October Updates

Fall is officially here! Here's what we've been up to:

Luke has been eating more and more "finger foods." He's loving it!

Chloe has been back into the routine of school, it's been good for everyone. 

Luke is more interested in standing and pulling up than learning to crawl. 

Chloe is still doing gymnastics. I love seeing her skills progress, after much practice she finally can do her forward roll all by herself!

He's sleeping like a champ at night! Most nights 12 hours straight. 

Me and Chloe went up to Harrisonburg to celebrate Zoe's first birthday. 

Luke was dedicated at church. One thing I especially loved about it was we picked out a life verse for him. We chose Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the  Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." 

We went to the pumpkin patch last Sunday. This was by far my favorite one we've been to. It felt like you were on a real farm, and the sugar shack donuts didn't disappoint! 

Well that was a long post! Happy Fall!

April Catch Up

Where has this month gone? Thought I'd do a quick catch up post as we approach May.

Earlier this month Clarke went to the daddy breakfast at Chloe's school. Her teacher sent me this adorable picture.

The house we are buying in 2 weeks (eekk!) got a brand new roof, super exciting I know, but really it's a huge answered prayer. 

I've been bringing the kids over to our new neighborhood to walk around the lake or play on the playground since it's been so nice out. I can't wait to add the pool to the mix!

Saturday we decided to go to the Richmond zoo since it's one of the last free Saturdays we have before we close on the house. Chloe loved seeing all the animals, of course she said the chickens were her favorite. 

The merry go round was also a favorite!

Sunday we went to a friend's birthday party, with horse rides. I was so proud of Chloe wanting to get on the big horse and ride. 

Then today Chloe had her first gymnastics class!!

I was totally that mom standing there taking a ton of pictures, but it made me so happy to see her doing gymnastics! She was adorable, and I loved watching her try new things. She said she wanted to go back, and that she liked it!

2 weeks till we close on the house!!

August

I can't believe it's already August! Where did July go? All my coworkers

and I agreed that doing summer school made July go by really fast.

Things I am loving about it being August:

1. The Olympics! I posted on Facebook that it makes me want to run another marathon! I am really loving the gymnastics though. It has always been my favorite, and I love love love team USA's leotards. So glad they won the gold too!

2. As of today I am officially a stay at home mommy! I don't know if I've mentioned it on here but I am going to be staying home with the baby. I did summer school and now that it's over I'm done. I would have loved to work up until the baby came but I didn't think it would be fair to the students and teachers to be there for 2 months then leave and make everyone transition in the middle of the school year. So now my new job title is officially mommy, so exciting!

3. Yesterday was the 3 year anniversary of my grandma's passing. It's hard to believe it's been 3 years already. I wish she could be here to meet her great granddaughter. (I guess that isn't something I love about August but it's apart of it for me.)

4. I am almost done with the second trimester, and in August I will start my third. This pregnancy is going by so fast! While I am not looking forward to getting even bigger, I'm happy that she is growing and it's getting even closer till we meet her.

5. My goal for August is to finish the nursery. I'm pretty sure we can get it all done by then. Almost done painting the furniture and then the only big thing left is the crib. It's been fun putting it together but I'm ready to have it finished.

So I am really looking forward to August, it's gonna be a great month!

Valentine's Day 2012

I have to say I had a pretty great Valentine's Day yesterday! I think this may be my favorite holiday to celebrate at school. The kids get so excited about these little cards and candy, and I love watching them.

 I got so spoiled. My students also love giving out their valentines too! One of my gymnastics girls even gave me a valentine, which I thought was so sweet of her.

That night Clarke grilled steak, and I made mashed potatoes. It was really nice just to have a low key night. Of course I had to watch the Valentine's Day Glee, which was fabulous as always. This was our 3rd Valentine's Day being married, I can't believe it. We also finalized spring break plans which I am very excited about! (I'll post more about that soon.)

Overall it was such a great day where I felt so loved by everyone in my life. That's the perfect holiday for me!

21 Random Facts

So I was tagged by GBA_gf over at Neurosis of the Stay at Home Marathoner of 3 to write 21 random facts about me. Here I go....

1. I was born in Florida, lived there until I was 8, but I hate seafood.

 

 

2. I am trying to convince myself that the marathon has in fact not made me slower. But since it feels like my body just hasn't recovered yet whenever I run. I ran the Turkey Trot yesterday and I know there were lots of hills, but I didn't feel strong. I don't know, I think I am also kinda suffering from post marathon blues.

 

 

3. I hate change, but love it when the seasons do. I'm always ready for the next season. I am totally ready for some snow.

4. When I first wanted to teach I was all about high schoolers. Now I am loving the little ones the most. It's funny how God changes your heart.

5. I lost a whole pant size from training for the marathon. I am determined to not gain it back. I lost about 10 pounds right before I got married, then gained it all back plus some. I don't want to do this again! ( I type this as I eat deviled eggs for breakfast.....opps.)

6. I am one of those people who thinks about their future. Probably too much. But right now I am loving the idea of being one of those stay at home moms who runs a lot. And of course I'll need all the cute running outfits to go along. Ha!

7. The Turkey Trot I ran yesterday was at University of Richmond, where I got my teaching license. Made me think a lot about going back to school there. I really think I will one day.

8. My husband and I were in the same second grade class together.

9. I treat my cat like my first born child. Anyone who knows me in real life knows about my love for cats. I know I'm a dork, but really they're just so cute. Can't help it.

10. I love to travel. Whether it's to the Outer Banks (a place I've been to thousands of times) or a place that takes a whole day to get to (like our honeymoon in Martinique) I enjoy it. Currently planning our spring break trip!

11. I am extremely lucky to have a close church family. I have been going to the same church for 12 years and still love it.

12. I am not really into watching a lot of TV. But, every Tuesday I have to watch Glee. It's def. my favorite show. It might also be my favorite running music as well.

13. I teach gymnastics after school and love it. Sometimes I see the older girls doing things I used to be able to do but no longer can. I think to myself "I can't believe I used to be able to do that!" But then I think about the things I can do now that I def. couldn't do back then, like run 26.2 miles. Yeah, that's pretty cool too.

14.  I am still really close to the same friends I had in middle school. It's not normal, but it works for us and I'm so thankful for their friendships.

15. I love decorating our house. It's def. my favorite part of home ownership.

16. I love all things crafty, art museums and modern architecture. Whenever we go somewhere that has a cool art museum or a famous building I make whoever I'm with go. My husband has come to expect this on all our trips now.

17. I am currently obsessed with pink running clothes.

18. Will Ferrel is probably my favorite actor.

19. I was a blonde for a short time in high school. It's funny to look back at those pictures, because I really like my dark brown hair now.

20. I love Coca-Cola. Always have, always will.

21. Although Glee is my favorite show on TV now, The Golden Girls will always be my all time favorite one. I know I know, I'm a dork, but I already said that.

Brain Dump

I feel like I need to update this blog, I've been slacking on it! So much has been going on, I'm just going to dump it all out, so here goes....

~I spent last week making centerpieces and nametags for the annual women's retreat at my church. So mad I didn't get a chance to take pictures. The nametags turned out great, I thought the centerpieces weren't big enough for the tables, oh well. The retreat itself was wonderful. I stayed up till almost 2am chatting with a good friend who I roomed with. I haven't been up that late in a long time, I know I'm lame, haha. But it was a really nice time.

~I have loved coaching gymnastics at my new part time job. This afternoon I was showing them how to do something on the trampoline, and it's just so much fun. They have a really nice inground tramp at the gym, and it's so much fun to jump on, makes me feel like a kid again. But besides just getting to jump on the tramp I love seeing the children improve their skills, even better do something for the first time. Last week a girl got her backbend kickover for the first time and I loved seeing her face and sharing in that with her.

~I had such a bad cold last week, so my running had to take a break. I hated not being able to run. I also didn't run Saturday morning because I was at the retreat, it felt sooo weird. I did run on Sunday morning with the pink team, luckily I have friends on that team. Here's a pic:

I love how we have an official MTT photographer to take pics of us on our training runs!

~On that same page I can't believe the 20 miler is this weekend!! I remember going to the informational meeting about the training team back in April and them talking about this run. I wrote it on my calendar then, but it always seemed so far away. I feel ready though. It just feels surreal mostly because this is the last long run before the real thing. Wow.

~I've decided I'm going to run The Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. I've also decided I want to run the Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach in March. I just need a race to train for to keep running, so I'm hoping this half in March will keep me going! Some other team members and friends have said they want to run it too, so it should be fun.

~Okay, so half this post was about running! I guess it's just on the front of my mind with the marathon coming up so soon!! Goodnight ya'll!

Coach Jenny

So yesterday after work I went to a working interview at River City Youth Fitness, a local gym that mainly teaches children gymnastics. It's really funny how it all happened...........

I filled out the application this past Wednesday, had Clarke fax it in on Thursday. When I got home from school on Thursday the owner had called me and left a voicemail. When I called him back he asked if I was free that day at 6:45 for an interview. So I went in, came back Monday and he offered me the job then! I guess I really shouldn't say it was funny, more easy. Which is very rare for me when it comes to job searching.

I'm really excited to have gymnastics be apart of my life again. When I walked into the gym there was something about the smell that reminded me of childhood (is that weird?) I love the age group I will be working with (the little ones) and I can't wait to start on Thursday!