Day 29: Family

Hopefully you know me.

I am 34 years old. Mom of 5 crazy kiddos. Wife of an awesome husband, who was my high school sweetheart. I am a therapist who works with all ages in private practice. I love God and I am his. I am an INFJ. I am both a mental health and child abuse advocate. 

...

My husband Steven.

He is also 34, but 5 months younger than I. Yes, I apparently robbed the cradle, lol. He is a genius and I am not exaggerating. He is an actual Chemist teaching AP Chemistry at Bentonville High School. He is a great husband and father. He is an extrovert, but I have mellowed him out a lot. He is great with electronics and computers. Which is great because I really am not. 

...

Gage, my oldest.

Gage is 14 and my oldest. He was the only one my kiddos born in Oklahoma. I was barely 20. His dad was still 19. We were pups. He has really bad eyesight and cannot see without his glasses. He is smart and has the unusual gift of being both right and left brained. He is very artistic, athletic (runs cross country and track), and does well with both math and science type things. He is introverted like myself. But he also has great leadership qualities when he is called upon. He is in the 8th grade and takes AP classes. 

This is one of his recent art drawings.

...

Kieran

My oldest daughter, Kieran, is 11 years old. She is my most extroverted child. She is a born leader and is very social. She is very smart but one of the most gifted writers at her age. Seriously the child makes me look horrible. Her creativity is astounding. I wouldn't be surprised if she does something in Marketing as an adult. She is always coming up with ideas for products and commercials just for fun. She is in Gifted and Talented for the 4th year. She is in gymnastics as a hobby. She is always teaching her younger siblings something, so like her father she would also make a great teacher.

...

Ryker

Ryker is 8 and probably looks the most like I did when I was younger. He is also a lot like I was. He can be social but more slightly towards the introversion side. He is great with video games and seems to have a knack for quickly beating them. He is also in gifted and talented at his school. He was my biggest baby at 7 lbs. 3 oz and walked the earliest. He was my calmest but has a sensitive side to him. He likes playing with his older sister but they do tend to argue a lot. 

...

Heston

Heston, is my spunky vivacious 3 year old. Similar to Kieran in his dramatic flare, he is prone to tantrums more than the others, with exception to Kieran. This boy is strong, both is will and physicality. He has abs and back muscles that are scary, lol. He is passionate about a lot of things, including legos and playing outside. He hates naps. He doesn't get that from me. He takes a lot after his father.

...

Ridlee

Ridlee is the baby and almost 13 months old. We thought she had colic when she was a baby, come to find out she was just sensitive to caffeine in my diet. Soon after I cut it out, she became the happiest baby. She loves hanging out with momma, and particularly has a fondness for eating paper like products, including her wipes. She is into everything. She doesn't really cry unless she gets hurt. She mostly just whines when something bothers her. She eats pretty good. Loves carrots and mashed potatoes and definitely macaroni and cheese. Momma is holding on to every minute she has with her knowing she will probably be the last. One thing odd about this child is her unique fondness for the Powerpuff Girls. I am not kidding it's crazy. 

...

I love my family, I am extremely blessed. 

Day 28, serious post, Missing friend

Day 28: What do I want?
This blog will be on the serious note today. A good friend of my family that I went to church with growing up and who also watches my niece some summers and takes her to music camp is missing. She was heading home from her clinical's yesterday from Hot Springs, AR and never made it home to McAlester, OK. She is very mature and wouldn't even do anything like go missing on purpose. She is 21 and going to nursing school. She called home and said she was leaving at 4:30 and should be home around 8. Her cellphone last pinged around Talihina around 6:30. 
I want more than anything for her to be found safe! Please pray and pass this around if you can. 

Day 27: How I envision my life to be.

I guess you could say I am a bit past this. If you had asked me this when I was a young adult, no way would I have thought I could be where I am today. I under gauged it by quite a bit. My intention at 17 was to make a semi career out of the military, particularly the NAVY. While I did go, that path didn't quite turn out, which in hindsight I am glad for. 
When I was little I didn't want kids. That opinion did change when I met my husband in high school, but still I had no intention to have a large amount. Just for some reason with each one, I never felt "done". Again, I am glad for this.
I never envisioned myself to be a therapist. Heck I took a class in counseling before I even considered that major. I was majoring in Criminal Justice at the time and wanted to eventually be a profiler. It was not my calling, although I find I still have a hobby of analyzing criminals and their behaviors. 
I never envisioned myself ever going to grad school. I don't think that even came as a though until I was a Senior in my undergrad. 
I knew I wanted out of Oklahoma, that I did know. Where, I didn't really care. I am glad we ended up where we are in NWA.    All in all, I am very pleased with where I am in my life. As far as further down the road, who knows. I envision being a grandparent one day. Continuing to help others in some way, including counseling. I would love to do some mission work with my kids when they are older. I definitely want to travel with my husband when they kids are older and grown. Maybe one of these days we will get another dog too. I know, I know, big plans there. 

Day 26: Something I never grow tired of doing

* Getting massages * Eating chocolate or other yummy sweets * Sleeping (ha it cures tired) * Praying 
There are a lot of things I enjoy, but the never get tired of it definitely narrows them down a bit.

Day 25: What made my day special

Tuesday's are usually my longer work days. I work a few hours in the day and then a couple in the evening. Tonight instead, Ryker had his GT/TREC showcase. He showed us all kinds of experiments he worked on all last semester. Kieran was in this same one 3 years ago, but some of the experiments were different this time. Boy knew his stuff pretty good.

Another positive was the weather was nice enough I got to finally test out my new (used) double jogging stroller while actually jogging. I used it the other day and it was definitely different than what I am used to. Today I ran 3 miles. I was pretty proud considering I was pushing over 50 pounds of kiddos and equipment added more to that. I actually got the stroller on Craigslist for $15. It needed some sewing, which I spent a considerable amount of time on Saturday to patch up the seat. But for $15 it works great. And the littles love it!

Day 24: Goals for next month!

February is a short month. Some way this is good and some ways not so good. It's limiting in the sense you don't have as many days to work and there are fewer days between when bills are due. Still, Valentine's Day is always a bonus. I would like to hopefully get a couple more private clients. I have closed some cases out lately, so hoping to pick up some soon. I hope to plan Ryker's class Valentine's party well enough I don't have to freak out on that day. I need to figure something out considering Heston is now home. All else fails he will just have to come with me. Oh dear, this will be fun. Goal is to just survive the party now. 

Day 23: Most memorable vacation

My parents did family vacations via car almost every year. We have traveled a great deal. Lots of trips to Colorado where we are originally from. I was born in Denver. We still have a lot of family there on my Mom's side. My parents met there despite both originally being from Oklahoma. I love the mountains. We have a time share in Dillon, CO, which has been awesome except for the fact growing up it was always right after school started and the week of my birthday. The birthday thing is not so much an issue but the school thing has made it difficult to go. Colorado starts after Sept 1st, at least they used to, not sure anymore. Both Oklahoma and Arkansas starts in August. This makes it hard to pull kids out and with Steven teaching he can't go. But one of these days I will go back. The last time I went was on my 14th birthday. So 20 years ago. 
My probably number 1 longest and funnest trips was when we (parents, sister, and I) went to Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore. I love nature and it was absolutely beautiful. It was a year or two after the big fire in the 90's. Can't remember exactly what year. Judging by the pic I was around 15. 

We also made a lot of trip's to Missouri to my mom's best friends, Dodi's. They lived on a lake. It was always a blast. We (sister and I) are actually planning on taking my Mom in the upcoming months as a Christmas present to her. 

Now if I can just get my kids and Steven to go on an actual vacation. 

Gage's science fair project!

These are torture for parents. And why do kids always procrastinate? He has had the experiment and research done for awhile. But the rest... nope!

Day 22: One thing I haven't done that most people have.

I have never smoked or done any type of drugs. Pretty cut and dry there. I have never been even remotely curious about smoking. It has always been disgusting to me. My mom and grandma smoked. My grandpa apparently did years before he died but quit. He still got emphysema and ended up dying from it. My grandma also had it but died from other things before it ended her life. But she had so many health problems because of it. My mom has quit off and on. I wish she would kick it permanently. I understand it's a hard habit to break. One reason I don't understand why anyone would even try it. It doesn't look cool. When I was a teen and saw any of my friends do it I was quick to tell them that they looked stupid. I refused to date anyone who smoked. I don't regret my judgment towards it. I still feel the same way.
For those who have this addiction you have my sympathy. There is help out there though and I will end the post with a great site to get started. It's one of the best decisions you will make.  http://smokefree.gov

Day 21: Someone who inspires me.

My children have been my biggest inspiration in this life. They definitely make me want to be the best mother, wife, and overall human being I can be. I will never attain perfection but at least I try to be better than I was the day before.
Outside of them, those who overcome and rise above tragedies are an inspiration. I see them daily, in the news, in my job, every where. It breaks my heart to see what they have gone through but it is so uplifting to see how they have overcome them. 

Day 20: 5 things I am passionate about!

1. God and my faith.  2. Family, my family to be more specific. 3. Mental Health. Both prevention and treatment aspects of it.  4. Child Advocacy. In all areas it is needed. My soap box and energy usually pursues the abused and neglected side. But child advocacy in all areas is important.  5. Sleep. Yes, I am passionate about sleep. Too many ignore the importance of enough sleep. It can exacerbate both physical and mental problems when one doesn't get proper sleep. Me personally... I have seizures. No joke. Some people get psychotic. Other just get sick or have health problems. No good ever comes from lack of sleep. None. 
And if there was a 6th it would be tied with fitness and education in general. 

Day 19: what's in my bag?

Skipped day 18 because sadly it was the same topic as an earlier one (someone I miss?).  Day 20 though is not much fun coming from me. I don't carry large bags. I have about a dozen pens, wallet, comb, lip glosses, chapsticks, phone, calendar for clients, tylenol, antibacterial wipes and sanitizer, tissues, deodorant for emergencies, extra keys, lotion, listerine pocket things, and some change. And that's all she wrote!

Day 15 and 16 catch up! Excitement and Regret and Day 17 for today!

Trying to play catch up here. 
Day 15: Something that excites you or fills you with joy!
Vacation! For us it's not an official one but usually a weekend a couple of hours away. Honestly it could be a staycation where we don't get to go anywhere, but are not expected to do anything specific. Sometimes simple weekends turn into these and they are the best.
Day 16: Something that I regret not doing this past year.
There isn't much actually. Sometimes it is the simplest of things that may count. I really wish we would have gotten Ridlee's footprints made right after she was born. I kept saying I would then she got too big and then too late. 
Day 17: Someone who broke your heart.
Would you believe I married him? Seriously I didn't have a huge dating pool before him because I was so young. Most of the ones I did date I couldn't stand much into it. Steven was the only exception. He broke up with me a few times when we dated. His mother called it wild hairs. Much of this had to do with the fact I was supposed to be going into the NAVY and I think the impending departure was scary. In the end it never took him long to realize he was scared and stupid. And despite my stubborn streak as well, I always took him back. I will say when the ring was put on my finger the wild hair he had went away. The first time he broke up with me was probably the worst. It hurt bad and it came out of nowhere. Ah to be young again... NOT!

Day 14: My relationship with food

It's mostly a love, love relationship. I love good food. I love food generally. When I was younger I had a tendency to eat other people's pizza at lunch during school. I even won a pizza eating contest in high school during a BETA trip. This was against teen boys as well. Keep in mind I was about 105 pounds at the time. I was told that it would eventually catch up to me one day. Well with pregnancies I did gain weight. Luckily though most came off. I am not a whole lot heavier than I was back then, but I definitely have more muscle mass. I do wear the exact same size jeans, but my tops are a size larger due to, well, motherly endowment. I am still able to eat more than the average person my size and not gain a whole lot of weight. But it can creep up if I turn a blind eye to it. I particularly love sweets. And no, I won't be doing any sugar cleanses any time soon, if ever. If my diet can't have sugar then it's not going to last. When I try to lose pregnancy weight I choose a diet that allows for moderation of anything. Luckily, I enjoy eating healthy food just as much as some unhealthy crap. 
When I do eat out I try to enjoy the healthier options. Most recipes can also be altered to a much healthier state with just a few changes. And they can still be just as tasty. In fact I find that full fat and greasy versions are too rich for my tummy and I end up not enjoying how I feel afterwards. I will say that is one thing that has changed since I have aged over the years. I think having my gallbladder out at 21 has helped with that. I do not binge, but I will have large meals on occasion, usually when I eat out for a special occasion or for a holiday (hello Thanksgiving!). I notice though that it will keep me full for most of the day when I do this and if it was for lunch, by the time dinner comes I am not hungry. I also do not like feeling that feeling of being super full anymore. There is definitely a fine balance there. 
As for some of my all time favorites...
Lobster and scallops Italian food, particularly my husband's homemade lasagna Black tie mousse cake from Olive Garden comfort foods/homestyle foods
With pinterest in my life now, my recipe collection has grown quite large. I also bake like crazy. Desserts are my thing. But I do have to limit making them so I don't eat them all the darn time. 
Great this topic has made me hungry. 

Ridlee's 1 year pictures