“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”

Hi everyone! I wanted to start this blog entry by thanking you all for sticking with me the past two years; Especially when I’ve got months and even longer before without posting. My family and I are starting to heal a very little amount from the loss of our Yorkie back in January. I miss him every single day and think about him more often than not. I’m thankful though that he’s in a much better place and isn’t sick and hurting anymore. After death, life moves on and new experiences and changes begin to take shape and form.

For me, I started a new adventure last month and it was definitely way out of my comfort zone. I am currently an ItWorks Distributor. If you aren’t familiar with ItWorks, let me give you some background information. ItWorks has a line of products that help with anything from weight loss management to beauty and lifestyle. Some of the products we have are weight loss pills, stretch mark cream, Keto Coffee, Keto Energy, Cleanses, and more! Before starting on this journey, I second-guessed myself on my decision to join this business for a weeks. I had a friend on FB who was also a distributor and I found her so inspiring and someone I could easily connect with. I saw how she changed her life within a matter of months. I saw how supportive her friends and family were of her new adventure. I saw how she could spend a crazy amount on stuff her family needed and wanted. I saw through pictures and videos how she and her family took a random trip to Disney World without having to worry about having enough funds to cover for it or worry about the aftermath financially. I wanted that for my family as well. No one wants to admit that they are jealous of another person especially one who is younger than you and skinnier than you. No one wants to admit defeat and how they struggle to pay for simple everyday necessities. I hate to ask for help and will avoid it if at all possible in any way that I can. However, if I don’t at least try to help myself no one else is going to do it for me. As a mother its absolutely heartbreaking to hear your children ask for things and having to tell them there’s no money for that or they have to decide between the toy they want or groceries for the week.  To be honest, all of this among other life stresses caused me to go into a sort of depression. I had zero energy to even do daily tasks and my mood changed constantly. I knew I wanted and needed to make a change to make my life better. You would think that since I graduated in December 2018 with a Master’s Degree in Education that I would have a great paying job and be able to support my family with no problem. However, that’s not the case and it was time to find something else to do until I found a job where I could use my degree.

I have to admit, I haven’t been as successful with this new business adventure as I had hoped but it’s definitely a start and I’m hoping with hard work and dedication I can make the lives of my children, husband, and myself better. All of this background information was to encourage my readers to do what I did and take a leap of faith. Take risks, believe in yourself, and go on new adventures. You only get one life so why not make the most of it?! With ItWorks whether as a customer or a distributor, what’s the worse than can happen?! You purchase products that actually help you and make you feel better?! You take a leap of faith and join the business and get free products to try for yourself? You make $20 that you wouldn’t of had otherwise or you might make a full-time income from your phone?! Perhaps you’re like me and you actually thought about buying the products or joining the business but can’t fully commit yet. Maybe your reasons are similar to mine and you have no one who supports you. Maybe everyone around you is negative about it and trying to talk you out of it. I can say I’ve been there before and still going through it as I type this. If no one else has you, at least you got yourself. Feel free to check out my FB page for my Itworks Products, there’s also a group that I have for it. Here’s my link ItWorks Site check it out and order something!  You can also follow me on Instagram Follow Me! Don’t hesitate to comment or message me with any questions/concerns! As, always until next time, happy reading.

 

Life is Hard…Death is Easy

It’s been almost a year since my last blog post. I would be lying if I said I had a reason as to why it’s taken me this long to update. Perhaps I lost my muse or life became more stressful and overwhelming. You would think though that those would be reason enough for me to update but things happen. Speaking of things happening, I would imagine you are wondering the reason behind the title of this post. Let’s begin with a life lesson learned so to speak.

The world we live in is constantly changing as are its occupants. There’s things that are out of our control we begin to have feelings of uncertainty and when we lose something dear to us we make it a mission to find it once again. It’s human nature to fear the unknown and to be uncertain of life’s happenings. For instance, our country is in a state of panic or uncertainty if you will due to politics. We all have our own ways of thinking as did those before us and we survived just fine. If we were all the same the world would be a very boring place. Therefore, politics is something that some people might think of as a lost. That’s one of the many reasons why people tend to shy away from it and not speak about it just like religion and sex education. Something else though is hidden or put aside and that’s death.

I’m not talking about the death of a loved one though it’s defijitely not something to take lightly. I’ve lost grandparents and friends due to a variety of unforeseen circumstances. I have close friends who have lost parents and brothers/sisters. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Before I was a mother and wife. My heart belonged to a 4 pound yorkie by the name of Cody Zeek. I was a sophomore in high school and was spoiled to say the least. My dad had found an ad on Craigslist from a lady that had two teacup yorkie puppies available. As we were calling about them someone had already came and got both of them. As we had already seen pictures of the puppies we were already in love with just the possibility of being able to add them to our family. It wasn’t until about thirty minutes later when the lady called us back and said the first person had brought one of the puppies back because her husband said two puppies would be too much. I remember getting in the car with my dad at 9-930 at night  to drive to a strangers house in hopes of getting a little puppy to love and adore. I knew as soon as we walked in and the lady placed that puppy in my arms that I was done for. All four pounds  of this little ball of fur and fluff had my whole heart. Yes, indeed, I was head over heels in love with this puppy and knew we would be lifelong friends. I remember thinking taking care of a puppy would be easy especially one that’s so small. That first night, dad had wanted to crate train in order to help with house training our little pup. However, I couldn’t stand to hear his cries and whimpers at night. So once I knew my dad was sound asleep, with snoring being a key indicator, I would sneak downstairs and bring that little puppy upstairs with me. I would hold him all night and would even set myself an alarm so that I would wake up in time to put him back in his crate before dad got up for work. I would pretend to be asleep and once dad left for work, I would go back downstairs and get my puppy.

Life with a puppy wasn’t always easy as I’m sure most people know. There’s teaching them, training them, Feeding them, Taking them outside, cleaning up accidents in the house, and everything they chew up. At the time my parents were divorced so I would spend half my time with my mom and the other half with my dad. On the days I was with mom, it would just be dad and Codybug. Dad would take Cody to work with him everyday and would send me pictures of their day together. The saying was true a dog really is a mans best friend. It’s also a girl’s best friend too. As I got older and leaned what heartbreak really was, there were quite a few times I would hold codybug and cry. I would bury my face in his fur and take him with me everywhere. If we went on vacation I would only go if we could take him with us. Throughout my whole time in high school I had one friend who was a boy. We never dated but I could spend all hours of the day/night talking to him. I knew he had a crush on me and secretly I had one on him as well. My freshman year of college we started dating. We had known each other since we were 13 years old. Being in a relationship was new to both of us and college definitely was a new experience. We didn’t live together so we went through that phase of sneaking out late at night  just to be together. One thing lead to another and before we knew it, we were expecting our first baby. Yes, I became a mother at a young age even younger if you count the night we went and picked up Codybug. For a woman, once you become pregnant you’re whole life begins to change. It’s not just you anymore, it’s about that little one that’s growing inside of you. I knew things were going to change and to be honest I was afraid. I knew the situation wasn’t ideal and I seen the look of disappointment on my family’s faces. However. The only one who wasn’t disappointed & who didn’t judge me was Codybug. With my hormones all out of whack, the father of my child not being allowed to come over, us not living together was just some of things overwhelming things I was dealing with. Not to mention still trying to attend classes and keep my grades up. With all of these changes, there was always that one constant and that was Codybug. He never left my side not once. Even when I got farther along in my pregnancy, he would lay in front of my stomach and the little girl inside there would kick him. I remember when she would kick he would look down at my stomach and then look up at me. She would quit kicking and he would lay back down and then a few minutes later she would start kicking again. He finally huffed and puffed and got up and moved to lay behind my legs. The first day home with my little girl my parents had him put up in the bedroom thinking he might accidentally jump on the baby.  I was in the hospital for four days due to having a C-Section. So we had been apart during that time and he was beyond excited to see me again. It wasn’t until years & years later when I leaned that dogs have no way of knowing when and if we are coming back. Once we walk out the door they don’t know if that’s the last time they will see us or not. Anyways, I told my parents to let him in because I could hear him crying to come to me. With my new baby girl in her bassinet, I picked up my little bug and introduced him to his baby sister. Just like I knew he would be, he was in love with her just as I was. He was so protective of both of us and until I moved out he never left my side or hers not even once. Looking back on it now, I wish things had been different and that I had taken him with me even against my parents wishes. Hell I had already screwed up and pissed them off so what was adding another thing to the list going to do?! Life goes on and I finished my degree, moved again, had a little boy, and finished another degree. Of course I still stayed in touch with my parents and my little ones just simply adore their Nana & Pepaw. Surprisingly, my senior year of high school my parents got back together and are still together now. I knew both of my parents along with my brothers would take care of my Codybug. I still would visit them very often and while my parents were getting “Nana & Pepaw” time I was getting “Mommy & Codybug” time.

That four pound teacup yorkie didn’t grow very much as he was meant to be a little dog. He would let me dress him up and do anything I wanted to him. He would jump in the shower with me, ride in the car, go with us on vacation, lick my tears as I cried for a variety of reasons. There wasn’t another dog in the world that was like him and there never would be. Even after having been moved out of my parents home for years and the addition last year of our now 9 month old German Shepard, Cody never once felt unloved or jealous. I had everything I could ever want. I had two loving parents, two wonderful children, a degree in the career I had dreamed of, married to the love of my life, My Codybug, and my Jade.

My Codybug turned 12 in December last year. You could look at him and tell he was getting older. His hair was turning from black/brown to grey/white. He was loosing his teeth, took him awhile to get from one room to another, began to have other health issues,  and still hated going outside in the rain. At 2 am on January 10, 2019 I got a text message from my mom asking if I was still awake. I told her I was and that I was laying in bed with my little ones about to read them a story. Mom said, “Honey. Cody just died.” In that moment that one little sentence, those four words, held so much meaning in them. I even asked if they were sure that he had passed and asked for a picture. As I was waiting, I was thinking do I have time to make it up there to see him, would I get a ticket for speeding and not give a damn about it as long as I made it up there to my parents house to see him and hold him one last time. My mom sent the picture a few minutes later and there he was. My little bug laying in his bed with his blanket and his little sweater on. Not moving not breathing not looking at me as I said his name. What I would give to have been there with him in his final moments. I’ve prayed every night since that he wasn’t thinking “where’s my mommy and “ why did she leave me”. My dad messaged me earlier tonight and said he was with him before it happened and held him during those final moments. Dad mentioned that Cody looked up at him after collapsing and that he looked so scared. Dad and mom both said how they kept saying that it was okay and telling him what a good boy he had been and how much we all loved him.

You might be reading this right now thinking what a waste of time I just spent on reading all of this just for some girl grieving the lose of her pet. That it was “just a dog” or that  “it’s not the same as losing a mom/dad, grandparent, husband/wife, brother/sister etc” & you would be right it’s not the same. Loving a pet is something completely different, it’s an extraordinary unconditional love and experience. I actually feel truly sorry for those that don’t get to experience having a pet especially a dog. I knew deep down that Cody’s days were numbered and that he was starting to hurt more and was sick more often. I thought I had more time I guess and that I would be there when it happened. I’m glad he’s not hurting anymore and that I’ll see him again one day. Still doesn’t replace him in my heart or memories. I’ll continue to go through the grieving process and be emotional for weeks and months to come. I’ll cherish the moments I had with him and keep him in my heart until I take my last breathe. I’ll tell my children and grandchildren all the wonderful times I had with him and show them pictures. I’ll continue to make lasting memories with our German Shepard who is laying at my feet watching over my children as they sleep. It’s true you know.. Humans don’t deserve dogs and if Heaven doesn’t allow pets in, then I want to go wherever they go when the time comes.

So now you know why the title of my blog post is “Life is Hard & Death is Easy”.  Life is one of the hardest things you will ever go through. Going on without my little bug is going to be hard and it probably won’t get easier. I say Death is Easy because it’s human nature to fear it but when you are suffering like my little Codybug was, then it’s easy. Its easy because you don’t have to hurt anymore or worry about going outside to potty in the rain, don’t have to watch your human go out the door not knowing when you’ll see them again. “Death is Peaceful, Easy…Life is harder”.

Healthy Baby Home Party

Hello readers! I hope each of you have had a wonderful start to the new year and wish you all the best this year! Towards the end of last year, I was given the opportunity to host a Healthy Baby Home Party through Seventh Generation’s Generation Good Community. It was so much fun being able to meet up with all my mom friends and learn about new healthy products for our children. I received free samples, BINGO game & materials, and free products to give out as prizes! My mom friends and I had so much fun and learned so much about products and paying closer attention to labels and what we are truly using with our children and families. This was an amazing opportunity for me to show others a brand like Seventh Generation that truly is a blessing to moms and every member of the family. I love being able to promote brands and their products that I truly feel make a difference!

Being a parent with Anxiety Disorder

It’s never easy being a parent. No one’s ever said that you were guaranteed more good days than bad, having to count to ten to calm yourself or that you wouldn’t cry over the smallest things. As I sit here in the waiting room of the dentist office, waiting on an update on how my little girl is doing, I find my anxiety starting to flare up. Anxiety is something I’ve been dealing with for over two years now. It’s not something I’m proud of or something I parade around to show off. It’s something I deal with on a daily basis and one that my family deals with as well. If someone would have told me that my first “big girl” job would bring on all of this; I would’ve said, ” Nah. Not me. I’ve got this.” However, that job, that good paying job mind you, brought on more trouble than it was worth. Which in turn caused me to walk away after seven months. Did I know then that me crying uncontrollably for hours at a time was me having a panic attack?! No I did not. Before any of that I couldn’t tell you what a panic attack was or what caused it. Let alone tell you how to stop it. During my undergrad I had to attend three seminars just so that I could retake an exam. As I sat there listening to a well-known professor talk about the benefits of breathing techniques, in a room full of strangers, I felt completely alone. It wasn’t until he asked the crowd what a panic attack was or if any of us had ever had a feeling of being completely overwhelmed. Most of the students in the room raised their hands, myself included. He told us about his own battles in life and the times he’s been knocked more than he’s gotten back up. He said a panic attack was your body’s reaction to a high amount of adrenaline. Your fight or flight kicks in and if there’s no immediate threat then your body goes into a panic due to the adrenaline rush. Makes sense once you think about it. There’s a lot of people, mostly around my age, that struggle with anxiety. Perhaps it’s our generation or the way we were raised. Maybe it’s even more so out of our control and it involves genetics. Whatever the reason, it’s not about how you struggle but about how you get through it and come out on top. I know easier said than done right? Believe me my medicine bottles in the cabinet say the same thing. I’ve even considered therapy or getting a service dog to see if that would help. Anything to just make these random feelings of dread go away. For the past couple of years when I find myself not wanting to do something I walk away. I just don’t do it. But when the dental assistant this morning told me it was best if we walked away while they got my daughter calmed down with laughing gas..That was the last thing I wanted to do. It’s one of the hardest things to do when it comes to your children. Hell, I can walk away from a lot of things but not my children. Hearing your crying and shaking child ask for you and tell you they want to go home absolutely breaks you as a parent and a human being. Perhaps it’s those moments in life that lift us up the most.

“Group projects help me understand why batman works alone.”

I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of the first full week of Fall! Fall and Winter are my absolute favorites! The topic for this week’s blog post is College Courses with a side of a rant about them. This is something that I have experienced in many college courses and only a handful of times since starting Grad School. As most of you know I’m an early childhood major and I have been in the education field for 6 1/2 years. I’ve worked with a range of age groups from infants to 8th grade. I have two children of my own and we have decided to take the homeschool journey route. I am currently working on my Master’s Degree in Early Childhood in hopes to one day use my degree to become a professor at a local college or university. With having a lot of experience in the education field, I’m a supporter of group work and how beneficial it can be for children from early childhood to elementary to middle school and high school. I completely support group work in those grades as it helps develop social interactions and is great for emotional development. However, when you are taking a college course I do believe it’s time for group work to come to an end. For the most part, we are all adults and while I love learning from others with different perspectives, I’m also an adult and have responsibilities of my own. I’m also not like other college students as I two young children, I work part-time, I have bills to pay, and a spouse. I can’t help but feel like those complaining because I can’t meet on campus or I can’t go spend my afternoon in the library are going to be in for a big surprise when adulthood slaps them brutally in the face. Call me mean say whatever you will but I can’t be the only one who would rather spend an afternoon with my little ones instead of spending it in a crowded library on a campus with barely any parking listening to someone tell me what I already know. I just don’t see a point in having group work in college especially when you are taking an online course. When I am given the opportunity to teach college courses, I will not subject my students to unnecessary group work. Most of the time when you are put into groups, it’s just one person doing all the work anyways while everyone else gets a free ride. 

“Good Timber does not grow with ease. The Stronger the wind, the stronger the trees.”-Thomas S. Monson

The topic of my blog for this week is Change. Change in any shape,fashion, or form is not easy. A lot of people are afraid of change for many reasons. Sometimes it’s simply because it’s human nature to fear the unknown. I know in previous blog posts, that I’ve touched on this topic but I wanted to go into more details this time around. I believe as we grow older we change and evolve. Sometimes we change for the better and sometimes we change for the worse. People we once knew aren’t the same as they were before. Change isn’t easy because we tend to stick to what makes us safe and comfortable and accepting change would take us out of our comfort zone. Let me be the first to admit, I’ve always been afraid of change until the past few years. I think I’ve finally become my own person and become someone my children can be proud of. We all have obstacles that we face everyday. Some may be worse than others and some may be the same. Each person is different and things affect us all in different ways. Even with change, it’s important to never lose sight of who you are. Don’t conform just because others say you need to. Do it for yourself, be proud of who you are. I have family members and friends who put themselves down so easily and I really just wonder why. I’ll admit, I’ve found myself in that same way too before on many occasions. In the past couple of years, I’ve finally come into my own and have actually been living a happier and healthier life. I’m the type of person who stresses before there’s even stress to stress about. I always worry and I always think about everything that can go wrong instead of focusing when it all goes right. In this day and time, it’s important to be strong and independent. Being able to depend on others isn’t what it use to be. No one is going to help you unless you can help yourself. If people aren’t seeing you help yourself out of life’s difficult situations then they aren’t going to help you either. It’s all about making an effort and letting go of the things that don’t make you happy and letting go of the people who aren’t standing in your corner. Change is something we all go through multiple times throughout our lives.Writing this post, I’m reminded once again of my favorite quote. “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain.” If we constantly worry about everything and lose our joy in life, then we’re missing out on so many of life’s precious moments. We are only travelers in this world and life gives us many souvenirs along the way. I want to be the type of woman who inspires others and who always gives them encouragement and lifts them up when they need it the most. As an educator, mother, wife, friend,blogger, student etc I’ve seen people tear each other down in many ways. Sadly, most of the time people who tear others down are only trying to make themselves feel better. Perhaps they don’t know what true happiness is. Perhaps they need a rude awakening. I want to inspire other moms and show them that even though change can be scary it might lead you down the path that’s been meant for you all along.

People Rain on Your Parade, They’re Jealous of Your Sun & Tired of the Shade.

I chose this topic for one of my blog posts this week because it’s something I have experienced recently within the past couple of weeks. First of all, I want to start out with it’s human nature to be jealous. At some point in our lives, we have all been jealous of what someone else had or what they were going to get. Most of the time, I see people get more jealous over other people’s children. No one is perfect and just because whatever they had/have works for them doesn’t mean it would/will work for you too. As most of you know, I started homeschooling my children last week. My daughter is doing excellent! She can already do fractions, tell times, count money(coins), add & subtract, can read ,and knows the seasons. I’m not saying it hasn’t been a struggle and that we haven’t hit a few bumps in the road because we most certainly have. However, just because she can do all these things just in the first week or so doesn’t mean she’s better than anyone else or that she’s better than those who attend public/private school. It was her father & my decision to homeschool her and her brother. In my opinion, it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I see posts on my social media where parents are upset because their child has started school. I remember starting kindergarten and I cried the whole first day and my mom did too. It’s heartbreaking for both child and parent. I actually believe parents have a harder time adjusting to this new journey. However, just because your child had phase in days or started doing fun stuff first, doesn’t mean that my child isn’t. I made the decision after a couple of years of hearing others opinions and negative comments on how my child will be missing out on some of life’s important moments because I decided to homeschool her. I’ve heard comments that my children are going to hate me because they didn’t get that social interaction they needed starting at an early age and how they are going to be awkward or shy up into their adult years. I hate to say this, but they most certainly are wrong. You don’t have to like the decisions I make, Hell you don’t even have to agree with them. But you will respect them or you can find the door and walk right out of it. I guarantee my child won’t miss anything and they most certainly won’t struggle with you walking right out the same door you came in. My children are some of the best well-behaved children I have ever seen. I’m sure I’m a little bias because they are mine but I’ve been in the education field for almost seven years now and I’ve seen how a lot of other children behave. My parenting style isn’t the best and I make mistakes daily. I’m not sure I’m someone you even want to be jealous of. It’s a struggle everyday just like I mentioned in a previous post, parenting isn’t for the faint of heart. Jealous can be a cruel thing in this world and it’s something I believe is seen more now than it ever has been before. We all get jealous and that’s okay. It’s human nature and it’s something we are going to have to deal with. I think if I was so jealous of someone, I would try to think about all the positive things in my life and how each person, memory, material thing I have is why I’m blessed. If we spend our whole life being jealous of others, we will never appreciate what we have and will miss out on some of life’s most precious moments. I’m going to leave this blog post with one of my favorite quotes.

Adventure is Out There!

This week we started a new adventure–HomeSchooling. This is my daughter’s first year of school as well as my first year doing the homeschooling. If you had asked me before I had children if I would ever homeschool my kids the answer most likely would have been no. I attended public school from elementary all the way through high school. I never had an issue, always made friends, received good grades etc. I thought that going to a public school was a great way for social interactions and it helped with social/cognitive development. However, here in the past few years with all of the shootings and the placement of Common Core, school isn’t what it used to be. Things have definitely changed. I have always thought there were two things that shouldn’t be taught in school; the first being religion and the second being sex education. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s important to teach our children about religion and about safe sex. However, I think educating children on these two topics really falls on the parents. If a school teaches one religion, they have to teach them all. It’s always been better if parents are the teachers when it comes to sex education because you never want your child getting the wrong information or being misguided. We all have different beliefs and I’m a firm believer of not pushing your opinions/views on others. It’s okay to have different opinions and beliefs. That is one of the many things that make us all human. It’s okay to be unique and to not fit in. Sex is highly overrated and it’s definitely not something to take lightly. It’s a big decision and it can have major consequences. I would rather I teach my children those two topics so that I knew they were getting the right information. Unfortunately, we aren’t always going to be here to guide our children. That’s one of the many reasons for my post on how our parents give us roots but still have to set us free.  I see so many of my friends on social media, sharing pictures of their child’s first day of school and it melts my heart. It’s an emotional rollercoaster being a parent. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart. Watching our children grow up in front of us is so rewarding but also heartbreaking at the same time. Now, I know what my parents went through all those years ago on my first day of school. It’s actually what they still probably go through on a daily basis. Homeschooling is a new journey for our family and it’s one that I will take pride in no matter how it turns out. If it ends up not working out or something happens then at least we can say we tried and it just wasn’t what was best for our family. Homeschooling isn’t for everyone and it might not even be for us. I do think it’s worth a try plus where else am I not going to be over qualified to do?! You have all this education under your belt but yet employers want people with experience. How do you suppose I get experience in the first place when no one will hire me without it?! As most people know, I am currently a grad student working on my Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and in the past I’ve been told that I’m overqualified for a position that I have applied for. It’s hard to take sometimes and it’s easier to take a step back and try a different path. Perhaps that one wasn’t meant for us and we are stuck at a crossroads. In the past couple of months, I’ve had the same question presented to me and today I believe I have found out why. The question is, “How do you do it?”. To elaborate, it’s more of how do you go to school full time, raise two children, take care of a household, work part-time/full time, and homeschool?! I would love to sit here and say it’s because I’m a badass but in all reality, I’m human just like everyone else. I have many flaws and I make mistakes daily but I’ll never give up and that’s a promise. I would like for my children to see that anything is possible and to never give up. Homeschool isn’t for everyone and I’m sure there’s a lot of families that would love to be able to have the opportunity to homeschool their children. I want to give it a try and I want to be able to watch my children learn new things everyday. To quote a good friend, The Lorax, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

You gave us roots, so let us spread our wings and fly

I’ve had a lot on my mind the past few weeks and that’s one of the reasons as to why I haven’t been updating. Thinking about it now though, I think it might have been better for me to write on the blog about everything that’s going through my mind.  I chose the title of today’s blog post because this is something I am currently experiencing in my life.  Surprisingly, I’m not experiencing this with my own children but with my family members. I never really understood what unconditional love was until I had my children. A mother’s love runs deep for her children and it’s something that should never fail her or them. It’s hard letting stuff go whether it’s relationships, a lost loved one, friendship etc. However, it’s even harder letting go of your child and allowing them to be the person they were meant to be. I’ve always been the quiet one and I’ve always listened and followed directions. I’ve never been the one to question authority or to go against people’s wishes. In all, I’m what most people call a “people pleaser”. I would rather see everyone else happy than seeing myself happy. Ever since I was younger, I’ve been put on a pedestal and everyone has always had high expectations for me. I was going to college and I was going to wait until marriage to have children and I was going to fall in love with someone I met in college and live happily ever after. However, life has a way of surprising us and putting exactly what we need in front of us. It’s up to us to grab it and run with it.  So, that’s what I did. I fell in love at a young age and been in love every since. My love actually grows stronger each day especially when I look into the eyes of my children and see their father staring back at me. It’s like that old saying, We can’t help who we fall in love with. It just happens. We have two amazing children together who I would give my life for and we are ready to start trying for another baby. It’s okay if it’s not the right time for everyone else because it’s the right time for us and our family.  I’ve recently learned that once we reach a certain age, it’s time for our parents to let us go and make our own mistakes. I know there’s not a single parent on this planet that wants their child to screw up and make mistakes. However, that’s a part of growing up and becoming who you are. As much as I love my children, I can’t control them forever. Sure, as they get older there’s going to be plenty of things that I’m not going to agree with. I will agree to disagree with them and say my peace and be done with it. Whatever, they decide to do after that is up to them and I will support them and be happy for them no matter what. If it all falls apart for them, I will stand by their side and be their support and protector for as long as they need. We are all human and we aren’t meant to agree on everything. Parents should be proud that they raised a strong, independent, strong-willed person who is more than capable of making their own decisions and living with the consequences. It’s hard letting go and I know from experience that it’s human nature to hold on as tight as we can to those we love. I’m not saying never talk to your parents or family members.  I’m not saying that you shouldn’t voice your opinions to your children. I’m simply saying that as parents you gave us roots and now it’s time for us to spread our wings and fly. Watch us make you proud and even if we mess up accept us and support us anyways. It took me 25 years but I’ve finally learned that it’s not meant for me to please everyone. If I continue to worry about what everyone thinks then I’m never going to be happy. I would rather disappoint everyone then to disappoint myself again. I’ve heard a saying for my whole life and it never really clicked until now. “Those who matter don’t mind, and those that mind don’t matter.”

Seventh Generation Free & Clear Laundry Detergent Review

Hi everyone! It’s time for another product review! This week I received a #FreeSample of the Seventh Generation Free & Clear Laundry Detergent to try out! I was really impressed with the laundry detergent as it was the first fragrance free detergent I’ve tried. This product would be great for new parents who are worried/concerned about their newborn’s sensitive skin. I actually wish I had known about this product when I was expecting my children. By sampling some of the Seventh Generation products, I have fell in love with the brand and plan to use them especially if we are given the chance to expect another little one. I know as a parent it’s hard not to worry about the cost of everything your child needs especially as a newborn. I always wanted what was best and sometime it was hard to afford the best. I think this is a brand that can be trusted and they actually care about their customers and what they put in their products. I would recommend this product and this brand to anyone especially all of my mommy friends. It’s hard when you are trying to decide the best brand to use for your family and I know how it can be a trial and error type of decision too. We all want what’s best for our children and we strive everyday to make sure that happens.