Jaime Wells Nash

My favorite set of siblings. 😍 #siblingday

Crazy times, y’all. While I am posting this from a very comfortable chair, indoors, with a cup of hot coffee, last night I, along with my family, spent the night outside. 🏕 I’ve camped exactly two other times before in my life and enjoyed exactly none of them. Although I still won’t put camping on the top of my list as “fun things to do” I will put it near the top of the “fun things to do when you can’t do much else” list. Joking aside, we did have fun, and the kids loved it. Now I’m off to the hottest shower I can find. And to pour another cup of coffee. ☕️☕️☕️

Finding the silver linings over here. With all activities canceled and no places to go (not that we would go anywhere even if things were open- we are committed to physically distancing ourselves as much as possible) we’ve spent more time all together over the past 7 days than we have in a while. And it’s been refreshing. Not without squabbles and aggravation, but refreshing nonetheless. We, like lots of you, are always going and doing: work, work trips, gym classes, soccer, theatre, swim lessons, errands, and sometimes going somewhere just for the sake of going somewhere. It got so crazy, Brian has talked me in to camping soon (😬🙏🏻). My only two camping experiences are not stellar memories. There are plenty of things to be aggravated by and worried about. Our schooling and working from home setup is not fantastic. I’ve eaten more “treats” than I would normally have. I miss my running group and exercising in my favorite classes. I miss the work meetings and lunches that are a large part of my job. I miss sitting inside a Starbucks to get some work done. I miss walking through Target, just because. (Yeah, I said it.) But all those things I miss have been replaced with some pretty solid, and frankly, needed family time. Throughout this whole process, let’s look for the silver linings.

First marathon in the books! It was a little cold, really windy, and a lot of miles. I was prepared for two of the three. That wind was intense!! My finish time was 5:27, and for my first marathon, I feel pretty good about it. I’m so thankful for Brian, the kids, and my dad meeting me at the finish line, and for the friendship, encouragement, and training from my @hubcityrunners friends!! ##motherrunner #dohardthings #marathonmama #ihavearunnersbody

First one up this morning, so I tip-toed down the stairs and through the house .... straight to the coffee maker. It’s a little too chilly to sit on the porch and watch the sunrise, so I peeked out at it while the coffee brewed. My dad and I brought the kids down to the beach last night for the @runmbm. We’ll cram a bunch of fun in today - and then early to bed for me tonight for (hopefully) a good night’s sleep before my first 26.2 tomorrow morning! 🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️

Thinking about friends and family in #Nashville today. My friend @mandy_in_the_making and I were able to spend several days in Nashville last fall and it’s humbling to know how quickly one event like a tornado can completely turn lives upside down. Praying for peace for the people of Nashville as they begin to assess the damage and try to put their lives back together.

Wrapping up another work conference this week! I had the opportunity to chat with Lt. Governor Pamela Evette for a few minutes before her opening remarks at the 9th Annual SC Automotive Summit. I always enjoy speaking with @pamelasevette. She’s a #workingmom, #entrepreneur, and everything she does is for the good of South Carolina, its residents, and businesses.

I should have done this months ago, but #lifeiscrazy sometimes. 🌪 🏃🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️ Anyway, the kids and I cracked open this set and to build a 🚀rocket 🚀 launcher the other day. The product is designed for ages 8+, but W is very into building blocks, and I couldn’t not let him in on the fun. I didn’t play with building toys much as a kid, but as a parent, I love toys that make my kids’ brains “do some work” while incorporating fun. We got to apply STEM principles - just like an engineer! - and build a fun rocket launcher. What kid doesn’t love launching a mini rocket 🚀🚀🚀across the room?!? There’s a step-by-step illustrated guide with 9 different builds, educational science content, 18 STEM experiments and “Think Bigger” challenges to practice the scientific method. The set includes a 98-page book📖all built into a storage box. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 The build had easy-to-follow instructions, but we had a few technical difficulties with getting the launcher base to stand up. The “rocket” didn’t fit quite right, but I think I can apply some STEM principles and work it out for next time. 😉 We enjoyed this set - we spent about 45 minutes doing the build and talking through pneumatics, and the kids already want to try again. I think this set is great educational toy - great for a gift to your favorite aspiring engineer, or maybe even consider gifting a few to your child’s teacher for the classroom! You can learn more about this kit by visiting the link in my bio. This product is from @hand2mindinc. Moving Creations from hand2mind, is a leading developer of classroom learning tools for over 50 years, is created in partnership with k’nex®. I received this set in exchange for a product review. #hand2mind #STEMlearning #STEMkids #STEM #educationaltoys #education #toys #ambcollab #herSTEMkids

Mooooonths ago, I bought this adorable 🦕 dinosaur 🦖 set from @icube_creativeplay for Wells. He played with the set and loved it, but I never got any good pictures or videos of him playing. I had rotated it out for some other play things, but pulled it back out this weekend. I love these activity boxes that inspire him to play and be creative. The box includes homemade play dough, several small dinosaurs, rocks and marbles, sticks and leaves, eggs and a Dino-shaped cookie cutter all in a box, as well as a mat and a book. I love hands-on learning through play and this set is perfect for this dinosaur-loving dude. Check out @icube_creativeplay for more boxes. (Not sponsored or paid. I bought this box and loved it enough to talk about it. And because Wells’s Dino sounds are 😍😍🦖🦕)

That feeling when you finish a 16 mile run and take out your ponytail 💁🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️🙌🏻 I will never be sorry for posting a selfie after or during a run. I will never be sorry for taking a few (or many) pictures until I feel like it’s *just right*. I had to take this one about 10 times before I liked what the sun and clouds were doing behind me. I took this photo with trembling hands (remember that long run I just finished?) and legs. I took it to document me. The work I did with my body. I took it because 17 year old me wouldn’t / couldn’t / didn’t run. Or value her body. Or think it was worth a picture. I took it because I wasn’t wearing makeup (I did “do my ‘brows” and a swipe of waterproof mascara) and my freckles (and age spots) are on full display. Because I have wrinkles but I’m proud of them because they represent a lot of emotion and experiences. Because my teeth aren’t really white and despite my best whitening efforts, I like coffee quite a bit. Because my front left tooth still pokes out a bit more than the right one despite wearing braces for 9 months in college after begging my daddy for them to “fix” my teeth” he finally saved enough and had “good enough” dental insurance to help pay for them. So here’s a literal #nofilter #selfie. A decent angle, a beautiful sky, and a woman VERY proud of running 16 miles at 37 years old. #marathontraining #jaimerunsafull #motherrunner #runlikeamother

14 miles is easy on a sunny Sunday afternoon. 🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️ (Filed under “Things I Never Imagined I Would Say”) Here’s hoping the weather at @runmbm is as amazing as it was yesterday! I love training with this group of folks! Whether you walk, run, or a mix of both, there’s a group for you with @hubcityrunners. If you’re local and want to join us, send me a DM and we’ll get you plugged in.

I swapped my regular makeup routine today for reading this morning. I spent 30 minutes reading before anyone else was awake, and it was glorious. I’ve been trying to find and make more time to read and I think this will do the trick since I always fall asleep at night when I try to read. Once I sit still for the evening, I am D-O-N-E. Anyone else have that issue? How do you find time to read? And what are you reading lately? I’ll tell ya what I’m reading in the comments.

Feeling like 👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻 after the first Monday of 2020. That’s ok. I’m gonna keep drinking my water, running my miles, loving my people, and praying to Jesus. ❤️❤️❤️

Started the year with a five mile fun run at @ymcaspartanburg. (Swipe all the way to see my “I’m so glad to be running again!” face. 😂) My people met me at the finish line and we celebrated with lunch. Lots of family time today, mixed in a little housekeeping, another 3 miles at the park, and then a delicious (if I do say so myself) traditional New Year’s dinner of collard greens, black eyed peas, and corn bread. We had steak instead of pork - surely that means it’s going to be a good year though, right?! Happy 2020, y’all! Here’s to a great year!

A full weekend spent with in-laws. Probably sounds miserable for most, but I married into a family that is one of the most welcoming and loving groups of people I’ve ever known. G & W adore their big cousins! I’m so grateful for the blessing of time spent with them this weekend, and heading home with full bellies and full hearts.