Keep on swimming....keep on swimming

Yes, we must keep on swimming! I have been talking about dreams and moving forward with them. On Friday I made the announcement about working as a travel agent and starting my wedding/event planning business. I am so beyond excited about moving forward with my dreams, goals, and inspirational times.

I have been so wrapped up into letting others destroy my dreams, my goals, and even just daily things that it’s been hard to come up from that cloud of despair. However, I have two lovely reasons to get out of that funk. Jazzy and Zeke have been amazing kids and a life joy that I couldn't and wouldn't even replace. I figured with focus, drive, ambition, and my own will everything will fall into place…especially with hard work.

I want to teach my kids that no matter what someone else says, we can always overcome and continue to fight. I want that deeply engraved into their little hearts and souls. I want them to be able to be happy at all times and enjoy their fails and successes.

When we teach our kids something, they do learn it, but they see us being their example first. I am going to make sure from here on out, that I am a proud and amazing example to my kids. I have been working on my dreams, my goals, and other things that I want to accomplish, writing down the deadlines, emailing people and literally putting my mind, heart, and soul into it. The fruitage of my hard work will come to surface and I do hope that you are here to enjoy it with us.

Oooh and I finally have a schedule for my blog. Wednesdays from here on out will be ramblings, things that I love to chat about (besides my kids) and inspirational moments, etc. I have some other ideas and structural design for my blog! I do hope you enjoy it!

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Thanks,

Erika S.

Amazed

2012 was a horrible year. I hated it so much...if it wasn't one thing it was another. Well, I got to change some things around and started working on my happiness. Got back into my blog, noting and writing about my journey, looking into really wanting to help and change others’ lives, even with my own crazy story. I wanted to be in charge of my life and how I was going to handle and react to things. That is hard for me since I never have been really happy with myself, never knew how to make myself stop being so angry, and my reaction time was always 0-mad angry within seconds. So I started to change.

Yes, there have been some hiccups along the way, I have stopped trying and went back to my Debby Downer ways, or I would be the victim, instead of rescuing myself. However, when December 31, 2012 came and I celebrated it on the road with my twins as we were driving from Arizona to Colorado Springs, CO...I realized that I was happy...that I really loved me. I was on my way to making 2013 a really good year. Don't get me wrong its been a bit of a mess at some points, but hearing from people saying that they've noticed my changes, or that others let me know they are inspired by me (I know right lol) that it made me want to be better.

March to April was really tough. I felt a bit betrayed and hurt by someone I cared about and that took me for a bit of a loop on this journey. However, after much prayer, much crying, and much "Erika, just stop it." I finally have let that part of my life go. It happened, I didn't change it or speak up, and now it is done. However, the friends that I have had that have helped me out...simply floored me. The ones that picked me up emotionally, physically, mentally, and financially, I couldn’t believe I had so much love given to me.

When I decided to change my course of life in 2012, I let go of many people who I barely spoke to, people who continuously used me for their gain, and others that I knew there wasn't going to be nothing there. Instead, I started speaking more to those that were and have been my friends. A group of ladies that have helped me out with encouraging words, to my best friend for just keeping it real with me, to my mom and family just being supportive, letting me rant.

So when everything happened in March and April, I thought I was alone, but it was those friends, the ones I had laid roots with, the family that weren't blood related but still were family...they came to my rescue and I have loved that ever since.

In our life, we have people who come into our life for moments, for seconds, to be there to teach us something or for us to teach them something. We have people in our life who we believe are our friends, but turn out to be not. I named this post Amazed because I am, once again, amazed by how our life changes, how many friends I have, how things have been happening for me and working with me and teaching me lessons. I am amazed that I get so much love from the twins, amazed by my own talents, strengths, and my friends.

2013 has been rough but it has been amazing as well. I got a job after not having one for five months, I got my tooth pulled on Tuesday and on Wednesday, after work, my daughter simply came up to me and rubbed my face and goes "Mommy, how are you feeling? Can I kiss your ouchie?" How amazing is a child’s love!?!?  This year may have a rocky start, but its going to have a great middle and a fantastic end.

How have you been amazed?

A Great Weekend

Besides the weekend being a great time to enjoy one selves anyways, it is important for us to take the times we do have to really enjoy these moments. This weekend the twins and I really enjoyed ourselves and I have the pictures to prove it. 

I met some awesome bloggers and connected on Twitter with them. This for me is a bonus because one of my goals is to become a really successful blogger, and have lots of followers, and really be useful in the blogging community…however, my first main goal is to get more followers on my blog page and my Facebook page (link listed below). I love being a blogger and have made some amazing friends by learning more about blogging and reaching out to others on FB. 

My other awesome weekend moment was watching my son “swim”. He doesn’t get into the pool much, he has his moments where he can put his feet in but nothing…but this weekend he shined. From dipping into the hot tub and “swimming” underneath the pool, dipping his head underneath and playing shark. I was shocked and so proud of him.

If you live in Colorado Springs, Co there is something that happens every Memorial Day, it’s called Territory Days. It’s a three day Memorial Weekend tradition, however, it is a little bit more commercial than what it was but it’s a fun and lovely way to spend the weekend. It was a blast, we got some ice cream, a few bubble toys, and two lovely hats that were on sale.

I got to see my best friend Katera and her son, and another good friend, JoElena, and her lovely son and brother. I miss being around my friends and need to start being more of a social person and really reaching out to people. I missed a good friend who was close but not close, I really wanted to meet her in person, but I couldn’t. 

I’ve also made some goals and some spiritual goals I want to focus on too. I need to be more diligent with things and really get myself into getting these set. I hope that you had a fantastic, lovely, fun, bbq filled, Memorial Day Weekend. 

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What makes a day perfect?

...I don't know about you, but my kids seem to do the trick! I tend to carry a lot of stress in my shoulders and my back. I don't have too many girlfriends and I don't gossip or do anything of that nature, I tend to keep to myself. I am very social, love being around people, but lately I have been so focused on my stress, it has been hard to be "me". 

Today I took a moment and stepped back from everything going on and realized that I missed not having too much stress, that I missed being stress free. I had a few things going on these past few months that cause this stress, but I soon noticed that no matter what I do, the bills will still b there, the worry, the stress...its not going any where.

So, in stepping back today, I had an amazing day with the twins. Even stressed out, I could have an amazing day with them. They literally light up my life with their ways. I enjoy everything about them. My blog post today is just ramblings from yesterday. I enjoyed their laughter, their jumping up and down, my daughters tumbling (cant wait for her tumbling/dance classes to start), my sons innocent smile and the way his eyes light up when he does smile, and my sons stutter (its amazingly cute). I enjoyed just being a mom today! We went swimming...correction, my kids went swimming. I dislike our new pool in our apartment community. They tore out a perfectly good one (9feet, I might add), to replace it with a 5 foot, freezing cold pool. They say its heated but its solar panel heated, meaning if it only gets to 70...then the pool is only at 60. It is the dumbest thing and the whole community hates it, except the UCCS students who now are residents there since UCCS master leased two buildings...oh, I digress.

So, back to being a mom...today was splendid and super amazing. There isn't hardly ever anything to do in Colorado Springs, you always have to go up to Denver. However, I was reminded that the Territory Days are going on this weekend and I am taking the twins shortly. This is a huge vendor event, from all types of vendors, DIY, jewelry, candles, makeup, food (my fav) and musicians of all types, bands in different locations to wow each type of Coloradoan, and loads of just fun! I can't wait to show you all some amazing pictures!

Today taught me a lot though...I cant control what others do (even though I try...it is a Swift woman thing) and I cant control the stress (a little though I can and I know it), what I can control is how I handle it. Something new I learned on my lovely journey!

Here we grow again...

...yeah I know...the title is a bit cliche, but I couldn't think of anything else for this post. For one, we did grow something and for two, its cute.

So, I wanted to give my kids a sense of responsibility and since having pets is out of the question, I figured why not try a plant?! Who wouldn't love a plant. So off to Wal-Mart we go and we get seeds, potting soil, pots, and I think we are set. However, I ran into a lovely older lady who explained that since it is already May, the seeds we picked may not bloom in time, especially with the crazy weather we've been having. She made some suggestions and I took them.

We got two pots, one bag of small beginners (it doesn't really say beginners) potting soil, and two already in dirt plants.We got home and went outside, placing out all the materials that we needed, and played with the potting soil for a while.

We placed Jazzy's pot first, placing some dirt in the pot, and put her rooted plant into the dirted pot and then put more potting soil in the pot. We then did the same thing to Zeke's and potted his new plant as well, leaving them both outside for a few hours to get some sunshine.

I love their enthusiasm and their joy for these plants. They have wanted to take them outside for sun every day, they do that before they eat their breakfast. I love how awesome they are being with these plants. It is fun to watch and I love how they are enjoying watching them bloom.

This has been fun to watch and to learn with them and being able to see their growth in our small family project. Tomorrow is another day to grow some plants and to be able to share this experience with them.

(For some odd reason, the pictures are not uploading on this site...I will post pictures later)

Erika S ~

Add New...

Sometimes I wish there were more “me” to go around. I love my job, Public Relations Director at Ruffhouse Athletics, and I love my twins, but sometimes I wish I had another Erika around to help with everything.

I would love to see everyone having a real personal assistant or if you could just type in things that need to be done and its printed out, mailed, or just taken care of for you. I love being a mom, however, I really wish I could have another hour or two so I could spend more time with them. I love my twins and they are my world and sometimes I miss their activities because I am working and they are at school, which is fine.

I do love being tired though…which is weird, but I do love it. I love the feeling of being tired because then you have done something for that day. You have accomplished so much your body is tired or you have done a few things but they were important to the cause. So that is why I like being tired…I know it is weird.

This was a small post but I wanted to share with you all.

Thanks,

Erika S

What makes a friend?

I didnt have a fantastic life growing up and my childhood had way more shares of troubles than good times, however, I had my family.

In my teen years, I was awkward, a wallflower, dealing with my childhood, and wanting to be...loved and accepted.

As I turned into an adult, I acted out, making decisions I now look back on and regret, wish I had changed, made myself more clear to others, and stood up for myself. Ive had a rough adult life too lol...

Now as I look back and ponder on things and fully accept my life for what it is, I get this sense of joy, the sense of contentment in me. I have had my shares of ups and downs, like anyone does, and had my woes and happy times. What matters now, though, are the ones i continue to share my happy times with.

As I look around me though, there aren't many people I can say I want to share those times with. My kids are special and will always be the ones I share my happiness with first and foremost. I notice that most of my family is on Facebook and although we keep in touch, I doubt many of them know my struggle, my new fears, and my new happiness. Some family members dont even know my kids names.

Most of my "friends" cant return a phone or a basic text message without some reason why I shouldve made contact first (um, I have two two year olds, thanks) or they dont return it period. Most of my "friends" dont even know where Im at because once I got pregnant, the world changed. I was no longer the single, lets go out every weekend, party Erika...I was the chilled, dont say that around my baby Erika. Ive become a mom and who wants to hang around a mom with twins hanging on her legs (I do, actually!!!)

So with that realization, I looked closely at the people that have really been there for me, calling ME up and seeing if I was ok, texting me, helping me out...without strings attached. Ive always been the motivator in my friends life, the natural born encouraging one, the friend thats always willing to be there for you.

So I ask you, What makes a friend? Them being them. a friend is someone who is not only a friend in word but in deed as well. Thankfully, the handful of friends I do have, have been so awesome and so terrific, it makes a girl want to cry! Recently one has helped me out a lot, talking to me, keeping me company, and just being there for me (even after only knowing me for little less than a week). A friendship isnt based on who has done what and for how long, but the bond and the strength in between those two people! (thats a shout out to a special mama!!)

In that same note, if you dont have "family" remember who your true friends are and remember that family doesnt always have to be blood related...just there for you! Im glad that lately, with so much going on in my life, Ive had some amazing, awe inspiring, loving, giving , creative, wonderful, patient, kind, long suffering, fruitful, successful, friends...friends who love me for me and accept me for me.

So I say to you, look around and see how many real friends you have...cause I know now that I have a few. A very special few!!

New Adventures

What is an adventure? Is it scary? Fun? A rollercoaster? an event? An experience? Is it fantastic? positive...negative...hopefull...frustrating?

Well to me and my twins, its all those things. Adventures in life are very very different and can only be expected when this world is going crazy. We take this adventures and make them fun or we can make them negative. My whole world has been turned upside down, gone through many adventures within the past few months and it seems to finally be setting.

As a single mom, Ive found more comfort in my kids than I could have ever thought possible. My joy and love for them blossoms more and more everyday. I tend to be more patient, more loving, and they seem to be giving me the biggest adventure of all.

Im very happy with where my life is headed. Started a new DS (direct sales) business that I am moer in love with now than ever. Not just because of their products, but because of their values, their mission and I love how they love their consultants. I work for Scentsy and I am adding my link, hoping that you can see what you like and order. https://scentswitherika.scentsy.us

I have many more adventures ahead of me and they arent just adventures, but goals to be reached and acheived. My first it to loose weight, take pictures with the kids on Saturday, find a new place and move, and to make Scentsy successful for me and my twins, so I can spend more time with them!!

I hope your adventures bring you great joy and struggle - without struggle, we will look back and think everything was too easy and not appreciate things. With struggle, we will look back and think of the mountains and the hard times, just to be appreciative of our goals and adventures!!

Little learnings

Ive learned so much about myself lately and things keep getting better. Ive learned that I enjoy working with my supervisor, who is a pretty decent guy. He is pretty too lol

Ive learned that your body CRAVES sleep and that staying up and pushing yourself isnt the smartest way too go, especially with kids, Its not fair to yourself or your body.

I am a pretty good mom and it shows, I dont do much since Im a single mom, but what me and the twins do, it seems to be pretty amazing.

I learned that working in a DS business that you love and can back up the product, makes for an excellent sales person and team!

Speaking of which, join my team now for So Chic Bag Boutique at http://erikas.myscbb.com/index.php and sign up now for FREE!!

Ive learned many small and many big things about me, most importantly that I am starting to like me and my place on this earth.

Have you learned something today?

New direction

I think that when people start over they feel its a bad thing, they feel as if its a failure to have to start over. They feel so sad at starting over and get in a frump.

When I was a child, we moved a lot and we may have stayed in the same state but we did move more than most kids. I feel that I am doing that to the twins and Lord knows I dont want to do that. I am planning on being in Denver and simply staying put for a whole year. It'll be tough but I really want that stability in me and my children's life.

So for me, starting over has never really been a failure, but an adventure to a newer place. I am moving to my final destination right now and in this process I do feel a bit sad, that I couldn't provide well for my kids. I dont want them to know what it feels like to struggle, I dont want them to know that a meal can be missed, or that people really have hard times. Yes, they should know these things and be considerate and humbly, but I dont want them to experience these things first hand.

I am taking another route and going to land in Denver and get my life fully together. Support from my bloggy moms and my friends and family I know this move will no longer feel like a failure, but a great success!