Olivia Eileen

While this first deployment was a long time coming the last three or so months have been quite the whirlwind. One of the privileges we have with being stationed at Ft. Bragg is that my husband has learned how to do things the "right" way in the Army (or maybe it's just the Bragg way...). Anyway, what I mean by this is that hubby didn't get a nice break or many shortened workdays leading up to this deployment (except for Christmas block leave). So, right when you've got to finalize your personal and family life in preparation for a deployment, my husband was working from before sunrise to well after sunset nearly each and every workday. In all the hubbub and emotions whirling around I had this grand idea that I wanted to pursue one of my personal dreams and compete in my first Ironman while my husband is off pursuing one of his dream.  It only seemed "fair" that I get to "do" something I'm passionate about too... Well, that idea sounded real...

While this first deployment was a long time coming the last three or so months have been quite the whirlwind. One of the privileges we have with being stationed at Ft. Bragg is that my husband has learned how to do things the "right" way in the Army (or maybe it's just the Bragg way...). Anyway, what I mean by this is that hubby didn't get a nice break or many shortened workdays leading up to this deployment (except for Christmas block leave). So, right when you've got to finalize your personal and family life in preparation for a deployment, my husband was working from before sunrise to well after sunset nearly each and every workday. In all the hubbub and emotions whirling around I had this grand idea that I wanted to pursue one of my personal dreams and compete in my first Ironman while my husband is off pursuing one of his dream.  It only seemed "fair" that I get to "do" something I'm passionate about too...

Having a baby changes everything. But, you don't realize it changes everything until you have your very own! As I am learning to roll with the frequent spontaneity and inconsistency of the military lifestyle I am also learning how to use my time more wisely and effectively as a wife, mom, and athlete. Otherwise, I'd probably be pretty frazzled and grumpy all of the time. Two of my favorite, already owned, time savers are the door frame pull up bar we've owned for a long time and our new Vitamix Blender! If you don't have either, consider the following my recommendation for you to put this on your next birthday or Christmas wish list! What are your favorite in-home time savers?! Tell me your in-home time savers or solutions in the comment section below! For the longest time I was intimidated by pull ups (and still am to a degree). And now that we have a baby, I initially complained ( often ) about not being able to weight lift anymore for lack of childcare or proximity t...

Having a baby changes everything. But, you don't realize it changes everything until you have your very own! As I am learning to roll with the frequent spontaneity and inconsistency of the military lifestyle I am also learning how to use my time more wisely and effectively as a wife, mom, and athlete. Otherwise, I'd probably be pretty frazzled and grumpy all of the time. Two of my favorite, already owned, time savers are the door frame pull up bar we've owned for a long time and our new Vitamix Blender! If you don't have either, consider the following my recommendation for you to put this on your next birthday or Christmas wish list! What are your favorite in-home time savers?! Tell me your in-home time savers or solutions in the comment section below!

Yesterday I spent my time trying to find hourly child care for our almost 17 month old, just a few times a week, so I could swim/bike/run without a 24+ pound baby in tow (well, during the swim I would be worrying about whether or not she was vying for my attention in the jogger, pool side, not pulling her in a raft!). I, unfortunately, discovered that where we live in the Fort Bragg, North Carolina area is No-Mans-Land for hourly child care. Well, hourly child care that would allow me to pack my daughters lunch. When sugar bean was nursing it was easy to drop her off at the hourly child care center on Fort Bragg because they were REQUIRED to feed her the pumped breast milk I supplied.  Now, she's older and eating table food, so she's required to eat whatever they serve-unless a doctor has signed off that she has an allergy/intolerance, which she doesn't. So, the only way to take advantage of the $4/hour child care on post is to throw our chosen daughter's nutrition out ...

Yesterday I spent my time trying to find hourly child care for our almost 17 month old, just a few times a week, so I could swim/bike/run without a 24+ pound baby in tow (well, during the swim I would be worrying about whether or not she was vying for my attention in the jogger, pool side, not pulling her in a raft!). I, unfortunately, discovered that where we live in the Fort Bragg, North Carolina area is No-Mans-Land for hourly child care. Well, hourly child care that would allow me to pack my daughters lunch. When sugar bean was nursing it was easy to drop her off at the hourly child care center on Fort Bragg because they were REQUIRED to feed her the pumped breast milk I supplied.  Now, she's older and eating table food, so she's required to eat whatever they serve-unless a doctor has signed off that she has an allergy/intolerance, which she doesn't. So, the only way to take advantage of the $4/hour child care on post is to throw our chosen daughter's nutritio...

This past Saturday my husband and I went out for a planned 10 mile run. Whether you have experience running 1 mile or 50 miles, I know you'll agree when I tell you that I knew within the first 30 seconds how this run was going to feel. It wasn't a good feeling either. But, I wanted to be a good sport and run the 10 miles with my husband. I love running with my husband on the weekend, partially because he pushes our daughter for me! A welcomed relief! We stopped to stretch at our usual spot. And after I stretched I was feeling a bit better. We were keeping a good pace, 7:30 minute miles, until we hit the first major hill in our neighborhood. Then it was all down hill for the next 2 miles. I was trailing behind my husband. Frustrated with myself and slightly agitated by his encouraging, "come on darlin, you can do it" statements, I "thought" I couldn't pick up my pace. At this point we were poking along at about a 9:30 minute mile. Thankfully, my husband h...

This past Saturday my husband and I went out for a planned 10 mile run. Whether you have experience running 1 mile or 50 miles, I know you'll agree when I tell you that I knew within the first 30 seconds how this run was going to feel. It wasn't a good feeling either. But, I wanted to be a good sport and run the 10 miles with my husband. I love running with my husband on the weekend, partially because he pushes our daughter for me! A welcomed relief! We stopped to stretch at our usual spot. And after I stretched I was feeling a bit better. We were keeping a good pace, 7:30 minute miles, until we hit the first major hill in our neighborhood. Then it was all down hill for the next 2 miles. I was trailing behind my husband. Frustrated with myself and slightly agitated by his encouraging, "come on darlin, you can do it" statements, I "thought" I couldn't pick up my pace. At this point we were poking along at about a 9:30 minute mile. Thankfully, my husband...