Get up more than you fall down.

“To win, all you need to do is get up one more time than you fall down.” --Unknown

Become who you want to be.

“You will never become who you want to be if you keep blaming everyone else for who you are.” --Unknown

Success and happiness.

“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.” --Dale Carnegie

Another piece of awesome advice.

"Whatever makes you feel bad, leave it. Whatever makes you smile, keep it." --Unknown

There's always a tomorrow.

"When yesterday was a disappointment and today isn’t better, remember there's always a tomorrow, so make it something to look forward to and smile." --Unknown

BL's gonna be 2!!

I can't believe BL is about to be 2. My little Baby Love isn't so little anymore. Time sure does fly. I remember being pregnant with him, having him, and all of the moments leading up to today. BL is my miracle baby. I suffered an ectopic pregnancy in October of 2008 and was told I would not be able to conceived again for a year and that it would be much harder to conceive. Well, they lied. In February of 2009 Baby Love was conceived. Just a few days after the anniversary of my ectopic pregnancy, he was born. I was in denial that I was pregnant for more than 2 months before I finally gave in and took a test. When it came back positive and the doctor confirmed it, I was happier than I ever thought possible.

Being pregnant with him was stressful at times, but it was totally worth it. I gained a lot of weight with him, but I knew it was for a good cause. The little stinker made me gain 61lbs. With his birth weight, I have no idea why. He weighed 5lbs 15oz. He was so itty bitty. I enjoyed my pregnancy with him, though. It was my first full-term pregnancy. I had to be induced at 36 weeks, though. He stopped growing inside of me. Health wise, I had a tough pregnancy. I found out I had two heart conditions and he kept trying to come early starting at 22 weeks. He was also small for dates, so I had to do NST's twice a week. It was all worth it in the end because I got a beautiful, healthy baby.

Now that he's going to be two, I keep wondering where the time went. I remember rocking him as an infant. I remember his love for green bean baby food. He was a pretty easy baby until he was about a year old. That's when he started having some issues. It started with sleep issues and then behavior issues and now lack of speech issues. We're still working on it, but no matter how difficult the days may be; he is still my pride and joy. I love him more than anything and I hope he knows it. I will never give up on him. I will do all that I can for him.

His birthday is October 22nd. I haven't put a whole lot of thought into it yet, but I really need to. I want to do a camo theme mixed with cars. Even though this is a new blog, I'm thinking about possibly hosting a birthday event for him. I have some things I've gotten for him already, but I want to get him a lot more. He loves anything with wheels and he's out of the stage of putting everything in his mouth. So, I'm thinking about getting him a car rug with cars for his room or maybe one of those hot wheels tracks. We'll see.

Do you get a bittersweet feeling too when as your kids get older? What are some fun things/themes you've done for their birthdays?

Behind Dedicated Mama

I am the queen of perfection. If things aren't perfect and how I want them, I go back to re-map my plan. When I started this blog I didn't really have a solid idea on how I wanted things to be. Well, after some thinking and talking to some of my friends I was finally beginning to realize what work best. One of my friends, Gabby from camonkeymomma.com, has constantly told me I needed to blog about how I am, as she puts it, a renaissance woman. Well, I started to really ponder on the thought of that. That is how 'Dedicated Mama' came about.

For those of you who don't know me, let me explain all of the ways I fit the description of a dedicated mama:

1. I work from home writing articles for various employers. I have had to write some pretty ridiculous articles on some boring topics, like the 50 articles a week on virtual phones or the 10 articles on how to export a vehicle from Japan. I don't write them because I enjoy the topics. Instead, I write them to pay the bills and take care of my kids. When I end up in a financial bind, I utilize all of my resources and search for other ways to make money. I do whatever I can to pay my bills and take care of my kids.
2. I am currently in school to get my BA in Business with a concentration in Marketing. Business has always been appealing to me, so I felt as though this would be a good fit for me. Also, I know that once I receive my degree I will be able to provide a better life for my kids. I am always looking for ways to advance and make a better life for my kids. I recently looked into becoming a certified bookkeeper or accountant. I ultimately decided on an accountant because the annual average income is $5,000 more than a bookkeeper. It is something I can do at my own pace, but the sooner I finish the sooner I can start to make a good income. I know it will be double the schooling for a while, but the end result will make it all worth it. After I get my business degree, I can open my own accounting firm. Both of these degrees will help me to reach my goals for myself and my kids.
3. My older son, BL, is a bit of a challenge. Once I started seeing the potential of him having some issues, I found the right resources to start getting him the help now so it hopefully won't hinder him in the future. He is in occupational therapy and speech therapy. He has also gone for eating/swallow studies and will be going for a developmental evaluation. I want him to be a happy, healthy kid. So, that is why I put in so much effort to try and get him taken care of now.
   
4. I dedicate myself to my kids night and day. They are my whole world and I don't know what I would do without them. They are the most important thing to me and I wouldn't change having them for the world. They are why I am here. They are my motivation for everything that I do. I dedicate my whole life to them.

I know I am not the only mother or parent to be so dedicated. I don't think I am the perfect person or parent, but I do my best. I give my all to doing all that I can to excel for myself and my kids. I give credit to every other parent out there who does the same. I know I'm not the only one, but I also know of parents who don't do much for their kids. Those are the parents who disappoint me. I think we should all join together and make a vow to do ad much for our kids as we are capable of doing.