What would be the name of your show?

We all know the great shows about raising multiple kids:

 

Where are all the shows about raising singletons or even just three kids?

Almost two years ago while visiting a friend in the hospital after having her baby she was asked the question all moms are asked the minute they push that bundle of joy out of their vajaja, "When are you having another one?". She said something that has really stuck with me, “The name of my show is One and Done!”

This really got me thinking.

What would be the name of my show?

Will I be raising 2 and We're Through, 4 and No More, or One and Done?

This question is one that my husband and I have thought about extensively over the years. In fact, when we got married we both agreed that kids weren’t in our cards. We would forever be D.I.N.K.s (Double Income, No Kids). Well after being together for 9 years (high school sweethearts) and married for 4 of those we started questioning our initial plan. It also didn’t help that several friends of ours started having their own kids. Also having a large Catholic extended family that constantly wanted to know when we were starting our own family wasn’t any pressure at all. That’s sarcasm, if you can’t tell!

 

We finally decided that we do want a child and we got started on the process right away.  Nine months later we welcomed our son into the world and it was happiness followed by anxiety, nervousness, frustration, and sleeplessness.

Now that we just celebrated our son’s fourth birthday we have been contemplating the possibility of future children or the lack there of.

There are a ton of reasons why having another child would enrich our lives and that of our son. He would have a sibling; he would have a lifetime with another person who would know him better than anyone else, and someone to trade holidays with when he has to visit us in the home.

Somehow though these reasons aren’t enough for us.

We love the life we have with one child. We can devote more time to him than if we had more children. We are still able to financially afford things we want like new cars, tuition for graduate school, remodeling our house, hobbies, and eating out. (Well that last one is mainly for me!)

The biggest deciding factor is that we have time for ourselves. Mike can go and deer hunt all season long because he knows that he will be watching Wyatt when race weekends come up in the spring. Yes, we could do these things with multiples but being left home with x amount of kids all weekend long while he deer hunts is not my idea of a good time!

I know that some may be shocked by this and not liking my reasons but they are reasons enough for us. Each family is different and there is not one model that works for everyone. This just happens to work for us.

So for now the name of our show will be “One and Done”.

What would be the name of your show? Leave a comment and let me know!

Oklahoma Vacation

We don't take many any vacations so when we headed down to Oklahoma for my family reunion we decided to take an extra day in Tulsa.

We started the trip with bringing Wyatt's booster seat instead of his carseat and he loved it! (Until the end of the trip! Keep reading!)

We headed to Tulsa on Wednesday morning and our first stop was the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks. We are Topeka Zoo Members and this means that we are Zoo Association members, which used to mean that we got a discount at all zoos and aquariums around the U.S.. Once we got there we were informed that the person selling tickets had never heard of that before. So full price it was! Boo! (I will let the picture do the talking.)

We saw this albino turtle and I was asking Wyatt how this turtle was different than the others we just saw and he said, "Because it's the color of ham!". How stinking funny is that! Mike and I laughed and laughed because of that one.

I'm currently training for my half marathon so being on vacation was no excuse for me to not run! Go me! Our hotel had a great workout room and after a day of driving, being at the aquarium, and swimming at the hotel it was finally time for me to run. I ran on the fanciest treadmill I have ever seen. It had it's own TV and was super technical. I'm pretty sure it would have done my run for me if I had let it. I'm more of a "Quick Start" type of treadmill person, so this was way out of my league! I got my four miles in and didn't die! Go me!

The next morning we lounged around the hotel room and watched cartoons. We weren't in any real hurry since we had pretty much all day before we needed to head to the lake.

Apparently mom's make the best pillows! This is how Wyatt usually lays with me. All curled up in my legs with his head on my vagina. Classy I know! He must think he can still get back in there. After seeing that head I don't think it's going back in.

 

 

After we got around we headed to the Tulsa Zoo! We bought tickets for the train ride that takes you to the back and then front of the zoo. Yes, please. We also went ahead and bought a ticket for the carousal for Wyatt to ride since he was too little last time we were here. And he loved it!

 



Family pic on the train ride! Love this picture because it's a rare one with all three of us!

Once we got done with the zoo we headed to Fin and Feather for my family reunion. We got to see aunts, uncles, and cousins that are rarely seen except for weddings and funerals. We all stay in cabins and then make big family meals with each other.

Wyatt experienced a first when he decided to stack pillows to play on and ran face first into a couch and bloodied his nose! We put ice on it and luckily it wasn't broken. Boys, I swear!

We spent most of the week visiting with family, playing with cousins, and swimming at the pool. We also went to Muskogee and caught Despicable Me 2 and it was great. Very cute and Wyatt loved seeing it since he loves the first one so much!

I had to finish Week 2 of half marathon training at the lake, which meant five miles. There is no gym option here so I had to run outdoors. I knew that morning was going to have to happen which meant how early? I got up at 6am to put the pork roast in the crock pot and then headed out for my run. I would love to say that it was easy and I rocked it, but that's not the case. It felt like forever and I sucked. I swear I couldn't run for more than a couple minutes at a time without stopping. This was definitely not a feel good run. More like a feel shitty run. But I didn't give up and I completed it. All five miles of it! Dunzo! (Please note that the picture taken below was a good half hour after my run. Otherwise I would have scared you with my face and you would never run again.) Also I did beat my goal of running it under one hour! Barely, but it happened!

Sunday morning we packed up and headed home. We only made it an hour before Wyatt threw up in the car! This was the first time that had ever happened. The whole trip he had been complaining of his tummy hurting while we were driving but I just attributed it to being stuck in the car and eating crappy food all day long. Now I think it's because his booster seat was so low and he couldn't see the horizon out of the window.

 

Once we got pulled over and cleaned up I put a pillow under his booster seat so that he could see out the window and we didn't have any more puking episodes. Yeah!! His regular carseat will be put back in my car pronto!

 



Pool Fun with Friends!

After a crazy busy week we meet up with friends for some Friday pool fun! We had never been to this pool and the first thing I see when we get there, 15 minutes late, is my school's Boys and Girls Club! Say what?! Why were they at the pool all the way across town? Once I get inside I find out it's not just our BGC but the 5th Street Center as well! Great! A thousand more kids in an already crowded pool.

 

I knew they were probably leaving by pool break so I didn't let it ruin the boys' fun and that they did! Wyatt and Braxton played and played and played. They slid down the slides and swam with each other the entire time. They were having so much fun we decided to stay longer and ended up being at the pool for over 3 hours. :)

 

This is such a turn around from last year with Wyatt and not wanting to play in the water. Here's hoping that it continues in this direction.

 



Wyatt and Braxton laughing at each other!

Woosh!

Laying in the sun to dry off!

Konza Prairie Hike

Ever since I went to a teacher class on the Konza last year, I have been itching to take Mike and Wyatt out there to hike. Well, almost one year later, that itch has finally been scratched!

Today was a gorgeous day! The high was 72-degrees and it was overcast with a slight wind. This would be perfect hiking weather for the family.

After a trip to the library we all got ready and headed to the Konza. We decided to hike the nature trail since it was the shortest distance, 2.6 miles. I was worried about how Wyatt would do but thought this would be a great energy waster and he would be so tired and fall asleep on the way home. Mental score!

Smiling for the camera! This was at the beginning of the trail.

We followed that path all the way to the top of that hill!

Sometimes you have to stop to smell the flowers! He said they smelled like lemons!

Wyatt and Momma!

Daddy and Wyatt!

Notice there weren't many pictures after the first half of the hike. Shortly after we made it half-way our energetic boy turned into the whiny monster and whined the entire rest of the way. We sang songs and tried to keep his mind off the fact we still had a ways to go. That worked for a little while but the crying and fit throwing started in the last leg. Luckily we made it to the bridges and Wyatt forgot how tired he was so he could walk across them.

Hopefully this will be the first of many family hikes for us on the Konza!

Operation Red Bikini-Results!

 

Operation Red Bikini has came to its end and I have to say that I'm very proud of myself for completing this challenge. I started in January and have actually stuck with it for five whole months! This is monumental for me. I never stick with anything for very long, especially if it's something to do with weight loss or working out.

 

My goals for Operation Red Bikini were divided up into 2 phases.

"Phase 1: Complete the Couch 2 5K program and run a 5K for St. Patrick's Day. I was thinking the Aggieville one but not drinking the beer along the way! Boo! While doing the #c25k I will also be working out to various workout dvds that I have on off days and working on my core. This means planks and anything abdominal related. I would like to lose 1 inch off my tummy by this time as well.

Phase 2-Lose 3 inches off my tummy and complete in two more 5Ks by May 31st. So that I can go bikini shopping for the summer!"

 

Phase 1 was completed in March with me running the Diva Dash 5K. This was my first race and I actually completed the C25K program. Okay, I didn't do all 8 weeks but I did complete 7 and have continued my training without the aid of the program. While I didn't do any extra ab/core work I did make some lifestyle changes. I have quit drinking pop! This is a huge accomplishment for me and I substituted the pop for 80 ounces of water everyday.

Phase 2 was completed with me running the Eisenhower 5K and the Royal Tracs 5K. I did lose two inches off my tummy and went from 39 inches to 36 inches. Not drinking that pop and running has helped. I have no intention of actually getting a bikini, not sure what I was thinking in January, but my one-piece fits great! :)

WARNING-THE FOLLOWING PICTURES MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN OR PEOPLE THAT CAN'T STAND PALE SKIN. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

 

 

 

 

Sorry I just had to have a little fun with this post! :)

January 2013




Progress pictures from February through April!




May 2013




January-May




January - May



I can say that Cassie and Leigh Ann have done a great job motivating everyone for this blog challenge. I can honestly say that by participating in this blog challenge I have had a lifestyle change. I'm a runner. I run to make myself feel better when I'm stressed. I run to make my body healthier. I run so I can eat. (Yes, this one is very true!) I run because I can and because I want to. I am a R-U-N-N-E-R!

Stay tuned for more running because I've just finished my training calendar for my half-marathon in September


Carnival Fun

Tonight Wyatt and I headed to my school's carnival and we had a blast! It was a beautiful evening and perfect for outside carnival fun. I bought a punch ticket and it lasted us 2.5 hours of fun. Best ten bucks I spent in quite a while.

After the giant slide we had to go to the bouncy house!

Then we hopped aboard the train for a quick ride!

Busy Evening

As of 1:30pm today I'm officially on Spring Break! Yeah!!! Oh but now I have a giant list of things I need to do and planning that must happen. Boo! But at least I don't have to get up at 6. Yeah, again!

I started off my spring break by going and running. Mike is putting up fence around our land on Saturday (the day I scheduled to run) so decided to take advantage of my foot feeling good and just go one day between runs. I headed over to City Park and just ran. I was pretty pleased with the results other than I wish I would have went farther. I ran every part of the 24 minutes except for 2 minutes of it. I will take it! I even went farther than I did on Wednesday running before walking. Go me!

Love this watch!

Sporting another new Urban Halo!

This run was pretty new for me because I've been training outside all winter and this was the hottest day I have ever ran! To say that I was feeling it, is an understatement. I did make sure to try to dress appropriately and had on capris and just a t-shirt. I felt almost naked running.

The best part of my run was at the end when I saw a parent of 2 of my former students. We stopped and chatted for a couple of minutes. He told me that they just didn't know what they were going to do when their daughter went to middle school next year and couldn't see me everyday. I hadn't even been thinking about that! How am I going to get through the day without seeing her at least twice and checking in on her to make sure she's working hard for her teachers and not goofing off? This was a big realization for me. I always knew she would go to middle school but just kept thinking that that day was a long ways off and now it's just around the corner. Ahhh!!!

Once I got home and got Wyatt from daycare we headed to Subway and got dinner for another picnic. The weather is absolutely gorgeous and we had to take advantage of it.

Then Mike got home and we headed to Manhattan to Tractor Supply and Orschelen's to pick up a gate and the hardware he needed to get it attached to the fence post. Of course the best part of any farm supply store during March/April is Chick Days! We love going and looking at the baby chicks, ducks, and bunnies. Wyatt even convinced a lady at Orschelen's that she should get out a bunny for him to pet and she did!

Wyatt said he needed every animal we saw and that they could live with Elephant his hamster or in his wagon!