Absent

I know, I know, I know...... I haven't been around for the past couple of weeks. I promise there is a legitimate reason for this; life has been REALLY busy with...work of course AND

the Adventure Race, 

Greyson's baby book, 

Callie (sister) & Brad's beautiful wedding, 

and not to mention Pinterest. 

I promise...I will catch up this week. I have been keeping up with my Project 365 and will put together a couple of posts to get you back up to speed.

Why Wednesday - Mind Games

Well they are here...those lovely mind games that every race gets going have started early this week. First I feel like every muscle is fatigued and then my lungs feel like I am running in Colorado. Then my joints start aching...and so on and so on!

WHY does my mind want to second guess my body?

Maybe the second guessing is because I really don't feel like I am ready for this race. It's been two years since my last adventure race and we all know with having G that my time is thin. Getting on my bike and building my core have not been a priority and it WILL show on Saturday (at The Ozark Greenways Adventure Race). I do know that as long as my legs hold up then it should all be good. I know I will be able to make it but what I don't know is how miserable my body might feel. Who knows - I can always surprise myself. Guess this is going to be my red flag that I better do a lot more than just run before the next one (The Berryman Adventure).

The most important thing for me to remember is that I can always go as long and as far as I need to go  that day. Race update to come soon....wish Don and me (The Dirty Nelly's) luck!

Run On!
Brooke

1st Birthday Celebration - Greyson Turns 1

I know it has been a full week since he turned one and I am finally posting about the party. Wow, think I might have almost made this an event..... If only we had had a clown or elephant ;-) then that would have been an event. I might have gone a little overboard, but as I searched Pinterest for party ideas it just kept getting bigger and bigger.

Photos taken by Allison at MomBE's Place

New Baby on the Way

Hehehehe, got you going didn't I ;) not the kind of baby you are thinking.... Still one we (I) have been waiting for a LONG time. We ordered "her" this week and we recieved the "crib" today....Apple will be here before we know it (I hope).

Foto Friday - Project 356 Days 127-133

 127 - 5/7: B-Day Party dessert table. Thanks to Pinterest and my friend Allison, I went a little crazy.

128 - 5/8: New Cycle

129 - 5/9: First wagon ride. The new updates to Instagram make for interesting depths of field with little effort.

130 - 5/10: Loving his new swing.

131 - 5/11: Geocaching geofish set free in Cassville.

132 - 5/12:Regular or Unleaded?

133 - 5/13: Ready for the race...well at least the bike is. Only 7 days away.

1st Birthday Celebrations

Last Saturday was Greyson's 1st Birthday. He had a GREAT day and enjoyed his first bit of cake and ice cream. We had a few people over to celebrate and our friend, Allison Rogers, took some awesome pictures so I thought I would share. She is so talented and it was nice to have someone else worry about getting all the perfect shots. Check out the Gallery for some party pics.

It has been such a whirlwind of a year and more fun than we ever dreamed. It hasn't been without challenges, but with the support of all of you things have been much better than we ever thought. Greyson has been through a lot but you would never know it. He is so happy and laid back. He keeps us busy and we enjoy every minute.

We hope this finds you well. We are thinking of those of you that the flooding has touched and hope that it recedes soon. Take care.

Brooke

Foto Friday - Project 356 Days 120-126

120 - 4/30: Callie's Kitchen Shower Gourmet Cupcakes

121 - 5/1: Cousins

122 - 5/2: So tempting to push one of these buttons.

123 - 5/3: Walking G&G Out

124 - 5/4: Party Planning - Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

125 - 5/5: Who would have ever thought you would see baby clothes in OUR laundry basket?

126 - 5/6: 1st Running Casualty - at least he waited to toss it until the end.

Amen

No Excuses - Run On!
Brooke

Why Wednesday - 2-A-Day's Rock

Still trying to prepare for The Ozark Greenway's Adventure Race not that many days from now (May 21). I know I am no where near ready but I am still getting as ready as possible. The other night Michael said to me, "You're really not ready for this race!" {duuuhhhhhhhh} to which I responded "oh really, you think???" He then asked, "Shouldn't you be going out and doing stuff for like a half a day?"......I was SPEECHLESS!!! (see previous post if you are confused as to why I might not be able to respond)

But I am plodding on and doing what I can; trying to work in some biking (but not NEAR enough). Last week I decided one of my days I would run in the morning and in the afternoon (to the sitter, leave the stroller, then home...then back to the sitter, pick up the boy, then back home). And I must say that I really like it.... so much so that I am going to do the same today.

Picture this but with a tank top and shorts and longer legs sticking out of the stroller.

So my question is....

Why don't training schedules have 2-a-days in them? Is there something wrong with them? Am I going to hurt something? Is it a bad idea? Until someone tells me why I shouldn't I guess I will try to work them into my training a bit more.

Run On!
Brooke

16 iPhone Shortcuts

Scott Pollack

For all my iPhone friends...thought this might help you out. There is so much cool stuff you can do with your iPhone that you probably never even realized was possible.

I ran across an article on The NewYork Times called 16 Shortcuts to Take Your iPhone to the Next Level. A person I follow on Twitter Tweeted (see definition #2) it yesterday and it showed up as an article on my Paper.li HigginsB Daily "paper". If you didn't understand all that, check out the links. :)

New UnderArmour

Greyson is growing like crazy now and has already grown so much that it is time for a new set of compression suits. So many of you asked about how they make the suits fit so well so we thought we would share a couple of pictures of the measurement process (they measure his torso and hand along with both arms). Take a look in the Gallery for a couple of shots of Tracey, the OT at Children's that helps G out.

This visit we learned that the company in Ohio creates a pattern and a computer cuts it out. Then someone sews it together. The suit and glove are completely custom fit and I am amazed at the quality every time I tug and pull on it to get it on him and especially when he chews and bites at the glove. The first set has held up well but we are looking forward to the new suit to come in soon. This one has gotten so small that it is causing diaper leaking issues and rides up on his belly.

We will be celebrating G's Birthday on Saturday and so I will post some pictures of him soon after. We will also post an update after his next appointment with Dr. Jiang, the plastic surgeon on June 3. We hope to discuss next surgery plans for later in the year and then hopefully not have to return until then.

I am thinking of migrating his CarePages site to a blog where I have more control over the content and could add videos and more. I am looking for a blog site that will allow me to set it up to have email updates like CarePages so that those of you that want to know when I make updates will get an email. I will let you know if and when that happens.

Enjoy our spring....and stay in touch.

Brooke

Foto Friday - Project 356 Days 113-119

113 - 4/23: First outing with Grandma B and Gramps to cutting event at The Lucky J. They had a great time showing him off and probably went home with sore backs from holding his hands while he walked everywhere.

114 - 4/24: Waiting - I love it that he gets excited for bath time and almost crawls in the tub on his own.

115 - 4/25: Didn't even ask for the cheesy pose.

116 - 4/26: Party planner's mess....1 party down and 2 to go.

117 - 4/27: Pretty Party Favors

118 - 4/28: This is the first time in 3 or 4 years that this Rhododendron has bloomed. Every time I look at this plant it reminds me of Grandpa Melton (I sure miss him) and his beautiful Rhododendron he had on the back side of their house in Grove. It grew up to the roof and always had tons of blooms.

119 - 4/29: My Boys in a waiting room again - getting measured for new "Under Armour".

Friends Again...Sweets Are the Quickest Way to My Heart

First.....Foto Friday has been delayed due to big weekend event...my sister, Callie's, wedding shower. It was so much fun to plan with my sister, Tralaine, and we will share some pictures soon.

Unfortunately I am back at Honda this morning waiting for my car to be looked at (grinding/scraping noise when I put on the brakes).

I happened to have a minute to stop by Starbuck's on the way..... They tempted me by sending a coupon for a FREE Salted Caramel Sweet Square and I couldn't pass it up. I have been eyeing these tasty treats since they came out a while back along with the mini cupcakes and cake-pops. I should have never tried them because now I am ADDICTED!!!!

They are the perfect blend of sweet and salty with a shortbread crust, crushed pretzels, caramel, fudgy chocolate, and a ribbon of caramel on the top with a sprinkle of sea salt. Mine came in a plain, but perfect, box that could have just as easily contained a diamond ring.

I am so addicted that I have spent the last 20 minutes searching the Net in hopes of finding a recipe so that I can make them myself. Unfortunately, there is none to be found. But I did find one discussion on a blog where someone has pieced together a copy-cat recipe using elements from a few different sweets. Maybe I will give this a try when things settle down here in partyville.