My Two Loves

Divorce is really hard. Everybody knows that. Divorce when you have a child, and dealing with all that implies for you and your child for the REST OF YOUR LIFE-that's about a million times harder. I knew it was going to be tough. I think any single mama who has to deal with sending your very young child off, even if it is with their father, for any extended period of time, understands the sadness and anxiety of that.

What I personally hadn't expected, however, was how hard my having a new relationship would be for my child. I didn't have divorced parents; none of friends did. None of my friends were divorced and trying to date again or forge a new relationship with kids. No one gave me any warning about what to expect here.

Bruce and I, as a couple, always just seemed so easy and so natural and so perfect. Of course, I know there were some adjustments on Bruce's part to being in a relationship with someone who is already a mother, but he's never been anything but amazing to my daughter. My daughter, on the other hand, wasn't always as supportive of my relationship with Bruce. 

For a very long time, my daughter had had almost all of my attention, almost all of the time. It was me and her, a team against the world, doing everything just the two of us. I never dated a whole lot after my divorce and certainly no one who ever met my daughter, until Bruce came along. It was several months even before they were introduced, but then suddenly there were three of us, and someone else who Mommy loved and who also wanted and needed her time and attention. Allie was not always okay with that. She was always pretty vocal too about how she felt about Bruce. It was difficult at times, but we've made it through, and I think that Allie loves Bruce very much now.  

So, with all that being sad, it made my heart happy to get out of the shower this morning and come back into our room to find this....

Having the two people you love the most in the world love each other is a wonderful thing. 

Finish This...Week XII

Linking up this week with Nicole at Three 31, Jen at The Arizona Russums, Becky at The Java Mama and Lisa at COASTLINED...

My favorite makeup item is...a good tube of very lightly tinted chapstick. I'm pretty much addicted to chapstick. I have to have it with me at all times. Also, Cover Girl's Perfect Point Plus black onyx eyeliner and my Bare Escentuals mineral foundation makeup. I really only must-have these 3 things when getting ready. 

The best book I’ve ever read was ____ because …I am a librarian by career, lol and I read a lot (well, that has slowed down alot the past year but..) so I could never choose just one book. A lot of books touch me or teach me something or are perfect for a particular moment in my life when I read it for the first time.

My favorite TV show is …Game of Thrones, Justified, or Sons of Anarchy-at least for right now. These are shoes that Bruce and I love to sit down and watch together, and we've seen every episode so far. I get emotional about these shows. Past favorite shows, also which I watched every single episode, include The OC, One Tree Hill, Smallville, and Friday Night Lights. 

The most spontaneous thing I’ve ever done is …I don't do major things spontaneously. Especially now since I have a daughter. I like spontaneous trips out to dinner or to the park, or spontaneously doing something silly at home, but I don't guess my life allows for big spontaneous things. lol 

I prefer DOGS/CATS because … Dogs because they're just more cuddly and lovable and friendly. With the exception of a few really sweet, loving cats that I've met in my lifetime, I'm just more of a dog-person.

I met my significant other... a little over a year ago, at my best friend's dad's house, who is also my husband's step-dad, when I went over for drinks and a bonfire one night. We were wearing matching shoes. I wrote about that here. Bruce is so perfect for me in so many ways and I couldn't ask for a better man to have by my side and in my daughter's life.

Glitter Easter Eggs

Everyone was right when they said that having kids makes the holidays more fun! I love sharing special holiday traditions with my girl. Like everyone, we love dyeing Easter eggs, and this year we choose a dyeing kit that made glitter eggs!! Because despite the mess it makes (don't even ask about the time last year when I tried to make Allie and her best friend matching tutus with glitter tulle...)-I LOVE glittery things, although probably not as much as my Allie does. Another thing that made the holiday so special was getting to share it with Bruce-who said that he didn't remember ever dyeing Easter eggs as a kid! So it was a first for him, and a first for us as a family. We had a wonderful time and I think Allie thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Let's pause a moment to check out how hot my
husband is ya'll...the beard, those arms!!

Easter 2014

Hope everyone had a wonderful day celebrating the risen King! 

Finish This...Week XI

Finish This... linkup with Nicole at Three 31, Jen at The Arizona Russums, Becky at The Java Mama, and Lisa at COASTLINED.

My favorite vacation spot is …I don't know that I have one favorite spot. I love being on vacation in general. I do love the beach. I've grown up going every summer-Gulf Shores, AL or Mexico Beach, FL, that is. My aunt has a condo in Gulf Shores. I think if I didn't get to go at least once a year, I'd probably go into withdrawals and be very sad. Of course, I will always have a special place in my heart for Mobile, AL because it was mine and Bruce's first trip together and when he told me he loved me for the first time! =) 

Bruce loves to travel too, and for the first time in my life, we have taken a couple of non-beach trips this year and I've enjoyed them all very much. I love learning about the history and culture of different cities and eating different foods, so I really enjoyed Savannah and New Orleans. 

Bruce and I in Mobile, AL
June 2013

Colonial Park Cemetary in Savannah, GA
September 2013

Jackson Square in New Orleans, LA
March 2014

If I won a million dollars I would … Pay off all mine and Bruce's debt and my parent's debt. Buy a nice chunk of land. Build us our dream home. Set aside money for Allie and any future babies' college education. Donate to some worthy causes. Invest it well. Travel to some really cool places--Disney World! A summer in Europe! Alaskan cruise! 

If I could go on a date with ONE celebrity, it would be …Hmmm, there's a time when this would have been an easy question. My girlfriend and I would shoot each other texts all the time of hot, shirtless men just to cheer each other up. I used to have a Pinterest board of swoon-worthy dudes. Now.... I know it sounds cheesy but honestly since meeting Bruce, no one else even enters my thoughts. But....I don't follow many celebrities on Instagram or Twitter, however I've followed the Rock (Dewayne Johnson) on Instagram forever, and I think he's absolutely the coolest guy. He's always posting inspirational quotes or pics with people he meets in different gyms, so if I had to go on a date with someone, it'd be him. Those muscles don't hurt either....

If I found a genie in a bottle, my three wishes would be …The aforementioned million dollars, for a start. Then I could pretty much have anything else that I would like to have have. That Allie would grow up to be a confident, grounded, compassionate woman who always loves Jesus and her Mama. That Bruce and I would always be as happy and in love as we are right now. Those are really the only two things I can think of that I really want in the world. 

My favorite clothing item is …This comfy sheer black tunic I wear ALL THE TIME and have for like 2 years now, in all seasons, or my very broken-in black Converse. 

Weekend Recap

Friday night the church we've been visiting hosted Light the Night, a glow-in-the-dark Easter Egg hunt at our local park, so Bruce and I took Allie. Turns out, Allie's age group's time slot was at 6:30, so it wasn't really dark at all. I had also never been to a large scale egg hunt like that either, and it was an interesting experience, to say the least. When it was time to go, everyone just ran out there and grabbed eggs and it was literally over in like, 15 seconds. But there was an Easter bunny there for pictures, and face painting, and a playground.  We followed up with dinner at Casa Fiesta, our favorite local Mexican restaurant and an Allie-selected Barbie movie from Redbox. We had a wonderful time, and I'm so thankful for these memories. 

Saturday was Allie's day to spend some time with her dad, so Bruce and I went for an early morning gym session. Then we traveled with his sister and brother-in-law to his other sister's house about 2 hours away for their nephew's birthday party. Then, we hit up the mall and had an early dinner at Applebees, then headed home for a movie after Allie came home and went to sleep!

Sunday, Allie went to see her dad again so we were very lazy most of day. But, we managed to go visit with my Grandma Ege, who is in the hospital with pneumonia, then run in Wal-Mart for a couple of things before picking Allie up.

All in all, a wonderful, relaxing weekend.

A few more from our big day

Bruce (center) with his step-brother (left) and bro-in-law (right)

Allie with her stepdad (lol, sometimes, she actually just calls him Stepdad

My handsome Daddy!

L-R My gorgeous grandma, me, my Allie, and my Mama

Bruce telling my sister to put her hand over her mouth the next time she
felt like complainng (she was a little lot lol) I'm telling him to be nice!