Juggling the Many Hats

Wife, Mom, Career Woman, Homemaker, Daughter, Sister, Friend, the list goes on and on. When I started my website, instagram and blogs, I really struggled with what to say. I have never been a truly outspoken person. I am not much of a writer and in the back of my mind I'm always thinking "who cares".

But that is also why I started. I juggle many hats and have many responsibilities like most wives and mothers do. I find a lot of the time, we are so busy being someone or something to someone else that we often lose track of ourselves. We end up feeling more like a robot rather than a human being with our own wants and needs. We as women often put ourselves on the back burner to better serve those we love and care about.

If you are like me, sometimes you forget to take yourself off the back burner and end up being burnt out. So that is the reason I started everything. Yoga started out as just my "me-time", a chance to unwind and sort of connect with myself again. But i still didn't feel like I had found my voice. I love my family and I love my career but it just wasn't flowing the way I had imagined it would. But then again when does anything go the way we imagine.

Through instagram/website and blog, I am slowly finding my own voice and learning that its okay to have an opinion not everyone agrees with. Its okay to not have perfectly constructed sentences with perfectly articulated thoughts. I am human and i can guarantee that I will drop a few hats once in a while. But that is also when the ones we take care of and love that will in turn help us when we aren't quite perfect

Pregnancy Experience

I want to start out by saying that all pregnancies are totally different so for you first time mom's, don't freak out if you aren't having regular symptoms or your having more symptoms than most. Noone but you and your doctor truly know what's normal for you.

In my first trimester with panda, I had absolutely no symptoms of pregnancy. Not even nausea. I would get sick if I was tired but other than that easiest trimester ever!

Second trimester, was slightly more difficult, this is the easiest for a lot of women. Panda really liked being super low in my belly so he would actually rub on my pelvic bone causing some pain and discomfort. Mainly it was just scary and I was afraid he would try to come early. Luckily this was not the case and by the end of the second trimester he was pretty much stuck there. I ended up having to take extra calcium to help protect my pelvic bone.

Third trimester you are pretty much ready for baby. I wasn't really tired of being pregnant. I just couldn't wait to eat my little guy and hold him. By about 39 weeks I was done being pregnant though. One word...HEARTBURN. 24/7 Heartburn. Even milk gave me Heartburn. Tums worked a little but it still kept me up at night. So much fun.

Our panda was born 5 days before his due date. The labor experience was interesting.  I experienced back labor which I have read is more intense, but I think labor in general is pretty darn intense.
So with back labor, I would get a sharp pain in my back, and it would slowly move to the front and my muscles would just tighten and release then the pain in my back would go away for a few moments. Yes it hurts but it's so worth it all when you get to hold your tiny baby.

Out of fear I opted for an epidural. You see I was admitted into the hospital at 2 in the morning, there was only one other woman in labor at the time and you would have thought she was being murdered. Being my first time in labor I was terrified. The nurses kept apologizing and assured me that she was overreacting and just being dramatic. I was still worried and couldn't sleep, so I opted for the pain medication in the IV to help me sleep. That was the first time I had ever had a pain medication that messed with your head so that was a fun experience. I awoke in the morning and the woman was still screaming.

I was so terrified, so I opted for an epidural and I am so thankful that I did. I slept through most of the labor and as it turns out while pushing, my pelvic bone had separated because his head had rubbed on the cartilage for so long. I didn't feel anything until the next day. By then you are so happy and relieved to have your little angel that you don't really notice the pain.

I hope this story helped some of you first time mom's and maybe those thinking about having kids but are scared of the process.

Love to all

UPDATE!!

I have been lacking in my posts so I thought an update was in order. C and I have grown our family by adding a sweet baby boy named Axel. (Pregnancy and birth experience posts to follow). I started cosmetology school and will soon graduate. C and I became pregnant once again when Axel was 6 months old, but went through the tragedy so many others have had to go through. A miscarriage. (Post to come). 2 months later we are pregnant once again and everything is going perfect. We are past the first trimester and so far so good. I will do better at posting this time around! Post any questions or comments in the comments below :)

Young Marriage

When I met my husband, I was 19, he was 20. I was going to be starting my Junior Year of college, I thought that no one should get married until they have graduated college and started their careers, I was so anxious to start my career that I had worked hard enough to be able to graduate a year earlier than most. As a Freshman/Sophomore (same year), I had joined a Sorority on campus, joined multiple clubs and was anxious to "find myself." I thought a career and being successful were crucial to being happy. I wanted to make money and be self sufficient and travel the world without a "ball and chain" holding me back. BOY WAS I WRONG!

I met my husband a month before my Junior year started. I had been taking two summer courses and an internship. Then I met him. I don't know if I believe in love at first sight but I can tell you that I knew I was supposed to meet him that day. From the day we met we both felt a connection to each other, we weren't sure what that connection was yet. Now I'm not saying our relationship was perfect from day one. We have had many ups and many downs, we unintentionally hurt each other, but we always missed each other so we came back. We believe that God wanted our relationship to be that way so we could learn more about each other and realize how much we would need that other person to be truly happy.

My husband was 21 and I was 21 when we got married. Many will say that is too young and we don't know what we want out of life yet and we should have waited. Many people associate 20's with immaturity. Why is that? My parents were married the same age I was, my grandparents were even younger. Why is our generation depicted as too immature for our age? What is so different about our generation from previous generations? Many people believe that there is a specific order you must live your life to be successful.

1. Graduate College

2. Build up Career

3. Get Married

4. Have Children

I am currently in my last semester of college, I am graduating at the exact same time I would have if I hadn't met my husband and hadn't gotten married. I have job opportunities lined up for me when I do graduate. My professional life has not been altered because of my decision to get married before graduation. In fact I am sure that I would not have been able to do it with out my husband there beside me encouraging me and helping me. My husband has different interests than I do, he is developing new interests everyday. Our interests are not what defines us. I have changed in so many ways since I have met my husband, but we grow and learn together. My husband has changed his major 5 times since I have met him. That doesn't mean he isn't the same person I fell in love with. We "found ourselves" when we found each other. Our interests and where life takes us from here is a journey that we will be taking together. If my husband wants to run off and join the circus, I will not divorce him, I will be a good wife and be understanding and do everything in my ability to make that dream possible for him. If he wants to work for a big corporation working 80 hours a week, I will be understanding just like he will strive to balance work and home life.

Young marriage has such a negative reputation, because our generation is known for being selfish and childish, but it is not just young people who do not know the true meaning of marriage. I have known those in their 30s and 40s getting married for the fourth or fifth time because they see marriage as a convenience. Just something to do to have more money or someone to help with the kids. Our culture has somehow lost the meaning of marriage therefore young people and looked upon negatively if they decide to get married before they "find themselves." God gave marriage as a gift, someone to share you life with. Marriage is not always an easy road to travel on, but divorce should not be an option. It isn't just those in their 20's that don't understand this. It is those who have lost sight of God and the meaning of unconditional love.

I used to be one that thought 20's was too young. But once you find the one that God made for you, there is no point in waiting. What are you waiting for? The night sky to light up with the words "you are now mature enough to get married"? Well that's not very realistic. If you are in love, you have been dating or have known each other for a long enough period to really know one another, and you truly understand that marriage is a life long commitment to that one person. THEN GET MARRIED if that is what you want. Life happens all to quickly and if you wait around until you are deemed old enough by society then you will lose out on all those months or years you could have been happily married and started a family. If you are unsure or don't think you are ready for marriage then there is no pressure to get married.

It is your life and if you wait around for societies approval on everything then you will be waiting for a long time to start your life. If you are "young" and happily married then good for you! Obviously you are doing something right in your marriage and life that society should look up to not down on.

New Year's Resolutions

So the new year is in full swing, and we are finally getting used to the idea that 2014 is over, another year has passed. Whether you are happy, nostalgic, or sad that the new year is upon us, we can't help but set our new year's resolutions. Many people claim that its too cliche for them and they refuse to take part in that tradition. However, we as humans can't help but have hopes and dreams for this new year. Whether you hope to travel more, or graduate college or get married, maybe you're having a baby and hope it a boy or girl, or you're just hoping it's happy and healthy. All of these things are resolutions.

You are going to do something different from the year before to be able to travel more. You are going to work harder in school to ensure that you graduate. No matter what you hope for in this new year, you are going to actively do something to make that happen and that is what a resolution is.

This year will bring many joyful and challenging experiences for me. This year I will be a married woman, graduating college and having our first child. My new year's resolutions are too many to count. I will work as hard as I possibly can to get some totally awesome grades this semester in college so I will be able to graduate in May. I will do everything I possibly can to ensure that our Baby Spicer is as happy and healthy as he/she can be when he/she is brought into this world. Last but not least, I will strive to be the best wife I can possibly be. Fine-tuning my cooking skills may help that last one a bit. NO MORE SETTING OFF THE FIRE ALARM!

No matter what challenges this new year may bring, always remember that a new year is just right around the corner so don't focus on the negative, be sure to have some positive memories of every year.

DIY: Turning an Old Cabinet into a Baby's Changing Table

C and I picked up this cabinet from one of our neighbors. We had a vision of turning it into a dresser/changing table for our baby we are expecting in June. Here is what the dresser looked like when we got it. 

As you can see it needed a lot of work. We started by sanding off all of the paint, there was a blue layer you can see, then a green layer of paint underneath.



Next we painted the base color. We used Behr, Pumpkin Creme, two coats of paint.



Next was the fun part. the sea creatures. we purchased stensils at Hobby Lobby. Used painters tape to hold the stencil in place. Be sure to take every little bit you can to avoid the stensil separating from the surface causing the paint to run.


Here is the end result for the large drawer.


We continued this with the entire dresser, below is our end result. The baskets were also purchased at Hobby Lobby. 




If you have any questions or comments please leave comments in the section below.
Have a blessed day!

No Nausea in First Trimester?

I am 11 weeks pregnant and I have gotten sick a grand total of twice so far. What happened to the stories everyone has been telling me? Saying that they were so sick through most of the first trimester. At first I wondered if i had a false positive, or if there was something wrong with my baby. Turns out that not everyone gets nauseous during pregnancy. I consider myself extremely lucky.

Not only is every pregnancy different from woman to woman, it can also differ between pregnancies. Just because you have no nausea with your first pregnancy does not mean you won't be sick with your second baby. Also if you were so sick you couldn't get out of bed with your first, does not mean you will be sick with your second. Each and every pregnancy is different. You just have to find whats best for you and your baby. People tell me to eat saltines. Saltines make me nauseous because they are so dry. Just because one food has worked for one of your friends does not mean it will work or not work for you.

The fun part of pregnancy is experimenting. Just make sure you aren't eating or drinking anything that is harmful to your baby and everything will be fine.