then and now

Then

Now

ziplining in north carolina

One of the things Julianna wanted to do for her birthday was go ziplining or to a ropes course. It was still a little cold around her birthday at the end of March so over Memorial Day weekend we went ziplining.  We took both kids. We bought a Groupon for Beanstalk Journey in Morganton, NC. It was only $59 for two so about $120 for all four of us. We called and scheduled an appointment for a Sunday morning at 10 am. It was a gorgeous day and we had a blast.

We started on the simple ropes course. There was a hanging bridge (that Josh's feet couldn't even reach when he was tethered to the line so he went tandem with Jonathan to push him along from behind). There was a V-shaped net to climb and the guides issued challenges like try walking with your feet up high on the sides. It was a fun way to get acclimated to the height and harness.

Josh was hilarious. As we were sometimes waiting for the person on the other side of the line to disconnect, one of the tour guides would take Josh's harness and swing him out over the ground and off the platform we were standing on. Josh would just hang there with no expression with his arms drooped down like he had no care in the world. It was so funny to see his crazy amount of courage too. He would sit on the edge of the platforms without hesitation. Sometimes we were fifty or sixty feet in the air.

Julianna had a great time too but occasionally she would be a bit of a drama queen and say things like, "Oh no!" and "Here we go!" in total dramatic fashion. She was so brave though. One girl we were with was obviously frightened but did it all anyway. I think everyone enjoyed it and although I'm not sure that one little girl would go back, I know we would.  In fact, Josh has already asked when we can return and Jules keeps asking questions about how much it cost like she's interested in saving up to go again.


Here's one of my favorite pictures of Julianna with her arms spread wide. I didn't get any pictures of this but on one of the ziplines we were given beanbags to toss down at a cornhole board as we went zipping by. It was so much fun.

Love my family and loved sharing this experience with them. I'd highly recommend Beanstalk Journey!

Have you even been on a ropes course? Ziplining? Would you go?

Overheard

"Dad, what happens to the clouds at night?"

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"Dad, there are plants in this Biology book! Hahahaha isn't that funny?!"
"Jules, that's because Biology is the study of living things."
"It is?"
"Yep, it is."
"Ohhhhhhhhh"

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Jonathan on the results of our recent Bath and Body Works shopping trip:
"It smells like a pina colada in here."

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The kids were having a conversation about how to make a baby and Jules told Josh that the girl has to have an egg. Josh's response: "But I wanted to hatch an egg."

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And this one's my favorite... sort of reminds me of the time Julianna blamed her mess on the Pilot Paula Fischer Price Little People figure....

"Jane, who got the marbles out?"
"Josh did it."

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reasons you should never marry a runner

My husband is a saint. When I started this running gig 3.5 years ago I never imagined that it would stick. I never imagined that I would run countless half marathons, 25k's, 30k's, and a few marathons. I never signed my husband up for all that either, but somehow we did it. This weekend he put in 24 hours of running/camping/running with me and thirteen other people. It's not something he would have signed up for on his own and I'm so thankful he came with me. We did a 24 hour relay called Black Mountain Monster and between ten people we ran almost 140 miles and came in second place in the 24 hour team division. I thought it was a lot of fun and I don't know what my husband would say but in honor of him tagging along with me I thought today I would give you my top reasons why you should never marry a runner.

Reasons Why You Should Never Marry a Runner

• They might consider pet and/or baby names based on where they ran their first marathon. Doesn't Raleigh sound like a cute little kitty (and/or little girl) name?

• They're too competitive, sometimes just with themselves and unfortunately sometimes in the plank challenge you do together. Right, booger?

• They can't drink or eat at strange places on Friday nights. Good thing my husband likes Jersey Mike's! We eat it every Friday night during marathon training.

• During peak training season they always go to bed early. Friday after work: "Goodnight, babe! See you Saturday afternoon!"

• You have to listen to them talk about poop entirely too much. This picture is one Jonathan actually saw on Instagram and tagged me in it.

• You'll do a lot of babysitting. I mean A LOT. I ran over 255 hours in 2014 and during that time my kids were either with my mom or my husband. That's a whole lot of Go Fish, folks.

• You'll feel a little bit guilty if you don't spend an occasional weekend morning standing on the side of the road holding a ridiculous sign.

• You'll have to research running routes and hotel gyms before every trip together. Like when we went to Mexico and I made Jonathan run ten miles on a treadmill.

• You'll have no other choice than putting up with their moods when they're injured or otherwise missing a run. When Jonathan looks at me and solemnly says, "You need to go for a run," that's when I know I must be in some kind of mood.

• They obsessively check the weather forecast on Fridays.

And the number one reason why you should never marry a runner is because

• they'll try to convert you and you'll find yourself signing up for 24 hour relays where you get no sleep, run twelve and a half miles or so, have to smell each other's tired and stinky feet, pack up a whole car load of stuff, drive two hours, feel like you're running through a scene of The Blair Witch Project, lay on the ground with ear plugs so you don't hear the crazy people talking and the trains going by, and then get up to go to work the next day.

And then they'll want you to do it again next year.

Anything you want to add? (Anyone except my husband may answer. Ha!)

dealing with depression and anxiety [part 3]

Alternate title: meme overload

This is the third and final part in a series of posts I've written on depression and anxiety. Part 1 from last week is here and Part 2 was published earlier in the week and can be found here. I'd love to have your input either in the comments or via email.

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I don't know everything. Not even close. I just want to talk about my experiences. The only things I really know about depression and anxiety I've had to figure out on my own. Since no one really talks about this like it's ordinary mental health, it's hard to share it with people without feeling like you're begging for attention or without feeling judged.

I first recognized I had some anxiety and depression issues outside of normalcy when I had a 4 month old baby. I had a really, really hard time adjusting to being at home all day putting someone else's needs above my own literally 24 hours a day (86,400 seconds).

My sister was in graduate school and lived with us during that time. My husband, mom and sister were a terrific support system for me with a newborn baby. They knew I was depressed before I knew. They cried with me, listened and talked with me.

As a first time mom with breastfeeding issues weighing me down, I was going crazy from the sleep deprivation, alienation from my ordinary life, and adjustment to all of the demands of caring for a child. I cried daily. I counted the hours until Jonathan came home from work. I hardly took care of myself.

After Julianna was about 5 or 6 months old things finally started getting better. I would say I was back to my normal self by the time she was 9 months.

I struggled for a little bit with trying to find a balance between being a mom and working or staying at home. I decided staying at home wasn't right for me and began looking for a teaching job again. I went through a sad time when I couldn't find the right job.

When we began planning on having another baby I became really anxious about dealing with PPD again. I was proactive enough to talk with my doctor and get on antidepressants when I became pregnant. When Josh was born I had a much, much, much easier time. Second baby, sure, but the meds helped too.  I felt ready to get off of them before he reached six months.

I got a full time teaching job before Josh was a year old.  I've dealt with parenting and working full-time over the last five years pretty well I would say. I've managed most of my emotions and stress with running. I haven't been on antidepressants at all. I've definitely had the usual roller-coaster periods but never been as sad as I was the past couple of weeks.

All of this being said, I would like to share the few things that have helped me.

Here are my tips for dealing with depression and anxiety for what they're worth:

1. Let your closest friends and family know that you're feeling down.

2. Make sure to get outside, sunshine or not, every day.

3. Make yourself run or do whatever other kind of exercise you typically like to participate in even though you don't feel like it.

4. Make a point to eat nutritious foods.

5. Read the Bible and think about what God has done for you.

6. Take a shower and get dressed in something other than sweatpants. Wear make-up and comb your hair.

7. Take a picture of something you're thankful for every day. Then flip back through them before you do to sleep.

8. Do all of these things even when you don't want to. Believe me: you're not going to want to but do them anyway.

9. Think about doing something kind for someone else. If you feel up to it then do it, but if not at least write it down so that you'll remember to do it later.

10. Make a conscious effort to rephrase what you say so that it sounds confident and positive. This is a hard one.

Leave a comment with the last thing you did but add "Like a Boss" to the end of it.

Any tips you want to add?