Halloween and "Normal"

Welcome one and all to November!  Last night was one of my favorite family nights of the year.  I love to make a big Halloween themed dinner and have family over.  Last night was no exception.  Here's a collage of our Halloween-y eats.  I tried two new cookie recipes this year and both turned out great. Zac helped me make the mummy cookies and both boys decorated the other cookies (which are without a fun Halloween-y name but are awesomely delicious)

My mom, Ryan's parents, Ryan's brother and his wife and 2 girls and Ryan's sister and her husband and their 3 kids all came over for dinner.  Then we hit the neighborhood to trick or treat. 

Last year, Brennan had just turned a year old at Halloween.  I bought him a bee costume and he could have cared less.  He was not fully over whatever it was that ravaged him from 6 months to 18 months old.  So, he stayed at home with Nene (my momma) while the rest of us trick or treated.

Not so this year!

Brennan is not 'normal'. I don't know what Brennan is but he's definitely not normal.  He's speech delayed.  He's tremendously OCD.  He's hyper-smart.  He's lovable and he's frustrating.  Last Thursday I had a breakdown about Brennan's future.  Last Friday, God sent me a mom to ease those fears and frustrations.  Then last night, God presented me with a 'normal' Halloween.

Brennan loved Trick or Treating. He didn't say Trick or Treat (that would have been a miracle).  But he said "Wow!" about a million times.  He carried his own bucket. He walked up to the door to accept candy (although he wouldn't let people put the candy in his bucket. He took it and put it in himself.  OCD, anyone?).  He screamed at scary costumes.  He didn't keep screaming.  He was awesome.  I cried. 

My other boys were awesome too, of course.  They ran around like crazy people. Then calmed down when we asked them to calm down. They helped their brother and cousins. 

But, it was Brennan acting "normal" that made me cry.  And even this morning, I'm tearing up. Thankful for a night of "normal".  What a blessing!

Blogging about...not blogging

Hello there! Welcome back.  I haven't been hanging out here a lot lately.  Some of that has to do with life in the fall.  School starts back and Sam is playing football.  Pee Wee football is a big time commitment, ya'll.  For realz.

But, I'm going to be honest with you.  I haven't been blogging because, well I'm going to be blunt here, life has sucked lately.  And no one wants to read about that.  Seriously, you have your own problems.  Why do you want to hear about mine?  So, I haven't wanted to bother anyone with my troubles. 

I'm pretty lucky that I have a strong faith so I recognize that my troubles are but a bump in the road. And I know that my troubles don't define me.  But sometimes that realization doesn't stop me from crawling in.  That's what happens when I'm worried or bothered.  I stop talking.  (My husband doesn't think that's possible)  Actually, I lose my ability to make small talk.  I have so much on my mind that I find it hard to clear my mind and focus on the other person.

So, here I am.  Being honest.  Telling you that life stinks sometimes.  But, I'm working hard to put that aside and really connect with people.  I don't want to be that selfish moody person.  I am, by nature, funny and happy.  I want to be funny and happy no matter what's going on in life.  So, I'm back to my blog.  Trying to be funny and happy.

So, what's up with you?  Tell me about it in the comments and I'll be happy and funny with you!

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. ~ 1 Corinthians 10:13

Purpose

Hey there blog readers, did you think I was never coming back?  I don't blame you, I've been gone a while. I'm back now, though.

What a summer! I don't know why I keep thinking I'll get a lot done every summer.  I've been back at work 3 weeks and I've done more in those 3 weeks than most of the summer.  Well, there was that little issue of being a good momma to my 3 awesome boys. I hope I did that effectively this summer.  And every day.

Speaking of effectiveness. I did a lot of thinking (read: beating myself up) this summer about what I'm doing and why I'm doing it.  So, I decided that I would come up with 5 purposes for my life and then make sure the 'things' I'm doing fit into those 5 things.  I've already committed to some things that don't fit into my 5.  So, I'm going to finish those up and politely decline to continue.

Here are my 5 purposes:
1. Being a good wife/mom - a lot of 'stuff' used to fit into this.  I thought I had to be in charge of everything to make sure the boys had a great experience. I'm going to learn to believe that this is not true ('cause it's not).  There are things grown ups think are terribly important that kids don't care about. I'm going to ask the boys what's important about their activities and do those things.  Ryan and I also need to have more date nights.  And a vacation alone together. (A girl can dream)

2.  Being a strong Christian - I will continue my daily Bible studies.  I would also like to get involved in a Life Group at church. But also, I need to work to make sure my faith is reflected in the things I do, how I speak and how I treat others. 

3. Being a good teacher - I work on this everyday.  I want to be a positive force in young people's lives.  I have to remind myself of this everyday so I don't get a bad attitude in the drudgery of the day. Right now this also means serving the teachers at my school. If I can help them integrate technology more effectively, more kids are excited to learn. This also involves getting my Librarian certification.  Started classes this week!  WooWhoo! Excitement for the win!

4. Being a good writer - I really beat myself up this summer for not getting my book finished.  Or even writing a lot.  I'm going to write more often but not strive for perfection on my first draft (this is my big demon).  I love to write. I want to enjoy it and be good at it.

5. Being physically fit - I am continuing my running and work out programs.  However, I did decide to not train for my 10K to make room in my schedule for my other purposes.  I'm okay with that.  I'm trying hard to not get too focused on being a certain size or weight. I just want to feel better about my body. 

So, that's my 5 purposes.  Help hold me to them.

What are your 5? Share in the comments!

Too Hot Too Handle

On Sunday, July 18 I ran my toughest and best race yet.  It was the Too Hot Too Handle 5K here in Dallas.  The race was supposed to start at 7:30 a.m.  7:30 a.m. in July in Texas = 90 degrees (at least).  I'm an early morning runner so the heat was a big factor for me.  I ran with my awesome sister in law. 

I'll be perfectly honest, I signed up for the race for 2 reasons:
1. I hadn't done a race in a while. 
2. You got a cool hat and a technical/dri fit style sleeveless shirt (I'm a sucker for swag).  My sister in law is wearing the shirt and hat in this picture.

I wasn't worried about the distance since I've been doing my Bridge to 10K running program.  I was concerned about the heat.  I gave up Diet Cokes (a huge feat for me) on July 13th so I had been drinking water like nobody's business.  So, I feel I was well hydrated. 

The race went VERY well.  I attribute it to 4 new things:

1. My training runs were longer than the actual race.
2. My new Phiten necklace - when I wear it my legs don't ache as soon
3. Gatorade pre-workout drink
4. Gatorade post-workout drink

I didn't break my personal best of about 31 minutes but I came close.  I finished in about 32 minutes.  The big thing for me was that I felt GREAT after the race.  After all my other races, I felt like I was going to die.  Not so after this one.  So now I have a routine and I'm sticking to it.

What about you? What are your running/race day routines?

PS - I paid for all the items mentioned in this blog.  No one asked me to try them out.  I just did.  But, if Phiten or Gatorade want to send me so stuff, I'm TOTALLY open to that ;)