The Years march by...

It has been lteral years since I have written on the blog.  Life is busy. What can I say? 

It's been a decade, according to my last post, since I wrote here.  Let's see.  What has happened in those 10 years? 

• All of my kids have started school (they are all Middle school or High school age now)
• I went back to college and finished my Bachelor's Degree- Go Lopes! 
• I went back to college and finished my Master's degree- Go whatever Northcentral is... Sad, right?  I don't think that they have a mascot. 
• Then I went back to collge for my Doctorate of Education, in Marriage and Family Therapy, of which I am still working on at Liberty University, Go Flames! 
• I interned for a year as an MFT, took a National Board exam, and licensed in the state of Maryland. 
• Started working as an MFT.
• We got a dog!  Hello Cinco.  We love you. 

But now I live in Mississippi. HMMM.  Places lived from 2012-2022:

• Connecticut (2012-2014)
• California (2014-2018)
• Maryland (2018-2021)
• Mississppi (2021-???) 

Houses bought- 2 (California and Mississippi)

Houses sold-1

That's the quick synapses and doesn't begin to touch on all of the relationships made, lessons learned, and hard times navigated.  All  of that to say is that I hope I can start posting more as this was really therapeutic for me and I loved the outlet of creative writing.  

So, I want you to know I've missed you.  I missed writing.  And I am hoping to be more active here again.  Some of my previous blogs are MIA and it makes me sad, as I was referring to the lumpy rug syndrome today.  That post has disappeared.  At any rate, it's good to be back (ish). 

Love to you all.  

Keep it Real

The point of my blog tonight is very specific.  Very.  I joined the event "Keep it Real Movement" on Facebook.  It's about holding magazines accountable for showing REALISTIC pictures of celebrities.  The goal is for ONE picture in each magazine per edition to be unedited.   Just one picture of what a celebrity looks like without Photoshop can make a difference in the mind of a young girl.  In the mind of a grown woman. 

Who says that we must look a certain away, weigh a certain amount, wear certain clothes, so on and so forth.  Society, some random people we don't know and honestly probably wouldn't like anyway.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with being thin if you are healthy about it.  But guess what?  Thin is different for every body size, shape, and person. 

Being healthy is the goal.  As such, I decided to  join My Fitness Pal.com.  I haven't been watching what I eat and won't for the first week.  I want a really good look at what my "normal" diet looks like.  Two days in and I can say my calories are good, but I had no idea on the fat content.  WHOA, gotta cut some dairy.  But the point here is that I am doing this to be healthy.  I want to have more energy for my kids, I want  to feel better, sleep better.   I want to live longer (God willing) and see my babies have babies and enjoy retirement with my husband. 

Added to the that the VERY MOST IMPORTANT (and yes I realize that is terrible grammar) reason I respond to this Keep it real initiative is that I have 2 beautiful, bright, amazing, awesome, sweet, loving, generous girls that I want to be valued for more than the way the look.  Their personalities shine brighter than the sun and their joy for life should never be diminished by someone telling them they aren't "enough." 

They are enough, they are MORE than enough in every way imaginable.  I want for my girls to work hard at everything (even their pesky chores), find their passion in life and live it, be a bright and shiny star for God, and know that all things in life are worth working for, sweating for, and dreaming as high as the sky. 

I want them to know that they can achieve and if they fail, they just need to try a different way, be adaptable.  Failure isn't the end, it's a learning tool. 

Generosity, Hope, Grace, Faith, Love, Determination, Discipline....these are things my daughters were born with and I intend to help them develop those muscles.  Their inner beauty will shine brighter than anything else.  Their eyes will be bright with love, their smile shining with grace, their words affirming with hope and encouragement. 

So let us be the ones to say enough is enough.  And let's place value on what's really important. 

“For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
 For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
 For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
 For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
 For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
 People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
 As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.”
― Sam Levenson

A small note:  It's becoming a very real issue for boys as well.  I pray that my boys never feel any less than what they are based on their looks(or abs) as well.  My boys are beautiful inside and out, they are capable, they are wonderfully made. 

P.P.S (HA) I'd like to issue a challenge to my friends, join me on My Fitness Pal.com and lets conquer our health together.  I want to be the one to place limits on my body, not my body putting limits on me.  Plus, I could use the accountability!  My user name is Inshockmom.  Find me, friend me, encourage me! 

A reminder from your Abba who loves you:

"...What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition.

^4-6Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as "my dear husband." You'll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, unanxious and unintimidated.   1 Peter 3:4-6 The Message

Wild weekend

Ok, so the title is way fancier than my reality.  But  my weekend was nice.  Dinner with some friends and a rousing game of Apples to Apples.  Yesterday, we went to Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, Walmart...Woo, that's excitement right there folks.  Ran in to an incedibly grumpy old man at Home Depot.  We kind of take up an aisle when we're out en masse.  But instead of saying excuse me, he says "watch out kids and get out of the way."  GRRR.  Mama bear calm it down.  I just said to my kids, please move over here so that man can get by....well, the home depot worker walks up and asks him if he needs help and OH BOY!  It reminded of another quite simple truth:

You choose each and every day how you WILL be when your older. 

I say choose to be happy.  Age is no excuse for rudeness, hear what I am saying? 

Today I apparently became a nester.  Way past that time, but I never did "nest" during my pregnancies.  Oh how I wish I would have blogged during my pregnancies.  I have a lot more sass then.  A LOT.  And my dreams....oh how fun they are...

I actually did post some of them to my Twin mom's message board, and I am going to put them here!  I hope you enjoy!
Dream 1:6/15/11
I dreamt that I had to have a c-section and that they got the spinal in on the first go round, but then I wouldn't go numb...so all the Dr's and nurses left me ALONE in the operating room...and I was in labor...so I delivered the baby by myself and then just as the baby came out the DR's came and took the baby and the one was all congrats it's a boy and they showed me him and I was all "oh he looks like elijah, same cheeks etc" and then the baby smiled at me and said "I am Elijah"

Dream 2: 2/24/11
Seriously, I'll be straight up before this pregnancy is over.

I had a dream that I was at the hospital, completely HUGELy pregnant (so that was good) and I was attempting a VBAC and the nurse was very hateful and said I wasn't progressing fast enough, so she was going to give me pitocin. I put up a stink and told her no because I was a VBAC, she huffed out and said she's getting the DR, so she comes back in all smug and says she's going to give it to me.

I told her I was refusing the meds and not to touch me. Jason had to jump over the bed to keep her from giving it to me in my IV and then I went running down the hall crying for my OB...and they were all chasing after me...

Dream 3: 7/17/11 This was the last I remember from before Levi was born:
This has been a recurring dream and I pray that it does NOT actually happen this way...

I've been dreaming that my water breaks in the middle of church.

And I get up to walk out and Pastor Mike stops me to pray for me....which in theory would be cool, but I would DIE of embarassment if my water broke at church and someone else had to clean it up...

I'm thinking I should start carrying resolve and a towel in the car...

Luckily, my water did NOT break at church.  It broke at the hospital.  I thought I wet myself.  LOL.  Well, thanks for following me on a short and bizarre trip down memory lane.  This is my post partum nesting and nostalgia. 

Maybe tomorrow's blog will stay in the present.  Until then, happy nesting!

Bliggety Bloggety Boo!

Nope, it didn't work.  Yesterday's blog post did NOT write itself. 

Busy, mundane day yesterday.  There was some grocery shopping, whining, dish shopping (will I EVER find a set I like??) some more whining, and a visit to Toys R Us.  No, that was not in response to aforementioned whining.  We went to get Ava's birthday present.  I might tell you what we got her, but you have to pinky promise not to tell her. 

Speaking of Ava.  My baby is going to be 6 in less than 2 weeks.  WHAT?!?!  How on earth did those 6 years zoom by?  I will tell you the truth as I know it, write this down cause it's a great truth in the world, most especially for parents:

"The days drag by, but the years fly!"

One day you'll be reading my blog and I'll be crying about an empty nest.  Oh, but right now, I sometimes (ok-almost always) daydream about sending them off to college.  Without a credit card.  And the ability to only call me without whining and asking for more money. LOL.

Today has been an interesting day so far.  Ava had another meltdown (she's been having a lot) and it was over a fork y'all.  Yes, I said a fork.  You know the thing with a handle and some tines at the end?  Helps you stab food and put it in your mouth?  Yep.  That.  She apparently needed a silver fork like her brother had, but her dad had given her a blue one.  Oh the drama.  After some "contemplation" time in her room, she decided to apologize to her dad...and then she had to face the mom.  Oh the horrrrrrrror!!  I made her clean the baseboards in the downstairs bathroom.  Yes, YOU may call me Mommy Dearest.  HAHAHAHA,  insert maniacal laugh here.  But on a plus side, my base boards are clean and I didn't have  to do it.  Oh yeah! 

We're going to attempt to clean out some stuff today, but my husband is already in research mode, so now he has one project that he is going to focus on all day...and perhaps we won't get as much done as I'd like.  At least he's honest...he always tells me that he "can't multi task, he can only task."  And it is true. 

Maybe I can just "Bippety Boppity Boo" and my house will clean and organize itself.

Nope, it didn't work. 


Oh, for all of you that pinky swore: It's a Polly Pocket Cruise ship.  SWEET!

Sleepless in San Diego!

Sleepless in San Diego!  No it's not a cheesy romantic comedy, but sometimes it comes close.  Definetly a SITCOM in the making at my house.  Last night was a miserable night of sleep (or should I say sleeplessness???)  I fell asleep at 11, up at 1115 with the main man (Levi) back to bed at 1230 am, up again at 1248 am, YES I looked at the alarm clock.  I was feeling very confused.  Tessa climbs into bed.  Wiggles all over the place.  Settles on the "Sideways sleep" and proceeds to kick me ad nauseum.  Hello 0145.  Ava screaming wakes me, I run out the door and stub my foot on a toy.  I don't know which one or it would be dead to me.  Dead, you hear?  It was metal and it jammed between my pinkie toe and the door frame.  Awesome sauce!  Get Ava situated and back down...UM...NOPE!  Back up at 0215 with Ava.  So in order to preserve SOME sleep, I take Ava and her toys and make her a bed on the floor next to my bed.  After that I was up randomly throughout the night as Tessa the sleeping circus act perfected her high kicks and spins.  Hello 6 am.  Time to get up everyone. 

It was crazy hair day at Ava's school, soooo there was some arguing about how exactly her hair needed to be crazy.  Geesh.  The drama of an almost 6 year old girl. 

Aside from sleep deprevation, it was a pretty good day.  My kids tell me some pretty hilarious things everyday.  EVERYDAY.  Elijah told me out of the blue that sometimes he dumps a lot of food out of his butt.  Good to know, eh?  As I still wipe his butt, I know that this is indeed a true statement of fact.  Levi pooped out of his pants and onto Jason's jeans while we were running errands today.  Hilarious...because it wasn't me!  Tessa had a major meltdown over ice cream and everyone in the US of A was staring at me like I was a horrible mean mother.  I just smiled. 

Anybody want to hear more of our "orders trauma?"  We're technically still on the chopping block for Korea, but the detailer thinks it will be denied.  Then possibly, DC or SC. I'm game for whatever, I just need to know.  I don't like living in Limbo.

At any rate, it's time to pare down our belongings.  We hold on to too much stuff.  Not "Hoarders: Buried Alive" or anything like that, but stuff we don't use. 

I keep hearing "you've got mail" in my head.  Guess that's what I get for titleing this "Sleepless in San Diego"  HAHAHA.  Maybe someone should email me a love letter.  Ahem, Jason J Perry. 

Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy!!  Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy!! 

My bed is calling to me.  Goodnight friends.  Happy sleeping!

It's a Goose Egg!

I have a goose egg on my head.  It hurts badly.   I was holding Levi and Tessa on my lap and we were on our hanging porch swing when the wood snapped from the top.  The beam smacked me on my head, HARD, then got Levi and then Tessa.  I cried.  Mainly cause I was worried about the kids, but it also hurt.  Bad.  I was channeling my inner Abbey Meers.  Concussed unite.  It hurts still today.  But the bruise and goose egg are under my hair at least. 

I want to share a bible verse today, it's popped up twice on my bible/devotion apps within 2 days, so...I hear ya God! James 1:22 "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."

Ouch.  Seriously.  I am a great hearer of the word.  I am so inspired every sunday at Church.  I have a great church by the way.  I'll give a shout out to Newbreak and Pastor Mike Quinn!  The rest of the staff there is equally awesome!!  But I digress. 

I don't know about you, but sometimes the "doing" is hard.  It's hard and I don't want to...You know that lady that cuts you off in traffic, she makes me "forget" to love others like God loves me.  I could go on and on and on about people that make me want to lose my religion.  You know who I'm talking about...Usually what happens right after I judge that person, is the thought "but Trish, you do it too!" 

That's a twisted knife in the heart sometimes.  Sometimes, it makes me laugh.  Depends on the day.  I'd like to make it my goal this year, but mainly, this DAY, THIS HOUR, THIS MINUTE, to be a doer of God's word.  Cause I can do that.  I can do it this minute. 

So when Elijah asks me for the 5 billionth time to day for one more last cookie, instead of being frustrated and snapping at him.  I'm going to calmly say no and then hug him when he starts to cry.  And when Tessa drops to the ground for her 12th tantrum of the day, I'll ask her if she needs a hug instead of a spanking.  The doing here would be patience and love...I need more of the fruits of the spirit....but we'll talk about those a different day!!

Speaking of discipline (I said spanking-follow along people!)  I am trying super hard to discipline without emotions.  It's ok for me to be angry or annoyed etc.  Feelings are feelings, feel what you must.  BUT I am working to not discipline in an emotional state.  Any suggestions? 

This is a really rambly day, not much cohesion here, Welcome to my brain.  LOL.

I'm going to start posting recipes too, as that was requested.  Where should I start?  Desserts?  Dinners?  What? 

I'm watching the news and it's DISGUSTING.  EW.  Well, I need to go clean out my car.  I already cleaned the kitchen.  Yes, it's perfectly acceptable for you to tell me I did a good job.  Appreciation is always welcome.  Why is that we stop telling adults that they do a good job?  Thought to ponder.

I'll leave you for now, as I have bored myself.  Catch you on the flip side, but my hair won't be brushed, cause I have a sore Goose egg...didn't I tell you?

Some 'splaining to do.

I thought maybe I should explain my blog title.  If anyone cares.  *winkwink*  Ok, so when I first got pregnant with Ava and Sophia, I found a website: Twins Magazine Message Board (herein referred to as TMMB) I joined a BMT (birth month thread) We all needed a user name and every combination of Trisha and Jason were taken, and in my seriously shocked brain, the username Inshockmom was born.  It turned out to be doubly appropriate when 2 years later I was told I was having twins again.  What are the odds?  By the way, I was fully prepared to have twins again, so I was actually shocked when Levi was a singleton.

Moving onto the next part:

rev·e·la·tion: something revealed or disclosed, especially a striking disclosure, as of something not before realized.

rev·o·lu·tion:  a radical and pervasive change in society and the social structure, especially one made suddenly and often accompanied by violence. *Like becoming a parent.  LOL!

re·pro·duc·tion: the natural process among organisms by which new individuals are generated and the species perpetuated.

Or, my personal favorite from Urban dictionary.com:

Reproduction:

1. when two beings come together to make a smaller, louder, and more annoying being that will eventually grow up to do the same thing -perpetuating a disgusting and neverending cycle of filth. 2. something ugly people should never find out about.

Seriously, tell me you aren't laughing! 

As I sit here trying to type this, 3 of my smaller, louder and more annoying beings are, well, being louder and more annoying!   Elijah desperately must get his socks on now!  Right NOW!  Oh and he needs apple juice stat!  Tessa is freaking out cause Rio needs to be on the DVD player like yesterday.  Levi is chatting, happily, at full volume.  "Look, ma, see what I can do!"  And my sweet Ava is at school. 

My older, more annoying being is home today!  Yay, but he's outside and on the phone with housing.  Our tot lot (aka playground) next to our house is being redone, and they apparently, unleashed a bee's nest.  Bee's EVERYWHERE!  Buzz off, eh?

More apple juice.  More apple juice.  Mooooooooooooooom, I need Rio on.  Mommy said!  Mommy said!!!  I just know I have more ramblings.  But it will have to wait until later.  My mini reprodutions call.