Top 24 on American Idol

So as always, I'm a little behind on American Idol. It seems like I have a million shows to watch these days and just not enough hours to watch them all! But I just got finished with the episode where they revealed the top 24. This is always a nerve-wracking episode that has be on the edge of my seat because out of 50 people that they are left with, only 24 make it through!! And in every single season that I've watched of this show, there are always a handful of people in that top 50 that I absolutely love that don't make it to the top 24. This season is no different because there were some people that I loved since their audition but they just didn't have what it takes it make it to the next round.

So here are my favorites from the top 24 of American Idol


1. Layla- She is from Oklahoma and came into her first audition with her cute little sister Dixie. Her very first audition was adorable and I hope to see her to go far!

2. Gabby- She came into her audition wanting to do a Carrie Underwood song but they wanted her to do something different so she did. Well on her last performance before the top 24, she decided to take the risk and sing a Carrie song. That was really risky, but really good and good enough to get her to the top 24!!

3. Catie- She is definitely a character! She's got a quirky personality and a great voice to go along with it. When it was her time to hear the news from the judges about making it through to the top 24, I didn't think she was going to make it because they showed her reaction first and it was just her bawling her eyes out as she walked out of the room. But she made it!!

4. Jurnee- She is another one that I loved since her first audition!

5. Ada- This is an interesting contestant. He tried out for season 12 and actually made it to Hollywood but was cut during Hollywood week. But then since then he created another side to him that he named Ada and is a woman. I'm haven't read too much online so I don't know what America thinks of Ada, but I think she's got a good voice. We'll see how far she can go.

6. Mara- Another young contestant that I've loved since the beginning. At just 15 years old, this girl can sing!! I could definitely see her in the top 12.

7. Garrett- Another favorite of mine since his first audition. He's a grandma's boy and called her on Factime after getting his ticket to Hollywood which was so cute!

8. Marcio- He came to his first audition with his then-6-month old son. It was his sister's son but she couldn't care for him due to drug abuse problems. The police and a social worker came to Marcio when the baby was only 1 week old and said he had to make the decision of putting him in the system or taking him to raise as his own. He chose the latter because he grew up in the system and didn't want to repeat that cycle.

Favorites that didn't make it through to the top 24:

1. Trevor- He is the guy that is in a love triangle with Katy Perry. She fell in love with him at his first audition but he has a girlfriend who is a little jealous of Katy. The back and forth between him and Katy has been hilarious!

2. Noah- He came into his first audition saying that when he wins he wants to get an alpaca. That is one of the strangest things I've heard a contestant on American Idol say, but I thought he was pretty good. And so did Katy, Lionel, and Luke because he made it all the way to the top 50 out of thousands of people that tried out.

3. Laine- He was a country singer that reminded me of Scotty McCreery a little bit. He was good, but I guess just not good enough.

4. Maddie- She played guitar during her first audition and thought she could go pretty far in this competition. It's a bummer that she didn't make it.

Now I have 2 more episodes to watch before being completely caught up. I have a full-work week this week (just picked up a job on Friday), so I won't have that much time to watch this week. But somehow or another, I will get caught up.

It's back!

American Idol is back and I'm finally sharing my thoughts about it!! I absolutely loved the beginning of the very first show!! I knew it was Carrie Underwood speaking as soon as she started talking! I'm so glad that Ryan Seacrest decided to stay on as the host otherwise I think the whole show would be a lot different! It already is going to be different because of the judges, so it's good they kept at least one constant. It is also on ABC now instead of Fox, so we'll see how different that makes it. I think I heard that they are going to be showing more of the good auditions than the bad.

Big E was sitting on the couch beside me, watching along with me! I never thought this day would come!! I always thought that I was going to just have to show Big E and Little E American Idol shows from seasons past! So it is so cool that she can actually watch a new season with me! I'm not sure how much of it she will actually watch, but so far she made it 10 minutes into it!! I kind of got her to watch it because I told her how Kelly Clarkson was on this show and won the first season. She just said "That's not Kelly Clarkson!!" But then she proceeded to say "I have that song in my car," so I think she recognized the song that was playing. There are actually a few songs that play on the radio that Big E loves! Her favorite at the moment is "Thunder" by Imagine Dragons.

So far I have just watched the first episode of Hollywood week and I'm really digging this season. There are so many great contestants so far and I can't wait to see who actually makes it through to the first voting round. There is a girl who is a karaoke singer and has never actually performed in front of other people unless she is singing karaoke. There's a 16 year old named Layla that comes from a small country town and has a great accent and singing voice!! There's Noah who wants an alpaca if he wins.

I'll be sure to post occasionally about my thoughts on the show! I am excited the show is back and can't wait to see how this season turns out!! As I wrote about here I am also watching The Voice because Kelly Clarkson is a coach on that show. I have only watched 1 other season of the show (and it probably wasn't even the whole season), but I'm really getting into it because of Kelly!! Do you watch American Idol or The Voice? Who are some of your favorite contestants that have been on either show?

I love my Cricut!!!

For Valentine's Day my wonderful hubby got me a Cricut!!! You can call me a bit spoiled, it's ok! I only decided I wanted one a few days before Valentine's Day because I found out from my aunt that she got one for Christmas. I started thinking of all the things I could make with it and thought that I would enjoy using it a lot more than I did my sewing machine.

I finally did get rid of my sewing machine and all of the fabric I had to use with it. Now I am waiting until we have the spare room finished so I can move my Cricut up there and have more room to work.

Right now this is what I have to work with. It isn't the best setup but it's working for now. The thing that bugs me the most is that I have to move my box of vinyl every time I go to use it. And since my computer is to the right of my machine, I don't have much room to work on my cut out pieces once they are done cutting. I've already made a bunch of projects with it, mostly shirts!!

I even had a friend ask me to make her a shirt because she saw from my Facebook posts that I had gotten a Cricut and made some shirts. I've heard of a lot of people starting little businesses using their Cricut and have actually been considering it. I think I'll just start small though because I don't want to go crazy with it and then have it not work out. Just like with my oils, I will just post my projects here and there on my Facebook (and here of course) and then just see where things go from there.

If you have a Cricut, what are some of your favorite projects that you've done with it? Leave me some comments!!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!! I hope you all have a great Easter spent with friends and family. We will be spending the afternoon/evening with some of my husband's family that lives an hour away. Even though they don't live that far away, we don't get to see them that much. The last time we saw them was about 3 months ago for Christmas. But I'm hoping we can change that and see them more this year!

Things have been going great with me and my family recently. I know I haven't been blogging as often as I keep saying I am going to. I've been busy substitute teaching and when I don't work, I'm busy either cleaning the house or spending time with my kiddos. Because I don't have a full-time job that would make my schedule more consistent than it is right now, there are days when I'm off work that I kind of feel like I didn't get too much accomplished. I'm so ready for the day where I can start working a full-time teaching job where I'll work every Monday-Friday (except on the occasional holiday) and will have some more consistency in my life. I guess I could try and set up some kind of schedule for myself now, but I feel like that's hard because I don't always have the same amount of days off each way. So I can't just say "3 days a week my schedule will look like this...". Last week I had 3 days off, but this coming week I only have off 1 day. And it's actually starting this week that I'm going to be pretty busy each week for the next 7 weeks. For the next 7 weeks I work at least 3 days a week which is going to be really nice!!

As of right now, my last day of subbing is May 21st and I don't expect to get too many more jobs after that date because it is so close to the end of the school year. But when I am done subbing for the school year, you can bet that I'm going to be creating a schedule for me and the kiddos to follow during the week!! One thing that is definitely going to be on the schedule each week is going to our local YMCA to go swimming!! I keep saying that we need to go more often, but like I just said, it's so hard to be consistent with anything during the week because I don't always have the same days off week to week. I also want to start doing more intentional learning activities with Big E because I don't think I'm going to get to put her into preschool in the fall. If I'm still substitute teaching, I don't know how I would be able to get her to and from preschool. And if I get a full-time position (fingers crossed), I definitely don't know how I could get her to and from preschool. I could possibly enroll her in the program that the YMCA has because working full-time I would be making more than I am now. But we will just have to cross that bridge when we come to it!

Today in the class that I was subbing for, we read a poem called "Dreams" by Langston Hughes.

Dreams

Langston Hughes, 1902 - 1967

Hold fast to dreams 
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

This poem is so great because it is so true. Just think about it. Everyone, I don't matter who you are, has some kind of dream, something you want to achieve in life. It might be a certain job that you want to attain, finding your soulmate, traveling the world. We all have a goal, or multiple goals, that drive us and motivate us. If we didn't have those dreams, then what would be the point of living? Wouldn't life be so boring if we just got up, went to work, came home, slept, and did it all over again? Having dreams keeps us going in life and gives us something to work towards.

For me, my current dream is to have my own classroom and be a full-time teacher. This is a dream I've been trying to reach for at least 10 years now. I can't remember the year I decided I wanted to be a teacher, but I knew in my senior year of high school which was exactly 10 years ago, that I wanted to go to school to get a teaching degree. And now it's crazy that 10 years later I still have the same dream of being a teacher. And I'm working towards that dream by substitute teaching. I'm hoping that this fall will be my year to start my teaching career.

Another dream I have is to make tons of memories with my husband and 2 kids. I hope that we can visit new places together and just enjoy the time we have as a family. There have definitely been a lot of reminders within the past year alone that have proven the point that life is too short and you never know how much time you have left.

So what are some dreams you have? I would love to hear them!! Have a great rest of your Monday!!

TGIF!!!

This is the first time in a while that I've been so excited for Friday to finally be here!! My hubby has been gone for work since Sunday so for the most part it has been just me and the kiddos. I say for the most part because my mom came over Monday night and stayed the night Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. My mom had to work each day so I was still on my own a lot of the week. And then today I had to work which was kind of weird after being off all week and then working one day because now it's the weekend!

We have had quite an interesting week. Let me tell you about it! On Monday morning I was sitting out in the living room getting some class work done and the kids were playing in the playroom. Well, after a little while, it was too quiet so I decided to go check on them. The coat closet wasn't locked so either Big E or Little E (I think it was the big one), got into sunscreen and had it on the floor and windowsill in the playroom. It was then that I decided to get rid of the foam floor mats that we've had in the playroom for almost 4 years. It was just way too hard to get the sunscreen out of them. Plus I wasn't able to vacuum them because the suction of the vacuum on the foam mats was way too strong and didn't allow the vacuum to move.

On Tuesday, Big E made a huge mess with nail polish and the cats' food and water in the hallway while she was supposed to be up in her room napping. I thought she was doing pretty good with staying in her room ever since we got her the alarm clock that turns green when it is ok for her to come out of her room. But that only does that in the morning, so I guess she thinks the lack of color on the alarm clock means she can leave her room. Also on Tuesday (I think) is when Big E got an egg from the fridge and cracked it on the playroom floor. But not just onto the floor, it went onto a foam mat! So guess what, the rest of the foam mats in the playroom are gone. In fact, the whole playroom got a makeover!!

As you can tell the playroom is a complete mess at the moment. But that will change before bedtime tonight! It actually isn't as bad as it normally gets so it shouldn't take the kiddos too long to clean up. The living room actually looks pretty good as well. I just decided it was time for a change in the playroom so that's just what it got!!

On Wednesday our mess of the day was the downstairs toilet getting clogged and overflowing. This happened right after the kiddos went down for their nap and my mom hadn't left for work yet. With almost all of the towels in the house, we cleaned it up and then ended up having to wash those towels 3 times before they smelled good again. Wednesday afternoon the kiddos and I went to the pool and had a great time!! We would have gone on Tuesday but didn't because of Big E's huge mess she made.

Thursday was one of the best days we had this week. I had no messes to clean up so that's definitely a win! We went to story time and then Chic-Fil A for a lunch playdate and both kiddos did a great job!!

And then we come to today, Friday!!! I was in for a 5th grade teacher that I will also be in for on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week. I love assignments like this because being in the same class for 2 days or longer makes me feel a little bit like a full-time teacher. Today was interesting because I had to cover for a 4th grade teacher for a period in the morning and then one in the afternoon. Plus I did some copying so I did a lot of walking around that school today!!

And now it is dinner time, which means bedtime is not too far away!! A few hours after the kiddos go to bed,  my hubby will be home! That's going to be one of my favorite parts of this day and this week!! Have a great weekend everyone!

Zumba!!!!

I've mentioned Zumba a few times in previous posts but I just felt like I needed to do another one! It has now been almost a year and a half since I took my first Zumba class at our local YMCA. I used to go on just Monday's but then one time when my hubby was on a work trip, I decided to go an extra day and go on a Monday. Then we put Big E in gymnastics and it just happened to be the same night as that Monday Zumba class so I decided to go to that class every Monday. Then even after Big E was done with gymnastics on Monday's, I still kept going because I just loved the instructor! I love the instructor that teaches on Thursday night's, too!!!

I also wrote in the past about how I went to a Zumbathon and at that event I decided I wanted to become a Zumba instructor. Well, that hasn't happened quite yet but I have been thinking about that again. I just looked up info on the training for it and it's only $225. I know that seems like a lot, but if I could get a part-time job somewhere teaching Zumba, it would definitely be worth it. As you also may know, I have a teaching degree and am substituting right now but am hoping to have a full-time position this fall. So teaching Zumba would be perfect for me.

The only thing is...I don't really have a background with dance. I didn't do any sports in school and I don't really have an athletic bone in my body. But you know what...I feel so alive when I'm in a Zumba class. I have always enjoyed music (hence my American Idol obsession I had when I was younger) and Zumba is all about music! I don't quite know how to explain it but it's like I feel so pumped during a Zumba class. I almost feel like a different person. I feel part of this great community and feel so good about myself for that one hour of exercise that doesn't feel like exercise at all. Now I'm not saying I don't feel good about myself any other time, because I definitely do. But it's just, I don't know, so hard to put in words.

So I'm going to continue going to Zumba twice a week and maybe even watch some videos on YouTube to figure out how I can improve on my dance moves. Because there are just certain things I can't do. Like move my hips or shake my shoulders. But then there are a ton of other moves that I feel like I have down pat! There's a lot of songs that I've danced to a bunch of times and I get so excited when they start playing! It makes me feel even more confident knowing that I know the dance moves really well!! Who knows, maybe within the next year I'll actually go to the basic training, we'll see!

Another trip

It's the start of another week and yet another work trip for my hubby. His plane left this evening and he'll be home on Friday. So it's another week of just me and the kiddos. And I only work on Friday so far so it will be me and the kiddos from morning to night. It's gonna be a rough week but I know that we can make it through.

Now that my husband has been away on so many trips, I've kind of gotten used to it. It has definitely gotten a lot easier than it used to be. It gives me some time to myself. When he's home, all I want to do is spend time with him whether it's just sitting down in the basement while we're both on our computers or up in bed watching TV. So when he's away for work, it gives me a chance to kind of just have some me-time once the kiddos go to bed. I'm definitely not saying that I want him to travel for work more though. But I think it is definitely needed from time to time.

Another thing him being away motivates me to do is clean the house like crazy! I know he likes the house to be super clean and I do my best to keep it that way. So the day before he comes back from a trip I clean the house from top to bottom. Well, maybe not completely but I do my very best to make it as clean as I can! So since I work on Friday this week, I'll be cleaning like crazy on Thursday. Unless I work that day, then I'll have to push it to Wednesday. My hubby does so much for our family so it's the least I can do for him!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great week ahead of them!!

Update on Big E!

So I just searched by blog and the last time I did an update about how potty training was going with Big E was August of last year. I wish I could say that there has been a difference since then, but there has not. She is still doing excellent with peeing in the potty with only the occasional accident here and there. But even though she knows where she needs to go poo-poo, she still won't go in the potty. Most of the time when she goes, it's in her diaper so it is at least a little easier to clean up rather than it being in underwear. But I'm completely stuck with what we need to do in order for her to start pooping on the potty.

A year ago I was so sure that she was going to go still be in diapers in high school!! Like seriously, that's how rough potty training was going!! But sure enough, she's finally learned that she needs to pee on the potty and not in her pants. So I know that she will eventually start pooping on the potty. I haven't' been too stressed about it because I know it will eventually happen. She goes number 1 more than number 2, so I think it's more important that she does that in the potty. And we go through a ton less diapers with her than we used to!!!

What tricks do you have for getting your kiddos to poop in the potty? I'm thinking I may start finding some books about pooping and just talk a lot more about how we are supposed to go in the potty. Or maybe even potty videos might work since she loves watching TV. Or perhaps a potty training app? I"ll try just about anything right now!!

Go away sickness!!!!

So since I started using essential oils back in May of 2016, the amount of times that me or my kiddos have been sick hasn't been that much. As I may have mentioned in a previous post I did about oils, I'm not a doctor and I'm not allowed to say that Young Living essential oils prevent, cure, diagnose, or treat any illnesses or diseases. But using them to support our overall wellness has definitely been working for us!!! Just because my family or any other oily family out there uses essential oils, it doesn't mean we can never get sick again. It still happens but trust me, it is not as often as it used to be and it doesn't last for as long either.

Just last week, Big E and Little E both had some kind of stomach bug. They got them a day apart, one right after the other and only lasted for about 24 hours. Little E was the last of the 2 to get it and I hadn't gotten it so I thought maybe I was in the clear. Well, I woke up last Wednesday (luckily it was a day I had off), and I wasn't feeling too good. I wasn't surprised because just 48 hours prior to that, my mom got sick and she had been home with both kiddos during the weekend while me and the hubby went away.

So what are the steps that we take in our household to prevent any bugs from spreading to everyone else? Handwashing is definitely a must!!! And we do that with my homemade hand soap that I make using Thieves essential oil, castile soap, and water! I also make sure to clean the house like crazy with my Thieves all-purpose spray! Just a capful of the cleaner in a 16-ounce water bottle filled with water an I've got a cleaner that lasts me a few weeks or so, just depends on how often I use it.

I also diffuse Thieves essential oil any chance I get. I add a drop of Thieves vitality to my water for a little immune support. And I try to drink a little extra Ningxia Red, which is a wonderful supplement that a lot of people (myself included) drink an ounce of each day in place of a multi-vitamin.

With essential oils it's all about staying above the wellness line and there are so many great oils that help our family do just that!! I would love to chat more with you about getting started on your oily journey today so please don't hesitate to ask me any questions you may have!!

The Voice is back!!!

And it's going to be better than ever before!!! In the past I've watched The Voice here and there, but I just couldn't get into in as much as I could with American Idol. As I mentioned in this post here, I used to be obsessed with American Idol!!!! So now why am I watching the new season of The Voice when I said that I was going to be watching the new season of Idol when it comes back? Two words for you: Kelly Clarkson!!!! Last night I had the chance to watch the season 14 premiere of The Voice and I can tell already that it is going to be a great season!!! I think the back and forth between the coaches is one of the best parts of the show!!!!

It opened up by showing Kelly walk onto the empty stage an pretend like they were announcing her name as the season 14 winner!! They also showed a little clip of her and Alicia Keys with Kelly saying, "I am married but I'm telling you what, if I liked women, I'd like Alicia!" Just the way she said that was so hilarious!!!

Adam Levine and Blake Sheltlon are hilarious as well!!! New for this season, each coach has a "Block" that they can use on another coach to keep a contestant from choosing to be on that coaches' team. Blake used the very first block of the season and at first tried to blame it on Alicia!! Then Adam goes, "The good news is, you're out of blocks. And you didn't get the dude which is even better!"

The first contestant I really liked was Brynn. She is a 14 year old girl from a small town and first heard a Kelly Clarkson song when she was 4! I immediately knew that the coaches would be shocked when they turned around and then talked to her to find out her age, and they were. And of course Brynnn chose Kelly as her coach. As Kelly said, the power of 14 was with her: Brynn is 14 years old, Kelly was wearing a "14" jersey, and it's season 14! Kelly is already off to a great start!!!

Some other contestants that made it through that I liked were Kelsea, Drew, D. R. King, and Kaleb. A funny thing about D. R. King: After his audition, he told us that he used to be a teacher. Kelly then proceeded to say that school teachers are underpaid and that it is a selfless job that needs to be applauded. He then proceeded to say that he wasn't happy doing that!

Kaleb is an awesome country singer that Kelly and Blake fought over. And it was a pretty good fight!!! Kelly brought up the fact that Reba is, as she put it, "my mommy-in law!!" But in the end, Kaleb decided to go with Blake.

Overall the season premier was great and I'm so excited for more!!! It's great that Kelly is on the show because in a way it's like she's coming full circle, back to the kind of start that she got. Now she gets to help other people out in a similar way that she was helped!!! Leave me your thoughts if you watched the show!!!

The end of February is near...

Can you believe that the 2nd month of the year is almost over already? 2 months down and 10 more to go! So how is my year going so far? I think it's going pretty good. I've been keeping busy with substitute teaching and staying home with my kiddos on the days I don't work. I've also been busy reading in my spare time. I made a goal to read 18 books this year and I'm going to reach that goal and maybe even surpass it!!

I'm enjoying substitute teaching but I am so ready for something full-time!! And what is kind of crazy to think about is the fact that I'm still even wanting to work in the education profession. When I started college back in 2008 to start working towards my teaching degree, I never thought that I would have to be afraid to go to work. Sure there were school shootings in the past but there have been a lot more recently than there were in previous years. But I honestly don't know what I would do as a career if I didn't teach. So yes, I still want to be a full-time teacher with my own classroom. I don't want to get into a big debate about what needs to be done about the whole gun-situation, but something definitely needs to be done because students and teachers should not be afraid while they are at school.

I have been stressing less about having a clean house. There were a good 2 weeks or so where I had the kids pick up their toys before naptime and bedtime every single day. And I actually felt pretty good. I felt accomplished. But that has stopped and now we don't always get the toys away before naptime and bedtime. Most of the time, the only time the toys are all put away is when we are expecting company, which isn't that often. But I have been doing better with keeping up with the dishes and the wash. I think my new philosophy about cleaning is that as long as the household is fed, bathed, and clothed, and we aren't living in a complete mess, then all is good! As the kiddos get older I think it should be a little easier to keep the house clean because I will have their help. Or at least I hope I will have their help. But I also know that if I expect a clean house now and the kids grow up seeing that I expect that, they are probably more likely to help to keep it clean.

I've been slacking (yet again) with my blogging but I really want to get into a consistent schedule of writing and publishing posts. I think what is messing me up is that I don't have a consistent and regular work schedule. If I did, I would get home at the same time each day and then be able to make myself a blogging schedule so I can keep up with it and not slack as much as I have been. But you know what, I'm not going to let that excuse keep me from doing that. I'm going to start writing posts at least 2 days a week and then schedule them to publish for the upcoming week. On each day that I have as a "writing" day, I will be sure to get at least 2 posts written so that I'm able to have posts for you to read!!! As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm not sure how many followers I have out there but I thank anyone that takes time out of their busy lives and reads this! I know that time is precious and it makes me feel so happy that you take some of your precious time to read my thoughts!! Let me know if there is anything you would like to see more of on my blog!!!!

Sewing

In August of 2016, I got a sewing machine. This wasn't just any sewing machine though. We got it from Craigslist and it was a pretty old machine. The manual that came with it says 1962 on it!! And it came with a nice table that has 3 drawers for storage and some more storage underneath where the machine sits and where the pedal to make it work is.

Here are some projects I made. It's been a while since I made anything, so quite honestly these projects may be the only things I've ever made. Actually, I did make Big E a skirt to wear at the kiddos' birthday party last year and using the same fabric I made Little E something to sew on a onesie for him. But other than that I can't think of anything else that I've made.

While I have enjoyed making those items and I still use a lot of those items today, I have decided that I am going to give up sewing and sell my machine and all my fabric that I never used. I just don't have the time to sew anymore and I don't have the skill to make the projects that I wish I could make. Yes I know, practice would make me better, but it just doesn't give me joy like it used to.

My aunt was telling me recently that she got a Cricut for Christmas and she has just started using it and she loves it! I have seen Cricuts before and have always wanted one but now I really want one because it would allow me to create so much more than I would be able to do with sewing. I already have a secret Pinterest board of projects I want to make!! And I've been watching some videos from the Cricut website!! I want to be prepared for when I eventually get one!! Oh and when I have my own classroom someday, imagine all the projects I can make then!! So what about you, do you like crafting and if so, what do you like to do?

I love to read!

I love to read! I always have and I always will. When I was in school, I was one of those students that was almost always reading! When I found a book I loved (which was almost every book I've read), I just couldn't put it down. I read about half of the Harry Potter series (I stopped reading them once I got into American Idol, check out this post to read about my Idol obsession) and all of Twilight. Some of my other favorites I've read are: Marley and Me, The Last Song, Eat, Pray, Love, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and The Best of Me. I could write more but the list would go on and on.

I use the app Goodreads to keep track of the books I've read, am reading, and want to read. They have a feature on the app where you can set a goal of how many books you want to read during the year. I set my goal for this to 18. Last year I only read 13 books so I set my goal for this year a little higher. So far I've read 3 books!! (2 of the books I actually started in the middle of December, but I'm still counting them for have read them this year)

I'm actually thinking I might up my goal a little bit because I Think I may actually get to read more this year. If I keep at the pace I'm going with 3 books a month, that will give me a grand total of 36 books this year!

So now why do I love reading so much? I just love being able to escape from the real world for a little bit. Not that I don't love the real world because I definitely do, but it is great to just forget the things going on in your life for even a few minutes at a time and dive into a different world!! I love when I find a book that I can't put down, which like I said is almost all the time!! I am definitely hoping my kiddos enjoy reading as much as I do! My hubby doesn't like reading, in fact the only reading he does is on the internet or at work. But I'm definitely hoping that his dislike for reading doesn't rub off on them.

Here is my currently reading list:

Nicole's bookshelf: currently-reading

Oola for Women: How to Balance the 7 Key Areas of Life to Have Less Stress, More Purpose, and Reveal the Greatness Within You

by Dave Braun

tagged: currently-reading

Can You Keep a Secret?

by Sophie Kinsella

tagged: currently-reading

You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life

by Jen Sincero

tagged: currently-reading

I really need to finish reading that first one because I've been reading it since May of last year! Again, I didn't start it this year, but I'm going to count it towards the number of books I've read this year. Well, that is if I actually finish it this year!! And the 3rd book I'm really enjoying so far even though I'm not that far into it. I'm reading it for a book club with other people that are doing Young Living as a business. We are going to be reading one book a month up until June, so that will be a guaranteed 5 books going towards my total books read for 2018. So far since I signed up for Goodreads in March of 2011, I've read 51 books. There may be some on there that I've missed because I actually didn't start tracking them on the app until 2013. I'm going to go through books in the app and mark them at read so I can get a kind of close estimate of how many books I've ever read! With the books I've added so far I'm up to 90!! Leave me some comments telling me some of your favorite books that you would recommend for me to read!!
I also want to know whether you like to read a physical book or ebooks. I prefer ebooks because I think they are easier to read. I can take them anywhere easily which is great! But I like reading physical books every now and then as well. I just recently found the book See Me by Nicholas Sparks at Ollie's for $2.99!! I definitely couldn't pass up that awesome deal!!! As for ebooks, I get a lot of them through the Overdrive app where you sign in using your library card and then can borrow books for 2 weeks at a time! This allows me to read almost any book I want without having to spend any money!!

Luau with the Princesses!

Yesterday our local YWCA, they had a Luau with the Disney Princesses!!

There was Prince Charming, Cinderella, Snow White, Anna, Elsa, Ariel, Mulan, Aurora, Meridia, Jasmine, and the guest of honor, Moana! I didn't tell Big E that we were going to this event until I got her up from her nap to leave. She was super excited when I told her we were going to see the Princesses and even more excited when we got there!

I asked what Princess dress she wanted to wear and of course she chose her new Moana one! She wears that dress almost all the time when she's at home!!!

They played Disney music (of course) and the Disney princesses were out on the dance floor dancing with the kids. Emma loved this!! She especially loved dancing with Elsa and Moana, which didn't surprise me at all. She wanted them all to herself!!!

I love this picture of her and Moana!!! This was during the "How Far I'll Go" sing along! She was holding Moana's hand during the entire song!!! The group holding the event had a photographer taking pictures and I know she got some during this moment, so I can't wait to see those!!

The event may have only lasted an hour, but I know I had a great time and I think she did, too!! I love getting to spend time with both of my kids together but this was one of the few times that it's just been Big E and I alone. I think it is definitely important when you have multiple children for each child to get some alone time every now and then with each child. I'll be looking for more opportunities like this in the future!!

National Pizza Day

Happy National Pizza Day!!! We are celebrating by, how else, eating pizza for dinner!! Do you love pizza? If so, what is your favorite topping? And what brand of pizza do you like best? I love Digiorno pizza!!! I also love me a good Papa John's pizza!!! Enjoy these fun facts about pizza. My favorite topping is the least popular topping according to a survey taken: pineapple!! I love a Hawaiian pizza with ham and pineapple, so good!!

Meal planning

For years I have loved meal planning because I'm a big planner!! I love knowing what is coming next and having a schedule to stick to. While I was in college and living with my husband (fiance at the time), I was also working nights and weekends. I would write out the list of meals that I was going to be making for the upcoming 2 weeks, while keeping in mind the nights that I wouldn't have to cook due to having leftovers or working. Then I would plan my grocery list based on what I needed to make those meals and would make a big shopping trip once every 2 weeks. I would have to shop for small things like eggs, bread, or milk before my big trip, but it was nice to just have to make one huge trip.

I continued this routine for quite a while. Even when Big E was born I was still doing this but not as often as I used to. Then last year I found a printable cleaning schedule. It had one page for each week of the year and on the bottom part of it there was a meal planning section. I used this sometimes, but as the year went on I used it less and less.

Recently I started a bullet journal and it has been great for me!! One of the spreads I make each week is a meal planning page and a shopping list page. I've found it easier to just shop for meals once a week. We just got a Sam's Club near us this past fall and to say we love shopping there is an understatement! We get 2 gallons of milk each week along with some produce and other various things. We have also been trying to go to Aldi to get the things we don't need to get in bulk. And then there's Walmart, we do some of our grocery shopping there as well.

Here is my current spread that I just started and am filling in with our meals for this coming week. My hubby will be away for work and I have a 5 day work week, so I'm definitely going to be planning some easy meals.

And here is one from 2 weeks ago. You can see how I made some changes to it and then I can just take my whole journal with me and cross out each item as I add it to my cart.

How do you plan out what you are making for dinner each week? Leave me some comments!

This...is American Idol!

For those of you that personally know me, you will know that I used to be obsessed with American Idol!!! Like seriously, it was my life!!! I watched it every week, voted, cut out pictures and magazine articles of the contestants, recorded TV appearances that my favorite Idols were on. I didn't start watching the show from the very beginning though. I had heard about the show right before the finale of the first season and instantly became a fan of Kelly Clarkson! Then I heard the show was coming back for a 2nd season so I watched the first episode and immediately became hooked!!

I watched every season up until season 11. After that, I can't even tell you the names of the winners from seasons 12-15. I did try to watch some of season 15 since it was the last season, but it just wasn't the same as seasons 2-11. I stopped watching because as I got older I got into other things and had more important things going on. Plus, there just weren't any people on the show that I felt connected to. Each season there were always at least 1 or 2 people that I found that I really liked!! Season 2 it was Julia DeMato. She is a hairdresser from Connecticut that I'm actually friends with on Facebook. She has an awesome singing voice! Season 3 I really liked Amy Adams!! I just loved her personality and her great voice!! Season 4 it was Anthony Fedorov!! I thought he was just so cute and loved his voice!! Season 5 was Kellie Pickler!! It was because of her that I wanted to get a job at Sonic Drive-In. She used to work there before she went on Idol and it was around the same time that they showed her audition on the show that we were getting a Sonic near where I lived. How ironic is that? She's just so bubbly and cute!! Season 6 was Blake Lewis, another contestant that I thought was cute! And the following season had yet another guy I thought was cute, David Archuleta! Danny Gokey was my favorite from season 8 and Aaron Kelly was my favorite from season 9. Season 10 I went back to having a girl as a favorite, Lauren Alaina and then season 11 I honestly didn't have a favorite contestant.

Of course there are a ton of other contestants from the show that I love now!! Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Lauren Alaina, Jordin Sparks, and Kellie Pickler would definitely, hands-down have to be my favorites!!!

I'm so excited that the show is coming back!! Yes it is going to be a lot different now not only because it is on a different network but because I'm a lot older watching it now than I was the last time it was on. I'm excited that I get to introduce my kids to the show! They would have heard about it eventually, but now I get to watch it with them! I'm sure Little E probably won't care about it and maybe Big E won't care either, but I think she will at least watch a little more of it than Little E. She loves music so I'm sure she'll watch some of it!!

I've recently been on a Kelly Clarkson kick because I love her new album that came out and am looking forward to hopefully seeing her in concert this summer!! The other day at lunch, I heard Big E singing part of a Kelly Clarkson song!! I can tell I've been playing a lot of her music recently and my little sponge is taking it all in!!

I've been slacking again...

To keep up with my teaching certification, I need a certain amount of professional development credits by a certain date. I am currently in need of 106 hours and have 1 year and 5 months to finish up those credits. I'm not exactly sure what happens if I don't get all my needed credits before time is up, but I don't want to find out. Luckily I'm able to take free classes online that get me anywhere between 5 and 15 hours of credit, it just depends on the class. And all I need to do for them is some reading and writing. I'm actually enjoying it because I've written a few lesson plans already. Most teachers would probably say that they dislike writing lesson plans, but I actually like it!!

For each course you have about 90 days to finish it and I currently have one that I'm enrolled in that I have 1 month to finish. All I need to do is create a lesson plan and then come up with an authentic assessment to go with it. I've got an idea of what I want to do so now I just need to get to it and write!

I divided it out and figured out that i need to get an average of 6 hours of credit per month in order to reach my 106 hours needed. If I take one class that is worth 10 hours or 2 that are worth 5 per month, I will definitely reach that!! If I can, I'm going to see if I can get more than 6 hours of credit per month just so I can get it out of the way!

This is where my bullet journal is going to come in handy!! I need to start making a daily spread for each week so I can look at my schedule for the week and plan when I'm going to work on my class work. If that means there is less time to play video games, then that's what I'm going to have to do. If it means of my days off of subbing that I don't take a nap while the kiddos nap, then so be it. I need to stop being lazy and get my class work done so I can finish my credits!! I know it will be a lot easier to keep up with my professional development when I get a full-time job, but until then I just need to take as many of these free classes as I can!!

My ideal future classroom

I've been thinking a lot recently about what I want my future classroom to be like. I have decided that I'm ready to start looking for a full-time teaching position to start in this fall. I have been saying that I wanted to wait until Big E was in Kindergarten before going back to work full-time, but ever since I started substitute teaching again, it is making me want to do more than just subbing.

I don't always get to do what I love every day that I work. Sometimes all the teachers give me to do is busy work for the kids where they just work in groups on a worksheet or work by themselves. There are some days that I actually get to teach some lessons to the class, but I'm ready to be doing that every day I work. I'm ready to be in charge of my own classroom of kids. I'm ready to have tests and worksheets to grade. I know it's going to be a lot more work than I'm doing now, but I'm ready for it!

So here is what my future classroom would look like:

As the students walk in, they would make see something creative that I've made from Pinterest where they will make their lunch choice for the day. I have a few ideas of what I'd like that to look like. This is one that I found on Pinterest that I really like.

I found this on Pinterest as well that I love for a paper turn in area:

On the first day of school we would talk about rules and why they are important. We would also come up with expectations both of what I expect from the students and what they can expect from me. It is hard as a substitute teacher to get the respect that you deserve from the students. Unless you are in the same classroom a lot, those kids don't really know you and think they can get away with goofing off and not acting the same way as they would if their teacher was there. But when it is your own classroom and you you lay down the rules right from the start, it is a lot easier to get the respect you deserve. So I want my classroom to be a safe place for the students where they feel like they belong. I want it to be like our own little community where everyone respects each other. 

Here is a link to my Pinterest board for my classroom. I created it a few months ago around the same time I was interviewing for the long-term 5th grade substitute position. Just the idea of possibly getting a full-time job got my wheels turning in my brain on what I wanted to do with that classroom. Even though I didn't get that position, I'm still thinking about what my future classroom is going to look like. I get so excited just thinking about having a classroom I can call my own! I know it is going to happen one day!! Until then, I'll keep searching Pinterest for even more ideas!!

We're so close!!!

*Spoiler: Don't read unless you have watched the episode of This Is Us from January 23rd.*

We are so close to finding out how Jack died on This Is Us!! Ever since the first season I, just like the rest of the This Is Us fans, have been sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to find out what exactly happened to Jack!! For most part of this season though, I've been pretty content without finding out anymore. I was just enjoying the storyline and didn't care that they weren't telling us any more.

But then they started giving us these little clues here and there like they did in the one episode when they forgot to get batteries for the smoke detector. And then in the preview for next week Kate said it was her fault. My theory is that the reason she was hesitant about getting the dog at first, is because maybe Jack went back into the house for her dog and that is why he died.

One thing I love about this show is how they allow you to put little pieces together and try to figure it out for yourself. I can't remember watching any other show that is like this. We know that Jack died but they haven't told us yet. And I kind of like it that way because it's like solving a mystery.

The one thing I'm not super excited about is that the next episode isn't on until Super Bowl Sunday and us not having cable means that we have to wait until the next day to watch it. Well, my hubby leaves for a work trip the day after the Super Bowl so that means we have to wait until that Friday to watch it!! So until then, I'll just have to do some more thinking about what I think is going to happen next. Tell me, what are your thoughts on This Is Us? I wanna know!!

Planning a trip...or 2!

So I'm not sure when exactly either of these trips are happening, but I just made 2 spreads in my bullet journal to start saving for them!! My hubby and I are going to go to the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas and then as a family we are going to Disney World!!! The Atlantis trip will hopefully be before the Disney trip. I'm hoping that we go to Atlantis within the next 5 years. A great part about both trips is that we shouldn't have to spend much, if anything, on our flights because of all the traveling my hubby has done for work. We can use the points he has accumulated so that part of the trip will be covered. The only flight we will have to pay for is from Florida to the Bahamas because Southwest (the airline his points are with), don't fly out of the country.

Here is my tracker for our Atlantis trip:

And here is the one for our Disney trip:

Like I said, neither trip will be anytime soon, but if feels good knowing that we are going to start saving for them soon. Neither trip will be cheap, but they will totally be worth it!!!! The hubby and I haven't had a big trip away with each other since before the kids were born, so that was more than 4 years ago. And I can't wait for my kids to experience Disney World!! We want to go when they are 7 and 9. I went to Disney when I was 8 and I only remember a few things from that trip. I would say we should wait until they are both a little older than 7 and 9, but at the same time I want them both to be young enough to enjoy it. I know there is something at Disney for anyone, no matter what age they are. But I really want Big E to still be into the Princesses when we go.

I can't wait until I can start filling in these squares on these pages to show our progress of saving!! My plan is to try to put $50 towards both of them at the same time. Some weeks we may get to put money into the savings and some weeks we might not. Once I get a full-time teaching job we will definitely be able to start saving a lot more. But until then, we'll save when we can and not stress about how much we have in there. I know in the end that we can make both trips possible!!

Things I need to stop saying

So for a while now I've realized that Big E is a huge sponge just taking in everything she sees and hears! But recently she's just been picking up more things so it's got me thinking that I really need to watch what I say when I'm around her. It's not like I swear or anything, but there's just certain things I don't want her saying.

The biggest one is "What the heck!" Now I know most would agree that "heck" is a lot better than "h-e-double hockey sticks", but it's still a word that I don't want my almost 4 year old saying. So starting now I'm going to try to get that word out of my vocabulary. Instead I can say "What in the world?" That I don't mind hearing Big E say.

I honestly can't think of anything else I say that I don't want her to say. I just knew that was the # 1 thing that I should stop saying so she doesn't repeat it. Obviously I don't want to swear in front of her because I don't want her saying swear words. But like I said, I rarely swear as it is, so I don't think I have to worry about slipping in front of her.

Little E is becoming a little sponge as well. For being 18 months, he doesn't really talk too much to where you can understand him. But the few words that he does say, wow! I'm so surprised he knows them. Yesterday we went to Target and there was a school bus parked in the parking lot and my husband said that Little E said what sounded like "school bus". Around Christmas time when people had Christmas lights up, he said the word "lights" and I had no idea he knew that word. It's crazy because they really do know more than you think they know. So everything they hear from the adults around them to the TV and music they listen to is super important that it isn't anything bad.

Between a movie on Netflix and Big E's tablet, that's how she knows her ABC's and can identify them! Now she's starting to learn the sounds from a game she plays on her tablet. So while they may recommend that kids under 5 not watch TV or use tablets that long each day, some use is alright if it is educational. It definitely isn't a replacement for me teaching my kiddos that stuff, but it helps!

So what are some things that you say or use to say that you know you shouldn't say around your kids? Leave me some comments! Have a great rest of your Sunday!!

Why do I want my house to be clean?

For the past month or so I've been posting pictures on Facebook and I even wrote a post about this topic here. I've been struggling with keeping my house clean because there were constantly toys everywhere!!! Well, we went through the playroom and living room thoroughly one weekend and got rid of some more toys that the kids don't play with anymore. We got a 9 cube storage unit for the playroom and moved the little kiddie table from the corner to the middle of the room. That table gets a lot more use now than it ever did in the corner!!

We have a new rule that we clean up before snack time every night before bed. We also clean up before lunch on weekends and the days that I don't work. This has been working very well and I can honestly say that I feel great since we started doing this. With Little E I still have to help him with it a bit, but once I show him that we are putting things into bins, he follows. And Big E fights me sometime with cleaning up but I just tell her that she doesn't get lunch or snack until it is cleaned up and then she starts.

It's so funny how a small change like this can make me feel so good, but it does. Just looking around the house and seeing it all cleaned up makes me happy and feel accomplished. I wish I could say the rest of the house looks as good as the downstairs does, but it doesn't. I'm slowly working on that though. I need to clean off the top of my dresser and clean out my closet sometime soon. I also need to go through both kids' closets and drawers and weed out the clothes that don't fit him!! Little E is in 18 month clothing and I still have 12 month pants in his drawers!! Before you know it he will be wearing size 24 months!!!

In the past I would stress out about not having enough time to clean up and having toys all over the place. But I finally feel like I've found a system that works for us. Sure I still have dishes piling up in the sink every now and then and sometimes the counters aren't the cleanest, but that's ok. Another thing I'm proud of is that I'm teaching my kids at a young age to keep the house clean and pick up after themselves! I remember when I was younger that my bedroom was almost always a mess!! Maybe I wasn't taught at a young age to pick up like I'm doing with my kids, who knows.

Video gamer here!

I think one thing that most people don't know about me is that I love to play video games!!! When I was younger I played some console games on Playstation 2, Wii, and even a Sega Dreamcast!! My kids will never know what that last console was, haha. I even played some computer games like The Sims!!!

Well, when Big E was about 3 months old, my dad and step-mom kept her for a weekend while I went to a concert and my hubby had airsoft for a day. That was on Saturday and then Sunday we were both at home and only had planned to go see a movie. Either before or after seeing a movie, I asked my hubby to teach me how to play one of the video games he plays on the computer. He has always been a big computer guy. He is great with them!! And he loves playing video games!!!

So he taught me how to play Minecraft!!! I instantly fell in love with the game and we would play every night and then all day Saturday and Sunday. You have to remember that this was when Big E was 3 months old, so pretty much all she did all day was eat and sleep. So for a while, our Saturday's and Sunday's were filled with video games!!

Then we started playing a game called ArcheAge. I'm pretty sure that anyone reading that has heard of World of Warcraft or WoW. Well, this is a game that is kind of similar to that game. The one aspect of the game I love is that you can own land and then plant things such as rice, corn, lavender, irises, and much more. Then you use those materials to make things and you can sell them to get gold. The whole point of the game is to create gear for your player and then you do quests to level your character up and you fight other players. I think another big aspect of the game I love is the people that we play with. They have what is called "guilds" which is a team of people that you play with. These are people from all over the world that play! We have been in a lot of different guilds within the past 3 and a half years that we've been playing this game. And we talk to them online when we play which is awesome! We've had some fun times and conversations playing with people that we don't even know in real life!! One thing that is funny is when you talk to these people for a while and you haven't seen a picture of them. Then when you finally do see a picture, it's nothing like what you imagined they looked like!!!

Now that Big E is older plus we have Little E, our only game time is at night when they go to bed and naptime on the weekends. I used to be so into gaming that during naptime during the week I would go down to the basement and play! I've stopped doing that now because while they are napping I like to either take a nap as well or catch up on some cleaning!!

Early intervention

As you may know, Big E was a premie born at 32 weeks. Because of that, she got evaluated by early intervention to see if she qualified to get any services. Based on the assessment she did qualify on the social aspect of the assessment. I thought that was a little silly though because at the time she was only 3 months old. So a special instructor started coming to our house every week and we found that it was a little more important at the time to work on getting her to start moving. We started with rolling over, then crawling, and eventually walking. She did all of those a little later than usual but that was expected due to her being 2 months early. She was evaluated again after one year of services and she qualified again but this time it was based on language development. We were so focused on getting her moving, that her language development wasn't quite where it should be, but the person that came each week said that was normal. So that next year we focused on getting her to talk more and she definitely did! Now our special instructor was only coming every 2 weeks because she said you wouldn't see too much progress week to week. Towards the end of that year she didn't even really need to come but we enjoyed having her come every other week to hangout with us for an hour! I still keep in contact with her and chat with her every now and then!!

So now fast forward to Little E. He was born at 39 weeks so he didn't get evaluated for early intervention. But at his 18 month check up earlier this week, the doctor said he is borderline for being concerned about his language development. So, I called up early intervention and requested to get him evaluated. It could end up that he doesn't qualify, but I'd rather just get him evaluated just to see. There's no cost to us which is amazing!! So if you have a child ages birth-5 and you think something may be up with some aspect of their development, see if there are early intervention services offered in your area and see how they can help you out.

More on my decision

I didn't make it to church this past weekend like I wanted to but I'm ok with that. I've been doing some more thinking and have had some good conversations with 2 of my friends. I told both of them that I've gone pretty much all of my life without being a religious person and that I'm doing just fine without it. They both essentially told me the same thing, but in 2 different ways, that I may think that I'm doing alright without religion, but I just don't see what I'm missing yet.

One of my friends that I talked to (who is also a fellow oily user), related this to people who don't use oils. They think that they are doing perfectly fine in life with oils but then all of a sudden they try them and boom, they work for them and now that person can't imagine life without them. So maybe I just need some sort of experience like that to make me realize that I do need religion in my life.

Part of me still thinks that maybe the reason I'm having these thoughts is because I need to meet some new people and gain some new friends, but I don't know. I recently bought and received a book of Bible stories for kids. It has 2 different levels of reading it. You can read through it and just read the words at the top for younger kids which is a shorter version of the stories. Or you can read the bottoms of the pages as well for older kids. So I'm going to start reading through this book with Big E and just see what information from that she picks up.

Then this summer I'm going to find at least one vacation Bible school for her to attend so she can learn more there. A friend also suggested that I start by asking her simple questions like "Do you know who made the trees, the clouds, etc." And then next Christmas, I will definitely be talking about the true meaning of Christmas with her. I think by then she will be able to understand a little more than she will be able to now.

The main thing that has been going on in my mind is that as long as my kids know right from wrong, I'm happy. The simple lessons like "treat others the way you want to be treated" and saying "please", "thank you", and "your welcome." As long as I raise my kids to be good people, I know I've done my job as a mother. There is a lot of bad in this world and I don't think it is ever going to get better. But I can sleep easy at the end of the day knowing that I taught my kids to do the right things in life. And to me, it doesn't matter if we go to church or not. Just being taught the good values in life is the most important thing.

Here is what I have decided

This post is a follow up to my previous post, A kind of uncomfortable post. So if you haven't read that one yet, read that one first and then come back to read this one.

I texted my hubby while he was away for work last Thursday and told him that I was thinking about maybe checking out a local church with my mom. I told him about the blog post I wrote and wanting to start reading the Bible. I asked what he thought about that and mentioned the fact that we never talked about religion before. I also told him that I was nervous to even bring up the subject because I didn't know what he would think. Well, he said he isn't interested in it at all. And I am totally ok with that. But it got me thinking: why do I all of a sudden have an interest in religion and reading the Bible?

Part of me just wanted to stop having thoughts about religion and just forget about it all. I mean, I'm going to be 28 soon and for the past 12 years or so of my life, I haven't gone to church or read the Bible and I'm doing just fine. It just got me thinking, what am I going to gain by going to church? Well, one thing I'm thinking I could gain is new friends. As I've written about before, I've been struggling with my friendships recently. I was just telling my husband the other day that I actually don'e even know who my friends are anymore. Sure I have some people that I text and talk to on Facebook regularly, but then there's also people that I talk to way less now than I used to. And it's been a while since I've seen a lot of my friends or hungout with them. So maybe by going to church I'll meet some new people and maybe that's just what I need.

So I've decided that I'm going to keep using the Bible app that I found and follow the "Bible in One Year" plan. It's been a bit hard keeping up already but I'm determined to stick with this. I'm going to even try to get a day or 2 ahead every now and then so I can stay on track. Also, next week I'm going to go to a local church with my mom for an event they have for new members. It is a non-denominational church and I think it is going to be a great fit. They have what seems to be a great children's program so I'm excited to learn more about that.

I'm also going to start watching Veggie Tales with Big E and see what she picks up from watching that. I can maybe look into getting some children's books that would introduce her to the idea of God and religion. My aunt suggested finding a vacation Bible school this summer so I'm' definitely looking forward to doing that!

I still don't think the reason I want to jump into this is 100% clear to me yet, but I'm excited to see where this journey will take me! Like I've said many times before, everything happens for  reason so eventually I will find the reason for wanting to pursue these thoughts!

I learned something new...

You know how people say "You learn something new everyday"? Well, here is the thing that I learned today: Steve Jobs got fired from Apple, the company that he co-founded. Then he went on to create a company called NeXT and he had a part in creating Pixar. I was in for a learning support teacher today and when I came back to the main room the students were in, the class was discussing an article about Steve Jobs. They were talking about how important it is to work with others because Apple then realized that they needed Jobs working with them. Just think about what could have happened had Jobs never worked with Apple again.

Or think about what would have happened if Apple never fired him in the first place. Would Pixar have been created and be as big as it is today? Who knows. It's another one of those times where we can say "things happen for a reason." Even bad things that happen to us can turn into positive things if we have a positive outlook. When something bad happens to us and we are only looking at the negative, we can't find anything positive from that experience.

What is one moment in your life that you look back at and think "If that hadn't happened, my life would be completely different." For me it would be meeting my husband. If we had never met, I wouldn't have my 2 precious children. And there would be people in my life that I don't know. So be grateful for every moment in your life, even the bad ones. Because if you stay positive, then positive things will come your way. It's all about mindset!!