Enough

My friend Maria posted her reaction to the TIME Magazine cover article (which I will not link to) over at NewYorkMOM

  

And I agree with everything she said. 

Obviously, I did not breast feed my daughter. We had 2 weeks’ notice before she arrived. So I guess we didn’t get ‘attached’. 

I work full time away from my home. So I guess we are continuing to not be ‘attached’. 

Really?

Moms these days do not need the pressure from national publications asking if they are “Mom Enough”. There is plenty of pressure from family, friends and neighbors who all choose to parent differently.

Don’t let the shock-value of the cover photo outweigh the choices you make as a parent.
Do the best you can and ask for help when you need it.
Raise your children to respect others and to value family and health.
Do it in a way that makes an impact. 

I guarantee that way is not the same as your friend down the road or your mom’s grandmother, but it’s your way. 

Own it.

Payoff

(I’m just going to ignore the fact that I haven’t been writing like I vowed to.)

Thanks to our Adoption tax Credit refund, I was able to write a huge (in my world) check to pay-off some debt last week. It was a great feeling!

Seriously, weight was removed from my shoulders.

No, we aren’t “debt freeeeeee” but we are not as much of a slave to the debt as we were before that check. 

When we started the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps, our calculations had us debt free by this coming August. We’ve hit a few bumps along the way and that date has been pushed back. But I’m still confident that the day is coming when we won’t be weighed down by debt and we will be able to save for our and our family’s future. 

And, while the satisfaction of paying off a debt is great, it probably would be a greater feeling to have not gotten in debt in the first place. You live, you learn.

To tell you the truth

I guess blogging isn't on top of my priority list lately. I enjoy it, but I have so much stuff going on and when I don't, I just want to be lazy. I don't want to enter a sub-par statement to the internet at large. What is keeping me so busy? Well I have an almost 9 month old, I work Full Time, I have 4 fur-kids, and a husband. My house is a disaster and my fitness level is suffering. I've been running during my lunch break in order to get in the workout. I've been paying gym dues without going there for several months. Mr. Blakesnewface and I finally decided to find a gym with childcare so we could both do better. My doctor told me it is the best way to set a healthy example for children- workout with them or in front of them, or in this case, take them with you so they know what you are doing even if they can't see you.

I have set a schedule to blog daily, but I just can’t fit it in. Not yet. Not until I make myself follow my schedule- which includes waking up between 4 and 4:30am. Maybe…

100

I've got a new goal to write 100 words a day on here. I know I ramble some. I know I can't get my thoughts straight on some posts. I know I might contradict myself even though I try not to. But I do enjoy the writing. I don't desire to become a writer. I don't want to publish a book. This is definitely not about fame or fortune. I want to talk about adoption, my faith, my weight struggles, my fitness, and my work. Maybe a rhythm will settle in and it will become a great blog, but for now, it's just MY blog.

So little time

My kid is cute. She takes a lot of my time. My priorities are good.

Incredible Inedible Eggs

I apologize for my absence- I hate excuses, so I am making none. On with the blogging…

What I thought for years was a mild case of lactose intolerance was actually an intolerance to a different breakfast staple.

I found out before Christmas that I have an egg sensitivity. Not an allergy, but a sensitivity. I’ve known for several years that when I eat multiple eggs, particularly yolks, my stomach reacts badly. However, that never actually stopped me from eating the eggs which I felt were a needed source of protein and I liked them! So, when I discovered this late last year, I cut eggs out of my diet. Not items with eggs in it, but just eggs- scrambled, fried, boiled, etc. I have not had the reaction -that I’d lived with for years- since.

Except twice- when I just plain forgot and had a breakfast sandwich (both times!) that included eggs. The most recent time was yesterday, when I didn’t think about it and had a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit. About halfway through, I remembered and took the egg off. But it happened. My stomach was upset all day long.

I don’t know why eggs do this to me. I don’t know why I can eat items with eggs as an ingredient, but not eat eggs by themselves.

I am glad, however, that I know what the problem is and can eliminate it from my life (when I remember). I am also glad this is not a full-on allergy, because I can’t imagine having to eliminate food containing eggs. That would be a whole lotta food!

Changes

It is so time to make some changes in my life. I finally started running again, consistently. I'm having to go during lunch from work, but it's been enjoyable so far. I also started a Daniel Fast. My goal is 10 days to see how it goes. Of course being sugar-free makes running hard. My body has to learn how to refuel itself without bad carbs and sugars. And finally, our spending has gotten out of control. We buy way too much for our child! I would make the excuse that it is because she was wanted for so long and now all we want to do is give her everything, but I have to remember the lessons learned in Financial Peace University.
Anyway, that's what's new. Hope to keep posting more often.