New post coming... just be patient!

I'm working on getting a new post out, but this one is going to be a long one, so it may take a few nights to get it all out on "paper." It is a VERY personal and VERY emotional one for me... 

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Help!

So my best friend is having a gold-themed birthday party next month for her golden birthday (26 on the 26th). I am looking for something to wear. I have narrowed it down to 3 things... but I need your help!!

Option 1:

 It is a shirt, and not a swim cover-up :)

Option 2:

Only has sequins on the front and is racer back.

Option 3:

And, just because it's fabulous, I had to share:

Kickball Injuries

I think I have bad luck with the Winter kickball season. Last year after my very first game of kickball, I fell down the stairs at my parents house. 9am on a Saturday. Sober. Not even hungover. In fact, I was more well rested than normal because Parker's dad had him the night before. Unknown to me until 2 days later, I had broken my tailbone. I was walking around as if I had a giant stick up my butt. The steps I was able to take were so minusculey small, it was pathetic. To be able to get through my day at work, I had to sit on giant pillows at my desk chair. The vicodin the urgent care doctor gave me made me completely useless at work, so I was suffering through the pain with just the help of ibuprofen. My broken tailbone took me about 6 weeks to heal from. 6 weeks with a broken tailbone while also being a single mom to a 1.5 year old was torture. You cant just ignore a 1.5 year old and lay on your stomach on the couch. No... you have to still be up and doing things at all times. The pain was ridiculous. 

So, while I did not hurt myself actually playing kickball last season, this season is different. I had a game this last Sunday, and while playing second base, three of the fingers on my left hand had a small collision with the leg of another player. They bent backwards, and pain instantly shot through my fingers and hand. All I could think of as I was in pain was "I don't have insurance, I don't have insurance, I don't have insurance!!" Since I had to leave my job at UCP last month, my insurance is no longer valid. Luckily, I don't think that I need any medical attention, even though the hand is still hurting days later. The hand is not swollen, not bruised or discolored, pretty much looks great by the naked eye. BUT, it hurts still. A lot. It aches constantly, and any strange movement, and a few sharp pains go through my hand and wrist. All I can hope is that the pain will go away soon, and that the string of Winter season kickball injuries stops here.

The French Fry Dance

Did you know there is such thing as a french fry dance? Neither did I until last night. My two and a half year old taught me all about it (as well as my mom and step-dad [Dan]) yesterday evening. 

To begin with, Parker and I decided to visit my parent's house after I picked him up from his other grandma after I got back from Eugene and done with my kickball game. They decided that they would buy us dinner from Burgerville so we had an abundance of french fries at our disposal.

After awhile, Dan asked me if I could play a song off the Glee album that Parker used to sing along with months back. So, I put it on, and Dan turned up the volume nice and high. Parker, of course, loves to dance--so he and I started singing and dancing around the living room. Pretty soon he had a french fry in each hand and shoving french fries into mine. Slowly he followed by shoving french fries in my mom and dan's hands. And them pleading with them to come dance and sing with him. So there the four of us were. Dancing around the living room to Glee songs while holding french fries. The song hit of the night was Glee's Jump song--every time the word "jump" was sang in the song, all of us jumped in the living room (still holding french fries). Parker thought this was awesome and amazing. He was having so much fun!!

It was truly a great night, and definitely a night that I will not soon forget...

Need for Sleep

I am so frickin' tired. Every night this week I have gotten a maximum of 6 hours of sleep. And I just worked for 12 hours today. My body is telling me to go straight to bed. Problem is, I still have to plan my lesson for tomorrow... yiiiikes.

Reasons to be a Single Mom

Most people know the bad parts about being a single mom: doing it all by yourself, having to wake up every time the kid does, paying for everything, always being the one that stays home with the sick kid, the list goes on and on. But did you know that there are actually pluses to being a single mom too?

Yeah. 

I don't have to clean up after my kid AND boyfriend/husband. I only have to take care of/clean up after myself and my kiddo. 

I get to do things MY way in my house. Sure, I don't have the support that other mom's do, but you know what? I like that I am able to do things my way and that Parker and I can have our routines that work for us. I also get to raise him how I want to. He gets some influence from his dad and other family members, but all in all, I get final say.

When I don't have Parker (as in, his dad does...) I get nights of uninterrupted sleep. Completely. I can go do something and not worry about waking him up when I get home or having to get up early with him. I can sleep in and not feel guilty about it.

I get to have a relationship with my son that is so very special. We rely on each other, and he knows that I will always be here. I know, I know... other moms have this with their kids too, but they have to share the love more. Parker is all mine when he is here, and although that sounds selfish, I don't care. He is my baby after all! 

I get to decide how he dresses. I buy all his clothes, so I get to have the say, and don't have to worry about the questionable choices of my boyfriend/husband. 

So, yeah. Although there are a bunch of negatives to being a single mom, I try to live my life remembering the positives, because, really, walking through life thinking of how much better it could be is not healthy. I am trying to make the best out of this situation, because this is my life, and my son is my world.

Overworking

About 6 months ago, I was convinced that I was going to be able to do Student Teaching and work my job as a manager at UCP during off hours. I was lying to myself thinking that I could do it, because the idea of having no income for at least 4.5 months was terrifying. Let me just say, thank God I didn't do both. And thank God that my boss didn't let me. Student teaching is taking so much out of me, even though I love it so much. I'm working on-call shifts here and there to get a little bit of income, and just that is sounding like a lot to me right now. Can you imagine trying to fit in 40 hrs of work into my schedule as well?! I would have gone crazy and would have spent little to no time with Parker, which is not something I am willing to do. I love that little boy so much, and spending less time with him than I already do would absolutely break my heart.