Survive and Thrive a Spartan Race

Yesterday I took my first step in becoming a spartan. Even with all the research and YouTube videos I still didn't feel it had prepared me enough but I survived  and woke up this morning feeling amazing. (Mainly because to my surprise I wasn't aching from the race) 

So of course I have to blog about the race I mean, come on I earned some bragging rights, right? 

So since I researched and read so many other blogs I wanted to give some tips that I hadn't seen. Maybe because each race is different, but it's better to prepared for anything right?

•Go with a Group 

When I saw the Spartan race was headed to our parts I was so excited and called my husband at work and told him we had to do it. Still new to the area I didn't know if we could get a group together but we did! And talk about a bonding experience I love our before and after pictures. 

It was so awesome having met some of the group only once before, now I know it's possible to find people just as crazy as us. 

•Arrive Early 

We arrived about an hour and half early and because of the next tip I would say arrive about 2 hours earlier. By the time you get your packet and ect the time goes by super fast and before you know it you are jumping over a wall preparing for an amazing race. 

•Parking 

Once we arrived we parked at the first parking lot we could find. As we walked to the race there where people charging half the price to let people park in their yards and not to mention they where closer to the race than where we parked.  So if you can, drive around and see if there is cheaper parking maybe you'll even get closer to the race. 

•Packet 

In the packet you are given a timer for the race. I hate having things on my wrists so instead of tying it to my wrist, I tied it in my shoelace. Worked like a charm. 

•Bring extra cash 

Unless we don't know how to read we couldn't find on the Spartan website if baggage claim had a fee so only one of us had some cash on him. When we went to baggage claim they told us the fee was 5 dollars per bag. Thank God Mac had cash because we would have missed our race otherwise! 

•Research 

Joe made so much fun of me for doing lots of research and youtube techniques for different obstacles but when it came to do those obstacles especially the spear throw I had better form. Still didn't make it due to twisting my body to far to the left. But it was so close! And not to mention I threw it better than Joe :) 

•Be a good Spartan

If you are going to walk through parts which I think at some point we all needed  a breather, be courteous and move over for those still running or move off the path so you don't mess up someone's pace. 

And when someone moves over for you thank them. Let's all be good Spartans. 

•Encourage 

There where so many hills! I fell behind the group and wanted to walk so bad feeling all my energy leave my being. Someone behind me saw my struggle and encouraged me not to put my head down. She helped me get up that horrible hill and back to my group. That stranger was my strength when I needed it most. Thank you! 

•Use your flirting skills 

Joe don't read this one! Haha. 

The trail came to a fork you could either go up a hill which everyone could see was a killer or go down a trail of unknowns. Majority of everyone went up. But not my group! Some of us circled the volunteer who looked scared to death by the muddy creatures we became. I tried my flirting skills and even though he didn't say much his body language seemed to say the other way may be more fun. But he probably just wanted our drenching in chicken poop and mud bodies to take a bath. And a bath we gladly took as we ran through the freezing creek. 

•Enjoy that free beer

Enjoy that beer because the next one will cost an arm and a leg if you dare! 

• Appearal 

I was glad to take the advise of another blogger wearing tight fitting clothes and less is best for this race! Make sure your shoes are tight and triple knotted. 

I am proud to say that this race challenaged me both mentally and physically and like a Spartan I grabbed that challenage and tossed it to the side. The sprint was a great place to start and now I am just as nervous as I was a week ago before this race now as we prepare to run the beast. Skipping the super may not be the best idea but when married to a marine you learn to go hard or go home. 

So go hard , survive and thrive in the Spartan Race!

-kristina 

 

Building Good Habits

Disclaimer: I am not nor have I ever been a child psychologist this is solely based on our experience with a strong willed child and this a consent learning experience for us as I learn how understand her and she learning how to use her independence. 

Before we became parents I remember seeing kids running around doctor offices or screaming at grocery stores and I think we can all say we thought we would never let that happen. She would learn to be a little adult and listen right away. Ha! That was a nice dream. 

I guess when I pictured having kids that they would be just like I was and I knew what type of discipline worked with me and what type of encouragement worked and that's how I would parent. 

But reality hit and I learned very quickly that even though she has a lot of the same traits as I do she is much much different than I am. 

Growing up I was a pleaser and could not stand getting in trouble and would do whatever to make sure I didn't get in trouble. Emma on the other is very strong willed basically complete opposite of me. 

I have stood my ground I follow through with discipline and yet we still but heads. 

Before our last move while my husband was away training I had made chart for Emma where she received a sticker every time she was good. I knew that while her dad was away she tends to act up more which is normal for military kids and trying to make a positive poster for her to show her dad when he comes home helped so much. 

Then we moved and things have been hectic and I simply hadn't put up a new poster for her. 

The past four months Emma has acted out her emotions. We have seen setbacks which I was prepared to see as in no interest in potty training anymore and acting out towards other kids and ect. But at some point we have to get back on track, getting back into a routine and schedule is very important for children especially for strong willed children.

It is amazing how bringing this back has changed her attitude! 

Being a strong willed child; time outs, spanking and any other discipline doesn't work with her. She has to make her own choices and to her it doesn't matter the cost. So now having a chart she feels she is in control of something besides making mom go crazy and this is something she can see. 

The chart will constantly change as I see fit. Right now here are things we need to work on and once these become habits we will change the chart. 

Listening 

She is easily distracted so getting a sticker for coming right away when called or doing something without being asked more than once gets a sticker. 

Using words 

Being that most of the time it's just the two of us we can have our own language but I encourage her to talk to me using her words, telling me what she wants or needs instead of acting out and throwing a fit. 

Sharing 

Since moving sharing has become very difficult for her understandably but it's one we work on to share right away. 

Good in public 

I go help my husband train kids for usmc boot camp and since daddy is still working it is important for Emma to be on her best behavior some days it's hard though being two. 

Polite 

Asking nicely for things saying please, thank you, answering people when being talked to, responding back when asked name, ect.

Asking for help 

Emma is very independent and sometimes one just needs help, but for her asking for help is not an option. This isn't a bad thing at all and I am my trying to take her Independence away I am trying to polish her in a way. When she is working on something sometimes she needs help and asking for it is just as important. Especially when she is trying to pour a gallon of orange juice! 

Being helpful 

Like I said I want Emma to be independent it's a great trait to have. 

Anytime she is able to do something on her own or help mommy do chores. 

I have learned that for Emma, she responds better to positive discipline than negative. She responds to the chart and it becomes a snow ball effect into wanting to be good to show daddy at the end of the day of all the good things she did and then these things become habits and we move on to other habits we need to work on. Each child is different and I am learning how this child speaks her love language. I love the change of attitude I see now and will make sure to not stop doing the chart for awhile. It also has helped Emma want to start potty training again which using the chart helped her learn how exciting it is to put stickers on the chart which lead up to a bigger surprise after keeping it up. Its our way of graduating that step and moving on to the next step. Using the same method truly has helped and I found Emma (most the time) now eager to get back on the potty.

It may seem as if I am bribing my child to be good and she should just be good because she should know better. But how does she learn to know better? She learns from being told no when acting up and being praised when she is being good. This is how I praise her and so far from the last time I did the chart, these things do become habit and once they do we no longer make that a big deal and move on to new things. 

This is what works for her and I am happy that our days are becoming more good days than bad days where we are having more fun learning together. 

I would love feedback, so any ideas you have or thoughts I would love to hear them!

-kristina 

Hey You, Why Are You Such A Procrastinator?

Okay.  My birthday was 26 days ago. 

So, 26 days ago, I was going to make a blog entry. 

Let's call this entry "Fashionably Late". 
Or "Just Plain Late". 
Or "Hey You, Why Are You Such A Procrastinator?" 

Anyway, for my 24th I made this super delicious, super awesome triple layer lemon coconut cake, and it needs to be shared with the world. 

The original recipe came from here

I mean seriously, for a lover of all things lemon flavored, it's a dream come true.  When I saw the picture I knew I had to try it out; and oh my gosh did it taste amazing! 
Even though mine looked more like it came out of an easy bake oven and less like the beautiful stacked perfection of the original baker, it was worth the four hours it took to bake it.  Yes, I said four hours.

If I'm being honest though, I didn't really mind.  I've found over the last year and a half or so that I quite like my kitchen. 

There's something to be said about creating things.   Art, words, carpentry, sculpting, cooking.  Knowing what you want, and watching it take shape and life in your hands.  Something that looks how you want, feels how you want, tastes how you want.  It's both invigorating and calming. 

I could write an entire entry on my compulsion to create things.

But...cake. 

Mouth watering, fantastic cake. 

If you haven't glanced at the original recipe yet, you can see from this picture that most of the ingredients you'll probably have in your pantry already.  I only had to buy the lemons and coconut. 

Okay, so the 1st part of this entire process, I have named "incredibly frustrating and terribly smelly."

I decided to start with the coconuts first.  Get them opened, diced, and in the oven to get nice and toasty.  I even bought the ones that were pre-grooved for easy opening.  I was so confident and naive. 

Flash forward through 15 minutes of butcher knives, skewers, screwdrivers, and shouting abuse at food.  Yes, that is my garage floor.  And yes, they were finally beaten open with a hammer.  Deservedly so.  The jerks.   

Also, a quick lesson:  The lower coconut is what we would call "healthy".  The upper coconut is what we would call "Oh my mold what is that horrendous smell and why oh why does it look like that!?" 

Diced one (not rotten) coconut, sprinkled it with some sugar and cinnamon, and toasted it in the oven until it was dried out.  

 

Made up the cake batter according to the recipe.  I was worried there wouldn't be enough to bake with all the times I dipped my finger in to taste it.  It was that good. 

Here's where the 'triple layer' part comes in to play. 

Next up had me making egg whites, which despite my love of cooking/baking, I had never actually done.  It was the easiest thing in the world, and really fun to watch!

However, as tasty as lemon filling is to eat, it's not the easiest thing to make.  At least not for me.  It took me 3 times longer to get it to thicken than the recipe said it would.  And it was sticky.  And it was also worth it. 

Then came the delicious cream cheese frosting.

Then came smearing the delicious cream cheese frosting on one of the cakes like a crazy person and breaking it.

Then came using the lemon filling like glue to fix my poor, ugly, delicious cake. 

Then came some lovely toasted coconut that made everything seem better. 

Remember that scene in Sleeping Beauty, when the fairies were making a birthday cake and had to use a broom to prop it up?  That's all I could think about. 

 After stacking, smearing, smoothing, sprinkling, laughing, and four hours...this mammoth was done.   It was the middle of the night on my birthday, my kitchen was a mess, and I had lemon in my hair....but I was happy.  It really was a lot of fun.
 

 After taking it to my parents the next night, I found out that the smallest piece will fill you up so fast (the missing cake in the picture was from two people).  I had no desire to be tempted with the leftovers at my house, so I didn't bring it home with me, but I'm sure they ate on it for days. 
It was huge.  It was awesome.  It was lemon.  It was huge.  It was coconut.  It was huge. 
Did I say how huge it was?  It was. 

It was also worth it.  Don't take my word, scroll up, find the recipe, and get to it. 


....just make sure you clear your schedule for 4 hours. 

  *Kailey