The Things That Make Me Happy

"...Day 14, Tuesday: Ten things that make you really happy..."

I'm loving this blog challenge! If you are just now coming across this, you can join in at any time!

Now, on to the ten things that make me really happy, in no particular order.

>> My sweet Adam & Aiden <<

>> Chocolate - the darker, the better <<

>> Long, hot bubble baths <<

>> My best friend <<

>> Ice cream <<

>> Bon fires with friends and family <<

>> A long nap when I can get one <<

>> Tanning <<

>> Coke from any Mexican restaurant <<

>> Shopping sprees <<

What makes you really happy? 

Leave your list or link in the comments below!

Something I Miss, Plus an Apology

"...Day 12, Sunday: What do you miss? (a person, a thing, a place, a time of your life...)..."

*I missed posting this yesterday. I'm sick and yesterday I felt absolutely terrible.*

If I had to say I miss one thing, I think it would have to be how skinny I used to be. As vain as that sounds, it's completely true. I miss not having stretch marks every where I look. I hate that I can't wear a bikini this summer without feeling self conscious. I don't fit in about 98% of my clothes. I miss the confidence I used to have in myself. 

Right before I got pregnant with Aiden, I definitely wasn't the smallest I've ever been, but if I could just get back to that point I would be extremely ecstatic. I used to tell myself that the number on the scale doesn't matter, that as long as I'm fit and toned that is all that matters. That isn't completely true. The scale completely destroys me. It's discouraging and my husband always threatens to hide the batteries. I think I would die. It's become a habit for me to weigh myself three times a day. My weight flucuates constantly and sometimes it gets really high, but when it gets really low, it's an instant boost of confidence. And confidence is definitely what I need to stay motivated on my weight loss journey. It's tough, but I take it one day at a time and I'm always one day closer to my goal.

"...Day 13, Monday: Issue a public apology. This can be as funny or as serious or as creative as you want it to be..."

I could apologize for a lot of things; I'm sure of that. But this apology is for my Instagram followers and Facebook friends:

I'm sorry that 90% of what I post on Insta and Facebook has to do with Aiden. He is everything I have ever wanted. I've prayed for such a long time for an angel like him. My whole life revolves around him and he makes me the happiest, most proud momma in the entire world. He shows me the deepest love and he brings so much light to my life. 

I think social media sites such as Instagram and Facebook are meant for us to share recent, relevant times of our lives. We all have things that makes us proud and happy. Some people choose to rant. Some people choose to share their drunken state with the public. I choose to share Aiden with all of you. 

Sorry I'm not sorry.

10 Little Words

"...Day 11, Saturday: Sell yourself in 10 words or less..."

No pressure, right? Who can think of only ten minimal words to describe themselves in the best way possible? I'm going to try my best. Here it goes.

Passionate 

Honest 

Confident 

Perky 

Reliable 

Energetic 

Genuine 

Techy 

Intelligent 

Devoted

I chose to do individual words. I couldn't think of a creative sentence to put the most important things together without going over ten words.

What do you think? How would you sell yourself using ten words or less? 

It's definitely a lot harder than I thought.

Clumsy Me

"...Day 10, Friday: Most embarrassing moment(s). Spill..."

The good Lord above knows I've had my fair share of embarrassing moments, and I've chosen to lock most of them away and never think of them again. When I saw that today we were supposed to talk about our most embarrassing moment, I had a hard time remembering something to share. I don't have any juicy stories. And I'm sure you all are thinking "yeah right, just spill the beans." But, in all honesty, I don't. I guess my life is a little boring in that aspect. Sorry. 

All of the moments I would consider embarrassing have to do with me falling or running into something in some way or another. The story I'm going to share today happened back in good ole Junior High. 

Some background info that you might want to know. (Or not.) My husband tells me I give way too much detail and that I should just get to the point. I'll tell you any way. I grew up in a really small town. A town so small that it had one red light and the elementary school was connected to the junior high and high school by the cafeteria that everyone shared (at different times of course - high schoolers weren't eating lunch with 5 year olds.) So, it was time for class change. We had to walk from our class in the junior high building, all the way over to the music building that was located in the elementary side. You had to walk through a couple of breeze-ways to get to where you needed to be. 

We are in junior high, mind you, so we aren't escorted by any teachers. They trust us to get to our classes on our own. So, imagine if you will, a group of thirteen year olds unchaperoned for five minutes. So a group of us from my class were walking through one particular breeze-way located between two buildings and in the mean time, some of the guys were doing that thing where they kick underneath your feet while you walk. The point of this is trying to get you to trip. I turn around and tell them to quit acting like children, and BAM! Right as I turn back around I smack my face right into an open door. I ran right into it like it wasn't even there. And nobody even tried to give me a heads up. I was pretty mortified, but I shook it off and it gives me something funny to look back on and laugh about. 

It's probably not the most embarrassing story you've ever heard. But it's my story. And it was embarrassing at the time. I'm usually always running into something, stubbing my toe, falling down, etc. So that will definitely not be the last story I'll have to share. Promise.

A Moment in My Day

"...Day 9, Thursday: A moment in your day (this can be just a photo or both a photo and words)..."

The moment I'm choosing to share with all of you is the long bubble bath I enjoyed tonight.*

Any alone time you get when you are a new mom is now considered a luxury. You don't get them often, and when you do, you don't hesitate to soak up every second of it. 

My days are kind of the same during the week. I snuggle and cuddle Aiden, feed him when he's hungry, and sleep almost all day until Adam comes home. 

Adam usually exercises first. He's doing Insanity. But today he wasn't feeling well, so I got to work out. I'm doing Hip Hop Abs. 

Adam watched our little guy while I got to soak up every ounce of this amazingness. The Strawberita was definitely a plus, too! It felt so good to wind down after what felt like the longest day ever.

*Disclaimer: I apologize if this seemed the least bit provocative to any of you. We all take showers and baths (hopefully.) And we all have to get naked to do it. (Unless you shower and bathe with your clothes on - in that case, you're just weird.)

xoxo, 

Deanne

What If's

"...Day 8, Wednesday: A piece of advice you have for others. Anything at all..."

I'm not one to be dishing out advice, because I rarely take the advice given back to me. It's not at all that I don't like taking someone's advice, it's just that I like living and learning from my own mistakes. It helps me grow. 

But, if I were to tell you one thing, it would be to stop dwelling over the "what if's" in life. You won't get anywhere by questioning yourself hundreds of could-be scenarios in your head. If it does anything, it clouds your sight set on where you are meant to be in that moment. This is not to say that you can't set dreams, or goals, or ambitions. Set the bar high. Reach for the stars. But, don't beat yourself up because you aren't where you wanted to be at that specific time in your life.

I'm a huge believer in the quote "everything happens for a reason." In any given moment, you are exactly where you were meant to be.

What advice do you have for me?

My Worst Fears

"...Day 7, Tuesday: the thing(s) you're most afraid of..."

I've been a worry-wart ever since I can I remember. I worried about all sorts of things, irrelevant and not, and I still do to this very day. Becoming a mother only intensified that to its max potential. Worrying is something that consumes me. My worrying more often than not also turns into anxiety - something I wish I was able to control. But, I never let it get the best of me. 

Some piece of me always feels that if I don't worry about certain things, then that must mean that I don't care enough about them. And that's certainly not true. I care about A LOT of things. When I care about something, I attach myself to it wholeheartedly. 

I'm scared of a lot of superficial things like spiders, and heights, and being alone in the dark. But the one thing I'm scared of the most is losing my husband or son. 

I couldn't stand the thought of losing Adam in any way. May it be divorce, disease, a car accident. I've had the absolute worst scenarios play out in my head and it eats away at my heart. I hate to even think about what it would begin to feel like if I no longer had him here with me. This makes me afraid to grow old with him. I don't ever want to go a single day without him. 

As for my sweet boy, Aiden, I'm completely terrified of losing him. Whether it be to SIDS or some kind of health problem that the doctors identified too late. I'm also terrified of other people dropping him on his head. As silly as that may sound, it scares me more than anything. Life before Aiden was so meaningless, and now I couldn't imagine going a single day without him, either. 

These two boys are my everything. I can't stand the thought of losing them.

What I Do

Let me start off with an apology to all of my devoted followers. I am so terribly sorry that I did not participate in Day 5 of Blog Every Day in May. My husband and I were mega exhausted! All day long I felt like I needed toothpicks hold my eyelids open. Day 5 was meant to profess the love of a blogging friend. I have a few blogging friends, but I don't know enough about them to publicly profess my love for them. I was really excited to get to brag about my best friend, but since I missed it, I'll have to write about her one day and give her a special post dedicated to her amazingness.

Ok, so now on to Day 6!

"...Day 6, Monday: If you couldn't answer with your job, how would you answer the question, 'what do you do?'..."

What do I do?

I have a job. The most complex job there is on the planet. First and foremost, I am a wife. Dictionary.com defines it as "a married woman, especially when considered in relation to her partner in marriage." I love being a wife to my husband, Adam. I love taking care of him. I like to think we work really well together, on most days at least. Just kidding. We value each other's opinions and take the other's feelings into consideration. I love working with him to make decisions and figuring out this crazy thing we call life. It's hard work, but I love the woman it has made me out to be.

Just a short 2 months ago, I became a mother to a beautiful baby boy, Aiden. He is the light of my world and I honestly don't know how I have made it this far in life without him. He makes my days so much brighter. Being a mom is a full time job. You don't get days off. You don't get vacation time to cash in for a one week trip to the beach with your besties. Being a mom is a tough, but I wouldn't trade it for all of the money in the world. It's simply the biggest reward you could ever get.

We've finally fallen into somewhat of a little routine lately. Some days are a little more rough than others, but we always make it through. Aiden doesn't have a set wake up time, but we always start our day by sending Adam off to work. I hate this part, because I would much rather just stay in bed and cuddle the day away with my two boys. Then the rest of our day consists of eating and sleeping for the both of us. We waste time by cuddling and playing, and counting down the minutes until Adam gets home. Adam always calls me when he is headed home and this is the part I look forward to the most. I know that we don't have to wait much longer to see him! When Adam gets home from work, we take turns watching Aiden and working out. Then we shower and eat supper and crawl into bed for quiet time. I spend every minute I can with Adam because I don't get to see him much as of now. He sleeps when he can and so do I. I know that as Aiden gets older, our schedule will get a lot easier. But right now, this is life as we know it.

Be Grateful

"...Day 4, Saturday: Favorite quote (from a person, from a book, etc) and why you love it..."

I am a fairly indecisive person, which means I have trouble coming up with "favorites." I have a lot of favorites. I like a lot of things and can almost never narrow anything down to just ONE favorite. It'll never happen. That's just who I am.

So, in choosing a quote for today's challenge, I decided to use one that I go back to often. 

"Sometimes you are delayed where you are because God knows there's a storm where you're headed. Be grateful."

I found this quote one day as I was aimlessly browsing Pinterest (you can follow me here.) It credits www.spirituallythinking.blogspot.com.

This quote speaks to me in many ways. I do consider myself a Christian, but by no means a perfect one. But one thing I often catch myself doing is questioning God. I always ask him things like "why didn't my alarm go off, how could you let me over sleep and miss work?!" or "why did my car decide to have a blow out NOW? God, how could you let this happen?" After I'm through questioning Him, I tend to realize that it always sounds like I'm blaming him. When, in reality there could have been a million things happen to me if I would have woke up at the right time or if I didn't have a blow out and stop on the side of the road. I could have been in a wreck that hurt me or someone else. I have come to realize that this is God's way of preventing bad things from happening to me. He's letting me stay here on Earth a little longer. He's telling me I have more life to live and it's not time for me to come Home just yet. I have to really pay attention to this quote more often and stop blaming God for all of the "bad" things that I think are happening and realize that my life is, in all actuality, good. 

What quote speaks to you? 

Letting You in on a Little Secret

I'm having a ton of fun with Jenni's link up for her Blog Every Day in May Challenge. 

So, I'll get right into it. 

"...Day 3, Friday: Things that make you uncomfortable..."

1. Strangers touching me when they talk to me. 

2. Feet. Wiggling feet. Naked feet. Unpolished female toenails. Pretty much anything to do with feet. 

3. I can only wear a t-shirt and underwear to bed. Sorry to paint that picture in your head, but I am supposed to be talking about things that make me uncomfortable, and frankly, I don't like being hot when I sleep. 

4. And speaking of being hot when I sleep, I get cranky when my feet get hot. 

5. I don't like being the center of attention. Never have and never will. 

6. I hate giving speeches. 

7. Recently I went to Aiden's 2 month wellness check up. I was feeding him while we were waiting in our room. He had just finished his bottle as the nursed walked in to give him his shots. I had to burp him and all she could do was stare at me. Judging me - as if I wasn't doing it right. Like I wasn't being a good mom. THAT made me uncomfortable. So this is a 2-for-1. People that stare and me and people that judge me make me uncomfortable. 

8. People's bad breath or dirty nails. I seriously try not to judge here, but it makes me uncomfortable if they get to close. It makes me feel dirty too. 

9. And last, but certainly not least: bugs. Any kind, shape, color, or size. 

My Husband's Wife

And so comes Day 2 of Blog Every Day in May. 

Day 1 was a challenge for me because I'm not good at writing about myself. 

But, I decided to take Day 2 by the horns. 

"...Day 2: Educate us on something you know a lot about or are good at. Take any approach you'd like (serious and educational or funny and sarcastic)..."

I had a lot of trouble coming up with a topic for discussion. I wouldn't necessarily say I have any special hobbies, and I definitely don't have any special talents. Or, maybe, it's the fact that I don't give myself enough credit for the things I do well. I thought long and hard about this one. 

When I ask myself what I do best, one thing sticks to the back of my mind. What I do every single day. What I live to do. What teaches me to be a better person day in and day out. 

What do I know a lot about? I know how to be a wife. Adam's wife. I'm not a perfect one by any means, but one that is constantly learning how to be better each and every day. 

You should note:

There is more to a marriage than being two people living under the same roof sharing the same space and sleeping in the same bed. 

Marriage is a sacrifice, putting your spouse's wants and needs above your own. Knowing when to say yes and how to say no. 

Marriage is a two part effort that takes work. It requires falling in love again and again, day after day. Remembering how the two of you reached this commitment in the first place. It requires you to be selfless even when you don't want to be. It requires you to apologize even when you know you are right. Realizing that two steps forward and one step back doesn't mean you have failed at this thing we call love. It just means you have to work that much harder to prove this is something you truly care about and that it means enough to you to get it back on the right track. Slow progress is still progress. 

Since I've had Aiden, I've also learned a lot about being a mother and balancing my time to still be a wife to Adam. Sometimes, I get so wrapped up in my son needing me that I forget that my husband still needs me too. He needs to feel that love and support after a long day at work, and I have to remember to give it. It's not that I forget about my husband or that I don't remember to show him the love he needs and deserves, but a baby takes a lot of time and attention and I usually put myself on the back burner. I have to remind myself that forgetting about myself also means forgetting about my husband. 

So, find something to do every day to keep the romance alive in your marriage. The little things sometimes mean the most. 

A few rules we live by:

We never go to bed fighting. Our bed is Switzerland and all arguments cease when it's time for bed. Life's to short to be mad any way. 

We always kiss each other goodnight and make sure to tell each other "I love you."

Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Make sure that the ones you love know it. 

My Mini Autobiography

Today is May 1, 2013 and that means the start of "Blog Everyday in May." 

Today's topic: the story of your life in 250 words or less.

Ok, so here goes nothing. Enjoy!

I turn 22 on Friday! I married the love of my life on December 3, 2011. We have a beautiful baby boy who just turned 2 months old today and he teaches me things about life and has opened my heart to the deepest love I’ve ever felt. My husband works hard so that I am able to stay at home and raise our sweet boy. I’ve been to Guam and Hawaii and flew on a plane all before I was 2 years old.  We moved around a lot when I was a kid. I’m very shy until I open up to you, but once I do there’s no letting go. I love with all my heart and live every day like it might be my last. Life so far has been an extraordinary ride and I can’t wait to see where it takes me. 

Challenging Myself

I originally created a blog to keep up with my pregnancy. I wanted to remember every piece of it. I knew one day I would forget all of the little things. Because the little things mean the most. But as my pregnancy went on, the more I would forget to update everything from week to week. Well now Aiden is here and Adam and I are officially a f-a-m-i-l-y. I want to blog more and share more of my life with all of you. 

With that being said, Jerika over at Everyday Bay shared a challenge that she found on Story of My Life's Blog. What's the challenge? To blog EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. in May. 

Oh my Gosh! I can barely blog once a month, but now I'm being challenged to blog every day in May. Can I do this? I'm totally up for the task.

Now for the rules:

1. There really aren't any rules. If you miss a day, you can make it up or skip it. The blog police will not come knocking.

2. I will be including a linkup option at the bottom of my post each day, so you are welcome to leave your links here for others to peruse, as well.

3. You can still post other things every day, too. I'm sure some days I'll have more to blog about (a.k.a. my baby boy!)

4. Story of My Life would seriously love you if you also included the "blog every day in May" button (below) either on your sidebar or at the end of your posts, but again, the blog police will not come knocking. Her main goal here is to get us all back to the basics of blogging, not to gain a million new readers.

5. Here are the topics. You can be as creative and awesome or as boring and bland as you like with these. Take 'em and run with it. Use creative post titles. Interpret each "prompt" however you like. There's no wrong way to do it. Have fun.

Day 1, Wednesday: The story of your life in 250 words or less (or one paragraph... no one will be counting your words... probably)

Day 2, Thursday: Educate us on something you know a lot about or are good at. Take any approach you'd like (serious and educational or funny and sarcastic.)

Day 3, Friday: Things that make you uncomfortable

Day 4, Saturday: Favorite quote (from a person, from a book, etc) and why you love it

Day 5, Sunday: Publicly profess your love and devotion for one of your blogger friends. What makes them great? Why do you love them? If you don't have blogger friends, talk about a real-life friend or even a family member

Day 6, Monday: If you couldn't answer with your job, how would you answer the question, 'what do you do'?

Day 7, Tuesday: The thing(s) you're most afraid of

Day 8, Wednesday: A piece of advice you have for others. Anything at all.

Day 9, Thursday: A moment in your day (this can be just a photo or both a photo and words)

Day 10, Friday: Most embarrassing moment (s). Spill. 

Day 11, Saturday: Sell yourself in 10 words or less

Day 12, Sunday: What do you miss? (a person, a thing, a place, a time of your life...)

Day 13, Monday: Issue a public apology. This can be as funny or as serious or as creative as you want it to be.

Day 14, Tuesday: Ten things that make you really happy

Day 15, Wednesday: A Day in the life (include photos from throughout your typical day - this could be "a photo an hour" if you'd like)

Day 16, Thursday: Something difficult about your "lot in life" and how you're working to overcome it

Day 17, Friday: A favorite photo of yourself and why

Day 18, Saturday: Tell a story from your childhood. Dig deep and try to be descriptive about what you remember and how you felt.

Day 19, Sunday: Five of your favorite blogs and what you love about them

Day 20, Monday: Get real. Share something you're struggling with right now.

Day 21, Tuesday: A list of links to your favorite posts in your archives

Day 22, Wednesday: Rant about something. Get up on your soapbox and tell us how you really feel. (a pet peeve, a current event, a controversial topic, something your husband or roommate or neighbor or boss does that really ticks you off)

Day 23, Thursday: Things you've learned that school won't teach you

Day 24, Friday: Your top 3 worst traits

Day 25, Saturday: Something someone told you about yourself that you'll never forget (good or bad)

Day 26, Sunday: Something you read online. Leave a link and discuss, if you'd like.

Day 27, Monday: A letter to your readers

Day 28, Tuesday: Only pictures

Day 29, Wednesday: Five songs or pieces of music that speak to you or bring back memories. Use Grooveshark or YouTube to include them in the post

Day 30, Thursday: React to this term: Letting Go

Day 31, Friday: A vivid memory

Who's going to do this challenge with me?