Success

This weekend me and my-handsome-man laced up our running shoes for another race... a 15K. That is 9.3 miles people. It was such a success.

Even though we probably weren't as prepared as we wanted to be we finished in pretty good time, and I was happy with our results! We finished the little over 9 miles in one-hour-thirty-two-minutes-and forty-one-seconds.

It was a beautiful morning and a great experience. Our half marathon is in 34 days... for the next 34 days we are in serious-mode.

Pursue your goals today.

**Happy Halloween**

Pictures of my little pumpkin tomorrow!

Dear Mr. Armstrong

Brandon Robertson Armstrong,

Monday you worked a C-RAZY amount of hours. You sold close to 8,000 dollars worth of coffee&tea&other yummies. You drove probably 200 miles. Your reloaded your truck. You rushed home. AND you served your heart out at food distribution---This is reason #1,752 why you are the best-husband-e-ver!!!

Thank you so much for your servants heart, and love for others. Watching you as a shopper made me fall even more in love with you. You are so handsome and kind and I have to pinch myself everyday to make sure I'm not dreaming and I actually do have you as my husband, lover, and BFF.

I can't wait to run another race with you this weekend (even though we are very unprepared for it!)

Thanks again for all you do.

Love you more than pumpkin pie and mashed-taters on Thanksgiving night!
P.S. Less than 4 weeks until we dig in!

XOXO
M

Aunt.. again

October 22 at 1:25AM a little girl entered this world. Her name is Ava Kay Armstrong. She has her Momma's middle name, and her Daddy's initials. She weighed 7lb 9oz and was 21 inches long. This little girl made me an aunt: again. Now Uncle B and I have a niece and a nephew... Perfection!

We already love you so much baby girl!

Congrats Summer and Aaron.

Balance

The past couple of weeks I feel like my life has been out-of-control.

My house is out-of-control. Our life is out-of-control. Everything seems to be out-of-control.

I feel stretched thin.

 I feel like a stretch-arm-strong on the verge of breaking. I feel over-loaded, consumed, and lonely.

So, I am on a quest to find balance.

This week I have started setting daily goals. Goals to achieve simple tasks: like making the bed. It breaks my heart because as a new Mom I feel a lot of pressure to not only be the best momma, but also be a great wife, daughter, volunteer, friend, writer, athlete...etc. I am putting this pressure on myself.

I am going to figure this thing out. This new life we have. After all... our life is only going to get busier. More babies, more laundry, more dinners, more cleaning, more things to get out-of-control.

So bear with me today.

It gets better

Today all I want to say is: It Gets Better

Meeting Brandon, butterflies in my stomach, holding hands for the first time, first kiss, saying "I love you" getting married on the beach, and coming home to each other everyday is amazing. I never thought it could be better, but it is.

This is my better:

Marrying Brandon and then bringing Alivia into our family has been the best part of my life. Everyday I get to have-my-cake-and-eat-it-too.

I am blessed with a browned-haired-man, and a brown-eyed-girl.

I can only imagine how much better our lives are going to get with each little addition to our family, but for now I will celebrate this magical number {3} that our family makes up!

celebrate what you have today.

5 Month Update: Mission-Get-My-Body-Back

Yesterday we took family pictures, here is one of my favorites! Thank you Chelsey Armstrong!

Well, today is October 17th, and despite my absence the last couple weeks on the blog I am hear to break my silence once again. 

A year ago today, I am sure I was embracing my bump. I was pregnant. I am sure it was little and cute and the french fries just tasted so-darn-good. Ya see, I was also in school at the time and 3 days a week I made an hour commute for my classes. Each of those afternoons I would make my way to the local chick-fil-a (oh, sweet-goodness-known-as-waffle-fries) get a large order of their yummy waffle fries, bbq sauce, and 32oz water and I would make my way back to campus where I would take a nap in the car while I waited for my evening classes. Believe me, a great habit to start...

This is where it all began, my 60lb+ weight gain while I was pregnant! On April 3rd I went into labor weighing a crazy 201lbs. It is still crazy for me to think Alivia only weighed 8lbs of that... sure there was fluid and other gross stuff that contributed to the pounds, but it was my bad choices and french-fry-craving-baby-brain that caused the outrageous weight gain.

6 weeks after our little girl arrived on May 17th I laced up my running shoes and made a life-style-change. I wanted my body back. That morning I became a woman on a mission: Mission-Get-My-Body-Back! That morning I topped the scales at 169lbs. My first 2 miles as a mom were probably the hardest, but we made it, stroller and all.

Now, 5 months later: oh-how-things-have-changed. Believe me it is not easy. It is easier, but not easy. Our life has changed . Alivia and I try to be active everyday. Even it means we head outside to pull weeds. (She is the best gardener!) It is a daily choice to continue the mission that I have started, and we aren't stopping.

As I imagined the last 5lbs are going to be the hardest, but I know if I would really step up I could do. I will do it.

Brandon and I have officially started training for two races. A 15K, and a 1/2 Marathon. The next couple months are going to be full off pavement pounding. I struggle on the days I have to hit the road by myself. Running with the Papa is so much more enjoyable, but this something I HAVE to overcome, and I will!

So: Here is the run down.

The day I went into labor, April 3rd: 201lbs

The first day of Mission-Get-My-Body-Back, May 17th (Day ONE): 169lbs

June 17th: 160lbs

July 17th: 155lbs

August 17th: 146lbs

September 17th: 143lbs

October 17th: 140lbs

Even though I am approaching my goal of 135lbs I know my journey is no where close to ending. I have many years, a bunch more pregnant bellies to over-come, and hundreds of miles to run. I can't wait.

Enjoy the journey today.

Stay Little Forever

The day Alivia was born I thought for sure she wouldn't grow up.

I thought she would stay little forever.

If I would have known how fast it was going to go I would have cuddled longer, sang softer, and loved more.

Don't get me wrong I do a-lot of cuddling, singing, and loving, but the little girl that I held just 6-very-short-months ago is gone.

Now I have this little human that is exploring her world, eating cereal, and playing on the floor by herself.

A little human that is just ounces away from doubling her birth weight.

Geez.

Yesterday we went to the Dr.

"She is perfect"--I like hearing that.

Sure she doesn't sleep all night, but I am okay with that.

It means she still needs me.

I hope the needing never stops.

My baby ate "real food" for the first time last night.

Papa Bear and I took turns feeding her, she didn't really know what to think...

and this was one her reactions:

This morning was a different story.

She took big bites, like she was an ol' pro.

Tears rolled down my face as my little girl ate her first big-girl-breakfast.

Someone please tell me the milestones get easier.

That Mom

I usually have no issue going to sleep at the end of the day.

As soon as my head hits that pillow: I-am-out.

Here is a little secret about me. I require a-lot of sleep. Not only do I get cranky, but my body goes into this shut down mode. I get dizzy, groggy, and can't feel better until I get some-shut-eye.

There were days in high school that I would come home after school and sleep until the next morning. There are afternoons while I was pregnant my little baby belly and I could take 5 hour naps. I just love sleep.

So, imagine my surprise last Thursday night when I couldn't fall asleep. We had a busy day, a day that usually leaves me so very sleepy. We had brushed our teeth, taken our vitamins, and kissed each other goodnight like we do every night. Just one thing was different.

My little girl was not in her pack-n-play two feet away from me.

My sweet little girl was sleeping with her elephants. She was snuggled up in her crib, in her room, all by herself.

That night a big part of my heart was sleeping in the other room and I couldn't stop worrying about her... I guess I am: that mom.

Today my princess is 6-months-old.

Where does time go?

Failure

(source)

I am back from a break. A break I didn't even realize I needed or wanted. A break that-just-happened.

I am going to be Debby-Downer for a few minutes, but tomorrow is a new day and I will have a renewed spirit. So, I promise the negativity won't last long.

My thoughts last week:

Megan, you aren't good enough.

Megan, you are failing your husband, your baby, and your body.

Megan, work harder you aren't doing enough.

Megan, you are lazy.

You get the picture.

I was having a pitty party.

I felt like I was failing in every area of  my life:

 I thought I was failing Brandon because I wasn't shaving my legs, I wasn't cooking dinner, and I wasn't cleaning our messy house. I felt like I was failing Alivia because I was cranky towards her because I was tired. I felt like I was failing my body because I wasn't running, I wasn't drinking enough water, I was eating like a-million-sugar-cookies a day, and not logging my food.

To say the least: it was a hard week.

My pitty party is over today.