcome Baby shower
Dinner: left overs

Sunday:
Breakfast: apple banana muffins
Lunch: sandwiches, fruit & chips
Dinner: ribs, chicken, corn on the cobb, & salad

Monday: 
Breakfast: fruit salad & muffin
Lunch: out
Dinner: Jason cooking-I am sure something on the grill

Tuesday:
Breakfast: eggs & toast
Lunch: left overs
Dinner: stuffed cabbage rolls & whole wheat biscuits

I did it...

And I am already looking into doing another one!!!

I walk/ran a 5K!!! 

Didn't have the best time(47:47), but wasn't last either. There were lots of people that finished after me. But the main goal was to finish...and I did!!!  I only ran the few little down hill parts and walked really fast the rest. There were moments when I thought I couldn't go any farther & wondered why in the world I ever thought doing a 5K would be fun.

But then I could see the finish line and heard my family and friends call my name & cheer me on. In that moment it was all worth it. Once I crossed the finish line and got my water I felt great! Hot & sweaty, yes, but I didn't collapse or even need to sit down.

I DID IT!!! And really my friends and I who did it together (well kind of...3 of us started together, but didn't stay together & my other amazing friend RAN the WHOLE thing) all decided we were ready for another one. I am thinking in another 3 weeks or so...I want to get more training and run more maybe a whole mile straight for the next one.

I really feel like I climbed Mt. Everest or some other great thing people do. I feel amazing for accomplishing a goal that I set!

Some annoying things along the way.

I hadn't even made it to the 1 mile mark when this really fast guy(he was the winner) was passing by me on his way back...amazing!

Serving pancakes at the end of a 5K just seems crazy. When I had finished I had no desire to eat right away. And people along the way from mile 2 on kept cheering "go, you are almost there...there are pancakes at the end." (not just to me...I heard it said to the people ahead of me and behind me). When I am walking as fast as I can or running and hot & sweaty I promise the only thing the sound of a pancakes makes me want to do is throw up.

Great things: seeing my family on the side near the finish line. My wonderful hubby & sweet son who was holding a sign that said "go mommy." Thanks mom for making those ;) My step-dad, sister, & nephew all came out super early too. And my best friend and her husband who both ran the whole thing with GREAT times waiting with the rest of my family for me after they finished. My friend who I started with was cheering me on right at the finish as she finished faster then I did & then her & I waited on the finish line for our other friend to come across.

Getting a t-shirt!!

At the moment the volunteers on the side of the road looked like a great way to spend time instead of actually participating. But after it was over I can really say that it feels GREAT to have accomplished something so big and I am really looking forward to the next one!!!

Runner

I dream to be a runner!
I hear people (runners) say that it is so freeing, helps them to clear their mind, and spend great time in conversation with God.
I want this...to be a runner with a joy for running.

But I just can't seem to get there...at least not now. But I will keep working toward it.

One day I will be a runner.

But for now while I run I think: This is so hard. How do people enjoy this? Where is the freeing, mind clearing, God conversations? I can barely breath.

I can walk &  for the most part I enjoy walking. At least while I am walking I can think of other things then this is so hard.

But I am adding a little bit of running into each walk. So that hopefully one day I can be a runner.

I have my 1st 5k tomorrow morning! Not to run it...at least not the whole thing! But to do it because I thought it would be a good idea to try it out. Then I can keep working on being a runner.

My goal as a runner is to one day be able to run the whole 3.1 miles without walking.

I set out months ago to get healthy and walking became a part of that. But as I started walking...I started thinking I might want to try running too.

One day I might be a runner, but for tomorrow I will be considered a walker! And be happy with that. After all it was only 3 weeks ago that I signed up for this 5K & got serious about doing it!

Menu Plan (5/5-5/11)

                                                                     Tortilla Pie
Wednesday:
Breakfast: bagel & tangerines
Lunch: Chicken salad, pears, & salad
Dinner: Tortilla Pie (Happy Cinco De Mayo) & Spanish rice

Thursday:
Breakfast: cereal & apples
Lunch: Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars (never got around to making these last week), veggies
Dinner: Beef Stroganoff(carry over from last week) & green beans

Friday: 
Breakfast:  whole wheat waffles & fruit
Lunch: Chicken salad, fruit & veggies
Dinner: Spaghetti, salad & bread

Saturday: 5K day
Breakfast: protein bar
Lunch: out
Dinner: grilled chicken, corn on the cobb, ranch potato salad

Sunday: 
Breakfast: cereal
Lunch:PB & J bars & salad
Dinner: at mom's bringing carrot cake

Monday:
Breakfast:  whole wheat waffles & fruit
Lunch: tuna wraps & fruit
Dinner: steak, baked potatoes, & veggies

Tuesday:
Breakfast: cereal
Lunch: PB & J bars, veggies, & yogurt
Dinner: left over buffet

Half...a little note to my boy

Two & a half!!! Half way to THREE that much farther from TWO!

Sadness, Joy, excitement, & anxiety are all the things I feel at you turning 2 1/2!

Already you are such a little boy no baby anywhere to be found. Although, we haven't made you give up your paci & blankie and you have no desire to do so. When I tell you that big boys don't have paci's & ask if you are a baby? You reply so matter of fact with "no, my Jake." But sometimes you will turn to me and say "mommy, my a baby." Which melts my heart...because really you will always be my baby. Even if you don't understand that now. Or when I won't let you have your paci, you look at me and say, "but my tired." Because really I "try" to only let you have it when it is nap or bed time. Sweet boy the time of the paci is going to come to an end very soon. One more thing to make you seem even more grown up.

You carry on the best conversations. And your little voice is so much fun to listen to. We talk all the time. And all though your "why?" 10,000 times a day can get a little out of control...I really try to answer every "why?" And remind myself that you are just being curious and learning. You really are super smart!!

Your imagination is out of this world.  The things you come up with make me laugh all day long!!! We spend so much time laughing!  You sometimes have an imaginary dog named, Missy and it is too cute to see  you get a high pitched voice and call "Missy" to come to you. And sometimes you feed imaginary police men that are in our back yard. There is a bird that flies around in our back yard and for some reason you have decided this bird is your's . You can even tell the difference when other birds come & we ask if they are your bird. You get so frustrated with your bird because it always flies away when you try to catch it. You say "my just want my bird right here on my hand"(pointing at your hand). But you usually run out the back door yelling, "come here bird." So it is no wonder that it always flies away when you try to get it.

We still have our hard days with discipline. I can't turn my back for more then a second without you getting into something. And you tend to tell me "no" when I ask you to do something. But this has gotten better too.

Even between the difficult times you being 2 1/2 is so much fun! And I am so blessed to see you change, learn, & grow every day. I truly feel that being home is where I am supposed to be. I can't imagine missing one minute of our days.

I can't believe in 6 short months you will be the BIG 3! I love you sweet boy and look forward to every day with you!
Mommy

Mommy Dates

Jake & I are together almost all the time...which I LOVE and can't imagine being any other way. Sometimes when he & I  do things together I say we are on a "mommy date."

A couple weeks ago we had a mommy date at Panera Bread and Barnes & Noble with some walking around the little shopping area looking at the fountains. Jake kept saying "this exciting mommy" and I thought so too. It was fun just the two of us on our Mommy Date.

At Panera there was a boy there with his mom who looked about 20 (he was calling her mom or I might have thought she was a cougar). I just kept thinking I hope when Jake is close to 20 he will still go on Mommy Dates for dinner on a Friday night.

Then at Barnes & Noble we got our usual me a frappuccino him a milk. We took them outside & sat on the benches watching the fountains. He kept wanting to say "cheers" and tap our drinks together. After each one he would say "this fun." I loved it....he loved it too! Just us on our Mommy Date.

This week while shopping at Lifeway I saw a book. I had never heard of. It was on sale for ONLY $2.99 and tell the truth I probably would have bought the book even if it was $20.

Karen Kingsbury's "Let's Go On A Mommy Date." 

Oh my gosh someone else goes on  Mommy dates too. I didn't even read the book just bought it. Usually I read ever children's book before I buy it. Some stories I just don't like so I want to be sure. Not this one...I had to have it.

Jake & I read the book tonight before bed.

I totally cried at the end...Jake kept saying "are you ok, mommy?" It was so true & if you know me at all you know that since the day my sweet boy was born I have always said "I don't want my boy to ever leave me."

So here you go the last part of this fun book!

"See, time will take you far from here; you're growing way too fast. All I want is Mommy time to make the moments last. Something we'll remember so that come some far-off day, you'll know how much I loved you 'cause we took the time to play."