"Single-ish" Mom

Life lately has been hectic and busy. I feel like we just run from one thing to the next. That we live in our car between swim team, play dates and parties. We are over scheduled to say the least. Monday through Friday I am a "single-ish" mom. I have been changing the terminology that comes out of my mouth from "single mom" to "single-ish" mom, after reading this interview from our first lady, Michelle Obama. Single Mom  is a label that I have worn before, after my divorce, and prior to my remarriage. I know that being a "single mom" is a difficult job, but that any form of motherhood is rewarding. After reading the article, I decided I needed to change my current label to "single-ish mom" I know that Saturday and Sunday, I have the husband to help me tag team the kiddos. My husband is working nights, and due to our schedules overlapping we see each other only in passing, as he comes to school to pick up our daughter, Kaitlyn for swim practice. I am constantly frustrated with my present situation in life. I am attempting to be content and find joy in our life. In the fact that my children have their health, that we have more than enough food and a warm home to spend our days and nights in. I am blessed to be able to work in a wonderful environment, that encourages me and my students to have a loving relationship with God and each other. It helps that before I go to bed, that I count my blessings and believe that this current situation of time apart from my husband, is only strengthening our marriage and preparing him for something else in the future. In the meantime, my little man is loving his first car.

Three Weeks

I can't believe how time has flown by! Our baby boy is already three weeks old! Lucas Kaeo Battle was born February 19, at 9:03 AM. The last few weeks have been amazing! We are so blessed. God is so faithful to what he has promised us!

Thankful

I am so thankful this year, for time spent with family and friends. For all the good I know God has planned for us. For the surprises in my life, like getting to take my daughter to the Christmas parade in town with family, and for my husband getting of from work early enough, to go too. God plants these little seeds of joy in my life, to bless me, and probably to keep me from going crazy. I can't believe how quickly time is flying by, and how soon our little baby boy is going to be here! Last night, we splurged and bought him a cozy gray blankly from the local boutique, SunBeams. I can't wait to use it!

My Baby Boy

I cannot wait to meet my little boy! My best friend Becky, had her beautiful little girl yesterday, and getting to hold her in the hospital yesterday, was the best part of my week! I cannot believe that I am going to be blessed to be a mother again. I was excited this morning to find these adorable gift tags for my baby shower from the etsy shop SeptemberFaire!

Baby Battle

Well, we just found out that Baby Battle is a BOY!!! I absolutely cannot wait to meet him! I love him so much already, and now I feel like I am totally behind, in being ready for his arrival! We are coming up with a list of names, and Kaitlyn and Richard are so excited too! Baby Battle, what should your name be?

Life Flying By...

How can it be that I have not blogged since April??? Where has the time gone? Well we enjoyed a beautiful spring, and a wonderful 3 months of Summer vacation that included a trip to Oregon, time in Santa Cruz and many, many days at my mother's beautiful pool. We celebrated our 1 year anniversary, with a trip to San Francisco with friends, which was fun and we also found out in June that we are expecting Baby Battle #1. It amazes me how quickly our lives can change. Baby will be here sometime in late February and while this pregnancy has been much kinder on my body than Miss K's was, I am still amazed each morning when I wake up and realize that yes indeed I am pregnant and that I have to get prepared. Kaitlyn turned 9 this week, and yet she still seems like my little girl. Another school year began, and we continue to be busy with swim team, soccer practice, and events at church. While I love this time of year, I still look forward to the quiet evenings at home that will come with late fall and early winter weather. Time that hopefully I will be able to use to nest and get ready for baby...

Soap

As my family and many of my friends know, I do not like Wal-Mart with a passion! I dislike going in to the store, because I always spend way too much money on junk that I do not need, as well as the fact that I strongly dislike the fact that we have only one place in our small town to purchase items such as toilet paper or laundry soap at low prices. So with the ever rising prices of gas, I have been avoiding going to Modesto as often as I would like. My thrifty and creative sister-in-law, April told me about this website soap.com, which offers free 1-2 day shipping and no sales tax on all the household items you can dream of wanting, many of which Wal-Mart does not offer! I decided to give it a try, since I love online shopping and can do it from the comfort of my own home, versus wasting precious time out shopping. I found everything that I needed at a very comparable price, plus no tax! My order was placed at 4pm Tuesday and arrived at 2pm Wednesday! I couldn't believe it! My life is definitely changed for the better :-) A huge thank you to my sister-in-law April for helping me discover this wonderful website...

P.S. I tried not to say "hate" in this post, although I really wanted to, because a good friend of mine reminded me last night that it is wrong... :-) Thanks Keturah!

Candida

The snow storms of the last few weeks, have really thrown a loop into our normally extremely over-scheduled lives! It has been nice to be at home, (although I am working non-stop on the school yearbook), to spend time just being in our home, forced to be here :-) I have neglected many things, like cleaning and laundry, do to the lack of power, but it is time to begin Spring cleaning! The sun is out today, and will hopefully begin to melt the snow away. Another development in our lives, is Kaitlyn's diagnosis of Candida. Candida is in simple, understandable terms an overgrowth of "bad" yeast in the digestive tract, and must be treated through diet, probiotics, and initially anti-fungal treatment. The diet changes, that are occurring are a wheat free, dairy free, sugar free, fruit free diet for the first stage, and then we shall see what other changes are necessary as we progress. This calls for a major life change in our home, as I can no longer feed Kaitlyn anything that falls in those food groups. Along with my mom, and best friend, I have been spending hours on the internet finding resources, recipes and tips on how to adjust to this change in our lives. It seems initially overwhelming and difficult to comprehend, but the alternative is to continue to see my child in constant pain and embarrassment, when I know that I can help. On a positive note, I am looking forward to the changes it will signal in our lives and how it will finally force me into action, in areas such as a garden, and a diet overhaul that I have been procrastinating on due to sheer laziness. I just pray that this will truly help her and give her body the full health it deserves. On a side note, there is a ton of wonderful information on Candida on the internet through blogs, websites, etc.

Best Friends

I will attempt to catch up on my blogging, as I am behind according to a conversation with my father :-)

Every girl needs her friends, and my daughter is blessed with many, but her best friends these days are: Madalyn, Britton and Sarah. We were blessed enough to have all three spend the night, on January 17, in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, (and no school :-) My poor husband put up with all of their escapades, which included nail polish, snacks, girl movies and even getting stuck in the creek :-) I endured it all, and even was able to create a yummy cobbler for them, out of my new favorite cookbook The Pioneer Woman Cooks... I am so thankful for my daughters BFF's!

Hello 2 Am...

My beloved husband has a new schedule at work, 2-10:30 AM. Needless to say, it has been a rough week for us, and I am so thankful that it is Friday, because I am exhausted, and I know that he is worn out as well. I continue to trust that God has a plan for our lives and I am thankful that He has provided this job for our family. But I could really use a nap right now...

My Tuesday Escape...

My Tuesday escape is to Harvest Art Studio, where my beautiful daughter is blessed enough to attend art class, taught by the very talented and amazing Janis Yerrington. Yesterday, was a wonderful example of why I am so blessed to have the opportunity to sneak away. While Kaitlyn was in Heaven, creating some new form of artwork and learning about the beauty of the world, I was able to sit by a warm fire (all by myself) and grade papers, check facebook, and flip through a magazine. It was such a treat, to be able to relax for a few minutes and take a timeout from the craziness of the day! Thank you so much Lord for blessing Kaitlyn and I with this gift!

Family Picture Time...

We recently were able to have a session of family pictures taken, by a wonderful photographer named Jodi Mockabee. We were so blessed to have her capture some great moments, in beautiful Tuolumne, of our new family. Thank you Jodi so much! Check out her amazing photography blog!

My Calling...

As I contemplate my fifth year of teaching, I cannot help but experience a wave of emotions both fulfilling and exhausting...

Trying to balance everything during this time of year, is always difficult for me, and I feel very overwhelmed at the thought of trying to go to work all day, work on clearing my credential (Another California requirement) and then go home and be mommy and wife.

I am so blessed to be able to work at a Christian School, where I go to work every morning at the same place, that my daughter is at, and that I am able to praise and worship with the staff, students and family of my school. I have had wonderful mentors, friends, parents and students that have changed my life in positive ways. I love that my husband supports my decision to work in this place, and that God has continued to pour out his blessings upon my family, in order that I can continue to work here.

I often wonder what I am supposed to do with my life, and with the talents God has given me. Am I supposed to stay at home, when Richard and I have children? Continue working where I am at? Pursue a different job, so that I can financially provide more? Give Richard more options for work?

I have only 5 more years before Kaitlyn is in High School, and in that very short amount of time, so much can change. I love the fact that I can go to work, and see her even on the days when she is at her father's house. I do not want to take for granted the blessing that God has provided me in that situation. I also want my husband to be happy, and be able to pursue another career if he desires...

I guess that I can rest assured in the fact, that God knows the desires of my heart and that He has a perfect plan for my little family!

My Mom

Today, I am so thankful for my mom! She is the most generous and loving person I know. Today she blessed my life by making me a chocolate cake, homemade refried beans, and rice to help me in preparing a birthday lunch, for one of my beloved friends, Rebecca. She is always willing to help, encourage, and straight out tell me what to do, when I need advice (or even when I don't :-)

Anyways, my mom is AMAZING! I couldn't do it without her!

"She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her..."

Proverbs 31: 26-28

Grandma and Grandpa Bennett Visit

For Kaitlyn's 8th Birthday, (I can't believe 8 years have gone by) she asked Grandpa Mark and Grandma Patti to travel all the way from their cattle ranch in Eastern Oregon, to our small home in order to celebrate her birthday. She actually asked for this to be her birthday present. Grandma and Grandpa eagerly agreed to grant "her Majesty" her birthday request and travelled 2 days to get here. Over the course of a weekend, we were able to celebrate a birthday, make over 60 sugar cookies for family and friends and feed a small army on Sunday. On the Monday holiday, we were able to go horseback riding and then travel down to Columbia to eat ice cream, tour the sights and climb rocks. It was a wonderful visit and fabulous memories for us all to treasure in the years ahead.

Stormy Days

As the last few days have been stormy and cold, I have found my attention span to wander and my desire to go home, put on comfy clothes and make soup and bread increasing by the minute. We have been so fortunate this week to be able to spend an abundance of time at home, as soccer and other weekly events have been cancelled. Our home has been the focus of our time and energy the past few weeks, as I am finally taking steps to decorate our home, as we phase out of the remodeling stage! Fingers crossed, we will be starting a kitchen remodel soon! Yay for new cabinets! I love fall and I am so excited for the rainy days, but it does up my coffee intake significantly in an attempt to stay warm in our old building!

Family

It has been a wonderful summer full of BBQ's, Swimming and spending time with Family and Friends! What a wonderful beginning to our new life together. Here Richard and his nephew Aiden get to bond at a 4th of July BBQ at the lake.