Cruff Family Chronicles

Hey guys! It's been a minute since I last blogged! How are ya? Me, same ol' crazy! If you follow me on Facebook, you probably know by now that I've picked up sewing. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time and just never took the time to do it. If you've known me for a while, you also know that I am an ADD hobbyist. I get into something SO.HARD. and then I move on to the next thing. Adam teases me about it and I honestly can't blame the guy. He's been supporting my hobbies for the past 11-1/2 years now so I'm sure he's pretty over it. In case you don't know me so well, I have gotten into: Blogging-I had an older blog that I wrote in 4 times and if you look at my history with this one, you'll see it's not very regular. I do love to write though. Painting-Tracing paper onto canvas and basically coloring it. Not good at that. Clay creations/earrings- liked it but time consuming and expensive. Hard to do with small children...

As I'm sure you've seen by my gazillion posts on FB & IG, I completed my first official Half Marathon today!! I know a lot of people who ran marathons today and I'm not sure if I'm quite ready for that feat!! I'll be honest, I don't feel like this was my best race! I just could not get off the struggle bus! My hips and groin on both sides felt tight (should've ran a warmup, duh). Everything I had taped (left ankle and right knee) held up well. My plan was to start with the 10:30 pacers and catch up to the 10:00 pacers, which unfortunately, I never did. Next time, I think I'd start a little behind the 10s. I passed the 10:30s about mile 1.5. Nothing too exciting to report except that it was a chilly start and I had to undo my backpack to take off the long sleeve I started with at mile 2 but I had pre-applied body glide in case. I was expecting to see my family at mile 4 and the park where they were supposed to be started about mile 2.5 and by the ti...

The other day this picture popped up on my FB from 4 years ago. This was about 6 months before we moved to MI. It just seems crazy that it's been 4 years since this picture. These kids don't look anything like this anymore 😢. It reminded me about all those times people told me "Time flies, cherish the kids while you can" while I rolled my eyes and picked up my tantruming toddler off the ground. It gave me all the feels because it's so true. My oldest is 8. She doesn't need me to brush her hair, put her shoes on, pick out her clothes, etc. And while having a child with that kind of independence is awesome, it's also a little sad. She needs me just a little less. Now, I know if you're in the thick of it you're thinking "I can't freakin' wait!" just like I did. It's hard to enjoy and cherish the moments when they drag like turtles in peanut butter. Take solace that these needy years WILL end. Even Avi needs me less. I fe...

Yesterday, in small group, we made a list of labels we identify ourselves with. Mom, wife, friend, etc. Me being the honest and oversharing person that I am, I put even unpleasant things I've been associated with: Mean, Stubborn, etc. It's taken me a long time to accept myself and my identity. It's definitely still a struggle. No, I don't have it all together. The point of the lesson was that those labels are not as important as our identity in Christ. It really spoke to me because I am not perfect and I don't claim to be but no matter what anyone calls me, I know that the only name that matters is that I'm His. Anyway, there's a label that I've come to terms with: Girl Mom. If you read my post when I found out we were having a 3rd girl, I honestly struggled with it. One year ago today, I permanently sealed that label by getting a tubal ligation. I can tell you that with all of my heart, We are still at PEACE. I LOVE being a Girl Mom. These were the...

The other day on FB I wrote "I think I'm having a 1/3 life crisis. 2 weeks til 30 ." I know people thought I was being funny and I sort of was but really, I wasn't kidding. The other day I'm cutting the crusts off my kid's sandwich (I don't like the crust either) and I literally thought to myself "What am I doing with my life?" I'm going to be 30 soon and I have no college degree, a measly dental assistant certificate that I can't even use and I'm a terrible housewife. I can't even do this job well. I know, I know. I sound dramatic and was throwing myself a little pity party. With Middle being in school 3 days a week, I just felt like there's something more I could be doing. Something that maybe would contribute more to the household. I do realize that being a SAHM is important work. I do. But some days, it's hard to see that. Well, I decided to do something completely out of my comfort zone. I decided to join Younique. ...

June 30 will be my one year fit-aversary. I'll be on the road so I decided to post about it today. The last year fitness wise has not been without incident. Sick kids, missed workouts, low motivation. I still to this day do not "enjoy" working out. I know that it works so it's a necessary evil. I don't hate it as much as I used to because I have seen the good side effects from taking care of myself and moving my body more. I do enjoy running even though some runs just plain suck. I have learned a lot this past year. What my body is capable of, my own strength (physical and mental), what works and what doesn't. I am not as strict with my eating as some are. I used to be a lot more strict in the beginning because that's what you have to do to lose the weight. Plain and simple. You still have to watch what you eat. All in moderation, that's what I like to preach. This is the longest I have ever stuck to exercising. I would stop once I got the results ...

I wanted to share a story with you all. Not for pity. Not for attention. In hopes to help even just one mom who sometimes struggles, just like I do. This weekend was jam packed! Saturday morning, I ran a 5k. It was windy and cold but I still got a personal best! Adam brought the girls to come watch me. Now, from experience, I know that can be so stressful but he does it anyway. I really wanted to get a family picture as we have yet to get one so I let Adam know before the race. After the race, he walks back like he's heading to the car when he was just getting out of the wind (like I said, cold and windy race). So my defense mode goes up and I get grumpy because I just wanted one stinking picture. Was that so hard? I could sense his stress which further dampened my mood. I know it's hard. Kids are not the most patient people on the planet. They have to wait 30 min for me to start the race and the 30+ until I cross the finish line so I know it's hard for them too, especial...