Adventures Of Motherhood

So this last week, I was away from my husband and daughter for a whole week. I went on a cruise with a friend of mine. It was beautiful there! I loved being on the cruise ship, on the sea! Just relaxing and looking over at the sea and watching the waves!!! Now if THAT isn’t relaxing, I don’t know what is. I will show you some of my favorite views from the cruise!

Okay. So…to be honest, though…The day I left, I was kind of already regretting leaving my family. I missed them both tremendously. I still enjoyed the cruise as much as I could, but literally, every minute, I was wishing I was with my husband. I wanted to be back home with my husband and daughter rather than on a cruise. I know a week isn’t a super long time, but when you’re away from your husband and 18 month old daughter, a week is a LIFETIME! I missed them every second. I even wished that I could have jumped off the ship and swam back to be with them! I mean, how silly is that, right?!

Who would want to leave a cruise with a beautiful view!? Even if your family wasn’t with you. I may be weird, but I wanted to leave the cruise to be with my family. I still got to message my husband, and video-chat a little bit. The signal wasn’t that great but we got what we could. I video-chatted with our little girl too, only she got fussy after we got off, so I didn’t want to video-chat too much, that way my husband wouldn’t have to try to calm her down.

On a positive note though, being away from each other for that week, has made us even closer to each other. I hated being away from him was TORTURE, if you know what I mean! Not literal torture, because I haven’t been literally tortured, but it was pretty horrible being away from Brandon for that long! And our little girl! I was so happy to be back home! With my family!!

Never take your family for granted. My family means the world to me, and I don’t know what I would do without them! They have been there for me through so much! My little family and my immediate family, but in this blog, I’m talking about my husband and daughter! I am so thankful for them!

We have been going through some rough times, financially, but we are getting better! 🙂 The first couple years of marriage are always the hardest, financially. But we are getting past it! We are getting past the worst of it! We still have some more things to pay off but we are getting closer! I am so thankful for Brandon! I love looking over at him playing with our little girl, and I just automatically smile so big! I love seeing them together and seeing her big smile!! She has this thing that she does, she will look at you, or look at a book, and just open her beautiful blue eyes as big as she can! It is the cutest thing!

God has been so good to us! Never take your family for granted! Thank you for reading my blog! Hope you all have a wonderful week!

How many of us do “spring cleaning” at least once a season?! I try to do one at least every couple of months. Or even more frequent than that! The house gets so dirty and so cluttered, that I just can’t take it anymore, and I HAVE to clean!!! EVERYTHING!!! From top to bottom, left to right, every nook and cranny. Is anyone else like that???? Or is it just me?!

I’m not always the cleanest and most organized person, although I do try to be. But when I start cleaning something, I usually really clean it! I will be in one room for hours. I will be working on cleaning out the fridge and going through everything in it, making sure nothing is expired or molding, and I will be there for 2-3 hours, minimum.

At the moment, our whole house needs to be cleaned. Which isn’t really a house. It’s a single-wide trailer that we rent. We are working to pay some things off so that we can start saving and put a good deposit down on a house. When and where, we are still figuring out. But there are still some things that we are trying to figure out also. We have lived in the trailer for two years now. Tomorrow is actually our second wedding anniversary! We have made it to two years!

I have been meaning to clean, really clean the house since forever. Which I have since the last time. But things just get so messy, so fast! We have baby toys everywhere. Our daughter is in the phase where she takes the toys or whatever she finds, she takes it all out of the bucket, container, or cabinet and just takes it ALL out! So now the floor is covered in baby toys, pots and pans and whatever else she has gotten into! Don’t get me wrong, they can always be put away again, and she is learning. She knows where the trash is, and when she sees something that is trash, she will throw it away. Or I will tell to go throw it in the trash, and she takes it and throws it in the trash. But then, she takes it back out of the trash. We’re working on that part! 🙂

She may try our patience sometimes, but I wouldn’t trade her for anything in the world.

Well, now that I got a little sidetracked from cleaning, I’ll get back to it. 😉

I didn’t always like to clean when I was younger, but like I do now, once I get started cleaning something, it’s hard for me to stop until I get it really clean and re-organized. You will hardly recognize the room or the fridge after I get done! 😉

I also haven’t been able to clean as much as I would like to, lately, because I’m working during the day again. So I won’t get home till 5:30 or 6:00 in the evening. And I’ll be too tired to do anything!

I’ll play with our little girl, and talk to my husband. After we put her to bed, we will sometimes put a TV show on Netflix and watch an episode of something, or sometimes, we will go to bed ourselves. We are pretty tired by the end of the day.

We don’t always have a clean house, but we have a happy house. We love each other and we take care of each other, to the best of our abilities.

This coming Saturday, I am planning on taking the whole day, and while my husband is at work, I am planning on cleaning and re-organizing as much of the house as I can. Starting with our daughter’s room. We kind of use it as a storage area, also. Which I am trying to get better with, but it’s hard when you don’t have much space to begin with. But we will get there. One day.

Everything takes time. And if you will pray with us, we have some things that we are trying to figure out and sort out with life, and what we are going to, to help us with what we would like to do and have in the future. As in, a house, finances and such. We would greatly appreciate it!

Until next time! Thanks for reading!

We all have goals and dreams that we hope to achieve in life. Some are BIG goals and some are just things in life that we want to do for ourselves, things that may not seem big to everyone else, but it is big to us.

Everyone has a dream of what they want to accomplish by a certain age. It’s usually the age of 25. At least mine was. And I’m almost there. To being 25, not the reaching my goals and dreams part. I’m closer than I was a year ago, but I’m still not there. If I work hard, It is still possible that I reach one of my dreams by the time I turn 25. So I am putting this here so you all can keep me accountable and message me from time to time and see how I’m doing on my dream goals. Sound like a deal!?

So as of right now, I have two months and eight days. That doesn’t seem like much time, but like I said earlier, with a lot of hard work, it is possible.

I have a dream and a goal to pay off my debt by the time I turn 25, or at least 80% of it, if not more! That would be a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. And my husbands. My debt is not the only debt we have, but if I had mine cleared out, I could help more with my husbands debt and not be so stressed about money.

Let’s be real. Probably 75% (or more) of arguments that happen in marriage is about money. Money is necessary for everything. There’s monthly bills like rent, utilities, water, the phone, and whatever else there is. And then when you have other bills like student loans and credit card debt, it’s a bit overwhelming.

Okay, it’s A LOT overwhelming.

I have learned a lot this year. I have learned a lot about myself. I have learned to just be completely honest with others, and myself. Not as in lying to them, but as in my feelings, what I’m struggling with, and to ask for help. I hate to ask for help, but sometimes you need to ask for help. And if the person says no, then that’s fine. We will figure out a way to make things work. God is there with us. He is always there. We don’t rely on Him as much as we should. But He is always there for us, whether we think He is or not.

I’ve posted a lot on my personal facebook and instagram page about a business that I’ve started. I’m sure it’s gotten annoying to some people, and I’m sorry. That is one of the ways that I have chosen to help my family financially. It does work. I have goals and dreams with/for my business. It is direct sales and I know so many people HATE direct sales companies. But honestly, that is where everyone is going nowadays. More often than not, someone you talk to will try to sell you something, whether it’s health and wellness, makeup, or haircare. When you buy from a personal friend, or a friend of a friend, you are helping THAT person! Not some already rich person. We do these direct sales companies to help support our family and to be able to stay home with our children and see our spouses more. That is why we do it. The products may be a little on the expensive side, but they really are amazing products are worth the price!

So many times, we look at something someone is selling to try to help their family, and think I could get something just to help them out, but then they see the prices, and they are like “WHAT?!!? Oh, NO WAY!! That’s too expensive!” and then never give it another look or give their friend a chance to explain the products. Why they are different from other companies, or how they work, and that they really DO work.

If you are on the fence about direct sales companies and their prices, buy when there is a sale! My business has sales a few times a month! It’s great! If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask me!

I have big dreams for my Monat business! If I work hard, I believe that it will help me able to stay home with my family more and not have to worry and stress about money anymore. I didn’t join this business to have something else to do and take the time away from my family. I did this so I CAN spend more time with my family. When I get to where I want to be in the business, I won’t have to set any alarms to get up in the mornings and leave for work. I will be able to stay in bed with my husband a little longer and actually spend the days and weekends with my family. That is my WHY! And maybe, if I get even higher in the company, I will be able to retire my husband from whatever job he is at, at the time, because we won’t need the finances. Unless he really likes his job and wants to stay, that’s different! And that will be fine! But the point would be is that he would NOT HAVE to work. He may even just want to switch to part-time or something. But anyway, he and I will talk about that when we cross that bridge!

So when you purchase from me, you are helping me get a little bit closer to those goals and dreams. I can help you do those same things, spend more time with your family and just not have a regular 9-5 job anymore and be able to go on more trips or whatever it is that you would want to do.

I have been scared about what people think about me practically my entire life. I mean, who isn’t!? Right?! But this past year, I have learned that what God thinks/knows of me is the one that matters. I am trying to hide anything from anyone. I am just trying to help my family be more financially stable. I may post on my personal pages a lot, but that is because I am sharing things that I love! I love my shampoo products! I love my family! So I am going to post about it!

Anyway, this post took a little bit of a different turn than I was planning, but sometimes that happens! Thank you for reading! Have a great day and an even better week!

Have y’all ever been discouraged? Well, I have been. A lot lately actually. We see all these super happy Facebook posts and think they must have the best life. Nothing bad ever happens to them, they’re always so positive and upbeat about everything. Well, a lot of times, yeah, they may be happy in those picture perfect moments but they still have a lot going on that they don’t broadcast all over Facebook. I post happy things because I love my daughter and think/know that she is the cutest thing ever! And my husband, because I love him so much! And I love my family and I love living life with them. But that doesn’t mean that life is all happiness and good times. Yes, we try to make the best out of everything and enjoy everything we can, but we still have what’s really going on in life in the back of our minds. We’re saying “How are we going to make it this week?” Whether it’s finances or groceries or whatever it may be.

I’m a mom, I would love to stay home with my daughter and spend more time with my husband on his days off. But we can’t afford it right now, if we’ll ever be able to. I’m always posting happy and positive things on Facebook and cute and funny videos- because I want to make someone else laugh, maybe even make their day. Make someone smile when they’ve maybe been struggling to smile lately. Just because I post all happy and positive things, does not mean that nothing negative is happening at home or in life. Life is hard, I just don’t like to post about all the hard and negative things in life. We don’t need to share all the negative things to get attention or for someone to ask “What’s wrong?” just to say “Oh, I don’t want to talk about it.” or on the rude side and saying “Mind your own business.” – which if you were to say that, then it would be your fault for posting whatever it was that “wasn’t their business”. If you know what I mean.

I don’t want to post negative or depressing things on Facebook, people may be posting only happy and positive things on Facebook and everyone says social media is bad (which in some ways it is) and people are being fake because they only share the happy moments, but that doesn’t mean they’re fake. It just means they don’t want to share all the hard things in life. But EVERYONE goes through hard things in life.

We want to spread happiness and positivity. But just because that’s all that is posted, doesn’t mean that theres nothing going on in that family or that person. Everyone has battles that they’re going through that they don’t tell anyone about. Either because they can’t or they don’t want to because they don’t want others to see them that way and/or spread things about them about how they’re always being negative or just want attention. Sometimes people need attention, they need love. Maybe that person is thinking of ending their life later that day, and you wouldn’t know it because you’re too busy in your own world. You don’t want to talk to some random person who looks like they’re having a bad day because you may be having a bad day and think that someone should come up to you and see what’s wrong with you instead. You need to be there for others too. You could be that one person who convinces them to not take their own life. Even if they don’t tell you specifically that that was their plan. There are still battles being fought. Some alone. Don’t judge people so quickly. People are going through a lot more than what you think or see.

Just some thoughts that I’ve had lately.

I have started a business, it is direct sales. It is not some pyramid scheme, it is real. And it is amazing!  I REALLY want to be able to be a stay at home mom, and it helping me. That is why I am going to work really hard with the shampoo business. There are so many women doing direct sales, when you buy from them, it is going to help THEM and their FAMILY, not some celebrity. Help them. I chose the shampoo business, because everyone washes their hair, everyone uses shampoo. If you want to know more about the business, send me a message. I’d love to talk to you about it. Thanks for reading this post. This is my family. This is why I am doing what I do. Why I am trying to work this business, to help my family!

Is it really worth it? Is what we do really worth it? Do we even know what we are doing? I’m not talking about motherhood right now. I’m just talking about life, in general. Sometimes we do things just because, and have no reason for doing them. Maybe we did at first, but now we just do it. I love life, but lately, I feel like I have no motivation to do much anymore. In the past few months, it’s been a bit depressing, for lack of a better word. I’ve been trying to be happy and let things that bother me just roll off me, but it’s been hard.

I want to work, I want to be able to stay at home and work. Still bring in income to provide for the family and pay the bills. It’s hard to find jobs that one CAN really stay at home with and still bring in an income. A decent income. I have tried so many things. I am still trying different things. I’ve tried contacting people and not getting anything back, and I’m just on the verge of giving up.

I’m usually the one lifting others up and encouraging and telling others not to give up, but this time it is me. I’m the one about to give up. Have you heard the quote “The prettiest smile hide the deepest secrets. The prettiest eyes have cried the most tears. And the kindest hearts have felt the most pain.”? I’m not saying all those things are me (the prettiest eyes, and smile and heart and such), but I do try to be there for everyone, if they need a friend and someone to talk to and such, I’m there. I go out of my way for people, and some of them know it and take advantage of it. Unfortunately. But anyway, I have things going on to, I need to be encouraged too. I feel pain too, I just don’t tell anyone and I don’t really talk to anyone about it because I don’t want to bother anyone with my troubles and/or I don’t want to add something to someone else while they’re going through something. Even if that’s what happens to me, and I just hide it. I don’t want them to have to hide what they’re going through with me, just because I bring some insecurities or something that I’m feeling.

That’s what friends and family are for. To be there for you when you need it. They are there for more than just that, but that’s one of the reasons. Life isn’t always easy. I’m being very transparent here. I don’t tell many people this, I just really could use a friend right now. But you know what, I probably still won’t share this post, because I don’t want to bother anyone or make anyone feel like I’m super depressed and losing my mind. Which I’m not losing my mind, I promise. Everyone just has some rough days. We all need something to talk to, to be there for us. Not have everyone go to you for everything they have and need to talk to someone about. That someone is usually me. Which i don’t mind. I love helping people and being there for others.

Sometimes, I just need someone to be there for me, even if it’s just to give me a hug (and a million dollars haha) and tell me it’s going to be okay. I was kidding about the million dollars part. Mostly! 😛

Ever feel like you just lack some motivation? Like, you have motivation, but you don’t, at the same time!? Like there are so many things that I want to do. I want to do so many things; they don’t allow me to stay home, and they consist of more schooling and more money. Money that we don’t have, and schooling that we don’t exactly have the money or the time for. I would love to go back to school for Forensics or music, or photography! haha. But that just isn’t possible. Plus, they’re all completely different from each other. Have pretty much nothing in common with each other. Photography can kind of have something to do with forensics, with taking pictures of evidence and such, but yeah. I have so many interests, that it’s just a bit hard. And I’d love to be able to do something from home, but there isn’t too much that you can do from home and make a decent income with. But I’m still trying. I’m not giving up, even though I may want to. I am trying to be strong for my family.

Yesterday was Father’s Day, and my husband is a great daddy to our little girl! I love watching them together! They play together! He’ll chase her around the house and she just giggles and laughs! And I love it! I love creating these memories together! I really am blessed!!!

I do talk to my husband, we just both have a lot of things going on in life. All good, it’s just been a rough year. But God is Still Good! We are blessed! I have been blessed with my amazing family! To be honest, I never thought I would have a family of my own. But God had other plans and I am so glad He did! I love my family so so much! They are some of the most precious things to me in my life! I would do anything for them! 

I am doing okay, I could just use some prayers, if you all don’t mind! Thank you! Well, this blog post did start off kind of rocky and depressing, but I am doing better now. It helps to actually talk about it and yes, even share it. And when I think of my family, I know that even though everything may not be going exactly as we planned or wanted, it will all work out. and I have an amazing family by my side! God has a plan for everything! And if you all have any prayer requests or just want to talk, don’t hesitate to message me! 🙂 Hope you all have a great week! I hope this encourages someone also! It may be hard now, but don’t give up! God is there with you, Always! And if you feel like you don’t have anyone to talk to, talk to God! And if you still need someone to talk to, I’m here!! Anytime!! I love you all!!!

Sometimes in life, we feel as though no one cares about us or what we do with our lives. Have you ever felt like no matter what you do, no matter how long it took you to do it, or how much courage it took you to do it, that still no one cares?

Are you a people-pleaser? Is the reason you do many of the things you do, if not everything, is to please a specific person? If your answer is yes, then this blog post is for you. Many times throughout my life, I have only wanted a few things. That is for someone to care about the things that I accomplished, even if it wasn’t always the best, but it was my best. And for someone to be proud of those things. And of me.

I was, sometimes I still am, a very big people-pleaser. I just want to make others happy, doing what they want me to do, even if it makes me miserable and/or it’s something that I don’t want to do. Whether it’s what I want to study in school or not study in school, what I want to do with my life. Yes, those things matter, but it also matters what I want to do and what my interests and passions are.

Personally, I have an interest in many things. Some that are completely different from another thing that I’m interested in. For example, music, criminal justice, photography, and children. Those are all things that I’m interested in and they don’t really have anything in common with the other. Photography can have to do with criminal justice, but that’s about the only thing, and children – taking pictures of children. Which I love to do also!

I do photography as a hobby now, and if someone wants pictures done, I will take them for them! I love taking pictures and capturing those special moments for them to look back on later on in life!

I have a family of my own, a husband and a little girl! We also have two dogs who are huge babies! But we love them to death! Our little girl is loving the dogs, and they love her!

We are doing everything we can to get out of debt and pay everything off. It is sometimes hard to enjoy life when you have bills after bills that come up that are due or overdue. You can’t afford to do anything, but we try to do things so that we won’t have just the bills and sadness and stress to look back on. We make memories. We can always make more money, but once a moment is gone, it’s gone. Make time for memories. Not just paying bills, and working to live. Yes, working is important, but so is living.

Sometimes we need to take some time, and just enjoy life. Go out to the park and walk, take lots of pictures (even silly ones), play in the rain (if it’s rainy but not storming- be safe!), play in the mud after its rained. You can always take a shower later.

MAKE MEMORIES!!!!!

Like I said earlier, once the time is gone, it’s gone. You can’t get it back. You may be in a little or a lot of debt, but it will still be there after you go make some memories with your family. You never know how long you have. Don’t regret not doing something, while you have the time.

And if you don’t really have time, MAKE TIME!

And when you are proud of someone, tell them that you are proud of them. Support them. And tell them that you support them. Show your support. I have been so blessed with the friends that I have that truly support me. Life is hard. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take some time (and money, if necessary) to enjoy some things with your family. Take that time and that money, enjoy it with your family. Don’t take that time for granted. I have been blessed with the family that God has given me. I am so thankful for my husband, our daughter and even our dogs. Our dogs know when we are sad, they will come up next to me and snuggle with me when they see me down and crying. They are the most loving animals!

I don’t know if this has helped anyone, I hope it has at least encouraged somebody. Everyone is going through something similar, if not the same thing. God is Good. He gives you exactly what you need and who you need exactly when you need it/them. I thank God everyday for Brandon!

Thank you all for reading this, and for supporting my blog. Life has been hectic, and I am trying to get my blog back up and going again!

I’m sure many, if not all of us, would love to be a stay-at-home mom. I would LOVE to be a Stay-At-Home Mom. I cannot wait till I can be.

I’ve recently started a new job; a nightshift job. It works better with my husbands work schedule. It is long hours, and being at night, and everything, but it won’t be forever.

I hate leaving my family at night, even though what we would be doing is sleeping and such; but hey, sleep is important too. I’ll get maybe 3-4 hours of sleep a day on the days that I work. It’s not even that I get tired at work, sometimes I am, but instead of being sleepy/tired, my feet hurt, or my knees or something.

Tonight, I worked a half-shift, it was voluntary overtime; and we could do a whole shift or a half shift. Since I had worked the four nights before, I thought I would just work half instead. I get home, and my husband is still awake, he was waiting till I got home, then we shortly went to bed. Well, I tried. I thought I would be able to fall asleep, but I was wrong. I guess I’m used to being up at this time now. So now I am writing this since I have had absolutely no time to write my blog. And honestly, I miss it. I miss writing.

I don’t know about you all, but writing helps me relax. Maybe after I write this blog post, I’ll be able to go to sleep! I guess we will see!

Working moms have two jobs, technically. They have their job that they go to for a paycheck to help support her family, and then she has the one at home of being a wife and mother. Okay, I guess she has three jobs, in a way – her away-from-home job and being a wife and mother.

Sometimes I feel like I’m failing at my jobs. My away-from-home job is a different. My jobs being a wife and mother….I feel like I fail those a lot, if not daily. I try to be the best mom I can be to our precious daughter. I try to be the best wife to my amazing husband.

I don’t always do the dishes everyday, I don’t always clean the house – although I try, but since we have a mobile (crawling) baby, it’s a bit harder to keep the house clean! We got to have toys on the floor for her to play with; she loves the dogs, the dogs love her! She really is a happy baby! She is a good baby, which does make it a little easier to be a good mother. When she’s teething, it’s a little more difficult, just in the way, that I wish I could take her pain for her. I don’t like seeing or knowing that she’s in pain and not really being able to do much about it. We have teething gel, but I don’t think it really helps that much. What are some things that you do that help with teething?! Any suggestions are welcome!

And then, there’s being a wife! I love both jobs of being a mother and a wife! I love being a wife! Sometimes it’s hard only because I want everything to be perfect, I want the house to be spotless when he comes home from work, I want all the laundry to be done (I’ve been procrastinating with that lately). Once I get the laundry done, I feel so accomplished that I take a little break and maybe watch a TV show or something. Which I probably shouldn’t do because one episode turns into two, three, or more episodes. When I know there are other things I could be doing to clean the house and such. Especially now that I’m working nightshift, I only have that time during the day to clean, and depending on how Anna (the baby) is doing – Feeding her, changing her diapers, playing with her, etc. She usually does pretty good though. Dishes – I have been HORRIBLE with the dishes lately. I’ve let them pile up more than I should. My husband has helped so much.

I’m going to go a little off with this blog post. I know it is a “Mommy” blog, but the Daddy is often not mentioned. The father does so much too. Since I have started my new nightshift job, my husband has done so much. He has gotten up with her at night to feed her if need be, even on the days that he works. He has to get between 4:00-4:30am, and I was the one who usually got up with her, especially on the days that he worked. But now he has to because I’m not home to do it. He has been more exhausted than normal, because even when he didn’t work, I usually got up to take care of Anna so he could sleep!

Husbands and Fathers are super important. Every child needs a father. If the father isn’t a huge part of the child’s life anymore, then they at least need a father figure, someone they can talk to, if they need to. Fathers are important to a child! I am loving watching Brandon and Anna together. When I see him playing with her, talking to her, I fall more in love with him! Seeing the way she looks at her daddy, smiles so big and laughs, it makes my heart melt.

I have been blessed with the best! God has been so good to me! He gave me an amazing husband and the most beautiful daughter! He blessed me with great in-laws! They have been there for us, when we needed a date night, or just wanted some time! They love having their time with her, being grandparents for the first time! They love it! Anna has been and is so spoil..um, I mean, loved! Anna is very loved! We can’t get enough of her! I can’t get enough of her smiles and her giggles and laughs! I may take more pictures and videos than I need, and they may be similar to some that I took on other days, but I will treasure each and every one of them!

I have been blessed with the best parents I could have asked for! My parents have always  supported me, they have been there for Brandon and I! I wish we lived closer, but we do live closer than we did last year, which is nice! My parents are amazing parents! They will be married for 42 years this month! I cannot wait to be married to Brandon for that many years and more! We will have so many memories to look back on! We already do! We have made so many, and we have many many more to make!

I am so proud of my husband! That may sound like a childish thing to say about an adult, but it really isn’t. You can be proud of someone no matter how old they are and I am super proud of Brandon! He is a very hardworking man, trying to give us the very best he can.

Married life is amazing, it’s the best, BUT….it’s not always rainbows and sunshine. There are arguments and disagreements, and they don’t always end happy, per se. But we never go to bed angry. We talk things through.

Something I recommend for you to do with your spouse is talk to them. Tell them what you need from them, if you’re not getting something you need. Since my husbands and my schedule has been changed recently due to my new job, things have changed around the house and marriage a little too; because of time. Time that we don’t have together anymore because I’m at work at night. Night time is when we would have relax time, we’d sit on the couch, snuggle up and watch something together. We can’t do that as much as we’d like to anymore. We talked about what we need from each other, whether it’s more help around the house or what. Brandon has helped so much though. He really has!

Some days I’ll come home from work and the dogs are very protective, so when they hear the door or something outside, they like to bark. And that will sometimes wake up Anna. Brandon will take care of Anna, so I can get some sleep for work the next day; depending on if he works that day or not, I will take care of Anna so he can sleep. I usually get home shortly before he leaves for work, unless I get off early, which happens sometimes. But otherwise, I get home when he’s getting ready for work. I won’t always go to sleep shortly after I get home either. I’ll make Brandon something for breakfast before he goes to work, if he works that day. If he isn’t working, and Anna is awake, I’ll take care of her while Brandon sleeps. Or if he’s still in bed and Anna is still asleep, I’ll just get in bed and go to sleep! It varies with what is going on; as you can tell, our schedule is very different at the moment, and we’re still adjusting. But we’re doing just fine! I have an amazing little family! God is Good!

So this post was a little bit different, and kind of all over the place and a bit on the long side! Sorry about that! It’s been awhile since I’ve written, so I guess I tried to get it all in one post! If you read the whole thing, thank you!

During pregnancy, our bodies change so much. We grow, we get hormonal, we get cranky easier, we cry easier and after some of the silliest things.

We get stretch marks. Shortly after giving birth, I saw my stretch marks, and I wanted them so badly to go away. Yes, I saw them during the pregnancy too, I’m just talking about after giving birth right now. Anyway, I saw my stretch marks, wanted to do anything to get rid of them. Knowing all the moms who used creams and sold creams to those wanting to get rid of their stretch marks.

I used to want to get rid of my stretch marks, I didn’t find them attractive, I didn’t think my husband would find me that attractive anymore, either. But we’ve talked about them a couple times. And my husband is so right. Stretch marks say so much. They tell a story. One of my favorite stories of all time! My pregnancy! Giving birth to our precious baby girl! I’m not trying to say that getting rid of your stretch marks is a bad thing; if you don’t want them, try to use the creams and such to get rid of them, that is your decision! I support you! But it’s not for me!

I look at my stretch marks, and I LOVE my stretch marks. I didn’t before, but the more I think about it, I really DO Love my stretch marks. I’ll occasionally put some lotion on but that’s it. I’m not trying to get rid of my stretch marks. I wasn’t going to share it, and even though I don’t usually share things like that, but thought I would. I found a couple.

Even just showing you these makes me a little uncomfortable, but everyone gets stretch marks, especially when pregnant. Women are usually embarrassed about their stretch marks. I’m not! I’m also not going to just go around everywhere and show everyone my stretch marks, but I’m not embarrassed about them. They are a part of my story. My daughter’s story.

Another part of pregnancy, well some pregnancies, is the incision. If you get a Cesarean, it means that you will have an incision after giving birth. Yes, I have an incision, I had a C-section. It wasn’t what I wanted, but it what was necessary at the time. For the first few months, I hated my incision, I hated what it looked like. My husband said he liked it, because it reminded him of how our daughter came into the world. Not that we needed the reminder! But it is a nice reminder. I have come to like my incision also. (No, I am not posting a picture of my incision) – a picture of my stretch marks is something I don’t really like to share, but stretch marks are a part of pregnancy. I have to come to love all of it!

Pregnancy wasn’t always amazing. Having to get up multiple times during the night to go to the bathroom, being sick for a few weeks around Christmas (at least, it was for me). But pregnancy was amazing at the same time. I loved feeling those kicks, although they did hurt at times, but I wouldn’t have changed them for anything. Feeling her move was incredible!

Looking at her as I write this post, I still can’t believe that I’m a mother and that I grew her inside of me. God is awesome! That He would create a woman’s body to be able to grow another human being. It wasn’t always easy and beautiful, but I did love it! Every time I see her smile, when I see her kicking her feet so quickly and hard, I imagine that that is what she did when she was inside of me, (by the way, she kicks hard) – on the outside too!! When she sees me or her daddy, she just automatically gets the biggest smile on her face – something I will never tire of seeing!!!

She is almost SEVEN months old! It is crazy to believe that she’s been on the outside for seven whole months! Before we know it, she will be a year old! I’m going to cry that day, just saying!! Although I don’t want her to grow up so fast, I’m excited to watch her grow into a beautiful young lady! God has been so good to us!

Thank you so much for reading my blog, it means so much to me! Share it with your family and friends! Keep us in your prayers, if you will. You are also in mine!

All we are doing anymore, to moms, to dads, to anyone is discouraging them. Making moms feel guilty for not spending enough time with their children, or not keeping the house clean for their husband, or being “lazy” because cleaning house and taking care of children, even though we love it, it can be very exhausting…etc. We keep telling moms and dads that they’re not doing enough for their family.

We can’t be happy for each other anymore. Someone wants to do something to help better provide for their family, and they get told that they’re not thinking it all through. That they’re doing the completely wrong thing. They can’t just say “I’m proud of you!” Or “Do what you think is best for you and your family. We will support you, no matter what!”

I feel like no one is supporting anyone anymore. There’s no more support, just discouragement and tearing others down, instead of lifting them up.

I look at my daughters face every day, and all I want is the best for her. God has been so good to us already. We are in the process of some things, hopefully they will work out. My husband and I think through everything before we do it; we make sure that all the ‘i’s are dotted, all the ‘t’s are crossed before we do anything completely. We don’t do things out of haste, not super important things. We are a family, we just want what is best for us and our little family. We need to provide for our little girl. We want her to have the best that we can give her. She means everything to us.

Sometimes I’ll just watch her sleep, and think about what she will want to do when she gets older. I think about her growing up; and how she’s already growing up so fast. She’s almost SIX months old! Half a year! Time seriously flies!! We blink and it’s already been six months! All we want is the best for our little girl, and our future children. We will probably do things that others don’t like, but they are our decisions, and we are doing what is best for us and our family.

This blog post is a little bit different than my others, but it’s just what has been on my heart lately. It gets on my nerves when others can’t be happy for someone else who are just trying to better provide for their family. Even if it means doing something that others don’t like. It’s not always about them and what they want. It’s what best for us and what we need. If someone doesn’t like where they’re at and if they’ve tried different things to make them better but there is nothing else, so they try something else…they get upset and think about themselves. I don’t mean this in a bad or mean way, it’s just that sometimes people have to do what is best for them, even if some people don’t like the idea.

I just wish people would be more supportive towards others and what they want to do, especially if they are trying to better themselves and for their family.

Please pray for my family, that everything will work out as it should. 🙂 Thank you so much!

I’m exhausted… and I feel like a terrible mother and wife because I’m so exhausted and sometimes don’t feel like doing anything. Like at all. I know everyone has their moments, but I still feel like the worst person in the world. My husband deserves so much more, and I feel like such a disappointment to him, as a wife. I’m not going to give up, but sometimes I feel like it.

Have you ever been just so exhausted, you’re not even sure if you’re functioning correctly? Well, sometimes you feel like that, especially when you’re a mom. I have been so exhausted, that I literally don’t feel like doing anything. I know I should, but I usually choose not to do anything. I want to just relax and do nothing. That’s usually the time that our baby decides to cry, wake up or just decide she wants to be held, and what not.

Sometimes I want to come home and just do nothing, have nothing to clean, literally nothing to do. But It’s never going to happen; not anymore. I love Anna, and saying all this will probably make me sound like a horrible mom. I love my family, I love my husband, our little girl!! They are both the most precious things to me in my life. I wouldn’t give them up or trade them for anything.

Not only is being a mom super exhausting, but it is also super rewarding. If we don’t work at something, what do we get from it? Usually nothing. Being a mom is awesome! It means less sleep, but it also means having a chance to have a legacy, having fun with your daughter or son. Getting to watch them grow and reach those milestones, although it is hard to watch them grow, it is also easy and fun to watch them grow.

Our little Anastasia is growing up so fast, but that is what children do. They grow. Everything grows at some point. Sometimes I feel like she is growing like a weed (super fast and every day). I feel like if I blink, I will miss it. And I know that in the blink of an eye, she will be going off to college, and finding a husband, and moving to a new home to start her own family. But we will be there for her every time we can.

It is still crazy to think sometimes that I am a mom; but it is amazing! I honestly never thought I’d be here. A wife. A mom. It is all a dream. But It’s also not a dream, it’s real. God has been so good to me and my little family. He blessed me with the best parents I could have ever asked for. And I hope that we are half of what my parents have been to me, to our little Anastasia!

They say the first year of marriage is always the hardest. Which it was rough at times, but we made it through. Marriage is important to us. It’s not a 50/50 thing, it’s a 100/100. We each give 100%, we don’t give less. We do have a little one during that first year which didn’t make it easy, but we wouldn’t trade her for anything. We love our little Princess.

Do you ever wish that you could go back and change something? Whether it was something you said or did, the way you said it, or that you even said it at all? Even if it was just recently…you know you shouldn’t have said it. I’ve been having those recently…but God is so Good! We have been so blessed in our marriage, in our family. I love Brandon so much!

We have the cutest pups who love Anna so much. They just want to be near her now and make sure she’s okay. Especially the bigger one, we’re pretty sure she’s going to be Anna’s dog once she gets big enough to play with the dogs. 🙂

Our pups love her!! They’re very protective of her! As are we! We are so blessed, not even kidding.

I always say at the end of my blogs, that if there’s anything you want me to pray for you about, I will…And I’m still saying that, I just would like y’all to pray for us also; if you think about it. We would appreciate it so much. Thank you! I love you all, and thank you so much for reading this and for supporting me! Maybe someday I’ll be a ‘famous’ blogger! 😛