Since April is almost over, I guess it's time for an update

Today is April 23 and it's currently 97 degrees outside. Most people complain over and over about the heat, but not me. I love it. It makes me happy and I am a better person when it's warm! I swam for the first time this weekend, a little earlier than I usually take the dive, but it felt so good after laying out in the sun for 15 minutes.

April has flown by just as fast as the rest of the year has and I can hardly believe that Travis will be 11 months old this coming Friday. That means, only one month left until his 1st birthday. Wait, what? Did I say 1st birthday? Yes, time is flying.

I've continued with my hot yoga practices this month at least once a week, sometimes twice. I really enjoy it and how it makes me feel both during and after. I've still been running and even completed another 5k. It was called the "Firefly Run" and it was a night time race through the streets of downtown Phoenix. I was joined by a few girlfriends and we had a blast, ,or at least I did anyways. I ran my fastest 3.1 miles I've ever run and was so proud of the accomplishment. Now I'm resting up for the Warrior Dash coming up this Saturday. Myself and four girlfriends will be dressed in our hot pink tutus and pretty in mud tanks as we move through the obstacle course.

My spring classes are coming to a close with my last final due this weekend. I am so ready for the three month break before I start my Anatomy & Physiology class in August. I don't have a whole lot planned for the summer other than swim, swim and swim some more.

Joey is doing great in school, keeping on top of his grades and we aren't having any trouble with him and teachers. It's such a good feeling to know we are raising such a well behaved boy! I just don't know how to swallow the fact that he will be 13 in just a few short months. A teenager? Oh my...

Travis is all over the place. Can't keep that boy still. He loves to explore and show off his early adapted walking skills. It's hard sometimes because I feel like he is much older than he really is. I have to remind myself constantly that he is still a baby. His tummy issues are getting better, he's fully on Similac Alimentum formula and seems to be handling it very well. He's still having some issues with the solid foods, but I think in time he will outgrow the allergies and his pickiness. I think it's kind of going hand in hand.

Homework break is over, time to get back to work before Travis wakes up from his nap. Can't say that I'll write again soon, because I really don't know...

Oops! Is March almost over?

I guess this month has been a busy one. Started with my first 1/2 marathon, my fourth wedding anniversary, hot yoga and new friendships! School has been keeping me busy in my spare time, wait a minute. Spare time? I have that?

Travis is completely off of his medications for acid reflux. He's been med-free for a little over a month now! I am so excited about this and happy that he is doing well without them. My next step with him is working on weaning him off of the liquid gold, also known at Neocate. It costs us almost $600/month and I'm ready to move on. I'm hoping he is too. This week I've played around a little with spiking his bottles with Alimentum, still expensive formula but much cheaper than the other. He seems to do ok when I mix his bottles half and half but when I started doing full bottles of it, he was getting fussier. Not sure if it was a coincidental bad day? Or the formula.. He turned 10 months on Tuesday of this week (March 27) and started taking his first steps a couple weeks ago. (Our anniversary actually, March 14, 2012). I am excited and nervous all at the same time! It seems so soon for him to be walking, it's the neatest thing to be washing dishes and look over to see him slowly walking towards me. My little baby is growing up, too fast.

Joey had a great trip to his dads this month, they went off-roading, camping, and had some bonding time. I've had some great bonding time with him as well and I'm really enjoying watching him grow into a handsome young man. It's hard to believe he's going to be a "teenager" in just a few short months. August will be here before I know it!

As for me, I'm doing fabulous. I accomplished a goal earlier this month and it was very emotional for me. Running 13.1 miles was so empowering and fulfilling and I can't wait to do it again! Some new friends I've made and I are thinking of going to San Francisco in October for the Nike Women's Half Marathon. That would be fantastic. The only downside to the 1/2 marathon is I was left with horrible shin splints a few days after finishing. I took it easy for a couple weeks, until it felt better but when I started running again I've developed ankle pain. It hurts pretty bad and it's really frustrating when all I want to do is step out for a run. I've been icing, doing my own physical therapy on it and trying to recoup because I am doing the Warrior Dash at the end of April. CAN. NOT. MISS.IT.

I've been going to hot yoga for the last three weeks and I am so addicted. It is my new therapy and I am so thankful for the body I have and that I can do hot yoga. It's so great for the mind, body and soul. I've learned things about myself that I didn't know before and it truly is my new weekly therapy. I'm going twice a week and am doing really well, learning new poses and strengthening my practice.

One of my classes is over next week, so I am happy to gain some extra time back in my days. Travis doesn't always take long naps and I count on that time to do homework, as I really don't like to do homework after he's gone to bed, that's my time for P and Joey. I'm still cooking a ton and have gotten much better at my cake pops. I'm excited for my new found hobbies and for everything that comes next!

Meds no more?

Travis has been on medication for his acid reflux since he was 4 weeks old. Being a very natural person and not wanting to give him medications, I had to and didn't have a choice. (well, unless I want to cause further damage from letting his esophagus burn). He will be nine months old on Monday, February 27 and I really want him off of his meds.

Starting at four months old, I have tried each month to wean him off of them. Starting by giving him 1/2 a dose, but by day two he's usually screaming in pain and is showing obvious symptoms that he needs the medication. This time, we are on day 7 and he's doing GREAT! I am seeing no signs of needing it anymore and today was actually the first day I didn't give it to him at all. It is only 11am and there are still many hours in the day but so far so good. I will be so ecstatic if he doesn't need these meds anymore!!!

On another note, last week I made several more recipes that I have found on Pinterest. Thank you to all of you who post such yummy recipes and ideas! I think the favorite of mine was the Strawberry Mango Salsa that I found here.

[caption id="attachment_571" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Strawberries, Mango, Red Onion, Fresh Basil, Fresh Lemon Juice, Salt & Pepper"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_572" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="It was delicious and a HUGE hit in our house!"][/caption]

 

I am so happy to report that 2012 is really turning out to be a great year so far. Travis' health is getting better, Joey is growing like a weed, I am about to run my first 1/2 Marathon and my cooking skills are becoming better and better every week! Can I also add that the weather has been gorgeous? I definitely have NO complaints.

Cake Balls

So, thanks to Pinterest I have become quite the baker and cooker. (Is that what you call it?) I am finding all sorts of dinner recipes and a few sweets recipes too. I can't wait for summer time to settle in the desert so that I can try the delicious drink recipes I am finding. Now if only I had friends and family to entertain...

For Valentine's Day this year I wanted to try something new. Something I had a taste of at a party I went to a few weeks ago. Cake Balls. Delicious little balls of cake. I found a recipe for Red Velvet Cake Balls here  via Pinterest. It looked pretty simple so I thought, "why not?"

I bought the ingredients and proceeded to make my first batch of balls. (hehe)

I crumbled the cake (and sampled a little too) and added the cream cheese frosting...



I proceeded to roll the mixture into scrumptious little balls... and placed them in the freezer so that I could have them done before the end of the night.



Now.. the hard part was dipping them into the chocolate. Since this was my first time, I really had no idea what it was going to be like or how it was going to work. It didn't go so well, the chocolate was getting hard pretty quickly (like after two balls) and since I was doing only a few squares of bark at a time, I was running out fairly quickly as well.

I managed to get quite a few of them dipped and am hoping to find some blogs that can help me to make them better "looking" next time, because the taste was not an issue. OH-MY-GOODNESS are these delicious. I can't wait to start making more and experimenting with them. I just might have to send them to work with dh, so all of my running doesn't go to waste ;) Or who knows, maybe I can try gluten-free, dairy free or sugar-free???

Best Birthday EVER!

Well, I am officially another year older. So far, thirty-two is amazing. I woke up on my birthday next to the man of my dreams and got to spend the morning with my boys. Hubby surprised me by "leaving for work" only to return a few minutes later with coffee and donuts from Dunkin Donuts. I received a sweet card from both him and my 12 year old and the day just kept getting better. I sat outside in the sun for about 45 minutes, went for a 3 mile run and after my run got into the shower to freshen up.

While I was showering, hubby came in and told me that I needed to hurry because Travis had learned a new trick. A new trick? I know he's not walking, he's close, but not close enough yet. I hurried out and he walked me to the living room covering my eyes.

The instant that he uncovered them I started crying! My best friend and her family had driven all night to come surprise me for my birthday. It was absolutely the best surprise I have ever been given and I was so happy to have them for the whole weekend! We had a great night out to dinner where we had drinks and good conversations. When we got home and I tried to pay our amazing baby sitter, she refused to take the money and said it was a birthday babysitting treat, AMAZING! We spent the rest of the weekend playing, talking, relaxing, cooking, going to the park, Rawhide Western Town and the only thing that was missing was Joey. (he had flown to his dad's house for the weekend. Yes, on my birthday)

I am one lucky lady!!!

Teething.

It is truly amazing how quickly time flies when you have a baby. I can not believe that it's already February and little Travis is 8 months old. Joey will be 13 in just 6 short months and my life is on a track that I am pleased with.

Little update (since I haven't written in a while). Travis is still sleeping through the night, usually asleep by 7:10PM and sleeps until 5:30 or 6:00 am. It's wonderful to get a full nights sleep and I have already forgotten how sleep deprived I was when he was still getting up 2-3 times a night. He's napping very regularly as well and this whole schedule thing is amazing. We do the same thing at the same time every day and he knows it. If I have an appointment and it takes us off schedule just a small amount, he's quite the bear.

He was an early teether with the two bottom teeth, got them in one day when he was 4 months old. Now that he is 8 months old, he's been working on the top two teeth for quite some time. I'd have to at least for the last month. Some days are worse than others and today is one of those days. The right tooth is through but he's working on the left one and I hate seeing him in so much pain. Why is it that teething doesn't affect some babies at all and some are down right horrid to deal with? I feel so bad for him that he's in pain, but hey, we all went through this in our life right? So, I know he'll be fine, it just sucks in the meantime.

School is going well for me this semester. I am taking a critical thinking class and also an ethics and criminal justice class. They kind of go hand in hand with one another and I am having fun exploring personal values, thoughts and ideas.

Running. I am running and officially training for a half-marathon. The half-marathon is on March 3 and I am seriously excited! I am running anywhere between 3-5 days a week and my overall health is amazing right now. I'm eating well, feeling well, looking well and have found happiness within myself.

I need to start writing more, I miss it and need to get back into a routine of doing so. Maybe this will be the start...