The Reynolds Nation

I snapped this picture yesterday when I brought the little "red" car over to my mother-in-law's house.  Yes, I know it is not red, but in my mind I have always thought of it red...so I am establishing now that it is red. Okay. Okay. So, now that we got that small point out of the way, it was a sad moment when I did this.  We have had this car FOREVER!  I spotted this car about 8 years ago when I was driving down one of the local roads on a weekend.  It was on someones driveway during a garage sale and they were selling it for $5. What a great deal. I figured if it lasted a few months then it was totally worth it.  So, I brought it home.  Bryn was too big for it, Caleb was perfect size and I think Esther was JUST learning how to walk.  Well, my kids have played in it forever and forever.  I got my $5 worth and beyond. They have gone in and out of it, on top of it...I think the dogs have gone in it and Matt used to tie a rope to it and pull the k...

Sitting here at the table with the kids. They are busy with their school work. Esther is already done with her work, and she is now taking up her 30 minutes on the computer. Judah is watching a little television, after a busy time with his work. We have come a long way since last Monday and our crazy first day of school...haha. He told me today that he likes school. One point for my court, right? The other three are by me...Caleb on math, William on phonics and Bryn on vocab. She starts her algebra II course today, and I don't think she is looking forward to it. Math isn't her favorite, but that's okay. She will do a great job anyway. It's raining like crazy right now. Hurricane Isaac is passing Florida by right now and we are getting all the Eastern rain bands. So, it's an inside kind of day. I only was able to run 1.28 out of 2 miles this morning because of the rain. Almost half way there and the skies opened up...which actually felt nice. It was so humid out tha...

Here I am yesterday morning...sweating my butt off.  You can actually see the sweat on my forehead (should have checked that before snapping the picture, he he).  I did my longest run yesterday morning...5 miles!!! Can you believe it? It's been an incredible journey...check out how I started this process  just 5 months ago. When I finished my 5k training in May I decided to continue on and train for the 10k (might as well right?).  I am not the biggest lover of running, but I do like it. And most of all I love what it has done to my body.  I am losing weight tremendously fast because of it!  And anything to make my heart healthy and good is awesome! When I started yesterday I wasn't sure how far I was going to go.  It was a beautiful morning on the Riverside and I wanted to go 5 miles, but I wasn't sure how my hip would feel.  When I ran on Tuesday, it really bothered me.  I hadn't been icing my lower back as often as I should and I didn't...

Our sweet pug, Mia, had to have surgery on her leg yesterday (to correct another surgery)...so we were without our beloved dog for a day.  We missed her. Well, yesterday Judah tagged along and we went to pick her up. The vet was swamped, so we had plenty of time to fill.  We played multiple games of  I-Spy and Rock, Paper, Scissors.  And then the camera was brought out.  He took some pictures and so did I.  It was a fun few minutes.  Just Judah and I together.  The following pictures are from our time together. Make sure you head over to see Emily . She didn't post a picture this week, but still take a moment and visit her blog.  She is super awesome!

After 11 years of homeschooling, we have had many first days. First day with one kid and as of yesterday our first day with five kids. I have so many memories of first days...the air was crisp, the leaves were ready to change and I was wearing a light jacket to school (haha, obviously I was not in Florida).  New pencils, back pack and lunch box. It makes a smile come to my face, like so many others. Well, as you can tell by my post yesterday, it was our youngest child's first day.  He has watched for the last five years watch all the other kids sit down nice and orderly and do their schoolwork.  Yes, there were crazy days...loud days...quiet days...but yesterday was one for the record books.  Judah started his day with so much anticipation.  He was nervous, excited...totally overloaded.  He finally hit the spot that everyone talked about.  He was finally a Kindergartener!!! Woohoo! It was a status that everyone talked about, and now he was there...

So today was the day.  After a fantastic summer, we are back to the books. And today is the day when our little caboose started kindergarten.  So sweet and sad at the same time.  Can't believe he is old enough to be adding, subtracting and reading.  Wasn't he just crawling around on our floor?  Okay, I will stop now before the tears flow.  Here he is so proud this morning with his Math book.  I have a little tradition around here...we make the first day of kindergarten special by reading the "kissing hand" book, doing a craft and baking cookies from our hand prints (with yummy chocolate in the middle).  It's so sweet...they love it...and I love making that first day so special. I decided to jump in the picture this morning.  Here is the whole Reynolds Nation gearing up for a day full of learning, fun and love.  Love this family!!! Expecting a great year.

Phew! Can you believe it? Can you believe summer is over?  This time tomorrow morning we will be hitting the books and starting our 11th year homeschooling. Incredible. How does time go by so fast? I was telling Matt yesterday that I think this summer was the fastest ever.  It went by in a blink. So, I snapped this picture of all my kiddos at the place they spent the most time at this summer...the place they love so much.  Even so, I am excited about this upcoming school year. It's going to be full of knights, and kings and queens.  We are headed to the Middle Ages...I am so excited.  So, I hope your summer was as good as mine.  If not, don't live in regret and make the next season even better.

I was a bit frustrated this morning with my running.  Well, more like I was frustrated before my run.  I was back and forth on where I wanted to run.  I didn't really want to run.  I wanted to stay in bed instead.  But that's not how the pounds come off.  And I have a 10k that I am training for...and you can't do that in bed.  Overall, I was just frustrated because I am so slow.  I know that I am slower because of my weight.  The more you have to carry, the slower you move.  And I know that I am much faster than I was just a few months ago.  I just need to pick up the pace.  So, after all my moments of frustration, I decided to do a short run..only 2 miles this morning.  But with the intent to pick up my speed.  Which went really well. I dropped my average pace almost another 1/2 a minute...which was really good.  Yes, I need to get so much faster.  But after the short burst this morning, I felt like it w...

I had William snap a picture of me this morning.  I checked the camera to see if I have any latest pictures of me...and there were none. We have been so busy with moving lately that I haven't taken pictures of much.  So, I had William take this picture...it's a first he has done of me and I think he did a pretty good job.                                       And before he could walk away I snapped this of the two of us.  Isn't he tan? He got incredibly tan this summer from all the swim and beach time.  Gosh, he is handsome.  I wanted to include this.  Doesn't my husband look handsome? Last night we were lounging in bed and I took this.  I think he looks incredibly attractive (I guess I should)...but this picture really brings out how lovely he really is. ...

Yummy! Oh yes! You have to love a bagel.  They are the perfect breakfast treat.  If you toast them just right and then put on your favorite topping...ooohhh, ahhhh....love it! Well, as you may know I have changed my whole life when it comes to eating.  I had to so I could SAVE my life.  My eating was killing me.  So now I eat whole foods, barely anything processed and lots of RAW!  A week or so ago I saw a bagel at the bakery at our local grocery store and it made my mouth water.  It looked so good.  And at this point of my change of lifestyle I don't usually crave too much.  But this looked so good.  But as normal, I walked away.  I rarely eat any white flour.  It does nothing good for me.  Over the course of the next few days I thought about bagels.  I was really craving it now.  And with my new food lifestyle I don't believe that anything is off limits.  You just have to do everything in moderation....

Things are changing around here at the Reynolds Nation. Big change.  New Season.  Phew, it's so hard to even say it.  Well, we are moving.  After living on our small farm for the past 10 years we are moving.  Wow! I can't believe it.  I am so excited and so reluctant at the same time.  But a new season is on the horizon.  We have felt it for so long.  For the past two years this new season has been beckoning.  And this step of moving is just the beginning. So...lots of changes going on right now.  Packing boxes...getting rid of a ton of stuff.  The best part of moving is that you can stream line your house.  That part feels good.  Of course I feel a bit teary eyed when I think of leaving my little red house.  But my heart is excited too.  So, excuse the dust and sporadic writing around here...things are on the move.  Less than 3 weeks to go :)

This morning I had an awesome run.  A little over a month ago I injured my leg.  I guess from not warming up properly before my run...that's the best answer I could come up with.  So, I took two full weeks off of running (which totally killed me) and just cross-trained at the gym.  I never knew how addicted I came to running until I couldn't run.  After the two weeks I was able to go back to running...but I started out slow.  The first day I just ran a mile to see how my leg felt and how it would respond afterwards.  After feeling great I went back to my three day a week running schedule with an increase each time of 1/2 mile.  Each time it felt great.  My leg felt better than ever.  So, this morning I finally hit the 4.2 miles that I was running when I hurt my leg.  The best part is that I did it with a decrease in my average pace by 1.10 minutes.  I felt it the whole way.  I knew I was going so much faster.  ...

I had to post this morning about Bryn making the swim team yesterday.  After working all summer long and recovering from an injury to her shoulder..she made our local team yesterday.  She was able to complete the 100m butterfly under the required time.  Of course this was a major hurdle to beat, but now she has 6 days a week of practice (2.5 hours each day) ahead of her until mid-fall.  And lots of time for me picking up at the pool and watching meets.  Swim team for William and Esther ends tomorrow (with their last meet) and Bryn's time picks up now.  I need to start logging how many days I sit by the pool...lol!

You know when you have those kind of days where you feel really productive...and you get all the stuff you want done...DONE! Well, today was one of those days.  I just got a lot of stuff completed.  I was on a roll...and nothing (like kids wrestling, slapping each other, or any other "normal" major catastrophe) was going to stop me!!! School is less than two weeks away and I pushed my prep time off enough! I really like to enjoy my summer with my kids...you know beach, movies, pool, beach, swim team, beach and all that fun kind of stuff.  And the last thing I want to do is think about lesson plans and books.  So, I simply just don't :)  I enjoy my summer (which is why I have barely been posting).  I enjoy every moment with my kids.  But the time came for me to crack open the boxes of curriculum and work.  And so I did.  I opened..I separated...I looked over and restacked.  And after a very long time downloading my Tapestry of Grace Cur...

I thought I would post this picture...my husband and I heard it last night and he posted it to his facebook.  I thought it was so funny! Since my life is filled with working out...and I love my workout more in the end than in beginning...so this is entirely appropriate at this stage in my life! Enjoy!