Catching up

I am catching up, 5 on Friday style. I am trying to be better about writing posts so I can look back and remember these moments. The whole reason I ever started a blog was to keep a pregnancy journal, which turned in to a new baby journal, which turned in to a "life as a new mommy trying to balance it all" journal. It is such a fun time in our lives and I want to remember it all!

{one}

Last week we hosted a gender reveal party for our good friends Scott and Betsy. Betsy is always hosting and serving others and I wanted to do something special for her once I found out she was pregnant with baby #2. We had a "Princess Crowns or Touch Downs?" party and it was so fun! We ate yummy dessert, caught up with good friends, and smashed a pinata that was filled with fun items representing the gender of their baby. Which was PINK!!! SO exciting, especially since they already have a boy :)

Scott, Betsy and sweet baby Hank

We also threw an engagement party for my brother and his fiance Carol that week too. It is such an exciting time, as I have always thought of my brother as the perpetual bachelor. He has found his PERFECT match and I am so freaking excited for their wedding... I feel like I'M getting married again!

My brother and his bride to be!

{two}

Well if you read my last post you know that my half marathon was challenging to say the least. So what does one do? She signs up for another one! Yikes! My good friend Janet has convinced me to train and run it with her. I think that it will be fun, and since it is in November I am confident that it WON'T be a million degrees and super humid. So it will already be better!

Training for another half has commenced!

{three}

The semester is in full swing and I feel like I have a really good grip on time management, for once in my life. I am only working one day a week, and have school/clinical three days a week. Some days I get home before Kyle and Macy so I try to do my best to get all of my school work done so I can just enjoy my evenings with them. It also frees me up to just enjoy my Fridays off with my Macy girl. I am very grateful that I can focus on school and not work full time anymore. Such a blessing!

Doing a little catching up on school while Macy was in the tub. It is all a balancing act!

 

{four}

Speaking of having Fridays off, last Friday we went to the Children's Museum and checked out the new Playscape. If you live in the Indianapolis area you have to check it out! There are endless hours of things to do and Macy had a BLAST! I loved watching her explore all of the exhibits and how excited and enthused she was to try everything out. We will definitely be going back!

The water table was by far her favorite. And the smock... I die!

{five}

I know am on this island by myself, but I am not the biggest lover of fall like every other person on the planet. I am summer girl! Not only is it July 4th and my birthday, but summer brings a since of freedom and the best memories. It's not that I don't enjoy the cooler weather or excuse to wear cute boots, I just don't look forward to the fall as much as others. It's more like... Oh I guess its fall again, before you know it there will be snow. However, since I can't deny the falling temperatures I thought having a fall themed Pinterest crafting party might help me get in the spirit. I do love a good excuse to get some girlfriends together! These are two things I am eyeing to try out:

A fall inspired burlap wreath, and some festive painted pumpkins

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

 

Indy Women's Half Recap

This past weekend I ran my first half marathon in over 4.5 years. I decided to set a goal and go for it. I wanted something that would keep me accountable with working out and finally getting rid of the baby weight. At the time I signed up the most I was running was 3 miles at a time. But I was ready. I trained by myself and didn't sign up with a buddy because I was doing it for me. To prove that I could do it and get healthier for me.

I have ran two half's before, once back in college and once with my hubby (when we were just bf and gf). Both times it was the Indianapolis Mini Marathon, which kicks off the Month of May in Indy (Indy 500 race month), and it is a big deal. They sell out every year and it is the largest half marathon in the country, with 40,000 runners. Throughout the whole route there are DJs, music acts, dancers, cheerleaders, you name it. You run around the Indy 500 motor speedway track. It is also the first of May so the weather is usually cool and mild. This race, the Indianapolis Women's half, could not have been more different. It is obviously all women, but I didn't really know what else to expect.

The morning of the race I got up early and ate about half of a Think Thin bar and drank some Gatorade. I was out the door by 6:30. I parked downtown not too far from the start line, and I was getting out of my car when I realized the most sad and devastating thing. I forgot my ipod. My heart sank and tears filled my eyes. This couldn't be happening. Instinctively I turned the car back on and was going to go back to the house, but then I realized there would never be enough time. I panicked. There was no way I could run with out music. I considered just not doing it all, trying to run with out music (as I thought of the entertainment from the previous runs), but after frantically digging around my car I found some knotted up headphones in the backseat and decided to bring my phone. I had no music loaded on it but just decided to use Pandora. The problem was I didn't have any way to carry it. So I found a paper towel, wrapped my phone in it, and stuck it in my sports bra. True story. I was so sad about this that it really took me the whole walk from my car to the start line to get over it.

A quick selfie at the start line. Nervous!

I got to the start line and I was surprised to see there were no corals or people with pace signs directing you were to start. I got little emotional because I had been working so hard for the last 12 weeks all for this moment. For this race. I felt a since of pride that I stuck through it and was here, by myself, completing a goal I had set out of myself.  Everyone just kind of stood around and when it was time to go off we went. I was so glad I decided to bring my phone because there as no entertainment through out the course at all.


My other issue with the race was the heat and humidity. I was sweating before we even started. It was 93% humidity outside and boy could I feel it. Once the sun was up from behind the buildings and trees it was miserable. I pretty much felt like my skin was melting off and I couldn't breath. The first 8-9 miles were OK. I think my pace was around 10:20, which I was fine with considering the heat. The scenery was enough to keep my mind off of how uncomfortable I was but once I hit mile 10 I was ready to be done. Looking back, I think that running only 10 miles before hand was probably not long enough but rather I should have done a 12 miler leading up to it. Mentally, once I hit mile 10, I wasn't confident that I could keep going much further. But I trucked along. Around 10.5 miles I started to get really dizzy and felt like I was going to black out. There had been no shade at all since around mile 8 and I was struggling. I made sure to grab water at every single water station but at mile 11 I actually stopped to drink the water and walk a little while I was finishing it. The last 2 miles were the worst and the way the course is you actually run near the finish line around mile 11.5 but you keep going and loop back around. I literally considered just running right to the finish where I knew my husband was waiting for me and getting the heck out of dodge. But alas, I kept going knowing that the end was near.

Once I turned the final corner I saw Kyle and Macy cheering me on, which was just what I needed to get my through the finish line. When we met up he asked my how I felt and I got really emotional. I honestly think it was because I was just so physically drained. In a way I was disappointed because it was so hard. But after I got home, took a shower and ate some food I was starting to feel a lot better. I just RAN A HALF MARATHON! Hello! I went to bed early every Saturday night the past 12 weeks so I could get up early Sunday mornings and run. I put in the time and effort and I completed a goal. That was something to be happy about!

I am considering signing up for another half in November. I would train and run with a friend, which would be a nice change. Although I am not super excited about doing it, I would like a better race experience before I hang up my running shoes for the winter. We will see!!

My cheering section!

"Whyyyy am out in this heat?!"

The moment I saw Kyle and Macy. Check out that stride... I was basically just shuffling my feet at this point.

I did it!

5 on Friday

It's been a super crazy time between moving and starting school back up but I'm finally feeling settled. No better way to recap than with a 5 on Friday linkup :)

{ONE}

We are unpacked and loving our new place! Saying goodbye to our first home was bittersweet but the closing went smoothly and we actually love the sweet little home we are renting! It's one story which I love, the neighborhood is fantastic, and the old charm is so different than what we had. The 3 days it took to move everything were absolute torture but once we were settled it didn't seem so bad :)
 

Saying goodbye to her first home

Nothing like fresh flowers to make your new place feel like home!

{TWO}

I am a mere 8 days out from my first half marathon in 4.5 years. I am excited and nervous all at the same time. This last weekend I ran 9 miles, and it was pretty tough. During the run around mile 7.5 I thought to myself "I am NEVER going to be able to do this" but afterwards I think... ok it wasn't THAT bad. I am hoping the adreniline of all of the people and the new sights will help me push through it. I will run 10 miles this weekend and I am going to make it a "practice run through" by eating what I plan to eat next week in the morning and I am going to try out some GU blocks around mile 7 as well. I have been meaning to try them out earlier than now but sometimes life just happens.

9 miles. Slower than normal. But I did it.

How I have been feeling after my last couple runs. Whoomp whoommp.

{THREE}

Going back to number 1- Can I tell you how much we love our new neighborhood? Even though living downtown we were only 15-20min away, it has been so nice being this close to all of our friends. I feel like we see someone almost every day. It so nice being around all of our church friends. It makes babysitting, D-group, or staying up late after a festival so much easier because we know that we are just down the street from the house at all times.

Babysitting Halle one night. Macy LOVED having a friend to play with all night. ((insert baby fever here))

Of course we had to have datenight with Macy's boyfriend our first weekend in the 'hood.

{FOUR}

School is back in session! And it is my LAST YEAR in this Nurse Practitioner program. My 4th year. Holy Moly it seems like I have been in grad school for an eternity. I am at clinicals 2 days a week and my oh my this first week was EXHAUSTING! It is definiretly a new role I have to learn to be in and my brain isn't quite conditioned for it yet. Plus I worked and had class this week so today I am *stoked* to have the day off with my little babe.

Feeling "official" in my long white lab coat. =)

{FIVE}

This man. Sometimes I just have to brag! I always talk about how cute and amazing my sweet little Janie Girl is but I rarely give credit where credit is due- to my hubby! He is seriously the glue that holds us all together. He pretty much single handedly moved our entire house himself (he did the moving, I did the unpacking), is the sweetest most precious daddy in the whole world, and spoils me undeservedly. I am a lucky lucky girl! And so is Macy.




Date night last week. Handsome man!

Have a great weekend everyone! We are having garage sale tomorrow... wish us luck!


On the Move

The Regals are on the move! After months of prayer and discussion, this spring Kyle and I decided to put our house on the market. We currently live downtown in a 2 bedroom townhouse. The perfect first home... Right in the middle of the action and manageble for first time home owners. But clearly not our "forever home". Once I found out what my schedule was going to be like the last year finishing up my Nurse Practitioner degree I realized that I would be committed to school 4 days a week. So that left me two options: work full time (and be gone 7 days a week) or back off work and focus on school. I chose the latter, but not lightly. This meant we were going to be a one income family while I finished school. Selling our house was no the hard part, but the fact that we were going to be downsizing and possibly living in an apartment was hard to accept. I knew it would be worth it though because I would be able to spend time with Kyle and Macy. My ultimate priority.

We originally planned on living in an apartment as renting a house seemed too expensive. I was super bummed about this. It felt like we were "taking a step back", even though I ultimately knew it was for our future. If we rent we could live off one income plus put money away for a down payment on a house to buy after I graduate. Clearly this was all meant to be as God has cleared the path for us in this endeavor. First, we had an offer on our house within 24 hours of putting it on the market. Wahoo! Second, we wouldn't have to close until the end of the summer, which left us one last summer to enjoy living downtown. Also, we found a house in the perfect neighborhood! We are going to be moving to Broad Ripple, which is only 15 minutes north of downtown, and is packed full of young families, culture, art, and local restaurants. The house is within walking distance to many yummy places and we have several friends with kids in the area, as well as the Monon trail that I can run on or we can go on family bike rides on it as well. The house itself is an old bungalow, only 2 bedroom 1 bath, but it has a dry basement for storage and a fenced in backyard that Macy will be able to play in. AND it's about $100 cheaper per month than the apartment we were looking at! I truly could not have asked for a better option (well maybe a dishwasher, but beggars can't be choosers!)

It all seems surreal as we are currently in the thick of it all. This was the first house we bought together 4 years ago, the home we came to after our honeymoon to start our lives together. Where we put together Macy's nursery and made so many memories. But I am definitely looking forward to this next step in our lives. I definitely feel blessed that it all worked out so well.

Where it all began....

A Texas Getaway

We finally got to take our one family vacation for the summer, and boy were we ready! Since I had school all summer we had to wait until the end to take off anywhere. We headed down south to Dallas, TX to see my family and spend the week in my dad's backyard oasis. All we wanted was to relax and lounge by the pool, and all of the extra hands loving on Macy were an added bonus!

I was SO nervous about flying with Little Miss. When we flew down there over Christmas she was so easy. But she was also only 7 months, took a bottle still, and could easily sleep anytime. We had plenty of snacks (squeezies, yogurt melts, goldfish, water and juice), our ipad downloaded with tons of new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes, her blankey and her bunny. This was a recipe for success! Both there and back we changed planes in Kansas City so the flight was broken up a little bit. I think that helped too.

Drinking a squeezie on take off. (no, we didn't buy a seat, there was an extra!)

Wahoo! Made it to KC with no tears, screaming or breakdowns!

Daddy on duty in the airport.

I think another huge factor to our success was the fact that both times we flew it was first thing in the morning. Macy is her most calm/sleepy/chill in the mornings so that helped.

Once we got there we headed straight to my dad's house and set up shop for the week. His backyard is truly like a resort, a free resort, so it just seems silly to go anywhere else when we can spend the week here!

The pictures just don't do the landscaping justice.

I also loved that we got to spend time with family all week. My dad, step mom, little brother and sister all ADORE Macy and fight over who gets to feed her, hold her, change her, walk with her, put her in her car seat, sit by her in the car/at a restaurant, etc. Them loving on her makes me feel loved AND it gives me a break!

Playing on the piano my grandma brought over for her. She loved it!

I wanted to make sure I kept up with my training schedule while I was gone too, especially since I skipped last weekend when we were in Nashville. I texted my friend Brandi a couple weeks before hand and told her I needed her to go run with me while I was down there to keep me accountable. She put a running group together and we all met early Saturday morning for a 9 mile run around White Rock Lake. Oddly, the weather was perfect. It was cloudy with a cool breeze which NEVER happens in Texas summer! I had only planned on running 7 miles, because that's all I needed to according to my training schedule. Once I hit mile 7 I stopped my Garmin and started walking. About 3 minutes later I hear Megan approaching me and says, "How are you doing?" I said "Ran my 7 miles. I'm good" and she was all "Oh heck no, you can't waste this awesome weather... let's go!" So off I went with her for the last 2 miles. It was nice getting to run and chat with her since I have read her blog for awhile but had never met her. She is super sweet and was a great motivation. If preg-Meg can run 9 miles, dang it so can I!

Skinny Meg's picture of our group after our run. I didn't have one on my camera

That night was the annual Fields' pool party. Boy do my parents know how to throw a party! First and foremost is the food, the Texas bbq that my dad starts cooking the night before. Next comes the margarita machine, their best friends' helped and brought their DJ booth set up with lights and karaoke machine, and the rest is history! We ate, drank, and danced in to the wee hours of the night. It was so fun hanging out with family and friends in Texas that we don't get to see often.

My Texas family

The girls! And of COURSE we had to color coordinate our outfits!

My handsome hubby and handsome little bro, also matching

Fun with the Laughlins

Dance party on the patio!

The rest of the week was spent relaxing poolside. Macy LOVED the pool and would often go to the backdoor and scream and cry to go outside.

Besties

The beach entrance in to the pool was absolutely perfect for her. She is not a fan of being in a float, or in deep water. She hung out right here all week.

Water baby

A little naked piano playing. Completely normal.

It was such a great week relaxing and enjoying quality family time. I loved being able to go watch Taylor at her tumbling class and take her to cheer camp in the mornings.  I was 15 when Taylor was born, and Taylor was 12 when Macy was born. Taylor and I are so close and I can't wait for her Macy to have a relationship like ours one day. Trevor and Kyle got some good QT together as well and did their own "guy" things during the day together. It definitely makes the geographical distance between us sad!

Basically the same person, 15 years and a hair color apart.

Eventually we had to head back home and get back to our daily lives. We are moving in a mere short week and we should probably start packing. Although, I could have stayed for the rest of the summer!

The ultimate set up on the way home. Lucky for us, we got another seat for her!

Annnnnd they're out.

14 Months of Macy

I couldn't stay away too long from posting all about my Macy girl. I feel like she has changed so much, even from her 1st birthday. No one told me how fun having a 14 month old would be!
Since turning one she has really learned a lot and has become a lot more coordinated.

-She is OBSESSED with her shoes and loves to find a matching pair and bring them to me so I can put them on her. Or she will sit there and try to put them on herself. They don't even have to be her shoes either. Small or large, she is sticking her feet in them. She really likes to carry around a matching pair of anything. Like 2 little people princesses, or 2 sticks of deodorant, 2 tubes of mascara. It is super cute.

-She is in to climbing on top everything too and gets frustrated when she can't make it up to her destination, like the bed or couch. She is really good and matching things and placing pieces where they are supposed to go, like puzzles or shape toys.

-She is a great eater and even better sleeper. For the most part she doesn't wake up until about 7:30 or 8 which has been so nice. There isn't much she wont eat but we mostly stick with the same foods for her each day.

-We only give her her paci at night and for naps and she doesn't seem to miss it all. I don't even bring it out of the house with me anymore so I'M not tempted to give it to her (like when she gets fussy in the car). We turned her car seat around in one of our cars and she loves it! It made me nervous at first but my pediatrician said we could at any time given her size. It made the drive down and back to Nashville, TN a piece of cake! She had her head cocked to the side and was looking out the windshield most of the time (that she was awake)

-She can point to her nose, ears, eyes and her "button" -which of course is the cutest because she lifts her shirt all the way up.

-She loves to laugh whenever other people are laughing and has yet to meet a stranger. She walks right up to other kids or adults in restaurants, stores., etc and starts jibber jabbering away, greeting them with a wave hello or goodbye. She has however learned that the church and gym nursery are now associated with mommy leaving and pretty much starts crying as soon as she sees them. But luckily with distraction of a shiny toy or familiar friend I can sneak out and she is fine.

-Negative side of being 14 months: home girl can have a temper for sure! I think it comes from her frustration of not being able to communicate yet. When toys get stuck or she can't get something she wants she screams. Ugh. I can't wait until she has words to communicate with so we can avoid that.

Here are a few pictures of the last 2 months with Macy girl. I wish it wasn't such a pain to upload videos because there are some pretty hilarious ones.

Sucking on a peach. LOVES loves them! (or nectarines, plums, etc)

Giving herself kisses

More peach eating!

Fun at the park! She LOVES the slide! 

Flexbreak with mommy at the gym. And yes, she is wearing work out clothes- just cuz.

Not so sure about the life jacket at Splash Island. She loved it though!

Learning to love her shades!

Being a good girl at the doctor's office. She loves puzzles!

How could I not post this (semi inappropriate) picture. She literally slept like for 2 hours

There's nothing like having to take your 1 year old to your annual pap. Luckily the sweet nurses kept her entertained!