All the guts NONE of the Glory

This is definitely a healthy living blog, but this is definitively not a healthy living post.
This is a rant... please read on at your own caution...

I'm am a mom of 2 children, that does not work outside of the home.  BUT, I do work from home, and act as stay at home parent to my 2 kids. This day in age there is not a ton of glory in being a stay at home mom. My childless friends think I'm lucky, my friends with children think I'm lazy, the teachers, dr's, and dentists, think I have all the time in the world, and my brother thinks I sit at home doing crafts all day. 
Let me tell you what I really do.  I cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 4 people. Let me emphasize cook because that's what I do, no drive-thrus, or boxed mac and cheese over here. I work on this computer far longer than what a normal 9-5 would be, plus weekends. I workout 6 days a week. I run errands, clean, take kids to playdates and bday parties, clean, kiss boo boo's, and clean some more. With a 4 and 2 year old there is A LOT of cleaning to be done.  Most of the time when people ask if I stay at home with my kids I just smile and say yes. I don't find a need to tell them I also work from home full time.  It's really none of their business. But even if ALL I did was be a stay at home mom, that's a hell of a lot of work!  I don't expect praise, it was my choice to have kids and really it is a job, a very rewarding one. Lately, there have been a lot of articles about the new "stay at home dad"
STOP THE PRESSES
It is with utter amazement and disbelief that a man can stay at home with his kids. Those same people that pity me praise the man doing the same thing.  I'm sorry I cannot get on board with that. I just can't. My husband did it with our first for almost 2 years, while I worked outside of the house. This wasn't a reversal of roles, it was reality and it was great. He loved being at home with our son, as do I. I loved working and being around adults as opposed to kids all day. There are merits in both.
I don't want a medal for what I do on a daily basis, my life is exactly what I made it and I really truly love it. My friends have it right I am lucky, and no, it's not because I have time to shop all day (try going to the mall with 2 kids, just try!).  It's because I am able to do what I want on a daily basis with my kids, with my work, with my time.  But, I don't want that medal passed down to the dad because he is doing the same thing.

Rant Over.

Enjoy your weekend.

XOXO

A product review and return to normal?

I had a glorious 8 days of vacation on Sanibel Island and we left just in time to miss the most rain Florida has seen in years.  We soaked up the sun, put down the phones, computers, and tablets and chilled with the kids.  It was great.  I want to go back. I especially want to go back because Murphy's law has been in full swing since we got home.

 We've had car troubles, home troubles, work troubles, kid troubles, foot troubles, you name it.
I didn't get in the workouts I'd hoped while on vacay. I got in a couple, but definitely fell off the routine pretty quickly. I wasn't too worried about it because my ankle is still not 100%.  It's not enough to where it's affecting my running, but I can still feel it.  If that makes any sesnse.
You know I'm obsessed with bengay, but hubby makes fun of me because I always smell like bengay, I actually like the smell.  But I'm weird.

Well Bengay has a new product called Zero Degrees, you can actually store it in your freezer, that's where mine is!
Here's the deets:

• Blasts away pain
• Medicated pain relief
• Lasts for hours
• Instant icy-cold sensation

• Vanishing scent***
• May be stored in the freezer
• Ideal for muscle and joint strain or sprain pain relief

Please note the "vanishing scent"

I've been using this after most runs.  It's nice and you don't get the heat like with traditional bengay and the cold sensation is nice since it's been over 100 degrees here, yup it's hotter here in the ATL than in Florida.  Go figure.  I think this product is great for sore muscles, but for a pull or strain I still like the regular bengay better. Nothing beats the heat!

I'm not going to complain about the heat because I love the hot weather, but it makes running HARD!
I'll be up bright and early to attempt my long run tomorrow.  TGIF Peeps... Stay cool my friends.

You HAVE to do this!

Yesterday I stumbled on the coolest thing since sliced bread.
It's blogilate's DIY Racerback workout shirt!  It's seriously easy, quick, and now I finally have a use for the dozen's of tshirts and race shirts I never ever wear.

This was a regular t-shirt that I got at a race last year...

These aren't the best quality pics, but you get the gist.  It's so cute it's actually longer in the back than in the front and it's totally comfy.  So go ahead and watch this youtube to tutorial and start cutting up your shirts!