17/52

17/52: She's looking at a paper-bark tree. She's fascinated with nature. Plants, animals, water. Whatever. If it's outside, she wants to know more about it.

17/52, Sunday: We got this dress on Saturday for $1.50 at a thrift store. People asked me what we did to her hair. All we did was braid her hair when it was damp and she slept with braids in. That's all!

LifeChange Update: I survived two weeks!

Two weeks ago, I made the conscious decision to begin an exercise program.

Two days into it, I almost made the decision I wasn't going to do it anymore.

My arms were hurting from the pushups.

My thighs and abs were burning from the leg lifts.

It hurt to WALK.

I decided to suck it up and stay with it.

One of the best decisions I've ever made.

I've definitely lost weight. The pants I was wearing in my Day 1 photo are too big now, and a pair of jeans which has NEVER fit me now fits! I have more energy and the constant anxiety attacks I was having are GONE.

Oh..and here's me 2 weeks in. My face looks awful but bear with me, it's allergy season.

I'm ready for days 15-30!

16/52

16/52: Every Easter, I buy Ella a pair of bunny ears. She has had lacy bunny ears, sparkly bunny ears, fuzzy ones...well you get the drift. It's tradition!

 

 

16/52, Sunday. She's not feeling well. Her throat hurts, and besides her allergies, she's caught a cold. Grrr. I hate it when parents bring their kids places when they are contagious. But she looks beautiful and sang beautifully in church today.

15/52

15/52: Ella and Blessing. She loves, loves, loves those kittens.

15/52, Sunday: I bought her dress at a garage sale this week. It cost me one dollar :) The seashell pendant is a gift from Gabe. She wears it everywhere.

Mother'sDay Project Update

If you've been reading this blog, then you know life has been a rollercoaster lately.

The Mother'sDay card project is my sanity right now. Knowing that I can help other moms in their grief makes all the difference on a day when life is not being my friend.

I have some cards written out and ready to go.

Ella is being a huge help and hand decorating every envelope

If you are a grieving mom and interested in receiving a card for Mother's Day, please email me at joanna.unbehaun@yahoo.com.

Kid Project: Butter in a jar

It has rained on and off all blessed day, so after school, Ella was bored. I saw this project here, and thought today would be an awesome day to try it. And it is SO SO easy.

If you have a kid, some heavy cream, and a jar, you can do this.

Even if you don't have a kid handy, you can still totally do this.

Here's what you need.

Isn't my owl spoon rest awesome? :)

Fill your jar about halfway with the heavy cream

Then have your child (or you, if she needs a break), shake it.
It should clump together...and when it does, it will look like this....

Mine is soft. Whipped butter, I guess :)

Anyway, Ella said it was excellent.

And that's really what matters :)

Life change (be prepared for raw honesty here)

I am not happy with the way I look.
Yes, I have a husband who tells me I am beautiful every day.
I saw a picture of myself on Facebook that someone had tagged me in and I thought, "Oh my word, that is not me."

In my married/children/homeschool life, somewhere, I forgot about myself.

No, I am not what people refer to as "fat."

I am bigger than I used to be. That messes with my body image. My body image is more fragile than I realized.

I refuse to "diet." We eat pretty healthy here.

While I do run (a lot), my arms and stomach could use major toning.

I need to feel pretty, even if it means putting on lipgloss and (maybe) eyeshadow more often.

Are you ready for the raw honesty?

this is me. This was taken yesterday. Not where I want to be. So...for the next 30 days, besides my Bible, this plan will be my friend....

 

 

I'll update in a few days. I feel like I'm ready to change things as far as my body image/self esteem go! :)

14/52

14/52: Ella loves bubbles. The bigger, the better! I don't think she will ever outgrow her love of bubbles either! (at least I hope not!)

14/52, Sunday: The return of the owl dress! I can totally see how tall she has gotten in the last three months!

More Randomness

On Wednesday, I posted about feeling "off."

My cat was in labor, and for "some reason", I felt freaked out, which was odd because I had delivered her last 3 litters with no problem. I said that I "couldn't handle the thought of stillborn kittens."

Sparrow's first kitten in that litter was stillborn. We named it Angel.

After a very hard labor, Sparrow gave birth to Blessing, and Faith. They were blessedly born ALIVE!

Ella and I buried Angel in Ella's garden.

After all of the tears had passed for that day, Ella and I decided that Angel is most definitely up in heaven, being taken care of by Riley and Ms. Lora (who absolutely loved cats). We also decided to celebrate that Sparrow made it through labor and that she now has two beautiful kittens to take care of!

 

 

The whole experience reminded me of how often we say "I cannot handle this."...I said I could not handle moving to North Carolina. I said I could not handle staying in North Carolina. I said I could not handle my marriage. I said I could not handle my Dad having cancer.

God says I can. He does not heap on me more than He is willing to bring me through.

Ugh

Not your typical post.

I'm not myself today. I don't feel well (thank you, seasonal allergies, you suck), I'm emotional (thank you hormones, you also suck!), my cat is in the early stages of labor and for some reason it's freaking me out.

I don't know why.

I've delivered her last 3 litters problem-free.

I don't think I can stand stillborn kittens.

The girls' birthdays are next month. Not ready for that.

And I feel fat.

Seriously, fat.

I need to do something about that.

I don't own a scale. I don't plan on buying one. A scale is what led to me having major body issues in high school and college.

I don't need that.

I'll be updating on Sparrow and weight loss soon.

For anyone that read that, I'm sorry for the randomness.