January 2014 Update
Helloooooooo 2014!
Here we are in another year. I think this one might be my best yet. I have a thing for numbers and 14 is my ultimate favorite. I always picked it in high school for my jersey number. Only time will tell how this one truly turns out.
In typical New Year’s fashion, we ate at Cracker Barrel and I made some resolutions. The next day a doula baby was born and a few days after that we picked up Skylar from Bham. She had a great trip! Probably her best so far. The older she gets, the more fun “grandparent week” is becoming for everyone involved.
We ultimately did decide to officially move forward with homeschooling! We celebrated in typical Bishop style. With ice cream, of course.
It’s been going surprisingly well. I’ll admit, I was super nervous. I truly had no idea how we were going to manage the day-in-day-out logistics. She’s doing great! We have found our temporary new grove and we are both clicking right along. She’s getting her school work done in just a few hours (pretty independently, I might add) and I’m still getting all of my job assignments done during the day time. We’ve just finished our 4th week, which seems crazy! It has truly flown by. You can follow our homeschool adventures here.
For the last 2 weeks Mike has been working with his buddy helping him with a big job servicing 18-wheelers. The job site is 2-hours from home so he’s spent several nights away each week and this will probably continue for a little while. While our budget said it was time for him to go back to work, we’ve really missed him. We had gotten used to having him around. The whole venture into homeschool has been a big adjustment to our schedule and so has him traveling. 2014 has started us off in a bit of flux but I think we’ve all handled it amazingly well. Even with me having tLG around 24/7 it’s honestly not been bad at all. I kind of laugh sometimes at the person I’ve become. Things that would typically have my Type A personality in a tizzy don’t seem to phase me anymore. Y’all, that’s totally the Lord. His peace really is beyond all understanding. In fact, over the years He’s changed my heart so much that I’m not sure what letter I am anymore. And I’m good with that. LOL!
Another big change is that I’m doing a hard core cleanse/diet for the first time in, I don’t know, EVER! I don’t do diets. I love food too much. I go to hot yoga so I can eat what I want. I’m not opposed to cleanses. I actually think they are good for the body, but they kinda scare me. However, I read enough things that convinced me that my sugar tooth wasn’t hereditary and that it was possible to make the constant cravings stop and give me more energy. I’m always up for more energy. An added perk was dropping a few pounds. So this “candida” diet forbids eating sugar or anything that your body would break down into sugar. That basically means that it’s dairy free, carb free, gluten free, and sugar free all in one. I’m pretty much on meat, veggies, select nuts and seeds. You are also supposed to take supplements morning and evening and I have done so faithfully. As of Day 12, the only thing this diet has been good for is to make me cranky and irritable. I haven’t gotten the huge energy boost I was hoping for and the scale hasn’t moved. To my knowledge. (Note: We don’t keep scales in our house. I weighed at my mom’s and it was the same as my last doctor visit). The original goal was to make it to 14 days then 30 days. I’m going to try my best to make it these last 2 days and then I’m throwing in the towel. Maybe not completely but it does seem that my body could care less either way. I’m done with grumpy, that’s for sure. If my weight and energy level stays the same whether I eat ice cream or not, I’ll totally take the ice cream. That makes me happy!
Last but not least, our girl turned SEVEN this month. Grandma took her to lunch and shopping on her birthday and we celebrated that weekend with a science-themed party full of wacky experiments. I thought it really turned out fun and interactive for the kids.
I was thankful that our homeschool set up allowed me to be with tLG most of the day on her birthday including the actual time of her birth when we shared this special moment.
That same night I was with a doula client delivering her 1st baby and it was kind of surreal. I’m sad to say that she may be my last client for a while. I’ve decided to take some time off to help us really get adjusted to homeschool life. My sister is also getting married in March and I want to be available for her special days leading up to the wedding. I’m still open to taking repeat clients, working for friends and doing some backup work but I’m not planning to pack my doula schedule as tight as before. Being on call constantly is hard sometimes.
We are spending the weekend in Birmingham for my sister’s bridal shower. We also have some flower girl dress shopping to do. I know you will definitely want to stay tuned to hear how that goes. Dresses aren’t quite Skylar’s thing, if ya know what I mean.
Click here for more January Pics.
