Our last baptism for a while. Skye kept walking around telling everyone that she will be baptized in five years so she is already looking forward to the event. It was a very special day and you can read more about our baptisms in this post!
After the baptism we were able to have a luncheon with family over at our house to celebrate.
The Rhodes Rolls DEFINITELY rose haha…
We had a soup bar and it hit the spot. My mom brought her amazing taco soup and we had chicken cream cheese chili. We also had a chicken noodle soup that was okay but I don’t want to link it because I want to find a better crockpot version:)
My in-laws brought delicious fruit with grapes that were the size of ping-pong balls.
And Knox’s favorite part had to be the selection of chips.
Rewind to Saturday morning—> 4ish miles with my sister and 30 miles for the week. I’m back to walking any and every incline that I come across and my sister isn’t complaining about me forcing us to walk;)
I wonder how many more miles we will run together…
Skye was not a fan of the sudden weather change that we experienced this weekend. It was 50 degrees and she wanted all of the blankets ha… its going to take some time to acclimate.
Brooke had just a little bit to go to finish her Marathon in a Month program from her school so she did it yesterday while we took Beretta on a walk.
Nothing like that finish line feeling…
And I wish you could have seen how proud she was of herself.
We celebrated afterwards with a hot chocolate tea party.
And then had a very lazy day. Andrew and I started the movie next to each other but then the girls snuck in between us:)
————————————————————————————————
The final countdown is on (less than a month now!) and Andrew just set up his paternity leave with his work. He gets up to 6 weeks of paternity leave (with a percentage of his normal pay) after we have the baby which I am thrilled about. He will take the first week off and then has to work for a week (for trainings that he can’t miss) and then will take another few weeks completely off. I am so grateful he will be able to do this because I have a feeling we are in for quite an adjustment soon:)
And as far as blogging goes… your guess is as good as mine. My boss (me haha) has nothing set up for maternity leave so there will definitely be posts from me (probably shorter and not as many for a few weeks) and some guest posts from Andrew, my mom and my sister. I’m excited to share the changes/18 hours of couch time a day/highs/lows with you.
Back to figuring out a new little human and sleepless nights again, we can’t wait.
PS it feels kind of strange that the kids won’t be meeting him/her until we get home from the hospital but I’m sure it will still feel very special.
Those of you reading with kids or planning to have kids—> What are the maternity/paternity plans set up at your job or your partner/spouse’s work?! I’d love to hear them!
Last running accomplishment that you had! I want to hear them… big, small, medium, anything that made you feel accomplished!
In honor of Knox and his love for chips—> What is your favorite kind of chip?
Is it getting cold where you are?!?!
58 comments
Mariah
Go Brooke!! Congrats on finishing your marathon in a month! Love the pic of the finish line, Skye looks so tall!
Favorite chips would probably be tortilla chips (because then you also get salsa, guac, queso, all the good stuff). Or if I want to feel like a kid, Doritos and Cheetos are always good.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Seriously, Skye is sprouting up so so fast. Good point about the tortilla chips and I’m going to have to strongly agree with you. Have the best day and I hope you get some tortilla chips with guac asap. Thanks Mariah!
Jessica
I work for a European company, so I got 5 months full paid maternity leave with an option to add a 6 month unpaid, and then my first 2 weeks back were part-time hours but full time pay. Incredibly generous benefits, especially for working in the US! Our state (NJ) offers 12 weeks of paid leave to both parents, so my husband just started his 12-week leave last week.
I had my daughter in February, and bc it was flu season no children were allowed in the hospital. She met her big sis at home and it was very special. I actually think bringing my older daughter to the hospital would have been more stressful for everyone, since she would t have really understood what was going on (she was 2.5 at the time).
The Hungry Runner Girl
THAT IS AMAZING! What an awesome company you work for and I am so happy that your husband is getting 12 weeks paid leave. Thank you for sharing that about your 2.5 year old meeting her sister… I didn’t even think about that. Having Skye at the hospital sounds very stressful so this is actually for the best! Have a beautiful day Jessica!
Victoria
Oh wow that soup bar looks amazing. Sounds like my kind of bar! And those buns look so fluffy.
Congrats to Brooke on her big running accomplishment! So neat to see kids that age start to enjoy setting and achieving longer-term goals.
I am not having any children but my company just started offering 3 months of paid parental leave which is great for everybody. You should give yourself some leave, I’ll write a guest post for you haha. No idea on what.
The Hungry Runner Girl
I will TOTALLY take you up on that plan! Recipes, training, work, you name it… your life is so interesting! I’m inviting you over for the next soup bar:). Hope you have the best day Victoria and I totally agree… I loved watching her achieve her goal.
Sage
We have a 4.5 year old boy. Both my husband and I worked when I was pregnant – I asked that we do a family maternity leave for 3 months. My work gave me 3 months off paid and my husband stopped working. When the three months was up, I was ready to go back to a job I love and my husband wanted to stay home – we tried it for a week, a month, a year. He’s still a stay at home dad and it’s worked great. Our back up plan was that no one ever work again and we live in a van by the river as the happiest family ever. I think having options (hehe) helped us find the perfect balance for us.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Sage, this is awesome! I love that you guys have figured out the best situation for you guys. It sounds perfect and everyone sounds happy! What do you do for work, it makes me so happy to hear that you love it so much!
Sage
I work in tech. I was with a start up when I we started our family and have been able to relocate and grow with companies as I advance my career because my husband stays at home. As we’ve moved cities he rents out our former homes so we keep ties to where we’ve been
The Hungry Runner Girl
That is AWESOME Sage. You guys are on fire! Hopefully at some point you relocate in Utah and we can go on a run… tech is booming here lately:)
Maureen
Congratulations on your Baptism Knox! Such a special day and I would be as excited about all of those chips as you are too.
Brooke way to go!! Love the finish line and if you would like to make me one I would not complain ;)
Recently I’ve been into the Elote Corn Chips from Trader Joe’s! They are addicting haha
The Hungry Runner Girl
Thanks Maureen! We will definitely send you one of our fancy finish lines haha. I will get those chips next time I am there, thanks Maureen and I hope you have a beautiful day!
Tonya J. Hancock
When I gave birth my job allowed up to 12 weeks off. The first week I had to take timebank (vacation sick bereavement days were all in one), and the next seven weeks my work would pay me, then the last four weeks I had to take timebank. I ended up only taking six and a half weeks because my son was late And I felt I needed to be back for our annual conference. My hubby didn’t have any parental leave
(And actually had to go out of town for a week a few days after the birth). But now his employer gives three weeks paid parental leave.
I completed my 26th marathon last November. Now, it is an accomplishment just keeping it moving :)
I’m favorite chips are salt and vinegar kettle chips.
Not cold. Lots of rain! Lows in the 50s though so that feels refreshing to run in the morning!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Your husband had to go out of town a few days after the birth?! Wow, that must have been a stressful time. It’s so interesting to hear how everyone’s jobs handle the situation. 26TH MARATHON–> that is HUGE. You’ll have to tell me which course was your absolute favorite sometime. Salt and vinegar kettle chips are heavenly and now I think I need to run to the store to get them. Perfect temps, keep enjoying. Have a great day Tonya!
Kristine
No kiddos but the leave provisions in Canada are good. My sis took a year off with each of her kids.
Congrats to Knox on his baptism! The soup bar looks amazing -makes me want to have soup now.
Last running accomplishment. I made it out the door lol?
So exciting that baby is coming soon!
And yes getting cold we are into coats and long pants here. And I need to dig out gloves.
Well it is Canadian Thanksgiving so we were definitely enjoying extra food this weekend. My favorite snack is a party mix with pretzels corn chips etc. And when I dropped some the puppy was too quick lol. I also made chocolate pumpkin pie and peanut butter pumpkin pie and added a little bourbon too it. Turned out pretty well.
Have a great day Janae!
The Hungry Runner Girl
A YEAR OFF with each of her kids.. that is amazing! Canada does it well! I hope you get some soup asap and that is a huge accomplishment. 2020 has been so crazy so just getting out and moving is a huge accomplishment IMO. Happy Thanksgiving and I’m glad your puppy got to enjoy some food too;). Now I need that pie.. sounds heavenly! Thanks Kristine, you too!
Rebecca Smith
Getting SO close Janae! Excited to hear the big news when he/she arrives. I definitely think you should give yourself some leave- official leave, you won’t regret the time away! I’m sure your boss will understand :)
Be well.
Becca Smith
The Hungry Runner Girl
MY FRIEND!! Thank you SO much and I agree, I think I might just have to this time:). I hope you have the best day Becca.
John
Congrats to Brooke on her Marathon in a Month! Great job!
My last running accomplishment was my first half marathon I mentioned to you a while back. My left MCL is still bothering me from that, so I have no intentions of a repeat performance any time soon! lol…
Knox – I have cycled through favorites over the years from Chili Cheese Fritos to Nacho Cheese Doritos and now it is Cheetos Crunchy Cheese snacks.
Fall weather has definitely settled in a bit here in the Northwest, lots of rain and wind this weekend. We will still have some highs in the 60’s this week though.
Hope you guys have a great week!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Thank you so much John! I am SO bummed that your MCL is still not happy after that amazing accomplishment. Hopefully things change quickly with that. Thanks so much John and enjoy that weather. PS Knox totally agrees with you and your chip choices.
Wendy
Congratulations to Knox! And congratulations to Brooke!
What a fun and great weekend for you all ?
Back when I had my boys, I was allowed 12 weeks off. My husband is a teacher, so that was a little different. Our oldest was born in February, so school was happening, and I think my husband took 1 week off right away, and the took another week off a couple weeks later after my parents went back home. Our 2nd son was born in July, so my husband was home for over a month before school started again. That was really nice. Boy do those days seem so long ago!
I’m not a huge chip fan, although we all love chips and salsa in this house. But I guess I would say, original Ruffles are my favorite.
Have a great start to your week!
The Hungry Runner Girl
I loved reading about what you guys did when your boys were born! I bet it seems like the time has just flown by (ps are the college classes in person or virtual right now for your son?). Thank you so much Wendy and you too!
Wendy
Oh thank you for asking about our son.
Classes are still virtual for his college. They are planning on being back for 2nd semester, so fingers crossed. They’re also hoping to have a mini football season too, in the spring, so he’s really hoping that happens. Our K-12 schools here are just starting to go back to a hybrid model (2 days on campus, 3 days at home), so that is helping everyone’s mood and giving us more of a sense of normal… Wahoo!! Although, I would love grandma school like your kids get :)
Thanks Janae!
The Hungry Runner Girl
I really hope that they get to do the mini football season and go back for the 2nd semester. You’ll have to let me know! YAY for some school starting back up in your area, the routine just feels so good. Thank you Wendy for getting back to me!
Mary
Tortilla chips with salsa is my favorite!!
The Hungry Runner Girl
You just can’t go wrong with that combo! I hope you have a really great day Mary.
Rachael
Congrats to Know and Brooke! Both huge accomplishments.
My husband and I work at the same company and are so thankful to have AWESOME leave! I get 16 weeks full paid and he gets 4 weeks full paid! Everyone I tell that to says that is unheard of.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Okay, 1st that is SO great that you guys work at the same company and 2nd that is AMAZING that you guys get a combo of 20 weeks full paid. I love it. Have a great day Rachel and thanks.
Michelle
Way to go Brooke!!!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Thanks Michelle! I can’t wait to show her everyone’s comments after school. I hope you are having a beautiful morning!
Andrea
Congratulations knox! What a special day for a lovely young man. I am right there with Knox on the chip love!! I LOVE ruffles sour cream and onion, as well as classic nacho cheese Doritos!! Any chip will do though as long as they aren’t too spicy.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Now I need some ruffles sour cream and onion… I hope you get a good bag of chips asap! Thanks so much Andrea and have a beautiful Monday.
Beth
Ahhh, it looks like Knox had such a good day! The soup bar looks amazing =)
Congrats to Brooke for finishing her marathon, what an awesome accomplishment.
When we had our babies my husband didn’t get ANY paternity leave at all so he just used his vacation time. we saved up his time and he took a month off with both kids when they were first born. I am a teacher so I just took a semester off which turned out to be around 3/4 months with each kiddo. I also did some work from home during that time. I really think our country could do much better supporting families.
I hope you are feeling well (or at least as good as possible, growing a human is a lot of work ;)
The Hungry Runner Girl
Thank you so much Beth, That is too bad that your husband didn’t get any paternity leave. I totally agree, when I hear about other country’s programs I am always shocked at how much more they get. Thank you so much Beth, luckily I am feeling the best I have since the first few weeks ha:). Have a beautiful day and thanks for sharing!
Loribeth
WAY TO GO BROOKE! THAT’S AMAZING GIRL!
My last running accomplishment was the 3 mountains in 3 days I mentioned last week. I loved it!
And I absolutely love tortilla chips (with guac or salsa) the best. my all time favs are Tostitos hint of jalapeno!!
The Hungry Runner Girl
I am still in awe over what you did with your 3 mountains in 3 days… that is just amazing. Thank you so much and I hope you have those Tostitos ASAP! Have a great day Loribeth.
Rebecca Jo Vincent
that finish line – awesome!!!!
I love that businesses are giving paternity time now. So valuable.
& congrats Skye on your baptism! A decision that matters for an eternity!
The Hungry Runner Girl
I agree, it makes me so happy that they see how important it is for dad’s to be there. Thank you Rebecca and I hope you have a really great day!
Elizabeth D.
I’m a teacher, so we get 12 weeks leave, 2 weeks of it paid, and then the rest is unpaid (unless we’ve accrued enough sick leave to cover). I was very fortunate in my case 3.5 years ago when I had my son because I had enough leave to cover all but 5 days of the 12 weeks, so it was really nice to not lose a ton of money. I had him in March 2017, so I never even went back that school year haha. My husband got a full 6 weeks paid leave, and he took 5 of those weeks when I went back to school in August and the first of those when our son was first born…kind of like Andrew is doing with you all.
Running accomplishment — I just qualified for Boston yesterday at my marathon with a time of 3:29:48 (QT for me is 3:35). I’m pretty pumped (and hopefully I can use it for the 2022 race…) I’m pretty sore today, but SO VERY HAPPY!
The Hungry Runner Girl
ELIZABETH!!! I AM SO THRILLED FOR YOU! AHHHH congratulations and 2022 Boston is YOURS. Seriously, so so excited for you and this huge accomplishment. I cannot wait to hear about your experience at Boston.
Thanks for sharing what your situation was when you had your son and it worked out so nicely between you and your husband. Have a beautiful day.
Amy J
I love the guest posts!! Maybe the Megans could do guest posts as well!! Do you think Brooke would do a Q&A post on her marathon experience? With the pandemic going on, it might be cool to have your mom do a post on what she uses and orders for Grandma school! Congratulations to Brooke on her accomplishment, and Knox on his baptism! Have a great day!!
The Hungry Runner Girl
I LOVE THESE IDEAS!! Thank you SO much Amy and I hope you have a great day!
Torrie
Oh my gosh, your soup bar looks amazing!!
Congratulations to Brooke, she is incredible – what an accomplishment! And congratulations to Knox on his baptism!
I am so glad Andrew gets time off to help you out during those first weeks at home. Hopefully you can get some help from your parents and your in-laws with the bigger kids while you guys figure out the new little addition. When I had my son, my daughter ended up having hand-foot-mouth so she had to stay with my in-laws for the whole week after he was born. It was so hard to be away from her but it was also really nice to get one-on-one time with the new baby. Whatever your plan is, you guys will be just fine. It’s such an exciting time for all of you and I can’t wait to hear all about it, whenever you feel comfortable posting <3
So many running accomplishments lately for me! I basically took 5 years off from running while I was pregnant/having kids and just last year I got back into it. This summer I got back into longer distances and picked up some speed again. I am getting ready to do 13.1 coming up! I'm looking forward to races opening back up again, hopefully next year! For now I'm enjoying hitting these distances on my own :-)
I love Sun Chips! I could eat an entire bag in one sitting lol.
We've had some warmer weather recently but cold temps are right around the corner! I am okay with it this year but I will be missing summer soon, of course!
Sara
When I was pregnant with my daughter I could not get enough Sour Cream and Onion Ruffles potato chips – even when I had really bad morning sickness it was often the only thing I could stomach.
I absolutely love Brook’s running challenge – big congratulations to her for finishing her first marathon!!
I come from Canada, from a province that offers a year of fully paid leave, and a second year unpaid for anyone that’s employed full-time. The challenge is for people like you (or my brother) who are self-employed – it’s very hard to claim the benefit that way, unfortunately. But the general idea for most people is a year, or some portion of that split with your partner.
Best of luck with the final stretch!
Kathy McElhaney
I can’t believe your baby is due next month! Congrats on your baptism, Knox!! What a special day. And congrats on your marathon in a month, Brooke!
I don’t feel like I’m accomplishing much with running these days. I ordered a new pair of Brooks Glycerin that arrive today, so I hope to run happy tomorrow :)
My favorite chips are Hawaiian Luau BBQ – they’ve got quite a zing!
We’re back in the 90s this week! Typical So Cal October.
Gretchen
Maternity/paternity leave … good question!
My husband and I find out in a couple of weeks if we have been chosen to adopt 2-year-old twin girls out of the foster care system. We’re both teachers and teach virtually so it’s hard to know what a parental leave will look like in that setting. Plus, we can’t arrange it much in advance because we have no idea if we’ll be chosen or not! Ideally, my husband will take 6 weeks off also and then I’ll take my 12 weeks after his leave is over. We’ll see…
That’s great that Andrew can be home with you all for so long!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Gretchen, wow. I am so so hopeful that you are able to adopt these 2-year old twins. They would be the luckiest to be able to have you two as parents. PLEASE keep me updated with how you guys are doing and what happens!
Marissa
I am a teacher and because I don’t pay into disability, we get the standard 12 weeks of FMLA, non-paid. Unless we purchase our own disability insurance. My husband took off a week with our daughter using his sick time, 2 days with our middle, and since our youngest was born the last week of school, he was able to get away without having to use any sick time.
I ran 22 miles on Sat with my running partner! We were originally training for a marathon for the beginning of Nov, but since it was canceled we decided to keep training and just run our own. She’s never run a marathon before so each week is a new accomplishment for her, which is fun!
I love Juanita’s tortilla chips – I swear they are the best tortilla chip. And of course, guac to dip it in!
Ha, it was 59 this morning at 5 am and I was super excited about it!
Elizabeth
Oh Andrews paternity leave is great!
I just found out I get 2 weeks of paid leave, and I may be able to negotiate part time or coming back later. My husband gets none! So frustrating… we’re starting to plan for our first child and this news came like no way we can do this… we have no family in the US and we can’t leave work because of immigration status. So this sucks :/ but I’m optimistic we’ll find the most perfect nanny or another way
The Hungry Runner Girl
Elizabeth, that is so incredibly hard. I really wish that your companies were able to do more. If by some small chance you live in Utah, I’d love to help in any way. Please keep me updated!
Julie
Congrats to Knox on his baptism and to Brooke on her marathon! That finish line is too cute.
I get 3 months paid maternity leave, and my husband gets 2 weeks. That’s awesome Andrew gets 6!!
It is getting cool here and the leaves are falling :)
Karen Schlueter-Morland Schlueter-Morland
Cool finish line and what a remarkable day! YEAH and a Big Congrats to your kiddos!
I am getting so very excited for you and look forward to whatever blogging you decide to do post baby…….
Erika
I got 12 weeks off when I had both my kids but it was unpaid – well, I had to use my PTO time and once that was up it was unpaid. My husband works for a private farmer (hogs and fields) so he didn’t really get leave time – he stopped by a lot with our first but our second was born during planting season so he didn’t get any time off then.
My son, now 9, and I ran a 5k this past Saturday. He rocked it – he finished in 28:04. I wish I could have seen his face when he crossed the finish line but I was behind him!! I ran while pushing the 4 year-old in a stroller and with walking and snack breaks I didn’t finish until 38:16 – ha ha!
It’s been years since I’ve really eaten chips other than tortilla. Back in my chip-eating days I loved Old Dutch Dill Pickle chips. And I also like Dots Pretzels (technically not chips but the seasoning is so good).
Gillian
Up in Canada we get a year mat leave! I love it lol.
We had snow this morning!! My three kids went out and played in it before it all melted.
Favourite chip- jalapeño cheddar! Spicy but oh so good!!!
No run for me but I did order some Saucony Kinvara 11s this morning (I’m a Brooks fan as well but these have my heart) for my birthday present to myself lol.
Love the soup bar idea! I want to copy it lol.
Laura
Oh wow! Baby is coming very soon! We didn’t find out the gender with our first and were surprised in the delivery room. It was so much fun! We had a girl, which shocked me b/c there’s so many boys on my husband’s side. As for maternity leave, my company had 8 weeks paid and then I worked part-time from home for 4 weeks before I went back full time. My husband took two weeks off and then started a new job so it was pretty crazy after he went back to work. He does have a more flexible schedule now but back then, he was super busy and we were exhausted with the newborn stage! Luckily Andrew will get some time off and hopefully you can too! Don’t be too hard on yourself to post every day. Mix in some guest posts, skip or keep them short. Do what works for you mama!
Kate
Congratulations to Knox on his baptism. The soup bar looked amazing!
I’m in Australia , for my maternity leave I was paid by my employer 10 weeks full pay and then we get paternity payments from the government for 3 months on top of that.
My husband had 2 weeks paid paternity leave. I was also entitled to 12 months leave. Due to Covid (lack of child care and local border closures) Ive taken an extra 6 months leave this time around so will have had 18 months in total off work. I’m very fortunate to have this available to me.
Good luck for the rest of your pregnancy Janae!
Jen
Oh I’m SO happy for you that Andrew will have that time off to bond with the baby and help out as you all adjust to life as a family of six!! I’m due with my second daughter in February and can’t wait to meet her! Unfortunately, my husband doesn’t get any paid paternity leave. He’s going to take a couple weeks of unpaid leave but I’m already feeling very apprehensive about being home alone with two kiddos under two while recovering from childbirth (most likely a C-section). He’s an ER doctor so has crazy hours too. We’ll make it work though!! Congrats to you again!! Very happy for you and your family. ❤️
Florence
Hi Janae,
I’m considering buying a crockpot- seems like a good tool to help making homemade meals for my 2 year old (whilst working full time). I was wondering if you could send me your crockpot recipes? I always love the look of your meal times!!! thanks :) :)