2. We had 1 cat back in 2013...well...now we have 4! Crazy right? Jak is still my snuggle buddy at night, though there was an adjustment period after the tiny human came to live in his house. He did appreciate all the tiny human furniture that we bought him, though!
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| Jak (on the left) teaching Helix about the finer qualities of the furniture for the tiny human. |
3. Binx we got in August of 2014 when we were ready to add another pet to our lives. He was just the addition that we needed! He loved our girlie pretty quickly. He brought the playful kitten out in Jak. He knocked down all the pictures off the walls of our bedroom at night...yeah...he's more of a daytime snuggler. He's talkative and sweet and social and full of personality! Just what we needed!
4. Helix was a rescue...his mom was hit by a car when he was only 4 weeks old. He was (consciously...I was aware of what I was doing) my new baby substitute. He is the softest, fluffiest kitten I have ever met. He's feisty as hell. He prefers his humans to all others. He is especially wary of the small humans. He and Jak now share duties for snuggling at night, though Helix will snuggle during the day, too. He also tries to look like Jak, but the smug of 10 years will be hard to master in such a short time.
5. Luna told Robert she was coming home with him from a call, and so she did. The owners of the house said she was a stray they couldn't take in. She followed him around and even sat on his shoulder while he fixed a furnace. Then she hopped in his van and was ready to go. Girlie and I had just read Christmas Kitten for the first time that very day, so we were willing to take in another. Luna is super social. She loves to play, loves to snuggle...um, she did not say anything about it being ok to pick her up, FYI! She actually has been snuggling our girlie at night lately. It's super sweet!
6. We are at full occupancy! This is our mantra when people tell us about animals in need. I repeat: we are at full occupancy!
7. We are homeschooling through the Waldorf tradition. Earthschooling is the curriculum that we use, and we love it! Stories, nature walks, paintings! It's fabulous! It has really reinvigorated my creativity. There are parent crafts each month. I enjoy needle felting characters for the stories we tell. I think being around children and being in the Waldorf mindset is just the thing to spark my creativity, just as it did when I was teaching. It's so fulfilling!
8. We have made some amazing friends through our journey as parents. At first, being a stay at home mom felt very isolating, but I started going to la leche league meetings and meeting moms there. From there, we've made homeschooling connections that totally enrich our lives. We've made good friends at gymnastics...I mean, having a kid is the secret to making friends as an adult! LOL! And they are socializing and making wonderful friendships too! It's awesome!
9. As I posted earlier this week, I am a Beachbody Coach as well as a homeschooling mom. I'm enjoying having something that is my own and separate from mothering, though she works out with me, and tells me to post my food in my challenge groups...so, it's all intertwined, as it should be.
10. So I finally figured out health and fitness! It was a struggle since I got pregnant. I was super worried about the strain on my heart. I was trying it all, and it just wasn't working. Challenge groups, PiYo, Shakeology, and the amazing community that I'm part of now seemed to help it click! It was amazing! My friends and family have been super supportive, and that has been amazing too! I can't describe how far I've come internally. All I can do is show progress pictures or tell you I can do more with each new workout than I could ever do before...and it still doesn't compare to the internal shift!
11. It feels good to be blogging again. I started this as a way of expressing myself, being creative, maybe even just finding my place in this world. I'm still doing all of those things, and it feels good to talk about all of it again. :)
12. I LOVE being a mother! I mean, I obviously loved it 4 years ago, when she was under one and the cutest baby I have ever seen! (Mother bias! It's allowed!) Now, I just know it is what I am meant to do. I love teaching her. I love learning from her. I love watching her learn and grow and interact with this world. She's amazing! I am so grateful to have her in my life!
13. I am IN LOVE with my amazing husband. He works hard so that I can stay home and homeschool. He supports my business. He knows how important my health and creativity are to me, and he encourages it. He reminds me to stop and rest and have fun, too! We have been hanging out and watching the show, the Arrow, on Netflix after girlie goes to bed. We have so much fun doing that. Date nights, texting through the day (seriously just deleted over a gig and half of messages between the two of us because my phone storage was full! How crazy is that?), enjoying our amazing little girl, playing board games, you name it, I love spending time with him. I'm so grateful to have him in my life!
