Please welcome my sweet friend, Courtney Russell, to my blog. Courtney is the Co-Chair for The Big KnoxVenture Race coming up in October. It is a fun event and myself and KTC have been involved since it's first year. Check out her blog below and hopefully we will see you on October 13!

Kristy

Knoxville’s One-Of-A-Kind Adventure Race—That is for Everyone!

The BIG KnoxVenture Race benefitting Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee

Huge thanks to Kristy for allowing me to write a guest blog post about an event that is near and dear to my heart, the BIG KnoxVenture Race. Maybe you have seen our commercials or ads in the past and thought, “what is that?” or “that is not for me.” I want to tell you a bit about KnoxVenture and why it might be the perfect event for you.

Trust me, if I saw the words “adventure race” and didn’t know anything else about it, I wouldn’t take a second look. I am neither adventurous nor fast (and if you are one or both of those things I applaud that!).

I also suspect that those who participate in some of the local 5ks, 10ks, etc. might think this isn’t for them because it involves more than just running and isn’t a “serious” road race.

KnoxVenture really is tailored to people of all ages and all fitness levels. The 5K course takes you through downtown Knoxville to complete both physical and mental tasks. Some of my favorite teams each year are the parents with their children in strollers. We have everyone there from the Operation Boot Camp Teams that go all out on both their awesome costumes and their speed, to the friends in crazy costumes that just use the time have fun in downtown Knoxville, to the coworkers wearing their company logos and utilizing the event as an opportunity for team building.

Maybe some of the serious runners following Kristy’s blog want to come out and try to give the Operation Boot Camp Teams a run for their money? 

And the BEST part about KnoxVenture is that all the proceeds support Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee and the work they do to provide quality mentoring relationships for children throughout East Tennessee. That is what the day is really about…after the challenges are completed and the race is won, the kids keep winning!

If you and your family, friends, co-workers, church, etc. etc. would like to be a part of this unique, worthwhile and fun event please visit www.KnoxVenture.org. You can also call Holly Kizer at Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee at 865-523-2179.

To learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee please visit www.BigBrothersBigSistersETN.org.

Thank you all for your time! I hope to see you at KnoxVenture!

Courtney Russell

2012 BIG KnoxVenture Race Co-Chair

         

Don't judge me but Pre-School is the Best.

I have told this part before, anyone who knew me growing up knew that I didn't want kids. I said this through high school, college, and post college. Altman and I had serious discussions about it before we got married. Of course my (our) mind changed and I would do anything for my kid. He is amazing. Altman and I were so happy before he was born but he filled this spot in our hearts that I didn't even know existed.

He makes me happy. So happy. His smile is infectious and he is smart and funny. He makes me cry - in a good way. He brings out emotions that I never knew existed. He also makes me cry in a way that makes me wonder if I am a good mother or not and frankly why on Earth did I had a kid. On any given day, he can bring me to my knees in tears - in a good way or a bad way. He makes me mad too. I don't understand what was unclear about me saying, "Don't blow that whistle inside." But, apparently I was unclear because every head turned when he blew an ear piercing whistle inside the Post Office.

He is like me. A lot like me. He is smart and he doesn't like to wait for instruction. He wants to dive right into to something. No time to wait for instructions. Just do it. He gets frustrated really easily (probably because he didn't read the instructions and he got it wrong). He is stubborn. I see some epic battles ahead.

Don't take any of this wrong. He is a great kid. Really. We couldn't ask for a better kid. I thank God every night for blessing us with such a cool kid. He has great manners and is so kind and thoughtful of others. Altman has this way with people and I see a lot of that in Jackson.

He is out of school this week. As usual, on paper, having no backup plan is a great idea. I can do everything, right? I can work, watch the kid, feed the kid, feed myself (whoops - forgot about that today), do more work, do laundry, clean the house, and do more work with no problem at all. Always a good idea until we get to this week.

I love him but we have a much better relationship when he goes to school. He goes Monday through Friday from 9 am to 3 pm. Perfect. I work out before and then spend that time in meetings and running KTC. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Altman and I alternate afternoon meetings and then we work at night but after he goes to bed.

The time away is great for all. Jackson loves the schedule. Get up, eat, play, school, and then see mommy and daddy. He has friends and loves his teachers. They teach him things and then he can come home and tell us all about it. I can't wait for 3 pm to pick him up. When I pick him up, I have missed him all day. And, I really did miss him so much that I wonder why we send him to school.

Tuesday can't get here fast enough. I love him but we'll be a happier duo once he goes back to school. I think I do a good job of being his mother. I do the best I can every single day. I can fix boo boos, I am teaching him to be grateful in life, that hard work is important, to do nice things for others, and I am teaching him healthy habits. With all that said, I am a better mother because he goes to pre-school.

You can judge if you want but if you don't send your kid away for a little while everyday - you should try it. There is nothing wrong with staying home with your kids. I admire and praise anyone that can do it. For us, I am better at what I do when we can spend some time apart each day. Now, back to working and making dinner and maybe now I will get to eat!

Where did my clean go?

I was raised to have a clean home. Growing up, I had to make my bed, wash the dishes, and help clean the house. That was part of life.

I have always loved a clean house. In my adult life, it has been a symbol of a job well done. That feeling when you crash onto the sofa after cleaning the house and you can smell the clean. I love it. It really is one of my favorite things in the world.

In college, I had clean roommates and not so clean roommates. When I lived alone, my apartments were almost sterile because they were so clean. And, there was no mess. When I lived alone, there were no clothes on the floor and things were neat and orderly.

Altman wasn't taught the same clean that I was taught. Through the years, I have adjusted my expectations. For instance, a few years ago, he caught me rearranging the items in the dishwasher before we washed them. He was putting things in but I thought they could go in differently. I didn't think he'd notice that I was reloading everything - he did. Now, I leave the dishwasher to him. He loads it and unloads it and we are all happy.

We have a child. We also have three dogs and a cat. Clean doesn't live here right now. We got the puppy because the old dog has to go out so many times a day that we thought this would be a great opportunity to house train the new dog. That has worked well. Unfortunately, the old dog has no idea where he is and does his business all over the house.

Luckily, the toddler is daytime potty trained so at least I am not cleaning up kid pee off the floor anymore. That sure was fun for awhile.

We are trying to teach Little Altman to do his chores. He has to make his bed, take care of the dogs, eat vegetables, etc every day. His idea of making the bed and mine are significantly different but the effort is there. Yesterday, it took over an hour to clean up trains so that we could go to a birthday party. I understand that we have to teach him. If I die trying, he will be raised knowing how to clean up after himself, how to do laundry, and how to scrub a toilet. The good news is that this afternoon, he called me into the bathroom and showed me how he was cleaning the potty. It was a nice start (and yes, he was being supervised by his father).

Through the last few years, we've alternated between having someone clean the house and doing it ourselves. Admittedly, it is really hard to have a clean house when you live in roughly 1700 sq. ft. with all these beings under one roof. It is hard to justify the money when the place looks like a hurricane hit it within 5 minutes of being cleaned. But, it is hard to justify our own time when it looks like a hurricane hit it within 5 minutes of being cleaned.

Right now, we are attempting to make it a family affair. Everyone has their duties and they are split up throughout the week. We'll see how this goes.

I like clean. We aren't nasty but we aren't eat off the floor clean. Those days may be gone permanently. I sure hope not..............

A rock up the nose isn't a bump in the road!

It was bound to happen...an object in the nose or ear that we couldn't get out. Why wouldn't it happen on our mini-vacay? Totally fits our life.

While riding kiddie rides last Saturday, one of the workers watched an exchange between Jackson and I. He was picking his nose and then trying to stick his finger in his mouth. Of course I told him to stop, pulled the finger away from his face, and reminded him how gross eating boogers is. The kid working saw the whole conversation and I could see him giggling to himself.  It was a bit embarrassing but heck, what 3 year old hasn't picked their nose and eaten a booger. If you say your kid hasn't done it then you are fibbing or haven't seen it yourself. I was just happy that he hadn't stuck in marbles or trains or whatever in his nose yet.

We headed to Brevard for a few days of rest and relaxation. On Tuesday morning, we went for a run and then to breakfast. Little Altman was complaining of a rock in his sandal. Jason got it out and we took off for the mountains for some hiking. No big deal. About a mile into the short drive, Jackson said, "I have a rock in my nose." I didn't even turn around and just asked him what he said. "I have a rock in my nose." I asked how it got there and he said he put it there.

I looked over the seat and up his nose and yep, there was a rock. We pulled into a parking lot and I pulled him out of his seat and into the back of the Tahoe. I was acting like I was going to perform surgery or something. After looking a little closer, he had shoved it pretty far up there and we decided we needed assistance getting it out.

The ER was from the 1950s. Seriously. Small and everyone seemed old including the staff. They all LOVED Jackson and after each of them telling us a "rock up the nose story" said they'd take care of us. So much for hiking. We waited for awhile so that they could discharge someone and get us back to a room.

We wanted to hike but we settled for Ring Around the Rosies and the jumping game while we waited in the lobby. Yes, in the lobby in front of the 20 or so people waiting to be treated or waiting on family.

Luckily, the rock fell out before the doctor had to intervene. A good sneeze knocked it loose and a few wipes and it literally just fell out and onto the exam table.

Instead of hiking, we spent the afternoon in the ER. Jackson was in great spirits the whole time and although it was a bump in our road that day, we made the best of it. We headed back to the cabin where we played trains and watched the Olympics and spent some great time together as a family.

I doubt this is the last trip we take to the ER. He now repeats that he shouldn't stick things in his nose but as I type this, we are having the booger conversation...again.

Sometimes the road is smooth and sometimes it is bumpy. Sometimes it broken all to heck. You just gotta keep going and see what each new day brings. And, sometimes give yourself a high five that the bump was a small one and could have done a lot more damage!