Happy 100th Etsy Sale!

I just wanted to take a minute to thank all my customers for all their support as I hit my 100th Etsy sale today!

I've been slowly adding items to my Etsy shop over the past year and currently offer ten projects ranging from nursery wall art to deployment countdowns to anniversary gifts. Be sure to swing by the shop as many of these items make great gifts for expecting parents and grandparents! Custom orders are also always available.

Thanks again for all your support!

Pregnancy Countdown Poster Baby Predictions + Wishes	Pregnancy Countdown Chain Birth Vitals Poster
Monogrammed Vitals Poster (Girl)	Monogrammed Vitals Poster (Boy)
Special Date Longitude + Latitude	Special Events Date Poster
School Memories Scrapbook Kit	Deployment Countdown Chain

GR Eat Dirt Mud Run: Team Woof Pack

I hate running. I have anxiety attacks thinking about running. I'd rather slam my head into a brick wall than run. So why did I sign up for the Mud Run 5K, you might ask? 

Not sure.

I'm blaming my sister, but deep down I knew I needed some sort of incentive to get my ass in shape. (Apparently a closet full of clothes that still don't fit my post-baby body wasn't torture enough.) So for the past couple months, I've been conquering the Couch to 5K program. Although I didn't have enough time to finish the entire program before the race, I thought I was at least going to be able to live through it.

The Eat Dirt Mud Run took place yesterday in Grand Rapids and we were signed up for the 11:00 heat. Our team consisted of myself, my sister, future brother-in-law, cousin and three mutual friends/former classmates. My cousin bailed on us last minute due to a migraine, but we're still going to pretend we're all mad at him, ok?

Our team name… Woof Pack. Awesome, right?

Us girls made shirts for everyone so we all looked super awesome in our custom, neon shirts and pink zebra print bandanas. To showcase my excitement for the race, I put "EFF RUNNING" on the back of my shirt. Because profanity was enough to get you booted from the course, just in case someone would question my shirt, "EFF" stood for "Everyone Finishes First" and we were a group running for a children's charity. ;)

As a first time Mud Run participant and someone who hasn't run a 5K since 2002, there were a few things I learned the hard way: 

• Being able to run 3 miles doesn't mean shit when there are obstacles thrown in there. 
• Mud makes your shoes weigh an extra 10 pounds.
• Cotton, drawstring shorts are the worse clothing choice you can make because after the first waist-deep mud pit you go through, those shorts now weigh a million pounds and no longer care about covering your buns. (Thank God I wore my vball spandex underneath because I dropped my drawers after the first mile and wore them around my neck the rest of the race.)

Overall, minus the fact that I was certain death was lurking behind each obstacle, I was glad I did it and had fun doing it with the group. I sacrificed myself for the good of the team and took up the caboose. I finished with a time of 00:36:24 and 1033rd overall. Since Ashley's bib number was #2497, I'm assuming that's how many total participants there were.

Plus you got chocolate milk after the race and who doesn't like chocolate milk?! 

Mobile Machine

Remember those sweet, tender moments when babies used to just lay there and coo and stare at you? Yeah, I don't either. I think that stage lasts 4-7 days. My Lil Man said the hell with sitting around looking all adorable and decided to start exploring... everywhere and everything.

Brody learned to crawl and pull himself up about a week ago. Sure, he used to move around fairly quickly using his "rock and flop" method, but holy cow. It just amazes me how babies can go from completely immobile to all over the place within like a day.

Mama Z also dug out a ton of toys that Ashley and I grew up with. Brody loves the busy box and this Mickey activity bar thingamajig. I don't know who likes playing with those toys more, me or him. Probably me.

Last weekend, Mama Z, Brody and I went to the Ross Park Art Fair. Decided to bring the baby carrier instead of the stroller. After several minutes of Lil Man kicking my ass (literally), I swung him around and carried the tank facing outward... he sure does love to people watch like his grandpa.

Ashley, her friend Emily and I spent yesterday evening making tshirts for the GR Mud Run this upcoming Saturday. Brody was a good sport and tried out our bandanas while cruising around in his new walker from Aunt Ashley and Grandma Z. 

And of course, the fur children. They're so adorable. Miss Zora and Zayla are such BFFs now (most of the time).

Mackinac Island -- Brody's 1st Vacation

Beautiful weather, idiots on bicycles and the aroma of fudge and horse poop in the air... ahhh, gotta love those Mackinac vacations. The family and I met up with Ashley and Adam in Mackinaw City last Friday afternoon. (Read all about their super romantic engagement here!) We checked into our hotel and spent the rest of the evening strolling around the city shopping and getting a bite to eat. Lil Man did extremely well, as usual.

Saturday, although a bit windy, the weather was perfect. After Brody's morning nap, we hopped on the ferry. My sister's BFF Kelly works on the island for the summer, so we all met up with her for lunch and she took us on a tour of the lesser known areas of the island.

We tried at one point to lay Brody down for a nap in the park since every time he dozed off in the bike seat, we had to stop for some reason or another. Yeah, that wasn't happening. So our only option was for me to strap Brody back in the bike seat and never. stop. pedaling. Mom and Ash shopped while Dad and Adam joined me on another loop around the island while Brody napped.

I'm super thankful that we were only HALFWAY through our day before we realized that Brody's bike seat was causing my breaks to clamp part of the way down. I mean, I know I'm out of shape and had an extra 30 pounds or so strapped to the back of my bike, but holy crap. My knees were completely shot by 5:00.

Other island activities included our traditional tree branch and "butt tree" photo ops and, of course, ice cream. High five for Chocolate Peanut Butter Mackinac Island Fudge! Mom and Ashley also got to meet Jiff the Pomeranian, Internet star! I'm slightly jealous.

After we said goodbye to the island and rested up at the hotel, we headed back out for some last minute shopping and dinner. Such a wonderful getaway with the family and I'm so proud of how well Lil Man did in the car, the bike seat and sleeping/napping in the hotel where there were so many distractions. Can't wait for future vacations with the Lil Tank!