Welcome 2017 - Our Year of CHANGE!

Well, hello blog world! Is anyone still out there?! It's early January and clearly my resolutions are off to a great start! Check back in March and we'll see if this thing is still rolling! I've been thinking a lot about blogging lately, and with a little encouragement and a fresh start of a new year, I think it's time to get back into it!

I debated changing the name of this blog. I debated what I wanted to blog about and the direction I wanted to take this. I obviously have health and fitness goals, I LOVE to cook and find new yummy recipes, I am the proudest Lacy/mama to ever exist, and I have a few unique situations and perspectives on life. So what do I want this blog to be? A journal? A fitness blog? Recipes? A butt load of pictures of my kids? A step family how-to and how-NOT-to? A stay at home/ work at home mama play by play? My Rodan + Fields business and my love for these products? To be honest, I have no clue. But really, Just the Beginning really is fitting for all of them. If I had 'made it' in any sense of my life, I wouldn't be here right now. But I'm still learning and still growing, so to me, it is still JUST THE BEGINNING! I'm ready to share it with you all, like I always have ;) on a more intimate level and not just via Social Media. I want to document my life, my struggles, my successes, my goals, my strengths and my weaknesses. And I'm sure to throw in LOTS of pictures and stories of my littles and their daddy - because THEY are my true happiness! :) I can't tell you that I know where this will go, or if it will be read by a single soul. But I'm ready to get my words out and this was always the best way to do it for me!

Fitness Life- well, after losing nearly 40 pounds 2 years ago, it's all found it's way back. I had a baby, but that really wasn't it. I was about 15 lbs from my pre pregnancy weight a year ago (with a 4 month old). Now, I'm back up to where I was late pregnancy. Seriously!? How does that happen? Well, let me tell you. It happens by eating ALL DAY LONG! The biggest struggle for me has been working from home and having my kitchen steps away. I just snack ALL day. It's bad. Sometimes I don't even eat a full meal, it's just a little junk here, a lotta junk there, repeat until bed. THAT is how it happens. I've been incredibly lazy on top of all the holiday foods and it's caught up to me in every way. I have gone to bed MULTIPLE nights sick from all the food eaten that day. I have done NOTHING to fuel my body and give me energy, let alone MOVE my body. I'm sick of it, I'm sick of my clothes not fitting, I'm sick of feeling frumpy and down right chubby. I've got mom bod, but not from my baby. It's from ME! That changes TODAY. We threw out all the junk, but to be honest I'm so motivated I don't think I needed to do it. My mind is there and I'm ready to take back some control! We meal prepped yesterday and it's GO TIME! I've taken measurements, and when I'm brave enough I'll share them. For now, weekly weigh ins and measurements will happen on Monday's and I'll share at least my inches/pounds lost with you. Not sure I'll ever be able to share pictures. Yikes! :( Here's to finding my confidence and happiness with my body, it's overdue!

My Kids- yes kid(S). I will forever refer to them both as mine, because, well, they ARE! I may have given birth to just one of them, but I'm telling you I'd take a bullet in a heartbeat for either of them. I LOVE and LIVE for those two! They are my happiness and my motivation in every aspect of my life. Kailee is 9, going on 16. She is the most mature 9 year old I have ever met, no lie. She is everything I could ever want her to be in a big sister, and is truly the best little friend and help to me. She loves dance, tumbling, art, school, emojis, her brothers and her friends! We are hitting the years where friends are her top priority and none of us are quite ready for it, but it's reality! I adore everything about her! She definitely has her moments but man, that kid is about as good as they come! LOVE HER! Baby Hank is not our baby anymore! He's huge, and happy and so so fun right now! He's finally walking, saying lots of words, and is truly the most tender hearted little boy! He hates to see anyone sad, and has the saddest and cutest pouty face you will ever see! He loves his mama, and is the best kisser ever! He loves to blow kisses, give hugs and snuggle! Gosh, how did we ever live without him?! My happiest mommy moments are when we are ALL 4 together and listening and watching my kids interact and laugh. It's beyond any words I could ever put on paper. It's what life is all about!

Marriage - it's still hard. REALLY hard! And Jake is still without a doubt the best thing about me. I love being his wife, even when I don't like him very much! ;) No, he really is such a sweet man. He's an incredible daddy and an amazing husband. He works hard for us, and I never have to ask him to play or help with our kids. He's always right there and in it with me. I love him for that. Marriage is work, and we've noticed when we stop working, because things are going fine, somehow we end up fighting and distant. Marriage is something you have to work at EVERY SINGLE DAY, and if you stop, things get hard. Jake and I have always said that putting our marriage first makes us better parents, and it truly does. When I get what I need from him, and he gets what he needs from me, we are better people all around! I love living this life with him, through thick and thin! 2016 was rough on us, but he never let go of my hand. It may be a cheesy quote to some, but it's the absolute truth for me. I can conquer the world with one hand, and long as he is holding the other!

Step Family - Okay, so somehow I ended up in a situation I never even considered. To be honest, even while dating Jake I don't think I ever realized what being a part of a blended family meant. I didn't think about how for the rest of my life, I'd have to work and struggle and share. And I'm the step parent! Also, somehow I ended up in the absolute BEST family I could have ever imagined. You know what, that's exactly what we are is FAMILY. We are a blended one, a non traditional one, but a family nonetheless. Does that mean it's always easy? HELL NO! It's as hard as marriage! BUT, it's worth every second! I LOVE our time together! I love when we drop off or pick up and it lasts for an hour. I love that we get together for Christmas and that we have dinner together after every parent teacher conference. I love that we share stories and struggles of Kailee and that the 4 of us together make decisions about her well being. I love that we booked a condo together for the 2nd year in a row for one of K's out of town dance competitions. I love that we work out schedules and switch nights and weekends to make sure K is where she needs to be. I am BEYOND grateful to have found a new friend, who I confide in about a lot of things that you wouldn't think I'd be comfortable with. It truly is AMAZING. And it truly is HARD. Every year, half the holidays are spent without K. Every year two of the four of our hearts are breaking on Christmas morning. And on Thanksgiving, Easter and 4th of July and on the morning of August 25th. It's not always easy, and feelings get hurt, and families miss out, I also want to be honest about that and not just our fun times. It's hard and it's work! After talking with Angie and getting her okay, we'd like to share some of that too. There are SO many people who share our situation and we want to help those people understand both sides! It IS possible to not only make it work, but to make it HAPPY! And then there's the side where I'm also a child of divorced parents. Which means we had about 2948 Christmas parties to attend. It's not easy, but I try and we try to make the best of it!

Working/Stay at home mom- Man, I wish I could have seen the other side of the fence when I thought I had it figured out! Ha ha! When I thought stay at home mom's had ALL the time in the world. Again, ha ha! I guess the biggest thing I've learned is that it's ALL hard. Working full time, staying at home, working at home, working part time, day care, being with your kids ALL day, it's freaking hard! And it's time we start giving each other  and ourselves credit for our own 'hards'! Mommies, we are pretty damn special! I've struggled coming up with a routine that works. I've blamed SO much on Hank being an awful sleeper. I've blamed an up and down daycare/grandma day situation, I've blamed being busy or not busy with work. I've blamed everything on someone or something other than ME. So today, I started a schedule. It's early and it's day 1, but I'm excited for what I can accomplish in a day when my day has a plan! I love my job, I truly do and I'm looking forward to taking on more work and being more valuable to a company who remembered me and offered me this amazing position! I work with some AMAZING people and that makes me love it even more! I'm SO excited about my R+F business and journey! These products are amazing and I love the happiness and confidence they are bringing the people who use them, myself included! I can't wait to see where this thing goes!

If you are still reading, bless you and I'm sorry! My intentions weren't to throw it all out there, but more to explain where I am in life right now. Where I want to be in the future and the steps I'm taking to get there. I've been in a somewhat dark and lonely place for the last 6 months, and I guess somewhere deep inside I'm hoping that there is ONE person out there reading this who I can help. Someone who needs a little inspiration, or someone who can relate. I want to make an impact on this world, I want to help people. I want to find my passions and share them with the people I love and care about. And I guess for now, this blog is where I'll try to start!

xoxo,
Lacy