Hello *wipes away cobwebs*

Anybody still here? *crickets*

Well I guess it's time for an update, since the last one was about 7 months ago... in December.  Yeah life got in the way.  I'm working full-time, I was doing school (didn't do so hot at that so it's on the back burner for now), juggling the house/relationship with A/running around after the two kids... but it's been all worth it :)

So I guess you'll want to know what's going on with the kids' lives. Right?

Lennon as one of her alter-egos, Grandma Riddle.

Lennon's been in pre-pre-kindergarten (redundant, I know) at a really great school my Grandpa found for her.  She loves it, I love it, her teachers are great.  We recently got an email that she's being bumped up to actual pre-kindergarten on August 4th... then after a year of that KINDERGARTEN!!!!  I'm totally not ready for her to go to public school, if it were possible I'd actually homeschool her.  She's about 42" tall and 38ish pounds (only 13 pounds heavier than Maddox !!).  When she's not at school she's either playing with her princess dolls and castle, or with Daddy and her Lego Movie legos.  She'll play with Maddox more now that he can actually interact with her toys, but I think she mostly does it because we ask her to.  She loves Frozen, The Lego Movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (if you ask her, Raphael is her favorite), cuddles, watermelon, and new clothes.

Hanging out in the rocking chairs at Cracker Barrel

Maddox is 9 months old now - and about the size of a small 2 year old.  No joke, the kid is in 2T size clothes now... I seriously missed out on the baby stage with this one.  He's going to be playing football by the time he turns 2, defensive line.  At his appointment last week he was 24 pounds and 30" long with a 19" head.  So he's big and full of brains.  He's crawling EVERYWHERE and pulling himself up onto everything.  We can't have him completely mobile in the living room so he runs amuck in his walker, which is fine b/c then he can't turn the Xbox on and off about a million and a half times.  He's decided that naps are lame and staying up until 8-9pm being a complete crabby patty is the bees knees.  We did baby-led solids, which is working out great since I don't have to feed him THEN myself (totally selfish, but the kid hated purees anyway) or the rest of the family.  So far he's had : steak, pot roast, green beans, potatoes, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, peas, lima beans, watermelon, chicken, taco meat, cheese, Cheerios, yogurt, popsicles, fudgesicles, turkey sandwich, cheese quesadilla, muffins, pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a ton of other foods he's sampled off my plate.

And the last update I'll leave y'all with...

I'm pregnant... again.  Hush hush, yeah it was totally unexpected - considering I didn't find out I was pregnant until I was 21 weeks along, thanks body - but it's welcome.  We've had time to adjust to the fact that we are adding another baby, another baby BOY in fact, to the circus.  I'm due at the end of September, and won't be releasing baby's name until then, so for now he shall be referred to as baby Tres :)

I'm completely miserable, have the WORST acid reflux I've had out of all 3 pregnancies, and I think this one just had a growth spurt b/c food is now a mortal enemy due to lack of room I've got going on.

But that's it for now, though I'd update all 6 of you who follow me on my life currently.

I have a job, yo.

Haboob is coming in!

Finally, finally FINALLY!  As much as I love spending time with Leni, I hate the fact that I am not making money... my OWN money anyways.  My friend Haley works at Goodyear Airport, and is going to be having baby numero dos soon (I can't wait to see baby D!!!) and there is no real back-up for her while she is on maternity leave.  After weeks and weeks of begging the bosses - to no real avail - I just went in one afternoon to drop off my application and resume.  After 2 interviews with each boss, I got the job!

Memorizing the phonetic alphabet

I've been working there two weeks so far, and I love it!  I love that it's busy, and that if I have any questions Haley (or my other co-worker Val) is just a phone call/text away.  I work 2 days a week, at night, 2-9pm.  My first day working solo we had a HUGE dust storm (ha-boob) that delayed everything by an hour and knocked 2 power lines down.  Night #2 was so slow, I had everything done by 7pm that night haha.

The New Workout Plan

So I've decided I need to get my butt in gear and lose weight!  I'm down to my pre-L weight, but want to be in the "healthy" range for my height.  I'm writing everything down that I eat, exercising nightly, and drinking more water.  I've cut out soda.  I want to start running now... which means I need good running shoes.

I'm lusting over this pair over at Nike >>>.  Hopefully I get the job @ the airport soon so I can start saving up for these babies <3  Or maybe I can convince my grandma that can be my first "YAY you lost 10 pounds" present *crosses fingers*

Also... I weighed myself, I'm down 2.5 pounds!  Tonight, after L's in bed and before I start Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, I'm going to make a motivation board on my currently empty bulletin board.  Marking off the pounds to my goal weight, posting quotes up, anything and everything to keep me motivated to lose the weight... and keep it off!

I ultimately want to run a marathon by my birthday in January.

Massive Update {read "photo heavy"}

Sorry I haven't updated in almost a month, a lot of things have been going on around here.  First, on March 29th, I had my wisdom teeth removed (all three of them, yes I only had three).  I had to be knocked out 4 times during the 2 hour surgery AND they had to dislocate and slice open my jaw on the left side to get to those two teeth.  It took forever for all the bruises to heal up and my mouth is still a little tender on the left side.  Everything is healed up though, so that's good.  And I've lost about 30 pounds so far since then, due to not being able to eat meat (it kills my stomach) so now I'm pretty much a vegetarian - which I don't mind (:  I've got more energy now!

I'm also (finally) filing for child support from Lennon's father (aka "sperm donor").  In the *lovely* state of Arizona (insert eye roll here) it is going to cost me $300, JUST TO FILE.  My best friend works for a family law firm, so my next day off I'm going to go talk to one of the lawyers there and see what he can do to get the fee waived.  I'm not looking forward to this process, as I predict lots of court dates... but it will be worth it in the end when Lennon gets the financial support she deserves from him.

Speaking of Lennon, as of April 21st she turned 18 months old.  She is no longer considered a baby, and is a full on toddler.  She speaks in full sentences, runs instead of walks, and is pretty much hilarious 24/7 - well more like 20/7, a few of those hours are dedicated to her temper tantrums.

And now on to the pictures!

18 Months Old

Collecting Easter eggs with Papa

Cuddeling with her softy

Smelling the flowers

Gorgeous girl

All banged up

Alright, I haven't posted in a while and I'm sorry... but working nights at work is really catching up with me; oh also add in a baby that is insistent to walk EVERYWHERE and is in the terrible two's already *shakes my head*

Anyways, I am constantly reading everybody's blogs... and the other day Holly [from Holly Days] posted this tutorial video on how to cut bangs yourself.  I've been wanting to do something different to my hair for a while now, especially get it cut shorter - but I know if I do that, I'm going to hate it - so I decided to give myself bangs.

Now for the gratuitous/vain photos <3

New Job

So I start my new job today [working @ Discover Card Financial Services here in Phoenix] and I'm super nervous.  I don't know what for even, I'm in training for the next 2-3 weeks so it's not like I'm even expected to start calling people right off the bat and questioning their lack of use for their credit card.  Lennon also starts daycare again today, she's going 3 days a week to a lady 3 houses down from us (:  She home-schools her two older daughters, then has an almost 3 year old little girl.  I'm kind of sad she has no children Lennon's age, but oh well.  Beggar's can't be choosers! She will be going to Shannon's 3 days a week, then be home with my grandparents on Tuesday and Thursdays and when I work Saturday's my parents/Becca will watch her.

I hear her fussing, I should get changed and then get her dressed and head down to Shannon's!
Wish me luck on my first day of work <3

Ups and Downs

Everything feels like it's been crashing down around me. School's been going great, until I get a notice in the mail yesterday saying I owe them $4,000 for tuition fees - which I can NOT afford right now.  I'm hoping that my Financial Aid hadn't kicked in by the time they sent out the notice [which was November 28th].  I had to quit my job because it wasn't paying well enough - I was LOSING money - and my babysitter was moving more than an hour away from us [she was super nice, and super cheap!].  So now I'm broke, have a credit card bill to pay and now school fees to worry about *sigh*  On top of all of this, I have been missing taking my medicine - for those that don't know, I suffer from anxiety and depression, and I take Citalopram for it - which makes me an emotional wreck when I miss just one day.  I wish Lennon would go to bed already so I can take a bubble bath, pop one of my pills, and pass out.

/rant

Photography blog

I have started a blog for my photography and to talk about school and such.
Please follow if you are interested - http://bleighphoto.blogspot.com

One year ago...

I was exactly 38 weeks pregnant.  I was uncomfortable.  I had the worst heartburn imaginable.  My hips hurt.  My Sciatica was terrible.  I had to pee every 5 minutes.  It took me ages to get out of bed to get to the bathroom to pee every 5 minutes.  I could see Lennon's elbows/knees/feet moving about if I was laying on my back - which wasn't for long due to the terrible heartburn.  I never would have imagined that 4 days after this picture was taken, that I would have met my baby girl 10 days early.  

Some days I miss being pregnant, some days I dread the day where it could potentially happen again.  But that's for me to worry about later in life, when I have a husband who is supportive and loving and thinks the world of me and Lennon.

Right now I'm just cherishing every day I have with her.