Updates: Challenges for Me and KBug's Birthday [pictures]

via
this pretty much sums it up... :)
 

So I'm sitting here avoiding folding the three baskets of laundry I've let pile up over the weekend.... And I thought to myself

"Christine, you haven't written anything in a couple of days..."

 

Birthdays Without Daddy: 5 out of 7

Today is KBug's 7th birthday. My little girl is seven years old.

Wow.

 

That's not what I plan to write about this morning, though. Today I want to write about KBug and her dad.

 

This will be the second year in a row that KBug will not be speaking to her father on her birthday.

Growing Up Right Before My Eyes

Tomorrow is KBug's 7th birthday.

Seven.

My baby is seven.

I don't like this growing up, getting older thing she's doing.

Anyways. So she's going to be seven, whether I like it or not. I'm just going to have to get used to it. And by the time I get used to her being seven and a second grader, she'll be turning eight and getting ready for third grade and so on and so forth for the rest of her life.
 

This is the part of being a mother I'm not sure I like.

But, what can I do?

TGIF Blog Hop and Linky Party [I'm Co-Hosting!!!]

Welcome back to the TGIF Blog HOP!!!
I am no longer requiring an email during link up to save everyone time.If you'd like to continue receiving my weekly emails (including my blogger opportunities, giveaways, discounts, TGIF launch reminder, and other awesome blogger goodies) CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO MY TGIF NEWSLETTER  (don't worry, it is still only once a week and you can unsubscribe at anytime). 

Coffee & Conversation #8 [Most Valuable Friendship]

I'm linking up (a day late) with Kalyn from Love. Laughter. Happily Ever After. and Lauren over at Simply Free for Coffee and Conversation #8! Let me tell you again that I absolutely love this link up and if you haven't checked it out yet, you definitely should. This isn't your standard link-up with basic questions. These are questions that truly make you think and feel and find something meaningful to write about. And I am very excited for this weeks question!

"What is the most valuable friendship you have in your life and what makes it so great?"

Submitted by Lisa @ Two Martinis

Updates [Challenges for Me]

Wow. It feels like it's been days since I wrote.... Oh wait, maybe that's because it has been!

Oops.....

 

Anyways. So I know I'm a day late because I had said in Challenges for Me that I was going to be writing about my fitness/Orange Rhino progress every Saturday, but I figure it's better late than never!

 

OK, here we go!

So Simply Sweet {Liebster Award}

The wonderful Michelle over at Diary of a Fit Single Mom recently nominated me for a Liebster award! That makes three for me and my little blog, and I feel so incredibly blessed to be accepted and recognized in the blogging world in this way. The people I have met and follow through their blogs are absolutely amazing, and Michelle is no exception. Her writing is real and honest. She doesn't hold back.

I Did It!

I feel like I can finally breathe again. It's amazing how much stress one person can carry without realizing it. And it's especially amazing when that person is me and I finally figure it out once the stressor is removed.

Those of you who read My Test Anxiety and KBug Do Not Mix last night know that I had a huge exam for my Marketing course today. You also know about my test anxiety, the additional stress from my mentor and how I realized it was affecting KBug.

Well all of that is in the past.

I passed my test!

My Test Anxiety and KBug Do Not Mix

So it's been a very stressful few days. I have spent the majority of my time studying for my Marketing exam. Which is tomorrow.

I've written before about my test anxiety. But it's ten times worse for this particular exam. I think part of it is that it's worth 6 credits instead of the typical 3 credits. And I think another part is that I have to pass this test by May 31st. And another part is that I really want to pass because I want to have time to finish another course before the end of my term.

But it's mostly because my mentor has been freaking me out about it.

So WHAT Wendesday!

It's Wednesday! Which means today I am saying so WHAT if:

Pray for Boston

I wore a race t-shirt today in honor of Boston.

A Look Back at KBug's First Year

So I was going through the photos on my Gramma's computer last night and came across a number of them from KBug's first year of life. The computer I had all of those saved to when she was younger crashed and we weren't able to get them off the hard drive to transfer to my new laptop. I thought I had lost them.

How is it possible that I have lived with my Gramma for over 5 years now and not realized she had these pictures?

Pretty ridiculous, if you ask me.

 

But now I have them, and I thought I would give you a look at KBug when she was younger. Not that she isn't still young, because I know she is even if I'm beginning to feel old, but she was just so little! It's hard for me to imagine that my little baby is going to be seven years old in just a matter of days. It's beautiful and baffling all at once.

 

My Painful Stories [part three]

 

 

If you've been following along with my blog for a little while, you've likely already met depressed, cutter Christine in My Painful Stories [part one]. And if you continued to read after that, it's possible that you've also met depressed, cutter, anorexic Christine in My Painful Stories [part two].

 

Now it's time to meet the next me.

MHO Monday Mingle [10]

Alright y'all, last one for the night! It's the MHO Monday Mingle [10] hosted by Funny Postpartum Lady and Story of a Girl. This weeks theme is Birthdays!

The Sunday Currently [volume 30]

I recently linked up with the Monday Mingling Blog Hop over at Southern Sunflowers & Coffee Beans and happened across a different sort of link-up. This link up is called The Sunday Currently and is hosted by Lauren over at Siddathornton. And, since I like the concept behind it, I thought I would give it a shot this week and decide if I want to link-up in the future.

 

Coffee and Conversation #7 [Strengths and Weaknesses]

 

I am so glad I found the Coffee and Conversation link-up, hosted by Kalyn over at Love. Laughter. Happily Ever After. and Lauren at Simply Free. Unfortunately I wasn't paying attention last weekend so I missed out on the Easter/Spring Break topic link-up. But I'm on the ball this week and ready to go!

 

This weeks question:

 

What do you consider your two greatest strengths? What about the areas you would like to improve?

 

Single Mama Troubles [one]:: On Making Friends

The title of this blog is "Musings of a Single Mama". Yet I feel like I don't spend much time writing about being a single mama. So I think it's high time I start.

I've been a single mama for some time now. Actually, I've been raising KBug alone for a little over 5 years now.

That's a scary thought.....

Feeling Loved {Liebster Award}

So less than a week ago I was so excited because Stephanie over at Life, Unexpectedly had nominated me for a Liebster award! Following the rules of the Liebster award, I wrote a post with 11 facts about me, answers to her 11 questions, and 11 questions to 11 nominees of my choosing. It was so much fun!

And now, here I am, less than a week later...

Challenges For Me

So I'm starting a few new things tomorrow, and I wanted to write about them to really get that motivation going.

{Part One}

ADHD. It's Real, People.

When I was 16 years old, I got married.

 

When I was 16 years old, I had a baby.

 

When I was 19 years old, I got divorced.

 

When I was 21 years old, I became the single mother of a diagnosed special needs child.

 

Calling All Night Owls! KBug's Having a Party!

KBug's birthday is coming up in just a few shorts weeks! Two and a half actually....

Oh geez...

I'm going to be the mama of a 7 year old...

"I Have You In My Heart"

Today is my great grandfather's birthday.

Grandpa Doc would have been 91 years old today.

 

Now, most people don't get to say that they knew their great grandparents. And those who do often didn't really know them. More often than not their great grandparents died before they had the opportunity to get to know them.

Wow! A Liebster Award For Me??

WOW! I feel so special right now, guys! The lovely Stephanie over at Life, Unexpectedly nominated me for a Liebster Award!

Now, I've seen these awards all over my Reading List on my Blogger homepage and sort of half-way, maybe not at all glanced at them? I didn't know what a Liebster award was and didn't really take the time to find out.

Until now. And I'm excited! So, here it goes...

So WHAT Wednesday!

  Today I am saying "So WHAT" if....

Time to Get Caught Up

This past week was our Spring Break. But it definitely wasn't much of a "break". We had something going on every day. And it wasn't anything like "hey, let's go to the beach" or "maybe we could go shopping". No. That wasn't it at all.

We cleaned.

The attic.

The storage unit.

The garage.

The house.

KBug's bedroom.

The backyard.

Sunday Social

  Today's Sunday Social is all about Pinterest! We want to see your favorite pins! You can follow me on Pinterest here!

10K Training? I'm Such a Slacker...

This is me after my last 5K.

The Glow Run.

March 23, 2013.

Time 31:18

So I've been saying for a while now that I want to run a 10K.

All Cleaned Out and Moving Forward

Here are some pictures from my cleaning adventures over the past couple of days.

This is a picture of my garage about halfway through the cleaning process.

I should have taken a real before picture, but I didn't think about it.....

 

Single Mama Moment

KBug has been having a lot of trouble going to bed at night for the past several weeks. She's big on the "I don't want to go to bed", but lately it's not just a matter of whether she wants to or not. It's like she can't calm herself enough to lay down and go to sleep. Her brain just isn't shutting off and letting her rest.

My Painful Stories [part two]

In My Painful Stories [part one] I began with a list of things I have been in my life.

 

Always Learning, Always Growing

Well, yesterday and today were emotional days for me. Not emotional in the normal sense, though. A typical emotional day involves some sort of anger, sadness, despair, desperation, moodiness, etc.

Well, my emotional day was not that.

So WHAT Wednesday!

  Today I am saying So WHAT if...

My Painful Stories [part one]

I have been many things in my short 23 years of life.