Tag Archive | children

Seize Every Opportunity……

Feb23

Tonight my son, Taylor, was telling me about one of the new friends he’s made at school. My son is a freshman and has never really hung out with a group of “guys” until just recently. Anyway, he was telling me how humbly this young man and his father live due to his father not making a lot of money. This young man had to grow up fast because his mother abandoned him and his father. They are Hispanic, and it sounds like the father works a crazy amount of hours 6 days a week to provide for his son. Taylor was telling me that they had some deep conversations a few nights ago. One of them caught my ear. He said his friend LOVES to cook, and would make a whole chicken and cornbread every night if he could.

I found this to be an EXCELLENT opportunity to teach my son about human conectivity….seeing a need and helping if possible. I got on Facebook, placed a wanted ad for a free or small fee rotisserie for this young man and his father. In about 10 minutes we got a response from a lady that had one she was willing to donate. Taylor was FLOORED that I cared enough to help his friend. But I know what it’s like to be that kid. I grew up very poor with a single mom who worked whatever hours she could get. It was hard.

I am NOT writing this post to get kudos for doing a good deed. I am writing it because I am hoping to inspire other parents to teach their children about kindness. We are living in a world that’s so “all about me” anymore and it’s sad. We should be helping one another where we can. I use EVERY SINGLE OPPORTUNITY I can get to teach my kids a lesson in something. Every conversation can lead to a moment of opportunity to TEACH.

This conversation turned into me telling Taylor how many times I used to overdraft my checking account when I was a young adult because no one ever taught me what a budget was. This turned into giving him examples of several ways banks work.

I feel fortunate that I am so incredibly close with my children. When I talk, they listen. It’s important to build this foundation of trust from an early age.

I am also learning how to give them a LOT more freedom than I ever thought I would be giving them at their ages. They have earned these privileges. But that’s exactly what they are PRIVILEGES; because as fast as they earn them, if they mess up, they can be taken away. Lack of consistency in your discipline will cause your child to question whether you will stick to what you say. Let your YES be YES and your NO mean NO….PERIOD. DO NOT GIVE IN! Let them cry, throw fits, whatever, but do not give in because the second you do, they just learned that they can manipulate you to get what they want if their persistent long enough.

Every single moment is a learning opportunity; it’s your job to spot them and work the conversation into that opportunity without making it sound like a lecture. I’m a total softie when it comes to my kids when they are doing well, but I am a total hard-ass when they are screwing up. It’s a fine balance. It’s not easy and sometimes I stop to question if I am doing it right. But I know that I am doing the best I know how. My goal is to teach my kids all the lessons that I didn’t learn as growing up. Isn’t that the point? To break the cycle of dysfunction and help our children achieve their lives dreams?

So commit….if you are a mom or a dad it is your DUTY to commit to your child everyday. I know I am not perfect but I do give a lot of good advice I’m told. If you have a parenting question that you would like to ask please feel free to email me at nailtechconfessionals@gmail.com. Your question might be something someone else if wondering as well. We are a community, let’s help one another! If I don’t know the answer to your question, I will simply tell you. I won’t make you THINK I know what I’m talking about. I will write more on this later but I am really tired and gonna head to bed.

Loves,

~B

Top 10 Ways to be a GREAT Parent…(in my opinion)…

Feb12

1. ALWAYS DISCIPLINE

2. YOUR CHILDREN COME FIRST…THEY DIDN’T ASK TO BE BORN OUT OF YOUR VAGINA….Don’t be a douche and put them last

3. DON’T BE SCARED OF YOUR CHILDREN…Make them fear you like you fear the Lord (or whatever you believe in…Like karma)

4. SET BOUNDARIES EARLY…AS SOON AS THEY CAN UNDERSTAND THE WORD “NO!” This hands off parenting is bull crap!

5. MAKE YOUR CHILDREN WORK FOR WHAT THEY WANT…NOTHING SHOULD BE FREE (they want a new toy? Make them help you do something you wouldn’t normally have them do like wash windows or dust)

6. YOU ARE THE MOM….YOU MAKE THE RULES…NOT YOUR KIDS (Do NOT give in to whining! They are smart! Your life will be ruled by a whining brat in public, do you really want that?)

7 . TEENAGERS ARE NOT SCARY IF YOU TEACH THEM “NO” AS TODDLERS (Ask my kids what happens if they pester me after I have told them “no”) I promise it’s not good….

8. YOUR CHILD HAS A SYNDROME? THINK ABOUT SOME MEDICATION SO THE REST OF SOCIETY CAN FUNCTION (I’m not saying to medicate your kids like zombies, but a good ADHD or anxiety medication never hurt a kid!)

9. YOUR KIDS WILL DO WHAT THEY WANT AS TEENS…DO NOT ENABLE ( I just had a talk with my kids…I said, “If you screw up, I WILL NOT rescue you! You will suffer your consequences”

10. FOLLOW STEPS 1-9 AND YOU WILL BE A GREAT MOM/PARENT!

Adult children….is it strange?

Feb3

It’s a weird feeling to think that in several years I will have grown children. What is that like? What is it like to have children that are adults. They can make their own choices legally, yet you see them make mistakes? How hard is that? Most every parent experiences this with their kids. I don’t look forward to that day. I envy so many woman who open up to me and discuss their children with them. We all parent the way we do for certain reasons due to, generally, something in our childhood…good…or bad. I really respect all the types of moms out there because we are raising our kids in diffrent worlds than when we were kids. IT’S HARD. How do we even do it? I won’t lie, I’m more scared about my kids become adults than I am about them being teenagers.

But then I think…I’ve raised very responsible children. I’ve raised children to use their inner voice. I’ve raised children who know right from wrong. I’m super involved in their lives, I’m their mother first and their friend last. It’s always fun when I can take a moment to be their friend. But general speaking I’m mom. I’d like to believe their friends like me. I know for a fact my kids like hanging out with me. I have a terrific relationship with them.

So really, why am I afraid? I’m giving them all the tools they need to become responsible adults. I really don’t need to worry. Will they make mistakes? Absolutely! And hopefully they will learn from them. Right now I’m just going to sit back and enjoy the last years I have left. I only have 3 1/2 with my son and 5 1/2 years left with my daughter. That time is going to go by so incredibly fast. Don’t take moments for granted. Enjoy your time with your children.

I love you!

~Mom

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Emotions….

Jan30

So many if us are led by our emotions especially if your a girl. No matter how old I am, or how logical I am I still fight my emotions. I fight the urge to make compulsive decisions based solely on my emotions. I know this isn’t necessarily healthy, but my children tend to rule my emotions the most. I don’t know if it’s because I’m so incredibly connected to them?

My daughter just texted me to tell me that she just got an “A” on her science test and yesterday she got an “A” on her social studies test. This is phenomenal accomplishment for her. She has been working so hard to earn the right to take her riding lessons. Because it doesn’t matter if she has the money, she has to get good grades on all her tests in order to ride over the weekend. It’s a motivator.

My husbands job is hanging in the balance causing me to not be able to fully commit to the lease of her horse. The owner of the horse is an incredible human being. She’s allowing me to lease her for February knowing it could be the only month we lease her for. Can you imagine telling YOUR daughter “I’m sorry honey, the dream I do desperately want to give you is over because we can’t afford it.” My daughter is also a phenomenal human being. There will he tears but ultimately her maturity will allow her to understand. There is also the possibility that she could still take the riding lessons without actually being in 4-H. It’s just hard to imagine how painful it will be to tell her that something I could readily afford for the most part just got ripped away from us.

How awful is it that money is the one thing standing in the way if my daughters dream to ride? Money is seriously the root of all evil. We work and work to earn a descent living and in the blink if an eye someone can come in and rip it out from underneath you.

~B

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Why I hate being a wife….

Jan29

Simply put? Because I’m not good at it and I hate to fail….

OK, just so you know, I approach most hard-to-deal-with subjects with humor, because it makes me feel better about my short-comings as a human being, because quite frankly I SUCK at this human thing quite a bit…especially the wife part….

Let see…Me as a wife in a nutshell… I am controlling, stubborn, mean, always right, egotistical, self-centered, impulsive, narcissistic, and sometimes down-right cruel.

My husband? Completely the opposite of me….kind, loving, thoughtful, others-centered, patient, good-natured, WONDERFUL overall husband!

How we’re still together? It can ONLY be GOD! It is the ONLY explanation I have….

I won’t lie, I pride myself on the inside about being good at many things that I do. I feel I am good at raising well-balanced children, maintaining a decent small business, and being a good friend. The one thing I SUCK the most at? Being a wife. It’s the one area that I contradict myself the most on. I expect things out of marriage that I am not necessarily always willing to give in return. I am not good with compromise, and I’m not good with forgiveness. Now…don’t get me wrong, I expect all of these from my husband, BUT I am not always great about returning the grace. It’s a terrible quality to have, I am NOT bragging clearly. Being a mother did not come naturally to me either. It took me YEARS to figure it out. I won’t say I have mastered it, but I think I am pretty good. But being a wife? Not so much….

Ugh….I have been married (this time) for 5 1/2 years (I don’t count the first one since he passed away, and I wasn’t married to the kids dad). Now and I can tell you that it’s been pretty miserable for my husband. It hasn’t ALL been bad, and I absolutely do not take full responsibility for where things have gone wrong. I wish I put my foot down FASTER in some areas, would’ve been more assertive in other areas, BUT the one thing I WASN’T, was NICE and LOVING. I feel like I was generally nice at first (like in the beginning), but when the results weren’t what I thought they should be; I was a venomous snake. See, I believe that I am right about things like 90% of the time, and truly I do believe this. I have had a lot of life experience and I think I am very smart, and intuitive most of the time. I had a marriage counselor once tell me, “You can be 100% right and be dead WRONG at the same time.” I was very confused by this statement. What she meant was, you can be right about something but completely wrong in your delivery, making the other person not even wanting to hear you out. How true is that? I will agree with her that it is true, but I am hot-headed with a short temper. Ask anyone who’s ever dated me.

I am working on this and I have a VERY patient husband. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like everyday of his life has been a living hell, CLOSE…(lol) but not everyday. I have done some things to make it better, and I will share these with you.

1. Kids, I learned early on that our kids are our kids SEPARATELY, meaning “You parent yours and I’ll parent mine.” We have very different parenting styles and I prefer mine. Clearly my kids have to do what they’re told by him, and be respectful to him, but for the most part I do the “parenting” portion with my children…I prefer it this way. It’s not the way I WANTED it when we got married but it is unfortunately the way it ended up. Step-families are very complicated and just because you think you have it all figured out BEFORE you get married, well I hate to say it my friends, but I bet you are sorely disappointed if you, yourself, are in a step-family situation. If you CAN parent together in this situation, my hats are off to you!

2. Money, You make yours and I will make mine. If it were up to me, we’d have separate accounts and just split all the bills evenly, but it’s working OK how it is jointly, we just don’t see eye to eye on how to handle our finances. I say that if this is the case, and you make a fairly equal amount of money or can split the bills evenly so that its overall fair, and everyone is happy…DO IT! Finances are NOT worth fighting about especially when it can be solved with separate checking accounts. I am completely for this. My husband is not, which is fine, we shall continue to see how this works out….

3. Sex, I have a TERRIBLE sex drive. There are 5 MILLION different reasons why this is and I will only list a couple…I think a lot of this is attributed to the fact that my estrogen was sky-high at 654 (it should be at 124, and is currently at 234). According to my doctor this is what has made me want to KILL anyone and everyone in my path (my whole life) about 2 weeks out of the month. She actually asked me how I wasn’t locked up in a loony bin with these numbers. (I asked her if she could admit me to the loony bin just so I could “go on vacation” for a few days. She got a good chuckle out of that. I also had like NO progesterone. Sky high estrogen – no progesterone = a VERY BITCHY woman! My doctor has me on progesterone, an estrogen blocker, and just before Thanksgiving I recently asked for an anti-depressant because the hormone control was not working solely as a problem solver like I thought it would. I LOVE my anti-depressant! I would eat that stuff like it was damn candy! If you’re wondering, so you can get yourself some happiness, and will-power to live, I am on Wellbutrin (300mg) BEST SHIT EVER!!! No weight gain side effects, and I think my sex drive has slightly improved.

I really am trying a harder to be a better wife but sometimes its just HARD! I don’t want to compromise and most of the time, lately, I just want to be alone, which isn’t fair to my husband obviously. It’s not like I don’t like him or love him, I totally do, but sometimes being married interferes with what I want to do, decisions I want to make without consulting another human being etc. I KNOW this is selfish so you don’t have to tell me. I am a MAJOR work in process and quite frankly I don’t know how he does it most weeks. Personally I don’t want to put up with me most days, so I really think God sent an angel because ONLY an angel could put up with me 99% of the time. Clearly I am very difficult….but hey, like I said, I am a work in progress…

So Husband, IF you read this, please know that I love you, I am completely aware of my shortcomings, and I am working on trying to be better…but I think it is going to take my whole life to really get it right….So for all the things I may do in the future that are shitty, I would like to take the time NOW to apologize…just to save time. lol

Love,

~B

I am NOT perfect…

Jan26

It recently came to my attention that someone close to me in my life believes that I think I am “perfect.” While I strive hard to achieve certain goals in my life I do not by any means believe I am perfect. I think I am a well-balanced mother, I think I have developed a business I can be proud of. I am not a very good daughter and I am not a very good wife. I struggle with these two roles because of my past and things that are beyond my control. I would like to get better at these roles, and I do believe that I have made excellent strides in doing so over the last 7 months.

DO I wish that sometimes I didn’t drink so much, once in a while, causing me to be mean to my husband….absolutely. Maybe I just shouldn’t drink and maybe that is something that could be worth looking into. HOWEVER; I feel like I take on a very heavy load of activities all week-long such as work and raising my two kids. I will FREELY admit that my husband is fairly neglected because I am a mom FIRST. These kids didn’t ask to be brought into this world and it is my job to make sure that I raise the best humans possible. I have to succeed at my job or I will have no income to help provide for my family. I rarely do anything for myself any more because I am so wrapped up in what is going on with everyone else….I have become THAT person. Anyone who knows me personally know I am pretty selfish and putting anyone elses needs before my own is a travesty. I have also come to understand that being selfish just is not a good trait to have.

We live in a step-family situation. Did you know that due to our personal situation that our pastor told us before we got married that we have an 80% chance of getting divorced? I can totally see why now that I have been married for almost 6 years.

Why?

1. My kids come first…

2. I have a full-time job….and to me it’s not just ANY job. It’s a job that is mentally draining due to all the conversations I have all week with people. I LOVE my job. Plus, I am self-employed so if I don’t work, I don’t get PAID!

3. My kids came to live with us last May full-time. Their dad and I used to split them 50/50. This definitely leaves less time for my husband and I, and a lot less time just for me to get things done. Now I am cooking dinner EVERY night and making sure the kids have homework done, chores done, running around to different sporting events and practices. This is really exhausting, and new to me since I used to split this responsibility with their dad.

4. I rarely have time to even think about sex, or have a sex drive for that matter! My energy is zapped from all the other shit I’m doing which is clearly a problem. I will have to work on this…but not today. Honestly if ANYONE knows how I can magically make this better I would LOVE to know!

Apparently because I know how to parent and do a few other things well this equivalates to me believing I am perfect. Anyone who knows me well knows damn well that I have no problem pointing out my own flaws and inadequacies. I am the FIRST person to apologize SPECIFICALLY for what I have done wrong in a given situation. Does this mean I am NEVER going to screw up again in a like fashion and manner? Absolutely not! And why? Because I am HUMAN and NOT perfect. This really hurt my feelings. First of all I by no means believe that I am perfect, nor do I even remotely act like I am perfect. I protect the layers of myself from harmful surroundings. I can be mean, hurtful and demanding….but I know for a fact that I am NOT alone in this. If you are in a step-family you can probably relate to this especially if you got remarried when your kids were a little older.

It’s like “Hey, let’s blend these 4-5 people together who don’t really know each other that well and see how long they can keep it together without getting divorced. Maybe we set ourselves up for failure by getting remarried once we have brought children into the mix. But I will say this about MY children. They are ALWAYS respectful, they do as they are asked with no fuss, they get great grades and are involved in many positive activities.

I will say this one more time….I AM NOT PERFECT!!!!! I will say however, that I feel slightly like I’m going off the deep end…so if anyone has a rope and would like to throw it over for me to grab onto I would really appreciate the grace…..

Oh, did I mention that I struggle with severe anxiety and depression as well? No? Ok, well throw that into the mix as well…

~B

Just me….

Jan24

I really just want some peace and quiet. I LOVE my family but there was a time in which my husband worked every other weekend and on those same exact weekends I had methodically made it possible for those to be the EXACT same weekends that my children went to their dads. I’m not a very good “married” person. I tend to like my space, I don’t want to hear Ax-Men playing in the living room while I’m trying to write this post…The guy that narrarates Ax-men makes me want to poke my eye out with a VERY SHARPN stick! Since my kids are teens and they know I am super emotional tonight, they have both come down and given me kisses and hugs and have retired to their rooms for the remainder of the evening. I fee like I would love to rent a cabin on th beach all by myself and just get lost in writing. I don’t know that I am very good at writing, but I love to write nonetheless which is clearly why I started this blog.

I do wish I could generate some damn comments, I won’t lie. It would be nice to interact with other bloggers in the world. But you know what I have discovered since I have been blogging these last few weeks? I skim….I skim until something catches my eye. In my opinion I have written LOTS of good blog posts, but in all reality I am just another random girl, lying in her bed, writing about my life. And just when I thought I’ve come up with an original idea, BOOM!!!! someone or 50,000 someones have already written about the exact same thing and sometimes I swear they came into MY head and stole my BRILLIANT ideas. Like how none of this related? It’s because I am writing literally whatever comes to mind, because its MY blog and pretty much the only place in my life that I can do whatever I want….which I won’t lie…is a pretty amazing feeling.

I also didn’t take the time to edit this because I’m feeling lazy…and a little depressed.

Peace out~

~B

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Never Grow Up…..

Jan14

Your little eyelids flutter cause you’re dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light
To you everything’s funny, you got nothing to regret
I’d give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that

Oh darling, don’t you ever grow up
Don’t you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don’t you ever grow up
Don’t you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
I won’t let nobody hurt you, won’t let no one break your heart
And no one will desert you
Just try to never grow up, never grow up

You’re in the car on the way to the movies
And you’re mortified your mom’s dropping you off
At 14 there’s just so much you can’t do
And you can’t wait to move out someday and call your own shots
But don’t make her drop you off around the block
Remember that she’s getting older too
And don’t lose the way that you dance around in your pj’s getting ready for school

Oh darling, don’t you ever grow up
Don’t you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don’t you ever grow up
Don’t you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
No one’s ever burned you, nothing’s ever left you scarred
And even though you want to, just try to never grow up

Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room
Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home
Remember the footsteps, remember the words said
And all your little brother’s favorite songs
I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone

So here I am in my new apartment
In a big city, they just dropped me off
It’s so much colder that I thought it would be
So I tuck myself in and turn my night light on

Wish I’d never grown up
I wish I’d never grown up

Oh I don’t wanna grow up, wish I’d never grown up
I could still be little
Oh I don’t wanna grow up, wish I’d never grown up
It could still be simple
Oh darling, don’t you ever grow up
Don’t you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don’t you ever grow up
Don’t you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
Won’t let nobody hurt you
Won’t let no one break your heart
And even though you want to, please try to never grow up
Oh, don’t you ever grow up
Oh, never grow up, just never grow up

Lyrics~ Taylor Swift

Love,

Mom

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Hi, My Name is Victoria….

Jan13

My mom is giving me permission to share my story with her followers in hopes maybe someone out there would like to help me….

Hi my name is Victoria, I am almost 13 years old and I am here to tell you my story… I’ve dreamt to do 4-H ever since I was about 8. I got this amazing offer to do 4-H and be in the fair this year by leasing a horse from my mom’s friend. My mom is making me raise $700 of it to teach me hard work and dedication… Here is my story, hope you enjoy.

My mom got my first horse when I was 8. When I rode her I just knew that my love was for horses. I remember my mom, my brother, and I we were at Costco and my mom told us that we got a horse. I literally jumped up from the table and hugged her so tight. That was the most exciting day for me. My horse’s name was Bella, but she didn’t really work out so we had to give her away. It was a very sad day for me…She was to stubborn and not the right horse for me.

When I was 9 my mom got us another horse named Tonka. She would always say “His name is Tonka, like a Tonka truck.” Tonka was the perfect horse. I loved him so much. I remember me and my mom use to go on trail rides with him. I used to ride him in an arena and I just kinda felt free when I was riding him. I felt like nothing could get in my path when I was riding Tonka. My mom and I would go to the barn every other day to clean out stalls to work off some of his board. I never once complained that we had to go out there and clean the stalls, even if it was night time. I was so determined that I would make the owner of the barn happy and pleased with who she picked to clean her stalls. I even made my mom come over and check if it was good enough to call it good and go on to the next stall. I was so determined to do a good job. But Tonka had a cribbing problem and my mom couldn’t find a new place to board him. So we had to sell him. I didn’t get to say goodbye to him (that’s not my moms fault though). The lady who came to get him could only come when I was in school. I cried so hard that night. Even to this day when I even talk about him, think about him, or even see a picture of him I still cry.

I’m in 7th grade and it’s a really hard year for me. But I’m getting the hang of it. I have a 3.8 GPA, I’m on the honor role, I made the basketball team and I haven’t played basketball a day in my life, but I was determined that I really wanted to play. I worked really hard, and practiced and I made the team. I am hoping I can do the same thing with 4-H. I’m strong, determined, and passionate. Last year I really wanted to go to this Summer camp but I needed about $150 to pay for it. So I decided to make scarves and charge $12 for each one. I earned a little bit over $200. That is how determined I was. When I want something I go after it no matter how much work it takes or how much time it takes. I plan on doing this with 4-H. I’m making scarves for $15, I’m babysitting, doing more house/yard work around my house. I will do whatever people want me to do. I will do whatever it takes to earn the $700 I need.

I feel that I am going to learn a lot doing 4-H because it takes time and patience. If i don’t get it right the first time I’ll just keep practicing till I do. I realize that all these hours at the barn everyday, all the riding lessons I take, all the work I do outside the barn is going to pay off. In the end I will be in 4-H, I will be in the fair and all of the work I did will definitely pay off in the end. I feel like doing this will make me feel like I can achieve anything that life throws at me. I also heard that 4-H gives out scholarships for college, maybe I can apply for one since I will be going to college after high school.

Since I have to earn part of the money to pay for this and my mom is paying for a lot to, I am willing to give up my big 13th Birthday party I was planning and my Summer. I am totally fine with doing this. In the Summer it is going to be hot and I’m going to be in pants, shirt, and helmet. I am going to be spending about 7-10 hours at the barn 5 days a week, but if I’m with a horse I am perfectly fine. I don’t care if it is hot. I am so dedicated to this I will do whatever it takes to have my dream come true.

I hope you can see my passion and determination, I will work whatever I have to do in order to earn the money. I know there are a lot of people who ask for donations. I will do whatever you want me to do to earn the money, I don’t expect it to be handed to me.

My mom has set me up a gofundme.com account for people who might want to donated money to me who see my story and want to help me but are not local people. I want you to know that I wrote this letter by myself, my mom only edited my misspelled words.

Sincerely,

Victoria D.

Here is the link to my donation account….

http://www.gofundme.com/66u5cc

Me and my first horse, Bella when I was 7....

Me and my first horse, Bella….

This is Tonka....I miss him...

This is Tonka….I miss him…

Me leading my older brother around on Bella...

Me leading my older brother around on Bella when I was 7…

In My Daughter’s Eyes….

Jan9

One of the pictures from the fall photo shoot I took

One of the pictures from the fall photo shoot I took

I have raised my daughter to have a good head on her shoulders, to think clearly and to be level-headed. I have been teaching her, her entire life, to NEVER accept anything less than what she KNOWS she deserves justly and fairly. I’ve taught her that if someone wrongs her she needs to call them on it and demand an apology or walk away until they can do just that; because “YOU TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO TREAT YOU!” In saying that I have listened to my daughter come home everyday from school since she was about eight years old and tell me about her day. She would always tell me about the most recent conundrums in the girl-world. She would look at me with her big brown eyes and I would gently ask “would you like some advice?” and generally speaking she would always say “yes.” She would go to school the next day with her newfound information on how she should handle a situation and so many times she would come home and say to me; “I told _____ that if she is going to be mean to me then I can’t be her friend right now. I told her that when she can treat me with kindness, and apologize for being mean then we can be friends again!”

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!! This little angel with blonde hair and brown eyes was LISTENING and IMPLEMENTING things I was teaching her. She was quickly becoming a confident little girl who accepted nothing less than to be treated with fairness. Soon enough she was telling her friends at school, “If that’s a choice your going to make than I can’t hang out with you.” One of my favorite memories was when my daughter was in 6th grade, she actually TEXTED her friend’s MOM and told the mom that her friend wasn’t wearing her helmet while skateboarding to school. She said to me, “Mom I warned her that I was going to text her mom, I told her that all it takes is ONE time for her to fall off her skateboard and she could get SERIOUSLY INJURED!” I thought I was going to pee my pants from laughing so hard and being so proud of her at the same time! Victoria was quickly becoming a young adult I could respect.

I’ve always desired to be close to my daughter; she will be 13 in March. She has always been more of my stoic child,; not showing as much emotion as my son. She rarely cries except when she’s truly hurt physically or emotionally. However, I would like that to change about her, I would like to see her be more vulnerable…not just to anyone, just to me. While we are very close, I desire to have a closer relationship with her. While I know I can’t be her best friend quite yet, I do desire to find a friendship with her that is more than just being her mom. We have a BLAST together. We are always, laughing and playing around. This year has been our toughest year by far but I also think it’s whats helped draw us closer. Victoria started 7th grade this year…yes I know….middle school nightmares. I will tell you this, I am not sure who was more of a basket case the first 12 weeks of school her or me. Victoria has always struggled academically compared to her brother, but I have never compared them. Victoria just requires studying harder. The first nine weeks of school I thought were going to kill me emotionally. New friends, new grading system, new clothes style, but the newest development???….BOYS (this is new, and its SCARY), and I’m pretty sure that there were a few time I thought I was going to go over the edge of insanity.

She met this boy, we will call him “Jon.” This kids started pursuing my daughter in August before school started. I finally allowed her to have him over when we were having a giant pool party. He was a nice enough kid, but I kept my eye on him. As the story goes he broke her little heart by taking another girl to the movies when she was grounded, and she cried. Then of course, like the douche bag most 13-year-old boys are he declared “I made a mistake, please take me back!” and unbeknownst to me….she did. We sat down and had a real heart to heart talk about boys. I told her, if your willing to accept that this young man took some girl that you can’t stand to the movies then what will you be willing to allow boyfriends in the future to do? I proposed several scenarios in regards to her later years:

Me: “What will you do when your boyfriend of one year tells you that he expects you to have sex with him on the night of your junior prom when you are 16, or 17 years old?

Victoria: Of course I will tell him NO! I won’t be ready for that!”

Me: (playing the boy) “Well if you decide that you’re not going to give it up then we are going to break up, because we’ve been together for over a year and all my friends are having sex and I’m tired of waiting!”…..(as I proceed to look my daughter dead in the eye and say to her with the most absolute seriousness….”THIS-HAPPENS-ALL-THE-TIME.” She looked and me and said, “Seriously?” And I said, “absolutely!” The look in her eyes told me that what I was telling her was CLICKING!

I went on to tell her that she has to learn how to completely ground herself in her morals and values so that she will not be shaken to waver. I told her that if she starts accepting small douche baggy things from boys NOW, that she will eventually start accepting even bigger jack-ass moves as she gets older and it starts running into her adult life…(I wish I would’ve had someone to tell me these things when I was a young adult). She said to me “I never thought about it that way, but that totally makes sense!” I let him stomp all over my heart and then I TOOK HIM BACK!? WHAT WAS I THINKING??? My only response was; “Sweetie, you were thinking with your heart, and not with your head, and this is very common. However, if you condition yourself NOW as to what you will put up with and what you won’t then hopefully you will have less heartache and make better choices when it comes to guys.” (Mind you she isn’t allowed to GO anywhere with a boy at all! This is just what they call it at school…(you remember right)?

I want to teach my daughter to NOT accept what society is telling her is OK, but to accept what she knows to be true and right when it comes to her morals, and integrity. My daughter continues to make me proud, but when she messes up she knows it. Victoria is pretty aware that she is spoiled with “stuff”, but as fast as that “stuff” was given to her, it can be taken away just as fast! I take absolutely no crap from my kids’ I also try to be fair and just. I believe in giving them JUST ENOUGH rope to hang themselves with. My kids also know that if they DO hang themselves the consequences are not remotely worth whatever poor choice they have made. So far, I am very proud of both my kids. I am so proud of Victoria for removing herself from a few girls that didn’t have her best interest in mind and realizing that if a guys breaks your heart he’s out of luck….there is no room to be a douche bag to anyone.

In my daughter’s eyes, I want to be her hero, I want to be her voice of reason, the person she can go to when she needs truth and honesty, because no one else will give it to her….

Enough said….I hope my story can help other parents of young girls….

~B

Victoria sitting with Kay, Victoria made the scarf Kay is wearing....

Victoria sitting with Kay, Victoria made the scarf Kay is wearing….


Learning how to water plants and take care of the water feature in our backyard....

Learning how to water plants and take care of the water feature in our backyard….


Another pic from the fall photo shoot I did....

Another pic from the fall photo shoot I did….

Not always…..

Jan8

I want to make something really clear. I LOVE to write! I love to hear what people have to say in regards to my writings. What I need you to understand is that I will NOT always be inspirational. Sometimes I will be off colored, and possibly a little crude. Inspirational is who I genuinely am, but I am also light-hearted with wit and humor. I sometimes like to go for “shock effect” so to speak. This is also part of who I am. I do NOT want to be thought of as some stuffy, uptight Christian girl who thinks life is all about rainbows and unicorns, because this would NOT be an accurate picture of me as a full person. Sometimes I feel like I have turrets syndrome and say the most RANDOM things like, “You face looks like a giant vagina, you should wax your lip and chin!” (just an example, I have never actually said this…BUT I have thought it!) It’s because I seriously have a weird sense of humor. I’m also very open about my life which is cause for LOTS of feedback, which is fine. If you have the need to tell me that you feel like I and “going to hell” then you are certainly welcome to do that, but know that I will strike back so hot that you will wish that you kept your mouth shut….This is MY blog, and MY life, so I am going to run the show, not my readers. Would I LOVE to have a giant group of followers someday? Absolutely! But that takes time. I am NOT looking for instant fame, or for fame at all. I am looking for people to follow me who are REAL. People who have everyday, shitty problems, that sometimes need a laugh. I want to provide humor, wit AND inspiration. There can be balance. So I will say this now, I am SORRY if I offend you in any way as that is not my intention. However, I am a human being with real thoughts and feelings and I plan to show it off from time to time. Life is short, and I plan to be whoever I want to be without dictation from anyone. As long as I am not hurting anyone than I don’t remotely see a problem. If you start to read a piece I’ve written and decide “This post isn’t for me” then I encourage you to immediately click out of it. BUT….DO NOT JUDGE ME….some of you know me and some of you don’t. I wear many hats and like I said, while I like to be inspirational, I also like to be a bit off colored; its part of what makes me….ME…..

~B

This random psychedelic bus I saw parked at the beach last summer. I was enamored that someone DROVE this! AWESOME!

This random psychedelic bus I saw parked at the beach last summer. I was enamored that someone DROVE this! AWESOME!

My friend Cristy and I at a reggae concert last summer! OMG!!! One of the most fun nights ever! (I am on the left).

My friend Cristy and I at a reggae concert last summer! OMG!!! One of the most fun nights ever! (I am on the left).

My children...they TOTALLY take after their mother!

My children…they TOTALLY take after their mother!

My motto in life.....

My motto in life…..

A Baby….Seriously God?

Jan4

I’ve always been the rebellious one in my family…the black sheep so to speak. No one ever set a single boundary for me, as a child, and in essence I grew up getting my way on EVERYTHING. I would pout for HOURS until I obtained whatever it was I was after. I constantly refused to do things just to be difficult, and prove no one could make me do anything I, myself, didn’t want to do. Because the adults in my life didn’t know how to handle a child of such defiance I was given whatever I wanted just to get me to behave. Well I don’t have to tell you that it basically turned me into a self-entitled little brat! This unfortunately carried into my adult years…FUN!

Now, to my credit, I graduated high school in 3 years due to taking college courses (out of pure boredom and not wanting to be home) with my then, highschool boyfriend. I only took these classes so my boyfriend and I could spend time together. I had no idea that at the beginning of my junior year of high school my counselor would tell me that I had the opportunity to graduate that year. Due to taking college classes such as math and english I was eligible for early graduation. I accepted that offer at the drop of the hat. I HATED high school and wanted nothing more than to be done. I graduated from highschool and started my life at 17. I proceeded to move out almost immediately; I worked 2-3 jobs during this time just to make ends meet. I may have never had discipline growing up, but we were poor. So I didn’t have a singe person I could call and ask for help from. Looking back, I’m glad I didn;t have anyone, but at the time I TOTALLY wished I did. Having no one to rely on made me work a million times harder since I had an apartment to pay for, power, phone (like old school, plug-into-the-wall type phone). I pretty much had to bike everywhere or occasionally get a ride from my mom. I was finally able to afford to by a cheap car. I think I paid $1000 for it and made the guy $100 payments for 10 months; it was a 1985 UGLY brown Chevy Chevette. While it might have been ugly, that car traipsed me and my close friend all over the place. I lived in Crescent City, CA back then (my mom moved us there when I was 12). I have no clue why my mom would move us to such desolate, horrible place, where pretty much everyone was mean…especially the kids. Oh yes, she wanted to live near the OCEAN! She couldn’t have moved us to MALIBU? OK, rabbit trail….sorry, I do that all the time…

I got out of Crescent Shitty…*cough, cough* I mean Crescent City when I was 21. I moved 3 hours north to a valley in Oregon. It is beautiful here in Southern Oregon. I got pregnant with Taylor pretty quick, because agin, I had no boundaries. Looking back this is probably comes from being molested when I was 12, but that’s an entire OTHER story that I do not feel like discussing tonight. Anyway, needless to say pregnancy was quite the shock. Keep in mind for later, that the day I found out I was prego, was the first time I had laid foot in a church in YEARS. I don’t remember what the service was about, but I do know my roommate talked me into going to church with her and her friend that morning. I got sick eating pizza at the mall after church and I immediately knew something was wrong. I had the immediate feeling that I was pregnant, and I was right. I was freaking out about how I would provide for a child on $$6.95 an hour. I had no idea what I should do. I went back and forth about my options, and at one point decided I would keep it and then later had a FREAK OUT and decided to get a late-term abortion. I was 4 1/2 months pregnant, and I scheduled the procedure for the following week. I just couldn’t be a mom, I could barely take care of myself. At that time I pretty much knew nothing about God. I owe the credit of my son’s entire existence to a local pastor. It was just about closing time when this man came through my line. Our exchange went as follows:

Pastor: “Good evening young lady, how are you tonight?” (He did introduce himself as a local pastor of a church in my area).
Me: “Fine” (in my head thinking, “please don’t make small talk, I’m not in the mood dude”)
Pastor: I rarely get the inclination to do something like this, but I want you to know that God wants me to deliver a very important message to you.”
Me: *thinking dude, your crazy* But also a bit awe-struck and curious…I had no idea that what he was about to say would change my life forever.
Pastor: God knows that you are going through something extremely difficult and wants you to know that he wants you to do what HE would want you to do.”
Me: With tears in my eyes and completely dumbfounded as my chin I’m pretty sure hit the floor, I said, “I’m sorry, WHAT?”
Pastor: May I pray with you?”
Me: “sure”
Pastor: Dear heavenly Father, I pray that you pour your wisdom into this young lady so that she will honor you.” (Short and sweet)
Me: (tears now abundantly clear) I whisper… “thank you”
Pastor; young lady, things will be ok, just listen to God.”

And just like that he walked away….

I went home that night and prayed for, pretty much, the first time in my entire life. I think it went something like this:
“God, I have no idea what happened tonight, and I am pretty freaked out. I have no business keeping this baby. I have a crappy job and no money to raise a kid on, you DO NOT want me to be a mother, I ASSURE you!!!” And without the skip of a beat I heard a voice that said, “This child will come into the world to do great things.” I was SO FREAKED OUT I jumped up out of bed, turned on my light, because I was POSITIVE someone was in my room….but there was no one. Just me, and my bed, and my now wildly crazy thoughts that I am CLEARLY schizophrenic, because I am hearing voices in my head! I went and got a drink of water; my heart was beating so fast I was sure I was going to have a heart attack. I mildly calmed myself down, I get back into bed, and I say “OK God, if that was REALLY YOU, then you need to show me a sign that this is something I am really supposed to do…A CLEAR SIGN…(Picture this: I am shouting out loud…I knew I sounded like a lunatic!) But what happened next would change fate forever. I was lying there, and all of a sudden I felt what felt like butterflies in my stomach. It was the first time I ever felt him move, the flutters lasted for about 30 minutes. I had my sign….I laid in my bed and cried for hours, knowing I had just committed to becoming a mother. I had never felt so scared in that moment, than I have ever felt in my entire life.

4 1/2 months later I gave birth to a son, Taylor. My ENTIRE family was in the delivery room…(Imagine my big fat greek wedding), seriously….even my 14 year-old sister AND her boyfriend were in there (BIRTH CONTROL)! Which must have worked since she’s 29 with no plans to have children. After 15 hours of labor and 3 hours of pushing, All was quiet as Taylor was making his appearance into the world…and all of a sudden I hear my mother yell “WHY IS HE BLUE?” The doctor looked at her and said, “YOU….OUT….NOW!” Seriously, why would you yell that? If you knew my mother you would understand. Taylor was born a healthy baby boy (I wish I could remember his stats, but I don’t). I do remember however that he was born on 3/31, at 3:33am, in room 3, in the Chinese NEW Year of the Rabbit (luckiest year), and most importantly the blessing of the LORD. I’m pretty sure that 3 is his lucky number…

I wish I could go on to say that I found God, and was a phenomenal mother, but that is far from the truth; I was still the same self-centered girl I was 9 months before…

In case you’re wondering, I just told my son this full story on this most recent Christmas night. It was the right timing as he has been dealing with some very personal issues. I never want him to doubt that there isn’t a God…because that would be a travesty all things considering. I’m not sure anyone in my family knows this story because none of them believe in God, and I’m not sure they would believe me anyhow.

I promise I will continue the story of what happened next, but the story of ones life can not be written in a whole night….

loves,

~B

Taylor became my INSPIRATION….

Taylor and I when he was around 4.

Taylor and I when he was around 4.

Taylor, Age 3

Taylor, Age 3

Taylor, age 1 1/2

Taylor, age 1 1/2

Taylor, age 3

Taylor, age 3

Taylor, age 3

Taylor, age 3

Taylor, today, Age 14 1/2

Taylor, today, Age 14 1/2