Toddler Fitness - Running

Summer is here, y’all!! I most definitely said that with a hick southern accent. As some of you know, or probably guess, this is definitely my favorite time of year! It’s hot outside and I really enjoy the feel of the sun on my skin. And since it takes less time for me to start getting my sweat on during the summer I end up feeling like I’m just kicking that much more ass on the pavement. Hey, whatever gets me motivated right? This summer is going to be a little different though. A good different. See, this year my daughter will be joining me out on the roads!

Last year, I was a big ball of nerves because this happened. I know that these women did it on purpose, which is sick, but it also got me thinking about how easily it could happen on accident. I have suffered from heat exhaustion myself, and one time I blacked out while running. Yup, mid run I almost face planted. At the time I wasn't too aware of the signs so I had just kept pushing through them when it was about 100 degrees out. Stupid, I know, but it happened so fast! I didn't want something like this to happen with my daughter and since summers here are really hot I wasn't sure if allowing her to join me was such a good idea. I felt like I needed to get some answers before we even tackled any form of long distance running. Especially since Emery was just two years old.

So off I went in search of someone's professional opinion telling me that what I was allowing was okay. After having a talk with her pediatrician, and asking as many valid/silly questions as I could think of, I finally got answers. We had a seal of approval, and I became confident in my decision to allow Emery to tag along. Still, that summer we took it pretty easy. We’d do half mile runs once a week, and then we’d walk whatever distance was left to make it home. Since she’s constantly on the go we only went when she showed interest in going. I never suggested it because I wanted to make sure she wanted to do it and that I wasn't exhausting her. This year, Emery has been “chomping at the bit” to go out with me. She's even decided she wants to go farther than before!

And so we have! We started out by going out for walks first before moving onto running. She likes to stop here and there to pick up rocks or grab a handful of sand too so she takes breaks. Our first time out I told her to let me know if she was tired, thirsty, or wanted to go home. After I asked her a few times she finally got the gist and I haven’t had to ask her anymore. She’s very vocal about what she needs, and the routes we take. So far, she’s been enjoying it. The only thing I’m doing different this year is that I’m asking her if she wants to go and I’m not limiting her runs to once a week anymore.

It's been great so far! We've only gone a few times because some things have gotten in the way, but she seems to be enjoying it. As soon as she sees me getting ready to go for a run she's in search of her running shoes. Sometimes she wants to go fast and other times she wants to take things slow. Whether she'll keep this up or not I have no idea, but so far she seems to really like it. If she keeps up this enthusiasm I've decided I'll enter us into the Dr. Pepper Kids Fun Run next month. If she starts to "fizzle" then I'll just switch over to the 5k run. Either way, it should be fun! So, do any of you run with your kids? Or do you do something else altogether?

Wordful Wednesday

Normally, I’d be doing a “Wordless Wednesday” post today. I’m a big fan of allowing a picture to tell you a story, but this week I've decided to change it up.

This week has been crappy when it comes to the weather. When I told Texas to knock it off with the random hot and cold I didn't mean for it to bring in tornadoes in it’s place. Since last Wednesday that’s all we've been getting though. Last week the tornado in Granbury was 30 minutes away from us. And this week we had rotation in a town 15 minutes from my house. Yup, pretty scary stuff. Especially when you live in a double wide that’s older than your parents. Still, that’s nothing compared to what Oklahoma is going through and my heart goes out to all of those effected.

As I’m writing this (Tuesday morning, in case power goes out) we’re being told to get ready for more storms this afternoon. These are expected to be stronger with higher chances of tornadoes actually touching down and possible power outages. I’m crossing my fingers that it doesn't get too bad. Our tiny town doesn't have a warning system and again, I live in a double wide. I’m actually pretty sure we’d be safer outside of it rather than in it, but lets hope it doesn't come down to that though, yea?

I took this picture on Monday just after the first storm passed. As I was sitting in my parents living room watching the sad news come through, Emery came over and said “Mommy! Mommy! Rainbows! Look at the rainbows!!” And sure enough we had double rainbows. Emery opened the door and walked outside while saying “It’s so beautiful, mommy! Look! So beautiful.” And she was right. It was beautiful! And it reminded me that there’s always something beautiful that comes through in the end even as our hearts struggle to comprehend the terrible in the now. My thoughts and prayers go out to those who lost loved ones   during these storms. And I hope if you were in the "high threat" zones yesterday that you were careful and found shelter. 

Stay safe friends!

Make A Pool

Last week’s forecast was all over the place. On Saturday I found out we’d be getting storms during the week so I had my husband empty out Emery’s little pool and store it. On Tuesday I spent my time getting as much laundry done, and moving anything light out from the yard. Our little location has a tendency to flood, and sometimes the electricity will go out for a whole day. As I was getting everything done I told Emery she could play on the porch within my line of site because she was getting a heavy case of cabin fever. We have a wrap around porch, and the windows are low enough that you can see everything going on so I never get too worried. In those instances that I do, I’m two steps away from her “designated play area”.

I could hear her having her “tea party”, and picking out toys from her bucket. She’d pick some flowers and bring them in to me. I was folding clothes and filling up the sink in order to wash dishes when I realized it had gotten quiet. I looked out the window and she was still on the porch going through her bucket. I poked my head out and said “Hey, what are you doing?” and she replied with “Nothing. Just chillin.” So I said “Okay, well, remember to stay where I can see you alright?” She shook her head and said “Sure mom.”

I put the last of the clothes in their pile, and turned off the water to the sink. I started gathering all of the dishes from the table and the living room when I saw one of Emery’s dresses right in front of the door. I could have sworn that was the exact dress she had on, and before I could turn out onto the porch I heard a splash. And this is what I found:

My three year old is a water baby. She loves being in it, and wasn't too excited when we drained her pool in preparation of the storms. Since she helps me water our garden every afternoon she knows how to turn the water hose off and on. So she took it upon herself to empty, and drag over Sampson’s water “bowl”. Fill it back up, get undressed, and go for a “swim”. When I asked her what she was doing she simply replied “I made a pool, mommy.” I had no idea whether to be proud of her creativity or upset that she did all of that by herself. She was like a freakin ninja! I literally have no idea how she did that so quickly without me hearing her? So instead I just laughed, grabbed a towel, and sat with her until she was finished with her swim.

Hello :)

I've made it a rule to not post on weekends because that’s our family time. During the week I have a full-time job, go to college, attempt to keep my house in order, and try to find time to write. So weekends I dedicate myself completely to my family and friends. My “listen” posts are scheduled on Friday’s. Well, this morning I logged onto my dashboard because I realized that I only posted once last week and I believe you guys deserved a lot more than that. Unfortunately, a lot of things have been going on lately so May turned into a pretty busy month for us. But when I logged in my page view counter had skyrocketed! 

Now, I've stated before that this blog is for me. I don’t advertise or promote my blog like many of you. I wish I had the time to do so, but I just don’t. Nor do I feel like I have that kind of energy or dedication. I mean, I went a whole week without posting so what does that tell you? Anyway, those that find me usually do so by accident and I’m truly grateful for their support. So to go from 20 views a day, to 160...well, that grabbed my attention. So, instead of writing down my normal post, I felt like I should say hello!

So...hello!

I just wanted to welcome all of y’all to my little blog. I know many of you are probably coming over from Erica’s blog. A big THANK YOU goes out to her for giving me a shout out on her blog when she didn't have to. I've been following her blog for over a year now and she’s just down right awesome, isn't she? Had I known sooner that she had mentioned my blog I would have posted this yesterday. Instead, y’all got a half assed post put together by yours truly while suffering from a severe case of esophagitis. Sorry, about that! Lets hope that wasn't your forever first impression of me. :)

Anywho, for those of you that are visiting my name is Raquel. I’m a 25 year old mother and wife living in central Texas. We currently live in a small town where the cows outnumber the people. During the summer we get a kick out of the local volunteer fire department as they try to find there way around during drills. It's a lot funnier than it sounds, trust me. As proud as I am to have been born and raised in Texas I fell in love with Murrieta, California after living there for a year. I hope to one day make it back to the west coast. Family means everything to me, and they're also a pretty big reason why I found myself back in Texas. Now if that's not enough information for ya, or if you're just dying to know more about us feel free to click here.

This blog contains everything and nothing at all about us. I use it to write about my every day life which more often than not is pretty boring. That said, I put my heart out there. I’m pretty uncensored, and at times a little random. I write with myself and my daughter in mind so everything you read is 100% me; no sugarcoating. So to all of you that are coming through, thanks for checking us out! And for those that decide to follow along, thank you for your support! I’m really honored that you found my life interesting enough to want to read more.

And again, I just want to say THANK YOU, to the lovely Erica for her support. 

You're one awesome lady and such a great mom! 
You've definitely been an inspiration. 
I'm glad I came across your blog over a year ago!

Listen

So That Was Unpleasant

Hi there. 

Well, I hope you can excuse my absence. It's been a rough week. From Friday of last week to Monday of this week I was constantly vomiting and in some severe pain. The only thing I could compare it to is that I felt like I was having one very strong never ending contraction. And I'm not pregnant. My abdomen was the only part that hurt first, but by Saturday it had spread to my neck and back. On Sunday I felt fine for the first part of the day, but when I tried to eat something the pain started again and I threw everything up. Since I’m pretty stubborn I refuse to go to the ER. Unless someone that's qualified tells me I’m dying then it can wait. It’s just an unnecessary waste of my money. All weekend I took Pepto, Tylenol, and drank some mint teas. Anything to get the pain to at least dull a bit but nothing worked.

By the time Monday came around just trying to take deep breaths was causing me pain. I hadn't eaten anything since Friday so I finally called my doctor to set up an appointment. They set up a time for me to see them within an hour because of my symptoms. When it came down to it they said it could be one of three things: gallbladder, kidney’s, or esophagus issues. They did their thing, confirmed I was in fact not pregnant, and my doctor said everything pointed towards a form of esophagitis. She gave me a prescription, had me get some other over the counter medicine, and told me to keep drinking teas. If this didn't work within four days I’d have to be taken in for testing and possibly have surgery.

I've never had to have surgery. The only time I've been in a hospital and it not be to visit someone was when I gave birth. So for me, surgery is kind of a scary thing. Not to mention expensive and there is no way I could afford it. So, I thanked my doctor, got my prescription filled, and internally threatened my body to let this solution work or else. It’s now been four days and I feel much better! I still get sick when I eat so my meals are small, but the pain dulled and it’s pretty much gone now. When I talked to the doctor she said it’s caused by a lot of different things but since mine wasn't viral (and this is the first time this has happened) it’s my body’s new reaction to excessive stress. Joy.

When I told my parents what my “diagnosis” was it turns out that my dad has the same thing. I do remember all of the hospital stays when I was younger just couldn't recall what the cause was. His started when he was in his 30’s though and he had to have several surgeries because of it. Apparently, it gets worse throughout the years. So yea, that’s what I get to look forward to. The silver lining? My dad had to have his stomach stapled, and lost a lot of weight. Now, if I ever have to go through with the surgery at least I can look forward to that right? So yea, that’s where I've been this week. Lots of couch time, and trying to exercise without throwing up or keeling over in pain. For now I'm just taking it easy. I’m hoping to be back to normal by next week. I'm completely over this whole sick thing. Hope your week was a lot better than mine!

Wordless Wednesday

Listen

p.s. I usually don't listen to country.  I kind of have to be in a mood for it. Which only happens every so often. But, this is one of my favorites. :)

Cousins

I come from a large family. On my mother’s side alone I have 9 aunts and uncles and on my dad’s side I think there are at least 7 as well. Anyway, they're all married and have their own children so growing up I had a lot of cousins around my age. The majority of us are in our twenties. This led to some wonderful times, plenty of laughs, a few fights, but most importantly: a lot of love.

Every year we’d alternate between visiting family in Mexico, South Texas, and Georgia. There were some summers (or other holidays) that our families would come visit us here in Texas, but regardless of where the vacation was taking place it was all pretty awesome! There was always someone around my age for me to play with, and we all grew up spending time together. Outside exploring, or inside talking. As we've all grown up we've all stayed fairly close even with the distances between us. Every time we get together, it's like we pick up right where we left off.

Now, I wish the circumstances had been a lot different but this past weekend some of my cousins came down. As sad as the reason for their arrival was I still couldn't help but feel happy to get to visit and spend time with them. One of my cousins I hadn't seen in over four years! Since we were all pretty busy during the weekend I was only able to see 1 or 2 at a time for short periods. But on Monday after the funeral we all made plans to meet back up at my parents house for dinner.

And that is exactly what we did. We spent all afternoon talking, laughing, catching up, and eating some wonderful food as the rain came down. As the evening came to an end, and we gathered our things to head our separate ways, I made sure to hug every single one of them and let them know how much I truly loved them. Because I don't know when the next time I'll get to see them will be. And I left that night with my heart feeling so happy. I got to see my cousins. Emery got to spend time with them. I was able to tell them I loved them. To me, that was such a gift! And I am truly grateful for the time we got to spend together.

Wordless Wednesday

My Heart & A Final Goodbye

Last Thursday, after hearing about everything, I just wanted to go home and cuddle with my baby. I had been reminded of how fragile life really is and I just needed the reassurance. I needed to hold her. But as I was driving home Emery fell asleep, so instead of waking her up I just let her sleep. I got her all ready for bed without her waking up once. Then I got into my pj’s and read while she was nestled up against me.

Every few minutes I’d stop reading and just stare at her. My daughter. Her long lashes, her tiny feet, and small fingers. I watched as she mumbled about the Princesses, and dinosaurs. Man, how I wish I could see what she dreams of! I spent all afternoon in our bed with her. The laundry and dishes could wait. I read and watched. I felt the exact same way I did on the day she was born. And that's how I was certain that I will never be able to see Emery as anything but my tiny little baby. The one who showed me what unconditional love was like. My heart was so full of love to the point of it threatening to burst! I couldn't imagine my life without her in it. And as grateful as I was for this it also made me feel really sad.

I can look at my life and say that everything I do, I do for her. When you become a first time parent, it can be a little hard to set aside your selfishness. You've gone so long with everything being about yourself and/or your spouse that sometimes it’s a little hard to give things up right away. But slowly you change. You see things differently, from a completely new perspective. And before you know it you’re living your life for them. It's the same but in a completely new way if that makes any sense? And as crappy as this sounds (because of the timing) I held onto Emery so tight that night while thanking God that she was here. I thanked him for keeping her safe, and allowing me to have her here with me. And I begged him to allow me to go first when the time comes because I am not strong enough to go through that loss. It would completely break me.

And that’s when I finally let myself cry. I cried for Monica who lost her oldest son on Wednesday night. As a mom, I now understand that that grief is staggering. Crippling. How do you possibly recover from that? Just thinking about having to bury your own child, regardless of whether their 3, 16, or 60, they are and will always be your baby. Losing that baby is like cutting out your own heart. So I cried for Monica, for the loss that she as a mother was feeling. But even with the grief I felt I doubt it’s anything close to what she was feeling. And I am so sorry that she has to walk this path. It’s not right, and it’s not fair. And for that I’m truly sorry. And finally I cried as a friend because I truly had wished for Anthony to grow old with a wife and children. He still had so much he wanted to accomplish and he deserved a wonderful life.

Today, we say goodbye to Anthony for the last time. This whole weekend we spent with the family trying to comfort and be as useful as we could be. A lot of what happened has come to light, and it all sums up to an unfortunate freak accident. Something that could have happened to any one of us. In a way, I’m glad. I think we all are really. Had it been because someone was drunk or under any other influence I think we’d all be a bit angry. Regardless, it’s all still very sad, and I wish with everything that this wasn't how his story ended here. I wish instead of hearing about this and having to attend a funeral this afternoon that I would instead be getting one of those family updates. But, that's not how life goes does it?

Anthony, you will be missed by many. 

Listen

And It Hurts

I have a bad taste in my mouth. I keep feeling the tears trying to make their way out, but I turn them off just as quickly. I keep staring at his picture and wondering why on earth bad things happen? I get the concepts: Where there is bad there is also good. Without suffering there would be no compassion. I get it. I just really hate, when the bad hits so close to home.

This morning I received a call from my mother at 6 am. My alarm had gone off and I had just hit the snooze button when her name lit up. She told me that a friend of the family had died in a motorcycle accident late in the night. He wasn't someone I was extremely close to, but he was my cousin’s cousin. When we were younger we’d all see each other several time out of the year when our cousins from Georgia would come down for a visit. Since we were all pretty close in age as we got older it wasn't uncommon for me to see him around at some of the same places I frequented.

After high school he joined the army, did his tours, and when he got out he went back to school. I don’t know many details about his life but since all of our families kept up with each other I’d hear how he was doing from someone. That’s the wonderful thing about family. Everyone keeps up with each other in some way. The last time I had actually seen him was last year when he arrived at our house with one of my cousins. It was brief, and they were leaving as I was coming. But he wore that smile of his. In fact, I don’t think I ever saw him go without one. And that’s the look I’ll always remember. That’s the way I’ll always remember him.

The details are still blurred about how things happened. I won’t know much more until our family from Georgia arrives. I've tried looking at our local papers, including the surrounding counties. So far nothing has been published. It all seems so unreal. My mind keeps rejecting the idea, and I feel I need to see proof to believe it. I need to see an article, and read his name in it. Something; anything. After I got off the phone with my mother I felt like I didn't have a right to feel so saddened by this. It’s not like we were close. But I still felt like my heart was hurting. And as the morning has progressed that hurt has gotten worse. This was someone I knew. Someone I definitely cared about as one would an old friend. He was young, with a bright future. And now it’s all gone. Wiped away, just like that. And it really, really sucks. 

My prayers go out to his family. To his mother, who I can't even imagine the pain she's feeling right now. He had such a love for her and his sister. I pray for his little brother, for the grief that he must feel as well. He had someone amazing to look up to in his older brother, and I'm so sad that he was taken away. But I'm glad that they'll always have that to carry with them; the tremendous love he had for each and every one. And I pray for him; that he's in peace. 

I was truly blessed to have known such a wonderful and bright man. 

And I'll carry that with me always.  

p.s. I also want to pray for the other person involved.  He worked with my father, and we're told he was Careflighted to Dallas in critical condition. 

Wordless Wednesday