Last night I was over at my parents house for my dad's birthday (he turned
63). We were sitting there and I told them of my dilemma of not finding any waterproof American flag fanny packs. I mean how can this
possibly be?! Clearly there is a market for this. I explained how
this will be my big break in life. They all looked at me like I was
nuts. Dream crushers. My little sister told me to be quiet and I pouted as they continued the conversation. This is how I know I don't have my shit
together.
You know when you meet someone and they just clearly have their stuff together. They're funny, wait let me take that further, witty. They happen to be gorgeous and have a hot husband and an adorable child? Well that is Karli for you. No, I haven't met her in real life but you can get a pretty good picture of the girl behind the computer screen by reading her blog.
She's one of those people that leave your scratching your head like, wow you really have it all together. Karli's blog, appropriately titled September FARM lives on a farm, runs marathons, and is pregnant with her second kid. And that's just a few of her wonderful qualities. So I had to dig into her life, just a little:
1. Tell us when you knew your farmer was the one?
my dear farmer. isn’t he the dreamiest? no seriously…he’s hot. like…i often look at him and get jealous because he’s clearly the better looking one of our pair. sometimes i get blog comments saying just how dreamy he is and it makes my stomach flip because he’s mine all mine. jealous ladies? okay…so maybe you’re not, but i swoon for him. i knew he was the one for me the day i met him during a golf tournament we were both playing in for our respective companies. he ran over to another golf cart, got into their cooler and stole me a beer. when i got home that night i called my sister and said, “kelli! i just met the guy version of me! he’s perfection” (which would imply i think i’m perfect…but that’s not what i mean…i swear.) i just mean that he was the perfect one for me. ya know? oh that farmer. pitter-patter, tha-thump, tha-thump.
2. When did you know you wanted to start having kids?
kids? does anyone really ever know when they want to have kids? well…i’m sure some people do, but it never really hit me. it was just like one day farmer and i were like, “let’s give it a shot.”
young girls – let me tell you…it CAN happen the first time. twice. to say my farmer was disappointed he didn’t get to practice more is an understatement and a disgusting over-share.
3. What do you do to have fun with a little one plus a baby on the way?
i often hear people who are getting ready to have their first baby say stuff like, “we are going to adjust the baby into our lifestyle, not conform to it’s schedule.” i laugh inside. i mean…maybe those people really will be blessed with an amazing kid that will just go with the flow and sleep like a champion…but not us. our turtle loves a schedule and loves her crib. we’re talking 13 hours of sleep at night and about 3.5 during the day. so “fun” usually consists of me being quiet and farmer farming.
actually, one day a week i take a “me” day. that may sound selfish, but i LOVE my “me” days. i get off the farm and head into the big city. all day long i do whatever i want and i don’t have to make anyone any meals or snacks. it’s brilliant. maybe the day consists of a wax. maybe it’s a movie by myself. shoot…maybe i hit up costco. regardless, anything done alone is easier than toting a 20 month old.
farmer and i also sneak away for semi-regular dates. when it’s just the two of us it reminds me of the guy i fell head over heels for. unfortunately, our dates used to be a lot more adventure-filled…now they consist more of a dinner out with a beer or two. but that’s okay. any time i have with just farmer all to myself…i don’t care what we do.
4. What's the biggest myth of pregnancy (can one drink really hurt?)
so now that i’m pregnant with baby 2.0 i’m kind of an expert. and by
expert i mean i’m way more relaxed. guess what ladies…it’s okay to drink
caffeine and it’s okay to drink a beer. you can even have certain types
of sushi! now…i say that knowing that i’m okay with it. i’m also okay
with the super terrible glares i receive. as a pregnant gal and a mom
you have to grow a thick skin. nobody is quicker to judge you than
another woman because everyone has an opinion. and that’s okay. opinions
are great…just don’t be pushy with them. (and if you have something
negative to say…say it to a friend. not the pregnant gal. she’s so full
of hormones she’ll probably tell you to eff off or pull your hair.)
but
seriously…back to the beer topic. i did a load of research and talked
to my doctor. if a beer sounds absolutely delish on a hot summer day…you
can count on me enjoying one.
5. Where do you get your motivation to run? Can you run while you're pregnant? What's the policy?
college and about 20 pounds overweight. i sucked at it. as in…it hurt
every single time for over a year. i darn near died every time i ran
three miles. my legs ached and my lungs heaved. but guess what? i was
losing lb’s AND getting some nice tone to the old gams. talk about
motivation. then i started signing up for distance races wondering if i
would be able to stick to a training schedule. i quickly found out that i
could and that i enjoyed pushing myself.
running is the fitness
that works best for me. it helps me maintain my weight so i can eat
what i want. i love the “quiet time” i get while i’m doing it. i ALWAYS
feel accomplished because it’s never easy. but mostly i never want to go
back to where i was.
when i was pregnant with kaye i ran until
36-ish weeks (maybe longer…i can’t remember). i plan on doing the same
thing with this pregnancy. when someone finds out you’re pregnant and
running and they tell you how amazing that is…it feels pretty darn good.
i thrive on those compliments. also, if it encourages and inspires
someone to maintain a level of fitness while pregnant…well that’s a huge
bonus.
also, if someone out there is pregnant (or considering)
you can totally keep up the same level of fitness as you’re used to
throughout the entire pregnancy. however, if you’ve never run a day in
your life…don’t start when you find out you’re pregnant. that’s a bad
idea. mostly you just need to listen to your body…and some days your
body says, “no running. more nutella.”
6. What's your favorite thing to do, when you're not running or playing with Kaye?
i already touched on this a bit, but when i can ditch the kid i will glue myself to my farmer. i absolutely love spending uninterrupted time with him. if it means i have to ride for hours in the tractor, so be it. but if i can get him off the farm…even better. we used to whitewater kayak and raft a lot in the summer time. in the winter we would take ski vacations. we’re pretty outdoorsy people and we always have a great time together…especially when we’re doing something active. plus he thinks it’s hot when i sweat. men are weird.
7. How do you keep the romance alive when you're pregnant?
Romance? what’s romance? no seriously…i’m not a super awesome human being to be around when i’m pregnant. this is exactly why i’m not having any more kids after this one. i used to want five…now two will be just fine.
if you’re one of those gals that can keep it “hot” while pregnant…awesome job. credit to you.
but if you’re like me and tend to glare at your significant other if he breathes the wrong way…know you’re not alone. seriously…it’s the hormones. even when i was nursing kaye for that year…it was the hormones. as soon as i stopped nursing…boom. back to my old self and my farmer fell in love with me all over again.
getting pregnant was easy for us…me maintaining a level of sanity while pregnant is not. the upside to this pregnancy is knowing that in the end you get a ridiculously cute prize and a TON of incredible family moments. the pregnant/nursing hormones are temporary and so worth it.
