April 23, 2015 by Stephanie

Through the Thick and Thin

Tom and I have been through some rough stuff. We have been separated by long distance more times than I would like to count. We have endured a deployment. We both have suffered pitfalls with our careers.

But honestly all that paled in comparison to the last four months of our lives.

Tom started in the Police Academy in January and just graduated this past week. It required a lot of long days of prep work and studying, and many nights away from the family even though he left at the crack of dawn.

These past few months have been hands down the hardest of our relationship. Granted we both started a new job, we have a new baby who changes daily, and two dogs who really are the ones who run the house. Never mind we also moved right before he began, and we are still not fully unpacked. So it really wasn’t all the academy’s fault, but I am just going to go ahead and place a lot of the stress on that experience. Needless to say we have been on edge for the past few months.

I plan to go more in depth on what exactly Tom had to go through as far as the classroom experience here in a few weeks. I just wanted to document the end of this experience.

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Tom had his first shifts actually in a patrol car this week, and I can already tell the difference in his demeanor. It’s all official now.

I have never been so proud and honored to be by his side as he starts a career he is truly passionate about. This job is one he has been talking about for the last decade. It was just amazing to finally see him cross that stage and be able to be the one to pin that badge on him. It is a day we have anxiously been waiting for for so very long.

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There have been times that I have not always liked this career and begrudgingly went along with the plans. I didn’t want to deal with the schedule or the danger if I am to be honest. There is a huge impact on what this will mean for our family. It means that there are holidays that will be missed or needing to be rearranged. It means that there may be weeks where we only see each other sleeping. In means that ordinary day stuff like George learning how to splash in the bath tub will be missed. It means I will wonder every day if Tom will come home safely.

But I have had to step back and see things through Tom’s eyes. This job means so much to him. The way he talks about his community and how he wants to protect it, you can just see the excitement and sincerity brimming from his eyes. This is what he was meant to do while we are here. We only go through this life once, and we should answer the call we have been given. And for Tom that is to be a cop.

It’s not like I didn’t know what I was getting into after that first date, so I really should remember the bigger picture here.

In the heat of the moment, I tend to gripe and complain (a post coming soon about this), and I take a really negative view on how it is impacting me. (Which is pretty selfish of me as a wife and teammate.)

There was a quote in my devotional this week that really struck me. “I so desperately do not want to get to the end of my life to find I’ve missed having an eternal impact because I made all of life’s decisions based solely on what made sense for me and what was for my benefit–unwilling to yield myself to the Lord.” (Kelly Minter)

Watching Tom last Friday made everything click for me. When he left that auditorium on Friday as a uniformed police officer, I could just see all the weight of the last few years fall off him. All that we had been there was finally worth it. This isn’t for him, and this isn’t for me. This is for something greater than us. We have an amazing opportunity to do the things we love surrounded by the people we love.

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The reality is that both of us are living out our dreams. Finally.

Not every couple is so lucky, and it has taken us a long time to get here ourselves.

All the arguments, the sleepless nights, and the worry all seemed to melt away. We were in the place we are meant to be. Right by each others side.

We made a promise almost 4 years ago to support each other and be there for one another no matter what.

So while these last few months have royally sucked, it has shown us a lot. We can get through all the muck.

He is the only person I want to do life with.

And I will always cherish that I got to be a part of this day and journey for Tom.

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George apparently is over all of it and just wants lunch.

April 21, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit for Me 16/52

What I did last week:

Wednesday-20 minutes of Ab stuff.

Thursday-I did an at-home workout for my legs. I held George while I did 5 sets of squats, lunges, and calf raises.

Saturday-1 hour of BodyPump. I got through every song except triceps and shoulders (no surprise there). Triceps I am usually good at, but I tried to up my weight to soon. Note taken body.

Sunday-This day was interesting workout wise. I set out early in the morning to walk the dogs, but it started pouring so we circled the block and maybe completed a quarter of a mile. It looked like it was going to rain all day so I planned to do two rounds of stairs for 10 minutes. I completed my first set during George’s first nap. Then the weather cleared up so I figured I would take the dogs out again. We ended up doing around 30 minutes of walking. My calves still hurt from those stairs though.

Tuesday-30 minutes on a treadmill. I did the trail workout, which is basically a hill workout but it randomly changes for you.

Impressed by:

Attempting my workout in so many ways on Sunday. You really do have to make the time.

Struggled with:

I forgot to work out on Monday which is usually a short ab day. I was too excited about looking at kid’s book for a book party I was part of on Facebook. So I struggled with that distraction and also not buying all the books. (I didn’t buy all the books, but I wanted to!)

Did I meet my goal from last week?

I did meet my goal. I actually really liked the preset workout on the treadmill. I wasn’t able to run all of it because I thought I would fall of the treadmill at an incline any higher than a 5, but it was still a great workout. It was nice to just let the incline change randomly instead of having to worry about changing it myself.

What is my goal for next week?

I want to add planks to my ab workouts. Ugh I always feel like a wimp at BodyPump because I wobble like crazy even just on my knees. I want to get better at this.

Fitness Thoughts:

I know I talked about treadmills last week, but does anyone else look at the person next to them to see how they measure up on a treadmill. I hate when someone gets on the machine next to me because I feel like I am in competition with them. I rarely win though…

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image via

Advice on adding planks to my regiment? How do you find time when you workout plans go sour?

April 20, 2015 by Stephanie

Discover New Favorites Box

I did receive these products complimentary for the review from Influenster, and these thoughts are my own.

I am always excited to get products from Influenster, but it is even better when they are products that you actually will use and continue buying.

The Dove Go Fresh Body Wash is a brand I have been using for the last year. However, I have never bought this scent. I have never really been drawn to buy scents that are orangey. Something about that scent turns me off. So I have always bought this body wash in a different scent. I really do love the actual brand. It lathers up nicely, and I am one that judges my soap on the amount of suds produced. It also feels pretty silky on your skin. I used this all during my pregnancy, and I feel that it helped keep my skin moisturized. As for this scent, Tom says it smells good, so maybe I shouldn’t stay away from the citrus smells.

I really wish I would have gotten this box earlier in the winter to really test out the Vaseline Intensive Care lotion. I get ridiculously dry hands in the winter months, so bad in fact that they crack and bleed. I have not been able to find a lotion that helps completely. So I am interested to see if this “healing serum” would do the trick. With trying it now, I would still recommend this lotion. I have to wash my hands a lot with a baby and two dogs, and this is helpful to keep them moisturized even though the dry winter has left us. You can tell that it has vaseline in it though. It is a little thick when you first put it on, but it does soak into your skin within a few minutes. Again, I am anxious to try this 10x deep healing power in the winter time.

These were two great products for me to get, and I recommend them both for continued purchase!

If you are interested in getting an Influenster box (you don’t have to be a blogger), just let me know, and I can send you an invite. They are a fun surprise! The community is also really easy to navigate. The more you interact, the more they will be able to find boxes that fit your style and needs. It is really versatile, and you can use it a lot or hardly at all. I have really enjoyed it so far!

Have you tried these products? Do you get dry winter skin too?

April 16, 2015 by Stephanie

I Must Confess

In an effort to show the realness of my life and let others share in my not-so-perfectness, there are just a few things I must confess.

I must confess that I buy XL Kids jackets and fleeces from Northface. I can get fleeces for half the price by buying in the kid’s section. And props that there is a place designated for me to write my name inside the jacket–in case I loose it before recess.

I must confess that I still wear the pregnancy belly band when I wear a certain pair of dress pants. (George is almost 8 months old.) I really should just buy a new pair of pants that fit. All the rest have transferred well to my post-pregnancy hips, but just this last pair is being stubborn and refusing to button. And I refuse to buy a new pair at this point because everything else about these pants are perfect (pocket placement and size, leg width, etc.), and I hate having to look for a new pair that fits all my specifications. Anyone with me?

I must confess that I have TWO food drawers at work. I am seriously hungry all the time. There is a little bit of healthy like nuts and granola, but a whole lot of not healthy like donuts and airheads. Maybe this is why that black pair of pants eludes me and not my birthing hips…

I must confess that when I wear a skirt or a dress it is pretty much a guarantee at this stage of my momhood that I am going to flash someone with my undies. George doesn’t wait for ladylike behavior.

I must confess that I have a five minute video of George staring at me because I was convinced that he was going to start crawling. He didn’t.

But I do have this gem.

I must confess that some nights I let Grace or Crosby help “clean” (lick) George after he eats because it suppresses the meltdown that ensues when I try to wipe his face with a baby wipe and signal that meal time is over. So instead of screaming at me, he is laughing at the dogs. Judge away if you must, but everyone in our house is happy. You may think #momfail but I think #momwin.

I must confess that our kitchen looks like this 6 days out of the week. Ok I must confess, it looks like this every day of the week. It only gets clean when we know people are coming over.

But my office looks like this every day of the week. And no I didn’t straighten this up, I promise. I clean up after every appointment, and this was right before I headed out one day. Everything has it’s place and stays in it’s place. I don’t like students coming into my clutter.

I am not really sure why we can’t keep a handle on things cleaning wise at home. I am in constant shock on how fast dishes, clothes, and mail pile up in places. I digress though. I would much rather sit on the floor (which probably needs to be vacuumed) playing with my kid or catch up on Ellen than spend an hour cleaning every day. But just know that if you make a surprise visit, my house will not be clean, and I will be mortified.

What are your confessions? How do you keep your house clean? (It’s by magic isn’t it?)

April 14, 2015 by Stephanie

What Do You Want To Know?

I have pondered doing a Q&A post for a while now, but I have always chickened out scared that no one would actually ask any questions.

Awkward.

But I am in a lull with getting some quality posts out (#workingmomprobs), so I figured this was as good a time as ever.

If you have any questions for me or for Tom (or for George), feel free to ask them! I try to be fairly transparent here on the blog, so ask away.

So what would you like to know?

Questions about working in Higher Education, being a new mom, being married to a cop, the dogs, blogging, crafts, my love for the Royals, to how I take my coffee are all fair game. If you need any Netflix recommendations, I can answer that too!