When Life Gives You Lemons...

I know, I know, it's been over a month since I last posted. A lot has happened in the last month, some good... mostly not so good, but we're alive, our children are growing and healthy, and we have what we need for now.

Let's start with the not so good. At the end of April, J's boss told him that it "just wasn't working out" and that he had until the 31st of May to find another job. Cue hysterical crying, hyperventilating, panic attacks and fear (at least for me). We didn't know what to do, where to go... we SHOULD have seen this coming. This woman has been awful to J since the day she started. She is hateful, selfish, and awful to her staff. As a manager, you should be part of the team NOT just give orders and sit around doing nothing, which is exactly what she does. I don't mean to be negative, but this woman has been cruel to J, my brother (who also works there), and all of the other staff, but everyone is so afraid of losing their jobs that they won't stand up for themselves or each other! J has plans to send a letter to corporate explaining how she treats her staff and the clients, not for revenge but because he doesn't feel he can leave without doing SOMETHING to let someone know how she is treating everyone at the facility.

Right now J has a job at another facility, but it's not a management position and it comes with a drastic pay cut. We are thankful that he found a job, but being thankful still doesn't pay the bills. I may have a babysitting job lined up for the school year, but until then I feel like a sitting duck. I can't get a job because whatever job I would get wouldn't cover childcare costs of our children... so that leaves everything up to J which makes me feel AWFUL. I am struggling with this, it's not just J's family that needs to be taken care, it's MINE! We are scared, more so than I can even explain, it's terrifying being in this position, especially with young children relying on us for their needs. We are trying to have faith that God will bring us through, but anyone who has been here or in a difficult situation knows that even someone with the most devout faith struggles. It's HARD being a Christian.

Thursday night J has an exam to qualify for a position with the US Postal Service, it pays slightly more than his salary now (before he is "let go" at the end of the month) but it isn't in his career field. But we are praying this is a good fit and that he'll have a chance at the job. At this point we just want to be where we were financially so that we continue to pay off debt and start a savings so that eventually we can purchase our home. With that said, I'm asking for prayers. Lots of prayers. Prayers that J's boss won't let him go sooner because he is leaving early on days he has interviews and exams, prayers that J's boss will always remember J and his faith in Christ (we know she isn't a believer, and as much as I dislike her I hope one day she finds Him), prayers that J will find a job that fulfills his need to help people and to provide for our family, prayers that we will have strength to get through, and prayers that we can keep our fears and anxiety at bay so that our children don't suffer.

Oi. Okay, with that said, how about a happy update? Bubby has TWO teeth. Within less than two weeks they have both come through, I couldn't believe it! I looked back at Boogie's baby book and realized she didn't have any teeth until just before her 8 month birthday! Bubby will also be celebrating his 1/2 birthday on the 26th. Can you believe that? I can't believe he's already 1/2 way to his 1st birthday! Bubby is also starting to sit for longer periods unassisted, which means here in the next month or so we will be starting BLW (Baby Led Weaning) again! He's such a happy, big boy!

Boogie is still working on the whole potty thing... she still won't tell me when she needs to go, but she will go when I ask her to most of the time. She is growing like a weed and continues to astound me with her vocabulary!

So again, please pray for our family, we aren't looking for sympathy or for you to say how sorry you are.... because we aren't sorry. For whatever reason, God wants us to go through this trial right now and I know eventually we won't be in this predicament any longer. So just pray for us and cheer us on! Thanks!

Getting Through the Storm

I don't know about you, but I know that sometimes I have trouble remembering that God didn't promise that today or tomorrow would be easy... just that He would never give us more than we can handle. Right now J and I are both struggling with a lot of different things. Boogie is becoming a sassy little girl, her attitude is hard to deal with lately and we are at a loss as to what to do with her. We don't believe in spanking, say what you will, but it's just not something we will ever do. So with her age comes defiance, stubborness, sassyness, and lots of tantrums. It's not easy, and we both struggle with being patient, calm, and QUIET. I try not to yell, I try not to scream.... but sometimes the ONLY way to get through to her is by pitching a tantrum on my own! Oi!

Among other things, J is struggling with his job. He loves WHAT he does however the place he is at and some, NOT ALL, the people he works with are making what he does very difficult. We hope that at some point we can find him a job in his career choice that he enjoys going to... he would love to manage his OWN kitchen and be able to make decisions without having to please or ask permission from a certain someone.

Yea... so with that said, we are struggling this week. We are happy in our home and with our little family, but we are struggling to find peace at the moment. Please pray for us and please please pray for all those affected by the tragedy in Boston this week. I'm a bit late on that event, but it saddens me that there are so many cruel people in this world. God Bless!

Spring has Sprung!

Thank goodness for this beautiful weather! Unfortunately for us however, both kids and J are sick with a nasty cold so we haven't gotten to enjoy it here in the past two days. Over the weekend we did get some flowers planted though! Even some berry bushes ;-)

Anyways, Bubby had his 4 month check up on Monday. He is officially 15 pounds even and 25 1/2 inches tall! He's an average weight for a breastfed baby and is above average for his height... no surprise there considering how quickly he is outgrowing his clothing! He's now in 6-9 and 9-12 month clothing depending on they style. We are getting ready to move him up to 9-12 month sleepers, we may have to do away with footies for this kid, he just grows too fast!

Boogie is doing well with potty training, she finally pooped in the potty and earned her Little People Cinderella Carriage toy! Woo woo!

That's really all I have for now... I'm hoping to update at least once a week or every 2 weeks if I can! God Bless!

I'm Still Here!

Kind of... we are officially internet and smart phone free, which means only 1-2x a week access to my blog or other social media sites! So you will hear from me a lot less frequently. Sorry y'all!

Anyways... just to update you, let's do so in bullet form. It's quicker ;-)

• Boogie is peeing on the potty!
• Boogie is NOT pooping in the potty...
• Bubby is 4 months old! (and has his check up on Monday)
• We are all moved in to our new home and have started planting flowers!
• J passed his CDM exam and is officially certified! So now the job hunting begins...
• I am now 25 years old... officially a quarter of a century... hmmm
• Our Flint Family all made it safely to Washinigton
• My friend C and I are headed to an event tomorrow... it's all about birthing and babies so we will be in hog heaven ;-)

And I think that's it....

One Thing Remains

I have been super emotional lately, there's just SO much happening in my life right now and it's hard to grasp all of these phenomenal changes! Let me back up a little bit first since I've been totally MIA here lately...

Let's do this in bullet fashion, shall we?

• My son will be THREE months old on Tuesday... he is bound and determined to sit up on his own, he pulls himself up when we hold his hands and just giggles! It's just going by WAY to fast!
• Boogie is flying through the things we are teaching her... and we just invested in a (used) iPad and she is devouring everything she can... she LOVES Elmo's ABC's!
• My best friend and her amazing family are moving the weekend of my birthday... we are also moving into their house that same weekend! So... bittersweet!
• My friend Hannah, who I've known for ages, is getting married in April. Boogie is going to be a flower girl and I am a bridesmaid... and as sappy/crazy as this sounds... watching Hannah try on her dress and helping with her shower today made me think about how quickly this time went by for HER mother. What the heck will I do when this is Boogie getting married?
• I've been bombarded with songspiration lately (yes, I totally just made up that word!). Every time I turn on J's ipod before I start my daily chores I hear lyrics to a song that I just NEEDED to hear (more on that in a bit)

See... LOTS of things, lots of emotional things that are frequently bringing me to my knees in praise, prayer, tears (both happy AND sad), and joy! So back to songspirations... this song, One Thing Remains by Jesus Culture. Oh man, this song honest to goodness brought me to my knees yesterday. I was holding my son, dancing with my daughter, and as I sang the lyrics it just filled my heart with so much joy! "Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me!" Just those simple words brought me to tears, I am so undeserving, so unworthy... yet his love NEVER fails, it NEVER gives up, and it will NEVER run out." No matter what circumstances I face, joyful or sorrowful, I have His love. How powerful is that? It just sends shivers down my spine! 

Thank you Lord for showing me your love!

Boogie is 2 years (and 1 month lol)!

I wanted to wait to post a big update on Boogie until after her 2 year check up, and we postponed it until Bubby's check up so we could take them together. My big 2 year old... she has grown so much since her last check up at 18 months. At that appointment she weighed 21.4lbs (with clothes and cloth diaper on) and was 31.25" tall... at this appointment she was 25lbs (with clothes and cloth diaper on) and 34.25" tall. So she's gained almost 4lbs and grew 3 inches! She's still only in the 25th percentile but that's perfect in my book! As I talked about in one of my previous posts, Boogie is doing really well with tot school, though I will admit that it is a struggle to make time for it with a baby in the family! Nevertheless, she's doing great! She knows her ABC's, can count 1-10, knows her colors and shapes, and she's singing lots of kid songs and "adult" songs (meaning the Christian music I have constantly playing around the house!). She can speak in 4-5 word sentences, sometimes more, the only time she has trouble is when she is upset or gets hurt. Seems like her emotions keep her from being able to communicate what's wrong, but we're working on that. She loves to color and read books and she is currently obsessed with princesses, specifically Cinderella!

To celebrate her birthday we had planned on having a larger party with some friends and family, but with a newborn in the house we decided it would be best to celebrate with family. Then we also had a get together with our Flint Family, Boogie just loves playing with her buddy's! So... here are some pictures of my girl in the past few weeks, including two from her party!

All dressed up for her party... and this is her new "say cheese" face... lol!

Pink cupcakes!

She's also big into dancing like Angelina Ballerina :)

Another CHEESE face!

Bubby is 2 Months!

My sweet boy is officially 2 months old as of Saturday, and he came through his 2 month check up with flying colors! He is 12lbs 5oz (he's gained almost 5lbs!) and he is 22.5" tall (2 inches taller!), his development is right on track and he is nursing perfectly. Bubby is in the 75th percentile... which is crazy to me because our sweet girl has always been on the small side! We are still in 0-3 clothing aside from sleepers (3-6), but we will be moving him up to all 3-6 clothing soon, his onsies and pants are starting to get a little snug. I just can't believe how fast he is growing! He's even sleeping 5-7 hour stretches most nights, which is INCREDIBLE. Boogie never slept that much unless we were co-sleeping AND she was nursing. Bubby on the otherhand takes a nap before bedtime, we dress him, I nurse him, cuddle him for a bit and I lay him down in the co-sleeper.... and he just sleeps. I never thought that after all the sleepless nights with Boogie I would have a child who SLEEPS. It's a freaking miracle! Thank you LORD! Now some pictures for you to enjoy :)

First time on my back... he didn't like it for TOO long, but that's only because he likes to snuggle  into my chest to sleep, lol! 

Loves cooing and smiling at his reflection

Happy blue eyed boy!

So handsome <3 td="">

He loves that monkey... 

Happy 2 months Bubby, we love you!

Fell Off the Wagon...

Yea. And it hurt. After a week of a vegetarian/gluten free diet I fell off the bandwagon? Well, a combination of stress, crazy life happenings, and not wanting/able to make a completely separate meal for myself every day. And now I feel like poo. That's the nicest way to put it. My stomach hurts after eating, not because I've overeaten or anything... I think it's because my body LIKED eating vegetarian and gluten free. I have no idea what to do though, because we just can't afford a complete gluten-free diet and the rest of the family being on a normal diet. I'm thinking I may avoid eating breads altogether, but not be super strict about checking ingredients for gluten... and only eating meat meals 2 or so days a week. J agreed to eating more vegetarian meals as long as it doesn't include tofu or tempeh (bahahah... we tried tempeh, I liked it... him, not so much!). So yea. There's my update on that.

The kids have their check ups on Tuesday so be looking for an update on both of them in the next week!

Vegucated and Other Things

Yes, you read that correctly. I am no "vegucated"... if you are unfamiliar with the term you can read more HERE. To make a long story short, in the past few weeks J and I have started working out and eating better (mainly portion control) to lose some weight and get healthy... then I watched a documentary called 'Vegucated' and it scarred me for life. Seriously people, scarred. So, I am now a vegetarian... and I also, on recommendation from a friend, have started eating Gluten Free as well. And let me tell you... ouch it's expensive. I don't know how long I'll keep eating Gluten Free, but I will say that I feel amazing. I have energy (as long as a certain little boy lets me sleep!) and I'm losing weight! Since starting our work out journey (I've been doing a combination of 30 Day Shred and Wii Fit exercises... and I even jogged around our circle the other day... that's HUGE for me) I've lost 8lbs... since having Bubby, I've lost a total of 22lbs! So yea, go me! Pray for me (and J!) as we continue on this journey... it's incredibly intimidating and HARD, but I'm determined to get healthier not only for myself but to set an example for my little ones!

Now, onto other things! Bubby will be 8 weeks old on Monday (2 months on the 26th)! And we will be celebrating Boogie's 2nd Birthday with the Flint Family on Sunday (yes... it's almost a month late!). Bubby is going through yet another growth spurt which means he's been pretty much attached to me 24/7. Luckily, when he sleeps at night, however long it may be, he sleeps in the co-sleeper no problem. Boogie NEVER did that, she had to be attached to the boob ALL night! Amazingly... no, astonishingly, Bubby slept 7 hours STRAIGHT Sunday night! That was the end of THAT growth spurt... obviously because of his feeding habits the past 2 days we're going for round 2! Other than that he's great! He's growing, it's strange to have a bigger baby at this stage, he's average (at least to my knowledge) for his age, but he's much bigger than Boogie ever was. He is in 0-3 months in everything except sleepers, in those he's in 3-6 months... but I have a feeling he'll be moving up in both soon. He's smiling all the time now, cooing, and he loves looking in the mirror. My sweet little man is so handsome, I'm completely head over heels for him!

Boogie is so smart, and I know I say it all the time, but she just amazes me with how much knowledge she absorbs. She knows her ABC's, except she always says 'J' instead of 'Z'... not sure why but we're working on that, she can count to 10, and she knows all of her colors except she mixes up blue and purple, and red and orange. SO smart! She's still going through the terrible two's, but I'm working hard on being more patient with her and really I'm just learning as we go!

Now, to hold you over until the next time I blog (because I'm terrible at it lately)...

This kid makes the BEST faces! This was the first 'smile' I caught on camera... it was a big gummy smile and then as soon as I hit the button to snap the picture he did this! Ha!

This is what happens 99.9% of the time I try to get pictures of Boogie now... oy.

First time he tried his Bumbo... he kind of liked it lol

Oh the faces...

Such a goofy boy!

He's definitely a momma's boy, despite what his onsie says.... 

My little "old man"

This is what I've looked at for the past 48 hours... nursing nursing nursing...

My little ballerina dancing... we've already decided that as soon as she turns 3 we're putting her in ballet. She loves it already!

Doesn't he look thrilled?

THESE are the kind of pictures I wish I could get everyday with my sweet girl!

We <3 td="td" time="time" tubby="tubby">

Love this... looks like they're swapping secrets

My brown eyed beauty

Pressing Onward...

Not going to lie... today flat out stunk. You've gotta love the "terrible two's". Oy! Dear, sweet, adorable Boogie is testing the limits and testing my patience. She has perfected pushing mommy's buttons. I'm trying so so so very hard to stay patient with her, I'm constantly reminding myself that she IS two and she IS acting her age. But good grief! Today was just not a good day. Boogie was just into everything, being naughty (and she knew it... she'd get caught, scream like a banchee, and run away and hide... little booger), being mean to her brother... it just never ended! Bubby was a crying mess, he's GOT to be going through a growth spurt, he was constantly attached to my boob (sorry to be blunt, but seriously... he was) and either sleeping for long spurts or screaming and crying for long spurts. And THEN I about burnt the house down. Yea, not my best cooking moment. I was boiling chicken, yes, boiling chicken. Forgot about said boiling chicken during one of Bubby's long, very very long, nursing sessions until I heard sizzling. So I thought to myself... "What's cooking? I don't remember cooking anything.... AHHH! The chicken!" So I run, with Bubby attached to my boob, unlatch him as quickly and as nicely as I can while he then proceeds to scream his poor little head off, I put him in the swing super fast, grab a glass, fill with water and dump on the chicken because my chicken had boiled so long that the water had evaporated and the chicken was on FIRE. Again, not my best moment. So... needless to say, my brilliant plan for yummy barbeque chicken pizza was a no go. I had no time to make my dough because instead I was opening windows, turning on fans, and wafting the smelly smoke outside. Luckily I was able to salvage enough of the chicken to make quesadillas.

Thankfully the last two hours of my day before J got home were a lot less eventful. I decided to give up on getting Boogie to sit still long enough for tot school and we all cuddled up on my bed, turned on Tinker Bell and relaxed.

In other news... I still haven't posted a real update on Boogie for her 2nd birthday, her 2 year appointment is on the 29th (I think). She's a month late, but we wanted to schedule her appointment on the same day as Bubby's 2 month appointment to save on gas. We just don't go to town as often with the van because gas is freaking expensive! So yea... be on the look out for that as well as a 2 month update on Bubby. Speaking of Bubby, he turned 6 weeks old on Monday. I cannot believe how fast this is going by, I though it was fast with Boogie, but this is just insane!

Anyways, thought you all would enjoy my debacle for the day. Now that my day is done and over with I can look back and laugh, but I can assure you that I was NOT laughing a few hours ago! ;-)