July 24th, 2012

This morning, we got some much needed rain. My husband and I LOVE the rain, so we decided to see if Macyn likes the rain too. We were up early, so we decided to play in the rain for awhile!

She loved it! It was so funny to watch her run out into the rain, giggle and yell "ooooh!" or "WHOA!", and then run back to the front step! She kept putting her arms out to get her hands wet. She even asked "Belly wet?"

It made me really happy to see her discovering something new. It made me so happy to see that she enjoyed the rain just as much as her parents do!

I look forward to spending more time helping her discover new things each and every day!

July 23rd, 2012

I have an addiction to shopping on daily deal websites. These websites post new deals each day and can be between 50%-80% off. I love to search these sites for scrapbooking supplies, clothes for my daughter, jewelry, presents, and more. So with my daughter's birthday coming up in September, I decided to start brainstorming what to get her for her birthday, and of course I was scoping out all the deal sites! While visiting one of these sites, I found the perfect present! An tiny acoustic guitar! It said ages 2-7 and I loved it! Macyn loves music, so I thought this would be a fun present that would last her a long time! For her birthday, we are going to have a Spongebob party. My daughter has loved Spongebob since she was just a few months old. My husband was watching Spongebob one Saturday morning, and she just laughed and laughed at the movement. Though we limit her Spongebob watching, she still goes crazy whenever she sees a Spongebob. She already has a couple stuffed Spongebobs, but we were at Walgreens a few days ago and spotted a BIG Spongebob. We had to get it for her party! So my picture today is of Macyn's birthday presents! My husband set up her presents like this and it made me laugh!

Here's another picture, just for fun, of Spongebob with one of our cats, Russle.

July 22nd, 2012

Today one of my best friends, Heather, came over to hang out with Macyn and me. Being a young mom is very difficult. I was 21 when my daughter was born, and am now 23. Most of the friends I had when I was 21 are still out partying at night and getting drunk on weekends. They don't have a lot of responsibilities. After I had my daughter, a lot of those friends didn't really try to hang out with me anymore. They came to see me once or twice, and would call and ask me to go out, but I obviously couldn't. It hurt me, a lot, to lose some of these friends. We still talk, but not many of them come around anymore, except on rare occasions. SO when I have a friend like Heather, who has stuck with me through everything (we've been friends since we were 4) and who LOVES my daughter, it means a lot to me. I've come to realize how valuable REAL friends are. Those friends that don't want to hang out with me, because I have a kid, they are not real friends. I enjoy spending time with my real friends, and seeing how much they love my daughter makes my heart happy.

July 21st, 2012

I have a couple pictures to represent today! It was a really fun day for me! A little back story: When I was a 2 1/2, my mom was pregnant with my brother. To help me get ready for the new baby, my parents gave me a baby doll from the doll company American Girl. I loved that doll so much, and still have her. I got a lot more American Girl dolls, as I grew up, but the baby doll was always my favorite. These dolls were very special to me and I can't wait to give them to my daughter. I decided that I wanted to save the baby doll to give to Macyn when we have another baby. However, that won't be for awhile, and I wanted to give her one this Christmas when she is almost 2 1/2. So my mom and I decided to go to the American Girl Benefit Sale that the Madison Children's Museum hosts every summer. My mom got almost all of my American Girl stuff, that I had as a girl, from this sale. This was my first time going and shopping for my own daughter, so it was a sentimental moment for me. We ended up also buying dolls for my aunts to give to their young daughters (my aunts live in Florida and New York, so they couldn't make it) Here is a picture of our shopping cart before we loaded up our car:

Here is a picture of the 8 dolls we bought! WHOA!

July 20th, 2012

Today my picture is of my daughter, Macyn, and my husband, Scott. My husband Scott is definitely a nerd. His favorite hobby is playing war games and painting models for those war games. His favorite game is a post apocalyptic era game called Warhammer. In this game you paint armies of models (aliens, orks/trolls, armor clad humans, etc) and play against another person's army. There are a LOT of rules for this game, and today he got a new edition rule book that just came out.

He was reading his new rule book in our living room when our daughter came up to him and climbed in his lap. He started reading it to her and showing her pictures. She would giggle and point at things and say "oooh!" It was heartwarming to me to see them interact and to see Scott share something, that he enjoys so much, with his daughter. Scott is a great dad, and it never gets old for me to see them together. I look forward to seeing if she has any interest in his hobbies as she grows up!

July 19th, 2012

Today my photo is of my grandma, Jeanette. My grandma is one of the most important people in my life. She is one of my best friends. I grew up spending almost every weekend with her, and she pretty much lived with us while I was growing up. She is someone I look up to and strive to be more like each day. I'm a lot like her as well. She's very sensitive and has anxiety issues like I do.

My grandma recently had her knee replaced. She had her first knee replaced about three years ago. I remember visiting her in the hospital a few days after she had it done. She was very out of it, loopy and lethargic. I got very upset, had to leave the room, and immediately broke down into tears. It was kind of a realization that my grandma was getting older, and would one day leave me. I'm not dumb, I knew this would happen eventually, but I've always seen her as invincible in a way. She beat cancer, twice, and is so strong. But to see her so broken down like this, it was difficult for me. So I was scared for her with this second knee replacement. However, she did SO much better this time. The medicine made her a little loopy for a day or two, but she handled the whole thing a lot better (she had a different doctor who did a different style of surgery and this was SO much better! She's already cruisin' around the house!) I spent a lot of time with her while she was in the hospital and today I took her in for physical therapy. She is very funny, and I love watching her in physical therapy because she's always cracking jokes! I think I got my sense of humor from her too!

July 18th, 2012

Yesterday I learned about this journaling assignment, and I was very nervous about it. Normally, I am not one to share my feelings. I have been diagnosed with multiple anxiety disorders, panic disorder, and bipolar disorder. Because of this, I feel that people don't always understand me. There are so many negative stereotypes with some of these disorders, especially bipolar disorder, and I feel that many people will not understand what I'm dealing with, and will judge me and form negative opinions.
The idea of this journaling assignment caused me to start having panic attacks. I was scared and didn't feel I'd be able to journal and wouldn't be able to complete the assignment to the best of my abilities. After talking to Mr. Matthews, I decided to complete this assignment using photographs. I enjoy taking photographs and I feel comfortable discussing pictures and how I felt taking them.
I'm going to REALLY push myself, to talk about my feelings throughout this assignment. I believe Mr. Matthews is correct when he says that journaling about our emotions can help us grow and learn to communicate better. I feel I've already taken a big step by journaling a little bit about my disorders and my struggles. I'm going to keep this blog private as well, so that I feel more comfortable knowing that not a lot of people are looking at it and I am not sharing with as many people.
So...here is my picture for today!

This is a picture I took of a sandhill crane! I was driving to my friend's house today, and I decided to take the back way to avoid traffic. Behind her subdivision, there is a lot of grassy prairie type land. As I was driving I saw the cranes get closer and closer. At first, I didn't realize what they were. Once I got close enough, I realized and was so excited! When I was young, my school went to the International Crane Foundation on a field trip. I really enjoyed myself there and took an interest in cranes. I don't see them often in the wild, so I was excited when I saw these. I really wanted a picture, but I didn't think I'd be able to get close enough. Amazingly, I was able to drive right up next to them and take a quick picture! There barely even noticed I was there! It was a pleasant surprise and made my day a little brighter!