The Blessed Life of a Single Mom

Last year I decided it was a year of new things. New adventures. Trying new things. Well, looking back, it was. It was a great year! I'm bold and daring and a "Take the bull by the horns" kind of girl. But don't let that fool you. New things scare me. I don't like the unknown. I like knowing exactly what I'm doing and what's expected of me. New = unknown. So, while I'll jump in head first, it takes me a lot of mental prep to actually jump. W4: I was so blessed to be asked to be the water games coordinator for our VBS last year. I was very unsure of what I was getting myself into. The fun and safety of 200+ kids in the water!? I was blessed to have a great coordination team to work with in the planning stages, and God blessed me beyond belief with my water games leaders and staff. We had a fabulous week! I was one staff member short for leaders, so I was also the preschool game leader. It was crazy fun, but I had to be EXTRA loud to be heard with all...

    Summer is now gone and fall is here. Chilly nights. Clear blue skies that are crisp and clear. And school has begun. For us, homeschooling has begun. The girls do an online school, so they have to be up, dressed, fed, and set up for their online classes by 8:15am. That means earlier mornings, earlier bedtimes, and SLEEPY CHILDREN BY 8pm!! YAY!!! *happy mama dance* They fall asleep quickly when put to bed at 9. I find this to be my dream come true. Now, the getting up part is not so easy. I'm not a morning person by nature. My goal is to be up by 7am. Reality has been more along the lines of 7:30 or *gasp* 7:45. Which makes for a rushed half an hour of dragging them out of bed, as they take after me in their hatred of mornings, and getting them to dress and eat NOW!     Another up side to this new routine is that school work can be finished, scanned, and submitted to the teachers by noon on average. On a rougher day it takes about an extra hour. Still, WHOLE afte...

It has been a month to the day since my last post. I'M SORRY KYNNIE!!! It has been a crazy busy month. Trying to finish up the school year. Courtney has been reading everything she sees. . . which in some cases is not so great. Some, well most, magazine headlines in the checkout lanes are NOT appropriate for children. She has really taken hold of the counting money thing, and is now figuring up how much she "charges" for chores ($5 to set the table), and how much she would make A DAY to do her chores daily. I kindly, but firmly, informed her that she lives here for free, eats food for free, uses my electricity for free. She will not be paid to do normal chores. Or I will start charging her for doing her laundry, meals, and whatever else I can come up with. It all evens out in the end either way! Hahaha! Boot Camp is going great! After only 3 weeks I lost 3.2% body fat and 6 inches over all. Woohoo!!! And I have become a gym junkie. I love going. Some days are harder tha...

Well, this week has been a new "adventure". My previous 6 week workout plan didn't work. It died pathetic and alone. I had nothing and no one to motivate me and keep me accountable. So, I started a 21 day fitness boot camp. Some lovely ladies from church are doing it as well. The kicker for me was that it was a great deal, and I could bring the girls and they play in a corner while I work out.     My anxiety leading up to it was hysterical. I would be fine, and then remember that "tomorrow is day 1" and then feel almost panicy about surviving just the first day. I don't know why I was so worried about it. I love working out. When I was younger and childless I was a firefighter and EMT. I was in shape. But after being a single mom for nearly 8 years of 2 girls, stress of that, the financial responsibility (especially without child support since my ex-"husband" - quotes for the lack of husband that he was - is a lazy non working bum that wants no re...

I feel that life has taken some huge turns as of late. Some great, some. . . not so much. Some I can tell about, some. . . I'd just rather not. Some are yet to be decided.      First of all, I love my small group. I can't believe how great a fit we are! The personalities, the kids. We're so weird!! Last night I shared a recent issue I have to deal with. Most people would say "Is there anything we can do?" or "Can we help?". Passive offers. While there is nothing wrong with that, for someone like me, it is much more effective the way it was worded last night, "What do you need from us? What can we do? What do you need us to do?" Not asking if, but what. I put my independent "I can do this" self on a shelf, because really, I just keep getting so overwhelmed that I can't do it. I told them what I needed, they rallied behind me, made a plan, and encouraged me. This group is so tight knit, so there for each other. God really placed m...

     So, I've been trying to think of something to blog about for days now. Nothing new or exciting really came to mind. Sad. I love to blog. I love to use it as my creative outlet. The squirrel is back. Old news. I'm still single. Old news. My kids are random and energetic. Old news. It's all the same pretty much. Then, today, I had something to blog about! I was at my parents, and thought of something that would be perfect!! Did I write my idea down? No. Do I remember what the heck it was? Not a chance!! It could be about interesting-nesses that have been taking place in my world. What those would be, I'm yet to know. It could have been about the primary election tomorrow, but I doubt it. Could it have been about some drama playing out around me. . . possibly. We'll just never know. So I'll just blog about other random things that come to mind.     As you read earlier, my squirrel is back. Skittering around in my walls. I keep meaning to borrow my brother...

My motivation, as of late, has been practically non-existent. I have felt down, overwhelmed, exhausted, and just plain out of sorts. Today was not an exception. My day started out pretty good. I woke up with energy, was happy to get my day going. But by the end of my shift at work, I was pretty tired. I could blame my sopapilla and rice for a food coma. Such a good lunch!! Mmmmmm..... But whatever it was, I just became a zombie. Maybe it was the 2 fruit punch flavored dum-dum suckers I had on my way to get the girls from my parents. Anyways, by the time we headed home, I had a pretty big headache and was so tired that I just wanted to sleep. I finally gave in to my body's demand for sleep. I had the girls go in their room to watch a movie, laid down, and took a 30 minute nap. I felt a million times better! Then we had dinner. I felt even more better! (no corrections on my grammar, please. It's exactly how I felt). Ever since, I have been Ms. Motivation. I have been organizing, ...