Overwhelmed and Undertaken

Life has a funny way of hitting you with EVERYTHING all at once! It has been a few months since I have posted anything simply because it has been super busy at our house. Let me share with you some of the exciting things that has happened over this time and some of the things happening this fall.

We moved to Brownsburg at the beginning of June and really love the town and community we are part of here. Makenna turned 2 in July! I can't believe it has been 2 years since I gave birth to her! (tear) We did potty learning and she is now 95% there. She has done a great job and is such a big girl!

Kevin was asked to take a position at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so this was a big deal for our family! Kevin is also, finishing up his last year at IUPUI this fall FINALLY!!! My baby is a senior LOL!

Liam bonked his cheek on our end table in July and ended up with 6 stitches. OUCH! He did an amazing job getting his stitches and was such a brave guy. He just started soccer this past week and is a natural soccer player :) His first game is this Saturday...I don't know who is more excited.....me or him :) Liam starts school the first week of September. I know it is only preschool but, it is a big deal! He is excited but nervous too. For anyone of you who knows Liam, he is a bit of a perfectionist. He is worried he won't be prepared for school like the other kids. He thinks he needs to be able to read, write, and know everyone's name before he gets there. Oh Liam.....what am I going to do with you!

As for me, I have lost 45 lbs. since January! I feel good and am looking great! Can I say that without bragging? Anyway, I have been busy....as you can see from the paragraphs above. Right now, I am gearing up for the Back To School Jam that is happening tomorrow! AHHH! It is going to be a great event for families and it benefits the Brownsburg Education Foundation. Kevin and I celebrate 7 years of wedded bliss this month! On one hand I can't believe it has been that many years......on the other hand, we have been through SO much that if feels like 10 years have gone by. I am just so lucky to be married to my best friend! This coming week I too start classes at Ivy Tech to start my nursing degree. I am excited and nervous!

Well, I just wanted to catch everyone up to date and say hi to everyone! Thanks for reading and I promise to keep this more up to date........or so I hope ;)

To work or not to work, that is the question

I am at that point, you know where most moms have to make a decision, to work or not to work. Some women have no choice, they have to work and I feel totally blessed that I haven't had to work and don't really have to now. I have been at SAHM (stay at home mom) since Liam was first born and my heart has always told me that is where I belong. Nothing has really changed in my heart, I love being at home and being a mama to my awesome kiddos! But, somehow God has planted a seed in me to want to do more than just stay home. It is bittersweet to me.

There has been an opportunity put before me to teach in a really great environment, awesome people, and a fun atmostphere. I would be teaching full time 8-3:15 5 days a week, have benefits, and pretty good pay. Liam would go to school there 3 days a week and Makenna would go 2 days a week. We have got it worked out so that we wouldn't have to have someone else watching our children all the time. Everything sounds really great but, I just don't know if I want to be away from my kids that much! It makes me nervous to think about it. I know every mom goes through this when they start a new job and I realize it will be a really hard first month. Lots of tears will be shed. Not because I don't like the job, but because of the time I am missing with Liam and Makenna.

This position would be a really thing for me. Added income, benefits, a little more self identity, and being a part of a school that other schools with compare themselves to. With all this, I still can't help but think to myself.....am I making the right decision?

I am amazed....

So, this post is to all you parents out there who have more than 2 children. My two little ones are 4 and 21 months old and while I have always thought of myself as a patient person, sometimes when it comes to my kiddos, I am not as patient as I should be. I feel like pulling out my hair and yelling when things get crazy! Like when Kenna is yelling "Mommy" 8-10 times in a row and Liam is making incredibly loud noises all within the confining feet of a minivan and while I am trying to have a conversation with my husband. I know this is probably "small" to some of you and maybe you can ignore those things......but I have a hard time doing so. OK, when I was growing up, I always thought I wanted 3 or 4 children......what in the world was I thinking?!?!?! For me, two is enough!! So, my heart goes out to you who have more than 2 children. I give you a round of applause and you should pat yourself on the back for making it through the day/week/year in one piece. Raising children isn't easy and often times it is overlooked as hard work! "Good Kids" are good just by chance. You have parents that work very hard to give them the best chance in life they have. If you kids are happy and healthy, then you have done your job! Congratulations to you!! This is a shout out to you!!

Training pants.....

For any of you who know me pretty well, you will know I am a bit "cruchy". Meaning, we try to go organic as much as possible, I am really big on natural childbirth and mamas nursing their babes, cloth diapering, baby wearing, early co-sleeping, etc. Yeah, I am that girl! Anyhow, Makenna is wanting to potty learn, so I am gearing up for the big potty party and figuring out what potty learning pants to use. As normal, I get on the absolutely wonderful diaperswappers.com and check out learning pants. I want to do cloth pants instead of using Pull-Ups or something similar because I want her to actually feel when she is wet. Well, I am looking at stuff and I see nothing that I REALLY love and most of the stuff is so stinkin' expensive. So, I am going to make my own! I will post pictures of what I make and of my mess ups. I am sure I will be posting stuff about our potty party too. Here are couple of pics of my kiddos b/c I NEED some to add the "human element" to my blog :)

The First.....

Blogs have always been a funny thing to me......who really cares about what goes on in you life on a day to day basis? Who cares that your child is now "blowing raspberries"? Or that it is your 10th anniversary? Well, apparently a lot of people do. I had no clue how many blogs were actually in existence. It is super crazy!

With that being said,I think blogs are a great way for people to be able to voice their opinion, keep a digital scrapbook of your family, and/or create an online business! It is amazing what blogs are being used for now. They started out just being an online open journal and has worked its way to having the possibility of creating an income for families.

WAHM's (work at home moms) have made their inventions, creations, and custom items into a livelyhood for their family. And, what an awesome time to do this. In this economy, more and more people are more likely to buy from the US or locally and how awesome is it to help other moms out by buying their product. I am a WAHM myself and have appreciated other moms who spread the word about my creations and ideas and have bought from me before going to "the store". This would be called a "rave". When other moms rave about my business, that is the best advertisement you could ever want. If you need advice of where to look for certain items, let me know! I am a huge researcher on custom handmade, high end, or random things and more than likely know where to look.

As you can see, my blog will be a bit random, but interesting to say the least. I was never going to blog again after college but so many people that know me have told me I should blog about everything.....so here I am! I hope you enjoy and come back often! Feel free to leave APPROPRIATE comments.