3 days, 60 miles

That's right! 3 days and 60 miles!!! That is what I will be walking for the Susan G Komen Foundation on August 3-5th!! I have an inspirational/ motivational meeting in Hudson on Tuesday and am super excited about it!! First off let me say, my husband flat out laughed at me and told me I wouldn't last the first day. Super supportive I know. But if I know my husband he wasn't doing it to be mean but rather to light a fire under my rear end to start training and prove him wrong. AND I WILL! I can register now but to actually participate in the 3 day race I have to raise a minimum of $2300. I am calling out to all of my friends and family to think about sponsoring this chic to walk 60 miles in 3 days. It is for an amazing cause and I have tons of time to raise the money. Do any of you believe in me? Would you be willing to donate to a great cause? I have a savings account I just opened and stuck $50 in to get this fundraising fun started. I will keep a running total on my blog so everyone can see where I am at. Post a comment or send me a message if you want my address to help me raise the funds for a super powerful cause!!! Every little bit helps!!!


If anyone wants to check out the site here is the link.
http://www.the3day.org/site/PageServer

This picture is from the 2011 Susan G Komen Race for the Cure in Toledo.

BEST DAY IN A LONG TIME

Well so far today has been the best day I have had in a really long time! My daughter and I are able to spend the day together. We weren't rushing out the door this morning before the sun came up or eating our breakfast in the car because we were running late. We have been laughing and playing and we ran to the store for a couple things where she had me laughing so hard I almost peed my pants. We went to Hobby Lobby and right when you first walk in they have all of the Valentine's day stuff on clearance. There was a hot pink spotted tiger that she pointed out immediately and I told her she could play with it in the cart if she was a good girl for mommy. She wanted to sit in the bigger part of the cart where you put your items instead of where she was supposed to sit but I told her that was fine if she stayed on her tush or her knees and she was super good about it. She was on her knees facing the back of the cart with the tiger propped up as if he was kneeling on the side of the cart too. Every time we rolled past someone in the store she would roar at them super loudly. I was cracking up. And so was the other customers in the store. Which of course made her continue to do it. I told her she had a choice between the tiger or a new art project and she chose the tiger. She is napping with it as we speak.
We are heading out to check out a new daycare this afternoon. Her current one is 15-20 min from my work and since we didn't have a clue where we would end up buying a house at we just chose a daycare that was in between the two of our jobs. But now I have to move her yet again. This one we are checking out is a little cheaper though so hopefully it is awesome!
These kind of days make it very hard to go back to work tomorrow.

NOT FORGOTTEN

Well it has been way too long since I have posted anything!!! Here is a little update on what is going on in the crazy life of the Emch Family. We found and are in process of buying a house!!! So excited! We don't move in until the 22nd of March but it is well worth the wait. Here is a picture of the front of the house. The date on the picture is from 2008 but it hasn't changed at all ( I took it from the listing on the website we found it on).

We have also officially sold and closed the old house in Curtice and are done with that (Thank God!) and Jason just sold his old truck this weekend. Things are finally starting to come together. I have been going through training for my new job on top of my everyday motherly duties. And I am starting to generate more business with Mary Kay out here. I am hoping that my future holds everything I want and I am determined to make it happen. Get me into my new home with my new office and watch me take off!! One day I will run my own business and make my own schedule and will get to spend as much time as I want with my little princess. It will happen for me! It's hard to make it happen from a hotel room though, lol!

I am meeting some pretty amazing women out here and building some new friendships. I am also in the middle of planning little Miss Makayla's 2nd birthday party. I can't believe she is going to be two!!! Her birthday falls on Easter this year so we are having an Easter/ Tinkerbell 2nd birthday party with our families. Nothing big. I have two weeks to get the new house in order before her birthday. Yikes!!

Well I have a list of things I need to do before bed tonight but I promise I will be posting more now that some of the most important things are done out here and I hopefully will have more time.

I NEED A HOUSE

Wow! Way too long since I have wrote a post!!! So here is the latest and greatest here on this end. I started my new job. Meeting some very nice people. It's way different than my old job but I am adjusting. We found a house and put an offer in last weekend but ended up in a bidding war with 2 other people who wanted the house as well and well we lost. So back to the drawing board this week and we have several more houses to go to tomorrow afternoon. We HAVE to find one tomorrow! I NEED A HOUSE!! Living in this hotel is getting to me. The loud people and the stomping around. The limited space to do anything. Having barely a kitchen to make meals in. The dog being cooped up all day in this place. It is all just really starting to take it's tole. I am trying to stay positive but I have had just about enough at this point!!
ANYWAYS...... that's what's up here in a nut shell. So everyone say a little extra prayer for me tonight that we find the house we want tomorrow and hopefully can move in sooner rather than later. Thanks!!!!!!

Guest Post: Tristan Womack

I asked a friend from high school to do this next guest post because she is a single mom trying to do it all for her little man. She is an amazing woman who would do anything for her son. I opened my email this morning to her story and was deeply touched. She is showing an amazingly positive attitude and is now and has been going through a lot. Never doubt how amazing women truly are! This is a must read!

"When we grow up playing house as little girls none of us imagine that our house would consist of being a single mom working 2 jobs, at least I didn’t.  I had the dream of a big home filled with lots of kids, a loving husband, and a dog.  At the age of 28 my dream changed.  When my son Gabriel was 2 ½ months old and I found myself a single mother and clueless.  Now I won’t get into details but for the first year of my son’s life I fought a battle that is any mother’s worst nightmare.  When I came through that I realized that if I could make it through that then I could conquer anything! Life as a single mom is very challenging but also very rewarding at the same time.  I could not ask for a more perfect little boy.  For the first year of Gabe’s life he was very sick.  He had 2 surgeries and we were in the doctor’s office every 2 weeks for one illness or another.  He came down with RSV and still to this day has breathing problems.  He will also be starting speech therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy this upcoming week.  So on top of being a single mom of a 19 ½ month old toddler, I battle the daily challenges of a child that needs some extra medical attention.  Gabe does not speak much so I’ve had to take on the challenge of teaching us both sign language and he communicates very well.  I could get down on myself and wish he was like other kids his age but I step back and realize that he is special and this is who he is.  I will always accept him no matter what differences he may have. 

So now that you have a little background here is my life as a single mom in a nutshell.  My days start around 5:30 (or at least they should) with getting ready for my day.  Making sure I have everything for work, Gabe has his things for day care, and that everything is packed for both of us for the evening.  When I leave the house in the morning I must make sure everything is prepared and packed for the day since I don’t see my house again until about 10pm Monday through Friday.  Once I get Gabe up I spend time chasing a toddler around trying to get him dressed and corralled to get out the door.  Just getting to the car is quite the chore.  I live on a 2^nd floor duplex so I have 3 bags slung over my shoulder, heels, and a toddler who wants’ to do stairs by himself.  By the time we get to the bottom of 2 flights of stairs (10 minutes later) he claps and is so proud of himself and all I can do is smile at his joy!  We then make the short commute to daycare where I get him settled in and get his breakfast.  Then it’s time for me to head off to my full time job.  I spend the next 8-9 hours in turmoil over wanting to be with my son and also providing a life for him.  Once my day is over about 4pm I go pick Gabe up and off to Grammy’s we go!  I spend about 15-20 minutes playing with him then it’s time to go off to job #2!  Some days he waves and goes on playing and some days he clings to my leg and I end up leaving in tears because it breaks my heart, but I reassure myself that this is what is best for Gabe right now.  I spend 4 hours at my 2^nd job and then I head back to my moms to pick Gabe up then head home to put him to bed and give him his daily breathing treatment. Once he is down for the night I do all the house chores that need done on a daily basis.  My night usually ends around 12:00/1:00 am. 
Although some days I just want to sit and cry, I pick myself back up and do it all over for the precious little boy that is counting on me.  I could ask why me or why us but that wouldn’t change anything.  I would do anything for Gabe no questions asked.  Although I can’t take all the credit, I could not do this without my wonderful family support and friends that keep me focused.  Every morning I have a choice to stay in bed and give up or get up and face the world.  I chose to face the world and show my son that I’m a fighter for him.  I want him to be proud that I’m his mom and know as he grows up that I’ve done everything possible for him and his happiness. Every challenge that I have experienced in life I always thought was the worst that could happen and I would always get through it.  Once I made it through so many things I began to realize that everything is possible and nothing can beat me.  A quote that I keep on my kitchen board and has gotten me through many things is “you never know how strong you are until being strong is all you have.”   I am strong for my son and there is nothing that will ever change that.  No matter how tired I am or how much I think I can’t take on one more thing I take a look at my little boy and realize that IT’S ALL WORTH IT!!"

Lost A Lot But Gained Even More

Well, I have officially lost 100 lbs since Makayla was born 21 months ago!!!! But I have gained so much more!! I have a renewed confidence in myself (which my husband loves) and I just feel great. I can put my clothes on in the morning and not stress on a daily basis if something is appropriate for my figure or not. I weigh about just as much as I did when Jason and I started dating. Whoo Hoo!!!!! I have more energy too but that isn't just from losing weight but it's from making smarter food choices, eating more fiber and protein, and drinking more water. Now I just need to keep it off and stay on track. Easier said than done but I have developed great will power and a knack for protein packed dishes.We will see where I am by Spring. Until then the scale is being put away!!! It's more about how you feel than the number on the scale!!

I BELIEVE IN MYSELF!

Remember that New Year's Resolution I have? Well I have been doing excellent on eating well, hydrating more, getting dressed and doing my makeup on a daily basis even though I had no place to go, and although I have been slacking on going to the gym I feel the multiple trips down to the laundry room with a kid on my hip and a basket of clothes and laundry detergent in the other is pretty decent exercise. So on to the next step for me. Skin care and hair. It's time. I feel like I am starting to look old. Could it be I am starting to get freaked out about turning the big 30 this year? Yeah, most likely. So do something about it. I have started washing my face every night and putting on my Mary Kay TimeWise Night Solution. Waking up in the morning and hydrating my face some more with Mary Kay TimeWise Day Solution and Age-fighting Moisturizer. Today, I got a much needed haircut and had a couple inches hacked off. I felt like my skin and my hair were weighing me down. So instead of getting depressed about it I did something about it. 
What else did I do today? I took Makayla for a half day trial run at her new daycare. She wasn't crying and seemed fine when I left but then when I picked her up they said she cried for an hour straight and didn't play with any of the kids today. She just sat off to the side by herself. If you are a mother reading this than you know how much that breaks my heart. I just want to cry. She was so excited to see me when I picked her up. And then when we got home she kept hugging and kissing me and she didn't want to take a nap. It was like she was scared I wouldn't be here when she woke up. I did finally get her down but that broke my heart too. So here is where it is my time to step up and do something about it again. A couple years ago I sold Mary Kay but didn't invest really any time into it and didn't really take it seriously. I ended up giving it up because I didn't think I wanted to invest the time. My Mary Kay consultant contacted me about a special deal Mary Kay was having on previous consultants resigning. I did some thinking about it and it made sense. What better way to meet people? I know no one here and have no friends here. If I can at least make a couple contacts through Mary Kay maybe I could start some friendships too. I want to be home with my daughter but we need the extra income to have the house we want and live the lifestyle we want to live so what if I started part time and worked my way up where I could be my own boss and stay home with my baby girl? So I am doing it. 100% committed to making my own business a success. Yes, I will still report for work on Monday and I will give my 100% there too but if I can be successful with this then maybe my daughter and I could have as much time as we want together. I know of at least one person who doesn't believe I can do it and maybe one or two more who will be sceptical but I am starting to have more confidence in myself than I ever have from just using the products every day and taking better care of myself and I truly believe in myself. I am looking to prove myself. If any one of you out there do not have a Mary Kay consultant already and are interested in or already use the products I would be happy to be your consultant! Yes, I don't live near you but I ship! LOL!!  I for once believe in myself, I hope someone out there believes in me too.