So Far So Good

Well the new routine is in place and working well.  Even had some "extra" time to organize all the pictures on the computer!!  They were in such disarray...no order whatsoever.  I have been meaning for months to organize them, and like all other things, was always too busy (she said, knowing full well she laid on the couch every night for several months)!!!  

I am liking the way I feel about things when I lay my head down at night, there is no longer a constant unfinished "To Do List" in my head taunting me every day!  I wake up and the house is clean, things are ready for the next day, everyone has clean clothes because the laundry is getting done, everything feels more complete!!!  

We have along weekend starting tomorrow.  Aaron and I are both off Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and Aaron is off as usual on Monday.  On Friday we are running some errands and taking Lalya to her pediatrician for her 18-Month Check-up (don't get me started on where that time went).  Saturday we are headed back to our hometown for the annual Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival and then Sunday church and relaxing.  Sundays are reserved for those two things on my new routine :) I hope to take tons of pictures so I can share :) 

I feel like things are comfortable and enjoyable right now and I hope to keep this ball a-rollin' on down the road!!  My family is happy and healthy and I could not be happier, I am so blessed!!

The Laziness Epidemic

It seems as though working a full-time outside of the home job and then coming home and spending time with Layla in the evenings has made me lazy...I mean for the "other" parts of my "job".  The other parts being, laundry, dishes, dusting, vacuuming, and general upkeep of my home.  Don't get me wrong the house is clean(ish) and things are mostly put in their place before I go to bed, as I have a bit of self-diagnosed OCD!!  But, after Layla goes to bed and I straighten up the house in what I call my 15 minute cleaning dash, I find myself sitting on my behind on the couch (usually with some sort of snack I should probably be avoiding) until I am dog tired then I drag myself upstairs to fall asleep in bed, only to wake up with an even longer "to-do" list that is at least another day behind.  

Enough Complaining about all that...where does that get you anyway? My grandma says "complaining is like sitting in a rocking chair trying to get somewhere, useless"  So I am getting off the lazy train and I am going to do something about it.  I am going to start Flying again.  Flying? yes...Flying!!!

http://www.flylady.net/

This group of women can teach you how in just a short period of time and with routines things can get done and you don't feel overwhelmed once a week because the laundry is overflowing and your husband is out of clean underwear (again)!!!  I have started and quit this many times, didn't quit because it didn't work...it works, I just got the lazy bug again!!  I feel like I would be blessing my family if I started being able to accomplish these small tasks day by day.  I would have more time with them instead of always trying to "finish" my "chores"  This is my new goal...do things a little at a time within a routine so I have more free time to spend as a mommy and a wife!!  Wish me luck!

Maybe it'll Stick This Time

By "maybe it'll stick this time", I mean this whole blogging thing!!!  I would like to say I am busy and just don't have time, but that's only partly true.  I am busy, I work full-time, I am a full-time momma (my favorite "job"), and a part-time homemaker (meaning someone has to keep this place clean and upright)!!!  But at around 8pm every evening, Layla is tucked in bed and asleep and this is where my "free" time falls apart...I should be doing laundry, couponing, getting things ready for the next day (which I do for Layla when necessary, but not for myself), cleaning up, etc...but I find myself asleep on the couch or vegging out in front of the television for hours...then I drag myself to bed and wake up in a craze because I am now always running late somehow ( I never used to be the one running to beat the clock in the morning) but since becoming a momma I have lost track of time somehow!!!  Anyway...enough with the excuses...I hope I can at least take one day a week to update the events of our lives.

Soooo.....Layla has turned 1 (she is now almost 18 months old) She has so much personality and is so funny!!!  (I will photo bomb this post later)  She is the absolutely the joy in our lives and we are so blessed and grateful!  Life is busy, Aaron and I work full-time, he is a full-time student, and we have a toddler!!!  

So we really are busy, but after 8pm I do have some free time!! I will make time to do this!!!  It is a goal for me...

Here is the photos in no particular order at all :)

We love you and miss you everyday Isaiah David

 Layla just a couple weeks ago

 At the pool looking cool

 Playing at the park...the slide is her favorite

 One of the pictures from her first birthday photo shoot 

 At the Notre Dame vs OSU hockey Game on 2/2/13 (Isaiah's 2nd Birthday)

 First Birthday party...she didn't smash up the cake like I hoped she would

 First Family Christmas card picture 2012

 Another gorgeous picture from her first birthday photo shoot

Our First family vacation to St Louis to visit Aaron's Aunt Miki and her family :)

I'm so behind...trying to be Super Mom

I have too many hats on...I try to do too many things all at once!!  Once the baby goes down for the night I am exhausted and still have dishes, laundry, shower, and any other unfinished housework to do ( I hate missing time with her to do this stuff while she is awake)!!  I am usually asleep before I lay all the way down in bed! 

So...I am going to "try" to keep my promise to myself and do this blog update at the very least once a week!!  I think I will add it to my list as a Monday night task...after Layla's bedtime at least. 

Update since I last wrote: As I wrote in the last post, my Hero of a cousin passed away from skin cancer.  Layla and I attended his funeral on August 23, 2012 at Arlington National Cemetery.  (My husband could not get the time off work to attend :( )  We rode with family and stayed one night, attended the funeral, turned right around and headed back to Ohio.  I can say with all the emotion in my heart that I have never been and may never be again to a more moving and emotional funeral service in my whole life.  I am so proud to have a family member buried in that cemetery and I am honored to have had that man in my life.

       

I was truly blessed to have had this experience.

In other news...Layla will be 9 MONTHS on the 14th!!!  Where has the time gone!!  She is growing so fast and learning new things every single day!  She says "mama" and "dada", she stands, she walks assisted, she can climb the stairs at a record speed :)...she is amazing!!!  She has a cold right now and we are fighting that the best we can, and she seems better today, but she (as many of us do too when we don't feel well) has a whiny attitude...which is so very out of character for her, so we know she doesn't feel well if she is crying and whining!!

OK so I will be back in several days with another weeks updates!!!  The next one will be full because Layla will have turned 9 months and she will have had her doctor appointment too!!

Mommy loves you Isaiah :) 

Wow...I Got Lost Being a Working Momma!!!

I was just thinking the other day "I haven't even checked my blog, I wonder when my last post was"...it has been 4 months! Sheesh!!  So much in my life has been turned upside down, the majority for the good (or great) and one terrible thing for an awful reason. 

First, the Great Reason!  Layla has been the biggest blessing in my entire life and I seriously can't imagine a moment of my life without her in it.  She wakes up all smiles and lights up my entire day.  While I am at work I can close my eyes and see her big toothless smile and my heart smiles...and I am rejuvenated to continue the "struggles" of my job away from home.  Oh how I wish we had the lifestyle that allowed me to be a stay at home mommy, but we don't right now.  I will never say never, but it isn't looking good for me to be a stay at home mommy.  I am lucky enough to work for a good company that takes really good care of its employees and I have a boss that cares deeply for me and my family.  Enough so that I have asked her to babysit next weekend :)  She is the reason I keep going to work, I need to be a role model of responsibility and success for her, no matter the job title.  Success is what you make of it!

Now,  onto the reason that turned my world upside down that isn't at all a happy one.  I have endured in my life, some losses that really only affected Aaron and I deeply.  The vast majority of my family is still here on this Earth making their mark.  On July 21, 2012, My cousin Justin Kyle Adams took his last breath on this Earth.  He was 31, a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a grandson, a cousin, a friend, a soldier, a hero, and too young to be done with this life.  He served this country in the United States Army and served in Iraq where he earned a Purple Heart.  He came home, started a family and settled into life back in America as a recruiter for the US Army.  He discovered that he had stage 3 Melanoma on his back.  He had many treatments and surgeries.  It stared to spread into some internal organs.  He stopped treatments and quickly (within a few weeks) was in the arms of the Lord.  Because of his young age and the seriousness of this awful disease, I have decided that I need to be vigilant with my own health and wellness.  We purchased an elliptical machine today and we are going to start eating "clean" in the hopes that all this unhealthy weight on our bodies will fall by the wayside and we will feel 100% better about life, ourselves, and just be a picture of health.  We have 2 reasons to do this: #1 is for ME and #2 is for Layla and any other children God may bless us with in this life!  Losing a family member in such a young age and in seemingly good health was a huge wake up call.  Granted eating better and exercising will not stop skin cancer from happening, but it may stop a bunch of other diseases from creeping up on us!

I will be taking "before" pics tonight and I will start posting my progress.  I would really like this blog to help keep me motivated!! Here Goes Nothing!