Marley & Me & Randomness

I had every intention of posting my coupon post and then on to my thoughts on the show Teen Mom, but I now have another subject on my mind. I was sitting on the couch trying to get my coupons clipped out and put away and the movie Marley & Me was on. I love that movie up until the end. Tonight I decided to walk away as it was getting to the real sad part, but I don't think it helps cause now I feel a tremendous amount of sadness. I never knew how much of that movie I could relate to until tonight because for some reason I paid extra close attention to the dialogue. Jennifer Anniston's character was talking about how she didn't want to be one of those type of mother's who only see their kid an hour out of the day...she wanted to be a stay at home mom. I have always wanted to be a stay at home mom as I have stated many times, but it is really starting to get to me now that one of the first thing out of Maddy's mouth when she sees me now is "Mommy all done with work?" I am one of those type of mother's who only gets to see their kid for an hour out of the day except for the weekends because my work schedule is just beyond chaotic right now. I hate seeing the look in her eye. Anyways, Marley is just one mess of a dog. Marley reminds me of my dog Manny. I definitely think Manny is much better than Marley, but not by much. I really need to take him to training classes but that costs money I don't have just yet. The movie is centered around the dog, but the whole point of the movie is that regardless Marley is still part of their family whom they grow to love and don't want to live without. So many people these days just put animals out on the street simply because they don't want them anymore. Well like in the movie, if a person misbehaves in your family are you just gonna throw them out too? I remember getting Manny. He was my first dog to take care of completely. I got him in December of 2007. I remember wondering the first night what I had got myself into because he kept me up every four hours and would bite me and just get into everything. I had to rearrange my schedule to include taking him out and trying to get him house trained. I remember his first Christmas and how I was so thankful to have him. I may not have always been happy with things he did, but we were a family. Then I got pregnant with Maddy and toward the end of pregnancy I couldn't take Manny out anymore cause he would sometimes pull you and I was scared he would hurt Maddy so he was put in the backyard fence. I remember bringing Maddy home and going to check on Manny and I just wanted to cry because I felt like I was neglecting him, but there was no way I could go get him and take care of him, plus a newborn, plus me. Last summer we arranged it to where he could come back inside and life was good again. I love Manny so much and it makes me sad to know that one day he too will pass away and to some that may be silly, but he really is part of the family. He is Maddy's first experience with dogs (along with all the other dogs that are currently in our household lol) and she loves to pet him and play with him. He is so good with her too. She's pulled his hair a little too hard before and is a little rough on his head and he just sits and takes it. I think it helps that I don't let her play with him by herself and I am always right there beside Manny to make sure no accidents happen, but Manny is very trustworthy. Don't get me wrong I know all animals can turn against their owners, but I'm just trying to say he is a really good dog. Everytime I see Marley & Me it makes me want to go hug Manny a little tighter and let him know I love him a little more. I wish people would quit throwing animals out just because and quit being so cruel to them. Just to clarify too, I'm not talking about people who have to find homes for pets because they have a new baby and it doesn't get along with baby...I'm talking about people who just don't care about the animal and just throws them on the street or something worse.

Changes

If this is going to be my year of change, then I thought I may as well list out what I would like to change and who knows...maybe at the end of the year all these things will have changed :)

• Be a more active blogger
• Update the look of my blog to start trying to become a for real mommy blogger:)
• Become a stay at home mom, but still have income coming in lol...ok this is a wish that will never happen but hey...gotta dream big!
• Get my bills paid off
• My weight/body (been working on this one with the Insanity program and Dalis Connell's workout tips
• Move into our own place
• Help/work with children
• Scrapbook more
• I won't complete this this year by any means but I would really like to finish school so I can earn my degree. I want to have a bachelor's in early childhood education so bad I can't see straight

These are by no means everything in my life I want to change...just some of the things. It'll be interesting to see what has actually changed at the end of the year...aww...I really miss Christmas lol. Forgive my continuous postings...I've had ideas all week but absolutely no time to blog...LOVE the weekend!!! 

Stress Test

I can't begin to describe how very thankful it is the weekend. This week has been extremely hard on me and I still have at least one more stressful week to go before hopefully things calm down a bit. My 2012 has not been the best in the world and I have felt very overwhelmed and defeated. I know the devil is on me hot and heavy so I know something is going on. I mentioned here about my focus this year being devoted to Maddy. I know it's still the beginning of the year, at the very beginning of the year I felt so different. I cannot describe how I felt but I liked it. I started feeling like I was accomplishing tasks that may not seem so big or important to you all, but for me it was. I had some financial stress thrown in here and there but I was able to get through it and keep on keepin on. It seems like this week a bomb was dropped because I just felt like everytime I tried to get up I'd get kicked right back down and it was harder with each kick. I definitely think this year is going to be a year of change for me and Maddy. I could be completely wrong...in one sense I hope I am...in another sense I hope I'm not. If what I think is going to happen (which we all know where God is concerned if we have it figured out it is most likely not going to happen lol), then I am very excited to get there. In the mean time...all this stress can go away!!

Reviews

The first thing I want to talk about is Maddy's pink Barbie Ford Mustang

There isn't a whole lot to say about this product. Kids are going to be happy with just about any vehicle they can drive. I absolutely love the car, but I do wish the doors actually opened. I did a lot of reviews on the different kind of cars and for the money, this car was the best. Kids are able to go frontwards and backwards (Maddy found how to reverse it on her own lol). The radio has some pretty awesome sounds that play. I noticed on the reviews a lot of people complained about not being able to go on grass. So far I've only experieneced the wheels spin out when the grass is wet or if she stops on a hill. Other than that we have had no problems with the tires spinning out. The seat is adjustable and has plenty of room to grow with her. I can't speak to the battery just yet because we haven't really had a long time to play with it. I know it takes 18 hours for the battery to charge and so far we have not ran out of battery. There is no storage which is also somewhat of a bummer, but Maddy absolutely has a ball playing in her car. Bottom line would I buy this car again? Absolutely!!! Great buy for the price :)
Oh yeah, the putting it together part lol. Well, let's just say thank goodness for help lol. It's not that bad, but it was more time consuming than I had planned. The instructions are pretty clear, however, they seem to make you do extra work by putting something together and then the next step saying oh you should have put this on prior to putting that on so you have to take what you just put on off to put the part the instructions skipped. I would imagine all cars similar to this will have the same kind of preparation time.

Maddy Facts

Today is a day I want to remember for a while. I learned that Maddy would be transitioning into her new classroom at school. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but it really is. This classroom she is going to begins the "preschool" phase of her daycare. They have actual centers and she will be doing lots of learning. On her sheet today it says she made a gingerbread man out of glue and stuck cinnamon on it and they talked about how it felt and smelled. I was in such shock to be picking her up from her new room today that it kinda made me do a flashback on her life lol. I know she is too young to be doing that already, but it helped me realize that her behavior has really changed...unless this is just a phase lol. I realized that her meltdowns are happening less frequently and when she has one 95% of the time it's because I have kept her up too long. Sure we have fits if she has to do something she doesn't want to or if I don't do something on her time, but they really are starting to diminish. This week she has allowed me to change her diaper and get her dressed and that in itself is amazing. She hasn't been running out the door at daycare when we leave...she simply walks out like a big girl. I feel like with her beginning her new classroom that she is no longer my toddler anymore, but becoming a little girl. I am amazed at things she has picked up on or just knows. The other day she wanted me to hand her one of her foam mats and it was the shape of a 9...she told me that was nine. I was amazed. Her vocabulary has just taken off and I get so tickled at her because she gets so excited about things and is trying to tell us but her brain is going much faster than her little mouth will go. Here is a video I made this past Sunday...don't be too surprised that she actually has pants on in this one lol

I know this post is pretty useless to most people, but it's something I wanted to document for myself. I've definitely been having mommy emotions and I really believe my little baby is turning into this beautiful little girl. 


Throughout the year I would like to work on organization within my blog. I am such a random person that I just start typing whatever comes to my mind and I'm sure it can be hard to follow. I've also decided to start doing some reviews on the toys Maddy has to share what I like and don't like about them. I hope you all are having a wonderful new year and thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!

2012

As we entered into 2012 I quickly realized what my focus of the year would be...Maddy of coarse. I know that sounds really strange because as her mom I should always be focused on Maddy no matter what year it is...and I assure you she has always been my focus. I am entering in a new journey as a parent and wanted to share. As I've posted before last year my mom got me this calender that had encouraging messages on it called Just Enough Light for the Step I'm On. This year she got me a daily calender called The Power of a Praying Parent. I am constantly questioning myself...did I make the right decision, did I handle the problem ok, etc. I question myself even more when people tell me I should have done this or I need to do that. I'll never forget when I first had her and took her to Babies R Us. I had her wrapped in a blanket and then put her in my coat and the cashier told me I was freezing her. Little did that cashier know Maddy is a hot natured child and she would just pour sweat and fuss if I dressed her too warm. There was plenty of body heat to keep her warm and it really upset me when the cashier said something. Another time was at the mall...Maddy would not keep socks on no matter what. I had her in her stroller and this woman comes up to me and said, "You need to get some socks on that poor baby...it's cold!" I just kinda laughed it off but there again...what right did she have to tell me what is best for my child? I've had several people try to tell me what I need to do with Maddy and it's quite frustrating. I began to wonder if this only happened to me but apparently once you become a parent it just gives the whole world the right to tell you how to raise your child. I've decided to tune out the rest of the world and listen to the only one that matters...Jesus. I hope that I can become a consistent praying parent and I am very excited to see what the Lord has in store for us this year. It's amazing watching Maddy grow and see her become her own person. She is so super smart and funny and of coarse she is just beautiful! She gave me a compliment the other day and it just made me want to cry.  Her exact words were, "Mama pretty" Talk about just wanting to cry lol. I am going to add some random pics of Maddy just because :)

Goodbye 2011

It is so hard for me to believe another year has come and gone. When I look back at 2011 it all seems to be a blur to me. I know I've had some lows...some of the newest ones on my mind is my transmission and IRS audit, but I can only remember most of the highs. I put on my facebook status that 2011 was a pretty good year and I quickly realized how insensitive that was of me. A lot of people in my area lost their homes and loved ones in the April 27 tornadoes. A lot of people have either lost their jobs or couldn't find a new one. I do realize the hardships 2011 has brought many people, but for me personally it hasn't really been that bad of a year. In February we celebrated my niece's 9th birthday, March we celebrated my 28th birthday, April we we saw all the damage from the tornado and I went back to school, May we celebrated Mother's Day and my sister's birthday as well as take a mini vacation down to Panama City Beach, FL., June we went to J-Fest, July we celebrated my mom's birthday and the fourth of July and went to Lake Winnie, August we celbrated my stepdad's birthday and my mom and step dad's 10th anniversary as well as go to Dollywood and Splash Country, September we went on our first cruise and celebrated Maddy's 2nd birthday, October was Halloween, November was Thanksgiving, and then there was December...lots of Christmas-y enjoyment the whole month.
As you can see from the video up above Maddy wanted to wish everybody a happy new year in her own way :) I am seeing more and more everyday just how smart she really is...and she's only two! Every New Years we have to get tiara's and necklaces to ring in the new year...is Maddy

Here is mine...

After we went out and bought our decorations we came back home to enjoy the nice weather while it was here...

How cute is she sportin her glasses lookin all grown up??? I am hoping 2012 is just as good as 2011 and would be ok if it were even better! Every year will have it's ups and downs but as long as you trust in God to take care of you, the lows are easier to deal with. Happy New Year everybody from Maddy and me :)