Renaissance Festival!

This past weekend we went to the Renaissance Festival near my old stomping grounds! Martinez and I knew this would be a crowded place, but because it was all outdoors we wanted to see if Julianna could handle it. I borrowed books from the library to read to the kiddos on what they could expect to see. Isaiah and Gabriella were fascinated! Isaiah wanted to learn all about their armor and weapons, while Gabriella was enchanted with the thought of meeting the King and Queen!

Here is a quick picture I took in the parking lot since Isaiah wasn't allowed to take his sword inside. He was so bummed about it...we're now on the lookout for a knight costume! Also, I love how this picture shows how Julianna reacts to Gabriella. I just wish I could know what she's thinking-lol!

Once we made it inside we were starving, so we headed towards the coffee/bagel stand. On our way over guess who we "bumped" into...The King and Queen! This was hands down Gabriella's favorite moment of the day.

I have not been to the festival in roughly 13 years. I totally forgot about the "Dueling Fools" and "Puke and Snot"! My son now fights as the chicken ninja-ha! I was so happy to see not much has changed. It was SO much fun! Here is proof..Julianna is smiling!

The kiddos were able to do some cool stuff as well!

After we got home I told Martinez that this was the first time in a long time we went out in a crowded area and everyone was NICE! We both had moments where complete strangers had offered to help push Julianna's stroller up the hills. No one stared and even a few tried to make conversations with Julianna. I'm so sad we waited till closing weekend to go. We're already talking about next year and buying a season pass! And of course costumes and decking out Julianna's stroller medieval style =)

What's been goin' on....

Hello Again! Life is busy as ever, but I have been enjoying the one good thing about my husband's new work schedule-his days "off"! His work schedule is nuts...

This past week has been chilly/rainy just enough to dampen our motivation to workout. By Friday, I was going a bit batty. I needed to run. I suggested to Martinez that since it wasn't raining too hard we could run to the Starbucks to treat ourselves to coffee on our walk home. He was crazy enough to agree-hahahahha! As soon as we got outside the rain picked up a little bit but thankfully slowed down to a mist by the time we reached Starbucks. I kind've forgot how I would look going into the shop after running in the rain. Next time I'll wear a hat. In the end it was worth the run to grab coffee and just be with my "Man Candy."

Things with Julianna are up and down these days. Sadly, at our IEP meeting the school would like to look at some other possible schooling options for Julianna. The school is not sure the classroom she's in is the best for her. We will set up another meeting in the near future. I can see their point, I'm just so sad at the thought of her going to a different school. Outside of school, we're in the process of setting up doctor appointments and services for Julianna. One of Julianna's doctors that manages her medication has her trying a new medicine at night to help her sleep. So far, it's working! We are happier parents waking up at 6am versus 2am! I wish I had some updated photos of JuJu but lately I haven't been able to get any with her smiling. I did find this t-shirt that I'm tempted to have her wear while out shopping. I find it to be a funny solution to those who tend to stare =)

Isaiah was accepted into the band program at school! One of my husband's friends from high school blessed us with a trombone after my husband posted on Facebook asking for advice! Isaiah has had two lessons so far, mostly learning how to breathe to play. I love hearing him practice in his room. Every few minutes I would hear him laugh =)

Gabriella is my lil' diva! She is singing her heart out these days. She loves all genres! I've had to download some Kidz Bopp so she wouldn't hear all the bad words in some of the more current songs on the radio-ha! Also, she has become quite the artist. I used to be worried that Gabriella didn't like to color in coloring books. No matter what kind I would buy. Well I don't need to worry anymore because she is ALL about coloring these days. I think having an art class at school really has helped this. She is doodling cars, buses, people, etc. This is huge since she would only draw a circle and lines coming out for a body =) **Note to self, I need to take more pictures of her artwork. Recently we did one of her favorite art activities using baking soda/colored vinegar.

Also, this is Gabriella's first lego creation with no help!

I nearly cried as today Gabriella asked me to cut her hair short! I love her long hair but I have to admit her new short 'do fits her perfectly =)

I REALLY needed to update my wardrobe for quite sometime now. I LIVE in my running clothes. My wake up call was when I "dressed up" in jeans, cute top and wedges my son commented how nice I looked! I don't keep up to date with what is in style so I searched pinterest. I pinned cute clothes that I could see myself wearing. With the kiddos in school it's easier to actually look thru racks and racks of clothes at my new favorite stores. My husband was a big help in picking out clothes to try on. I *may* have a new addiction to skinny jeans, sweaters and nail polish! OOOh and these boots are on my wish list...

Luichiny Point Tea - Tan (see more tan flat boots)

Cute, right?!

I have also been trying to maintain the family eating mostly vegetarian. My men'z are not completely on board with this, but are happy to eat just about anything I make =) I am no chef so I rely heavily on blogs for recipes. I have found a few blogs that have great recipes. For those interested in new blogs you can look up, Oh she glows, Healy Real Food Vegetarian, and 100 days of Real Food. The last one isn't just vegetarian and everything I've made from their sites have had thumbs up from my crew.

Until next time!

Family Update and my so long to Facebook

So much has changed since my last post. We have moved from our wonderful home in NC to beautiful (and busier) VA. The summer was filled with traveling from NC to TX and back to NC then to VA. As a family we have found to really enjoy National State Parks trails. The kids had a blast seeing wildlife and I saw one too many snakes. I loved visiting our amazing family & friends across the U.S. that took us in while we were waiting for base housing. We thankfully got a call two days before signing a lease on an apartment (phew!) My family truly does live by Semper Gumby, "Always Flexible." The kids have started school and after a bumpy few weeks, things seem to have settled into a routine. Isaiah has decided to join band this year, and I'm excited for him. I don't have a musical bone in my body, so I love that he is trying it out! Julianna is still adapting to school schedule and the longer bus ride to and from school. I believe the move has been the hardest for her. Gabriella is the bright and cheerful kindergardener! She loves school and I love sitting and hearing about her day!

I wanted to let my friends and family know that I've deleted my facebook account. In short, I became a person I didn't like and facebook fed into a part of me that was ugly. It's been 2 days and I still miss checking it. I will miss the instant updates from family. I miss having access to all the blogs I like in one spot. There was a lot of negative things that I let get to me and really started to impact my loved ones. I don't intend on going back on facebook. *** Bonus to deleting it, I've gotten a lot more accomplished in the past few days than I had in weeks-ha! I told myself to start planning to do those cute projects I've pinned on Pinterest. I can't decide whether to make cute glitter rain boots for Gabriella or try a painting for our guest bathroom. I'll post family updates on here and not let months go by before writing a post.

I started reading 'Life without Limits' by Nick Vujicic this past week when I was having a really bad day. Martinez and I came across this book over the summer and I was just inspired how this man could have so much joy spite his obvious disability. This one sentence he quoted in his intro from the bible struck me, "Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of any kinds." Julianna is going thru some weird mood swings. Crying or yelling for no known reason and sleep was only a few hours at a time. It was taking a toll on us as a family again. How can I consider this pure joy? Then a few hours later I glimpse over to Julianna and I'll find her belly laughing and running from Martinez, or dancing with her brother in the living room, or a rare moment she gives me a kiss so I will open a pudding cup for her. Pure joy. I may not understand why my daughter is Intellectually disabled, Autistic, and non-verbal. But I have faith the challenges we face ahead God will give us strength and show us joy in it.

Changing our ways

A sweet friend gently reminded me that I should update my blog *cough, Stephanie, cough*. Thanks for the love! I've honestly been trying to think of what to write for the past week. We've had a bumpy start to 2013 with the kids getting colds. I didn't have the chance to tackle the polar plunge. I have to admit I was a bit bummed to not cross that off my bucket list but I was really needed at home to be mom =) So for several weeks I would squeeze in "me" time to workout but nothing on a regular schedule. I actually became a bit unmotivated at times. My new year goals just seemed to have started off on a bad foot. I'm blaming it on the winter blues and started taking some Vitamin D supplements to help. Thankfully our NC weather is now warming up a bit and it's not so gloomy. Martinez and I have done a few times what is called 'Deck of Cards' workout. Each suit is given a type of exercise (Diamonds= pushups, Spades= mountain climbers...you get idea) so the number on the card is the number of reps of the exercise. Jokers we've marked for either water breaks or 30 second plank holds. It's pretty fun and only takes roughly 20-25 minutes to complete.



My sweet JuJu Bean has been having some tummy issues. She's had this way her whole life. I've tried switching out foods, reading labels to have no food colorings, how much sodium or HFCS, etc. Nothing seemed to help long term. Until I watched a simple 5 minute youtube video of a man talking about the worst "health" foods on the market. He basically stated how much sugar was in these items. Intrigued I ran downstairs and looked at all of the snacks we feed Julianna on a daily basis. I.was.stunned. What I thought was "healthy" was the complete opposite. Some days we were unknowingly giving Julianna upwards 60-70 grams of sugar a day! 4 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon of sugar. That night I started making a plan to change what she eats-asap. Thankfully a health food chain that is just over an hour away sold her favorite crackers and lunch snacks in healthier versions. And didn't break the bank. It's been trial and error with foods that she'll eat. Her doctor also suggested that we increase her fiber intake to 14 grams a day. It's been a challenge keeping track of that and handling the sugar withdrawals. Not a fun week.... But on the bright side we're now getting her tummy issues back in control and she is sleeping better with no sleep medication! A full night's sleep is rare in our household so this has been a huge blessing.



During one the days that JuJu was sick I was surfing Netflix for any new documentaries. I'm such a nerd, I love watching them. My husband has now dubbed me as the "Granola Mom." For those that are interested some great ones are, "Food Inc.", "Fat, sick, and Nearly Dead", "Hungry for Change", "Dive" and my favorite "Forks over Knives". Since watching these I have become more aware of where our food comes from and what types of food we're eating. We bought a juicer the end of last month. It's been fun testing different combinations of veggies and fruits. My favorite so far is carrots, apples and ginger. My youngest actually loves one that had beets, carrots and apples. This month I'm also trying out vegetarian meals. I would love to eventually have our family only eat meat once or twice a month. I don't know how much on board my husband is with this idea but so far we've done really well. I wish that I could go vegan but I love cheese too much to give it up-ha! Pinterest has been a lifesaver for searching for recipes. I found more recipes in 30 minutes than at the bookstore. Some of the cookbooks I've found have too many recipes that call for hard to find ingredients and items we would probably never eat. If anyone does have a great vegetarian cookbook that isn't complicated please send me the name of it!



Now to brag on my oldest, Isaiah. He tested the end of February for his green belt! He's worked really hard the past few months to become more confident in his ability. He still struggles at times but he has some a long way. I'm so proud of him!!




My husband took Isaiah on a rainy Saturday morning to go learn to shoot a bow and arrow. He's never done anything like this before but it turns out that he's quite good at it!!





This past weekend we went to an Easter picnic and my son found out that they were having a pie eating contest. At first I refused to let him participate. *Cringe* I could already picture the stomach aches and tears. Then after a few minutes it hit me that my son is old enough to know this and somehow he still wanted to do it. I know I need to give him a little wiggle room in the decision making department. So we decided to let him join in. It ended up he was going up against 1 adult and several kids. I must admit as much as it hurt to watch them eat, it was pretty funny to watch. My son earned 2nd place! He was so happy for 10 seconds and then he looked at me and said, "I don't think I'll ever do this again." I just smiled and handed him a bottled water ;)



We'll be running a 5k later in March with Ainsley's Angels. I'm thrilled to get back into our racing schedule. I better take JuJu on a few runs before the race. I'm out of practice pushing the stroller!

November/December

Hellooooooo! It's been awhile since my last post. I wanted to give an update on what's been going on. November ended up being a busy month and didn't sign up for any of the races or turkey trots around here. I ended up running my own on Thanksgiving morning =) We had my parents in town and I LOVE when they're here. They have been married 55 years! I just adore my parents and have been an great example of how no matter happens you stick together thick and thin. I miss them and hope to see them again soon!

December started off with another run with Ainsley's Angels! We ran the Merry Fitness 5k. It was a cold start but a beautiful run. This race included all the 'Girls on the Run' and 'Stride' participants. Huge race for our town with over 1200 runners with the huge majority of them being kids! It was fabulous seeing all these kids being active and the coaches motivating them. All of the Captains of Ainsley's Angels had a great run! So much fun seeing them run among all the other kids there, to be involved in an activity with kids their own age. Julianna enjoyed the run. There were lots of turns and bumps, she loves when we pop a wheelie! Overall I'm super happy with our finish time of just under 32 minutes!

A few days later I ran with the running group, Stroller Warriors. They were doing a PFT. I started out great with the 3 mile run with Gabriella. Sad news is that one of the stroller wheels needed air so I felt it in my shoulders the entire run trying to keep the stroller from veering to the right. I passed on doing the rest of the PFT to rest. Learning I need to bring the air pump with me... Also around this time is when I hit my 500 miles for 2012! This was pretty huge for me as I remember being so worried I'd never hit 250 miles for our running club's incentive program. These ladies are super inspiring! Here is an adorable pic of Gabriella during the run-

Second weekend in December we ran our last race of the season with Ainsley's Angels. The Santa Shuffle 5k. This race was a lot of fun as I had help pushing Julianna. Thanks, Bridget!! This race is super family friendly and loved seeing everyone costumes. Some even dressed their dogs up! We had a lot of Captains running with their families. I love that! We had a fabulous run, tough but fabulous. We rocked a new PR finishing under 30minutes **High fives all around** I have to say my favorite part was cheering on the other runners to the finish line. We took one Captain back to his brother so he could push his brother thru the finish line. Priceless moment! I'm so looking forward to 2013 races!!

Yesterday I finished one last goal. I wanted to run one last half marathon this year. I love Stroller Warriors. These ladies dedicate hours with no pay to come up with race routes and registrations sites to run a free race. Each month they dedicate to a charity. This month was Toys for Tots. Love them! To add to the fun they also did an Ugly Christmas Ornament tree. So you got to pick your ornament off the tree as you finished the run. So the slower you are the uglier the Christmas ornament-lol! I didn't train much for this race. I just made sure to keep my mileage up each week. I didn't finish with a time I was happy with but the overall support I had made this race perfect. I had my fellow Stroller Warriors out there on the course cheering us on. My husband came out and helped me thru the last mile. Seeing him and the kids was so great because I wasn't feeling so great at that point. Darn IT band issues. The last stretch before the finish line my son, Isaiah came and ran with me to the finish line. He felt so proud to keep telling me "Breathe in thru the nose and out thru the mouth." Finished with a time of 2:35:38. Not my best so I aim to get a better time next year. I didn't get an ugly ornament tho. I got an adorable cupcake ornament. It reminds me of my JuJu Bean. She adores cupcakes! It now proudly displays on our new medal display.

I decided to make vision board for 2013. I think the one I made last year really helped me and I accomplished everything but getting a 6 pack! haha I learned I really love food too much for them to ever show up. At least for now. Martinez helped me look thru magazines and cut out words of encouragement. I actually stopped at the woman's photo and said I'd love to have a figure like this. Strong but not bulky, so I put her on my board. THEN my husband dared me to put it where I would see it every day-the kitchen! So that's where it is for now. I feel a bit exposed when we have company over. So far I've gotten positive feedback..... I wish I could've written specific races that I'd like to run. There is a pretttttty good chance we'll be moving in 2013 (again, I know!) So to keep it positive I just made a goal to keep my mileage up and run races when I can. I also made a goal to be on facebook less. Limit to checking it only once a day versus several times. There is just something that clicked when Julianna came over to me and shut the laptop. Like she was saying, "It's time to get off!" hahaha It was funny but such a powerful message. I wonder how many times my other kiddos wanted to do the same thing. I also got Isaiah and Gabriella involved in the goal making in 2013. I found this cute print out on pinterest (another time sucker.) It's adorable and asked what their favorite food, book, activity. What they learned from 2012 and what they looked forward to 2013. Isaiah wasn't into it as much but he wrote his biggest goal for 2013 is to be the best brother. Awwwwwww Gabriella was a hoot. I love listening to the thoughts of a 4 year old. One of her goals next year is to ride her bike. This was fun and I hope to remember to do this each year with them.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Merry Christmas and New Year!

Okinawan Seidokan Test

Isaiah has been working hard for the past few months to earn his next stripe for his white belt. Last night he not only earned his next stripe but tested and ended up earning his third stripe! I'm bummed I can't figure out how to post a video to the blog, but here are the pictures after the test and being presented with his certificate.

His next goal is to work towards his green belt in February. We're SO proud of him. Isaiah is also getting some sparring gear here in another week or so. Thank goodness we have a punching stand in the garage so it'll help him train over the winter break.