Halloween Spoiler

Hey peeps!  It's Friday!!!  Hope you had a great week.  Things here have been pretty calm and uneventful.  Which I like :-)

Ben has decided that he wants to be a bat for Halloween this year.  He has actually known this for months and has been completely unwavering in his decision.  So, after scouring some stores online, I finally found one I thought might work.....

I know.....the cuteness.

I was kind of nervous ordering a costume online because it seems like so many costumes out there are thin and poorly made.  Since it is usually cold on Halloween night, I didn't want him to end up with some paper-thin costume.  I was so pleased with one.  It is thick and plush and seems much more expensive than it actually was (it was only $25).  I consider this a major costume win!!  Oh, and here is a fun little twist.... Ben wants me to dress up like a spider.  And I'm actually considering it.  Can you imagine?  Ha!!  I have no idea if adult spider costumes even exist, but I need to start looking now if it's going to happen.  Don't worry, I will post pictures if this indeed becomes a reality.  Lord, help me.

Ben is very eager to go trick-or-treating and even more eager for his upcoming birthday and Christmas.  We have already started making a list of things he wants and Ben asks to see it (and have us read to him) almost daily.  We've been trying to explain to him that he won't be getting everything on the list, but I'm not sure that is really computing with him right now :-)

Ok, I have one more cute Ben story.  We have several kids in our neighborhood, but not many around Ben's age.  Our closest neighbors have kids that range anywhere from grade school, all the way up to high school.  Ben is very intrigued by the "big kids" and sometimes will just sit on the sidewalk in front of our house and watch them play.  It makes me a little sad for him, but he's just too little to play with them right now.  He has friends his own age that we have play-dates with and he plays with the kids at preschool, so he gets plenty of time to play with others, but my heart still breaks a little when I see him longing to play with the kids in the neighborhood.

Well, the other evening we were outside playing and several girls were playing a couple of houses down from us in our cul-de-sac.  They noticed Ben watching them and said "Hi, Ben!" very enthusiastically.  He looked at me, gave an enormous grin and then yelled to the girls "I'm coming!!!".  Then he walked over to their house (I followed, of course) and they played with him for about 30 minutes (until it was bath-time for Ben).  It was so sweet.  And I know it meant THE WORLD to Ben.  He was in "big kid" heaven.

I think I mentioned last time that I was starting some private sessions a couple of days a week at a pilates studio near our house.  I've been about 5 or 6 times now and ... I. LOVE. IT!!!!!!  It is so stinkin hard, which makes it kind of addicting.  It is completely different from any kind of pilates classes I have taken in the past.  Probably because this is an actual dedicated studio where the instructors know their stuff.  The other classes I have done were at whatever gym I was attending at the time (and no equipment was involved).  Don't get me wrong, the mat classes at the gym can be really challenging as well (depending on the instructor), but this is on a whole other level.  The equipment we use is kind of intimidating at first, but once you get used to it, it's actually really fun.  It requires a ridiculous amount of concentration because if you aren't using "proper form" the instructor is right there to call you out on it.  Very different from running :-)  Every time I leave there, my muscles feel like jello.  I would totally recommend it to anyone who is looking for a low-impact exercise that is still very challenging.

Aaaand, that's all I can think of right now.  Have a great weekend!

Brooke

Mish Mash

Hey everyone!  Not a whole lot going on around here (surprise, surprise) so this post is going to be pretty random.

I'm starting to get really pumped for the holiday season (who am I???).  Normally, I dread this time of year because of all the stress, but I'm trying this new thing in my life where I'm making peace a priority.  I pray A LOT for God's guidance in my life because, at this age, I've learned (sometimes, the hard way) that His plans are so much better than my own.  Really, deep down, the only way I want to live is His way.  The problem is, I have difficulty recognizing His guidance at times.

Sooo, I've started praying for the ability to recognize his guidance, and He started showing me that I really need to strive for peace in my life.  My mind is always going, going, going.  And I let myself get stressed for no reason, often.  All this "noise" in my mind has the tendency to drown out whatever guidance God is trying to provide for me.  I've been reading a couple of different Joyce Meyer devotionals in addition to my Bible and I keep seeing this theme of peace and how vital it is to our spiritual lives and our walk with Christ.  So, I'm trying to really make it a priority, and you know what??  After just a few days, I'm already feeling less crazy :-)  Good times.


I mentioned in my last post that my marathon training has started.  I'm running 3 days a week and I'm supposed to be cross-training at least 2 days a week.  Normally, when I cross-train, I either do my P90X videos or the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred or some free weights.  I'm kind of sick of the same-old, same-old though, so I wanted to do try something different. At first, I considered doing Crossfit on my non-running days because it seems like a very efficient full-body workout and I've heard nothing but great things about it.  I know it's pretty intense though, and since this is my first marathon and my body is already taking a beating from my running workouts, I wanted something a little less "high-impact"....for now.  So, I decided on pilates.  I've taken a few pilates classes at different times in my life and it is low impact....but also a great workout.  Very challenging.  I like that it both strengthens and improves flexibility.  It's a nice break from pounding the pavement.
I'm going to a pilates studio that has all the fancy equipment.  I've only taken mat classes in the past, so the equipment is new for me.  I'm doing a few private sessions and then moving on to semi-private when I feel comfortable with the equipment.  I had my first session today and it was great.  My instructor is awesome and hilarious.  I think every muscle in my body was quivering by the time I was done....yet I felt completely and totally relaxed.  Sign of a great workout!!!


Oh, I did something I've never done before the other day.  My friend, Tara, is a writer.  She writes children's books and is also a talented writer in the "spoken word" genre.  She invited me to come to a reading with her and I was like "heck, yes".  I've always wanted to go to something like this.  However, I am clearly not a writer (apart from this oh-so-riveting blog) so I felt weird about just going and listening to strangers reading their personal stuff when I had nothing to contribute.  So, when Tara invited me, I was so excited...both to hear her work and just for the experience in general.  It was so interesting.  There were only about 7 or 8 of us there, but it was a very eclectic group.  Each person's contribution was so unique.  I was blown away by the talent of these folks.  Very inspiring.

Well, that's all I have right now.

Until next time,
Brooke