Goodbye 2016!

One of my goals this year is to be better about updating this blog. I know I've said that before, but I'm really going to try to post once a month. :)  I've got quite a few goals for 2017 because I am going to ROCK this year!

First I need to fill you in on the second half of 2016. I officially became a LuLaRoe consultant on June 22, one day before Ben and my 15th wedding anniversary. I was so excited! Let's get back to that though. FIFTEEN YEARS!!! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. I feel so blessed to be married to Ben; he truly is my best friend. There's so much more that I could say, but it's all jumbled up and mushy in my head.  Despite making big plans (or having big dreams anyway), we didn't do anything extraordinary to celebrate. We have had a lot more dates in the last year then we've had in the past, so it all works out. :D

Back to LuLaRoe...in the middle of July, just after receiving my inventory and launching my business, I was able to fly out to California (my first time there) for the annual convention. It was a weekend full of learning, inspiration, and fun with friends and fellow consultants. I loved it! This year I'm hoping to take Ben with me to share the fun.  Ben has been my biggest supporter in this whole adventure. I've been selling for almost 6 months now, and it's been such a blessing.  I have not had the instant success that I first envisioned, but I have made enough to pay some bills and buy school supplies. I'm also enjoying the feeling I get from helping others find clothing that they love. Just when I start doubting myself, I'll get a message from a customer telling me that the piece they bought is the most comfortable skirt/shirt/leggings ever.  Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me so far!!! I plan on making my business even more successful in the coming year.

Ben has decided that he will not be re-enlisting when his current contract is up, so we are in the process of figuring out what our next big adventure will be.  It's scary, but we're certain that the Lord will lead us where we need to go.

Lizzy started high school last fall. She's involved in the theater program, and worked tech and lights for their presentation of  "In the Heights". It was very well done! 

Alex is in middle school now, but keeps begging to be pulled out and home-schooled. Ben and I aren't convinced that it's the best thing for him.  We're doing everything we can to help him adjust.

Garret is doing really well at school. He's a smarty pants and a brutal boardgame player.

Keri is getting more and more personality all the time. She's excited to turn eight, and get baptized, in February.

So, that's us in a nutshell. Happy New Year!!!

New Adventures Pt. 2

My new opportunity is with a direct sales clothing company called LuLaRoe.  I was introduced to it through a friend at church.  She's been selling it for about a year and has had a lot of success, but that is not really why, or how, I got involved.  I first got interested because the clothes are so cute AND comfortable.  They also fit pretty much everyone, with women's sizes from XXS-3XL. The sizes are generous too.  They also have kids clothes sized 2T-14. Both the girls and I love it!

Leggings with an Irma tunic.

DotDotSmile Dress

Amelia dress (with hidden pockets)

After the initial interest in the clothes themselves, I started looking more at the company and was even more impressed.  I love the loving, giving culture of the company.  There is no competition between consultants because everyone has different stuff in their inventory. (At least, that's the idea. I have seen some consultants online that don't seem to share the vision of the company very well.)  Another thing that appealed to me was that the parties, called Pop-up Boutiques, are low-key. There's no sales pitch or catalog. You come, shop, hang out with your girlfriends, and take home what you buy.  Being that I've proven I'm no sales person in the past, this sounded pretty good.

Nicole dress

Enough facts about the business, let's talk about my story.  As I mentioned in the last post, I really want to be able to ease some of our financial stresses.  I've looked at (and tried) different at-home, party-based businesses and none of them really suited me.  LuLaRoe seems unique, though, and really caught my attention.  I started kicking around the idea of signing up, but hesitated to talk to Ben about it because there's a pretty big starting investment.  It just kept going around inside my head, so finally at the end of March/beginning of April, I mentioned it to him.  He jumped right on board and said that if I was serious about working it, we could use next year's tax return to get started.  I was thrilled!  As the next couple of days went by I kept feeling a sense of urgency.  The company is growing so fast that they made a waiting list (the Queue) so that they wouldn't end up with more consultants than they could supply inventory for.  I talked to Ben again, and we decided we should go ahead and get my name in the Queue. I wasn't sure how we were going to manage it, but it felt right. So, I prayed about it. A day or two later I got a "pre-approved" credit card offer from our bank and applied, not really believing they'd give me enough to make any difference.  Within minutes, I'd been approved for enough to cover all of my start-up costs!  So...on April 13 I sent in my paperwork.  I'm still waiting to be made official ("onboarded"), but I've used that time to finish my schooling (yes, past tense!!!) and work out a business plan for myself.  I should start selling in July and would love any support you all can give me, whether by buying something or by sending good thoughts and prayers my way.

New Adventures Pt. 1

For years I've been telling myself that I need to get some schooling done.  When Ben and I got married and moved to Houston, I was only 2 classes away from getting my Associates.  The plan was to finish my degree there once I met residency requirements.  Plans changed...babies came...we both wanted me to stay home. Then we became an Air Force family...we moved...another baby...another move...another baby...2 more moves.  You get the idea!

So, now the kids are all in school and we are (most likely) not going to be moving for a while.  I had to face the fact that MY education had been put on the back burner long enough.  The idea of going back to a traditional college environment didn't appeal to me though.  Luckily I found another option. In February I started an Administrative Assistant program through Penn Foster.  It's a career diploma program that is completely online and self-paced.  The idea was to try to get on with the school district as a school secretary so that my hours would allow me to be at home when the kids are (for the most part anyway).  When I told the kids I was starting school, Garret said "but I don't want you to work. I want you to be home with us."  The thing is, I want to be home with them too.  I also want to be able to be able to say "no" less often.  No to after school activities.  Not right now to requests for shoes, clothes, family outings.  I want more room in our budget for "extras".  Honestly, I also want something for me.  I LOVE being Mom! Sometimes, though, I miss just being Cindy. I don't know if that makes sense, or if it makes me sound selfish, but it's the truth. 

Okay, back from that tangent...I've been working on my program for 4 months and I should be done THIS FRIDAY! FRI-YAY!!! I will not, however, be applying for any Administrative Assistant jobs any time soon.  A couple months ago I found another opportunity that I am SO excited about!!!

To be continued...

Flip-flops in a Rainstorm

A couple of weeks ago I attended a women's conference at my church.  The theme was "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain".  The thought of dancing in the rain makes me smile...it brings to mind images of childhood and fun.  The conference was great and my only disappointment was that I wasn't able to go to more of the mini-classes they offered.  I think that we probably all need a little help in learning how to stay positive in difficult, or negative, times. But I'll get back to that later.

Last Saturday, while on a campout with the boys, Ben had to replace a belt and the radiator in the Jeep on the beach!  It was definitely an unexpected expense.  Luckily, he had some very helpful men with him and we only had to pay for parts, not labor. (Although, I probably owe them all some cookies.)  He got the Jeep home, but there are still issues and it is parked in the garage for the time being. This means that he has to use the Toyota, which would not normally be an issue since I'm home all day.  Except it's been raining all week, Ben has physical therapy twice a week, we've been fighting a stomach bug off and on for almost two weeks, and Alex had to have lab work done (fasting, early morning lab work).  There has been a lot of driving back and forth! I'm frazzled and have found myself shutting down, not wanting to do anything once Ben and the kids are out the door.  This morning as I was running the kids into school late, I made a comment about wearing flip-flops in a rainstorm.  Then it struck me how well that sums up my current feelings about life. 

Ben didn't care for the thought when I shared it with him. He pointed out that our life isn't really THAT bad right now, and it's not. That's not quite what I meant.  What I meant is that I don't currently feel properly equipped to deal with my life (or what's happening IN my life, to be more accurate).  But, we equip ourselves.  I chose to wear those flip-flops when I knew that it was raining.  I have shoes, but it was faster and easier to just slip on the flip-flops.  We were running late.  I didn't want to get my tennis shoes wet. These are excuses; I had a choice to make and I made it.

So, back to the conference and the dancing in the rain.  It's currently raining on our house (literally and figuratively).  This is not a bad storm we're weathering...we've been through worse.  Others have been, or are going through, MUCH worse.  My thought is...How often do we simply grumble about the rain instead of equipping ourselves to face it?  There is no "storm" that can't be weathered by relying on our faith.  We have a Savior who has felt each and every one of our pains and heartaches. He knows what we're going through and He wants to help us!  By using the equipment we've been given, namely prayer and the scriptures, we can be comforted during the worst.

Catch-up Time

Look at that...once again it's been way too long since I've posted anything.  So I guess it's time to play catch-up again.

First day of  8th grade.

The kids have done really well in their new schools.  Lizzy did the school play last spring, The Seven Brides of Dracula.  It was cute and she had fun, but decided to do the technical side of theater this year.  She was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society last spring too.  This year she is taking Pre-AP English, an art class that she gets high school credit for, and is planning on taking a trip to Washington D.C. in June.   She is becoming such an amazing young woman.

Cast of The Seven Brides of Dracula.

First day of 5th grade.

Alex is doing better academically than he ever has (other than standardized testing, but I've got opinions about that).  We're working with a doctor and a therapist to help him learn to better manage his moods/emotions/actions.  He got a Pokémon club started at the school this year. We're so proud of him for planning and doing all the work needed to get it going. He also just joined the 4/5th grade choir.

First day of 3rd grade.

Garret is thriving. School seems to come fairly easy for him.  He's actually in the Gifted and Talented program. He's another reader, which I love.  This year he's read most of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. 

First day of 1st grade.

Keri is...beautiful, feisty, inquisitive, loving...pretty much the same little sassafras she's always been.  She seems to really like school and has lots of friends there (though she can't remember about half of their names).











I'm doing pretty well.  After 7 years of discomfort and nausea, I finally found a doctor who would remove my nasty gallbladder.  It's amazing the difference it's made!  I'm still working on the whole "housewife" thing. It's hard to stay on top of housework, though, when there are books to be read and yarn to be knitted. LOL  I recently finished my first commissioned work.  A friend paid me to knit a temple shawl for her.  It was exciting! She loved the finished product too, so that made it even better.

Ben has been busy at work, as always.  He's also VERY close to finishing his Associate's and has plans for his Bachelor's. Yay!

Overall, life just keeps on going. We bought our first house and have lots of plans for things we'd like to do, but haven't gotten to them yet (time and money are limited).  We adopted a dog named Eris.  She is a Belgian Malinois mix (what she's mixed with is up for debate) and quickly became a member of the family.  One of the kids favorite things that we've done is buy annual passes to Sea World.  We all LOVE it!!!  We took an unexpected trip to Washington to say goodbye to Gramma Marge.  It was not the circumstances I wanted, but it was wonderful to see everyone and Gramma is reunited with Grandpa now.  We also had the chance to visit with Ben's brother and his family in Utah on our way to and from Washington.  My sister and her kids came down here for a visit too.  I love family time!

The kids love their 4-legged sister.

Garret's Birthday and Baptism

As I mentioned in a previous post, Garret had to celebrate his birthday in transit. He was a little bummed that he didn't get to have a party with his friends, but we tried to still make it special for him. He got to choose dinner that night, so we ended up at Chuck E. Cheese (Yay for being back in the States!) for pizza and games. After we got to San Antonio, we took him to Wal-Mart and let him pick out a couple of presents for himself.

A new Skylander figure for the Wii.

 

Pokemon cards

Because of the move, we weren't able to have Garret's baptism until the middle of November.  It was a great day and we were able to share it with some wonderful people. Ben's parents, and his brother Jake and his family came over from Houston for the weekend. Ben's cousin Sophie and her family also drove across town to be there. Garret also got to share the day with his friend Asher, who also got baptized.

With Daddy before the baptism. :)

Afterward, the family all came back to the house for food and visiting. It was great to catch up with everyone after two-and-a-half years.

Confessions of a Guilty Mom

I love my children. They are four of the best things in my life, and I would give up that life to protect them without a second thought. They make me laugh. They make me look at life in a whole new way. They make my life infinitely more interesting and meaningful. But...

They also drive me crazy. They're noisy, and messy, and can't seem to get through an entire day without fighting with each other (quite often over the silliest things). I have days when I want to pull my hair out. Occasionally I have moments where I have to scream...not words, not yelling at them about something (although that happens too)...primal, wordless screams. It just builds up and comes out, and then I feel better.

Alex asked me this morning if I get lonely when they're all at school. I told him honestly that I don't. I enjoy the time to myself. After dropping them off (I drove the younger three since Keri is still recovering from pneumonia) I thought about it and realized (again) I'm not THAT mom. I don't volunteer in classrooms. I used to tell myself that once I didn't have little ones at home I would, but I don't. I am SO ready to send them back to school after summer break, or winter break, or even a long weekend. I had a friend a few years ago that was always doing little crafts with her preschoolers. I tend to let my kids do their own thing while I do mine (read, knit, etc.).

This fact causes a certain amount of "Mommy Guilt". I see posts on Facebook from friends who are LOVING spending time with their kids and wish school holidays were longer, and I think "Why don't I enjoy my kids more? Is there something wrong with me?" Mommy Guilt. That voice in your head that tells you you're not good enough. When it hits me, I try to remember this:

I don't know where it originated from, but I love it. Someone came up with this which means that IT'S NOT JUST ME! 

I think that too often I focus on the negative and forget the positive. My kids are relatively happy, I'm frequently complimented on what good kids they are, and they think that I'm the best mom ever (at least most of the time). I may not be THAT mom, but I'm THEIR mom and that is a pretty sweet blessing. I may not volunteer in their classrooms, but I smother them with hugs and kisses (when I can catch them). I may not be constantly engaged with them, but we have some pretty epic tickle fights. And we DO play games together, even if its not on a regular basis. I don't think they've ever doubted that I love them. And really...isn't that the most important thing? So, I'm going to try harder to stop comparing myself to other moms. I leave you with a quote from Elder M. Russell Ballard from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: