15 weeks with number 2!

We're officially 15 weeks in to our second pregnancy! Excuse my pajama pants, but that bra is one of my new ones from Lululemon and I am OBSESSED! Those things are so comfortable and so cute. Totally worth it. My little bump is probably a million times bigger than it was when I took this picture two days ago, or at least it feels that way! I'm not feeling any movement yet, but sometimes I can feel exactly where they are sitting, like either to the right or left, because the pressure will get crazy until I nudge it enough to move them over a little. Sleep is getting a little crazy, I wake up like three times a night to go to the bathroom and I'm already having some trouble getting comfortable, which can be frustrating. It might be time to give the Snoogle pillow another shot. If you're prego or know someone who is you have to get one, heres a link to one on Amazon, they are amazing and a must have for when your belly gets huge!

Vic has class a couple nights a week so Ryker and I get time to practice his selfie skills, and apparently his fish face skills. I basically spend the whole night trying to wrangle him into sitting and cuddling with me, he just likes to run around with his very loud new car toys and make a mess. But, I usually get about 10 minutes of good cuddles, I'll take what I can get! 

We've decided to put Ryker in school! It's daycare at a local church, but they have a great curriculum that helps prepare him for Pre-K and I am so excited for him! I hate to be thinking about already sending my little baby off with a backpack and lunch box, but all the kids there were so happy and didn't want to leave when we went to visit at 5 pm! He'll be making lots of art projects and working on his letters and numbers, when they move to the three year old class they work on writing their names, that seems so crazy to me! Lots of time before we get there, so I'm just excited for him to make some friends. I promise to take a picture of the super sweet lunchbox and back pack he got from Grandma Cindy for Christmas, they're Star Wars! I'm already checking Pinterest for ideas for packing lunches, I made sure to check that they don't mind me being picky with what he eats. I hope they are prepared for him eating as much as a 16 year old! 

If you haven't tried Talenti gelato yet you are wrong. Just like last time, I've had a big old sweet tooth, and this gelato and Hershey's Kisses combo was a major hit the other night. There seriously isn't one flavor that I'm not crazy about with that gelato, the Pistachio is probably my favorite. Between sweets, sourdough bread with butter and pineapple, I've been pretty surprised that I'm staying on the lowest part of the spectrum of the weight I should be gaining. That must be the little workouts being effective! I was supposed to make it in this morning, but I'm playing stay at home Mommy for the day with Ryker until Vic gets home and takes over duty so I can go to work for half the day. I love getting to make him breakfast and watch cartoons with him!

We got our own little inch or so of snow from that crazy snow storm this week. I guess it turned out to not be as crazy as everyone thought, but I appreciated the two hour delay that came with it! I wish we would get some more, all of that snow was gone by the time I got out of work that day. It's still been pretty cold, maybe some snow will still be hanging around our favorite woodsy trails? We'll have to check them out this weekend and go for a little hike!

In honor of #tbt or throwback Thursday, here's a fun fact! My Timehop App told me this morning that two years ago my Facebook status was "the little peanut in my belly is finally sixteen weeks, can hear sounds and is the size of a grenade, or a less cool avocado!" I'm almost exactly where I was two years ago carrying Ryker, crazy huh?

Oh, hey there!

Well, at least I made sure to get a blog post in before the end of the first month of the new year! Things have been so crazy around here and to be honest, trying to find time to sit and get my thoughts typed out probably would have been a blessing but it just seemed like so much work. Ho hum, no more thinking that way! Most people already know, but guess what? We're pregnant again! I am just shy of 15 weeks with our second little monkey. Things are definitely different when you're pregnant with a toddler, a job (that you'll be leaving shortly after giving birth), trying to finish up your graduate degree and a husband that is about to embark on a whole new career adventure himself. Like I said before, things have been hectic!

Everyone is convinced that it's a girl and really, at first I was kind of disappointed at the idea of a girl. I like being the mom of a little guy. But, that's silly and I started thinking about it and I'd actually kind of like the idea of still being able to tell Ryker he's my favorite little boy in the world and then tell his sister that she's my favorite little girl. Of course, I really will be truly happy with whatever it is that's growing in there, I can't wait to just find out already! I've been way more tired with this baby so far, but then I think that having a toddler to come home to, instead of just my husband and my bed, has made a big difference there. I've been horrible about eating well, unless you count the hundreds of pineapples I must have eaten by now! I just started a new program from Bodybuilding.com athlete Ashley Horner that she wrote during her pregnancy and I think it has been the kick in the butt that I needed. I have no doubt that if I work it the way I should and I get my eating in check I should be able to put muscle on while avoiding any crazy weight gain (beyond what I need to gain, of course).

Little 14 week baby bump action at the gym!

In other exciting news, I signed up for my doula workshop! I'll be going in March to finally get that process going. I really want to be able to start my business and focus on helping women love their pregnant selves. I'm sure I've been driving my sports professors crazy by trying my best to turn every research opportunity into one that involves pregnancy, but it has really helped me keep my focus and the pregnant body and the beauty of labor and birth are just so amazing to me!

Ryker is growing like a weed and causing all sorts of trouble, just like little boys should. He's slowly growing his vocabulary. His latest favorite? No. Not the most awesome word. He also calls all animals "Chelsea", for some reason he's fallen madly in love with just our St. Bernard. He calls out "Dad" in the morning when he's ready to get up for the day and says "hi" to everyone and everything with the cutest wave and smile. If a door opens he'll ask "who's that" and one time I got him to say "snack" for me. The pediatrician had brought up a specialist to just check and see if there was a reason for his smaller vocabulary, but I'm not worried. He's learning something new everyday and he's constantly babbling, so I'm not going to stress it until we see the doctor again. I think he's just going at Ryker speed, and for now I'm good with that. He's so tall these days that he can get anything off the counters and climbs on the couch like a champ. He also loves trying to drink tea and I consider him my new diet, since he gets at least a third of whatever I'm eating by asking for a bite with his mouth wide open and going "aaaaahhhh" in the cutest little way.

Vic and I are hoping to do a little staycation sometime soon as a little baby moon. I can't imagine life with two babies and I know we would both appreciate a meal or two and some morning time alone before we have two little people needing us. Everyone deserves a break every now and then right? I felt bad today, I was just so exhausted that I hid in the room after I woke up from a nap, just not ready to go be mommy yet. Of course, once I saw that little face I was happy to teach him how to make police car sounds (his new favorite toy) and play with him, but man...somedays that kid really wears me out!

I promise to try and be much better about keeping up with everything and to have some more pictures soon! Follow me over on Instagram at @ninarynae, I post a lot there and there is also my Facebook page at Facebook.com/CRKCastle. Talk to you soon!

Our Weekend

This Virginia weather is making me nuts. Saturday, I was so excited because as I left yoga it was 80 degrees and then about an hour or so later it had already dropped twelve degrees.

By the time Vic and I went out for a much needed date night, it had dropped down into cooler weather and I was all bundled up in my Scuba hoodie and my favorite Hunter rain boots. We went out to go to the Pumpkin Patch for a haunted hay ride and some spooky maze time! It was pretty fun, Vic didn't get scared at all and I was totally spooked. 

Today, we went back to the Pumpkin Patch to go get our front door pumpkins and to let Ryker run around at the petting zoo. Do you have the app called Time Hop? It showed that this day last year we went to the pumpkin patch with Ryker for the first time, so it was pretty fun to go and take pictures, it is crazy how much he has grown!

We also started the Walking Dead this weekend. I was a little reluctant, but figured that if they put it on television it can't be that bad. It took a couple of episodes for me to get into it, but we just started season two and I'm pretty hooked. Since I knew that we would be binge watching, I hopped on our stationary bike, split a pumpkin beer with Vic and pedaled away for an hour. I wound up grabbing my dumbbells and got in a pretty great upper body workout while I pedaled too! A half marathon later, I didn't feel so bad about the Pumpkin Spice Oreos that I bought!

#Basic, I know! But they are amazing and totally worth it, now to try and not eat the whole pack tonight....

It's back to work tomorrow. Can you believe that we are already half way through October? We ordered Halloween costumes for Ryker and I this weekend, I'll be sure to post pictures of us in them when we run the Wicked 10k, they are pretty epic! 

Biomechanics and Running

Get ready, here's another post inspired by what I'm working on this week in my Topics in Sports and Health Sciences course! As someone who loves to run, getting to further research the hot topics in biomechanics related to running was a fun week for me.

As running continues to becomes a popular form of exercise for more populations, it is important that people understand that while running is a fairly simple activity, there is a way to ensure that you are running with proper form in order to create the best possible experience. “Check your form: Running with correct  biomechanics” via the American Running Association, goes into simple ways that someone can make sure that they are running in alignment and with proper form to provide their body with the best scenario, considering that running can put significant stress on the body. Some tips include running with your head at a neutral position, don’t look up or down. Fatigue can cause a runner to allow their shoulders to creep up, being mindful of head and shoulder position can help maintain a neutral spine. Many people use up precious energy by keeping their hands in tight fists, by relaxing your arms and hands and thinking about loosely holding your hands in a way that allows the tips of your forefinger and thumb to touch will keep your hands loose and comfortable. Also, foot strike patterns can cause problems for many runners, and also serves as one of the biggest topics recently in biomechanics. While some will argue for a heel to toe foot strike, it has been put out that you should aim for the lower ball of your foot for the best stride. (Newton and Henderson, 1998)

When speaking about foot strike and the biomechanics of running, it is easy to also think of the conversations in the field of biomechanics about the various shoe types and the claims to whether or not one type is more helpful than the other. Specifically, barefoot running and minimalist footwear have caused quite the stir, suggesting that reducing the amount of shoe and cushion may be the best for injury prevention and performance. Basically, this comes down to the fact that minimalist shoes help to influence a runner to land on the ball of their foot instead of their heel, which leads to a softer landing and potentially fewer injuries. However, biomechanists have found that runners tend to alter their muscle tension and knee flexion throughout their running experience, which may lead soft soled runners to pound harder while minimalist runners may adjust to a softer stride. It comes down to the fact that when it comes to best preparing yourself for a good run, shoes are not the most important consideration. If you prefer a certain type of shoe, you can learn to adjust for that shoe and other aspects, like your body weight and experience, have more to do with your adaptability to avoid injury. (Vigneron, 2013)

Moral of the story: running shoes are not something you really need to worry about getting the right kind that Runner's World is telling you are the best. Get what feels comfortable! I used to be in love with Nike LunarGlides because of all the cushion that they offered. After enough running WOD's where I just wore my Reebok Nano's or my Nike trainers, I decided to switch to a lighter running shoe, the name of which escapes me right now. I do like to focus on more ball of the foot striking as opposed to heel, but again, don't go switching things up too much if you found a comfortable gait. Switching up what is already working for you can actually cause more injuries! 

References

Newton, J., & Henderson, J. (1998). Check your form: Running with correct biomechanics. Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/bodywork/in-stride/Your-Running-Shoes-Dont-Matter.html?utm_source=dispatch&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_content=MRlink2&utm_campaign=12242013

Vigneron, P. (2013, December 19). Your running shoes don't matter. Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/bodywork/in-stride/Your-Running-Shoes-Dont-Matter.html?utm_source=dispatch&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_content=MRlink2&utm_campaign=12242013

Never skip a Monday!

I firmly believe that every person that is devoted to being fit should follow a couple rules as much as they can: 1) Never skip a Monday and 2) Never go longer than three days without some kind of workout. I would have to say that nine out of ten mornings my alarm goes off at 5:04 and I absolutely dread working out. I prep my coffee maker the night before, so that all I have to do is sleepily hit the brew switch and get comfy on the couch while I wait for it to brew. Some days it seems crazy to get up so early with nothing to do but wait until 6 am for my workout, but by the time 5:30 rolls around I truly appreciate my little quiet space with a cup of coffee and my time for Pinterest and Facebook!

I follow Chris and Heidi Powell on Facebook and Instagram and if Pinterest doesn't offer me the motivation boost or workout ideas for the day, I can usually count on one of them posting something great. This morning was no let down, they had both posted their partner workout from this weekend which included some snatch work and then a 20 minute As Many Rounds As Possible with one partner doing weighted lunges and the other running a 400 m sprint. So, that's what I decided to do! 

Post shoulder surgery and my fifth dislocation, I have decided that I will NEVER do another snatch. It's just not a movement that I will die without, but I do love some good power cleans. I've been working at about 60% of my previous normal weight for cleans, which feels good and doesn't make my shoulder feel to crunchy or uncomfortable, this comes out to just shy of 70 pounds. I wish I had more on there, but for now, that's what I need to get work done and keep my shoulder from killing me. Sometimes, you just have to trust your instincts when it comes to the weights you choose! The reason I jump from shoulder press to bicep curls to bent over rows is because a) I wanted to work on my upper body and b) the shoulder presses were super uncomfortable and I hadn't quite decided what my goals were for the morning! It was enough to get me feeling good before the meat of the workout...

I did the lunges with 50 pounds on the bar and man, that was a crazy idea. By the end, I was losing balance because my legs were so dead from the sprints! The lunges slowed me down, but I tried to make sure every sprint was at or above 7 miles per hour. I had just enough time before physical therapy to roll out my legs and get ready for the day! Let me know if you give this one a try, it's a scorcher! 

Cool Weather Wishlist

I am so in love with the new clothes that Carter's has in for the cooler weather! We have always shopped for Ryker there because we get so much bang for our buck, those coupons they give you on your receipt are so tricky! Nonetheless, here are some of my favorites for when the weather decides to stay with being chilly, and not be in the 60's one day and the high 70's the next! Come on, sweater weather! 

1. Vest 2. Handsome Sweat Set

3. Boots 4. Toggle Cardigan Set 5. Trail shoes

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

Ever since we got a legit crock pot as a gift I have been doing my best to make as many meals as possible using it. Crock pot meals are just so convenient and anything you make in there typically tastes better and better as left overs. Today, I have a ton of work to do for my final projects for my Strength and Conditioning course and my Topics in Sports and Health Sciences, so our dinner is cooking away for the next eight hours. Tonight will be taco night, starring Salsa Chicken! It is super easy and you can make a ton of left overs for taco salads and chicken to use with eggs for throughout the week. Here's the quick throw together idea:

We always buy our chicken from Whole Foods in the giant packs because you get a discount for buying more than three pounds at a time! I just dumped a whole package in the crock pot. You could probably add another pound or so for weekly food prep, just be sure to mix it up so that it cooks evenly. 

We also get out diced tomatoes from Whole Foods, I got a giant can of their diced tomatoes and just poured the whole can in, no need to drain. 

I love the Salsa Verde from WF, it's perfect with eggs, as a salad dressing or just with chips. I poured about a cup over the diced tomatoes. 

Then, I added two tablespoons of chopped garlic, about a tablespoon of chili powder, and then 5 drops or so of liquid smoke. The liquid smoke helps to make it taste like you grilled everything first, it is really helpful with BBQ chicken also! I normally would add a hefty dose of cumin, but I'm out today. I would add about a tablespoon as well if you have some. 

And there you go! Just let it hang out it there for about six hours and serve over greens as a salad or use it for tacos! I think we will be giving the wraps from Against All Grain a shot. Now, back to my homework!

Behavior Modification

Part of my work for this week was to investigate various research studies on behavior modification within the health and wellness realm. There is so much interesting research out there and the different ways in which people have attempted to be successful at leading people in the right direction! 

Behavior modification practices are a major portion of a successful program that leads someone on the right direction towards health and wellness. Generally, when working with a new client, a trainer or coach is presented with the task of trying to alter a lifetime of poor eating choices and a lack of fitness or activity. Having behavior modification tools at their disposal can assist a trainer or coach in designing a lifestyle with their client that is both successful and sustainable.

In Korea, a study looked at whether or not SMS text messages and information brochures were effective at influencing a weight loss program. 433 participants completed a 12 week program. Throughout the program they received text messages with information about diet, exercise and behavior modification techniques once a week. Following the 12 week program, the participants filled out a survey, majority of the participants indicated that the weekly informative text messages were satisfying and helpful, indicating that these types of campaigns may be helpful when implemented on a large scale. (Joo and Kim, 2007)

Researchers in Australia recently spent time looking at the effects of cognitive bias modification in order to trigger adaptive behaviors in regards to health. The study cited the general lack of concern that is sometimes seen in large populations when it comes to health risks and aimed at understanding if inciting worry may help influence people to make better health decisions. Participants were given a questionnaire to analyze situational anxiety and dispositional anxiety, along with a worry questionnaire. They were also given interpretation bias training, which aimed at triggering either positive or negative responses for ambiguous situations, followed by a filler task to try and attenuate any biased emotions following the training and then shown a video about melanoma. Behavioral assessments and another questionnaire were then used to gauge the effect of the video. The researchers found that influencing a positive interpretation bias actually led to more worry when watching the video, indicating that the positive bias may have actually led to adaptive worry and action rumination. The results went against the researchers hypothesis, and there is still plenty of research to be done on the effects of these types of campaigns. (Notebaert et al, 2014)

In summary, there are a number of ways that you can incite behavior modifications, from reminder messages, sending out information, and even trying to scare them into more positive behavior. Human behavior and psychology is a huge, always changing topic and it can be extremely difficult to try and nail down a solution that will equally affect a population. Continued research can help form a campaign that provides various methods to try and incite positive health changes!

Is there anything in particular that has helped you continue on the road towards positive changes? Do you think that something like a text messaging campaign or regular check ins via email would be helpful for you or do you need face to face interaction to remain accountable? 

References:

Joo, N., & Kim, B. (2007). Mobile phone short message service messaging for behaviour modification in a community-based weight control programme in Korea. Journal Of Telemedicine And Telecare, 13(8), 416-420.

Notebaert, L., Chrystal, J., Clarke, P. F., Holmes, E. A., & MacLeod, C. (2014). When We Should Worry More: Using Cognitive Bias Modification to Drive Adaptive Health Behaviour. Plos ONE, 9(1), 1-8. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0085092

A Perfect Wednesday

I had asked for today off so that I could write my ten page research paper for my Motor Control and Learning course. I got up earlier than I had planned, but got to see Vic off, looking all sexy in his suit. He had a breakfast meeting this morning, put together by his department at ODU with a bunch of local executives for some networking. Since he's such a badass at ODU he gets to hang out with all the cool kids, talk to CEO's and bank managers and create some great connections. Getting up to see him off meant I had nearly two hours to sip my coffee before Ryker got up. That was just a little bit before Jayme got here and I locked myself into my room to start my paper.

About five pages into my paper the power went out. Ryker went down for a nap and I let Jayme head out since no power meant no research to be done. Luckily, my recumbent bike has battery power, so I jumped on there and got in a good seven and a half miles before Vic got home to tell me all about his morning and then head back out.

Every now and then I will hear crazy people say things like "ugh, I could never take that much time off work and stay home" (that was in reference to maternity leave or the convalescent leave I got after my shoulder surgery) or "I would never want to work from home or be a stay at home Mom, I'd go crazy". Well, this is my happy. I got to make my son's breakfast this morning and hang out while he finished. I didn't have to get up at 5 am to workout, I was able to fit it in when I was actually excited to work out. And guess what? I just might do my lifting later! Two separate workouts in one day, what?!

I made a beautiful omelette for lunch with fresh spinach and got to eat it warm out of the pan, not heated up in a dingy microwave at work, in Tupperware that has to be on its last plastic leaching leg. The sink is empty of dirty dishes, my windows are open and I'm able to see the rain storm instead of spending all day in a building with no windows, where I have to escape to the smoking section to get a breath of fresh (cigarette smoke filled) air.

When I was a kid, I always dreamed of being a powerful business woman. Other girls wanted to be a princess, I dreamt of being Barbara Walters (no joke, ask my mom, I was obsessed). Today, I want to be around. That does't necessarily mean I want to never work. I just want to be available. I want to take care of my family. I want options. I know, I know, everyone does, sometimes you have to suck it up and make do. Well, here's to hoping that as Vic and I start a different chapter with the end of school and the military next year that we can each find a way to go about our days feeling happy and fulfilled. I'm learning that some sacrifices that come with not getting a high paying job are totally worth it and we're starting to get used to that idea more and more.

It's time to eat my warm omelette and get the baby up from his nap, there is nothing like the smile you get when you rescue him from his crib after a good nap. I'm excited for us to share a week day lunch and listen to the rain and wait for Daddy to get home. I've got dinner simmering on the stove, pumpkin chili, it always turns out so good and it will be perfectly comforting for this drizzly day!

Boobs. Yep....boobs.

Here's a new kind of post! So, as my last year in the Navy has started I'm making sure to tie up any loose ends now, as far as health care is concerned, so that I don't have to worry about anything crazy popping up later that I didn't know about. This doesn't mean I'm trying to find random ailments or anything, just want to make sure any possible dental issues are good, skin cancer recheck (another thing I forgot to reschedule after a surgery, whoops...) my physical therapy is successful and stuff like that. On that note, I went to the plastic surgeon at the Naval Hospital a week or so ago. Yep, plastic surgery. I got my boobs done back in 2007. I met my doctor one day after some fairly extensive Google searching and in all of my 20 year old wisdom I decided to sign up for a surgery later that week. Don't get me wrong, I made sure my family knew what was up and he wasn't some hack doctor, but I probably could have spent more time on the issue. I like what he did, so that worked out nicely, but...

Did you know you're supposed to get those suckers checked out via MRI every two years? Probably would have been good information to have, right? It's been seven years and until that appointment this month there has been zero medical attention paid to my boobs. I went in there because one feels like it wants to check out the surrounding area, movin' around a bit, so I figured it would probably be a good idea to see what was up. That's when I was informed that apparently that one isn't even the one that they would be concerned about looking at via MRI, the other one is. Great. Moral of the story...boob jobs aren't a set it and forget it kind of deal, you need to get them checked more often than you think!

Other things to get covered before I'm out, I've got to go to the Navy's "how to get out of the Navy and not wind up in the employment line" class. I've heard good and bad things about it. I'm still in Physical Therapy twice a week for my neck and my shoulder, turns out my surgery recovery has been all wonky because I'm out of whack from the feet up. Good news is, they're figuring out and I'm on the mend. I've never been so uncomfortable before. I'm not sure if I'm noticing the pain because it's new or if it has always been there and all of the physical therapy is teaching me to notice little things like that. I do get a kick out of using what I learn in school in my PT, I love talking to the girls about how everything works!

Speaking of school, I've got way too much work to do tomorrow in too little time. Three classes may not have been the best idea, but now I'm almost half way done with my graduate degree in six months!

Fall Bucket List

Since we have a little less than a week until the start of Fall (September 22!) I thought I would put together a little Fall Bucket List of activities that I am oh so excited for! So, let's get rollin' with some sweater wearin', pumpkin eaten' activities! 

1. The Pumpkin Patch of course! We went to Hunt Club Farms here in Virginia Beach last weekend to try out the Petting Zoo. We've gone there for years for pumpkins and mums and their haunted hay rides, but it was so fun getting to see our toddling guy wander over to goats and laugh his little butt off when they ate feed out of his hand. I can't wait to have him help us pick out some colorful pumpkins and mums for our favorite decorations! I really love the green and pink speckled pumpkins and the itsy bitsy ones, too cute! 

2. Find an Apple Orchard, pick our own snacks. Much to my happiness, Ryker has been an apple slice fiend lately. Heck, he took an entire apple out of my lunch box a few weeks ago, sat down on the kitchen floor and ate 75% of the thing, just chomping away! He probably would have eaten it all, but him and Sam (our Bernese Mountain Dog) have some "I take a bite, you take a bite" thing going on and Ryker fed him the last portion of the apple like a good friend. I've been warned about dogs and apple seeds, gotta keep an eye out for that. But, I digress....I really want to go pick some apples! Luckily, my good friend Google gave me information on a couple of farms and orchards up in Williamsburg that offer all sorts of fun and I can't wait to take them up on it!

3. Burn, Baby, Burn! A.K.A., use our fire pit. I don't remember when we bought our fire pit, sometime in the last year or so, but I do know that we haven't used it nearly enough, maybe like three or four times? I'm hoping that maybe Ryker is old enough to sit on our laps and hang out, or maybe I will just move his high chair outside so he can hang out, or better yet- we'll put him to bed and then light up the fire pit with our Apple Pie Moonshine and Apple Cider, yum! 

4. Hike ALL the hikes. Some people look forward to summer for activity. Our family, with two outrageously hairy mountain dogs and a husband that would be happy as an eskimo, need Fall and Winter to roll around to be caught outside being active. I love the colder seasons for outdoor runs, hiking at First Landing and other state parks and just being outside in general. I'm a sweatshirt and leg gins kind of girl, if I don't want to sweat that means I need cool weather! We've got First Landing routes down to a science, now it's time to start investigating a few other parks. We tried one new one last year, I say we try at least two new parks this year! 

5. Camp, like with a toddler...I mean it! I know my husband is rolling his eyes at this one because the idea of sharing a tent with our toddler sounds insane, but I have faith that if my good friend Lauren can get their adorable little guy to do it, we can too! There are a few campsites on the beach that are within 15 minutes of home, so worst case scenario we come home! I vote yes on this one, I'll let you know for sure if it ever ends up happening. Even I think its a relatively bad idea, but one I want to attempt. 

6. Farmer's Market. Another outdoor activity that just hasn't happened and I'm hoping we will be able to pull ourselves out of the house before the close up shop in November. There is one near one of our favorite breakfast spots, maybe that will help our success. I've been to the Farmer's Market in Santa Barbara, when I was in college there, and it was AMAZING. 

7. Find costumes for the Wicked 10k. This is the last year that I get to run the Wicked 10k, since we are planning to move out of the area next year, so I really want to run it in costume with Ryker in his stroller. I started looking online and found a really cute set of Miss Piggy and Kermit, I'm so excited to get all dressed up with him! Now to find Vic a costume too...

8. Make so many pots of pumpkin, bacon chili. I promise to post the recipe, it is SO good. Posting a recipe really just means that I'll have to pay attention to what I do with it, because I basically throw some random spices in with two cans of pumpkin puree, ground beef, chopped bacon and two tablespoons or so of bacon grease and some spinach. Oh man, it is amazing. I usually make a giant pot at the beginning of the week and then take it for lunch forever. 

9. Scary movie marathon. Every year, there are a few movies that Vic insists on watching: Silence of the Lambs and the associated movies and one year he got me to agree to watch Paranormal Activity. Worst. Idea. Ever. I was terrified for weeks and this was when he was still in the Navy and would have to leave me home alone. The Silence of the Lambs doesn't bother me, but I'm thinking that this year I get to use Ryker as a reason to add in some of the more kid friendly Halloween movies! 

10. And finally....carve pumpkins! We've never actually gotten around to carving our pumpkins, even though we have all the necessary carving stuff! So, this year I am excited to do that and maybe let Ryker make a huge mess of pulling the pumpkin cuts out and maybe I'll even roast some pumpkin seeds!