A Night of YA

When I first saw this mentioned on Bree Despain's Instagram page I thought, YAY!!!!

Then a couple days went by and pregnancy fatigue kicked in like a monster. In fact, yesterday I was positive I wasn't going to make it.

What a sad thought! I had been looking forward to this night. I don't get nights when I don't have to put the kids to bed, where I can do my own thing, and not worry about the stresses of being a mom. I could really use a night like that... but I was miserable. I still am honestly, but this night out helped a lot!

Today about noon, I told myself. I want to go, so I'm going to go. Even if I only stay for ten minutes! I want to go.

Staying for ten minutes would have let me hear these wonderful women introduce themselves... then I would have had to leave. Another really sad thought, because the night was wonderful.

I decided I would even do my hair... which was a greasy frizz ball of a mess.

So what did I do?

I doused my hair in dry shampoo, fixed up the front pieces, and curled the ends! Ta da! Only took about ten minutes! Which is good because then I had to sit down for about an hour to let this very pregnant body rest. No, no, it was only a few minutes. But when you have to take a break after every little thing you do, it feels like every little break--is an hour.

Me with my very first Bree Despain book thinking it's cool I have purple in my hair and match the book... lol

I arrived a little late and then walked around the entire first floor of the Springville, Utah library before realizing this even was probably upstairs... but I asked someone anyway to make sure. Then I felt extremely dumb because the stairs leading to the second floor, and this event, face the front doors of the library... and they had balloons... on each side... and a sign.

Insert facepalm.

I waddled my way up the stairs and sat down in a chair where I could see two of the panelists: Bree Despain and Renee Collins, with the occasional peek at Kasie West. Then I proceeded to listen as Bree introduced herself while at the same time, attempted to ignore how that flight of stairs had me totally winded.

I will be honest, I had never heard of Kasie West before. I recognized the names Renee Collins and Natalie Whipple, but didn't know who they were and haven't read their books. JR Johansson I know, I have heard her name, seen her name, seen her books, I even follow her on Instagram... but I've never read her books because I'm a wimp and don't like scary things. Even if those scary things aren't really that scary... I can't do it. Haha! I want to read her books so badly, but I just can't bring myself to do it.  Bree Despain is really the only author I knew and had read her books, which I love! And I highly recommend!

From Left to Right: Renee Collins and Bree Despain

Now, when I say "know"... obviously I don't know these women personally, though I would love to! I know them through their books, panels, signings, etc.

At about 7:30 (this event started at 7pm) I sent this message to The Hubs

"I love these women! I think I may be staying longer then I thought."

I asked if this was okay because my poor husband was left alone at home putting both our kids to bed (yes they go to bed that early) and I know that can be really rough sometimes. He happily replied, "Yes, have fun!"

Brief note: Our kids wake up between 6:30-7:15 everyday... no matter what time they go to bed. Even if they go to bed at midnight, for some reason they will still wake up that early. So... they go to bed between 7-8 and are usually asleep by about 8:30.

I was laughing with the panelists and loving their stories! There were some silly questions asked like, "Who is your book boyfriend?" I loved JR Johansson's answer (Cedric Diggory) And "Rate your first kiss" which had some amazing and hilarious stories and then I thought about my own answers to these questions and I was very happy I wasn't up there! I honestly don't know who my book boyfriend would be, it depends on what I'm reading at the time I think... maybe... I'll have to come back to that and answer another time. The rating your first kiss question had everyone laughing! Those were some amazing stories that had me laughing so hard. They aren't my stories to tell, but they were wonderful. And unless I get asked that question directly or on panel someday, then I'm keeping that information to myself. *wink, wink*

There were other questions asked like, how did you get started writing? And how often do you write? I loved each answer given because they were so real. I remember hearing, "write every day" when I first started going to panels and conferences. My heart dropped because I don't have time for that! Even though I would love to write everyday and have time to do that... I simply don't. If you can, great!

Bree Despain talked about how when she first started she would write twelve to sixteen hours a day. My jaw dropped and my eyes went wide. Wow! That is a lot of time. That isn't how she writes now. She mentioned Speed Writing and what she calls 1k Hour. This is when she writes 1k words in one hour. I love this idea! I will be trying it out soon, I guarantee it!

Two books signed by Bree Despain! One from a few years ago and one today.

Natalie Whipple almost made me cry with her answer. She said she hasn't written in months. I wish I had a direct quote, but this is basically what she said, "If you're not writing everyday, it's okay... Writing is making constant decisions and that well dries up. Sometimes it needs to be filled."

Until a couple days ago, I hadn't written in months. I haven't had time and my pregnancy brain is a beast to work around. I was feeling awful about his fact and felt like I was failing. What she said filled that hole I had been digging myself into and set me free.

"It's okay."

Another question was asking advice on developing a 3D character. While I've been told I have good characters, Natalie hit this one home for me as well. "Strip your character to their core: wants/needs and fears. Their wants/needs need to be made hard to achieve while you throw every fear of theirs at them. Everyone can relate to that." Again, not a direct quote.

I wish I could have bought books by all these women and had every one of them signed and been able to talk to them all. But by the time I was done talking with Bree Despain and Natalie Whipple, my body was done and telling me I needed to be home. I am excited for my two new books though! I'll be posting about them after they are read.

My two new books plus a pin that reads: Sorry, I can't. I have plans with my book

I came home and wrapped my arms around my hubby and gave him a kiss. I thanked him for being so supportive of me going and encouraging me to stay, as long as I felt up to it. I love his love and support. He fills me up on a daily basis and I have wonderful reminders like tonight of his beautiful love for me. Now, I get to post this and tell him all about my night! I love being married to my best friend!

Everything Collides

Why does it seem like when you have something planned out, then everything that could go wrong, does go wrong?

This week was our first week full week of homeschooling. We are currently only on day two instead of day four.

Monday went well. I was excited to start the week off strong! Then Monday night hit... The Hubs and I ended up in the hospital due to contractions and severe back pain located on the right side. I have felt this entire pregnancy that Baby Snowman was going to come early, but we are still three weeks away from full term! He needs to stay a little bit longer.

After tons of questions, poking, prodding, and monitoring Baby Snowman, they finally ruled out any infections. I was told I mostly likely had a kidney stone, but without a scan they couldn't know for sure. Now they wont do a scan because I am pregnant and it's not an emergency and I wouldn't have wanted them to anyway. That is way too much radiation for a baby to go through unless absolutely necessary.

They shot me in the bum with morphine, hoping to take the pain down to a bearable level and stop the contractions. That shot was painful! It was up high close to the hip bone. I told The Hubs on Tuesday, "That morphine kicked my butt... Ha! Which is funny, because that's where the shot was!"

 Slowly the pain started fading and the contractions slowed, ultimately stopping. My eyes drooped closed as the morphine kicked in and I was finally able to relax after so much pain. The hubs had to help me up and the nurses helped me into a wheelchair. I was so dizzy.

The elevator down made my head spin and I tried to focus on what the nurses were saying instead of the unsettling feeling rolling around my stomach. The Hubs rolled up in the car, I was helped into the passenger seat and we were headed back home! Of course we barely made it out of the parking lot before I told him to pull over to I could empty my belly full of water... twice...

It was after 1am before I was back at home in my own bed and fell into a very deep sleep until about 6am when my overfull bladder forced me out of bed. Tuesday was spent with me sleeping pretty much the entire day, only waking to use the bathroom, drink more, or eat.

We also had my 34 week check up which went well. Baby Snowman is doing great, heart is strong, and he is measuring well. Yay!

Yesterday was more recovering and a terrifying moment thinking the pain was coming back last night. Then ZABs was up all night with a cold and cough...

We are trudging through and our lessons today are still happening... just slowly and out of order, but that is alright. That is the beauty of educating from home. We can take it at our own speed, take breaks when we need, and if necessary--skip a day here or there. One of the highlights of this weeks schooling has been our letter puppets!

A for Alligator!





B for Beaver!





We've been doing a lot of assessments determining where Munchkin is at so having fun activities to break up the major brain overload is fantastic! Super speed is another highlight! Check back to learn what that is!

Defending Decisions

Since this blog is new and this is only the second post, this may seem like it's coming out of left field.

I grew up knowing what I wanted to be as an adult. I wanted to be a veterinarian. As I grew older, I discovered I wanted to be an Equestrian Veterinarian. I knew exactly how my college experience was going to go. I'd start off at a junior college then move on to one of the best colleges in the country to finish out my veterinarian degree. I was in a program my senior year that set me firmly on that path. I didn't know when or where or who I would marry, but I was sure that I would be a mom who would send my kids off to school with a well packed home lunch, a kiss on the head, then I would head off to my wonderful, fulfilling career with one of the worlds most beautiful and majestic animals. 

It's amazing how much a boy can change everything. 

A boy who captured my gaze and stole my breath. 

A boy who made my heart skip a beat when I thought I wouldn't see him again. 

A boy who secretly passed me a note, just to tell me my smile brightened his day. 

A boy who I refused to talk to first, but then freaked in front of my sister when he called. 

A boy who took what was left of my shattered, weathered, wounded heart and soul and led me back down the path that would mend it. 

A boy who accepted me for me. Who loved every part of me, the good, bad, beautiful, and ugly. 

The boy who asked me to marry him and whom I am celebrating nine years of marriage with, this year. 

I do not have that college degree, yet, but my life is so much fuller then I could have ever imagined before that wonderful boy entered my heart.

I am a stay at home mom of two, almost three, beautiful children on this earth. I have a license as a cosmetologist and hardly ever use it. It was a career choice The Hubs and I made together so I would be able to work from home if anything ever happened to him. 

And we are taking up the adventure of Homeschooling. You look back at what my plan was before The Hubs entered my world and then see the word Homeschool and it may blow your mind. How did a girl with a clear vision for what her life was going to be, turn around to be a stay at home mom who home educates? 

The simplest answer is... I met The Hubs and his family. He is the oldest of ten children who have all been home educated. I loved the relationships the siblings all have with one another. The kind and respectful manner of them. The safety their home environment provided. The additional attention to love and faith. I could go on, but I think I've made my point. 

As years have gone by and we had our first born, then our second, and watched as the world continued to fall apart and heard stories of schools being attacked, curriculum being changed, listened to others experiences with public schools, watched as my children grew and being sure that Munchkin has Irlen Syndrome, just like me... (Irlen Syndrome is a perceptual processing disorder, you can read about it HERE) and a lot of prayer solidified that decision. 

Then last year happened with the loss of my Daddy-in-law and our miscarriage: my mental state plummeted. I had been attempting homeschool a few days a week and I couldn't handle it. Munchkin and I butted heads horribly. We fought every day... it was horrible. And I felt horrible for not being able to do what I felt was right. 

Through prayer, guidance, the loving and understanding nature of The Hubs, and counseling--we made the decision to place Munchkin in Kindergarten as a public charter school. I felt peace. It allowed me to back off schooling at home and focus on regaining my mental health and trying to repair the damage that had been done to the relationship between my five year old boy and I. 

That has been a slow process and we are still working on it, but that is a story for another time. 

Munchkin entered Kindergarten and we found a struggle at first with the new routine. Then things settled in and started getting better. He was learning that it didn't matter where he was: School is School. There were rules he had to follow at school too.

I started feeling the pull to homeschool again. Maybe we would pull him out half way through the year. The feeling grew stronger and stronger. Munchkin was the victim of bullying that we had to deal with which made the desire to homeschool even stronger.

His school was Monday - Thursday so we took the opportunity to test out Homeschool on Fridays and Saturdays. Saturdays burned him out, but it gave us a clear vision of how homeschool would go! It was great!

The Hubs mentioned it would be a good idea to have a homeschool rountine down before the baby arrives whic led us to more praying and thinking. Over the last week, the inspiration to pull him from school was overwhelming. It was time.

Since this decision was made and we have announced it to family, I've been having to answer a lot of "Why?" I expected a few, but not as much as there has been. Everyone we've told knew Homeschooling was the original plan! Then I start explaining everything and they get stuck on the bullying Munchkin has had to endure. Yes, it was awful, but it is not the reason for our homeschooling.

I don't have any patience for people who think they understand a situation, but they are completely wrong. Yes, bullying is awful and it never should have happened. If an adult did the things society lets these bullys get away with they would be charged with assault! Just because they are kids doesn't mean it's okay and the world needs to understand that. How do you expect a child who bullys to grow up and be a good person? Hopefully they come out of that phase before it's too late, but it's not going to be an easy road! Teach your children! Teach them to be kind. To have respect. To be sensitive toward others.

Beyond the bullying though... that was such a small deciding factor to Homeschool. This was our original plan. I do not regret putting Munchkin in school. It allowed time for me to heal and taught Munchkin some very valuable tools as well. I believe every decision we have made about his education has been through inspiration from our Father in Heaven.

I only wish people would be more accepting of that fact. 

Product Review: Belly Bandit Belly Boost

Let me first say; Welcome to Frosted Tidbits! 

What's a better way to jump into a new blog then with a product review? Let me first say, this is not a sponsored post in any way, shape, or form. I bought this on my own after weeks of research. 

I am currently 29 weeks pregnant! Yay for one week into the third trimester! 

While on Instagram (fine my fitness account here and my personal account here) or Facebook or any other social media, I try to only post happy and uplifting things. Not because I am trying to be "Insta-worthy" or anything, but because the world has enough negativity in it, I don't need to be adding to it. Instead, I hope to make the world a little bit brighter. I will do the same here on my blog, but you'll also see a little bit more of my "real life".

For example! Over the last few weeks, I have been hurting. Like - tearing in my belly when I move hurting. With my other two successful pregnancies, everything was rainbows and daisy's! Aside from a little morning sickness with ZABs, I loved being pregnant! I was comfortable and felt incredibly beautiful.

Sadly, every pregnancy is different and this one has not been all love and sparkles and sunshine. It has been full of morning sickness, headaches, overwhelming exhaustion, lower back, hip, and pelvic pain. Baby Snowman (as one of my sisters lovingly named this babe) is sitting SO low! The doctors have commented on how low he is resting, but say it's nothing to be concerned about. Some babies sit lower then others.

The past three weeks or so have brought another unwelcome and rather painful symptom. Certain movements, laughing, coughing, and sneezing make me feel like my stomach is tearing in two. Right above the belly button. For those of you who don't know what this could mean, it is a possibility of diastasis recti. A separation of the abdominal muscles. Most women - dare I say all - experience some form of this with pregnancy. Some separation is normal and will heal on it's own after pregnancy. But there are the cases where the tear is too great for the body to heal on it's own and surgery is needed to pull the abdominals back together.

I'm no doctor and I'm not even certified as a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, yet. I'm working on it. My test is soon! So take this as what you will, but again, I've done my research and I stand by it. 

I took it upon myself to start looking for products and other things I could use to help support my belly through these last few months. After weeks of reading product descriptions and reviews I came across Belly Bandit!

Insert chorus of angels! 

I can't tell you how much I want their Mother Tucker Corset for postpartum recovery. The added support around the abdomen and posture would be wonderful! But I kept looking because it isn't what I need currently. I loved what I was seeing and hoped I could find one I needed.

Hello Belly Boost! 

Everything about this product sounded like a gift from the heavens. 

Ultra Support. Medium Compression. Made for Maternity. Stretches and recovers with growing belly. Targeted Back support. Built in Belly Support. Wonderweave material keeps lotion on your belly, not your clothes. Everything said here is on their page.

Sounds wonderful, right?

Then I went to other sites to read reviews since Belly Bandit unfortunately doesn't have very many reviews for this product on their website. There were a few reviews that scared me. Some said it was TOO tight. Others said it rolled up at the hips and lower back. Then there were the people who said it pinched the upper back.

Then I found the saving grave reviews. People admitting they noticed it rolled until they adjusted the Belly Boost properly, pulling it up to where it is supposed to rest. That it was a great support. It helped their back pain. It was a great support, not uncomfortable like others had said. People said to order a size up if you prefer a looser fit.

I was sold. This was what I wanted. What I NEEDED!

 Friday, September 15, 2017 - My Belly Boost Arrived!

First Impressions and Thoughts:
"It looks small. I wondered if it will even fit around my belly."
"It is pretty stretchy... maybe it will be alright."
"The material is so soft! That's it, I'm trying it!"

Let me tell you a funny story. I grabbed this out of my mailbox on the way to my kids gymnastics classes and put this on in the bathroom there! Hah!

Second Impressions and Thoughts:
"Am I putting this on right?"
"This is silly. I'm in a bathroom stall. Maybe I should have waited until we got home."
"Hmm... that's not comfortable. Note to self, don't rest it directly over the center of my belly while trying to figure it out."
"I think this is crooked."
"Uh oh... it's rolling. Just like the reviews said... Oh wait, there was an adjustment for that!"

Then Finally:
"It fits! Wow. my belly isn't hurting anymore! That was fast."
"No more rolling either! And it's definitely not pinching."

Now a couple days later, Belly Boost is the first thing I put on in the morning and the last thing I take off at night.
I love Palmers Stretch Mark Lotion and have been using it for years, but putting it on before the Belly Boost is wonderful! The material keeps the lotion on my belly, not my clothes (like advertised) and my skin feels so refreshed at the end of the day because of it. I put more on right before bed too which as been wonderful. My belly isn't itchy like it was before.

• The material is very soft.
• Belly Boost provides a wonderful support and my belly, right above my belly button doesn't hurt anymore. 
• Once I pulled it up to where it is supposed to rest, I haven't had any rolling, bunching, or pinching. Which was fixed the very first time I put it on and remembered those reviews. I didn't size up and I don't feel like it's tight. I'm comfortable! 
• I'm able to move around better and I'm not having to hold my belly when I laugh, cough, or sneeze. 
• I'm not hot. It's an added layer of clothing around the belly, but it's not hot! This fabric breathes beautifully. 

Honestly, I can't say enough good things about this product. Belly Bandit's Belly Boost gets a 5 star from me. I'll keep posting quick updates through the rest of my pregnancy on how the Belly Boost is holding up and how I'm liking it.