Gluten Free Pancakes

Or otherwise known as Blender Banana Oat Pancakes, on the blog from where I found these yummy gems. In fact, I came across this recipe on Beauty That Moves over a year ago and I am in LOVE with these pancakes. I make them a few times a month and top them with jelly (normally strawberry but discovered today that seedless raspberry is even better!). My kids use syrup but they're boring. No one's ever had any fun by following the rules {said the most boring rule-follower ever}. (The most exciting thing I do is wear mismatched socks on a daily basis.)

Anyway, I always follow this recipe exactly, because it's always so good I've had no reason to mess with it. Well, except for when I run out of pure maple syrup and use pancake syrup instead. But no one has died yet.

I have been off and on a gluten free diet for a few years after determining that wheat was causing me stomach cramps and a lot of bloating (like a lot), but of course over the holidays the Christmas cookies were persistently calling my name and it was all downhill from there. So this month, I hopped back on the wagon and my family is slowly joining me. My 12 year old son has decided he no longer wants to eat gluten, so now that there are two of us my husband is on board with me only cooking one meal- rather than making something totally non-GF friendly then not getting to eat it. Anyway, I made these pancakes for my kids and myself this morning and my daughter (10 years old and not willingly giving up her bread products) couldn't stop raving about them. We're slowly getting there.

BLENDER BANANA OAT PANCAKES


**A couple notes. The recipe says to wait 10 minutes to let batter thicken before cooking, but I must not pay attention to directions- or am always too hungry- because I have honestly never noticed it before. Needless to say they are still great without waiting.

Also, I don't use baking powder. I recently read that baking powder contains aluminum so I have completely thrown it out of my house and won't use it. Instead, I found a baking soda/vinegar substitute and have used that in several recipes with no problem at all.

For recipes that call for 1 Tablespoon baking powder, instead use 3/4 teaspoon baking soda and 1 Tablespoon vinegar; for recipes that call for 1 teaspoon powder I instead use 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon vinegar.

Enjoy! I know I always do :)

Seeing again.

I ran my first training run for the Pixie Dust Challenge on Monday. 3 miles down, 11 more to go! It wasn't my greatest (or most painless) run, but I can't expect much when I've run once in the past month, and only a handful of times in the past year. I don't even know if I can get in to the Pixie Dust Challenge, but I'm praying I can! My friend is talking to a friend of hers to see if they can open a registration, but even if they do the price may be through the roof- halting my dreams in their tracks. :/ I feel like I've set my heart on this so greatly as sort of a redemption for my loss, that I will be heartbroken if I can't do this. But, I need to place it in God's hands. He knows my hurt and knows just what I need.

I ran my second run yesterday, just a quick 35 minute maintenance run yesterday, and I felt so good. I was much faster than Monday's run, and I didn't feel like an elephant tromping through quick sand until the end. So, progress.

I've started working out again too, at home. I just love lifting weights. I'm somewhat limited being I workout at home and don't have a barbell, but I modify where I need to and truly enjoy it. Well, after. ;) I have gained 10 pounds (!!) since I got pregnant, and about 7 of that was after I lost my baby. Oh what grief does to you.

It's really hard. And the added weight only compounds it. When I look at the scale I can only think that I gained all this weight for nothing. Like I took it easy on my workouts and stopped running {walking instead} because I wanted to give this baby a real shot at making it, but he/she still died but the weight doesn't just come off and disappear when being pregnant does.

I'm really doing well. I don't want to make it sound like I'm living in constant darkness because I'm not. The Lord has really helped me heal. In the beginning I was so angry and questioning why He would let this happen to me again. I now have just come back to the truth that His ways are not mine, and I will never understand. I do know, however, through this and any other pain that has or will come my way, that He loves me. And His letting me go through heartbreak doesn't change that. When I first lost him/her, I was so mad that I wished I would never have gotten pregnant at all if it would have just been ripped from me. I have finally gotten to the point where I can thank Him for the time I was able to carry and love my baby. Now I would never trade those nights when I would fall asleep hugging my belly with a big grin on my face, so thrilled that God had blessed us again.

So anyway, I am finding myself again. That sounds so silly and cliché, but I got lost for a while. I didn't know me anymore. I forgot what makes me tick and gave up on doing anything for me. Not that that should be my focus, but for everyone's sanity life does work better when Mom isn't just living for them. Since moving to Arizona I very very rarely left the house by myself (like twice in a month) because Tom is working so much, and I felt like I would suffocate if I had to be in the house one more day. I baked and decorated for Christmas and spent time with my kids (all GOOD things), but there wasn't a moment I spent on me. I really had no interest. I guess I was worried that if I were to be alone at all, I would be allowing the sadness and grief and doubt to fall on me like an avalanche and I was so afraid. 

But now, now I can say with tears in my eyes that the fog is lifting. I care about me again. I remember how therapeutic {albeit painful} running is and how good I feel when I sweat. How much I love feeling sore the day after a good weights workout. And I am even thinking about starting to bake cookies to sell, simply because I enjoy it. (And I probably won't even make a dime.) 

I hope this doesn't come across that my life needs to be all about me and my happiness- it doesn't. At all. I just needed to get to the point where I let God show me again how to live.

a new year, again.

Someone really needs to invent some sort of ESP-like device so that when I start composing a post in my head, it will automatically be shot to my blog. But at the same time it needs to immediately recognize my "normal" thoughts (which are probably anything but normal) and not post those. Like... my grocery list, any frustrations I may be running over and over in my mind, and the words to Run DMC's "It's Tricky." Not that reading this speech is my recital, I think it's very vital isn't very productive, but more because I'm afraid that if that can get transported to my blog, so can the obsessions of how I can match my socks the least and "oh my, these fleece jammies are sooo soft!"

So yeah. Maybe that ESP thing isn't such a good idea.



I had grand ideas of doing an end-of-2014 post and writing all the things that I've learned and experienced last year. You know what I did instead? Obsessed over why my Pioneer Woman cinnamon rolls didn't turn out THREE times, and actually laid in bed contemplating what I could do differently. {by the way, the third time was less of a failure than the other two, so I called it quits.} Clearly I don't have enough to do with my time if my most consuming thoughts are ones of whether my yeast is active or not.

I know most people feel like this at the beginning of a new year, but this year I feel especially motivated to make changes. Avoiding gluten {I have had a sensitivity to it for years but when it's no longer something that causes me physical pain, I tend to give myself too much freedom} and even halting use of my microwave are things that are on my mind lately. My biggest goal is to run a half marathon. The Tinker Bell Half Marathon in May, to be specific. {Actually I would love to do the Pixie Dust Challenge, which is the 10K Saturday and then the half marathon on Sunday.} I had been wanting to sign up for months but didn't have the money when registration opened, and then found out I was pregnant. The race is Mother's Day weekend, the exact weekend I was due. Of course having a baby sounded a million times better than running 13.1 miles, so I wasn't completely heartbroken. ;)

But then it hit me a couple weeks ago that I could again run it, and I emailed my friend that may have a way to find an opening for me. I truly can't think of a better way of honoring my baby than doing something so uncomfortable and monumental as running a half marathon- a day that will no doubt be filled with tears and reflection. Running for me is hard. And I am slow. But at that finish line I feel so amazing and strong. I want to feel strong again. These past few months have kicked me to the ground. Losing my so wanted, so loved baby in October, then moving away from everything we know in November... This was the fourth baby that has been taken from me and each time it gets harder. I want to run those 19.3 miles of the Pixie Challenge and know with every step that, in some way, I am telling my baby that he matters. That he isn't just forgotten because I never got to hold him in my arms or nurse him or whisper lullabies to him as he drifted off to sleep.

I want to feel strong again.



I don't know if I'll get to run it, but I will train in faith that I will. That God (and RunDisney) will open up a space for me. That I will cross that finish line knowing that I took a horribly painful weekend and gave it weight. Gave it meaning. Made it count. And every mile I train up until that day will be a step of empowerment and closeness with the baby I never got to kiss.

17 weeks.

Today I would have been 17 weeks and 1 day. We would have already found, or been close to finding out, if our baby was a boy or a girl (my gut leaned toward boy). I would have been anticipating Christmas with a round belly, long past showing because this was after all, my 6th pregnancy. Friends and family would have long been told, and we'd be discussing adorable names that are uncommon, but not a nightmare for people to spell (though they still get my daughter's name wrong). I surely would have had a cheesy smile plastered to my face everyday. 

But 7 weeks ago I felt the telltale signs of an impending miscarriage. I spotted for a couple days off and on, but so lightly that I could convince myself it was just activity or nothing. Yet at 10 weeks to the day {and almost to the minute}, I said goodbye to this gift that I had been over the moon to receive, and wasn't near ready to let go of. I labored for hours with a baby I knew was already gone. I cried in a bathtub alone in the middle of the night while my family slept. I called for my husband when I couldn't stand or even sit because I felt like I would pass out, and instead just laid on the bathroom floor. I felt relief when the worst of the pain was over, yet longed for it because it was all I had left. 

Our children hadn't known I was pregnant. In the beginning when we found out {at 5 weeks} I had been antsy to tell them and felt like if we didn't, it was demonstrating a lack of faith. But over time the dread of seeing their excitement turn to heartbreak won out. I had borrowed a fetal doppler from a friend and had imagined letting them listen to it as we told them what it meant. 

Instead, we held them and told them that I had been pregnant, but that we had lost the baby. Another brother or sister in Heaven. Another sibling my little girl could not hold.

She took it the hardest. My son was more concerned for my pain, but my daughter cried so many tears and was so heartbroken. Neither of us knew why this had to happen. I could only hold her and tell her very sorry I was. I know she would be such a wonderful big sister. And even though my son was a little more detached from it, I know he would be an amazing big brother. He already is to the little brothers and sisters of his friends, and to the kids he served with in the nursery at church before we moved. He adores little kids and is so great with them. Oh how I long to nurse another baby while our older children read nearby. As my older kids get to experience all of their favorites through new eyes of a younger sibling. I'm not ready to let go of those little kid days and yet the evade me. 

I am slowly healing. The physical reminders are mostly long gone, but the emotional ones are always there. Friends that are pregnant. Protruding mommy bellies passing me at the store. A calendar ticking by the days, bringing me farther, farther from those fleeting moments of joy and pain. 

I don't know what God has in store for our family. For this belly that fluctuates from barren and nearly fit, to pudgy and full of baby. I don't know if this chapter is closed for us. Everyday that passes brings me closer to an age where, short of a miracle, carrying babies is a no longer a possibility. I do know that this was never in my hands. And while I struggle with anger over things that I will never understand, I try to lay it down and trust in the One that does. It's hard. And there have been many tears and questions. I live under no delusion that I will understand this side of Heaven. But if there's one thing that's certain about times like these, it's that I can either run from God burying my face in my hands and engulfed in my pain, or I can run to Him and know that He loves me and, somehow, has a reason for letting me go through this. For letting me say goodbye to four babies that were so deeply loved and are missed everyday. And that's what I hold onto. 

Four days after losing my baby, we stood on the lawn at Cal State San Bernardino, letting our four white balloons fade into a cloudless sky amidst hundreds of other white balloons. 

Letting go. 

A new life.

8 days ago we moved from our comfortable life in Southern CA to one that we've dreamed of for years in Arizona. Well actually that's not true. There was a brief period in August 2012 when Tom and I spent a few days in Scottsdale and decided that there was no way this hotter-than-the-sun area could ever be home to us. But apparently we have selective memories because it wasn't too long before we were once again longing to make our home out here. 

It all happened so quickly and it's amazing to see firsthand how God put all the pieces together. He had to- there was no other way we could have gotten my husband across that border otherwise. 

In March we took our first non-baseball family trip to Arizona and fell in love even more. We hiked, swam, went to church and visited friends that we had made last October through baseball. Having someone that we knew here and a church we liked was key in Tom feeling more passionate about moving- I think he needed to see that we truly could make a life here, and that we would be happy. We vowed that, God willing, we would do all we could to move to Arizona by the end of the year. Putting a time frame on it was scary and a little overwhelming. We were really going to do this.

Well, things have been hard financially for a while. I think people believe that when you own a business, you have endless supplies of money and that you're living the high life. That is SO far from the truth- at least for us, and for most small business owners we have ever seen. It has been very stressful and while I wouldn't change it for the world and I love seeing my husband live his dream of owning a business, there are times I would have loved to see a regular paycheck and a husband that is capable of leaving his work day where it belongs- at work. 

Anyway, for several months Tom has been feeling like he needed another job. He didn't feel led to give up his business, but he needed a way for his business to not have the expense of paying him, and of course the only way to do that was to bring in another income. There was a time when it looked like he was going to get a job down in San Diego and it hit me that this dream of Arizona may not be in God's will, at least for now. It was really hard for me. I felt like I had wanted this for so long and prayed and prayed, and that we were so close to it finally happening! And then this. Then Tom didn't get the job but things were still really tough so moving out of state was the last thing we could even think about. I stopped letting myself think about it and really believed that it would never happen.

We were at a crossroads and we didn't know what God wanted from us. We prayed a ton and seeked counsel from our pastor, who was an enormous help in supporting Tom, and helping him to see the realistic side of things. We knew that one way or the other, God was going to move. And He did. Tom's business had a great week (one of the best in a while, and specifically what Tom and our pastor had been praying for) and we hoped that things would really turn around. But as great as that week was, it wasn't enough to catch us up from the long time things had been bad, so we were back again at the crossroads. We started to wonder if maybe it wasn't time for a change.

So Tom found out that someone in Arizona was needing a new manager for his shop (Tom's shop is an auto repair, part of a huge chain) and connected with him. 

Sooooo. In an attempt to cut down this ridiculously long post and maybe wake you up a bit, God came through. Big time. In the span of just a few days during our annual October trip to Arizona, Tom got a new job and we signed a lease on a house.  As in, we would be returning home from our vacation on November 2nd and would be moving out on November 16th. {We ended up signing the lease for a house we had found before even leaving on vacation that had a huge yard and when we saw it in person, was so much more beautiful than the photos could convey. And the landlord is awesome.} So basically what that means is I would spend the remainder of our 2 week vacation stalking Pinterest for packing tips (we have moved a gazillion times but never more than 30 minutes away) and making list after list of the dozens of things I'd need to do once we stepped foot back in CA. And I'll tell you, nothing is more fun than planning a move from 350 miles and 10 days away.

So here we are. New residents of the state we have grown to love so very much, and feeling so incredibly lucky to call this beautiful place home. I spent the two weeks between vacation and moving packing like a madwoman, and had my kitchen (clearly the most difficult room) and most of our house packed within a week. We had a garage sale and I sold a lot of things that we didn't need (or didn't have room for in our 1,000 square foot smaller home) on Facebook, and it slowly sank in that this was really happening. At 6:09pm on November 16th, we pulled away from the home that had housed so many happy memories for 3 years and drove on to the unexpected. I won't lie. I cried. I had wanted this for so long and now that it was happening, I was scared. 

That night as we drove, I was separated from Tom for a good while. The moving truck we had rented leaked gas so I had to stop twice to clean my windshield while he drove on. Well the second time I lost him for a good 45 minutes. When I FINALLY caught up to him, it was at the exact moment that we crossed the Arizona border. It was so significant and I couldn't help but tear up and just knew at that moment that this was where God wanted us. And then we were separated again for the rest of the drive. God is so awesome. 

So I finally need to close this because while I want to document all the ways God has worked in this story, it is mighty long and probably more than a little boring to anyone not living it. I foresee more blog posts in my future now that I'm separated from every person we know. ;)

Stuck somewhere between now and then.

You know what's fun? Looking at pictures of yourself from when your youngest (now 9 1/2 year old) child was less than a year old and realizing you were skinnier then than you are now (and of course I felt disgusting.) Not quite the before and after pictures I was hoping for.

Last night I spent close to 4 hours not cleaning my house looking at old photos and videos from of when my kids were babies. Oh I could do that for days. I am so thankful I have taken so many videos of them and can hear their cute little voices and lisps again. It seems like yesterday that they were that tiny, yet at the same time it feels like a lifetime ago. So many hilarious memories, and so many times I will treasure forever with my family.

I want more kids so badly. And while we're trusting God in that area (though I'm pretty sure my husband's trusting is in the form of "please God don't let her get pregnant"), it hasn't happened yet. But the thing is, part of the reason I've been wanting it so bad is because I feel like I didn't appreciate the baby and toddler years enough. Like I was so overwhelmed and crazyfied (okay I really was) to really savor the moments, and I guess I kinda felt like I needed a do-over. But after watching all these videos and looking at literally thousands of photos covering even just a year or two, I realize that's not the case. I see that I truly did appreciate those years and knew that they would be fleeting. I know I still at times wished away the years wanting my kids to be walking/potty-trained/talking/reading/self-sufficient and cursed the fact that my daughter needed me to fall asleep every hour of every night for a while (see: human pacifier), I know I loved every minute of it. I guess I kinda forgot that.

But I still want to do it all over again.

intentional.

The other morning (okay, probably New Year's, because duh) I saw a pic on Kelly's Instagram that had her "annual" New Year's resolutions: lose 30 pounds {and yes, it was totally like she was in my head}, get organized, read the Bible in a year, and after those were crossed out, BE INTENTIONAL was written below.

Okay I know the word intentional is thrown around like crazy right now, but it just hit me. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. As in, I pretty much go on a FB break seemingly every month or two and slowly ease back into it, then am fully obsessed again after like 3 days. I just seem to be lacking that portion of self-control that tells most human beings they don't have to be on Facebook every hour, checking to make sure no one had a meal that I haven't heard about yet.

Okay not really, because that drives me nuts {even though I do it too}.

But really. WHY do I think anything is going to change so drastically in anyone's life over the course of a couple hours that I have to be on there so much??

So anyway, that morning. I'll have you know that I had no lofty goals that morning when I woke up, and certainly didn't feel like martyring out the teeny bit of social life I have left. But as I talked to God that morning and really prayed that He would help me cut out distractions in my life this year so I can really focus on Him and my family, He immediately spoke to me that Facebook had to go. Okay while I make it quite clear that I really don't like FB, can I just say I love it too? I don't have many friends I talk to on a regular basis, and I don't feel like I'm really that girl that anyone usually calls to hang out. And I feel lonely quite a bit, I'll be honest. So to completely wipe myself off from the face of the earth as far as social media goes, it's a little intimidating.But when you hear God's voice, it's usually always best to listen.
************************************
And here it is, January 6th (I started this Friday night though. I'm nothing if not on the ball), and my FB is still up and running and I'm more active than I have been in a while on there.My point? Cut the umbilical cord, woman. (This alone should speak loud and clear how much I need a little intentional in my life. Good gracious.)

I really didn't want this whole post to be about the F-word, but I fear that if I don't hit submit now {3 days after starting it} I will never finish and this will hang in Blogger land like most other posts I ever start.

I will just say this. 2014 being the year of intentional for me means holding every moment captive. Being able to look back on my days without regret over how I spent those minutes. Knowing I didn't waste away time with my kids while I sat with my face in my phone yet wondered why they look so much older today. Spending face to face time with my husband. Not looking back on my marriage and wondering when we grew apart. I want to live all in. I want to give it all. I want to walk away knowing I gave my family the best I had, not my leftovers. So maybe that's a better goal:

ALL IN.



**edited to add: I will still be on Instagram because that is not nearly the time suck for me that fb is, and God willing I will finally figure out how to blog more than twice a year.**

Because two is better than one, right?

I decided to create a fitness blog. Because yes, if ignoring one blog for months on end is good, then ignoring two is awesome. It's brand new so it's super ugly and boring {as opposed to this cute and boring one}, and the only post right now is a duplicate of the one before this. So basically I created another blog to say the exact same nothings I say here. There is no understanding my brain, I tell you.

http://runswithtutus.blogspot.com

A million years later, a 2012 Disneyland Half recap

Warning: photo heavy!

I have been laid up on the couch all day, thanks to a nagging achy back that blasted full throttle into debilitating pain last night. Thanks, back. It has been hurting for a few weeks and I've been seeing the chiropractor every week, and it was finally getting better after I tweaked the way I've been sleeping (for nearly 10 years...). The chiro said it looked better this past weekend, so I never gave it another thought. But somehow I destroyed it at the beach on Tuesday. Apparently sitting for 6 hours talking to a friend is very strenuous. 

So, my friend picked up the kids to take them to the last (free) summer movie and lunch while I did nothing but stay in the horizontal position all day and feel sorry for myself. It wasn't all bad though. I did get to start a chick flick in a perfectly silent house with no one needing a thing from me. That was a new experience. 

In unrelated [but sorta related] news, the Disneyland Half Marathon is in 2 1/2 weeks! That is related to my back because, holy freakout mama. I was so worried that if this didn't go away, I wouldn't be able to run. I can't even tell you how crushed I would be. Training for months, endless excitement, planning, endless excitement... Anyway, I guess I'm not used to pain that doesn't leave because it makes me a little dramatic. Prayerfully this is nothing a day on the couch, ibuprofen and tons of ice can't solve, as well as a visit to my chiropractor tomorrow morning. 

Okay so I guess it was pretty related because I'm talking about my back again. 

The Half Marathon is seriously one of the most fun things I've ever done. I realize that I never shared pictures here. So what better time? 

{port-a-potties for miles. just try maneuvering one of these beauties at dark o'clock with a giant tutu in the way of your, uh, tushy}

{my boy and I at the race expo, ready to hear former Olympian Jeff Galloway speak} 

{me and Jeff Galloway. this man and his run/walk method are entirely to thank for my 

being able to finish a Half Marathon. he is a genius.}

{I ran with my dear friend Annaliese. Having her there definitely helped with my nerves!}

{um, are we really going to do this?} {apparently the lady behind us was thinking the same thing}

{me, Walt, and Annaliese}

{it's an understatement to say we were excited to run down through Disneyland}

{my awesome husband got the kids up at the crack of dawn and drove all over Anaheim to meet me FIVE times during the race. he is seriously the best. see my baby girl's tutu to match mine?}

{Lightning McQueen came to see us! ;)}

{seriously so cool. it was so unreal to run through Angel stadium with a huge crowd cheering for us. it was deafening.}

{their 4th stop to see me was just outside of Angel Stadium}

{there was not a stretch of road that did not have someone cheering us on. school bands, cheer squads, boy scout troops, you name it. i wish every run were like this!}

{we split up after mile 7; reunited at the finish line. (annaliese was ellie from Up)}

{my baby girl's sign}

{WE DID IT!!}

{my amazingly supportive, tired family}

 

{bio-freeze is our friend!}

This was truly one of my best experiences ever. I will never forget it. We ran 13.1 miles, but from the looks of our goofy smiles and the amount of giggling we did, you'd think we were at a party. It was seriously the most fun thing I've ever done and I can't imagine any race being as fun as a Disney race! So many things I want to always remember. Seeing my husband and kids at mile markers 1, 5, 7, 9 and at the finish (and oh the tears I cried at the finish! And, the entire last mile); running the first 7.5 miles or so with my dear friend, having the time of our lives; stopping with Annaliese to play in the sprinklers someone had left on for the runners (I vaguely remember Annaliese taking a drink from it too, haha!); the massive amount of classic cars and their owners cheering for us; high-fiving all of the Disney cast members down Main Street (even the germaphobe ones that weren't so convinced); World of Color playing for us as we ran through CA Adventure; high-fiving all of the Boy Scouts that came to cheer us on... Are we noticing a trend here? I honestly think, as crazy as this sounds, that the strings of people high-fiving us were my favorite part! It was just so much fun! I remember one cast member on Main Street that was waving to us but I ran up to him and said, "Come on, you know you want to!" and high-fived him.

Reminiscing about that day only makes me SO much more excited for this year. Two weeks from today I'll be at the Expo shopping my heart out (hello birthday money!) and hearing Jeff Galloway speak again, then spending the day at Disneyland with my family. Then, on September 1st, my 36th birthday, I will run in my second Half Marathon. Eeeeek!!

After 8 months does the title even matter?

So, yeah. Every time I have the best intentions to sit down and write a post, life happens. And then I find myself thinking that if I'm going to post, it has to be some monumental mess of words. Because, after all, it's been months. Surely I'd have something important to say after all this time, right?

No. I do not, in fact, have anything important to say. ;)

We've just been trucking along and living life. Mike is turning 11 on Sunday and Ikey turned 9 last month. We had a really successful school year and I'm SO glad for how it all ended. It was the first year we've had that was just really smooth and that everything kind of clicked. We studied California history together, for science we used Apologia's Swimming Creatures of the 5th Day, and then the kids each did their own math and language arts curriculum. It was a great year.

Work has been really rough for Big Hunk. He has been under SO much stress. Really, this is the worst it has been for us in years. We've had many times in our 17 years together when we've struggled. But now they just suck. Maybe it's because we're getting older and just expect it to be over, or maybe it's just that we're frustrated we're not learning whatever lesson God keeps trying to teach us. lol Either way, it's hard.

I'm running the Disneyland Half Marathon again this year! I am SO excited. And yes, I know that I never even posted about last year's. Maybe sometime before September... ;) This year I'm raising money for the Special Olympics of Southern CA and I am so thrilled to be partnering with them this year. In June I was able to attend their summer games, and was so inspired. It was amazing to see the way every single person in the crowds would cheer and scream for every single athlete, not stopping until each competitor crossed the finish line. Or to see the joy on the gymnasts' faces when their names were called to receive their medals. I am so happy to be a part of the amazing work SOSC does for their athletes and their families. It is truly inspirational.

Our summer hasn't been anything too extravagant, but at the same time we're having a good time. I don't want summer to end! We've gone to the summer movies several times with friends, 3 beach trips, Disneyland (up until a few weeks ago, before we were blocked out for forever and a day), and of course, sports. Mikey made it onto the All Star baseball team again this year, so for a good month that's all our lives consisted of. ;) Of course he had a blast and even though our team didn't do very well, I love watching my boy play ball. Sometimes you get the chance to witness your kids doing something that just absolutely clicks for them and that they enjoy more than anything else in the world. That is baseball for my boy. He is so good, and loves it more than anything he could ever do. It is so much fun to be in the presence of that kind of joy.

Okay well baby steps. I have officially broken my 8 month silence. Now anything less than that is progress. :-)