Jen's Spot

About me, for me, by me :)

New Year, New... Me?

   Well, the year started off with a bang. I went to the gym to meet my trainer for the first time, we visited a new church on the first Sunday of the year, & we've been working really hard on budgeting & on working with Wyatt on his behavior. All was going well until I hurt my back & I was stuck on pause for a while. I'm starting to feel better so hopefully things will start to get back to something resembling normal.
   I've been focusing a lot on working through my shopping issues, although right now we don't really have to the money to pay the therapist so I'm trying to deal with this on my own. I still haven't told anyone in the family about it & Aaron, bless his heart, just doesn't fully get it. I figure it's still better to keep it to myself for right now. I've been reading The Soft Addiction Solution which pretty much presents 2 options- superficial ways to fill a void & real ways to fill a void- & guides you in how to choose the real ways to fill voids in your life. Okay, I'm only on chapter 4 so my explanation may be a little off, but it is a good book. I've been trying to focus on the end & not the means, which helps with the anxiety & stress that causes the shopping in the 1st place. If the house is clean, the kids are fed, & we're happy, then who cares how we got there. I don't have to be cleaning all of my waking hours or make sure that every surface is wiped down every 20 minutes. It's really allowed me to find some new ways to reach the goal at hand without sacrificing my sanity. Small things really, but they make a huge difference. We put a small pink tote & blue tote in the living room & when I come across something that goes is the kids' rooms I drop it in the appropriate tote. When the tote gets full, we empty it. It keep the main part of the house less messy & I'm not stepping on or over toys all day long. It seems so simple but it makes a huge difference in my day. The kids know which tote is theirs because they are different colors & they can put their own toys in the proper place. I've just had to stop expecting so much of myself. God gives us all talents & traits & just because 1 person is good at organization & cleaning doesn't mean we all should be.
   So, that's it for today. I've got to go put Wyatt on a treadmill or something so he can burn some energy before he drives me crazy.

Posted by Jen at 1:55 PM 0 comments
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Holidays, Santa, & the aftermath

I can't believe it's all over! Christmas has got to be one of my favorite times of the year. All the family, the food, the gifts, & having my husband home for a few extra days. But somehow from year-to-year I forget about all the other stuff. You know, the wrapping, the unwrapping, the batteries, all those toys that are glued, screwed, or tied down do tight you can't get them out of the package, the cleaning, the traveling, & trying to find a spot to put all those gifts. Aside from getting rid of the trash & putting all those toys together,  I haven't even really started. I figure at this rate the tree won't be down until we buy the new TV stand to put in it's place... with our tax returns. It's not like my kids got a lot of new toys or even any big toys, but before I can even start putting the new toys away I have to clean the kids' rooms up enough to have a spot to put things. And since Aaron is sick & I have Vince here until Thursday night, I'm pretty much on my own with the cleaning & a little overwhelmed. I'm doing good just to get my normal cleaning done.
Despite all the Christmas-y aftermath, we really did have fun. We (I) spent most of the last week putting toys together & playing with the kids. We've enjoyed everything from MoonDough (which is awesome) to baby dolls to a microscope to the new XBox 360 + Kinnects (which is also awesome). We've also enjoyed all the yelling & screaming & fighting that comes along with all those new toys, but that's all normal. I was lucky enough to receive an eReader, which I love. It's pink & perfect & I can't put it down! I've already read 3 books since Christmas day. If we had any more money I would buy some more books, but with all those new toys came new bills so money is scarce. Actually, money is worse than scarce. It's gone. All gone. The credits cards are maxed out (we have $16 available on 1 card & -$50 on the other card), the checking account is over-drafted because my child support was super late coming in (thank you State of Maryland for taking your sweet sweet time putting it in the mail), & I had to borrow money from my in-laws just to survive. Most of that money is gone too since I had to send Aaron to the Dr today & get his prescriptions filled tonight.
It's not like I don't know where the money goes. We have normal bills like everyone else- electric, TV, phone, house, etc.- plus the usual add ons- food, toiletries, diapers, etc.- but that still doesn't explain the massive loss of money we show each month. That would be where I come in. Or rather, my super-secret shopping addiction. Aside from my husband & my therapists, no one knows about it. But right now, I'm stuck in a serious loop. If I feel depressed/stressed/overwhelmed/angry, I need to shop. If I shop, we lose money. If we lose money, I become depressed/stressed/overwhelmed/angry. Then I need to shop all over again. Or worse, if I can't shop then I get so shaky & snappy that I can't stand it! I'm sure the people around me don't care for it either. I'm really trying to work on it, but I'm working on it alone so it's not going as smoothly as I would like. I guess the best things in life are worth fighting for.
On a better note, the new gym opened Monday. I got my key card & signed up for my 1st personal training session. I go next Tuesday. I'm so excited! I can't wait to have an escape from my crazy life, & having someone there to help me through it will be great. The gym is 24/7 so I don't even have to worry about finding a sitter, & it's only about 1 1/2 minutes away. I'm hoping that it will be a blessing in disguise. Not only an escape from my often overwhelming life but exercise is supposed to be a great thing for anxiety & depression. That's right. I'm going to be feeling great & looking hot! Ooohhh I can't wait!!!

Posted by Jen at 10:13 PM 0 comments
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My name is Jen & I'm a blogger

That's right. I'm going to attempt this whole blogging thing, again. So let me introduce myself & my world.
Name: Jennifer
Age: 24
Occupation: Domestic Technician
Marital Status: Married, with children
   -Husband: Aaron
   -Children: Vince (8), Wyatt (4), Aaralyn -aka- Sissy (2)

I don't really live a very exciting life, which is one reason why I wanted to give this whole bloggin' thing a shot. I am at home with 2 of my 3 children all day with the 3rd child (Vince) added in on the weekends. I teach a class at church on Wednesdays for kids (K-2), I go grocery shopping on Sunday afternoons while my husband watches football (curse you NFL Sunday Ticket!), & I spend my weekends getting caught up on laundry. I try to be organized, but I'm not. I am full of good intentions, but usually I'm too busy/tired to follow through. I have great kids & a great marriage, but just like everyone else, I have problems with my kids & my marriage. I'm here to vent, to learn, & maybe even to teach.

That's about it. For now. Look forward to hearing more from me :)

Posted by Jen at 10:06 PM 0 comments
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