Out of My Comfort Zone Part 1: my physique competition experience

Have you ever set a goal so big and crazy that it made your stomach hurt every time you thought about it?

I have. And I'm happy to share that I reached my big, crazy goal and lived to tell about it.

To be honest, I'm not really sure what made me want to do this... but I'd been thinking about it since last year. And so the day came - March 5 - that I filled out the online registration, closed my eyes, said a quick prayer and clicked submit.

And then I panicked. And then I calmed down. And then I panicked some more. This cycle repeated right up until the actual event. The event being The Classic, a physique competition where you're judged on body composition, personality and stage presence. You have a pre-judging session Thursday and the final on Friday night where they narrow the field down to their top 10 and award trophies for the top three men and top three women.

I was a newbie, doing this on my own, but with the endless support of Justin. He pushed me when I needed pushed. He reassured me when I needed reassuring and encouraged me to keep going every day.

Like I said, I had no idea what I was doing, but my plan looked like this:

Wake up between 3-3:30am.

Drink my pre-workout and eat breakfast,
Head down to the basement and push play on my first workout of the day from my 80-day program

Push play on my second workout, a muscle-building program. And, if time allowed, push play on yet a third toning workout.

5:50-6am, wander back upstairs and jump through the shower.

6:15ish, get dressed and wake up the kids.

6:45am and we're walking out the door.

6:50-6:55 drop off the little one at daycare

7:05 drop off the boys at school/summer camp

7:45-4:30pm Arrive at work

5pm Arrive home from work

5:30 Eat dinner

6-6:30 Help with baths

6:30-7:30 TV time as a family

7:30 Put the kids to bed

7:30-8:15pm Extra cardio session

8:15-8:30ish Take shower

8:30-9:30 TV time with Justin

9:30-10pm Prep lunch and snacks for the next day

10pm Crawl into bed (if I was lucky)

Just writing it all out is exhausting!

But somehow I managed to make it to Tuesday night. We were driving to Indianapolis Wednesday morning and I didn't want to worry about scheduling a spray tan for when we got there, so Tuesday night I got my spray tan at Recreating Rays.  It's quite the experience if you've never been air-brushed before 😉 But they were super awesome and I loved my results!

So Grandma arrived early Wednesday morning to watch the kids and Justin and I began our road trip to Indy. We arrived mid afternoon, got settled into our hotel room, picked up my registration packet for the conference and went and took a peek at the pre-judging stage.

It was so little and HUGE at the same time! And carpeted?!? WTH? Did they not take into consideration the heels we wear?!! LOL

The rest of Wednesday was spent relaxing in our hotel room and dinner at Weber Grill

My pre-judging time slot was at 9am on Thursday morning. I slept like crap and woke feeling grateful for the mask of makeup that was going to cover up my tired eyes.

I curled my hair, did my make-up, I
threw on a tank and some shorts and flip flops grabbed my ridiculously high heels in one hand, took Justin's hand with the other and headed to the convention center with more butterflies in my stomach than I could count.

I got checked in and Justin and I hung out in the "holding" rooms until my number was called. And while the nerves didn't totally dissipate, I felt a sense of calm come over me as I took in the scene. This is what I saw:

Women and men... all ages... all shapes... all sizes... all at different points in their fitness journey. Some were planking, using resistance bands, doing push-ups. Some were getting oiled up by friends. Husbands, wives, friends. And it hit me. An overwhelming sense of pride in everyone in that room. We all knew how hard we'd worked and the sacrifices we'd made to get there. So I just kept repeating the mantra in my head... the same one I tell my kiddos when they're feeling anxious: you are strong and brave!

And then my number was called. I lined up in the hallway with my group.

 We walked inside the judging room and one by one, got our 15 seconds in front of the judges. With every part of my body shaking, I smiled and walked up the steps to the stage, went through my posing routine and as I walked off the stage caught my heel on the tape holding the carpet in place. Insert mortified face!!

I didn't fall, but I definitely felt my heart jump into my throat! But as I came around the corner in the back of the room, the ladies who had gone before me shared smiles, silent high fives and congratulations. Women, building each other up... encouraging one another. Who would've thought 😉 This continued for each and every lady in that room.

And then, they called my number to go back up!!! I went back up on that stage, confident, and an excited smile on my face. Got through my routine and WITHOUT stumbling, walked off stage. I was called back up a second time in a group with a few other ladies, asked to pose certain ways and then it was over. The hard part was over!

And this guy was waiting for me with a giant hug and smile on his face. My friend. My rock. My husband and biggest fan.

Living intentionally: My 2017 Report Card

2017.

Is it really the last day of 2017? Why is it that, once again the year seems to have to passed so quickly?

365 days.
8,760 hours.
525,600 minutes.
31,536,000 seconds.

I hate to break it to you, but you guys, this is actually quite a lot of time. And since we're not guaranteed any of it, consider yourself blessed that you are here to talk about it 😁

But I'll let you in on a little secret... though time is finite and you CAN'T make it actually last longer, you CAN live more intentionally with the time you are given.

One thing that has helped me over the last year was to set goals! I know, it sounds simple and somewhat cliche, but it works.

Let's take a look back at the beginning of my 2017 and the goals I set for myself ...

•  Start a blog ✔️
• _-             Run a half marathon ✔️✔️
• _-             Run a full marathon ✔️
• _-             Become a Beachbody Live instructor/Group exercise instructor 🚫
• _-             Run a race with my husband and kiddos ✔️
• _-             Read every night to my kids 🚫
• _-             Go on a date night at least once a month with my husband 🚫
• _-             Participate in more church activities ✔️
• _-             Continue to help people on their fitness journey as a health and wellness coach ✔️

No, I didn't achieve everything I set out to accomplish, but I know that if I wouldn't have challenged myself at all, I wouldn't have ANYTHING to check off a list. And just because I didn't exactly achieve these as written doesn't mean I didn't make strides toward getting there.

When you set goals and are striving to reach them, your actions become more intentional. You aren't just "getting through" each day, but rather living in the moment and not letting the days just pass by. Have you ever gotten to work or your destination and wondered how you got there?!? That's what I mean. Be present.

I encourage you as this year comes to a close to take a moment and reflect back. How did you spend your days? What do you value most? Does that match up with how you spent your time?

Here are 7 steps I encourage you to take as we close out 2017 to help you live more intentionally and have a great 2018:

1. Acknowledge your blessings, even ones that seem small.
( Food in your belly, the clothes on your back, a vehicle to get you where you need to go)

2. Find your peace from any hurt you may have experienced.
( Acknowledge your pain and get help by talking with a trusted friend or professional)

 3. Set your goals and determine who will be your accountability partner.
(If you're overwhelmed by yearly goals, break it down into weekly or monthly goals and share those with someone you can trust to hold you to them.)

4. Set priorities based on these goals and spend your time accordingly.
(Don't overextend yourself and know it's okay to say no to things that don't match up with your goals or values. Also, use the calendar on your phone to set reminders to help keep you on track)

5. Know that perfection is not achievable.
(You'll have good days and bad days. Acknowledge them both, learn from your experiences and move on 😊)

6. Ask God to be with you to help encourage you and to guide you on the right path.
(We are all human and therefore capable of slipping up. But God is perfect and loving and wants to be invited into both our triumphs and struggles. Don't forget he is always with you and listening even when you feel abandoned by others)

7. Be hopeful.
(Life is hard, but when we lose hope it becomes even harder. Keep your eye on the prize: (Heaven ✝) and continue to pray and give thanks always)


Happy New Year!!! Wishing you and yours peace and blessings for anything that comes your way in 2018 ❤️

Alicia

Oliver Queen: Saying good-bye to our furry friend

For the sake of full disclosure, before I started dating my husband, I was NOT a cat person. Growing up, we had dogs and birds as pets. I suppose like many opinions growing up, you start out by sharing those of your parents :) My parents weren't cat people, therefore, I wasn't a cat person.

But when I moved into an apartment in college with no roommate, my husband (boyfriend back then) highly encouraged me to get a cat. He really felt I needed a companion... another living creature to keep me company when he couldn't be there. HE was a cat person :)

After a little push-back I agreed to go to the shelter to meet some furry friends. That's when we met Ali and immediately fell in love with her. Almost 15 years later, she's still with us and we consider her part of our family.

 

Fast forward to May of this year when we brought Oliver Queen AKA The Green Arrow, into our home. Another rescue kitty, Justin saw a fb post, went to meet him and it became not a question of IF he would be coming home to our family, it was WHEN would he be.  Justin and Oliver met and the two immediately bonded ❤️

This was NOT the case with Oliver and Ali. 

A kitten still at just 12 weeks old, the two fur balls struggled to get along - the older, established, territorial female and the sweet and innocent, adorable and energetic male.

Really it was Ali who didn't seem to be a fan of Oliver,  but nonetheless Oliver loved both playing and tormenting Ali 😁

He was playful, cuddly, great with the kids and loved long naps both on Justin's chest and his favorite spots on top of the couch and SOMETIMES he and Ali would "accidentally" takes naps next to each other on the couch ❤️.

With Ali sleeping by my head, Oliver assumed a position near the foot of our bed at night and cemented himself as part of our little family - no longer just a pet.

And just like that of a human friendship/ relationship, when you've invested your time and heart into someone and you're emotionally invested, when they hurt, you hurt. 

And that's exactly where we find ourselves today. Hurting. 

Last night we came home after being out of town to our sweet Oliver in his litter box unable to move. Our amazing friend and neighbor didn't hesitate to agree to staying with the kids so Justin and I could take him to the emergency vet clinic. It was there they would tell us his prognosis upon initial exam was poor, only to be confirmed by blood work.

Oliver was in bad shape.

We asked the vet,"If he was your cat, what would you do?" His answer, though honest, was not what we wanted to hear. But we, both Justin and I, knew it was what we had to do. 

We each spent time holding him and were by his side when he passed.

Quite honestly, it's one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I fully understand how blessed we are that it wasn't one of our children, one of us or another family member, but it was real, raw pain that we experienced. The kind that makes you sob until your stomach hurts. The kind that's mind-numbing and blurs time.

Making the drive home with the box on your lap that contains the lifeless, but still warm body of your beloved furry family member is something I wouldn't wish on anyone. It sucks. It's heartbreaking.

 It's also one of the hardest things our children have had to experience. They've never experienced death before - human or otherwise - so close to them. Trying to explain it all had been though to say the least.

There are varying opinions about animals and Heaven - honestly some good arguments for both sides. Regardless whether you'll see your pet in Heaven or not, these animals that become pets that become like family are all creatures of God and God loves all of them. I believe in my heart that He takes care of them when they leave this Earth - wherever that may be.

Like many hard situations, the passing of time helps to heal. I have no doubt this will be the same, but Oliver is already greatly missed and it's not going to be easy.

Alicia

I've been a Mom for how long?!?

I'm sitting in bed thinking back to this day eight years ago. Wow. Eight years. That can't be right.

I remember the day pretty clearly. Work as usual with a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. Our due date was December 20 and we were preparing for a "Christmas baby."

But that was soon to be turned on its head.

Going through motions of another ob appointment meant checking my blood pressure. Never a problem prior to this day, my blood pressure was high.

"We're going to have you lay here for a few minutes, then we'll check it again," said Dr. Peck. So several minutes later, they check it again. It's even higher. Uh oh.

After a conversation about sending us home and having come back the next day, Dr. Peck ultimately decided he was going to send us directly over to the Birth Place.

"Ok, guys. Looks like you're going to have a baby!"

By this time, no one was left in the office except one lady at the front desk. She talked to us for a few moments, about what I can't remember. Then Justin and I walked out into the hallway.

It was eerily quiet.

We looked at each other with tears in our eyes, slight panic in our faces and just held one another.

Holy crap. We were about to become parents!

Ok. Game faces.

We quickly called our families and headed over to check in. My bag wasn't completely prepared, sitting half packed on our bedroom floor. But ready or not, this show was about to get started.

A few things about my very first labor and delivery experience:

If I couldn't have McDonald's, I at least wanted to be able to smell it :)

Those rooms are not nearly big enough for the crew we had there that night.

My papa can sleep ANYwhere.

Having nursing students observe your labor and delivery is very humbling.

Cone heads are not cute. 😂

My doctor was the best.

Thinking back, the evening and early morning hours of the next day were a bit of a blur. They had given me antibiotics for four hours before breaking my water, I'd gotten my epidural at some point and stadal to help me sleep. Not entirely sure what order that all too place in :)

But I'll never forget the hour and moment when God bestowed on us the most amazing blessing. Christian McCoy was born at 6:59am on December 8, 2009.

As it were, one minute before shift change, so double the everybody in the room when he was born. I remember one of the nursing students thanking me. Christian being born was the first live birth she'd ever witnessed.

We've had our ups and downs like all parents have with their children. But it's important to remember the past and keep moving forward.

Christian is growing into the most amazing kid. He's super bright and loves school, excelling at math and reading. He's also an artist in his own right and possesses more creativity in his eight years than I ever will.

But he's also just a boy who loves baseball, being silly with his friends, playing video games, laughing at farts and words like butt and poop.

To say Im proud to be his mom, well, that just doesn't do it justice.

Happy birthday, sweet boy. I'm beyond blessed to call you mine ❤️

26.2 Miles Changed My Life

I signed up for my first race when a friend said she was running and I should, too. It was a half marathon. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into, but it was too late. I'd been bitten by the bug.

Fast forward to January of this year, with numerous half marathons under my belt, when I decided to set the biggest running goal I'd ever set for myself: the bucket-list worthy FULL MARATHON.

Well, thinking back, it was more a challenge my husband presented to me. "Hey, babe? I think you should train for a full marathon."

Challenge: accepted. And I'm glad  I did. Training for this race changed my life and strengthened my faith.

When I had crossed off an additional two half marathons - the Garmin Half Marathon in April and the Bill Snyder Highway Half Marathon in May - my 26.2 goal started to come into better focus.

Garmin Half Marathon

Bill Snyder Highway Half Marathon

To train, I would follow the same program I had used for my very first half marathon. I trusted Hal Higdon and his process and had no doubt his full marathon training program would get me to the finish line. And although I've always known I could trust God, that I was loved by God and God is love, what I didn't expect is for something like running to strengthen my faith and draw me closer to Him.

The Hal Higdon training program is 18 weeks long averaging 15-24 miles per week in the first seven weeks, 25-40 miles per week in the next eight weeks with the longest training run being 20 miles. By the time you complete the training program, you'll have logged over 400 miles.

One thing I knew going into this, was that I wanted to minimize the amount of time that the training was going to keep me away from my family. It meant leaving my quiet house with everyone sound asleep early, early in the morning when my distances increased and waiting until the kids were in bed on runs I needed to complete during the week. It maximized my time with the kids, but still took time away from my husband.

Justin has been amazing throughout the entire training process, dragging the kids out of bed earlier than kids should be on a weekend to bring me water and cheer me on. With each run I found myself thanking God for the blessing of such a supportive spouse and three awesome kiddos. I thanked Him for each mile I safely logged by marking myself with the sign of the cross at each mile marker as a reminder that the gift of running was given to me by God and should thus be dedicated back to Him.

Each mile I ran became more about God and my family and less about me. I started to find more comfort in my Pandora Catholic "Kids" Worship station than my pop fitness station. I found several amazing podcasts that inspired me to be a better person... even listening to them as I would run sometimes. I found a great Facebook group of others moms with a love of Christ.

God works in mysterious ways so the saying goes, and I can't explain how all these elements fell into place, but I feel extremely blessed that they did. I strengthened my relationship with God through prayer and encouraged my family to do the same - to talk to God even if just to tell Him about your day or to thank Him for the roof over our head.

And just a few days ago, the culmination of our efforts... a day months in the making that included hours upon hours of running, cheering and teamwork. A challenge that turned into a goal, that turned into a reality, with a lot of blood, sweat, tears and prayers along the way.

I completed my first full marathon in four hours and nine minutes. Four hours and nine minutes carrying not only MY prayers but of those I offered up on behalf of other brothers and sisters in Christ. And during the race when my legs started to ache, the wind pushed against me and my mind started to doubt, when it got hard I reminded myself who I was doing this for and it helped me continue on. And let me tell you, when I saw my beautiful family near the finish line - queue the tears. It was the absolute best feeling.

There are some people in life who make you laugh a little louder, smile a little bigger and live a little better. For me, these people are my family. I thank God for them every day. I may have been the one who physically ran the 26.2 miles and the one wearing the medal last Saturday, but as a family we all earned it.

My family, who through God's grace and blessings, has been supporting me through my pursuit of running for YEARS now. I hope and pray they see in me a wife and a momma who has a passion for the Lord and a desire to work hard and accomplish big dreams. I hope and pray they set out to do the same ❤️

I know I'm not the first or last person to ever run a marathon , but right now I'm on cloud nine.

I think I'll just hang out here for awhile.

Alicia

Stroller Running: My Top 5 Tips

I'm a runner. Before Justin and I got married, I ran. After we got married, I ran. After I had all our babies I ran and I'm still running today - less than a month away from my first full marathon in fact.

But one thing I haven't done in a LONG time, was run with the jogging stroller. Anyone who has done it before I'm certain will attest to it being a completely different world of running! 

Throughout my marathon training program, the majority of runs have taken place after the kids go to bed, or at the crack of dawn when everyone is still in bed. So, today, when an afternoon appointment meant I could get in my run before the sun went down, I jumped on the opportunity!! The catch, however, was that it would have to be pushing a 30-pound little girl in a stroller :)

No worries. If I can run 18 miles at a time up to this point, 5 miles pushing a stroller should be no biggie. Ha! No pun intended, it gave me a run for my money :) I had forgotten just how much is involved when it comes to the sport I call "Stroller Running."

Here are my top 5 tips before you venture out with your little one + jogging stroller:

1) Check the air in the stroller tires!!

 I forgot to do this and it definitely makes things harder on you, and it's a good way to ruin the tires. Pushing around the weight of a baby and stroller is hard enough without the added resistance of a partially flat tire!

2) Wear the same running attire as you would running solo.

I made the mistake of running in cotton shorts and a t-shirt. Let me tell you, it's not cool to be pulling up your shorts with one hand while trying to push the stroller with the other LOL You have enough other things to worry about - having shorts that are falling down shouldn't be one of them!

3) Know your limits and don't expect to run at your normal pace.

Even being less than a month from my marathon, this was still a tough run for me. I ran about a minute to a minute and a half slower pace than normal.  When you're pushing with one hand and pumping your other hand, it's going to throw your stride off, not to mention having to avoid kicking the tires on the stroller. Take it easy and if something doesn't feel right, take a break.

4) Form, form, form!

Running with a stroller engages your arms in a whole new way. I typically only use one arm to push... my right arm because it's naturally stronger... but if you feel more comfortable pushing with both, remember not to slouch. Your back won't be happy with you if you run hunched over!

5) Have fun!

Duh, right! Even though you're getting in a workout, you're also getting in some great quality time with your kiddo(s). Some of my favorite memories are my long walks and runs with the kids going on scavenger hunts, counting all the cars we'd see, working on our colors playing "I Spy." Be creative! 

5 miles ✔️

Happy Running ❤️

Becoming a family of 4: Nolan's birth story

We always knew we wanted more than one child, As I've mention in the past we said "one of each and we'll stop at 4." What we didn't expect, after trying for a year to conceive Christian, was getting pregnant at just the mere "thought"  having another child 😉

After the shock had somewhat worn off and the reality of having two children started to sink in, we put our game faces on. Ok - what do we need? Another car seat, crib, double stroller...

We had this.
We were ready.

And then we weren't.

At our 20 week ultrasound when they check growth and development and can with more certainty know the sex of your baby,,, a hiccup in the plan. As the sonogram ticked on minute after minute, we noticed the sonographer seemed to be spending an awful long time looking at our baby boy's (Yes - we were expecting another son!!) head and brain.

We could sense something wasn't right, but of course when we asked if something was wrong were told "the doctor will go over everything with you." So unlike with Christian when we had been able to leave the office with our baby pictures in hand and smiles plastered on our faces, we were ushered back into a room where the nurse practitioner (my doctor wasn't there that day) explained what had been found on the ultrasound. Our baby boy had a choroid plexus cyst.




Although there didn't appear to be any other abnormalities that are typically present with Trisomy 18,  which is usually the concern associated with these, we were referred to a specialist and would have to get am additional ultrasound at 28 weeks. I immediately broke down. I didn't want to look at the pamphlets she handed me. I didn't want it to be real, Waiting those next eight weeks felt like an eternity, An eternity in which we cried. A lot. And prayed, A lot.

Finally we had made it to 28 weeks. I remember not even being able to bring myself to look at the monitors during the sonogram. I didn't look until the doctor conformed what we'd been praying for - a healthy boy! All thanks to God, the cyst had resolved on its own and our baby boy was HEALTHY!!

It was so awesome to finally be able to enjoy the rest of my pregnancy without constant worrying - to get our other son excited to welcome his brother - to prepare his room - to truly embrace being a family of four.

***

I had gone to work just like any other day and then on to the gym where I would proceed to walk on the treadmill for 45 minutes before coming home. At this point our baby was "overdue" and we more more than ready to welcome him! I came home, showered, ate dinner and put Christian to bed. I remember sitting on the couch watching TV with Justin and experiencing contractions. When they had been 5 minutes apart for an hour, Justin told me we needed to call my doctor. I so desperately didn't want to be sent home from the hospital saying I wasn't in labor, that I made Justin make the call to Dr. Peck.  He told us to come in! (I was already at a 6 when we got to the hospital and so I look back now and acknowledge the real possibility that if Justin hadn't made the call our little boy quite possibly could have been born at home!!) We called our amazing friends who watched Christian and asked if we could drop him off... I vividly remember that last picture we took on their front steps before heading to the hospital.


By the time we got to the hospital and got settled, it was late in the evening and just a few hours later in the calm, early morning hours of August 5th 2011 at 3:06am God blessed us with another son: Nolan Augustus Stuewe. Perfect delivery and a perfectly healthy boy.

Ironically as peaceful as his birth was, his personality turned out to be much different. He's incredibly stubborn, strong willed, passionate and SO different from his brother. This is the first lesson we came to learn about having two children - so close in age but different in so many ways. No matter how easy it is to compare them, don't. They are individuals with different strengths and talents and incredibly different birth stories which should have been out first clue :)

Going from one to two honestly wasn't hard. We could easily divide and conquer, although I'm sure I'm just blocking out all the hard days :) Having two boys back to back was also nice from the standpoint of sharing clothing, blankets, toys etc. We used what we could of Christian's but also made sure Nolan has things to call his own. But the best part of having a second child is all the loves that comes with them. Love for them, being loved by them and knowing the love of God is upon them.




Happy birthday to our incredibly stubborn, sweet passionate Nolan! You challenge us on a daily basis to be better parents and we love you more than you will ever know 💓