My three beautiful children

Today is Thankful Thursday.
All day today I knew exactly what I was going to write about.
I as always have a million things I could be thankful for. Such as the fact that I get to spend the weekend with my hubby before he has to leave for a month. Or the fact I have such great friends.
Today however I want to express just how thankful I am for my three beautiful children.

I have found out in the last 5 years that I have PCOS which is a much shortened version of something called, polysystic ovary syndrome. This more or less means that I do not ovulate. Or when I do it is very rare.
When I first started to get my period I was in grade 8. (Ironically the same as my daughter). Even when I first started menstruating I was not regular. I was never regular except when I was on the pill. It was always something I was concerned with but honestly sometimes ignorance is bliss.
When I met my hubby I obviously was not regular and would often wonder period to period if I was pregnant. Then one night I was rushed into the hospital with severe abdominal cramps. Turns out I has pregnant with an ectopic pregnancy.
Then a couple months later I got pregnant with our son whom was born exactly a year after I lost our first.
One year later I was pregnant again, this time my body absorbed the fetus and I had to have surgery again.
One year after that I gave birth to our second son 3 weeks premature.
Then 2 years later we knew that we wanted another child and were actively trying to get pregnant to no avail. Then I was lucky and got pregnant again. We were so happy. Then I woke up one morning with spotting. I was so scared. I told my sister and right away we prayed. She also started the prayer chain at our church. However later that evening I lost our 5th child.
18 months later after lost of trying, tons and tons of pregnancies tests, only 4 periods and tons of crazy feelings I went to the doctor that helped me out while I was losing our last baby. He was so wonderful. He told me that the reason people don't get pregnant is simple, either they have infertility issues (which considering I had already been pregnant 5 times they didn't think this was the issue. Little did they know. LOL) or it simply a mystery. He did however recommend that I go back on the pill for 3 months to try and regulate my period. I never took one pill. I never needed to, my the end of June I was pregnant again with our baby girl.
Now fast forward several years later like about 8 and I knew I wanted another child. However during the past 8 years many, many things in our life had changed, one being that I had my tubes tied. Now the simple solution to this is usually just un-tieing your tubes, for me not so much. Since I had already had an ectoptic pregnancy the chances of another one were VERY VERY high, so to the fertility doctor we went. There we learned in about 5 seconds that I had PCOS.
I am honestly considered a miracle as is my 3 beautiful children as I should never have been able to get pregnant once without assistance let alone 6 times.

So although this post is so wordy and I really hoped you stayed with me until the end because that is what I am so thankful for. My 3 beautiful babies.
They have blessed my life so incredibly much and I thank God continually for them.

My three crazy beautiful blessings taken this past Christmas morning.
I am linking up with Theresa and her Thankful Thursday.

Homeschooling journey.

This year of homeschooling has been a long interesting journey.
Not only has my beautiful daughter learned new things but I too have learned so much. Maybe even more than her.
When I decided to home school I was very unprepared. I assumed that since I was doing mostly teacher led homeschooling that I did not need to do much more than what I was doing before when she was in conventional school.
Now I do need to add this side note. Sarah is taking her 8th grade this year. She has two older brothers that went from K to 12 in the conventional school system. So needless to say I was GREEN!!!!

I decided in light of today being Top 10 I would list 10 of the things that I learned this year. This is not to say I only learned these 10 things. I also learned a pile more.

1. Plan out your year of schooling at the beginning of school.
I figured craziness I know, that if she was working on certain subject for certain periods of time during the week that would work. Maybe for some it would. Not for us. We needed to break down all what she had to learn for the year and make a timeline for her to finish each one.

2. My daughter needs a schedule.
See above. I already knew that I worked better with a schedule so even though I said Monday and Wednesday were for this this and this, Tuesday and Thursday were this this and this and Friday was this and this; it wasn't structured enough for her. She would procrastinate, resulting in January us being VERY behind and her working A LOT to catch up so we could even finish the year on time.

3. My daughter has some learning challenges.
This was not a big surprise as my oldest also has learning challenges. If I would have been more in tune I probably would have realized that all the teacher comments on her liking to visit and if she would only hand her work in were rooted in a deeper issue. I realize now that she is more than likely ADD or a form of it. Part of the reason behind her schedule is because she gets distracted VERY easily.

4. I also believe that my daughter has some sensory challenges.
Again if I would have thought more about it I would have realized sooner. She hates me brushing her hair or even putting it up in a pony. I thought she was just being overly sensitive. She can't stand the sound of a public toilet flushing, even now she puts her hands over her ears.

5. Some days you need to just relax.
Sometimes we both need down days. I know that next year when I start my scheduling I would work it so maybe we can have a down day once a month. Not necessarily schedule it in but if some times I feel if would be beneficial to just recharge we have the luxury of doing so.

6. When she finds something she enjoys there is no limit.
She really enjoys Home Ec and was very keen to do things in it such as the cooking/baking session. With the help of her teacher they also found a math program that she really enjoys and she works hard on it and is improving more and more each day.

7. I like to have my 'me' time and my 'hubby and me' time.
I miss that. I miss that a lot!! We now really have to focus on making date nights and I have really grown to appreciate when she is out playing with friends.

8. I am sad that I never home schooled my boys.
I really believe that they would have excelled in this system instead of doing mediocre in the conventional system.

9. I have learned that I need to learn to lean on God more.
I like to be independent but I have learned that we do much better when we turn to Him first.

10. I am so glad I decided to do this crazy rat race of a life.
Sarah and I are way closer now. We always were but I feel that this year we are even closer. We have both grown up so much. Each and every day is a gift even if sometimes I might want to return it to sender. LOL

I am linking up today with Angie.

Change...

Have you ever looked at a picture and thought I wish I could look like that?
Or how about looked in the mirror. Really looked and not been happy with what you see?
It is crazy really as God sees us as amazing so how come we can't see ourselves the same way?
I decided that I am not happy with my health.
I am also not happy with my body but I am working on my health first.
I have a love affair with junk food.
Chocolate in particular.
I need to learn how to eat better. Not binge eat.
The funny thing is that I also enjoy fruits and veggies.
I often eat salads and enjoy chicken and fish.
However I also eat food that is bad for me. Too much of it.
I managed to go the last three months with no chewy candy and no pop. I did it for Lent and then when that was over I decided to stay off of them.
I desperately wanted to get back on my treadmill but haven't managed that yet.
So I guess this post is about me starting fresh.
Starting at the beginning of my road to change.
Learning restraint and getting energy again.
Changing my health and my attitude.
I plan to blog about my journey so wish me well.
So you can also see my journey visually and so I also stay focused I though I would include a picture of myself.

Yep not the best picture, but in my defense I am tired and I have only a couple places with mirrors. LOL
So here goes nothing folks.

3 in 30 update

Well as most of you know by now last week passed in a blur. I never even focused on my goals.
This week...much better.
It is amazing how much a person can accomplish when their mind is not in a constant state of fogginess. Now if I could just get rid of this constant headache...
Anyway here is my progress for the month.
1. Keep the house clean.
This week has been way better. I am working hard to make sure that the dishes are always done and that laundry is kept up. My house still isn't visit friendly but at least it is not condemn-able. LOL

2. Make snacks and healthy food choice.
Again this week is WAY better. Although last week I did eat fairly healthy I just didn't eat much at all.
This week I roasted a chicken, focused on salads and veggies. Made a pile of healthy snacks for me and my daughter and feeling much better about my choices and what I have been able to provide for us.

3. Keep drinking the water.
This one has had its ups and downs. This past Sunday I realized that I had only pee'd in the morning and again just before bed. Yep bad bad Sherri. When I realized that I started to drink the water. I still need to consume more but at least I am actually going to the bathroom more often now.
Now as we head into another busy weekend of dance I need to focus on this even more.

I am linking up this week with 3 in 30 weekly challenge and Michelle at Caffeinated Randomness

I am so blessed

I started to think about today's Thankful Thursday and I knew immediately what I wanted to write.
However as per usual my mind started going through all the things that I could be thankful for and there was an abundance.

-I am thankful for my hubby. He kept me sane and looked after our daughter this past week when I was unable to.
- Great friends whom also knew I was at my breaking point and let me know how much they appreciated me.
-The fact that even though I am not completely healthy, my mind is clear again and I am able to function without being in a constant fog.
-Being able to watch my daughter dance. I truly think there is nothing better for me than being able to watch my children do what they love to do. Whether that is watching them draw, play sports, dance or hanging out together it makes this Mom's heart full.
-Knowing that my hubby is working so hard to provide for our family. He works crazy long days and spends a tremendous amount of time away from home but he never complains about it.
-'Getting to know' some really fantastic ladies here in blog land.
- Getting some more information and slowly moving forward in a big step in our lives.
-My handsome hubby agreeing to meet up with us in Las Vegas! I am so pumped about this one.

I am so blessed.
Thank you Lord for all you have given myself and my family.

I am linking up today with Red Oak Lane.

Productive??

Don't you just love productive days?
Days when everything goes great.
You manage to get everything checked off of your to-do list.
When your family is full from the amazing supper you made.
The house is filled with the aroma of baking.
Floors are squeaky clean.
The dishes are all washed and put away.
Laundry is all done and tucked away in everyone's drawers.

Yep I love those days too.

They are not always frequent in my house.
But when they are. Ahhhh........

Today, well today was semi productive.
However after my week last week anything I did around the house would have been great!

I did manage to get 90% of the laundry done.
I did manage to roast a chicken. Just not in time for supper. We dined on leftovers tonight. The chicken is for the next few days when life is going to be crazy busy again. I managed to boil some eggs and peel them so I can make my daughter some egg salad sandwiches.
I did manage to get some baking done. Mostly for myself. Man that sounds so selfish. But I need GF snacks so I concentrated on those first. Tomorrow I will make some more for Sarah.
I did manage to get most of the dishes done. They are drying on the counter as we speak and one pot (the roast chicken pot) is in the sink soaking.
Floors were not even washed but I did find my bathroom.
I did manage to wash my sheets and remake my bed.

I still look around my house and see so much to do. However I am happy I am healthy enough to accomplish what I did today.

How was your day? Did you manage to have a great one?

Top 10

I thought I would catch you all up on what happened this past week but I also wanted to participate in Top 10 Tuesday so I decided I would combine them.
So typical me this is a bit different. :)

My top 10 memories of this past week.

1. Being sick.
Yep that's right I got sick on Easter Saturday and was sick pretty much all week long. When I say sick I mean SICK. I got a head and chest cold and it decided to go bronchial on me. So I spend a good chunk of the week fighting for breath and feeling like I was drowning.

2. Doing stage rehearsals.
Monday thru Thursday Sarah had stage rehearsals. They went really well I think. See above wasn't overly focused. :)

3. STEPS workers.
I was in charge of the STEPS (her festivals name) workers. I had to make sure everyone showed up for their shifts, did their duties and put out any fires that arose. This was a huge job and I am so thankful that I had for the most part amazing people working.

4. Doing set up and take down.
For set up I literally sat on the floor and just struggled to breath. I tried to organize the people but my mind was a big old fog machine.
Take down I was feeling way better but at that point pretty exhausted. I had walked the entire weekend so I had feet the size of watermelons. hahahahah

5. My hubby.
Without him our poor daughter would have starved. I had no appetite at all so never thought about food for her. Thank goodness he was around. He drove her to and from dance on the weekend and made sure she was fed. I did manage to make sure she drank lots of water. :)

6. Snow
It snowed/rained all weekend. Very normal for this time of year but so aggravating.

7. Some very wonderful people.
These ladies kept me sane!! I was so sick and so crazy by the weekend that they helped me out so much. Without them and without my hubby I would have sat down in the corner and cried.

8. Watching my daughter dance.
Sarah has 7 dances this year. One of them is her very first ever solo. She is doing a tap solo. Watching her on stage was most definitely the highlight of my entire weekend. She shone!! God is doing amazing things in her life. She is growing up so much and maturing. I am so lucky to be her momma.

9. Spending some rare but very important quality time moments with my hubby.
These were very rare but VERY treasured. He means so very much to me. He keeps me grounded and I love watching him interact with our children. He is an amazing father and a fantastic husband. We are lucky that he chose us. :)

10. This is probably my favorite moment of the entire week.
On Saturday I was stressed and I mean STRESSED!! There was some negative talk about me behind my back as well as some bickering going on about the job I was doing. The fact that I was there and working while my mind was not functionally and I was hardly breathing did not seem to weigh in. I was to say the very least upset.
I was hurt and mad and stressed and and and...
At one point while I was checking the bathrooms to make sure they were clean I just stood in front of the mirror and prayed. I asked God for strength. Strength to just get me through the rest of the weekend. Strength to not let this gossip effect me so much. Then I left the bathroom and went on about my job. I started to talk to another dance mom whom is a fellow Christian and she helped me. I went home in a much brighter mood. I was happy and managed to finish the weekend feeling better mentally and physically.
It wasn't until that evening that I realized that God had answered my prayer. He was there for me. He led me to my friend and gave us the opportunity to talk and let me release all my anxiety. I can tell you I mighty praised Him!!!

In short it was a crazy week. I never even turned on my blog all week. However I learned a very important lesson this past week. I knew that I could always count on my hubby and I found out I have some pretty great people that I know, however, I also learned that in my low of lows God is always there for me.

So Hi everyone I am back and I hope that even though things will still be crazy busy for me I can stop in and say hi much more frequently.

I am linking up today with Angie at Many Little Blessings.

I am alive!!

I am alive!!
I just wanted to pop by and let everyone know.
Or at least anyone that was concerned I am alive again!!
It has been an intense week but I actually have 4 seconds tonight to get on here and say HIIIIII!!!!!!

I will catch everyone up soon.
Take care everyone!!!

I AM SO HAPPY TO BE BACK!!!!

April is here and so it is new goal time

This month is my crazy busy month, ok ok so is next month as well. So when I was trying to figure out my goals for April, I was having a hard time. I like to usually make my goals something that enriches our lives for the better. However that usually means making a big change in how I do things. I knew that this month it would be harder for me to accomplish this.
So then I thought I could make my goals very simple, example: I could say I plan to get all of Sarah's dance stuff organized, ready, altered, and packed. But I would have already been 99% done that so it almost felt like cheating. So then I decided to make the goals realistic instead of easy. There is a difference. hahahaha
So without further babbling here they are:

1. Keep the house clean.
This might sound like an easy goal but I must let you know that every single day we will be out of the house doing something except for part of the last week of April and hubby will be home some of that, so I don't want to spend that week cleaning up from the rest of the month.
I tend to get a little lazy when I am busy and the first thing to fall by the wayside is my house.

2. Make snacks and healthy food choices.
I know also that when we are on the goal all the time I will pack or buy healthy for my daughter and I will grab junk. So my goal is to always have healthy food choices around for both of us. If I make the snacks then I know what goes into them as well. Win win.

3. Keep drinking the water.
Since Lent is almost over I am scared I am going to go back to simply grabbing a pop. It is my go to drink when I get stressed. It is also filling so I am not as hungry. Bad calories, bad!
So I need to also pack myself lots of water to have. I am picky about my water so I need to make sure I have lots of the kind I like. Weird? Yep that's me. Just ask my hubby. hahahahahaha

I hope everyone has a blessed Easter!!!!

I am linking up today with Michelle for Caffeinated Randomness and the 3 in 30 weekly linkup. Hop on over and see what others are up to.

Thankful Thursday

God has blessed me with a pretty amazing life. 

As I sit at the computer thinking about what exactly to write today I realized that is very hard to narrow it down.

So this might seem like a bit random but here are some things that are popping into my head.

I am thankful for a reliable vehicle. I spend a TON of time on the road and in Alberta you are never sure what the road conditions are going to be like from moment to moment so to have a reliable vehicle that I am comfortable driving is huge for me.

I am thankful that I was able to help out my parents today by driving a little over an hour away to pick up my Dad's golf cart that was getting serviced so that he can have it for Monday. (They are closed all weekend)

I am thankful that my children have all turned out just fine. There was many a days when I wondered if I was doing the right thing. In fact I am sure some of those times I wasn't at all. However they are healthy, happy individuals. 

I am thankful that my hubby loves me so much. He gets me. Not a ton of people do. He puts up with my silly sense of humor and my sometimes flip flop of emotions. :)

I am thankful that I get to spend Easter with my parents and some siblings. We try to get together as often as we can and I always enjoy it when we do. Making memories one minute at a time. :)

I am thankful that I have an amazing God that I serve. Where would I be without Him?? Lost and Broken. 

I turn to Him so much and He is always there. :)

Come check out more thankful Thursday posts at Red Oak Lane and at The Marathon Mom.

What a Wednesday

I must say today was interesting.
I have been freezing at night. Not sure what is happening but I lay in bed shivering trying to warm up for a good half hour. (This is even with my heated mattress pad on). Anyhooo... back to the original subject today.
So needless to say I did not have a great sleep last night.
However I was feeling fairly perky this morning and was up and about waking up Sarah and getting things ready a little ahead of schedule and then...
We hit a road block.
I am not sure exactly what.
Sarah had a hard time getting into school today.
She was taking her time was not focusing really well.
I was grumpy and lots of little things were annoying me.
I did manage to alter and label all but one of her dance costumes. The last one is still needing to be sewn. Oops. Thank goodness I see my Mom on Friday she will help me out. :)
Then off to dance we went.
Things perked up for a bit but I still found myself out of sorts. Quick to anger, slow to relax.
I did have to chuckle when Sarah was in the shower before we left for dance. I could here her splashing around in the water that was draining and I asked her what she was doing. She said dancing. Then she burst into song. "I feel like dancing, dancing, dance the night away. I feel like dancing, dancing dance the night away. Whooooo"
Then after dance she had a esthetician's appt. to be all beautified.
After that Sarah and I managed to hook up our sled/quad trailer to my truck. The only man we had assisting us was my hubby via long distance phone call. We did it!! Whoohoooo!!!
Then signed onto my blog and I spend part of the evening catching up. I was reading my blogging friend Jenilee's post when I saw she mentioned me. Awe it made my heart really happy. Thank you sooo much Jenilee!!!!


Still not feeling 100%. I am thinking early bedtime with some time spend in His Word. :)

Have a great night everyone.

Every Mom needs to be pampered occasionally

I am a very firm believer that if I do not take time out for myself I have less and less to give to my family.

When I take that time to recharge I am a better person, a better wife, a better Mom, a better daughter, a better...you get the picture.

So every so often I spoil myself.

When we were living on a much more limited income these times were a little different but I still managed to find me time.

1. Take time to get your hair done.

I try to go to the stylist about every 4 months or so. It depends sometimes more time passes sometimes less. If we have something that we are doing that I know I want my hair to look nice I will try and book my appt for around that time. 

When our income was significantly less my sister and I would buy boxed dye and dye our own hair. Then my trips were only needed for a trim. 

Now our resources are a bit better so I can afford to go and get the whole shubang done. (However even with that my stylist is my very good friend and I get a huge discount).

However I will admit it was fun getting together with my sister for that time. :)

2. Take time to get out alone.

I love my family. All of them, every single one. But I NEED some me time. I love to go grocery shopping alone. I could spend hours in a grocery store. 

Grocery shopping is something that you are not fond of??? Do something else. Maybe running to the bank or to get fuel or even to the store to get new (to them or brand new) clothes for the family. Whatever is your favorite try and do it every so often alone. Its a treat trust me. :)

3. What a movie all alone. 

This may seem a little crazy and trust me I know how hard it can be, but sometimes a good movie (for me it would be a great romance) alone, maybe with some tears involved is just what the doctor ordered. I totally know that sometimes this is next to impossible but even if it is only in pieces it is still worth it. :)

4. Take some time and get out with your girlfriends.

I have a great friend (whom also is my stylist) that we will about once a month if it all lines up go out and spend the day together. Now she is currently kid-less so she likes to shop and I mostly window shop. We will grab our Starbucks and browse through the stores. Then sometimes dinner and a movie. I am fortunate that my youngest is old enough to be alone for several hours however if you do not have that luxury find a way. Even if it means trading babysitting time with another mom. 

5. Spend date nights with hubby.

In a post soon I will give you some great date night ideas but for now I will simply say this is one of my favorite things to do.

We usually do not spend a lot of money and we tend to keep it pretty simple. (most of the time) but the important thing is we are spending time together sans our children. 

Keeping our relationship strong is very important to both of us.

6. Take time to smell the roses. 

I mean this figuratively. However sometimes when I just need that moment alone I step outside. I take time to surround myself in God's beauty and things slowly get set right again. I have been know to take that spare moment when they are watching tv or when they are napping just to enjoy God's paintbrush. 

7. Have a relaxing bath.

This is sometimes easier said than done. My youngest is currently 14 and if I bath when she is awake she will manage to find me and invariably need something. However I still believe that soaking your stresses away in a hot tub is very therapeutic. I have been know to take a cup of coffee and go have a soak even if it is only for 15 minutes. I always feel so much better.

8. Listen to your favorite de-stress song. One of my favorites is :

 It is always one that I know HE is always there for me in all my craziness. :)

9.Exercise.

Yea I know I went there. However when I am working out I am a way happier person. Not only healthier. 

All my stresses get taken out by a good old sweating. 

10. Spend time in His Word.

You didn't think I would leave this one out did you? What better thing to do to pamper yourself than to let Him pamper you.

If you are able to get up early then get up even .5 hour earlier and spend time reading and worshipping. I am soooooo not a morning person so I spend my time in the evening. Or even during the day even if it is only 5 minutes at a time. I am seeking help from the Lord all day every day. :)

There are so many great Top 10 here. Please go check them out.