A letter to the sweet girls out there who first meet Aunt Flo

I had an assignment where I was given a chance to write or add something to puberty books about going through puberty and I took a creative approach of a letter to a girl just beginning the puberty stage. I found it fun to write so I thought I would share it :) Hope you get a kick out of it like I did! 

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Dear sweet girl,

I can tell you first hand how scary, weird, and gross I felt when my Aunt Flo decided to drop by. Let me warn you, she will be frequently dropping by un-announced and she is very unwanted when she does. She is intrusive, causes pain and discomfort, makes you feel bloated, gives you the worst headaches and can plain wear you out! She will drive you mad and sometimes you begin to take that anger out on others or flat out cry for no apparent reason. Yes Aunt Flo is a very big nuisance but fear not there is a light at the end of the tunnel! You can be prepared for Aunt flo in ways that can make her week visit not so terrible!Start taking note to when she is dropping by, get the tools needed to give you some protection from Aunt Flo. There are these great barriers you can keep on you as well as torpedo's to defend yourself! The choice is yours! There are wonderful things that can help tame those awful headaches, pain, discomfort, bloating, irritableness, and sleepiness! Midol is wonderful and magical and can really dial down Aunt Flo. It tames her and makes the week more bearable! Heating pads are a wonder as well!  She doesn't like the heat so I found it affective to use against her! It will become your best friend to those pain and discomforts! Don't Fret! Aunt Flow only drops by once a month and stays for only a week! 

I know I have been only talking negative about Aunt Flo but she really is a blessing in disguise! She is actually doing wonders for you sweet girl! She is preparing you to become a woman and giving you the chance; if you choose to accept, to be a mom! Those changes you are experiencing; the monthly visits from Aunt Flo,and  the changes of your upper body and your lower body, they are all to prepare you to be a wonderful and beautiful woman! So hang in there sweet girl! I promise that it is all worth it in the end! And even if you do decide to not become a mom when you are officially a woman, that is okay, you have developed into a beautiful woman and should be proud of where you have come! So take pride and look at Aunt Flo as she is doing a favor for you! 

Sincerely, 

A women who has been there

The emotional bond between your pet and your soul. Tribute to Mayzie Girl

Today was alright. Standard day really, woke up, got ready for work, got Edison up and ready for Janae's. But today was different. Usually on a Wednesday I drop him off at Mema Kathy's but since last night, she has been taking care of Mayzie. Mayzie is the other baby she never had. She is a lovable beagle and is on her last bit of life as we speak. It is amazing how an animal can really grab a place in your heart but more than just that, literally a place in your being; in Kathy's state. Mayzie is her one and only and next to her kids, i don't know how she could ever love another animal like her. 

Going over to visit Mayzie; probably for the last time, opened a whole range of emotions i haven't felt in a while since Gizmo my border collie was put down last year. I started feeling all those feelings i felt when we lost Oreo; Conrad's cat, a year before Gizmo and then instantly thought about Mushu and Eli, the other animals we had to let go. It amazes me how we can have such a connection with animals. Their passing literally feels like loosing a loved one in your family. 

Now i have Edison who is 3 and he doesn't understand what death is. He loves Mayzie so so much and when he realizes that she isnt here anymore I don't how to explain that to a 3 year old? He was much too little to remember Oreo and Gizmo so this is the first death he will experience. I know she is only a pup but to him, that is his world. Really the only dog he sees on a daily basis and has always had in his life up until now. I don't want him to feel that pain i felt when i watched Gizmo and Oreo slip away. That is the worst feeling. Even worse, when he does experience a family death that is close to his heart, to feel the pain through everyone and miss having that person around. How do you prepare for that? How do you explain? 

The only thing i can think of is the memories, and what we have to look forward to in the future. 
I don't know if you are the believing kind but I believe that there is a place up above for us being prepared and there is no death, no sickness, no sadness, no anger. I CANNOT wait for that day when we can leave this depressing, dangerous place and be safe and happy for eternity. I don't know if our pets we lost will be there but i like to think they will be. I know that when that day comes I will understand the reason they are or are not but in the here and now, it brings me comfort in knowing they might be. I don't want Edison to experience this sadness we experience on a daily basis. That light burning in his big bright blue eyes, i hope he never looses that. I know that in reality, when you get older to understand and comprehend death, that light, gets dimmer and dimmer. That phrase, stop growing up.... i want that for Edison. This happiness and knowing nothing better, i want to freeze and hold onto for forever. 

Mayzie will be missed, just like all the other amazing pets in my life. I know that a peice of Kathy's heart will be gone with Mayzie but i have hope that she will always hold to the memories, just like i hope Edison and the rest of the family will. 

Oh my Edison ....

Edison will be 3 next month on the 26th and  I do not know where time has gone! When he was born I was the happiest person on the face of the earth! Sure the labor was intense; the drugs they promised would work didn't fully work, Conrad almost passing out on me was interesting, and sure my body will never be the same but I would not trade having him for anything in the whole universe. He is my world! He slept through the night like a little angel! I was truly blessed! couldn't ask for more! I was truly terrified I would have a screaming little bundle like my parents said I was for them but nope, he was as peaceful as ever.

This little munchkin has had his boy moments for sure. When we first started potty training him and we tried to really get into it, I can remember him running through the house fascinated by all the different things he could rub up on simple because he was naked and loved the free feeling! He was a free bird! lol disturbing as that sounds, I laughed so hard while trying to tell him no! :) Then he has moments when he is just so peaceful and will sit in his room, with all sorts of books spread across his bed reading them aloud to himself and his stuffed animals.

People will tell me how well mannered he is and I just smile and say, oh this is his good moments because he is so full of energy I am convinced I cursed myself giving him the middle name "Chase". When people ask, "how did you drop the weight so fast after having Edison?" I say, " I keep up with him that's how!" There is truly never a dull moment with him.
Not to mention he is very observant. When sitting at a stop light one hot afternoon, he was looking out the window at a particular individual and asked me, " momma, why is that lady not wearing a shirt?" This particular lady he asked about was standing on the corner with daisy duke shorts and a bikini top on. I giggled and answered, she has her swim suit on sweetie." but he replied, "but why doesn't she want to wear a shirt?"

I cannot wait to bring in a sibling for this guy because I know he would be the best big brother out there. Watching him play with other kids, both older and younger, and watching him interact with babies melts my heart. His friend Kaden just had a little sister enter their family and now every time he thinks about baby Aubrey, he proclaims to anyone who will listen, "My momma is going to have a baby sister for me."  (And just so you know, I am not pregnant lol )

I cannot wait to watch my little man grow up and become such an amazing human being! I am already so much in love with him and my love for him will continue to grow. He knows how to make me smile and I never want to see that bright blue eyed smile dim as he goes through life. I will try to post more Edison stories as they come to be. He is my source of entertainment that is for sure!

Until Next time!

Leigh Ann*

 

 

If you know who I am....

My name is Leigh Ann. My first or "real" name is Leigh. I go by both. I am married to the love of my life Conrad, and we have been together a total of 6 years (going on 7 this October), and married for 4 years. We are high-school sweet hearts. We have an amazing energetic 2 and a half year old son named Edison, who will be 3 in September. Those of you who know me know that I long so badly to have another baby but the timing right now, with me in school, is just not right. My schooling got put on hold when Edison was born. That will most likely happen if we were to have another one right now. I work for Starbucks as a barista( have been there for 4 years)I am a full time wife and momma, as well as attending college full time. I have no life outside of this. This blog is my little bit of a get away from all of life's crazy shenanigans it decides to throw at me on a daily basis. Safe to say that by the end of the week, I am fried, edgy, and want to get away from everything. Some might say I actually hold my sanity together very well. What they don't know, is that inside, I am screaming at the top of my lungs. I do hold myself together well, my only escape from all of it, is to write. So here I am.

Now that you know a little blip about me, I will tell you how life has been going for me these last few months. I work anywhere from 14-20 hours a week, Sunday,Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tuesday and Thursday's are my school days. Saturday is Church. It's like a never ending cycle of busy. Edison goes to daycare Tuesday and Thursday which helps me stay focused in school ( I am taking both online and in class) and somewhere with in all that, I try to find time to tend to the house and spend time with my family.

At the beginning of going back to college; after being off for over a year, I planned out my "Academic plan for success" which is basically my map of where I am going to be going the next so many semesters up until graduation. The plan was to be finished by Summer 2014. Just recently I found out that I have 3 additional classes I am to take in order to transfer to METRO State. This pushes my graduation a semester off. That is a semester I could have been at Metro. This was not part of my plans. I wanted to be graduated and done with school by 2016. Now it is looking like it could be later. That means my plans for having another baby, are being pushed even more off. That means my plans of being a teacher is being pushed more off. I don't like it when my plans change. Why are they changing God??

Then I realized, this is out of my control. I am struggling to try and take control of something that I physically cannot. The song that has been helping me get back to reality is by Sidewalk Prophets called "Help me find it" It has some amazing lyrics that is exactly where I am right now. I encourage you to check it out. It is an absolutely beautiful cry out to God. After all, he is the only one who sees where I am heading towards, why not trust him to lead me to that destination?

Until next time!

          Leigh
>*Japanese Mamma*<