10 Things You Might Hate About Me...

Well, you might not hate these things, but it was a catchy title...

A few weeks ago I accidentally "liked" someone's status on Facebook. It was an accident because I didn't realize it was one of those things where they give you a number & you share embarrassing facts about you with the world! This precious person gave me a TEN!

I never posted it on Facebook. I started trying to think of 10 things I could come up with, but everything sounded stupid to me. Then, I got embarrassed. I am a pretty open book. I usually wear my heart & emotions on my sleeve... or in my status bar. I couldn't share some of these things that I'd never even shared with my best friends. 

But then it hit me. 

There are parts of my life that I keep hidden because I don't want to deal with them. I share them with my husband, and that's about it! It's how I stay in control. It's how I don't become a mess in front of the whole world!

But if this pregnancy has taught me anything lately, it's that my feelings & internal stress are causing my BODY to react. So, even if my external self is in control, my muscles & immune system are usually going to take a hit. 

When we had a family member speak rudely about our being pregnant, for the first time ever I told them how I REALLY felt. I wasn't unkind or ugly, but I was truthful & blunt. I've never done that before. It was amazing! I went to my chiropractor the next day & her comment was, "well whatever it was that came over you, it needed to come out!" My muscles were calm. My spine was in alignment. That's never happened. 

I started this new thing this pregnancy where I'm really conscious about speaking my mind. Not in a rude way. I try not to cross a line & stir things up that don't need to be, however I don't bottle things up. Even if I just vent to my husband & we decide it's best that I don't share that with that person, it's better than just tucking that hurt, pain & unnecessary stress away for the next 10 years!

I have also learned that some parts of who I am are important, even if they're uncomfortable. They've made me into the person I am. So, I'm taking baby steps today. I'm sharing with my readers the 10 things I was too much of a baby to share on Facebook. The 10 things that probably aren't a big deal, but I've been dwelling on for the past few weeks. I can't wait to get them out!

10 things:

1. I didn't like babies before I had them. I figured I should. So my motto was "I want 1, I'll take 2 but only if they're twins so I can get em out in one shot". For real! Now, I teach childbirth education classes & am pregnant w my 6th child. Never underestimate the power of giving birth. It changed my life!

2. I knew I was going to marry Michael when I was 13. I felt like God had showed me, wrote it in my journal, but thought I was crazy for even thinking it! We started dating when I was 16 & got married when I was 19. He was my only boyfriend. I've never kissed anyone else. We are seriously soul mates!

3. I found out I was 16 weeks pregnant with Efton on my 19th birthday. It was traumatic to say the least. Birthdays have ALWAYS been a big deal to me, but even more now! That's why I celebrate big & surround myself with people I love. I need it on that day!

4. Masks terrify me. In particular burglar masks- like the ones that look like panty hose or ski masks. 

5. I'm an extrovert, but only in comfortable places. I hate parties where I know no one, new places, and I really didn't like college for that reason. BUT put me in my element & I come alive. I'm the life of the party! 

6. My favorite colors are & have been since 1st grade (in this particular order ): pink, teal, lime green, orange, purple. I do not like red. At all. Except for the Cardinals... ;)

7. Gum chomping drives me CRAZY! Someone in our wedding had gum in their mouth & it makes me mad to this very day! I skip their part coming down the aisle every year when we watch our wedding DVD. 

8. I peed my pants in the outfield during a softball game. My coach was a terrible, mean woman who said if I had to go that was too bad. I was 9 & REALLY had to go! At a certain point there was no more holding it. I immediately left the field & never played softball again. LOL!

 9. I have a really gross ability to belch. Like, manly belching.

10. I discovered about a year ago that I have a math "dyslexia" called Dyscalculia. While it was a really difficult thing to finally realize, it explained so much of the frustration I've had my whole life in school, problem solving situations, time concepts, our finances... So even though it was hard & I don't usually tell people about it (until now, lol), it was such a relief to know what was going on all this time! 

Whew! That feels better! 

Anyone else need to get something off their chest? Haha! Feel free...

Vacation Top 10

Well, I'm a day late... but better late than never.

We are home from vacation & as much as I love the beach, I am SO GLAD to be home! We had a great drive down, a relaxing time there, & a speedy trip home! So, in honor of a successful vacation, here are my top 10 moments of our vacation:

1. The REMARKABLE drive down to Florida!
Our children were AMAZING! I will be revealing my road trip secrets in a future blog post, but all you should know is that not once did I need to raise my voice, threaten to "pull this car over", or need earplugs. haha! It was miraculous, I tell you!

2. My 4 year old's face when he first saw the ocean. :D

3. My 2 year old's face when she first put her bare toes in wet sand. :(

4. My 5 months old's face as he is enjoying the sand between his toes & the cold ocean water washed up to his legs. I've never seen an expression change so quick! Haha! Priceless.

5. I loved how the kids really didn't fight on vacation. They were all having so much fun & getting so much rest... there were very few time outs!

6. We didn't eat out at all. Normally I would hate that, but it just made our trip so much more relaxing! We just made dinner in our condo & hung out together. So, it was cheaper AND we were really able to enjoy one another's company.

7. How FREE my 4 year old was. He has some ADD tendencies & really struggles with anxiety... AT HOME, but apparently not on vacation! It was just amazing to see him so carefree. He didn't scream. He didn't hit the other kids. He didn't freak out. I told my husband, it makes me want to MOVE to Florida to see my child so happy!

8. The excitement every night when we picked who would get to lay with the 2 year old. We kept her in the same bed/room each night & rotated big kids. She thought it was THE most wonderful thing!

9. Teaching the kids how to play UNO one night. They cried, they cheered, they laughed with glee when they yelled out UNO! , they mocked daddy when he drew 10 cards to get a blue... there were so many emotions (in particular from the 5 & 6 year olds, lol), but definitely such a fun night!

10. Watching my husband get buried in the sand by our 4 kids. He kept getting sand flung in his face (he eventually had to put his hat over his eyes). They thought it was just hilarious. So did I! :)

Friday Top Ten

Today is my first Friday Top Ten!!(applause!) Ha!

Every Friday, I'll re-cap this crazy life of mine with my top ten moments from that week. I'm not sure whether I'm going to love this or completely despise it! Ha! Sometimes I don't like to be reminded of my week, if you mommas know what I mean! :)

Despite my bad weeks though, I feel like the goal of this is to dwell on the positive. To help me see the great things that happened, whether there were 10 or only 2... it's so helpful to remember those special moments with my kids to kind of wash over the exhaustion & frustrations of my week.

Soooo... Here we go!

1. Packing for a vacation is EXHAUSTING, but secretly I love getting to use my organizational super powers for good & not evil (aka, my husband's never-ending list of things I need him to build-lol)

2. I got to take Eliza to get a pedicure at this sweet little place where they have little girl sized chairs with Hello Kitty on them. Precious!! She is always so relaxed & just adores picking out her color (usually purple with sparkles) & asking for flowers or jewels on them. She loves it! And I love doing it with her. <3

3. I got to go see a movie with my husband. It was research for our super-hero themed family Bible study we are doing over vacation. (yes, we saw Avengers) It was a really good excuse for a date, not to mention I grew up watching Marvel cartoons with my brothers so I was pretty into it.

4. Michael taught Eli how to growl & snarl like a lion. It's probably one of the funniest things I've ever seen him do. He pounces off the upside down laundry hampers & onto his imaginary prey on the ground. Hahaha! I'm laughing just thinking about it!

5. Ester & I got haircuts. We feel new & refreshed. Wow! I've had a pretty pampered week... pedis AND a haircut?! Vacation rocks.

6. This week my husband & I made the decision to apply for the Bradley Childbirth instructor certification. I feel like this is SO RIGHT! I cannot wait to gain a wealth of knowledge on pregnancy, childbirth & breast feeding. It's my passion... & now I can get to use it! :)

7. I bought a pair of hot pink shorts. Enough said.

8. As we were driving this week, Eliza saw a man jogging on the side walk. Before he crossed the street, he stopped for cars. She said "oh look mommy, that man knows the Lord!" When I asked her how she knew, she said "because he stopped for cars & people that don't love Jesus would have just run into the street!! I'm so glad Jesus is in MY heart!" LOL! Oh the ideas that 5 year olds have.

9. So, this happened last Friday, but still funny enough to share. I got a coffee one day & lost it. Haha- seriously. I set it down as I was doing stuff all over the house & then realized it was missing! It took me a couple hours to find it. I had set it down on a pantry shelf. Oy vey!

10. Our buddy system changed this week. It used to be boys & girls, but Miss Ester changed her mind. She decided "I not want to be Efton or Ewiza's buddy! I am MOMMY's BUDDY!!" I feel so loved. :)

I hope you all had a blessed week. If not, remember that you get a do-over... it's called next week!

Next week's Friday Top Ten will be from vacation... should be good! :)