Wednesday, September 17, 2014

What Yoga Has Done For Me

Just watched an interesting video about the benefits of exercise, and it reminded me of the symptoms I had experienced before starting yoga on a regular basis. I was experiencing random sharp pain, starting on my right ankle, then my arms, then all over really. Sometimes it was dull or felt like pressure. I'd get pins and needle sensations in the fingers or toes. I'd feel pain on what seemed like the bones and joints of my hands. It sometimes felt like the vein in my arm would get stiff and would hurt to bend my arm slightly. The anxiety caused by worrying about my health caused palpitations and shortness of breath; I'd sometimes lay awake in bed afraid to fall asleep. I didn't have health insurance and fought myself on whether or not I should see a doctor. I knew the symptoms could easily be explained away by stress and anxiety, but the fear that it could be something more (MS, Lupus, thrombosis, Lyme, etc.) lead me to pay for a doctor's visit and blood work out of pocket. All tests came back negative *phew*. I wasn't totally convinced it was just stress, but knowing my blood work was fine eased my mind some, and the symptoms subsided right away.
I still had stress factors in my life, as I think many (or most) of us do: KIDS, financial problems, a job I didn't really enjoy, sedentary lifestyle, etc. but at that time I was also house hunting with the added stress of having to find something before the lease of our then apartment expired, or risk going month-to-month and paying an amount we couldn't afford. The symptoms came back twofold.
When we FINALLY moved into our new home (after going 2 months over our lease and paying ridiculous amount of rent, having to dip into savings that was meant for our new home, moving all of our stuff just three days after closing into a foreclosure that wasn't fixed up to my standards because we had no time, having to buy all new appliances, get new A/C, fence, i.e. spending more money we didn't have) I felt some relief. I decided to go to another doctor (this time I had insurance) because while my symptoms had subsided again, they were still there and I wanted a second opinion. This doctor did a full blood work, even doing a protein test and checking for indicators of Lupus. He said I was "the picture of health. I'd even say you're healthier than me". Okay great, but I am still experiencing pain, so what now?
I decided not to go back to the doctor but start working out instead. I figured, if the symptoms continue even when I'm not stressed out and sedentary, then I'll go back and demand answers. I got on the Instagram bandwagon and was inspired by my dear friend Susy who was posting pics of herself doing arm stands. I thought "that's fricking amazing! I want to do that!" I had also joined a mommy group and met a mom yogi who told me about her YouTube channel (link below) so I started doing some of her videos as my morning routine. At that time I was doing yoga maybe 3 times a week for maybe 1/2 an hour or less in the morning. After just ONE week of doing yoga my symptoms greatly subsided.
When I felt the difference in how I felt I REALLY got into yoga. I started following some amazing yogis on Instagram and doing their monthly challenges.  I bought a Groupon voucher for Bikram hot yoga and went with my new yogi mom friend Kate Victoria for a month. I do yoga every...single...day, even if it's only to do some sun salutations in the morning when I have too much work to get done. 
I'll still get the occasional headache or little pin prick pain when I'm particularly stressed out and the kids are driving me up a wall...but NOTHING like what I was experiencing before. I am so thankful for yoga and for pushing myself to stick with it.
*Other benefits I have experienced thanks to yoga: I'm stronger (never had much upper body/arm strength, but am much stronger now, and I WILL CONTINUE until I can do a hand stand), I'm more flexible, I have more stamina, I feel sexier, I'm pushing myself out of my comfort zone (ever tried Yogance? that stuff is crazy fun, but you risk looking the fool), and last but not least, I've made new friends. I feel all around better.
Now I'm not saying you have to start doing yoga. BUT if your health is lacking, you have mystery pains, you're stressed out, or you're just not happy with your life, DO any form of exercise! You may have a more serious medical issue and need real medical attention, in which case by all means get the help you need, BUT doing some form of exercise as well will do your body and soul some good :)


 September 2014

June 2014/September 2014
                                         
June 2014/September 2014
Some Yogis worth following:
Kino MacGregor @kinoyoga: YouTube Google+ Instagram
Kerri Verna @beachyogagirl: YouTube Instagram
Cuchira @cuchira: Instagram
Kate Victoria @katevictoriayt: YouTube Google Instagram
My lovely friend Susy who inspired me to start yoga: @susyloveskaila

*The video that inspired this post: www.upworthy.com

Sunday, June 15, 2014

To The Fathers In My Life:

Ramon: You are the father of my children. You were present from the very beginning, talking to them and kissing them via my belly. You were present at their birth. You cried tears of joy upon seeing them for the first time. You are hands on. You change their diapers and bathe them (sometimes).You wipe their butts and clean their boogers on your shirt when they are sick without batting an eye. If Sebas pretends to knock you down with his invisible powers you play along and throw yourself to the ground. You are a wonderful father and a great husband and I couldn't imagine raising our boys without you. Thank you for being a great "Papa". Your children thank you, too :)


Daddy: Though you weren't always around physically I know you were with us in spirit and that we were present in your mind. I have so many fond memories of visiting you during summer vacation. You let us run free and learn from our scrapes and bruises. You treated us with respect and as equals, instead of as children. In some ways, you were more of a friend than father. I love you unconditionally.

Mario: While I was perhaps too old when you came into our lives to consider you my father, you treat us all like your children, and are definitely a father to my younger brothers. You have always been there for us and give selflessly. You are my children's grandfather "Abu Mario". Thank you for being in our lives.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers in our lives!

*Feel free to share stories, photographs or tell me why you are thankful for the fathers in your life!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Sex & Yoga

I had the best sex of my life today and I credit doing yoga with my hubby this morning. We had slept in a tent last night, so his back was hurting more than usual and I convinced him to do several sun salutations with me to give that back a good stretch.
After doing some chores, cleaning dishes and stove top (which I did happily because I was energized thanks to my morning yoga) he playfully "ordered" me to the bedroom. I begrudgingly followed him to the bedroom (my libido has been greatly lacking since the birth of out second child). But once he got on top of me and started kissing me, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed his smell (which was surprising because he was sweaty from packing up the tent outside) and his kisses didn't disgust me (I'm a make-out fiend - or was anyway - but at some point his kisses started to gross me out, so no more kissing = me not getting into it). It was the best sex I've had and for the first time EVER we both came during intercourse, nothing extra needed.
I'm not one to air our dirty laundry, and I certainly wouldn't do so without his consent. He agreed to this blog post because I know there are a lot of women out there who due to MANY factors are lacking libido. There's the dreaded pregnancy hormones, the lack of self-confidence due to a new mommy  body, sheer exhaustion, not being able to switch from mommy mode to sex vixen at the drop of a hat, resentment towards your partner, etc. BUT I think that doing yoga with your partner addresses and works on several of these factors.
First off, you are doing something TOGETHER. Here is something that can bring you closer, especially if you feel somewhat disconnected from each other. You are working out, tightening muscles, stretching, becoming more limber, releasing endorphins and will therefore feel more relaxed, patient (needed for dealing with those kiddos), energized, awake, and more self-confident! Hell, even try doing some of those yoga moves during sex! Not too flexible yet? Work on it TOGETHER.
I'm telling you, I don't know exactly what it was, but doing yoga together this morning just had us on the same page biochemically. Those pheromones were finally working on me again after so long.
I'll have to get him to do yoga with me every day :)

Here's some extra reference reading:
What UMMC has to say about yoga
Scientific American article on pheromones & sex lives

*Update: Okay so I have been doing yoga for over a month now almost every day. It's been over a week since hubby and I did yoga together but he has been doing sun salutations on his own in the morning before work. While I'm certainly not in the mood all the time and my libido isn't at pre-mommyhood levels, it has increased, and I foresee it improving! I'm interested in reading if any other moms out there with low libido have seen improvement after starting any kind of exercise/fitness regimen. Share your stories!

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Priorities

I'm not the most social person in the world, so it took me a while to make some mom friends after the birth of my first son. We had just moved back from Puerto Rico and all of my high school & college friends had moved away, so I pretty much had no social life whatsoever.
Luckily, I lived in an apartment complex with many parents and one reached out and before I knew it I had a little solid group of mom friends. We'd call or text each other when we were going to the playground or pool,  or hang out at each other's homes, etc. But little by little some of the moms moved away ... and then I moved (we bought a house YAY!), so it became a little harder to keep seeing the couple mom friends I had left. I felt a hole in my life and I needed it filled, but being a person with shitty social skills I didn't reach out to my new neighbors.
Due to an unfortunate circumstance with my son's preschool I decided the best course of action was to remove him from that school. Because it was so close to the end of the school year I decided to keep him home with me, and since I wasn't sure if he'd get into the charter school I applied him to for Kindergarten (he has seen been accepted!) I started looking for homeschooling resources and came across Meetup.com.
During my search I discovered several Mommy groups, which I also joined. So far I have met some great people, the kids have made some great friends, we've been to places we've never been to before, and it's been an all around great experience and I look forward to consolidating these friendships I've made. And because these play dates (and much needed Moms-Night-Out) have been so great I've reached out to my old mom friends and new neighbors and am making the time to see them more often. I think it's so easy to get caught up in your routine, and make excuses like "I have to clean the house" that unless you carve out the time, you'll never have a social life. Mind you, I work from home so I have to manage my time more carefully to make sure I'm not falling behind on my work. Some days I find that between play dates and work I sometimes fall behind on cleaning the house, but it is so worth it. I'm not the most social person, so putting myself out there, making the effort to have conversations with people and form friendships is good for my well-being, and that is more important than having clean dishes. I can always clean up later (like when the kids are asleep), but if I don't make the time and effort to have a social life, days, months, years will fly by, the kids will grow up, move out, and I'll look back and wonder what I did with my time (other than raise some great young men). Do I want to look back and realize I spent all my time working and cleaning? Hell no! I want to look back and remember all the great outings I had with my kids and great people I've met.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

My husband and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary last night. Our anniversary just so happens to line up nicely with Mother's Day, so our planned night out without the kids was a pleasant Mother's Day gift as well. We booked a hotel room and made a reservation at a nice fresh seafood restaurant. I had plans to check in early, use the gym, go swimming in the pool, and just relax with the hubster before getting ready for our fancy dinner. However, I had some last minute work to do and we ended up getting to the hotel about half an hour before our reservation.
When we arrived at the check-in counter the lady said she was moving us up free of charge. "Oooooo," I thought. She said she'd put us in a room with a view of the river. "Ahhhhhh," I thought. "Thank you SO much," I said. When we opened the door to our room I was sorely disappointed. The room smelled old and musty. It looked outdated, not modern at all like I was lead to believe from the photos on their website (the reason I chose that hotel over others). However, we had a bed to ourselves...and no kids. 
So we quickly got ready for our fancy dinner, which luckily was right across the street so we managed to make just in the nick of time. We sat at our table and the server brought us our customized anniversary menus, "How are you doing this evening?" "Fine, thank you" we replied somewhat out of breath. "Fine? That's it? Aren't you excited to be celebrating your anniversary?"  HAHAHAHA "Yes, yes of course; we've just been running around all day." Once we managed to catch our breaths and the server brought me my champagne and Ramon his beer, we were able to unwind, forget about the kids and enjoy our night out like when we used to date, having normal non-kid-related conversation. I had a truly amazing time...And not having the kids around made the sex better too.
This morning we had plans to walk around, maybe catch a movie, but on the way to a local marketplace I decided I'd rather make it to my son Sebas' karate class, which had e-mailed me earlier this week about being there for the last 15 minutes of class for a Mother's Day surprise. Unfortunately, I didn't make it in time, but when I did get there Sebas came running to me with a smile from ear to ear to give me a plastic rose and teddy bear, "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy." And Lucas also came running to me to give me a kiss and a hug. So, while our mini-vacation was much needed, it made me appreciate my real Mother's Day presents: my two boys who missed me like crazy on my night off and couldn't wait for me to get home.
                                                      Getting ready for dinner

The Invisible Horse Genie

Today when I picked Sebas up from karate class he was outside riding an invisible horse (Monty Python style) proclaiming "Look! I'm riding an invisible horse!" When he was done he took out an invisible bottle, made a woosh sound and motioned with his other hand to show that the horse was going into the bottle. "That's where I keep my invisible horse".
His imagination always amazes me, sometimes it scares me (like when he talks about shadow people...because in my mind I'm thinking 'holy shit he sees ghosts'), but this one in particular really blew my mind. I just thought it was so funny and imaginative.
What kind of things do your kids pretend?

Monday, April 21, 2014

Love Grows


I had always wanted two children: a boy and a girl. But when we had Sebastian I really thought I was done. Parenting isn't easy and, as vain as it sounds, I also didn't want to have to deal with losing the pregnancy weight all over again. 

My family was complete.

But...then I missed my period. And while there was an initial "Oh shit!" we quickly wrapped our heads around the idea of having a second child. I wanted to wait until I saw my doctor to confirm the pregnancy but Ramon couldn't wait and told my mom when I stepped out for a minute to get something I had left in the car. I opened the front door only to find Ramon with tears in his eyes hugging my mom. It wasn't when or how I planned on telling my family, but oh well, we were excited and everyone was on board.

Then the worries kicked in.

Sebastian was only two years  and several months old and still very attached to me. He had had us all to himself: mom, dad, grandparents, uncles and aunts, and we all showered him with love and attention. We used to say that he was "el niño más besado del mundo" [the world's most kissed child]. How would he feel to suddenly share that attention? What if he feels neglected or replaced? I worried about jealously and sibling rivalry.

I suppose there's always going to be some jealousy or some sibling rivalry, but we did our best to prepare Sebas for the arrival of his baby brother so it wouldn't come as a complete surprise. I read him "I'm a Big Brother" by Joanna Cole most nights (so much so that he got sick of it!) and explained to him that there was a baby in my belly. I even showed him an animated video showing a baby inside the womb because I thought it might register more clearly if he had a visual of a baby inside a mommy instead of some abstract concept. It seemed to work because he'd kiss my belly and talk to Baby Lucas and hug my belly.

Then I also worried about my own capacity to love.
When Sebastian was born I was awestruck. I thought he was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen, and every day he just got cuter and cuter. How could I possibly love another human being more than I loved Sebastian? What if I didn't think my second child was as beautiful? How could I divide my love?

While I was in the hospital Ramon stayed with Sebastian at home because we didn't want him to feel alone and like suddenly both his parents were gone. But I was exhausted and in pain at the hospital and begged Ramon to stay the last night with me so that I could finally get some rest! I was in pain every time I had to sit up and get out of bed to pick up my baby. That last night my mom and stepdad stayed with Sebastian and the following day they brought him to visit me and his new baby brother at the hospital. Sebastian brought me flowers and a huge smile, "Mommy, I missed you!" Aww, be still my heart, I missed him incredibly too. My mom bought him a truck which we gave him when he came to visit and told him that it was a gift from his baby brother. He was so happy, "Thank you, Lucas" and gave him a soft kiss on thee forehead.
My worries melted away. Sebastian was so obviously in love with his baby brother, and I was so obviously in love with them both.
I didn't have to divide my love, because my love grew.



Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Unconditional Trust

Our children trust us more than anything in the world. In their eyes we are all powerful, all loving and all knowing. They look up to us and trust us to do what is best for them. They absolutely unconditionally trust us. But it is heartbreaking to see their face of joy quickly turn to one of horror and distrust, as if saying "Mommy, why are you letting them do this to me?"
Yes, I'm talking about shots.
I'm not talking about the regular vaccinations. Yes he  cried when he received those and it was heart wrenching to watch, but he was always pretty brave about it. He'd cry a little and then quickly get over it. And when he was old enough to understand I'd explain to him that he needed the shots to stay healthy.
But when Sebastian turned 4 he had a high fever that wouldn't go down. I forget what it was he had but the doctor decided to order some antibiotic shot in the butt with a huge needle, that apparently had to be applied very s...l...o...w....l...y. Screams of terror were heard throughout the clinic. It was torture and I sure did cry for that one as I held him down trying to calm him down by whispering into his ears "just breath deep like papa showed you". And then once it had been administered they had to rub his poor already sore butt. And THEN, since he was due for his 4-year immunizations, they gave him like 4 other shots (or maybe it was just two injections with the 4 vaccines, I don't recall). It was a bit much for one day. Poor thing was walking around the clinic declaring to everyone that his butt hurt.
I don't think I cried because he was in pain (although of course it hurt to see him in pain). I think I cried because I felt like I was betraying him, or that he would think I was betraying him, and because I knew at that moment that he'd never view going to the doctor's the same again. It was no longer a fun place where he got to see the nice doctor and get cool stickers. Now every time we go to the doctor's for a check-up or sick visit he always asks all the nurses and doctors "no shots, right? no shots"...I don't know that he'll ever trust a doctor again. Luckily, the trust a child has for his parents takes a lot more to break. He seems to have forgotten all about my "betrayal" :)

Monday, April 7, 2014

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly...and the Awesomely Beautiful

It was July 31st 2009 and I had an appointment to have my amniotic fluid levels checked (since I was a week overdue). My mom had missed out on previous sonograms so she asked to come with me. The plan was to go early, 10-11 o'clock, so I had a light breakfast expecting to eat lunch after the appointment...but Mom didn't pick me up until noon.
Mom, Ramon (that's my hubby) and my little-not-so-little brother headed to the hospital. When we got there it turned out they had to check my vital signs first so I was sent to the Triage where I had to lay in a hospital bed with electrodes strapped to my big belly. I was then taken to Radiology for the ultrasound. Amniotic fluid was fine, Sebastian was moving and kicking as usual...but lo and behold, when they checked my cervix I was 2 cm dilated! I was then taken to Triage for more vital signs monitoring.
The monitors were reading contractions that I did not feel. The nurse would ask in disbelief, "You're not feeling this? You're having a contraction right now!" Nope. I thought what I felt was just Sebastian moving around or maybe gas, but according to the monitors Sebastian wasn't moving at all. I informed the nurse that he was moving around just fine during the ultrasound and that I WAS STARVING! so perhaps he wasn't moving because I needed some food in me. She brought me some orange juice (which tasted nasty). I asked her if I could eat (Ramon had brought me some food from the cafeteria). Nope. "Not until your doctor sees you." Which took another two to three hours! and he was IN the building. Argh the torture. I truly regretted not having eaten lunch before heading to the hospital.
There was another pregnant lady in the Triage with me. Apparently her vitals weren't great. When the doctor finally came in he saw her first and decided she had to be induced. When he checked me he said, "Well, you're 2 centimeters dilated and you're having contractions and I'm already here, so let's get this over with." At which time I asked the nurse if I could finally eat...to this humble request she replied, " No honey, you're not going to be eating anything today." NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I was induced at 5:30 pm at which time I texted my sister that I was in labor and to let everyone else know. My sister and friend Susy came to see me before contractions got too bad. My stepdad also came, but I asked him to stay outside during labor (no way we're THAT close).
Contractions weren't too bad at all for a while. I rated them at 1 at first, then 2, then 4, then 5...at 5 it was bearable but uncomfortable. I had gone in thinking I'd go the all natural route, and I told the nurse several times I didn't want the epidural. But in the end she told me "A lot of people wait until the last minute, but the anesthesiologist makes his rounds in the hospital. This ward is his next stop. If you don't order it now, you lose your chance for an epidural." So I ordered it.
I was already getting quite irritable at that point. My mom and hubby were rubbing and caressing me, trying to "be there" for me, but I just wanted them GONE. I didn't want anyone to touch me. I kept thinking, "get the [expletive] off of me", "don't [expletive] touch me", "leave me the [expletive] alone". I didn't say any of it out loud because I knew it was just the hormones, but man oh man, if I had waited until the pain reached a 10 that would've been a different story. Once I got the epidural I felt immediately better and was more appreciative that my family was there with me.
However, the epidural wasn't all rainbows and unicorn farts either. My legs went numb right away. My right leg was dead weight, so much so that I was extremely uncomfortable. AND the epidural (although I've read that it could've been the contractions) made me nauseous. All I wanted was to get some shut-eye, but because my leg was so heavy and uncomfortable and I kept puking, I couldn't get a wink of sleep.
When it was finally time to push, they put my feet in the stirrups and my right leg came crashing down. I couldn't keep my leg up! My hubby had to hold my leg in place and my mom held the other. Because I was SO NUMB, I couldn't even tell when I was having contractions, so the nurse had to look at the monitor and tell me when to push. But I really couldn't even tell if or how hard I was pushing and it was getting quite frustrating. They kept yelling "Harder, harder, more, bear down," but I'd run out of breath and have to wait for the next contraction. Sebastian's head was crowning but I couldn't push long or hard enough to push the whole head out. The doctor looked frankly worried, and I was afraid that if I couldn't give one long hard push that they'd have to resort to forceps.
I got nauseous and held my plastic baggie up to my face. As I heaved Sebastian popped out with a squirt of amniotic fluid, the doctor jumped back "Whoa!" (and caught the baby thankfully) as he was splashed with amniotic fluid and my mom shrieked, as I continued to puke while trying to catch a peripheral glimpse of my new born baby.
When they placed him on my chest I was still vomiting. I finished up and looked at his beautiful little face and touched his tiny shoulder. I was surprised by how beautiful and soft and clean he was. Not wrinkly and covered in white gunk like those babies I'd seen in those birthing videos I obsessively watched during my pregnancy. And I expected the amniotic fluid to smell bad, but it didn't at all. My hubby said he smelled like ice cream.
They took Sebastian to the side to finish cleaning him up. Ramon had tears in his eyes, he was so dumbstruck. He couldn't wipe that goofy look of awe from his face as he brought Sebastian to me with teary eyes. Sebastian was most definitely the most beautiful baby we'd ever seen.



Care to share your birthing story? I want to know all about it: the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Thursday, April 3, 2014

What Do You Love?

After the other day's venting post it's time for some positives to balance out the negative:

My kids are incredibly sweet and nice (which is an often underrated trait). They are friendly and loving. They kiss and tell me they love me all day, every day, for no other reason than they truly do. And I love them. They are funny and silly. Sebastian has a great imagination and tells me stories all the time. Some are so profound they shock me. They love each other, they play together, they smile and hug and look at each other lovingly. It is beyond adorable. They are wonderful siblings and I can only hope they will remain so close.
I love seeing them grow, becoming more able, more independent, smarter everyday. I love seeing their personalities develop and change. Those moments in the day, when I'm not stressed and I can see them through un-irked-filtered eyes, when they flash me a smile and googly eyes of love, are perfect.
When they are asleep and peaceful I just want to (and do) kiss their beautiful little faces a million times.
I am so happy to have them in my life and I could not imagine it without them.

What do you love about your little (or not so little) ones?

Monday, March 31, 2014

These kids drive me bats!

With two kids with me all day long it's hard to have any thoughts of my own. My head is filled with their little voices, and while I love them to pieces, I sometimes feel I've lost the ability to think. Bottom line: they drive me bats...sometimes...a lot of the time.

Before I get judgments about how I chose to be a mother, blah di blah, let me just add that making a decision doesn't take away from the fact that life isn't always as you expected, and it doesn't somehow discredit your feelings. Also, keep in mind that I am a work-from-home mom. I work on the computer and I have deadlines. I somehow have to work and pay attention to my boys. I have to feed them and myself. I have to play with them, I have to do homework with the elder of the two. For those of you who don't know, I recently tool my 4-year old out of his preschool because I felt the school looked the other way when he made a complaint about a fellow student harassing him. So now I have a  4-year old and a 20-month old at home with me all day long. And they are both momma's boys. They want and demand constant attention. Until just two weeks ago I was still breastfeeding the younger one and when I tried to ween he demanded to suck the living life out of me ALL DAY LONG. Imagine me on the computer trying to type and him crying, pushing my chair (he's a strong one he is), whining "teta, mommy teta!"; now it's "hug, mommy hug!" (breaks your heart I know, but very frustrating when trying to work). The four year old is very hyper, doesn't sit still and talks non-stop. That amazing imagination of his are a wonderful trait and I encourage it, but it can be quite numbing for my brain. I'll take this moment to confess that while I'm working I often plop them in front of the TV. When I'm feeling guilty for being a bad mom I'll take a break and play with them for a bit, take out some puzzles or LEGOs so they can play calmly while I get back to work, but they do spend way more time than recommended in front of the ol' electronic babysitter.

I realize this all sounds like complaining, but I needed to vent. I need to hear my own thoughts every once in a blue moon. And I thought I'd share because I'm sure I'm not the only parent who feels the same way...sometimes. So please feel free to vent and share your frustrations.

My Goals

I've avoided starting a blog in the past because I do care what people think, and was perhaps (okay, definitely) scared of inviting the unsolicited judgments of many. But I've decided that I have things to share and hopefully it will be worthwhile to someone, anyone, and this blog is for you. :)

I am a young mom (of two beautiful, fun, loving, sweet, silly, crazy, annoying momma's boys) and I work from home. Needless to say, it's not easy to make time for myself. I am on a mission to complete (and honestly start) some pending projects, including writing this blog. I hope to share the joys and tribulations of parenting while making time to work on a deadline, keep the house nice and clean (or at least as tidy as it can be before my two little monsters start throwing things all over the floor again, sometimes WHILE I'm picking up), paint/draw, read, write, start a business, have a social life, and have alone time with my hubby (the previous six are much easier said than done). I'm sure many moms (and you too dads) can relate.

So those are my goals and I'd love to share my progress and would love to hear your experiences as parents as well. Let's do what we teach our children and SHARE!