Who did I marry?!?

Hey everyone!

I know it has been a long time since I've blogged but I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things.

So....I've been married for a little over 4 years and just the other day I realized that I didn't know who I was married to. Let me explain. We had baby girl right after we got married so we jumped right into mommy and daddy roles. We never really got that time to just be husband and wife. In this transition I somehow lost who I was and forgot about the man I fell in love with.

I've determined that 2012 is going to be my year of change and my year to get things back in order. First on the list is my marriage. I work so hard at everything else in my life; it is time for me to put some work into my marriage. So I'm am making a conscience effort to getting to know my husband all over again.

One of the first steps I'm taking is dating my husband. I'm not talking about going out for lunch in my most comfy jeans and t-shirt. I'm talking about real dates...makeup and all. Yesterday was our first date and it was so much fun spending time just the two of us. We didn't do anything super special. We went to putt putt and just had good time followed by lunch at a restaurant that I've never been to. I forgot about the little thing that my husband used to do when we dated like walking around to open the car door for me. It's the little things that make me smile on the inside.

So that's what going on with me right now. I will try to keep you updating on how this journey is going. If you have any tips tricks or advice I'm all ears....

Until next time...

I want to be a soccer mom

I never thought that I would udder these words but I want to be a soccer mom.  Growing up I expected my family to be a modern day Huxtable family. I was going to be a lawyer and my husband was going to be a successful business man. We would have 3 or 4 kids, a home office, and dance and sing to jazz music.  Then I realized that things in real life don't always work out that way.

My husband and I are both restaurant managers working 50+ hours a week. On top of that I have a 45 minute drive to work everyday. We have to work opposite schedules in order to have someone home with baby girl. This alone can be stressful for a family. It is very rare that all three of us are home at the same time unless we are asleep. This routine can get very old quickly.

Lately I have really been wanting to do something different career wise.  I have been wanting something that would allow me to be home more. I want  my daughter to have a somewhat normal life. If we could pull it off I would love to be able to stay at home but right now that is not an option. I want to be able to be home to cook and eat dinner with my daughter every night.

I've also been thinking about expanding our family (I'm still on the fence) but I do know that I don't want to bring another child into our crazy, hectic, and rushed lifestyle.

There are some upcoming opportunities that may change our situation *fingers crossed*. I'm in prayer about it. I will keep you all updated on what's going on.


Have any of you working parents shared some of these feelings?

From one parent 2 another:

To all my moms and dads out there; I have a question. What in the heck do you do with all the papers that your kids bring home from school EVERY week?

I love my daughter's preschool / daycare. She just began their 3 Pre-K program and they do a lot of great things. Every Friday baby girl comes home with a bag full of papers and different things that they did during the week. I love to go through them with her and talk about what she did but I honestly don't know what to do with all the stuff.

This is what she brought home last Friday:

These are the pictures we have 'stored' on top of the microwave:

We also have a scrapbook full of things already. At the rate that we are going I am going to have to get a storage room for all this stuff by the time she actually starts kindergarten. Some of the stuff is really cute and some of it is......well you know. I just have a real hard time discarding any of it.

What do you do with all your kid's artwork and crafts?

Walk to Defeat ALS

Often referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disease that slowly robs the body of its ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe. The life expectancy of an ALS patient averages 2 to 5 years from the time of diagnosis.

Every 90 minutes a person in this country is diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes another person will lose their battle against this disease. ALS occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic boundaries.

To be perfectly honest with you; I never knew what Lou Gehrig's Disease was until a few years ago. I vaguely remember an off color joke made about it in an episode of Family Guy (I'm a little ashamed to say it but yes...I watch this).

Then in 2009; ALS hit very close to home for me. I had been at my job for a little over a year and my boss Todd Cook was having severe leg spasms that would keep him up nightly. After several doctors appointments they finally diagnosed his condition as ALS. I will never forget that day. Todd called me to let me know but I wasn't able to answer the phone. He left me a voicemail that I still have saved.

Most people would be somewhat concerned for their boss but it is a little different when your boss is also your friend and mentor. Todd continues to motivate and push me to try to reach my full potential. Heck, if I could be only as half a good as he was I would be very okay with that.

This disease not only affects the individual diagnosed but family and friends as well. It is very hard to watch someone that you have known to be such a strong person start to lose the use of their muscles. I can say this about Todd; he has not lost his sense of humor and remains positive. Those are a few of the things I've always loved about him.

Myself along with many others are going to be joining in on the Walk to Defeat ALS. It will be held on October 22, 2011 in Atlanta, GA. I have posted links to my personal page where you can find more information about the walk and also make donations. I've set a goal for myself to raise $210.00 before the walk and right now I have raised $25.00 (self donation).


This crippling disease can strike anyone. Presently there is no known cause of the disease though support is bringing researchers closer to an answer. In the mean time it costs an average of $200,000 a year to provide the care ALS patients need. Help make a difference and donate or join a walk today.

Quick Update: Where the heck have I been?

I took a super long hiatus from blogging to try to get some order back in my life...yeah, that didn't work. I was struggling in my classes so I tried to concentratee more on studying. Who knew that work 60 hours a week plus other household duties would make studying so hard. Unfortunately; I wasn't able to recover in time and ended up with a 2.99 GPA and we are required to maintain a 3.0. So I was pretty much kicked out of school with no chance of getting back in until December. I took this as God telling me that I needed a little break....

Other than the school situation; things have not quite settled down at work yet. We are no longer short staffed but the stress level has not been reduced. I'm still hanging in there and making the best of it. Everyday hoping that things will get better *fingers crossed*

My baby girl is no longer a baby. She has started 3 Pre-k in August and she loves it. We also got her started in gymnastics. The goal was to try to burn up some of that extra energy that she has EVERY day. Unfortunately, gymnastics for her age is only offered one day a week. What the heck is one day a week going to do for me? I'll tell you...not a gosh darn thing. She enjoys it so I guess that's all that really matters.

So that is what has been going on in my world. I hope that everyone out there is doing well. Thank you for sticking in there with me.

I Suck!

UGH!!! I officially suck as a blogger. I logged into my account to create new post (two weeks late) and saw that I had 15 incomplete drafts....yes 15!  That is really ridiculous. Over the past two month; things have been really crazy at work and we have been short-handed.  Hopefully now that we have another manager in place I will be able to breath a little bit.

Along with all the drama that has been going on at work; I was trying to plan baby girl's 3rd birthday (which went great). I really appreciate all the readers that have stuck with me through my sporadic postings. *fingers crossed* things will get better soon.

THANKS!!!

Happy Birthday Baby!!

I almost didn't get this post done on time but today is baby girl's birthday. I really can not believe that she is three-years old already. She has grown up so fast and I wish that I could put the breaks on it....(when she gets out of the terrible twos / threes).

We've come along way.....

*Warning: Pic Heavy*