Because I'm the mom.....

As a mom I felt like I had the parent thing pretty under control with my first baby.  We were always put together and did lots of play dates and such.  Travel was easy....just throw some stuff into a bag and go.  Plus my first baby was an easy going kid. Cue baby 2.  My pregnancy was pretty easy, but I did take a fall at the end of the pregnancy and then that same night began vomiting with some virus.  Between being sore and then spending the whole evening vomiting, I was in rough shape the next morning.  I started labor at almost 4 weeks early.  I ended up in the hospital with them trying to stop labor (and doing so successfully) and then realizing I was farther than they wanted in my labor so then started it up again with induction.   Ugh. Natalie was born after a short induced labor.  She was tiny in comparison to her older sister.  And had some minor issues with breathing and was played under an oxygen tent.  She did fine and was released a few days later.  When we were home

I have my kids this school week.  Normally I have them Thursday-Sunday afternoon, and their dad has them during the school week.  He's out of town, so I get them extra time (which I love).  I had a really rough evening Sunday night.  This resulted in literally NO sleep until 4:30am and then I had a dream where I woke up crying.  So I didn't get any real rest.  I was a zombie Monday at work, and it took all my power to not break down and cry or just scream at people.  I had to go to the bus stop to pick up my son, and then home to cook supper.  About the time supper was ready it was time to drive back across town to meet  my oldest daughter to pick up my youngest daughter.  So needless to say, I was very very ready for bed when I was finally able to crawl in it.  I think I was asleep within seconds. I had strange dreams and woke up with my alarm.  Wait.....I woke up with my alarm that was set for 6am.  I have my kids and we have to leave the house by 6:10 to make it to the

I was very newly married (like THAT day type of thing) when I got pregnant with my first child.  To say I was excited was an absolute understatement.  All I wanted in my whole life was to have a baby.  A husband is nice, but that wasn't as important as children.   Is that messed up?  lol My pregnancy was easy.  I had a little bit of morning sickness and felt rotten for a short period of time.  Unfortunately it was while I was making baked goods at the coffee shop that we owned.  Not the best thing for business.  I loved to EAT everything, but baking gagged me.  It also seemed that when I did get sick it was after a meal that we just spent money on.  My biggest issues was I was tired.  Very tired!  But otherwise, it was really pretty easy for me. I don't think I've ever felt as beautiful as when I was pregnant.  And that's laughable because I gained LOTS of weight with every pregnancy (50-60 pounds each time).  That said, I still felt amazing.  Maybe it's because

Good morning!  It's an amazing cold crisp morning today.  Snow and ice cover our side streets, but the interstate is pretty clear.  It is truly beautiful out with the snow and sun creating sparkles.  Now if only we could have this beauty with the temperature around 70!  HA So today I wanted to share my weight loss journey over the last several months.  I've never been overly heavy, but have put on about 20 pounds over the last few years.  Because of my height, I'm lucky that even with that extra weight I still fall in the high, but normal BMI area of the charts.  I have been lucky or blessed or who knows, but my weight has been more bothersome than a critical issue. That said, I was unhappy with the extra "pudge".  My stomach had a nice round appearance that very much reminded me of early pregnancy (maybe not SOOO early).  My thighs, well let's just be honest, my thighs showed some serious "hail damage" and caused my legs to look like sausages un

How does anyone choose anything for a wedding?  Where on earth do you start?  How do you choose who is going to be best for your special day? Price?  Yes.....THAT is a huge driving factor for a wedding AND final decisions.  It often determines what we "get" and have to pass on.   Money.....WHY is it so complicated? I've had a wedding before.  My finance has also had a previous wedding.  Why do we want another?  Why are we willing to spend money on an event or a process we have already had?  Been there and done that?! I get it.  That said, I WANT a wedding.  I want what I didn't have my first time around.  I'm more mature.  It means something different this time around.   It also means that things are on our dime and we are making choices based on what we know, want, and ultimately will have. So how does one choose who is best?  Which is best?  What is necessary?  lol  I really have no idea!  Great right?  Not much help. Here's what I'm doing....I

It's been a great LONG weekend.  I worked a Saturday last weekend so I got to take a day off during my normal work week.  I decided to take Friday off and because of Presidents Day, I also have today off. That's an extra long weekend.  :) What does one do on a long weekend?  Part of it was cleaning.  But not just "regular" cleaning, but move the furniture and throw stuff out cleaning.  We live in a small townhouse so options are very limited as far as moving rooms around, but I love doing that.  So I decided that Friday I was going to deep clean my room and move the furniture around.  I set out doing just that.  The problem is, with such tight space, you really are very limited in how you can rearrange.  I was feeling optimistic and decided I would try it out anyway.   I eye my room and the furniture and then mentally compared spaces.  I knew it could all work, but wasn't sure if it was something Emanuel would like.  I literally moved pretty much all the furni