Parenting

My oldest niece Sara got a lot of books this year for Christmas. Personally I hate reading. After seeing all the books she got, it made me want to start reading. Even though I hate reading, I can read books that relate to where I am in life at that moment. The biggest part of my life right now is being a parent. I have seen several books that gives tips to parents of teenagers. I wanted a book that helped you from birth on up to teen years. I did find some books, but chose to get "The parent You Want to Be: Who You Are Matters More Than What You Do" I am on Chapter 4 right now and all in all it is a good book. It definitely gets you to thinking about who you are as a person as well as a couple, if you are a couple. They wrote this book primarily for couples for obvious reason, but as a single parent you can adapt. One of the most important things apart from teaching her who Jesus is, is making sure Maddy has positive self esteem. They say to "affirm" your child much different than I have been, but it makes total sense. They say when your child does something good, for example, win a field day race...instead of saying, "Wow you're a fast runner", to say things that allow them to make that positive inference...such as "I can tell you worked really hard out there" or ""I can see you gave it your all" It is going to take me some time to reprogram my affirmation skills, but I think it will be worth it in the end.

Happy New Year!

Well, this will be my first post of the new year. It's so hard to believe it's 2011. I remember y2k and how they thought everything would crash and once the clock struck 12, things just kept right on going as usual. Now it's 11 years later and things are keepin on keepin on. I kinda have some make up to do, so here we go. Christmas Eve me and Maddy spent most of the day with my mom doing our last minute Christmas shopping. We were supposed to be getting our "traditional" santa pic done at the mall, but there was so much to do already and she already has pictures of her and santa from school, and her hair was already messed up that I finally said forget it! For dinner we ate at Waffle House, which is actually a tradition my stepdad(along with my mom) tried to get started for us, but somewhere along the way it stopped. Once we got home, my sister along with her 2 girls came over as they were going to spend the night with us. The girls were so excited because they knew santa was coming. Once they got into bed me and my sister started wrapping presents. We stayed up till about 4:00 a.m. and was I ever so glad to be going to bed once we were done. When we woke up the next morning there was so much snow...it was just so beautiful. My nieces had been up and waiting for a while, so since Maddy was being quiet in her crib we decided to let them go ahead and go see what santa left them. It only lasted maybe 20 minutes and Maddy was ready to see what all was going on. It's my tradtition, started by my mom I do believe, to have pigs in a blanket on Christmas morning, so that was Maddy's breakfast along with some milk. When we walked into the living room I think she was overwhelmed. We had a room full of people along with a room full of presents and she wanted to stick close to mom. Her dad came over around 5 or 6 a.m. in order to not miss her waking up on Christmas morning. She just sat and stared at her presents not really knowing what to do. She got a Playskool house that has all kinds of buttons and music, a princess pup up activity hut, and I'm not sure of the brand but it's a piano that either sits or stands and you can hook it up to the tv and interact that way or if you don't want it hooked up to the tv, it still plays music.  The rest of her gifts included several dogs, several baby dolls, a shopping cart with food, a kitchen, a couple dvd's, puzzles, candy and some other things I can't seem to remember. All in all she had a great Christmas! We did take her outside long enough for her to see the snow and I put some in my hand to let her feel...she thought that was funny. That was our Christmas at home. The rest of the day consisted of going to my aunt and uncle's and eating and doing what is called a chinese gift exchange...it's super fun but I hate having to get up in front of everybody. The last thing we did was go to Maddy's dad's dad's house hehe. This is a very shortened version of Christmas.
For New Year's, Maddy's dad came over pretty early and we went to Wal-Mart to buy our new year's hats and of coarse had to get Maddy a little headband as well. Once my mom and stepdad got home we ate pizza, gave Maddy a bath, let her try on her headband and play some, then put Maddy to bed, then we played on the Wii for a little bit. We played Gold's Gym Cardio Workout and oh man, I woke up the next day so sore. Afterwards we played a card game called Phase 10. It lasted a couple hours or so and Maddy's dad ended up beating us all after he started out in last place. Once we were done, we just sat and watched the rockin new year's eve and then counted down and said happy new year. Pretty soon afterwards I went straight to bed ad luckily Maddy didn't wake up the next day until 9. On New Year's we went shopping with Maddy's Nana and then ate at Carrabba's for dinner.

As you can see I had a very busy but good holiday for both Christmas and New Year. As the last of the holiday weekend was coming to a close, I started feeling real sad and a lot of anxiety about going back to work. I am so stressed out at work. This is just Tuesday and already I feel as if I've worked a full week. I know the devil is trying to make me feel defeated and hopeless and he's doing a good job, but luckily I know that God is in control and I choose to let Him lead me. I have been praying over my job and I know that all I can do is my best and if it's just not good enough, then God has another plan for me. That is very scary to me because I don't have that second income to fall back on and my daughter's necessities don't stop just because I am jobless. It's also very scary to think about because I desperately need insurance for her. Everytime I start worry about this and that I instantly hear or think about how God provides for the birds and He thinks much higher of me then He does the birds. This new year I'm not really making a resolution...I never have really, but without even thinking about I decided to strive to get closer to God each and every day. This angered the devil and he is trying to prevent me from doing what I set out to do, but in the long run I will not let him win. Life without God is impossible and I want my love for Him to grow each and every day. One book I got myself this weekend is called, "I'm Not Good Enough"...and other lies women tell themselves by Sharon Jaynes. If you are a woman or lady, I highly recommend this book. I am just on chapter 4, but already it is doing some good. It's also deepening my relationship with the Lord and that excites me very much so.

Christmas Rush

It's so hard to believe that Christmas is in just a few days. I've waited since Halloween for this time to finally get here and now that it is I'm not ready for it to end. This Christmas has not been at all what I wanted it to be. It's primarily my own fault for letting situations beyond my control affect my mood and life to the point that nothing becomes enjoyable. I let my emotions rule me and this is something I really want to change. I had so many plans of what me and Maddy were going to do during the Christmas season. Out of everything I had planned...we only did 1 of those things and that certainly didn't go like I had planned. I feel as if the devil has just come and ruined everything good about Christmas this year and it's a little disappointing...even more disappointing that I allowed it. I still have high hopes of how I want Christmas morning to go, but I'm learning to not have any expectations that way you aren't as disappointed. This year for Christmas, my sister and her 2 girls will be spending the night Christmas Eve night so come Christmas morning we will have 3 girls ready to see what Santa brought them. I'm so excited for Maddy's Christmas this year...i think i'm really excited because she's at the age where she can enjoy things. I find myself still saying oh Maddy needs that and oh she would love that, but I need to be a good steward with my money as well as not spoil her just yet lol. Tomorrow we will be finishing up our Christmas shopping and then once she goes to bed tomorrow night I will be cleaning my room up like a mad dog cause my 2 nieces are probably going to be sleeping in my room and it's just a huge mess right now. I should be cleaning it right now, but it's an overwhelming task and I just don't even know where to put anything. I am so thankful to have a mom who is willing to take me back into her home while I can't afford my own place right now, but because I did have my own place for 2 years I have a lot of stuff that just doesn't fit all into one room. Well, if I'm going to get up at 6 tomorrow morning I guess I should try to get some sleep now.

Thanksgiving 2010

Maddy had her first real Thanksgiving meal this year and enjoyed every minute of it. My child eats round the clock...literally, but doesn't gain hardly anything. I'd give anything to have metabolism that high lol. I was disappointed because I did not get out in time to get her any Thanksgiving outfits so I had to do the best with what we already had. I decided to go with a brown dress. Our Thanksgiving started off at my grandparent's house. I think my family thought I was nuts, but I did strip Maddy down to just her diaper. I knew we had other places to be and I didn't want to get her "Thanksgiving" outfit dirty. She had turkey, ham, mac and cheese, a roll, green beans, corn, dressing, mashed potatoes, and a deviled egg. She pretty much ate her entire plate minus the mac and cheese and roll. Once I put her food on her high chair she went to town and was so super quiet. She is very serious about her food but she does occasionally look around at what is going on around her while she is chewing. Once we were done eating I put her clothes back on and let her walk around. Her cousins were there one of which she's only seen once. Aria is just now able to get out more because she had a very expensive RSV shot..it costs $1800 but with everything she has been through when she was born...they have to be extra careful with her and germs. Maddy would just look at Aria. Her other cousins Sara and Abby were there and Maddy enjoyed seeing them as well. Maddy really does have a big heart and she loves kids...I think it will be interesting to see if she grows up loving kids or if it's just a "hey you're my size" kinda thing. My love for kids developed at a somewhat young age, but mine was because my dad was verbally abusive and I wanted to see to it that no kid ever felt the way he made me feel. Once we left my grandmother's, we went to Maddy's dad's grandmother's house. Maddy doesn't know them very well, so she was a little more reserved and quiet. She wanted to stay close to mommy and daddy, but would watch to see what everybody was doing. Her cousin Tripp was a little on the wild side...I think they are cousins...they are something lol...he was a little more rough which made me a little nervous but luckily Maddy didn't get hurt. After Maddy walked around and played a little bit over there she was ready for her dinner. Her dad gave her some turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce, but she only wanted to eat the cranberry sauce...when she'd eat it all off her highchair she would say "more more" and do the sign for more. It's so cute..her daycare helps teach them sign language so they can communicate better and she picked up on "more" really quick and it's just so neat to see her do that..sometimes she doesn't even say it and will just do the sign, but she normally says it first THEN does the sign. After she ate we packed up and headed home. I'm gonna steal Wendy's idea and post a pic of last Thanksgiving and then one of this Thanksgiving. It's so crazy to think about how different things were this year verses last year. Last year she was only 2 months old and I did Thanksgiving on my own...single mom type thing...and went to my family's and then let her dad see her after we were both done with our family.

                                                           Thanksgiving 2009

                                                                Thanksgiving 2010

                                                                         Cousins

Tornado

My sadness continues over this week. I want to clarify that I am not depressed or anything like that...I just keep having a chain of events that is hard to deal with. I have been so strong today and kept my emotions back and kept on going like nothing was wrong, but on the inside..I wanted to burst into tears, my heart was beating so fast, I had butterflies in my stomach, and I have literally felt sick all day. I've had problems with my appetite lately...I go all day feeling full even though I didn't eat anything. Today's matters definately did not help that situation at all. I really would love to just tell all because that would help me feel a little better, but there are some people who I do not want to see what I write so instead of being paranoid all the time, I choose to keep it to myself and maybe write in my personal journal every thing I am wanting to say. Sometimes I take a look back at my life and wonder what the heck I was thinking in certain situations. I know what I am going through is my fault and I know God is here for me with open arms and no matter how much I may mess up, I know He will always help me find my way. I've watched the movie Facing The Giants a few times this month and everytime I just want to give up and throw in the towel...I make sure to say I will still love you Lord. I don't just say it to say it...I mean what I say. I also know that there is nothing impossible for the Lord. I just have to do my best and the Lord will take care of the rest. I look forward to the day when the skies open up and that trumpet sounds and Jesus is there to take us home. Well, I will quit my whinging now lol. 

I'm An Emotional Girl!

Today has been a little rough on me. It has nothing to do with Maddy or anything like that, it has everything to do with my emotions. Sometimes I wish emotions didn't exist, but then what kind of life would that be. I want to keep all the good emotions and do away with the not so good ones. Life certainly has its ups and downs. One thing I have learned in my life is that even though sometimes you feel all alone while you are down in life, you are never alone...God is always right there with open arms. I'm so thankful that I have a God that is always right there waiting for me to turn to Him no matter how long it takes. I say all this because I am a confused person right now. I know what I want in my life, but it doesn't really seem to be heading there. If anything, it seems to be going the opposite direction. I have prayed and prayed and prayed for His guidance and I am just so confused. I know that since things are kind of going in the opposite direction that is a very clear sign that that's how things should be. Well, I told God a few weeks ago that I choose Him and that I will still love Him even when things don't go my way. My question is...when will the hurt go away? When will my feelings go away and align more with where God has placed me right now? I feel that I am being pulled in different directions by different people and sometimes I just want to scream STOP!! I am also so scared of making the wrong decision that I think that plays a big part in my confusion. Life is hard...with the help of God I always find the light at the end of the tunnels, I just don't always like the journey and my friend...I am definately on a journey right now.

On another note..Maddy's school had football friday today. All the teachers and kids dressed up in their favorite teams color. They went all out and had balloons and decorations and everything. I am so very happy that her daycare gets involved and does more than just the normal everyday stuff. Maddy looked so cute as always!! I'm not going to post pics because most of the people that might read this are already on my facebook. Tonight for dinner she had pasta shells and cheese and she is all about feeding herself so I always put her in her highchair and let her go for it. I didn't anticipate her getting as dirty as she did lol. She started out ok because she was just picking up the pasta and eating it. Oh, before I go on I must say that she was given a plate so I just chose to put her food on there. As I put the pasta on there...there ended up being quite a bit of extra cheese that had accumulated on the plate. Once she was done she took the whole plate and starting licking the cheese off the plate. Being just 1 years old, she doesn't have the best use of her hands yet so the cheese ended up going all in her hair and all over her face. She was wanting more but there wasn't any so i just put all the extra cheese on her plate and she would take gobs of cheese in her hand and shove it in her mouth. It was very entertaining lol. As I was starting to clean up the mess I asked her who the best mom in the world was for letting her make such a mess and as soon as I got done she looked up and said, "MAMA!!" Me and my mom just laughed. It was great! We pretty much headed straight for the tub afterwards and then she went to bed. Maddy has been the biggest blessing in my life. I can't even describe what a blessing she has been. I will say that she gave me a much better understanding of how God views us. I used to fear Him in the wrong way and I was almost scared of Him and thought that he just was always angry with me because I do sin every single day and I just felt so unworthy. Once I became pregnant I was thinking of loving Maddy and it just clicked. God isn't just always angry with me and He does see me as worthy, which is why He died on the cross...for me!! I understood that just as a parent has to discipline a child when they do wrong...God does the same thing with me. He doesn't do it cause He's mad at me or hates me..He does it to teach me and correct me and He also does it out of love. That day was very eye opening for me and I just cried and thanked the Lord for showing that to me cause I really needed that. Well, I'm way past my bedtime and I'm really hoping I will be able to lay down and go to sleep, but I kinda doubt it...my mind is still going 90 miles a minute but if I can't...then I'll just pray and pray and pray. Hope you all have a good night!

Thoughts and Reflections

Well, I have returned...I think. I need to start doing this more often...for my own benefit at least. As you can see Maddy is walking now...so much has changed since I last wrote. She started walking at 11 months. She took her first real steps on my step dad's birthday, August 31 and by September 2 she was toddlin around hehe. She's finally in her crib all the time now. It only took going through 3 swings to get there. She's got 4 bottom teeth and at least 5 top teeth. We celebrated her first birthday. Her actual birthday is September 23 and we had a mini celebration that day and then her party was on September 25 and she was a hoot! I'll post a few pics of her party down below...

 This was at Chick-Fil-A on her birthday...she had her first kids meal and as you can see was so very happy

 For her cake she had a cupcake from Gigi's...they are pretty good, but not really worth the price

As you can see things got very messy and all in all it was a great day! It is so hard to believe it has already been a year. It seems like just yesterday I was bouncing her on an exercise ball because that's the only way she could fall asleep due to her tummy hurting. She is THE best thing that has happened to me and I just can't imagine life without her!

Not much has changed with me. I did get somewhat of a promotion at work. I'll still be processing claims, however, I'll be dealing with transplants and I haven't heard anything, but I'm hoping it comes with a pay raise. My new title will be claims processor sr. associate. It's been hard for me to meet production this month and I am ready for a change and hopefully I will get my stats back up where they need to be and I won't be worried about losing my job all the time. Well...I guess that's all I have to say for now. I'd really like to make this a part of my routine cause it feels good to get all my feelings out...not that I did that tonight lol. I hope everybody had a good day and gets good sleep tonight...I'm so ready to hit the pillow :)