Optimism

I have been meaning to blog (redundant excuse), but I have literally been so busy lately, that I barely had time to relax.

To start with, me and my daughter's father have been able to have a civil conversation without name calling, etc. The divorce will be finalized May 1st and that will be the last time I have to go to court unless he or myself decides we want to modify anything. It's such a big stress relief to know that its almost over. March went by in what felt like a week, so I'm hoping the same goes for April.

My lease is up in August and I am already looking for a house to rent. I've lived in an apartment before and even then said I wouldn't ever live in another apartment. But things happen and it was the only option. The area I live in has some of the best schools in the state, so I don't plan on renting very far away from here. There are a ton of quiet and beautiful neighborhoods nearby, so once it gets closer to August, I will defiently be doing more physical house hunting versus looking on the internet.
Even with only one kid, a 2 bedroom apartment is just not cutting it. Especially the fact that we don't have a backyard for Lily and our dog to play in. I'm anxious to be able to decorate and have more privacy.

Once again, I'm still not in school. Lily ended up getting a viral rash from a upper respitatory infection and then on top of that, I had to get my car fixed which takes 5 business days. So the second I get my car back, I will be getting a sitter so that I can make my way over to ASU to talk to a counselor and hopefully apply then and there. I'm sure there will be a ton of paperwork since I will be applying for grants and child care, but I am more than ready to get the ball rolling.

I don't even know where to begin with updates on Lily. She is the funniest, most outgoing little girl with an even bigger personality. She is talking non-stop, says "hi" and "bye" to everyone whenever we go out and love to laugh.
She is obsessed with purses, necklaces and shoes. She was never a picky eater, but lately seems to be that way. She still loves her milk, but one of her favorite things is ice, so I will put a bunch of ice in a cup with a little bit of water and she goes crazy.
She has also recently started to repeat alot of things I say. For instance, yesterday I asked my dog if he wanted to go outside and Lily responded, "wanna go side?" It was so cute and I love hearing her put sentences together.
Lily is either going to be a dancer or a softball pitcher. The second she hears music, she goes crazy and can dance for hours. She loves playing fetch with our dog and throws things when she has a temper tantrum. Let me tell you, that girl can throw. She has a good arm on her... it can be painful.

She's still a mommy's girl and seems to be extra clingy lately. Whenever she wants something or just wants my attention, she yells "ma, ma, ma!"

Here are a few recent pictures of my big girl :)

Tax Season

I'm the worst blogger in the world! I've been busy (as usual) and am trying to cope with my overwhelming life. Things are getting better and I'm thinking 2013 will be a good year for me and Lily.

To start off, I was suppose to be starting to school last month, but financial aide didn't get done in time so I will be starting in April. I decided to change my major. I will be going to school to be an ultrasound technician, but before I can even apply to that program, I have to complete 5 classes. Mainly sciences and and a couple of math ones. I'm going to go full time and hopefully get done with those fast enough to be accepted into the program by fall. That is my goal right as of now and I know it's going to be hard, but I'm going to work my butt off and it'll all be worth the stress in the end.

As for court/custody is coming along-- I FINALLY got the letter in the mail I've been waiting for. Although it wasn't quote the news I was looking for. I was expecting the trial date, but instead got the PRE trial date that happens to be in the month I start school. I'm a little irritated over that, but am taking one step at a time and hopefully everything will go over smoothly. The paper also said that me and my daughter's father are to take a parenting class. It's mandatory for anyone going through a custody battle. That wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to pay for the class, but anything that will help, I'm all for. We have to go to mediation before the pre trial as well. That's the most frustrating part of it all due to the fact that he lives all the way in Virginia. I don't even know how we would go about that. But he has a lawyer, so they can figure that out since I've been picking up the rest of the slack.
I still have not received any child support from my ex. The judge ordered his lawyer to do the paperwork for it back in November. I couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting it and finally talked to a clerk who informed me that the lawyer had not done the papers. I emailed her twice before she replied and she told me she did it and would send me a copy. Two weeks after she told me she did the paperwork, I called to confirm and they told me she still hasn't. I won't even go into detail about how that makes me feel, but his lawyer and the judge will find that out in court.

Thankfully it's tax season-- my favorite time of the year :) I'm going to use to the money to buy clothes for me as well as Lily and then put the rest in my savings. I plan on moving when I'm done with school, so I've been saving up for that. I was hoping to move this summer, but we will see. As of right now, it doesn't look that way.

Lily will be 20 months this month. I can't believe she will be 2 in June. Me and my neighbor have already started planning her birthday party. She's moving in with her boyfriend who has a pool so we are going to have it at his house. The theme will be Hello Kitty of course ;) and I'm really excited about it because last year, we didn't do anything due to everything going on at the time. I'm going to go all out this year and I can't wait.
Lily has been gaining weight lately. The last time she was weighed, she was 21 lbs. She's a little chunky monkey now, but still small for her age. We are working on potty training and so far it's going great. She's not fully potty trained, but I'm hoping she will be by 2 1/2 or sooner.
I also decided to take her off her pacifier. THAT is not going too well. She won't take her nap during the day now and is going to bed later. She's restless without it and it breaks my heart. I've almost gone to the store 4 separate times to get her a new one. I hate seeing her cry because she misses it.
She's a little chatter box. Her favorite word is still "yeah" and she has yet to say the word no. For some reason, she doesn't want that word in her vocabulary... Which is completely fine with me. If I grab my car keys or walk to the door, she waves and says "bye bye". She loves giving people hugs and is extremely outgoing. She is still a huge animal lover and I'm planning a zoo trip in the near future. I think she would absolutely love it and I'm excited to see her reaction to all the animals.
She has all her teeth but two. One has popped through, but the other hasn't. She eats anything and everything. For some reason, she will not eat mashed potatoes. It must be the consistency because hell eat French fries and potatoes in any other form. I have to watch her closely whole she eats, because she has a bad habit of swallowing food without chewing it first. A mouth full of teeth and she won't use them.
Some of her favorite things to eat are waffles, yogurt, dry cereal, and toast. She refuses to drink anything but milk. She's a little milk monster. She can easily go through 3 gallons of milk a week! Insane!

That's all for now

Trish xoxo

New Year Resolutions?

Now that my life is semi on track, I've set a lot of goals for myself. Not even because of the New Year, but mainly just because I want to better myself as a person. The goals I've set aren't necessarily for the whole year 2013, actually, most of them are near future goals and/or goals I want to accomplish before this summer. Some of them are rather private, so I won't go into details with them, but other than that, I am just going to be open with everything else.

My first goal may seem simple, but it's something I've been struggling for the past 6 months and seems to be getting worse this past month: acne. I use to have a very clear complexion and even use to get complimented on it all the time. But since I've had my daughter, it seems like my skin has gotten so bad. I was taking a bunch of vitamins up until 3 months ago and I thought that that was the reason why, but after I stopped taking them, my skin didn't clear up and has actually gotten a lot worse. I have an appointment on Saturday to get on birth control. The birth control I was on previous to getting pregnant made my skin glow, so I'm going to try that out again and see if that helps any. I have also been using a drug store product by Cetaphil. I did some research and it had a lot of good raves and reviews, so I am trying that out as well. I'm crossing my fingers that it will work with or without the birth control

My second goal is to get back into school. I've done everything I can do from home on my computer, so tomorrow I will be scheduling an appointment to talk to an academic adviser about testing, financial aid, daycare and picking out my classes. I am so excited to be going back to school, especially since it'll be full time. I'm not too sure how I'll manage working part-time, school full-time AND having a daughter to care for. I'm staying optimistic and now that if I really want it, I can make it happen :)

My third goal is pretty simple and a goal I'm sure most people have on their list for the New Year: diet and exercise! I've never been on a diet, but having a child makes you more cautious about what you eat in my opinion. I stopped eating red meat almost 6 months ago. Although it had nothing to do with diet (just don't like it after having Lily), I do notice a difference in the way I feel. I eat a lot of junk food and need to eat healthier foods. More vegetables, fruits, etc. I do not drink soda, but I do drink coffee and lots of it! So I am going to try to cut down a lot of my caffeine intake. I a
I also need to start exercising more. Right after I had Lily, I was always working out, but after having some personal issues, I was too depressed to go and haven't been working out like I should be. So my goal is to go for a walk every night (I've been slacking!) and try to go to the gym 3-4 times a week. I'd like to be able to go more, but I know with my soon-to-be busy schedule, that won't be happening. I don't really need to lose any weight, but I do need to tone up. Time to put on my running shoes.

My fourth goal is probably one of the biggest: stop smoking. I have no excuse for the reason I even started back up after going a pregnancy and then 3 months after that without a single cigarette. I am just dumb to say the least, because now that I want to quit, it is so hard for me. I hate everything about it and although I've been smoking less, I want to NOT smoke whatsoever. Hopefully by this summer (at the latest), I will be nicotine freeeee.

My 5th goal is to save more money. That's pretty hard to do being a single mother, but I know I can do it. I really want to take a vacation this summer and I know that that will not happen unless I have the funds for it...obviously. So if that means I have to work my butt off with school and work, then so be it. I'm just hoping I don't get too overwhelmed with everything.

The last two of my goals are more personal and not something I want to get too deep into. Both should be accomplished within the next few months and I am very excited for both. Once they are accomplished, then I might want to share, but until then, you will have to anxiously await! ;)

It's time to watch The Walking Dead since I missed last weeks episode, so I will make sure to update you guys soon...