March Wrap-Up

We are missing Matt while he works in Corpus Christi but with Rachel on my side we are doing much better than other away rotations.  My kids are pretty cute!

These two have so much fun together!

Joshua finished his workbook and is already plowing through another one.  We do activities too but he is so much like me.  We like structure and we just like workbooks.  He even puts check marks on each page after it is complete.  

We had a little St. Patty's Day fun.  The kids had a blast on our treasure hunt and since then want to have treasure hunts daily.

Green jello for the win!

More cuteness!

Royalty!  They both did their own cutting and were quite pleased with themselves!

In less than 5 hours my in-laws will be arriving so I know there will be a fun post to come soon of all of our adventures!

My Fear of Sharing the Fs

What makes up my day?  Where are my thoughts and efforts centered?  I have three major Fs in my life, my faith, my family, and my fitness.  There is never a question of will I make time for these three areas it is always a matter of when will I schedule it.  I do schedule it on my daily calendar based on the other demands of the day.  Since this is a major part of who I am then why is there fear? Why have I kept some of my fitness journey a secret and why is my faith not being shouted from the rooftops?

 Family is pretty easy for me.  I flood Facebook with pictures of my family; sometimes I am guilty of shielding Facebook from the reality.  My kids are not always perfect and we all have imperfections that may not make it on the timeline.  

Faith is the most important part of what makes me tick.  It defines my heart, my decision making, my ability to deal with trials, and the necessity of being humble through achievements.  I recognize that I have a loving Heavenly Father.  He hears and answers my prayers.  He gives me trials to strengthen me and he blesses me to achieve my accomplishments.  Faith as you can see is huge for me.  However, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints also known as the Mormons.  Beginning in High School I have very vivid memories of teachers and students mocking my religion and telling me I would be going to Hell for my beliefs.  I remember being at a Fellowship of Christian Athlete’s leadership conference and receiving their literature which clearly defined Mormons as members of a cult and not Christians.  I was devastated and embarrassed to be there.  These experiences continued throughout college.  I still lived my religion and never shied away from questions about my beliefs but I didn't necessarily go seeking them out either.  After graduation, I was teaching elementary school and became very close with some of my coworkers.  I had a coworker asking me questions one day and she told me that I seemed like I was defending myself and she hoped she hadn't offended me.  I realized then that my experiences had shaped me into being afraid and assuming that most people were attacking.  I have since changed and don’t assume that people are on the attack.  However, I still have moments of fear to share whether it is from fear of attack or fear of rejection to something I hold so dear to me. 

Finally, my last F is fitness.  This is the F that actually prompted me to write this entry.  I have struggled with my weight since I was old enough to care about being skinny.  I am almost 40 pounds lighter than I was in high school.  I am not entirely sure of the exact weight from those days.  I have known successes and many failures throughout this journey.  I began with P90 with my Dad on VHS while I was still in high school but guess what I quit.  I did most of it but never really changed the way we ate at home.  Then after my freshman year in high school something clicked and I knew it was time to make a change.  I ordered Slim in 6 from Beachbody and the transformation began.  I lost some weight and kept it off.  I did Slim in 6 again before I got married and lost some more weight.  Since then I have completed several other Beachbody programs always getting a little stronger and a little more fit.  So why wouldn't this be easy to share?  Well, there have been times in between those programs that I fell off the wagon after a while.  Sometimes I have failed due to my own weaknesses and sometimes I have failed due to health problems.  Along with infertility and those awful 6 months of treatment, I also have insulin issues and some other hormone mumbo jumbo that comes and goes.  This means that sometimes it seems that I am doing everything right but still not really seeing results.  I have been known to gain as much as 10 pounds in a week due to one of these imbalances.  I am also not a super model and sometimes I eat junk just because it is there.  This is where my fear of sharing this F comes.  What will people think if they know I am doing this program?  What if it doesn't work?  These things have kept me quiet unless asked directly.  I was looking at buying another Beachbody program to give myself a boost.   I had amazing results with PiYo but I had been using it for 6 months and was ready to mix it up.  After talking to a friend, she suggested I become a Beachbody coach.  I would get a discount and commission on things I sold and there is normally start- up cost but this would be waived for active duty military members.  I do LOVE saving money.   I thought about all the money that I had spent over the years on Beachbody.  I thought about how successful I had been on the programs.  I thought about how much private coaching I did with friends and family already.  I have learned a lot about food and fitness throughout my own journey.  In a moment totally unVanessa like I signed up as a coach.  Then I made my first brave entry on Facebook sharing the news.  I had a lot of people surprised and a lot of people congratulating me. 

This decision has changed me.  I am committed to living out loud; my faith, my family, and my fitness/food experiences are me.  I love my faith! I love my family!  I love working out!  These Fs all bring me joy and happiness.  I will try my best to not let fear keep me from sharing.  Who knows someone may be searching and want to join me.  I am so grateful for the Fs in my life and for the person I have become.  I don’t think the high school version of myself would believe that I just completed my second half marathon, love working out, and I am ready to share all of my Fs with anyone that wants to listen.

March Begins

 Church lately has consisted of wrestling with Nathan for the first 20 minutes or so and then out to the hallway.  We don't let him play and he is actually happy to sit out there and listen to the message through the speaker playing in the lobby.  However, this was his moment of escape.  You can tell from the blurry picture that he was of course in motion and quite pleased with himself.

Family scriptures and family prayer is a routine around here.  Nathan kept adjusting because he wanted to be like Matt and Joshua but if he put his knees down then he was too little.  It was pretty cute and after I snapped this picture I was a good girl and joined in.  :-)

This kid just loves life and who wouldn't if you could just eat a Popsicle and let it drip all over.  He's actually covering his mouth laughing.  Just a knew little thing he has started doing when he gets really tickled about something.

Matt is on an assignment to Corpus Christi for a month.  We decided to make it not seem so long by going with him the first week of his assignment.  The boys were thrilled to check out the new place.  

I quickly learned that exploring a new place with a very independent almost 2 year old isn't quite as I imagined.  Nathan spent most of the week hearing the word no.  I realized that he had to learn the rules for this place.  He knows the limits at home and can choose to obey or not.  However, in the hotel he was constantly messing with something.  We both thought we would lose our minds.  

The weather was not what we hoped which certainly didn't help.  It rained Monday and Tuesday.  The rain finally stopped and I thought a trip to the playground was in order; within 15 minutes Nathan was covered in these mosquito bites.  They don't bother him because he is the toughest kid I know but they look terrible and I of course felt like a horrible mother.  Sunscreen and bug spray all the time for this kid!

Matt forgot his hair clippers so it was to the hair salon for all three Turek men.

Nathan was adamant about this particular car.  I was glad the hair stylist was willing to accommodate.   I was hoping for his hair to be longer but it grows "fluffy" is the only way I can describe it.  Anyway, he is cute!

 Showing off his hair cut and smiling because we were talking about girls liking his new look.  Why does he already want to impress the ladies?!  He is 4!

 My good looking man back to military hair standards!

So, Matt had a day off while we were there and we wanted to enjoy the beach.  It was cloudy, windy, and cold.  I'm not trying to be whiny here but seriously!  Unfortunately, we dressed how we wanted it to feel outside and not how it actually was outside.  Thankfully for me this is a beach you can drive onto so I did a lot of supervising from the van.

The boys were happy to dig, build, and crash.

Nathan of course went through like 5 sippy cups.  He is ALWAYS well hydrated.  He dropped his cup in the sand and before I could wash it off he was back to sipping.

Having fun building!

Nathan spotted a bird!  I have had many close calls with this one leaving me behind as he tries to catch a bird!

We didn't last long but it seemed like it was enough to satisfy the beach trip.

The next two days were spent wandering the military base there and entertaining ourselves the best we could at the playground and stores.  It wasn't the best trip but we still like being together so the sacrifice was worth it.

Saturday morning we were up and out by 6:30 am to get back to San Antonio for Joshua's soccer game.  It was a beautiful day!  Joshua scored 3 goals and had a blast!  Nathan was happy to be back in a place where he could play and be free.  Matt and I were happy to have our babysitter back.  We saw Cinderella and I loved it!  Now, Matt is back to Corpus and we are all ready to hold down the fort here until he comes home for the weekend!  

February Photo Dump Part 2

These two amaze me daily.  Joshua and Nathan took off together to the church nursery.  

We have started soccer again.  Joshua was disappointed last season when he saw his purple uniform.  I couldn't believe his luck when the coach passed out green uniforms since that is Joshua's favorite color.  Joshua was happy but not really surprised.  He said that he had been wishing for it.  

  

In the fall season, Nathan wasn't walking yet so the challenge during practice was carrying him or keeping him in the stroller.  This time around it is keeping him off of the field!  There is a playground too but he wanted the soccer balls.  Here he is trying to figure out how to carry both at the same time.

Eating and getting messy as usual.  It is a good thing we got a fun package of bath toys from Nathan's birth family.  He lives in the tub!

Talking on the phone.

Wanting to be close to "Da"

He hasn't recovered from Dallas.  Matt is still his favorite parent and most requested person.

Yes, we have had weather this month where it is totally appropriate to dress this way!

We had a great time at a friend's birthday party.  I love this picture because Joshua isn't sitting down so the grass won't touch him.  He used to gag when he touched grass as a 1 year old.  

My handsome boys

A little creative dress up action.  Joshua created Roxy's chef out fit with a cloth bag and a turned around super hero cape.  

So, my husband and I try to be financially wise and haven't ever financed anything in our lives.  We began this with my engagement/wedding ring bought nearly 10 years ago.  Matt bought me a small set and has been begging me to upgrade since anniversary number 5.  I agreed for an upgrade at our 10 year anniversary but with graduation from residency happening at year 9 I agreed to an early splurge.  He gave me a gift when he graduated from medical school too.  (I know I am spoiled/lucky/blessed.)  Matt did a lot of research and ordered this beautiful center diamond from a certified dealer online (saving thousands).  Then he took it to a jeweler and my old center diamond was replaced.  I was so happy because I still have my original ring that was picked out with love a few years back!

 Post meal play thus the naked Nathan.  Joshua is focused on his creation thus the tongue out.

Driving his new cars around!

So, the pictures above of the birthday party we enjoyed temps of 78!  Below were the temps for the following Saturday when Matt and I had a half marathon to run.  This was the Missions half marathon so we ran through and around the four missions.  I thought this would be a neat race to do as we prepare to exit San Antonio.  

We were so cold but thankfully the rain mostly held off until I crossed the finish line.  Matt didn't train this round but still managed to finish before me (natural runner and mentally strong).  I did train daily minus my small break from an injury about two weeks ago.  I splashed through puddles, ran downstairs (who puts stairs in a race), ran over wooden bridges and enjoyed myself.  I finished at 1:47:33.  I am happy with my time but determined to keep going and hopefully hit  my goal someday of under/at 1:45.  My pace was right on for a 1:44 finish with my splits being all 7:30 to 7:50 but something happens to me at miles 11/12.  Next time....

Happy February!  Now, on to March and all that it will bring for our family.