The Good Life

I woke up this morning feeling like I could conquer the world, so I took my kids with me to shop for clothes. Yep, I was feeling pretty great until we stepped into the first store. Thankfully we got to Maurices right when they opened so we were the only people in the store. We walked in the door and Colton ran into the rack of clothes because he "didn't see it". I put Ryleigh down to pick up the clothes that C knocked off and she took off running. The nice woman working the store ran block for me and started talking to her, which made Rue very unsure of her surroundings, so she started pulling at her coat and crying. The nice lady then says "oh, do you want your coat off" moving towards her, so she comes running to me. I get her coat off and stuffed in my purse just in time to catch the toboggan that Colton is throwing at me and hear him say "I want to take my jacket off too". I proceed to stuff another jacket and hat into my purse (which already has a...

I love Christmastime. It's absolutely my favorite time of year. I love the decorations and the celebrations and the overall feeling that people genuinely do care for each other. I love how Christmas lights make everything seem so safe and warm and perfect. I love reflecting on the previous year and all the highs and lows that came with it. I do a lot of soul searching this time of year and I get so emotional when I think about the true meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate. This year has been the most challenging year for me as a wife and Mom. Growing in both of those roles just brings a fair amount of "hard". I know everybody has their own version of hard and while I can wallow in my self pity at times, I can also look at my life and know how incredibly blessed I am. Last Christmas, Ryleigh was brand new (barely 2 months old) and I was sleep deprived and Colton was so terribly sick on and off surrounding the holidays that it all just seems like a blur. This year,...

Have kids, they said. It will be fun, they said. It's the most rewarding job ever, they said. 100% true. It is fun and it is the most rewarding job I've ever had. However, there are also the not so fun and not so rewarding days. I had to take Colton to Urgent Care at 4AM. This dang breathing (or lack there of) mess is about to get the best of him. 103 fever he couldn't shake for most of the night. He has a virus (doesn't every kiddo right now?) that we are praying isn't hand/foot/mouth. Ryleigh has diarrhea, Colton puked all over his bed, I've been snot on and coughed on and cried on and pooped on more than I care to say today. I had to choose between a nap (running on about 3 hours of sleep) or a shower (running on about 3 days of no shower). I chose shower. Mostly because my sheets are in the washing machine and our last set of spare ones bit the dust a couple of months ago (and who has time to think about buying sheets until you actually need them?). So...

I read a devotional this morning called " when relationships feel like obstacles ". Oh how this hit me in such a tender spot this morning because I have really been looking into my relationships (and myself) lately. Am I closing people off? Am I spreading myself thin? Are my expectations too high (or low)? Am I allowing myself to let God work through these people he's placed in my life? Every person, every relationship has a purpose. Sometimes it feels like life would be so much easier if we could just get from one place to another with no distractions and interruptions. Like, for instance, when you're just trying to get across town and you get stopped by a train or a funeral procession or lots of traffic. Maybe, just maybe, there was a reason why you were delayed. Perhaps if you were 30 seconds earlier, you would've been in an accident. Sometimes, like traffic jams, people (relationships) can feel like big interruptions. We're just going along, living our...

I've been wanting to get back to this blog as an outlet. Now that the kids are able to (somewhat) entertain themselves for short little spurts, I'm loving the small pockets of extra time I have to get back to things I love! Maybe I'll even get to start sleeping all night again. A girl can dream, right? So much has happened over the past several months, so I can't even start to play catch up. I mean, Colton's 3.5 years old now and Ryleigh will be 10 months on Saturday. C starts pre-k (fall 3s) in a couple of weeks and Rue is so close to walking on her own. Lots of exciting and not-so-exciting things are happening every day. One of the more exciting things that has happened (since my last post) is that we purchased a camper. We have always loved to camp and though we do enjoy the feel of "tent camping" we also found it harder to accommodate our growing family and all the crap (for lack of better word) that you have to pack for babies. We knew we wanted a...

I have a "worry" personality type. I am a worrywart. I worry if our kids are too hot or too cold, I worry if a bill payment is a day late, I worry if I don't check the mail, I worry if we're going to be away from home that something bad could happen to the house (and it totally could, but it also could be totally fine), I worry about Matt and our health and our finances and our future. Just the thought of going through a big life change (like moving) stresses me out. If it's something that I can worry about, I worry about it. I even try not to worry and then I worry about being worried too much. It's exhausting. In church on Sunday, we talked about fear and why, if we have faith in God/Jesus, are we afraid. I started thinking about myself and my "worry" personality and it hit me...worry, in all reality is just fear. A fear of the unknown (and sometimes even the known). I like to believe that I have a strong faith, but if I'm in a constant sta...

I'm failing at documenting these days. I haven't posted since March 1. It makes me sad because I have so much to put down and share. Mostly, I love sharing so I can look back and reminisce when these days are long gone but partly, I love sharing in hopes that somebody out there can relate to my crazy, normal, imperfect life. Tonight, Matt and Colton are "camping out" in the basement (which consists of popcorn, staying up later than normal to watch TV and sleeping on the couch's pull-out-bed)! So, I have a few minutes (if I'm lucky, hours) before Ryleigh knows I'm in my room alone, comfy and quiet (that's her cue to wake up and need something). SO much has happened since my last post, I can't even remember it all. I'll hit the highlights. I reserved Colton a spot for "3's pre-school" which will start in August. It's such an emotional roller coaster, but the biggest feeling I have is blessed. I'm blessed that Colton wa...

I set some big goals for myself this year. I decided that 2016 was going to be the year I made some changes in several areas of my life. One of those big goals was (is) my physical health/fitness. In order to stick to my goals, I had to find things/people to help me stay accountable. In the beginning, this journey was not easy. For me, eating healthy and working out takes a lot of focus, determination and dedication (along with planning, complaining, whining and reminding myself why I started). Starting the last week of December, I re-joined the YMCA and went every day to do SOMETHING. Some days, it was as simple as walking on the treadmill or using the elliptical for 30 minutes. The point is, I got myself into a routine of GOING. Starting January 1, we completely overhauled our kitchen. Out with the bad, in with the good. The journey of "good eating" was by far the hardest to kick start. My body was used to eating junk and it craved it - BAD. For staying accountable to o...

This has been an interesting month for the Neal family. Ryleigh got her first "cough/cold/congestion" on top of teething and that was NOT FUN. Colton was sick more than not. The sickness tried to get Matt but somehow he did escape it. I've been working on a healthier lifestyle so (if you saw my Instagram post the other day you know...) I've been wine-free, sore and HANGRY!! In the midst of all the craziness, somehow Colton decided he wanted to stop pooping in his pants, so praise the Lord for answered prayers. I know that as soon as I say it publicly, there's a great chance that I will jinx us but I don't care. We're going on 2 full weeks of zero pull ups and no accidents so I'm pretty confident we've made it over the biggest hurdle and fully expect us to have some set backs so I'm ready (and happy)! Ryleigh decided to roll over on Sunday. She rolled from back to front and hated it. As soon as she realized what she did, she was mad about it...

You know those moments when you're so tired/frustrated/emotionally spent and you feel like you're at the bottom of your bucket and then you get a little "check-in" or call or text or note or look from a friend and you know that everything is going to be just fine?!? At that moment, you feel your bucket slowly starting to fill back up? Those moments happened for me yesterday. All at different points, through different outlets throughout the day and all just exactly when I needed them most. I had a few friends "check-in" on me and offer some emotional support, Matt came home and "took over" so that I could just take a shower and right before bed, I got a text from a special friend that said "sleep well friend, thankful for new mercies each morning". That text made my mind go to one of my absolute favorite songs, titled "Great is Thy faithfulness". “Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, There is no shadow of turning w...

Postpartum depression is a real thing. I can look back on the early days of Colton as a baby and see that I had a little bit of it. I didn't know in that moment that I had it, but looking back now, I know it. I love that the second time around, I can embrace these feelings and emotions and recognize them. I know, three months in with baby #2, that there are days when I'm suffering from just that, postpartum depression. Maybe part of it is just being a Mom, period...but I know there's a bit of those baby blues in there from time to time. I used to be afraid to even hint at those words, much less SAY them for fear that people would look at me and think that I was crazy. Now, I don't care what people think, I care about me and the outlets I need to be able to deal with my emotions. I can't keep them stored up or hidden. Plus, I figure that I can't be the only woman in the world who has had these feelings or will have these feelings in the future, so here's to u...

I don't think I ever write about "just" Ryleigh. Poor second child. :-) So today is dedicated to my sweet baby girl. Today is Ryleigh's 3-month birthday. Wow, that was fast. She is the perfect fit for our family. She is sweet and happy. She is loveable. She has the most kissable cheeks (and lets me plant them on her all day long). She adores her brother and can recognize his voice from a room away. Her smile is absolutely contagious. She has adorable leg rolls that I just want to squeeze (and do almost every time I change her diaper). She is laid-back but extremely alert. She has eye lashes that I'm envious of. She has pouty lips and has the "duck face" down pat (though I hope she forgets how to do that or even better, that the duck face is not even a "thing" by the time she is a pre-teen/teen). She is everything I prayed she would be and I'm thankful. At 3 months, she is on a pretty consistent schedule. She's eating every 3 hours d...

There's something about starting into a new year that feels so much like a fresh start. It truly is like a new chapter full of opportunity, excitement and (of course) resolutions. I don't really like to make "resolutions" but I do like to reflect on the year past and take note of things I did well/liked/succeeded in/became a better me in doing as well as the areas in which I struggled and need work. It's nice to have a goal and a vision of what I want for the new year ahead. This year, I really want to focus on my physical health. I was pregnant for a good chunk of 2015 and with that pregnancy came lots of cravings for ice cream...and brownies...and bacon, egg & cheese biscuits...and coke...and pancakes...and McDonald's French Fries...and...you get the idea! My physical appearance does not concern me (I've always been pretty confident and happy in my own skin) but my physical HEALTH does. I was really feeling sluggish and heavy with no energy and lac...