Raising Money To Feed Children In Our Communities

Recently I saw something on a local information Facebook page that really hit me hard. It was about schools serving children whose parents hadn't paid for their lunches cold sandwiches instead of the same meals that all of the other children get. This might seem minor to some because yes, those children as still being fed but I have a problem with this for many reasons. I have a problem with it because school meals might be the only meals some children receive each day. I have a problem with it because it sets those poor innocent babies apart from the other kids. I have a problem with it because children shouldn't have to worry about adult issues and setting them apart involves them in this. The thought of a child feeling secluded or left out kills me. I know that there are programs to help parents out that need assistance but I also know that some parents sadly don't give a crap and don't even apply for the free or reduced meals. I also know that some parents who truly do care can't get approved for the help but still fall short to make ends meet each month. They still need help financially. My family always does everything that we possibly can to help others. We donate toys and clothes rather than selling them. We adopt atleast 3 children each Christmas to buy many gifts for. We've purchased extra snacks and school supplies to give to teachers. We don't make a big difference and sometimes we are temporarily in a place that we can't help at the time but we do the best that we can. I understand that some people can't do anything extra because we've been there before so today I've spent some time thinking of ways to raise money to help feed children in our community no matter what your financial situation is. You can give the money that you make to either a teacher or the person over the financial part of meals. They would know best which children need it their lunches bought. 

This is what I've came up with:

-Selling the things that we don't need 

-Collecting change and cashing it out

-Having a bake sale

-Having a family or community yard sell

-Getting your church family involved and asking for their donations

-Having a change drive at church where the youth and church members put change into a large container

-Asking local businesses or the business that you work for to donate. You can have them make checks out to the school in your area.

-Those businesses could also set out a container to do a change drive if they're interested in helping

-Having a car wash 

-Adopting a child for the school year and keeping money on their lunch account

These are just a few ideas. There are so many ways to raise money for this cause and if you think of more please feel free to share your idea. I'm happy to help in any way that I can and I know that a lot of you are too. We just have to stop making excuses and do it.

With that being said aside from donating our own money to the cause my mom and I are in the process of involving our church. We are planning to start a change/money drive. The plan is to set out 5 gallon water bottles around the church to collect money. These containers will be out all year and turned into the school periodically. There will also be a container at my mother in law's insurance office as well as at Eucha Tire. I'm also in the process of contacting other businesses in our area to see if they'd be interested in doing this too. It seems little but change adds up and anything at all will help. At our specific school it only takes $1.30 to feed a child a meal. If anyone has any questions at all please feel free to ask. 

My Pretty Little Liars Summer Finale Predictions

First off I just have to say that I am majorly butt hurt. Today the cast and Marlene announced that next season of the next 10 episodes of the show will be the end of the series. I've watched every single episode of PLL since the day that the first one premiered. Going on seven years now of obsession! I'm a huge fan even when the wait for reveals got more than annoying. I hung in there because it was always worth it to me in the end. Tomorrow is the summer finale and there's been very vague hints about what will happen but these are my more detailed predictions:

-Either Aria is pregnant with Ezra's baby or Spencer is pregnant with Caleb's baby.

-Hanna and Caleb will get back together 

-Nicole will end up being alive. Boo. Poor Aria. 

-We will find out/realize that Spencer or Hanna is Mary Drake's other child. Originally I thought that it'd be Jason or Ali but now I'm leaning towards it being Spencer. I don't know if they will reveal the 2nd child 110% yet though. I think might just be left 'knowing' without for sure knowing ha.

-Jenna shoots Toby and he dies but only after him and Spencer have their little last time 'moment' of course. 

*I haven't read any other spoilers or predictions because I enjoy forming my own theories without being influenced by other fans guesses. I make my predictions every single season. I'm always right in some ways and wrong in some ways so we shall see tomorrow if that's the case again. I'm so ready but I'm going to wait until half way through the episode to start watching it so I can fast forward through the commercials. I do this every week actually. Ain't nobody got time for that commercial bullshit hahahaha. 

🅰🅰🅰🅰🅰🅰🅰🅰

 

Party Planning!

Party planning and making special occasions as well, special, as possible is something that I absolutely love. I have so much fun celebrating our loved ones birthdays and special events. Doing everything that I can to show them how big of a deal they are to us is always a top priority for me. My mom is a great party thrower so I think that's where I get it. She always made our birthdays a giant deal. For my loved ones birthday parties and anniversaries I make sure to get everyone that I possible can there. It isn't often enough that we all get to see eachother. I'm known in my family for bringing everyone together. For the kids birthdays I always have a big party near their birthday and a small special day/dinner party ON their birthday. We always start the day off with a big birthday breakfast. Confetti pancakes to be exact ha. Then we spend the day out having fun. Sometimes we take them to Build a Bear. Sometimes we take them to the movies. Sometimes we take them out to eat and go shopping. Sometimes we go big and take them to Disney World on their birthday. No matter where we go though that day we make it a huge deal that it's their special day. We end the day with a nice dinner, gifts, and a cake. Birthdays are so sentimental to me. I will never stop celebrating those dates and I will never stop making a big deal about it. It doesn't matter if you have a party or not. It doesn't matter if do or don't take them somewhere. It doesn't matter whether or not you give them presents. It doesn't matter if you sit at home all and do nothing. What matters is that YOU send your time with them letting them know that it's their special day and that you are so incredibly thankful for them. When it all comes down to it my kids probably won't even remember all of the effort that I put into their birthday plans. They will remember the memories that they made with us and they will remember that their momma gave them a billion kisses on those days and sang 'Happy Birthday' to them atleast 50 times. They will remember that their birthdays were always a big deal because them being here is the biggest deal to us. 

 

 
 

Online Friend Dating

Last night I went out with a girl that I met online. There's no catch to this intro. I'm not kidding at all about it. This is something that I've done many times actually. Before you go all 'that's dangerous what if they are a murderer' on me let me explain a little. These are either people that I have mutual real life friends with or people that I met through a local mom group on Facebook who knows a lot of the other group members. Some of my dearest friends ever are people that I met this way. My husband thought that I was nuts the first few times that I went to meet people that I hadn't seen in person before. He was super protective and hesitant. I'm really strong willed and he knows that so he didn't bother fighting me on it. He just made a long list of rules for me regarding it and he drove me to the 'date'. He acted like a body guard ha. It was a little annoying at the time but I think it's super cute looking back. Now we just have a basic set of rules and he texts/calls me throughout the night to check in but he trusts my judgment fully so he doesn't worry as much about it. After all I have done this a time or ten 😉

Here's the thing, I live in a tiny town. Meeting anyone new around here is virtually impossible and as someone who loves to make new friends this was a major downer for me. I've never once set out to find friends online. It always just happens on it's own. It usually starts with basic comments and chit chat then it goes to 'we should hang out sometime'. Sounds insane to some, I know, but clearly it's not crazy to everyone or else I wouldn't have all of these awesome friends that I met online. I'm not saying that you all should do this. The world is a messed up place and sadly we can't trust a lot of people. I am saying though that in some SAFE situations it's nice to let your guard down a little and make a new friend that you wouldn't of met the normal way. Last night I finally met a girl named Lauren that I had been getting to know for months. I knew that we had a lot in common before meeting her in person but I didn't expect her to be my spirit twin like she ended up being. I had so much fun and laughed so hard. At this point I'm basically ready to put a ring on it hahahaha. But really, not only are we totally alike but our husbands have a lot in common too. They are going to come down to go fishing with us soon and I'm so excited for them to experience a little dose of country life. Lauren is from Chicago and her, her husband, and their baby boy currently live in Tulsa so our ways of life are very different which makes it that much more fun. 

It's weird to me to think that I wouldn't of made all of these awesome friends if I had never took the chance to go meet them in person and to get to know them. Again, I'm NOT saying that we should all just go out and meet a bunch of random strangers. That would be silly. I am however saying that there are SAFE ways to make new friends. 

As a veteran meeting new people in person-er (I may or may not of just made that up) here are my tips: 

-Always meet in a very public and busy place

-Never meet at anyone's house

-Never get into a vehicle with someone new

-Let your spouse take you to meet them if he or she wants to

-If not make sure that your spouse or someone that you know knows exactly where you are, what the name of the person that you are meeting is, and what they look like

-Have a safe word that you can text or call and say to your spouse that let's them know if something feels off to you

-Call your spouse when you've made it to where you are going and have met the person as well as when you are back in your care and headed home 

-Make sure you have mutual friends and know people that know the person that you are meeting 

-Never share basic personal information. They don't need to know your address or where you bank. Nothing like that. 

-Common sense is key! Be smart and use your what is hopefully obvious common knowledge on things. 

Honestly some of these seem a little extreme to me because I always in one way or another know the person that I'm meeting. I have a naturally good judgment when it comes to safety. It's not like blind dating ha. I think the boundary of not meeting a stranger with no mutual friends is very important. 

I might be a lunatic/weirdo but I'll wear that title proudly because I've made some of my best friends this way. Friends that I've had for years now and will continue to have forever I'm sure. I have no regrets. Not even when I didn't hit it off well with a person. But I would have regrets if I had never got to know most of these people because I hadn't taken that leap of faith. As a stay at home mom who lives in a small town it is very hard to meet new people. I'm so thankful for the balls that I have to go out there and make new friends ha. Family and friends truly are everything. 

My Must Have Make-Up Products

For as long as I can remember I've been obsessed with make up. I was sneaking clear mascara and tinted chapstick in the 2nd grade ha. To put it lightly I've dabbled in all kinds of make up over the past 10 years and I'm a huge make up enthusiast. I'm not in any way a professional but I've done hair and make up for weddings, boudoir sessions, proms, ect. I absolutely love it and wish that there was a higher demand for make up artists in my area. In the mean time I am an unbiased personal make up consultant for Younique and I am in the process of vlogging several make up tutorials so if there's any looks that you'd like to see shoot me an email me and I'll give that look a try. Also if you need any help at all picking out products that work best for you I'm happy to help. Everyone's skin is different so what works for some might not work for others. 

Anyways, products have came and gone throughout the years but these are the products that have either stuck with me or are currently my go to's. 

PRIMER

Becca Backlight Priming Filter
http://bit.ly/2blygF7

FOUNDATION
Mary-Kay Endless Performance 
https://www.marykay.com/en-US/products/makeup/face/Endless-Performance-CremetoPowder-Foundation-Beige-2-110356

CONCEALER
Urban Decay Naked Skin
http://bit.ly/2blz2Ss

UNDER EYE SETTING POWDER
RCMA No Color Powder
https://www.beautylish.com/s/rcma-makeup-no-color-powder-3-oz

BRONZER
Younique Beachfront Bronzer

https://www.youniqueproducts.com/products/landing?psid=260322

BLUSH & HIGHLIGHT
Jaclyn Hill x Becca Face Palette 
http://bit.ly/2blz9NS

MASCARA
Younique 3D Fiber Lash
https://www.youniqueproducts.com/products/landing?psid=260322

LIQUID LIP

JS Unicorn Blood is my favorite but I love all of his liquid lip products

http://jeffreestarcosmetics.com/

LIPSTICK 

Younique Moonstruck Opulence in Swanky

https://www.youniqueproducts.com/products/view/US-21803-00#.V8BzJUU8KnN

EYESHADOW PALETTE
Morphe 35O
http://bit.ly/2byS4UE

SETTING SPRAY
Younique Rose Water
https://www.youniqueproducts.com/products/landing?psid=260322

Mac Fix Plus

http://m.maccosmetics.com/product/13825/32212/Products/Skincare/Primers/Prep-Prime-Fix

 

 

 

 

 

Naming Your Children

A friend and I were recently talking about our regrets when it came to naming our children. Whether it was letting other people influence our choice in names or if it was regretting a name that we used. Naming our children is a huge deal and it's a life changing moment for us as parents. It personalizes our growing babies. It gives them a name for us to call them by while they are still inside of us. Naming my children was by far one of my favorite things ever. Their names are all very special to us so here's the back ground story on why we named them what we did. 

*Charlee is after my husbands late uncle Charley. We were extremely close to him and he couldn't wait for us to 'have him some babies'. He passed away 2 weeks before we found out that we were expecting. Noelle, Charlee's middle name, was picked by Brian because our date of conception with her was Christmas Eve. 

*Andlee is my parents names combined, Andy and Le'Ann. Her middle name is Kay after my mother in law. Her name was honestly my favorite to come up with. I've still to this day never heard her name anywhere or met someone that has heard her name. It's uniqueness is something that I take a lot of pride in. 

*Brian 'Hudson' Joe is named after my husband, my dad, my father in law, and my maiden name. I surprised Brian last minute by giving Hudson, Brian's name. Brian thought that we were just naming him Hudson Joe. Joe is my dad's middle name, my father in law's middle name, and my husband's middle name. It was a very special moment when we revealed his name to our families. My dad was one proud papa to be having his father's name sake passed on to my son. Brian teared up when I told him that I had changed Hudson's legal first name to Brian. He never expected it and we never discussed it. I regret not recording his reaction when I told him. It was the best. 

So as you can tell naming our children was/is a very personal thing for us just as it should be. 

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE the baby name game. I've seriously named atleast 10 of my friends kids because they know that I enjoy coming up with unique names that have meaning to a specific couple so I get asked for help a lot. 

I love naming babies so much that my husband and I have picked out names for our next 10 kids ha. I'm kidding. I think? We aren't really planning to have 10 more kids but we do have 10 plus names that we love and want to use. Some people think that it's nuts to be planning the names of your future children. I do not feel that way and I have a few good reasons why I plan ahead. 

Reason #1- I regret the middle name that we gave our oldest daughter. I wish that we had used Eileen or Louise after our grandmothers. I should of put more long term thought into that name. Don't get me wrong Noelle is special to us and it's pretty. I just wish that we had used a family name. 

Reason #2- If you are open about what you will be naming your future baby people that you know are less likely to use that name. Sounds silly, I know. You can't trade mark names. I get it. However, when you live in a tiny town like us you don't want a bunch of kids having the same name as your child. In bigger areas that's less avoidable but here everyone knows everyone and people that know you probably aren't going to use the name that you'll be using. It's just common courtesy, right? Plus surely they won't want their child to have the same name as another child who is the same age. I might sound selfish but I've checked many names off of my own 'love it' list because someone that I know had used that name first. In fact the name that we were dead set on using if our son had been a girl was used before we found out the gender and I gave that name up. I actually cried a few times over it because it was so special to us and unique but I couldn't use it knowing that there would be another child in the same grade as ours with that name and that a friend had already used it. It just feels like stealing to me. I'm weird. I know this. 

Reason #3- We lost a baby last year so for obvious reasons we put a lot of serious thought into what we'd be naming that baby. It wasn't just a 'maybe someday' thing. It was our reality and after losing that baby we still wanted to pick a name for our next child. We didn't stop planning just because we were no longer expecting soon.

Reason #4- Every time that you have a baby you never know if it'll be your last. Even if you plan to have more kids, God's plan might be different. You don't want to have any regrets by not using a name that you love or that was special to you so giving yourself a lot of time (years in our case) you're less likely to have regrets. 

Our baby name options list is long. We just might give our next child a bunch of names and be done with it or we might actually end up with 10 more kids. Who knows what will happen but I do know this, whatever we decide will be exactly what WE want. Naming our children is for us as parents. It doesn't matter what anyone else has to say or if somebody hates the name that you've chosen. You do you and enjoy every single moment of it. It's one of the biggest things that we will ever do and it stays with you and your children forever. 

Now I'm going to share with you guys a few of my favorite baby names that have made our list at one point or another. 

You may be nearing the end of your pregnancy with a nameless baby and need some ideas. You might be like me and simply just planning ahead. You might be done having kids but you still love to ponder kids names. You might be helping a friend or family member get some name ideas for their child. Heck, you might just be naming a pet. If any of those are the case, this is for you.

*Note that if you don't like somewhat unique names you'll probably hate all of these. 

 

I left out the names that we will most likely be using in the future. I won't reveal our next child's name until we have a baby in our arms and have found out the gender. It'll be a birth/gender/name announcement all in one. I've never known anyone or heard of anyone who is named most of the names that are on our special list so I'm not worried about someone in our area coming up with them or using them. They are not only special to us as a family but they are also super unique. For that reason they don't apply to the #2 that I mentioned earlier in this post ha. 

Happy gaming folks and may the odds be ever in your favor! 

The Hypocritical Mom

One thing that I've learned in my 5 years of motherhood is that I've often been a hypocrite and I've often ate my own words. As a first time mom not knowing at all what to expect you set all of these high standards for what you will and will not do as a parent. I was NEVER going to co-sleep. I was NEVER going to formula feed. I was NEVER going to use cloth diapers. I was NEVER going to let my kids have dirty faces in public. My living room would NEVER look like a daycare. I'd NEVER sacrifice my own style and personality because I'm a mom now. However, five years later and here I am having done ALL of these things. Setting expectations as a mom is great. I think we all should have mom goals. But don't be surprised if you find that something else works better for you. Don't be upset if you find yourself being a hypocrite of your own words. Motherhood is trial and error for us all. What we always imagined working might not even be possible. For example, Andlee was a very sick baby. She threw up all of her feedings and failed to thrive. It turns out that she was not only lactose intolerant and had severe gastrointestinal reflux but she was also extremely sensitive to the proteins in my breast milk. At 4 months old I gave up my hard battle to continue to breastfeed her and she was put on a special formula after trying a few medications. She was a completely different baby. She was content. She thrived. She was happy. All because of formula! Hudson was exactly the same way. I just caught on sooner with him because we had been through it with Andee. My babies never co-slept with us until one night someone tried to break into our home when I was there alone with our infant daughters. They all slept with us for a long time after that until we became secure with our alarm system and even now they still sleep with us from time to time. After my 3rd child was born I broke down and tried cloth diapering for the first time. I swore that I'd never do this because we have enough laundry as it is. I loved it though and wish that I had done it years ago. My living room always has toys everywhere and my kids faces are always dirty. I've had to learn to let go of my sometimes unrealistic mom goals and to swallow my pride. If you're expecting your first baby or even if you're a veteran mom and you've got all of these big expectations, that's great but don't be afraid to let some of them go if you're finding that they don't work well for you. Don't be afraid to eat your own words. We are all human. We all make mistakes. And that's okay! It's what makes us a better mom and it teaches our children that they don't need to strive for perfection. They can mess up, learn from it, and make it right the next time. 

Don't forget that it's okay to have a messy living room and dirty faced kids. I bet they aren't complaining 😉

 

 

My Weight Loss Journey

For as long as I can remember I have struggled with my weight. I have PCOS and hypothyroidism so losing weight is harder for me than it is for most people but I still did it off and on over the past 10 years. I'd lose then gain lose then gain. At one point a few years ago I had lost 100 lbs with diet and exercise alone and I got back down to my high school weight. However, I lost a baby shortly after hitting that weight and I went through a huge stage of depression because of it. I completely stopped caring about myself and focused only on my children. I lost all of my self worth. I gained 120 plus lbs over the coarse of a year. I found myself so over weight that I didn't even know how I'd get it back under control. It was an extremely hard time for me. That's when I started to consider weight loss surgery. This was something that I NEVER considered before. I honestly thought it was the dumbest thing ever. I couldn't understand why people didn't just lose the weight on their own but now I obviously feel differently. I started to research it and watch YouTube videos of people who have had WLS. I added myself to WLS support groups on Facebook and I read story after story. I found myself bawling infront of the computer screen because all of these people felt exactly how I felt. After I had made my mind up to have the surgery I talked to my husband and parents about it. I wanted to be 110% sure when I brought them into it. Surgery is a huge deal. It's expensive and it's potentially dangerous. Brian was instantly all for it. He had watched my struggle up close and personal. He knew that I'd be successful because I'm stubborn and strong willed. He also knew that I was a completely different person when I was a healthy weight. Life all around is better when you're healthy because not only do you look/feel better about yourself but you also have more energy to do things. Anyways, once Brian was on board I talked to my parents. They weren't as happy with the idea as I was. Surgery scared them and my dad didn't understand why I didn't just lose the weight on my own like I had before. He's blunt like me so I expected nothing less from him ha. They know me though and when I make my mind up about something I'll do just about anything to get it. Knowing that I was committed to the surgery my parents agreed to help me. My mom went to the pre-op appointments with me. It was a lot of psych evaluations, nutritionist training, and physical testing. The trips to OKC (which is 6 hours total driving distance from us) got tiring. I'll never be able to express how much I appreciate my family's love and support through all of this. From driving me to all of the appointments to taking care of me after the surgery. They truly are amazing. 

I'll be totally honest with you guys when I made my mind up to do this I had planned on not telling anyone. As a person who once rolled my eyes at people who had WLS I didn't want to deal with the negative Nancy's. The people who credit all of your success to the surgery alone. The people who say that it's 'the easy way out'. But as time passed I realized that if it hadn't been for seeing people's personal stories about their journey, I wouldn't of ever done this myself. If I can help anyone who is going through what I went through whether it's just passing on all of my nutritional training/knowledge or helping them decide if surgery is an option for them personally, I want to do that. Even if I'm opening myself up to judgement. 

Here's the cold hard fact, if weight loss surgery was the easy way out everyone who has surgery would be successful with it! That's not the case though. Some people aren't successful because they don't change their lifestyle. You have to work at it just like anyone else who is losing weight. You can't eat half of what you used to or it can make you sick. You can't drink pop or caffeine. You have to be extremely picky about what you put into your body because the food volume that your stomach will hold is TINY so you have to make what you put into it count or you can suffer major health issues. You can lose your hair. You can become completely vitamin deficient. Not to mention that you go through a major surgery. There's nothing easy about that. I had the surgery not because I can't lose weight on my own, I've already done that before. I had it because I have never been able to maintain a healthy weight no matter how hard I tried. This surgery is a life long tool to help you achieve long term success and I'd do it again in a heart beat. I might only be 2 1/2 months post op but I can already tell that my life is changed forever. I know that this will continue to work for me and I know that I won't fail myself or my tool. 

As far as my new lifestyle goes here's a few details:

-I don't EVER eat pasta, bread, potatoes, corn, pastries, things high in sugar, things that are breaded or fried, and I avoid a lot of fruits

-I don't drink anything carbonated or with caffeine 

-I do T25 4 times a week and I jog 3 miles 2-3 times a week

-My portion size total during 1 meal is around 4 ozs

-I do a protein meal replacement for breakfast

-I snack on fresh veggies, low fat cheese, and nuts 

I am so ridiculously picky about what I eat that it's unreal. I've never been like that before. It's great. 

If anyone has any questions at all please feel free to message me. I'm happy to answer all that I can and I'll answer it with total transparency. 

*I had the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. It's where they remove up to 90% of your stomach. I picked the sleeve over the lap band or bypass because it had the lowest risk of complications long term, I didn't want anything foreign in my body, and I didn't want to bypass any of my organs. The sleeve is the only WLS that isn't reversible though so some people do not like that. 

This is me 2 1/2 months ago vs me now:

 

Birth Control: It's the Devil

As I'm currently going through so major hormonal issues I can't help but to think about my journey with birth control. I swear I'm allergic to it. Nothing ever works for me. I've tried the pill, the patch, the arm implant, the ring, and the shot. They all were torture for me. I either bled every single day the entire time that I was on them or I had every pregnancy symptom under the sun.  I have a major sensitivity to hormonal changes. When I ovulate or am on my period it's hell in itself so add hormonal birth control to the mix and I might as well be dead. Okay, not really but it's very hard for me to function. I get headaches, cramps, nausea, fatigue, sore breasts, mood swings, hot flashes, ect. On top of reacting badly to BC I also have a history of mini strokes and hemopledgic migraines. It's very scary for my family and I because I have facial paralysis and I'm unable to speak during those episodes but thankfully I can usually feel them coming on so I have an emergency medicine that helps to stop them. However, because of that I'm at a super high risk of having a full blown stroke when I'm on hormonal birth control. My Neurologist forbid me to take anything so I was stuck with very limited forms of birth control. My husband hates to wear condoms and he's wanted another baby for a while now so he could honestly care less about preventing pregnancy. We'll just say that he's not motivated at all to help the situation ha. Pulling out isn't effective enough in my opinion so that's out the door. Avoiding sex when I'm ovulating isn't effective enough either. My PMS symptoms and ovulating symptoms are too similar for me to trust which is which. That pretty much only left me with an old school diaphragm. When my OBGYN suggested this I laughed. It seemed so retro and awkward.

 (If you don't know what a diaphragm is, it's a little thing that you insert into your vagina before inner coarse. It blocks your cervix so that sperm is unable to get through.) 

Seems gross right? Actually it's not bad at all. It's quick and easy. It's comfortable if you get it properly sized. It's hormone free and cheap. It's long lasting and you only use it if you're going to have sex. It's easy to sanitize. When you are ready you can try to get pregnant instantly with it unlike other birth controls. There's also no increased risk of miscarriage or birth defects if you do get pregnant while you're on it. I wish that I had tried it way sooner. 

If you're like me and birth control makes life hard, definitely consider asking your doctor about a diaphragm.

 If your aren't like me and any birth control works great for you, you're a lucky dog ha.

 If you're looking for the perfect birth control and want to hear a personal experience on different ones here is my birth control reviews for you:

The patch, the ring, and the pill- They all gave me headaches and I gained a ton of weight on them. 

The arm implant- I bled every single day the entire 5 months that I had it in my arm. I was emotional and moody. I gained weight with it too. 

The shot- This thing should be outlawed. I lived a miserable hell for over a year because of this thing. With the shot, once you've gotten it it can stay in your system for 12-24 months. You can't get it out no matter what you do. I ended up being placed on hormonal therapy because I reacted so badly to it. I bled, I cramped, I had headaches, I sweat constantly, I gained 80 lbs, I was always nauseous, and I became depressed from always feeling like shit. I also ended up miscarrying our baby a year and half after I got the shot because the shot was still in my body. If you read about it everything that I experienced is very common. Some women can NEVER get pregnant again after they've been on the shot. Please don't do it. It might work well for some but the horror stories far outweigh the positive ones. You can see that for yourself if you do some rea search. 

Birth control is a drag sometimes but there is a perfect one out there for each of you. It only took me 26 years to find mine but hey, I'll take it because this momma doesn't want any more babies until she's 30 😉

Getting My Dream Vehicle

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a Jeep FREAK! For my 18th birthday my parents bought me a new Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. It was red with a 6" lift, blacked out rims, big tires, a snorkeling system for mudding, a brush guard, a light bar, ect. It was stunning. I've had approximately 15 vehicles in my life ranging from $10k-$58k in price and that Jeep was by far my favorite vehicle ever. I traded it in for a little white 'mom car' when I got married because we planned to have kids right away. Two years and no kids later I regretted it greatly.

We trade our vehicles in every year or so. One year we traded 3 separate times. Nuts, I know. Anyways every single time that we've traded I've fought myself on getting a Jeep Wranger Unlimited. I always backed out though because I have children. Jeep safety ratings aren't as high as a truck or SUV so that was what ultimately kept me from doing it. As a mom I couldn't justify getting my dream car when it wasn't as practical for children. However, my sweet husband made a super valid point to me. He said that his truck is reliable and plenty big enough for all of us. It can be the vehicle that we take when we go out of town as a family. He also said that I am a car seat safety lunatic who always has our kids in the best of the best car seats and properly restrained. It's true. That's the moment that I really started to consider things.

We live in the country a few miles from the creek and the lake. Fishing, gigging, hunting, dirt roading, ect is a huge apart of our lifestyle and having a Jeep is perfect for those short little trips. It's also perfect for my errand running and work days when I don't have the kids with me. It's perfect for our monthly hubby/wife date nights as well. Brian helped me see that I CAN have my dream ride and still continue to be the great mom that I am. I've spent 7 years backing out on getting the vehicle that I cry a little on the inside when I see it on the road. Right now is the only time in life when our family will be small enough to all fit into a Jeep. In a few years we plan to have more children and I'll go back to having a 3rd row vehicle. It's now or never. Maybe I'm selfish for doing this. Maybe I'm stupid for trading my $58,000 Tahoe in for a Jeep. Maybe I'll regret it. Who really knows but I definitely won't know if I don't try it. If you are questioning doing something for yourself but feel guilty about it because your a mom, don't feel that way! As moms our lives revolve around doing everything for everyone else. We live for taking care of others before ourselves. We deserve to be spoiled a little so go for it. Do something for yourself. Enjoy it because you have every right to. 

Here's to following my dreams even as a mom of 3. Come Tuesday I'll be the proud owner of this bad boy 😍

Good-bye Tahoe, Hello Jeep Life ✌🏻️

 

 

Why Can't We Be Friends?

As I'm currently texting a new friend from Australia that I met through this blog I can't help but to think about friendship! Friendship is something that can have a huge impact on our lives. Whether you have a million friends or your family is your only friends, we all experience friendship throughout our lives. Like any relationship they can come and go or they can last forever. Friendship is trial and error because you can't possibly get to know a person without opening yourself up to their friendship. Sure, you can hear things about them and assume that you won't like them or you can be too protective of yourself to give new friends a chance but all in all to make friends, you have to be a friend. There are people who are completely content with only having their family as their friends. They feel safer this way and I get that but at the same time how can you share what your soul brings to the world if you aren't spreading your spirit around and making friends/meeting new people? Yes, you are going to get hurt by someone that you trusted. You are going to not hit it off with someone because you are nothing alike. You are going to hang out once and realize that you aren't compatible with that person because your values and lifestyle are completely different. I've been through it all. But that will never stop me from GIVING PEOPLE A CHANCE. I hear a lot that you become who you hang out with and I completely disagree! If you know who you are and are a confident, independent person no one can change you! You will continue to be yourself despite your poor company. Not to mention hanging out with someone once doesn't make you whoever that person is. That's absurd.  I've let many people go because they were negative Nancy's or did bad things and people that I don't want around my children but I've also stayed friends with people who are alot different than me and it's worked out great because I could help bring that person up emotionally. I can't tell you how many times that I've heard that being around me made them want to be happier and that makes our differences so, so worth it. I want to be the light to someone because I have so many lights in my life. You don't have to be just like someone to end up being the best of friends. Getting hurt is scary, I get it. I've been heartbroken more times than you could even imagine but you know what, those heart breaks made me who I am today. They made me smarter and they made me stronger. You don't want to miss out on an amazing friendship because you didn't put yourself out there. Some of my friends have became my family and I can't imagine my life without them. Some of my 'friends' we're just lessons but I wouldn't have learned those lessons if I hadn't opened myself up to those friendships. 

Now go and make some new friends ha. Get to know them then decide if it'll work out or not. I'm not saying to go into it trusting a person fully. That would be silly to do. I am however saying to give them a chance. Even if you don't think that you'll have anything in common. Even if you're scared to reach out to them. Even if you've heard bad things about them or some of your friends don't like them. Consider the source of rumors and trust no ones judgements but your own! I've trusted someone else's opinion of a person before and ended up adoring that person when I got to know them years later. I've also reconnected with friends that I had a falling out with a long time ago and things were better than ever the 2nd time around. Wipe the slate clean and start fresh. Little steps and basic chit chat. I've even started friendships before by complimenting a person. It's not hard at all to do 😉

Happy Birthday to My Father In Law

Today is not only my father in law, Perry's birthday but it's also the day of his retirement party. As I'm getting things ready to head to his party I can't help but to think about how much he means to us. Not very many people get blessed with the worlds best father as well as the worlds best father in law. I am insanely lucky and grateful. Perry is seriously one of the most hard working and dedicated people that I know. He went to work on the railroad when he was 14 and he's worked his butt off every since. I am so happy for him to finally be retired. Not that he'll stop working but atleast he won't have the long commute every day ha. He's the kindest person that you'll ever meet. He always sees the best in people. His heart is gentle and selfless. His laugh is contagious and his grin is all too familiar. When I see him smile I see his late brother Charley (whom our daughter is named after) and it touches me deeply. I truly love him and so do my children. He is a blessing to our lives and I don't think he's told that near enough so this is our little shout out to him. An amazing man and poppy that we are so thankful for. If you're lucky enough to have a father in law this incredible, cherish it always. 

 

 

Being Mom & Still Being Authentic to Yourself

'Dye your hair, show your tattoos, express yourself. Don't lose yourself in the transition of becoming mom. This includes taking time for yourself, painting your nails, buying new clothes, pampering yourself, taking bubble baths, wearing that cool jewelry, exercising... don't forget to take care of you first, so you'll be happy and refreshed when taking care of everyone else.' - Modern Day Moms

Yesterday I saw this post on Facebook that touched on something that I've ranted about and felt for years. It was about not giving up on your own personal style & personality just because someone now calls you 'mom'. I have always loved make-up, fashion, and hair. I can remember my dad having me pick his clothes out for him when I was like 10. Not kidding ha. It's the reason that my career of choice is cosmetology. I have always loved to be different. From crazy hair colors to wearing whatever I wanted, not what was in style to me having a lot of tattoos. That's just who I am. It's my personality. However, when I became a mom I felt like I couldn't be that way anymore. I felt like I needed to be 'plain'. I stopped doing unnatural hair colors. I lived in t-shirts and covered up my tattoos. I felt uncomfortable when I was in public with the kids and my tattoos showed. I felt like I was instantly judged as a certain type of mom/person. I struggled with this until recently. I also struggled with caring what other people thought of me as a mom. I just wanted to blend in. That's not me though. That's never been me. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a blunt, loud, bubbly person. I have a very bold and outgoing type of personality. I've diluted myself completely because I am a mom and that's not okay. That's not me being true to myself. How can I expect my kids to be confident with who they are if I'm not even openly being the real me? I can't. People are ALWAYS going to talk bad about you for one reason or another if they want to. They will always find something to say. Even if they don't really know you, they'll just assume or make things up. That's society these days. No one wants to see the best in people anymore. It's easier for them to judge you and chalk you off as something that you aren't than it is for them to make an effort to actually get to know you. I'm always up for making new friends. Some of my favorite people in life are people that I met on Facebook believe it or not. I've also became great friends with people that I didn't give a fair chance to at first because I listened to what I heard about them rather than actually getting to know them myself. You haven't fully lived until you've opened yourself up to new people and new relationships. You can't judge someone off of the way that they look or because they cuss. We can't be disappointed or hurt by a person that we don't even know. We can't give strangers that power over us. We have to stop labeling people and start accepting people. Accept that people fully covered in tattoos can be some of the best parents out there. Accept that every Sunday church going Christians can be some of the most vidictive people of all. Accept that people who cuss like a sailor can have some of the kindest hearts. Accept that a seemingly perfect, has it all together type of mom can be a person who doesn't even like being a mom. Accept people for who they authentically are on the inside! Not for what you see on the outside or on social media. Get to know people. Give them a chance. It's easy to judge someone when you aren't a happy person yourself so if you find that you are being judgemental, evaluate your life because how you treat others is a direct reflection of how you feel on the inside. Stop with the stereotypes. Stop with the judging. Stop with the assumptions of someone that you don't even know. Stop being the negativity in the world. Be a breath of fresh air. Give people a chance. Accept them for who they are on the inside and if you don't know anything about them on a personal relationship type of level then you haven't really given them a chance at all. Just because we are mom's now doesn't mean that we should give up on ourselves. We shouldn't have to worry about people seeing us as less of a mom because we lived true to who we are. Happy moms are the best moms and to be truly happy you have to be living authentically. I realize this more and more every day. I'm done worrying about people thinking less of me because of what I look like. My kind heart and amazing mothering skills are the same no matter what color my hair is. We were born to stand out not to die a copy 💗

 

School Girls: UPDATE

Today marks a week since the girls started school and things are going wonderful. They absolutely love school. I have to make them give me 'good-bye' kisses now because the second that they see the door they are running towards it ha. Yesterday Andlee took off running down the hall to her classroom and with her back to me she threw her hand up in the air then yelled, "Peace out mom!". Everyone around us died laughing. It was priceless. 

We put the girls in separate classes because they are already so reliant on each other's company that I didn't want to continue that into their school years. They needed to learn how to handle things on their own and I'm SO glad that we did this. Going to school and being away from me was a big enough deal in itself, it would have been much harder on them next year if we had let them take that big step together only to separate them later. They've already in just a short week made many new friends on their own. I'm so thankful for that. I was very concerned with how they'd do apart. They love their teachers and I love all of the picture updates that the teachers send me. They appreciate their time together as well as with their brother so much more now since they aren't all together 24/7. It has all in all been an extremely positive experience. I was a nervous wreck about this part of motherhood. As I mentioned in my first day of school post, I have dreaded the school years since the kids were born. The first few days were incredibly hard for me. I cried a lot and caught myself looking for the girls. I honestly felt lost without them. It's getting easier each day but I'm still showing up 30-45 minutes early to pick them up ha. I adore hearing all about their day and seeing how much they missed me as well as each other. Hudson has done awesome! He asks about them throughout the day but he's loving our time alone with daddy. We spend part of our day with Brian each day and it's been so nice.

 I pray that school continues to be a positive experience for them and that their love for it never goes away.