Resolution Run 2015

I can't believe another year has come and gone. It's that time of year again to look back on my running goals for this year, and make some plans for the next! 

Last year I set out to run a half marathon every month and I succeeded! 

http://thehawkinsfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2014/12/resolution-run-2014.html

This year, I planned on branching out a bit and doing a triathalon, tough mudder, spartan race... etc. Well, I did manage to accomplish some of these, but not all. In February, after 6 months of trying, we finally were pregnant with our little Hooper! All along, I knew I wanted to continue to run. I read everything I could find on running while pregnant. I knew it would have it's trying times, and it did, but it was really a great pregnancy and I was able to run all the way up to delivery! I think this helped with not only labor and birth, but recovery as well.  I ran in a maternity/back support band from about 28 weeks on. I suffered from quite a bit of morning sickness and I slowed down some during that time. But I still tried to run at least once or twice a week, even when I felt bad. Running actually helped my fatigue!  I always had more energy the days I ran. As my little boy got bigger, the round ligament pain got worse. I would usually just run through the pain (it didn't last long). I eventually replaced my 5 mile runs with 5 mile walk/runs. But I kept active. I really did enjoy running through my pregnancy and I would encourage any other pregnant moms to remain as active as possible if you can!

As usual, I ran all my races for my sweet buddy Erica! I have been running for her for 2 years now! I always have her on my mind and in my prayers when my feet are pounding the ground. I am so thankful that I run for her. Our relationship is so important to me. I am very grateful that the Lord put her and her family in my life! If you are interested in running for someone who can't or to read more about our story, check out these posts:

http://thehawkinsfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2015/02/1067-miles.html

http://thehawkinsfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2014/08/i-run-4.html

And I would like to thank those special gals in my life who help me along... My sister and my best friend, Denise, who pushed me through 8 races this year and my best running friend in the entire world- Stacey, who tagged teamed with me on 7 races this year! 

Now, onto my year of running! I managed to run at least 1 race every month this year, some months I ran 2. My total races this year added up to 15! 11 of which Hooper ran with me (well, in me) :) So I have officially ran a race every month for the last 3 years! I can't wait to start on my 4th year! 
I like to recap my races each year, and this year is no different. Here we go:

January:
This is an annual race for me and my friends! And one of our favorites! The Hot Chocolate 15k.

February:
This is another annual race for me and my friend! The Cupid Chase 15K raises money for people who suffer from seizures. I had registered and paid for the Spartan Race, but was unable to go- I was about 5 weeks pregnant and I was super sick with strep throat!

March: 
I ran 2 races this month! Jogging for Jude was a 5K in support of a child we know with Down Syndrome. The second race was my favorite half marathon, The Publix Half in Atlanta. I was 7 weeks pregnant when I ran this race!

April:
The color run 5k! This is a favorite race for me and the kids. We do this one every year!

May:
The Sombrero Dash 10K. This race was so hilarious! There were only a handful of people running this 10K and me and my sister finished dead last. We laughed about this race and how slow we were (not really- but the spectators at the finish line sure thought we were) for weeks after! But we had a great time.

June:
This was my first ever triathlon! I was 5 months pregnant here! This was the Callaway Gardens Sprint Triathlon. This tri consisted of a 1/4 mile swim, 10 mile bike and a 2 mile run to finish it off. I really enjoyed the tri and plan to participate in it again next year. I also ran in our churches Family Fun Run at Oak Hill. This was a 5K that my whole family ran! We had a great time doing this race together and all the money went to the CWC, a ministry I love and support in our area for women who need a fresh start.

July:
The Peachtree!! 6 Months along. The hottest 10K on the planet. This is really the most exciting race of all to run because it's the biggest road race in the world, and of course I get to spend the 4th with my best friends in Atlanta eating cheesecake and hanging out. LOVE the Peachtree!

August:
The Superhero 10K. This race benefited a little boy with a heart condition. It was my last 10K. I was almost 7 months pregnant here and hills were getting difficult. In fact, I'm pretty sure we walked up the last few hills of this race.

September:
The Scrub Run 5K. I have participated in this race before. I was 7 months here, and ran the entire race (minus one hill). I finished this race in 32 mins. It was definitely hot, but I enjoyed my run! My friend was so stoked because she finally beat me in a race!

October:
This month I ran 2 races. The Jack-O-Lantern Jog 5K at my sister's school she teaches at (this is another family favorite) and I also ran the Depot Dash 5K at my husbands Home Depot. This was a 1st annual event and I didn't want to miss it! Me, the kids and Kevin all participated. People thought I was crazy- 8 months pregnant and still racing. I even pushed Kennedy in both of these races!

November:
The Insane Inflatable 5K! I had hoped to run my November race before Hooper was born, but I didn't find one in time. I managed to sneak one in 2 weeks postpartum with the kiddos. We had a blast! I ran very easy and walked a good bit of this race. 

December:
Last race of the year. A Country Christmas in Lights 5k at the Rock Ranch. It was a great end to this years races and we had a great time! Finished in 30 mins, and felt great.  I must admit it's nice to get to run again without little Hooper inside. Although, I really enjoyed the last 9 months running with him all tucked away in my tummy and sometimes I miss it!

As for next year? Well of course I plan to run a race every month- after all I am on a streak! I do intend on that Tough Mudder in 2016 and I would like to run my 3rd full marathon this year as well. And I'm also hoping to pull off an Olympic distance triathlon as well. I'm not sure how training will look with the new edition in my life, but I'm planning to hit up the treadmill and bike when I can. 
As usual, I encourage you to set a fitness goal for 2016 and to stick with it and rock it out!! 
Here's to the new year!

Hooper's Birth Story

  

***WARNING*** This post contains photo's of my home-birth. Although not graphic, they may be too much for some.

      

      I wanted to share Hooper's birth story for those who wanted to hear about it. He was a planned home-birth. We had a long list of reasons for our home-birth. Some included our new insurance- which required delivery at Piedmont Atlanta (almost an hour and a half away), avoiding a 4th unnecessary induction, being at home with our kids, and the list goes on. We found our midwife through a friend. She was amazing! All our visits were with her in Peachtree City. I am so thankful we used Mandi. She was amazing and helped us have an amazing birth!

        I was due November 9, 2015. In the weeks before my due date I had lots of braxton hicks contractions and quite a few regular contractions as well. My due date came and left, and I became more and more miserable. By Wednesday November 11, I was having contractions pretty much all day and night. None of them were really painful or consistent, but they were there. Wednesday night, I ran the kids all over the place- as usual. Carter to basketball at the school, the girls to church (I didn't feel like going so I just dropped them off), then back to the school to get Carter and back to church to get the girls. All evening I had been having contractions. By the time we got home and settled and everyone in bed, I took a moment to relax and pay attention to the timing of the contractions. They were steady and 20 mins apart. I bounced on the birth ball (yoga ball) and watched TV. By 12, the contractions were 10 mins or less apart and getting more intense. We decided to call Mandi about 12:15 and let her know it was time! She arrived about 12:45 and began setting up everything. Me and Kevin set up the pool and put a liner on the bed before she got there. Her assistant was out of town with a death in the family, so she asked her good friend and nurse midwife Natalie over to assist. This was totally a God thing, because we loved having Natalie and Mandi both there. It was the perfect combination! By the time Natalie arrived (she lives in east Atlanta), it was 1:45 am. I was still having contractions, but I could breath through them pretty easily. Mandi checked my cervix. It was 6 cm and the baby was right there, We decided to break my water and go ahead have him out quickly. After the water was broken, I labored backwards on the toilet with a pillow for about 45 mins. The contractions went from easy to unbearable as I transitioned from 7 to 10 cm. While laboring, the birth pool was filled. Unfortunately the hot water gave out and the water got a little too cold. Kevin had to boil pots of water to add to the pool to get it warm (this was actually kind of funny now that I think about it!). After a pot or two of water was added, the midwives quickly realized I had hit 10 cm, and was ready to push. They helped me into the birth pool, and tried to find a good position to push in. They suggested squatting, which worked perfectly. After about 15 mins of pool and pushing, Hooper was here! He was born at 3 am, only 2 hours and 45 mins after my midwife arrived. He weighed 9 lbs and 2 oz, and was 20.5 inches long. He was born quietly while his siblings were upstairs fast asleep. Everything was cleaned up and the midwives headed out by 5 am. We were able to sleep in our own bed with our new little boy from 5:30 to 7:30. We were then very excited to surprise our other children with their new baby brother! It was like Christmas morning for everyone! Welcome to our family Hooper Dean Hawkins!

Bouncing on the ball while everything got set up.

Pool and supplies all ready.

Time to break water and listen baby.

Pushing through contractions

Hooper is here!

Checking out my beautiful boy!

We quickly moved from the pool to the bed to get him warm.

He never cried and needed little oxygen.

Time for his newborn check!

Measuring his head

Listening to his heart

Weighing Hooper!

Big boy, 9lbs 2oz!

Kitchen Re-Do

We bought our house back in December and moved in right away. I spent 3 long days/nights (with my sweet sister) re-painting the kitchen, dining room and living areas. This also included scrapping off wallpaper. No. Fun. But, I got all the painting done BEFORE we moved in, thank the Lord. But the kitchen was a disaster. The cabinets were old and dirty, the counter tops were sea foam green and hideous, and the floor.. well, lets not even go there. See the pictures for yourself- think beach house 1992 tile. Also sea foam green-blue. The appliances were original to the house, except the dishwasher, it was newer. The counter-tops were made for a midget to cook from. I also broke my back leaning over to cook dinner every night. So, we did our kitchen make-over! Not an expensive one. We did some work ourselves, and found people to do the rest cheaply.

I will start with a quick pic of the living room. The sun made it hard to see, but you get an idea of the wall paper and the color we painted over. (And I know we have nothing on the walls.. still... but I have yet to figure out what I want on all the walls.)

 Okay, now onto the kitchen. I will start with some before pics, so you can get an idea of the wall color, flooring, etc. before we moved in. These are pictures from the homeowners original "for sale" post online. The walls were red, the counters were sea foam green, and the floor was sea foam green/blue. The cabinets were off white. The sink stainless steel.

Hallway, breakfast area when you first walk in.

Dining room- light colored wood floor, red walls.

Another Kitchen view. The island is very low to the ground.

Here is what the kitchen looked like after the walls had been painted. Like I said, we did this before we moved in. We painted the kitchen, dining and breakfast area all grey.

Another pic of the kitchen before.

First thing- the drop in stove had to go. We cut out the wood along the bottom to make room for a slide in unit. I love my new stove by the way- it's amazing. Convection cooking, timer enabled to start when I am not home, and 5 glass cooktops!

Next, we took off all the cabinet doors, sanded , repainted and added new hardware. This made the cabinets look 100 times better, and saved us a ton of money. We also added 6 inch legs to the island to raise it up to my level. We painted the cabinets bright white. 

And now for the after pics...

We added the new stove as well as a new venthood. The new black iron knobs made the cabinets look great.

The breakfast area/entrance. We chose a dark colored wood Allure flooring. We ordered the material from Home Depot and had a friend install it.

Here is a good look at the whole kitchen.

 We chose wood counter tops that were dark and matched the floor. We had the countertops place on TOP of the wood instead of hanging over like the old ones. This added an extra inch to the height of our counters. We added a new stainless steel dishwasher (which I also love). And we replaced the sink with a granite composite extra deep sink and replaced the faucet with dark copper fixtures.

And here is our dining room with the same floor as the kitchen and the gray wall paint.

Here are a few compare pics:

LOVE LOVE LOVE my kitchen update!!