Lessons I learned from the Croods

  Yesterday was an interesting day. We started the day great then had a few fits happen and then we got out of the house and went and watched the new movie Croods. I don't know if I just have extra emotions this week or what but this movie made me bawl. I mean total dragon tears and trying hard not to interrupt anyone else with my sobs.  I won't give the movie away but there is a line where the daughter says to her dad, " I have so much to say to you but not enough time"  The tears started running when I realized what was going to happen in this movie.  Thank goodness the movie theathers are dark and I was able to compose myself before the movie was over and the lights came on. 
Today, I got news of a dear old friend from way back from my Alameda Jr. high days had passed away last night. He leaves behind a young family of four kiddos and a wife.  The line from this movie came back to me today. 
These  moments that matter most might seem cheesey as I write about them and encourage you to find your moments, but it really does matter. We can't become like the daughter who waited in the movie and feel like you have so much left to say that you never took the time to say. Life is fragile and we can't risk losing the time with those that we love. We have to make sure we tell them all the things we want to tell them NOW. 

This is the message I shared with my family this week in my family email.  I love it and it says what I am trying to say waaaaay better than I ever could.  Even if we have different faiths this message is for everyone. People matter and we need to find a way to express our love to them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYhDhiojBPA




Keep shifting gears. Corrine

    Ok so this slowing down and enjoying the moments that matter most can be kind hard some days. Come on lets be real here. This cute, crazy, funny, adorable, stubborn, tease of a three year old can sometimes really test my limits. I totally love this little girl don't get me wrong. My life without Little M would be so boring and lacking. However, this little three year old has a way to make me wish some moments would pass by.  Let me give you some examples:
1. crying over breakfast because she wants to smear peanut butter all over a checker game and I said no.

2. crying for like a half an hour because she wants me to hold her in a certain chair. This certain chair is a hard wood chair not the best chair for snuggling with your three year old. I just wanted to rock in the rocking chair but she really wanted the wooden dining room table chair.

3. standing at the bottom or top of the stairs crying because she wants you to carry her up or down the stairs. You wouldn't mind helping her with this except for the fact you are holding a 2 month old baby, and all the toys the said three year old wants you to carry because apparently her arms are broken.

4. Crying for some unknown reason that you can't figure out as her mother and giving up cause you don't know what to do with her.

5. Trying to be patient everytime its time to go somewhere and she wants to pack up her entire room to go with her and crying when she realizes that there is no possible way to carry all 500 of her sutffed animals. ( we do this drilll every single time we have to leave. No lying)

Ok these are just a few of the moments that trust me I have tried really hard to stop and enjoy. Still working on that.
Now not to give my sweet little girl a bad name I have had some great moments with here this week. 1. picking out all the sparkly shoes in the shoe store.

2. pushing her in the cold on the swing 60 times because that is the number of pushes she asked for.

3. Trying to help her attempt the climbing wall at the local rec center.

4. celebrating with her that she made it all night long without a pull up and without an accident.

5. Holding her until she fell asleep one night after she had one of the above crying fits.

I do love my sweet M. Trying really hard to overcome the times when she is crying and upset of things that seem so silly to me but mean the world to her three year old mind. 

So minding to the moments that matter most can have its challenges but I am still working on it. This week is spring break so we are off to see if we can make some more great moments that matter.

Keep shifting gears. Corrine

Smiley face at 5am

So I should be doing laundry or something like that but nope not this week. I will get to the laundry it will happen. I just wanted to show you that I am slowing down and enjoying the moments that matter most. This is  silly picture of my baby but I love his toothless smile. This morning at 5am this little guy was laying next to me wide eyed and smiling and cooing at me. It was a great moment to slow down and enjoy and I didn't even mind that it was 5 am and I my alarm wasn't suppose to go off for another half hour or so. He is getting so big already I need to make sure I enjoy all the moments with him that I can.

Yesterday I had a fun moment too. I took Carter, my 10 year old, shoe shopping. It is so fun to see him growing up. We wanted to try on Vans. Ya, brings back the good old days. Funny how fashion cycles. Well we didn't end up with Vans yesterday but a good pair of shoes came home with us.  It was also fun to watch Madeleine pick our all the sparkly shoes she could find.  Good moments to have fun with even if they are small. 

How about you have you had any good moments this week?  Love to hear about them..

Keep shifting gears. Corrine

Ya I am back. Its been a long time since I have blogged I know. ITs because I feel if I am going to blog it needs to be something good. Whatever I share needs to be something that might help someone else or even myself. Last year my sister told me that writing and blogging was helping me heal. I told her that she was wrong. Well, sista, you might only hear me admit this one time but I thinkthat you were right.  SO, maybe this blog will only be for just me to keep getting better and it will be an outlet for me, but if you choose to come along for the ride maybe it will help you to shift to a higher gear too.

I have been thinking about something all month long and then I saw the above video. You see today marks one year from the last time I talked with my dad. He called me today one year ago and we talked for awhile. I can still hear his voice and I can still hear some of the words that he said that day. I have to tell you that I have had LOTs of thoughts about that phone call and wondered if I would have seen this video back then would it have changed our conversation or just changed me.Yesterday I sat and thought about this and decided that I had to stop wondering and wishing that I would have said something different. I have decided that it is high time that I "shift to a higher gear" and be better. My family means everything to me. I need to stop and slow down and make sure I am making the most of the moments that matter most to me.  My siblings and mom would laugh to hear me say I need to slow down. I am always in a hurry and they have forever teased me about it. Hey, I am a work in progress.  For the rest of this month I am going to try and slow down and enjoy the moments that matter most.  Yesterday I started my challenge and I took time to send my siblings and mom and step mom an email. I want to open up our communication and stay in touch better so I plan on doing this every Sunday. Then I took my husband and kids on a walk and ended at grandma and grandpas house where we played on the swings and the trampoline and visited with cousins and an aunt and uncle. Small moment but fun.

How about you?  What are you going to do this month to shift to a higher gear.


Keep on shifting. Corrine

Chin up, Chin up!

I've had several rough drafts composed in my head how this post was supposed to begin and how it would conclude.  Sadly, I don't feel they apply.  I know this blog's purpose is to build people up, however, I feel like today I am the person who needs the support.

Today marks one week away from my half marathon.  The half marathon I am running in honor of my dad.  It also happens to be his birthday next Saturday, and he had always ran one of the races in this event.  I have been looking forward to this race all summer.  It has been driving me to get up and run in the mornings and on Saturdays leave my kids for a few hours just to put in the miles.  This was more than just a half marathon to me it was a way to honor my dad and the legacy he left.

Wednesday while I was out on a run I rolled my ankle on some uneven pavement.  I thought I was fine but as the day progressed my ankle began to tighten and feel worse.  I've been taking it easy in hopes it will heal soon.  My spirits are down though.  I've been questioning why me? Why now? I've done everything to avoid injury and now a week before the race I'm injured.

I asked myself what would my dad do at a time like this?  Well, he would probably take some ibuprofen, ice and rest.  I remembered a  time in my dad's life when he and his wife signed up for a bunch of races one summer and they were excited to accomplish them.  He ended up crashing on his mountain bike and broke his elbow.  So running was out of the question. I saw him walking to work just to get some exercise in. That year he walked his half marathon he signed up for and I think he did it in a pretty good time for walking.  The next week he walked a 10K and he even placed! So i've decided this is where I will find my strength.  Mind over matter, right?  I will heal if I believe I can.  I can run this half with strength and determination if I think I can.  I will run next weekend.  I may need to walk some, I may not.  I'm going to stop feeling sorry for myself and think positive.  Oh ya, and maybe you could, cross your fingers, pray for me, and send some of your positive energy my way!  Thanks. :)

Josie

Example speaks loud!!

So I haven't fallen off the earth. Just went into hibernation. To be honest being pregnant has been a lot harder on my physically and mentally than I ever could have imagined.  However, this week I had a thought and it keeps running in my head that I needed to post it so I guess I am back.

On Wednesday afternoon my cute little almost 3 year old came up to me with my garmin(GPS running watch) and my headphones and said, " mom, I'm gonna go on my run now. Ok?" Then she headed to the door and was going outside. I quickly followed her cause she is 3 and really shouldn't be out in the streets by herself, even though I am pretty sure she is tuff enought to handle herself. This little girl was determined to go on a run. I had to stop her from going to far. I had to talk her into just running 100 meter repeats up and down the street. At one point she told me she needed to go run 3 miles and was dead serious. She even got her 4 year old cousin to join her in the running game. We had water breaks and she went back outside. I sent Kevin a text and told him we had an olympic marathoner in our midsts. I tried to talk her into using the treadmill and she said no. (ahh a girl after her mothers own heart)

 

She is cute isn't she. Love her even when she is making me pull my hair out.

 

Since that afternoon this thought has been running through my mind. Example speaks louder than words any day of the week. I know that thought isn't new to anyone reading this but how is your example?  Watching her do this and realizing that she is doing this because I do made me think of other examples I am setting for my children. Some are good and some are bad. It made me realize I need to quit sitting in this lower gear I have found myself in for the last few months and I need to shift gears. I need to make up for the mistakes I have made and set a better example in all the things I do and say around my children.

 

How's your example? Is it time to shift gears and make up for that low gear you've been sitting in?

 

Wish you all a good day.

Keep shifting.

Corrine

New goal starts today!!

I woke up this morning at 3:30am starving. I tried to ignore it but it was making me nausous. So, I had to get up and eat at 4am. Let me tell you that was weird. On the plus side when I got up later today I wasn't nausous and I was able to go for a run. That always makes for a good day!

So today starts a 30 day challenge for me. My diet is terrible. Lets just admit it right here and right now. Well, unless you are think junior mints and cookies fit somewhere in a major food category on the food guide pyramid. I haven't found them there yet. I decided that right now why I am pregnant would be a great time to try and change my eating habits. It will be good for me and my baby. I don't plan on going cold turkey I just plan on making small changes slowly. Step one is as follows:

       So, in an attempt to get more fruits and veggies into my body I am taking the challenge that run to the finish has put out there. One green smoothie a day. The picture looks terribel but I am told that it really is good. What do I have to lose by at least trying it out. I have tried one smoothie with spinach in it and honestly I didn't know the spinach was even in there. So here is the smoothie I am trying today.

I know its not green but it does have spinach in it. I got it off of our best bites.   Looks yummy and even though its not green I am still getting fruits and veggies with it. If you follow along I am going to try and share the smoothies I am drinking this month. Try one I dare you.

Kate's power smoothie

1 cup orange juice (the good stuff not concentrate)
3 tbsp oat groats
3/4 cup fat free vanilla greek yogurt ( I think I have plain in the frigde)
3 cups cup baby spinach leaves
1 1/2 cup frozen bluberries (thank you to the person who lived her before me for planting those bushes)
1 1/2 cup crushed ice

Blend.  You may have to soak the goats in orange juice for a while to soften them up.



I will try it today and let you know how it goes.

Keep shifting gears/
Corrine