Two Years Later

So it's been a while and as is to be expected with time, it has passed, and many things have changed and many have stayed the same. Events that seemed HUGE at the time are now just memories. And things that didn't seem very exciting at the time have become the cherished moments that slipped away. Some bullet points to fill you in on what's been happening in the last 2 years.

- I went back to work on October 2011. I worked for a large corporate fitness company and started as an entry level part time employee and worked my way up to a head manager role working 60 hrs a week, nights, weekends, holidays, etc. I left the company in April 2013 to make a complete career change. I went to work for my husband at a mortgage company and learned how to be a loan processor. Now I work from home doing loan processing, it's really perfect because I can be waaay more involved with the kids but still have the stimulation and satisfaction of working. Oh and I am starting up my own little Origami Owl Jewelry business as well. This was me at the manager job I had.

- We moved. We moved for a lot of reasons but one of the main reasons was to get a bigger house that was closer to our family. We now live 15 minutes away from family and Levi has his own bedroom. The move was the absolute BEST thing we could have done for ourselves and the kids. We've all been so much happier in our new house and we love the side of town we live on now. Oh and our new house has Hot Air Balloons flying over it all the time. Totally magical!

- Bailey doesn't live with us full time anymore. When we made the move she decided she wanted to try living with her Mom (she lives 15 minutes away). We are sad not to have her home as much. But she comes over frequently and when she does come home we are all so happy to be together that it makes for more positive experiences than negative. Before the move it was the other way around, unfortunately.

- We got a dog! I know, it's nuts! Why would we add another living needy being to our already very alive and needy family? Because:

Yeah, see that face, those eyes? She is my baby now. Levi is so big at 2.5 yrs old and so defiant and just such a toddler. This little girl, she's all mine, just loves me and wags her tail for me and follows me around the house. Her name is Daisy and we got her in December of 2012, so she's been with us for almost a year. She is a Boxer mix and we think she is 3 yrs old, she was rescued off the road and we got her from her previous owner that couldn't keep a big dog anymore.


- Mike and I did a Half Marathon. That's running 13.1 miles for those that don't know what that entails. We did the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon in October 2012. If you're going to kill yourself and go through that kind of endurance/pain at least be somewhere beautiful. It was awesome! Painful but awesome. We trained for 3 months to prepare. In fact since we trained and ran the Half we've ended up doing a lot of races. We did an Amputee Benefit 5k, an Autism Benefit 10k, the Hot Chocolate 15k, and more. This past weekend all 5 of us did a 5k. It meant so much to me to do something healthy together. It also meant so much to me because running and racing has become a really big part of who I am in the last 2 years and it makes me beam with joy to see my kids discovering that they can be healthy and fit too.

So that's the bullet points, there is much more to tell but I can't give it all away the first day ;)

Kid Free Weekend in Savannah

Oh my! We had such a WONDERFUL time in Savannah! And already I want to go back because we didn't even begin to see all the sights and cool stuff!

Dear Heather

Dear Heather,

I am awake past midnight thinking about you. Sending you love, prayers, encouragement, battle cries. Whatever it takes to keep you fighting. To keep you here with us. You are an amazing soul. You have uplifted, inspired, and encouraged so many people, more than you even realize.

In you, I see myself. We are the same age, we both have a 5 yr old child. We both were teachers (you still are). You are who I wish I could be in many ways. Your energy, your passion, your determination. I can only hope that someday I can take on more of your qualities.

You have to fight. You have to eat. You have to fight because you have an amazing son that I know you want to see grow up. You have an incredible husband that loves you so much. Your Mom. Your family. Your friends.

And then there are people like me. People that you don't even know very well. People that are absolutely and unendingly rooting for you just because you are who you are.

I was lucky enough to teach on the same hallway as you. I had the honor of watching you very deservedly receive the Golden Apple award. I was there the day that the film crews came to your classroom. Every morning you came in with a smile and typically you were bouncing off the walls too. And I was also at Augusta State with you. You have stayed in my mind and my heart over the last 3 years simply because you are you.

Hear me Heather. Stay here. Stay in this fight. The prize at the end of all this fighting is life. Not just any life, your life. Your life full of people that love you and want you. Every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every year. Fight for it! Take it! Live!

Love,
Jen

Quirks

As I approach 30 (yikes!) I am realizing that I am really actually an adult now. No more pretending like I am an adult because I feel that is what I should be, now I really am just an adult. With this new self awareness comes the noticing of some strange quirks I have developed.

I remember as a child and teenager watching my parents and wondering why they did things the way they did. They were so specific in the actions they made when doing certain things. I remember watching my Mom smoke a cigarette in her car in high school. It was like watching a choreographed dance. She had to clean the ashtray, then wipe the console, then delicately extract her lighter from it's protective pouch, the same with her cigarette, then finally she would light the cig and then roll her window down and up about 5 times before settling on just the right size crack to allow the smokey air out and keep the cool air in. And I remember watching my Dad clean the kitchen as a kid. He had to touch every single item on the counters. Every one. And not just touch, he had to move it a minuscule centimeter to the left or right a few times to make sure it was just in the right place. He still does that.

And when I would watch my parents do these quirky things I would wonder why they HAD to do it THAT way. I would wonder (in my defiant teenage way) why they couldn't relax and do things differently, ever.

So now I realize that I too have developed quirky habits that my kids will question and pick on me for. And here are just a few:

Brushing my hair before I go to bed. What is that? I have NEVER done this before but now I find I can't go to bed unless I have brushed my hair. It is going to get bed head whether I brush it or not but alas my compulsion will not allow me to not brush it. This habit has really started since Levi was born. Weird!

Brushing my teeth 3 times a day. This is a great habit and one I wish I would have developed at a younger age. But it is strange. I am unable to go through the day without brushing my teeth, especially if I feel that my teeth are getting a film from all the food I eat. Part of my new love of teeth brushing is the discovery of a new toothpaste that I LOVE the taste of. I would seriously eat the toothpaste if I could. Crest 3D White Advanced Vivid Stain Protection. Now it comes in 2 flavors and my favorite is fresh mint. I was VERY disappointed when I accidentally bought vibrant mint. See the crazy quirkiness here people?!

Speaking of oral hygiene, I have now developed a solid gum chewing habit. An addiction really. I am not a pack a day yet but I am close. I am not sure why I have developed this habit. Again it is a new one that has just popped up since Levi was born. Maybe I am developing OCD as part of my postpartum experience? And of course I have my favorite gum and all other gums shall never be as good as it. Wrigley's 5 Rain flavor gum. I am chewing it right now. And I just brushed my teeth.

The way I clean my kitchen. I like to do the dishes/make coffee for the next day/pack everyone's lunches, then clean the counters, then sweep the floors, then mop. I like it this way because then everything is clean at the end and you haven't recreated a mess by doing the floors first and then wiping the counters and getting food/stuff on the floor from the counters. Yeah, I know, I am weird.

So there a few of my weird quirks. What are your quirks? Did you find that you were less quirky as a young twentysomething? Do you have a favorite toothpaste too? Do you remember your parent's crazy quirks? Have you developed the same quirks as your parents? What's your favorite gum?

I need a wife

I need a wife just like me. Let me explain. As a SAHM/W (stay at home mom/wife) my entire "job" is taking care of the kids and Mike. My day is consumed with anticipating everyone's needs/wants before they even realize they have them. I devote all my time to cleaning/cooking/shopping/chauffeuring/errand running so that the four other people in this family can flourish and succeed at their endeavors (school/work/growing).

I want someone to do that for me. Because WOW! That has got to rock to be so well supported. I don't want to stop doing what I do for Mike and the kids. I love to see them all happy and content. I just want someone to do the same for me.

So I need a wife just like me. I am accepting resumes starting today. The position has no pay or benefits or vacation time or sick days. But you do get to watch me flourish and succeed at being myself so that's gotta be worth something, right?

My (not so) Tiny Dancers

Both girls made their way to the front of their dance classes today. I was not surprised at all. They are both natural leaders and neither will settle for anything but the most attention possible (in a good way). Check out these cutie pies!!! :)

Bailey is taking a Hip Hop class.

Evie is taking Ballet/Tap.

And here's Levi being his cute self as usual :)

Relaxation

Recently (yesterday) I decided to research relaxation techniques to help me stay calm and level headed in the face of 3 kids and a million things to get done. I found some EXCELLENT resources and I immediately started putting them to use. Let me tell you, it amazes me, astounds me, how a change in perspective and outlook has changed the entire landscape of my day to day life as a SAHM (stay at home mom) with a 9 yr old, 5 yr old, and newborn. I feel like I have a new lease on life, like things that I never thought were possible are not only possible but easy to do. One of the things I struggled with was getting into spats with the big girls (Levi at this point is pretty low maintenance as far as emotional needs). This was a HUGE source of stress and heartache for me everyday, to the point that I would dread them coming home from school because I didn't know how I was going to avoid the altercations. After researching the techniques for relaxing and putting them into use Friday and today I am AMAZED! Not only are the spats less but the joy and love are so much MORE!!! More than I thought was possible in such a quick time. There has always been love of course but the constant spats make the joy/love feelings hard to remember and feel in the moment.

So today I have felt like a new woman and a new Mom. The five of us ate a yummy breakfast together and we all laughed, belly laughed at the table together just cracking each other up. Then I did yoga for 20 minutes to relax. Then I walked with (dragged) Evie and pushed Levi in the stroller at the park for 2 miles. Bailey rode her bike while Mike ran the 2 miles. It was great! And then we came home and had a yummy turkey burger with turkey bacon dinner. Mike bathed Levi while I bathed and did hair for both girls.

Today was a wonderful day. But it wasn't a different day than any other for our family. Except for me, I was different. My outlook, my approach was different. And that made all the difference. There were plenty of opportunities for spats with both girls. Today I took breathes, I gave myself time outs, I said my mantra (let it go, let it go, relax, relax) about a million times, and it worked! I know it's only been 2 days but the difference has given me so much confidence, so much hope, so much happiness.

At the end of the day (everyday) I LOVE my family. I love that we all get to be together and share this life with each other. I want the time that the five of us are together to be full of reality but also laughter, fun, joy, love. Our life has always had that but recently it was more stress than love. Now the tables are turning back to they way it should be and I am so very glad.

First Day of Kindergarten for Evie and 4th Grade for Bailey

And I cried and sobbed as soon as the bus pulled away. Why am I so heartbroken by watching Evie happily get on the bus and go to school?