Long Overdue Update

5 years....That a long time and A LOT has happened.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly....you figure out which is which!

Jocelynn in now 13 years old.....yes, you read that right...13 years old. Officially a teenager and living up to the teenager status. Don't get me wrong, she is a FANTASTIC kid! Academically she is focused and determined to get the best grades she is capable of. Even with her multiple trips a year out of town (We will get to that in a bit). She has gotten into some trouble with inappropriate use of her cell phone and internet, and of course her sass and attitude have increased 10 fold, but the trouble she gives me in those areas she more then makes up for in her academics and loving and caring nature. She is just more then I could have ever expected to be blessed with as a daughter!

John and I are no longer married.....infertility will truly make or break any relationship.

We were officially divorced in July 2017. While not what I had intended for my life, the reason behind the divorce are private and don;t need to be rehashed again. Let's just say we are still friends and get along wonderfully, both for Jocelynn's sake and just as friends which we were for many years before we started dating. He is now remarried and they have an adorable little boy together. Jocelynn LOVES her little brother with all her heart and soul. The do live in the midwest, so Jocelynn doesn't get to see any of them everyday, but John and I make sure that she visits them every 8-10 weeks.

I have met a fantastic guy who is more then I could have ever hoped for and made me realize what I was missing in my marriage. Jocelynn has met him and they get along famously! It is still a fairly young relationship (6 months), I feel like I am finally truly me, not who I thought I needed to be. He is hilarious, caring, thoughtful, and accepts me for me without putting unrealistic expectations on me.

I have gone back to school...If my calculations are correct, graduation will be 2021. Goal is to become an ultrasound technician. I'm on my second full semester. With full-time work and full-time single parenting, I could only sanely do part-time school. The best thing...I'm not paying a single cent out of pocket. Being a single parent, I qualified for a Grant that pays for my tuition and books!!!

I'm starting another blog, no more updates here. I figured a new chapter in my life requires a new blog. Keep up to date by visiting here:

joceysmom.blogspot.com

April Update.

April!!!! Yay!!! That means nicer weather and spending more time outside in the sunshine!

April started off slow, but before I knew it, it was over. I was happy to spend some time with my nieces and nephews. I am lucky that this seems to be a regular occurrence for me. It makes me so very happy. I wish some of my older nieces and nephews were closer!

John and I had parent teacher conference at the beginning of the month. I have never been more proud of Jocelynn. Her teacher had very positive things to say about Jocelynn. She continues to love math, writing, and spelling....so much so that she is excelling in those three subjects. Reading seems to be the only place she needs improvements and that is because she tends to hurry too much and doesn't really seem to enjoy it when she reads. John and I have been working with her. We seem to have found a routine that works great for her. every night when she goes to bed, she reads for 30-60 minutes. Not only has her fluency improved (she was having a problem with that) but also her love for reading has improved. She actually asks to go to bed to read. Reading and bedtime used to be a battle every night, now she looks forward to both. It has made the stress in the house much less. 

We also managed to really enjoy April vacation together. With very little fighting and arguing when it came to cleaning her room!

The month of april had it's downs for me.....lol....the screen on my iphone broke. Luckily with the apple insurance I was able to get it fixed, but it is still one of those things that stinks.

Gage celebrated his 3rd birthday. I can't believe how fast he has grown.....Aunties (not so) little man!

John was able to convince me to drive the four wheeler....I may be hooked! It is so much fun!

Easter was eventful as always! Its so fun to have the family together and watch the kids find the eggs! Jocelynn's gifts were scaled back this year, and she didn't seem to mind. Thankfully I have managed to not completely spoil her yet!

I started a new adventure! I decided to make and sell some of my jewelry. Check out my facebook page ~ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beading-by-Sam/271575239685854 ~ and the items are available for sale on Etsy!

Also, I guess I did manage to upset Jocelynn at some point because I came across this drawing on out white board...

All in a day as a mother and father!

Congratulations to my friend Angie and her hubby Andy on the Finalized adoption of E!!!!! I am so very beyond the moon excited for the two of you!

On the ttc front.....No news. Still working on getting healthy, both physically and mentally. 

March Update!

March started with John's shoulder surgery on the 7th. Everything went great and John was in a sling for a week and on light duty at work for a month. Everything is healing great and John seems to be mostly pain free by this point. He still gets some aches ever once in a while, I mean they shaved some of the bone away in the joint. The Dr.s says he should be fully healed on 18-24 months. Already he is feeling much better and is happy to be able to work and play without too much pain!

While John was recovering for surgery I came down with a awful stomach bug. In fact, my stomach first protested in the recovery room after John's surgery. The poor nurse was taking care of me instead of John....I felt awful. I assumed it was my nerves. I was very nervous and anxious for this surgery....I'm not sure why....and didn't eat anything all day. I though now that I knew John was going to be ok, my body decided to show me how unhappy it was with me. 

That was not the case. It started at 5pm at the hospital and ended about 2am at home. I was running the the bathroom every 20-30 minutes. I couldn't even sip water because it would make me run to the bathroom sooner. I felt like I was literally dying. 

Thank goodness for my Mom. Once again she comes to the rescue. She ended up having to take care of John, myself, and Jocelynn. At one point my vomiting was so bad she was ready to put me in the car and take to the ER. Which for her to get to that point, you know things must be pretty bad. 

My biggest concern was making sure John didn't come down with this awful bug. I couldn't imagine vomiting right after shoulder surgery....but he did. Both Mom and John ended up with the bug. Not as bad as what I had, thank goodness, but still miserable none the less. Mom ended up down and out for a few hours on the 9th and John vomited just a couple times on the morning of the 10th. Lets just say that weekend and most of that week was a "trying to get better" for all of us.

It took all of us a good 4-6 day to "get back to normal". All of us lived on scrambled eggs, toast, and roman noodles for most of the week.

By the 11th I was able to get of the couch for more then just bathroom breaks, and the weather was so warm that day. I decided to open the windows and doors and Lysol as much space as I could. I definitely did not want that bug to hang around.

The end of March I was able to spend a bit of time with my nieces and nephew. I love them so much and they bring so much joy to my heart.

One of my favorite pictures of Keira and Gage!

With the nicer weather that March brought, Jocelynn has been spending most of her days (when not in school) outside! She loves to ride her bike and scooter, and jump rope. I also love that she has a few friends who live in the neighborhood and she is able to go from house to house to play or they all come to our house (we have the swing set). I also imagine I will be see most of them a lot during the summer since we are the house with the pool!

Also, with the nicer weather, John has had spring fever. The Fourwheeler seems to be a favorite activity for both John and Jocelynn. I'm glad we have some trails up the road so they can enjoy.

John and Jocelynn enjoying a ride around the yard! Thank goodness all that white stuff in the background is now gone!

Oh, and a proud sister moment, my brother made the front page of the local newspaper. I don't alway brag about either of my brother (I am super proud of both) but Cory being a firefighter scares me everyday, but I am also so very proud of what he does!