My Valentine

He claimed to be a Super Hero.  It's true, that was his "profession" when I first saw his profile on the dating website 6 years ago.  I found out that what he really did for a living was somewhat less noble, but still qualified for superhero status on many accounts.  You see, he made buckets for ice cream.  In my book - anyone that helps ice cream has a supreme status.

We met for the first time at a coffee shop in my home town.  We sat under the moon and sipped a bit of brew.  He was wonderful, we had such a great time over coffee that we decided to take a walk.  We walked from the coffee shop to the dam pond (where months later he proposed to me).  There was still a little time to kill before I had to go to work, so we went to lunch at a nearby Chinese buffet.

Coffee, hiking, and Chinese food were marks of our short dating relationship.  We were engaged after 4 months and married 3 months later.  It's true, we moved quickly.  I guess, sometimes you just know it is right.

Today we have 3 beautiful boys and he is still a super hero.  He does not make ice cream buckets anymore, instead he helps turn books into ebook formats.  He helps care for our children.  When things are tough, he helps care for me.  He has learned to fix a variety of household troubles.  Randy is helping the boys learn how to live honorably as gentlemen who follow God's prompting.

I am so glad to be married to Randy.  I am truly a blessed woman.

Photo by Manasseh Crum

Happy Valentine's Day.

Chilly Chili Run #mamavation

I did it!  

Well, kind of...

I have been working on the Couch to 5K training program, and honestly I've been stuck on week 1.  It is hard for me to really get much beyond that while I'm stuck trying to do it inside.  Also, I just feel old, overweight, and out of breath so much of the time.  Still, I am pushing myself at home and at the gym to at least get okay with the first week of this program (it's been at least a month of week 1).

This weekend, Mr. Crum and I put on our running shoes and sweats and headed to a neighboring city for their first ever "Chilly Chili Run".  It was not officially a 5k, it was closer to 3.5 miles - good enough, right?  I loved it that we did this together.  He was kind enough to stick with me on the icy/muddy trails for the entire thing.  We loved our adventure through the state park together!

We started out at a jog.  That lasted a minute or two - the real actual ground hurts my legs a WHOLE LOT more than the treadmill or the trampoline.  I'll keep working on that.  We walked at a brisk pace for the rest of the "run".  Then we enjoyed a bowl of chili and a corn muffin together before heading to pick up our boys.

My thoughts about it?  I had a great time.  I wish I had the stamina to actually RUN in this event.  Maybe it was the cold weather (after all, it is February in northern Indiana); maybe it was my need for more conditioning.  I don't feel bad about the fact that we did not run.  I will continue to work on it.  I am already making plans for a women's run this fall with my sister and mother.  (We maybe haven't told my mom that she's planning to run a 5k with us yet).

We are getting fitter and continue to work toward health goals.

What new things have you tried this week to point you in the direction of better health?  What tips do you have for new runners?  I never thought I would WANT to run - that's another story though.

Date Night

Life with my boys is amazing.  We live and breathe adventure.  We play together, eat together, sleep together.  It is great being a family.

Sometimes, however, mom and dad need a break.  Sometimes we need to get away and go on a date.  It is SO hard to get away, even for a few hours.  As we're heading into the new year, I am working on some plans - maybe resolutions - I want to date Mr. Crum.

We don't have much money to pay babysitters or to spend on incredibly amazing dates.  I've decided that over the next year I want to try to date my husband once a week.  I'm not sure yet how that will work out - we will have to be better about seeking child care.  As we work on sharing "alone" time together (it will be a while before we're out without Baby), I plan to share some of our date night adventures.  I enjoy looking at other people's ideas for dates, so why not share ours, right?

I hope that some of our dates will be an inspiration to others, give great ideas for a cheap night out or a fun couples activity.  So here is our first date night post.

This week we went geocaching.  It was cold out and we only looked for one cache.  We didn't find it, but enjoyed a walk in a nice local park that we had never explored.  This giant Christmas tree was just inside the park entrance.

We followed this up by a trip to the thrift store.  I love this store, 2 floors of stuff.  I love looking at all the gadgets and appliances and books... lots of books.  We don't go often because you can't take a shopping cart upstairs and that is where the breakable things are.. and we have a 1 year old and a 3 year old... 

Loverboy (aka Mr. Crum) and I explored the shop, found some things that were on our mental want lists (still not a used Scrabble game).  

Loverboy and I debated about where to go for dinner.  We wanted to go somewhere that we can't take the kids.  Eventually we settled on Flat Top Grill.  WOW!  It's a little more expensive than I had planned for the night, but it was AMAZING.  We hope to go back there again.  One of the best things - it fits into our new dietary lifestyle!

After dinner we checked in with Grandma - who was babysitting.  We were running late and she was tired.  She confessed that she tried to take a nap on Monkey's bed while the boys were playing.  Unfortunately for her, Monkey told her she had to wake up because mommy said she had to play with him.

Great date!