Negative Nellies

There is always one bad apple in the group, right?  Well, it seems I've happened upon a whole orchard lately.  I'm not sure if it's the winter weather or if the earth is slighly off it's axis but man, it's been brutal.

I always try to think rationaly when approached by this negativity. I know how easy it can be to be hateful to others when you are having a bad day.  Especially with all these horomones raging through my body!  There are always those people who feel they're opinions are justified.  Hurtful as they may be or not.  I have been made to feel like a bad parent, fat, ugly ect.  The last of those 2 don't really bother me because I have a God who made me perfect in His eyes and a husband who thinks neither of the 2.  But yet, they are said.  By no means amI throwing a pity party. These are all comments my 31 year old self can handle and handle with grace.  But I recently read a post of a friends' on FB about her beautiful little kindergarten girl being afraid to wear a certain type of jeans because she didn't want to be called fat.  It. Broke. My. Heart.  I think mankind in general can be mean and unkind with their words/actions, but it seems girls tend be a little worse.  Girls can be down right brutal with one another.

Personally, I get particularly sensitive when those negative comments turn to school.   As I've written before, I've had a long battle with school and I know I'm going to finish but there are others who lack the same confidence. Which frustrates me beyond belief.  I don't understand the negative comments and I have chosen to not let them fuel my fire to graduate for 2 reasons. 1) I already know I'm going to finish. Nursing has been something I was always interested in but lacked the confidence in myself to pursue it. So now that I've started down that path and realized for myself that I'm pretty dang good at what I've done so far, I have no doubt that this is where I'm supposed to be.  2) My second reason is simply that I don't want to be encouraged by negative words or actions.  I feel that is the exact opposite of what God wants me to do.  Instead, I choose to take the kind, encouraging, supportive words that have been given to me by my husband, sisters, mom, dad and friends to fuel that passion.  I will not allow myself to do this to prove someone wrong. 

My point of this blog is simply to say that I believe we allow too many negativities in our lives to control our thoughts and actions.  I've been told I won't go back to school after having a baby, "she's not going anywhere" (in regards to my j-o-b) and the endless "you're STILL going to school?" comments (to name a few).  They all have obviously stuck with me and I'm not sure why I allow them too. I just hope I am not the person who has said something negative to someone that stuck.  And I pray that I am able to restore the confidence in my children when, inevitably, someone speaks hatefully to or about them.

Through it, I've learned how to encourage Ryder in positive, supportive ways instead of through negativity.  Which in turn has been a blessing.  He is so much more eager to excell at what he's doing when encouraged in a positive light as opposed to negative comments. Duh, right?  Makes total sense.  But on those bad days, we don't always rationalize this way.  I don't always rationalize this way. 

I realize this particular blog might be a bit long winded or even boring. But that's o.k. because this is a blog about my life.  And boring or not, this is what's going on in my life right now.  This blog was actually inspired by the song "Life Song".  It just so happens I was cussing (in my head) someone who was being unbelievably hateful when that song came on.  It turns out that that type of attitude is not what I want my life song to be. 

Big changes are on the horizon, my friends.  I am so excited to share them and praying they unfold as my husband and I need them to.  All the while I will maintain a positive attitude and give my praises to God so that " the words I say and the things I do make my lifesong bring a smile to You".

Love,

The Mrs.

A new week has begun

Monday has arrived and as of recently I have started greeting it with open arms....as opposed to that bitter snarl I usually do.  I am officially 6 months preggo which means with every passing week we are that much closer to meeting baby girl Nichols.  There are a few plans on the horizon this week which will hopefully make it fly by. I live for weekends, man.

This past weekend was pretty uneventful. Adam got started on resealing the windows (totally exciting, I know) and I painted the bathroom. I painted it a light grey color which turned out better than what it was painted before. I'm still not sure I really like it but I have painted that dang thing 3 times and I'm not doing it again. I think once it's decorated it will look much better.  I am NOT good at picking out paint colors. I used to think of myself as a decorating diva who could put any room together. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Thank God for Pinterest =) Not sure if it's my lack of time or resources but it went right out the window along with my size 4 waist.

I was able to get the info I need to get Ryder enrolled in pre-k this coming fall and I gotta tell you, it feels a little like doomsday for me. He is my baby and I'm so scared of dropping him off to a room full of people he doesn't know. Not too long ago I dreamt that he and I were both bawling our eyes out as he was clinging to my leg saying he didn't want me to leave. UGH! How the heck am I going to handle it?! (by the way, as I type, my eyes are filling with tears. I'm such a wuss) So enrollment will be coming upon us soon and as much as I don't look forward to letting my baby grow up, I know it's apart of life. Parenting can be so tough.

Food cravings for today: bean dip and pita chips. Worth every calorie.
Tomorrow: glucose test. So. Excited.

Ryder sayings as of lately: Serious?!, trust me, really mom?, and last but not least (and something that surely needs to be corrected before pre-k rolls around) he has gotten in the habit of pointing with his middle finger. So to us, we know he is just pointing something out that he wants explained etc..to on-lookers, it looks as though he's flipping off his parents. Which I'm sure will account for some of the looks we've  received.

Happy Monday everyone! Make the best of this great week God has given

The Mrs.

Random Ramblings

I really don't have much going on to write a complete blog so I'll just do some rambling. Something I'm sure my husband will agree I do best.

*This weekend weather is going to be gorgeous! We plan to get some much needed projects done around the 'ol homestead. My hubs is going to work on the exterior of the house fixing window seals and whatnot and I will (hopefully) be re-painting our bathroom...for the 3rd time =)

*Recent cravings have included: sushi, chocolate milk, chicken tacos, chocolate, chocolate and chocolate...of course I haven't eaten everything I've craved which has proved to make me quite the cranky pregnant woman.

*Ryder has been LOVING the leapad and tag reading books he got for Christmas. He has played with all of his new toys endlessly but I think he is just so eager to learn that he has gravitated towards these. And the XBOX. He is a boy after all.

*Speaking of the XBOX, my 4 y/o son woke me up at 3:26 am this morning to ask me if "when the sun comes up and it's morning, can I play the XBOX with daddy?" I thought I was dreaming. Note to self: cut back on the video game playing.

*With the new year upon us, I have vowed to get back to going to church regularly and I'm really excited to get my hiney in gear. We have attended Journey church in Norman on and off for about 5 years and have really enjoyed it. I think that's where we will make our home. I also found out recently that an old friend goes there and I'm really excited about attending some services with them

*I have enrolled in a 12 day class in March because apparently I don't torture myself enough. One would think that with taking a semester off to have a baby I would slow down a little and enjoy a little time off.  But in the end, we plan on this class being very beneficial to our family so it's worth a few weeks of school work =)

*I have been browsing for fabrics lately to get baby girls room started. My mother in law has been so kind as to offer and make the bedding so I'm trying to get everything ready for her. I have big plans for that room! Big, big plans!

That's all the randomness I have for now! I think I'm starting to get a little better at this blogging thing. Hopefully you  all think so too!

Get outside and enjoy the gorgeous weather we're going to have this weekend. It's good for the soul.

Love,
The Mrs.

Ready or not, 2012 here we come!

Hello 2012! What a great feeling to know we've all had one more wonderful year of life. I have had my steaming hot cup of Joe and I'm ready to give you all the wisodom to come here to seek............or just some good ol gossip on what we've been up to.

The past year has been full of ups and downs. Naturally, all I can remember are the good things. Which is how I prefer to live life. I'm the eternal optimist. The glass half full, we can figure it out, there's always a way kinda gal.  God granted me this life to enjoy it so I try my best to take the negatives and think about the positive that came from it. Makes me feel good inside =)

2012 is going to bring about some new and wonderful changes. We are anxiously awaiting the birth of our little girl. Which in turn, will bring about (hopefully) some other really exciting changes. Changes that will bring me out of my comfort zone and onto a path I pray is laid out by God.

I have been absolutley RELISHING in going home in the evenings and spending time with Adam and Ryder.  Ryder is getting smarter by the minute. He is so observant and eager to learn.  I think he is really eager to start reading. He is constantly asking what something says. Whether it's the back of a cereal box or his own books, he is gearing up.

Adam and I have spent some much needed lazy weekends doing absolutely nothing. But it has been so great. It is so nice to just sit and enjoy his company without that nagging feeling that something needs to be done. It makes my heart happy. We will be celebrating our 5 year anniversary next month and I really can't believe where the time has gone. It has been more than I could have ever asked for.

I am humbly looking forward to 2012, all the blessings I will remember and the bad times I won't. My cup runneth over.

Love,

The Mrs.

Pinterest and babies

As I arrive in my 5th month of pregnancy (let me hear a "whoop whoop" for being halfway there!) I am starting the 'nesting' phase. The 'oh my God, we only have 4 months until she's here!' phase. The 'how the heck are we going to turn the junk room into a nursery in 4 months?!" phase. With all this panic surrounding the impending birth of our precious little girl, I had to slap myself around a little to take control of the situation. For me that means making lists. I'm a list maker. It's kinda my thing. So I have approximately 3 lists...so far.

List #1: Baby names. I have a list of first and middle names that I really like. I only put 4-5 names on there so I didn't over load myself. I tend to do that too. It's kinda my thing. I have a name in mind that I absolutely love. I will keep everyone posted on how it goes. My husband says he is clueless when it comes to girl names so I think, I THINK, that means my name wins will be the one chosen.

List #2: The nursery. This is a big deal. Having a girl is a totally different ball game for me after having Ryder. Boys are so easy.  Girls are so....girly. And I want her room to be extra girly! After being surrounded by cars, t-shirts, holey jeans & dinosaurs I need some girly things around the house. So naturally I turn to Pinterest. With Pinterest as my trusty sidekick, the list is slowly turning into a folder. Wait, what am I saying? It IS a folder! A folder full of sweet little nursery ideas/plans for our old junk room.  I am coming to the realization that in order to complete anything in the folder/on Pinterest I will first and foremost need a sewing machine...at the least. I see lots of crafty craftiness in my future!

List #3: The 'what needs to be done to the junk room to turn it into a pretty princesses room' list.  This is the most daunting list for me because it includes things that need to be bought in order to move the junk OUT and the baby stuff IN. We have a VERY limited amount of storage space in our house so I am constantly going through closets, cleaning out drawers etc..to get rid of the old & unused.  So it makes for a slow process.  In addition to that, I am obviously limited to what I can lift so in turn I am also kinda on my husbands time. You know, him being the one equipped with the muscles and all.  So this 5 months pregnant, impatient, nesting pregnant woman is being forced to wait. Which, of course, is driving me crazy!

Those are my lists. So far. I plan to go to war with the junk room soon, so stay tuned as I blog about the perils of cleaning out a self proclaimed junk room. I will be the one decked out in full battle regalia. Preggers vs. The Junk Room.  I.e. Hormones vs. You Have No Idea What You Are Up Against. It's really a no brainer who will win this one.

Love,

The Mrs.

"It's a Wonderful Life"

There wasn't a title more fitting than that. We truly do have a wonderful life. And it was even more obvious this Christmas as we celebrated the birth of Jesus with all of our family this past weekend.

We made 4 stops in 3 days to 4 different families' homes and had a great time at each one.  Now that Ryder is older and not so much into everything imaginable, Adam and I are able to sit and enjoy the company of our family.  There was singing Christmas carols, cousins playing, decorating cookies for Santa, a few dirty Santa games, LOTS of food, an abundance of gifts and a ton of new and wonderful memories.  It really was one of the best Christmas'. 
So, happy birthday Jesus! Here's to many more years of saving lost souls, miracles, always loving & forgiving us and for your endless supply of mercy.

Love,

The Mrs.

P.S. Sorry for the short post. There was far too much information to overload this post with so I kept it short and sweet. No one likes an over blogger =)

Oh happy day!

Today has been nothing short of fantastic for 2 reasons: 
First off, I took my final last night. It took me 3 hours to take this test. It was so long and so hard. I have been teetering on the verge of a B all semester. And let me say that throughout my journey of going to school while working, being a wife and mama I've had my challenges. All were faced head on and conquered without hesitation.  But boy let me tell you, going to school while pregnant, especially in those first few months of complete and utter sick & tiredness, were BRUTAL. So to sit here and be able to say that I kicked some tail on my final and made a B in the class is nothing short of miraculous.  Sometimes you just have to brag on yourself and that my friends is what I'm doing!  I can say I will never go to school preggers again but by God I did it! =) Ok, ego aside, I will now move on the next, and most exciting news for the week..
I have been asked several times which gender I prefer and I always feel a little funny about picking one gender over another.  Of course, all we want is for the baby to be healthy. But deep, deep down I have to admit that I really wanted a girl. We have a little boy now that is slowly going from mama's boy to daddy's boy. I knew it would happen eventually. So I knew I would need someone else on my team. Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. I'm totally out numbered here. I'm shushed during football games and pelted with Nerf darts for Pete's Sake. It was necessary that I have a girl. A comrade. A muchacha. Someone to paint my nails with and  look at pretty things only to say a million times "Oh that's so cute!".  So we were absolutely over joyed to find out that we are indeed having a girl!  Pretty pink bows and ruffle dresses here we come!

What's even more perfect is that everything looks great on the ultrasound.  All fingers and toes are accounted for.  With Christmas fast approaching, I couldn't have asked for a better gift than to have a happy, healthy family and a beautifully healthy baby girl on the way. 

Count your blessings, pray for those less fortunate and give those you love a big hug and kiss!

With love,
The Mrs.

P.S. This post was written a few weeks ago...just now getting around to posting!