Sper Turns 2 (Recap and Recipe)

This past Sunday my baby boy turned 2.

This was the first time we've ever had to celebrate one of the boys' birthdays without their daddy here, so that made for an interesting time. Thankfully, my little sister was here to help, so that was good.

We started early, opening presents at 9 AM while daddy was on Skype. Sper had alternating interest in the presents, but he seemed to enjoy it.

He made out like a bandit. He got a new Cloud B star turtle, several new cars; new shirts; new plates, cups, and bowls; a Cozy Coupe; and a HoHo (from www.littlebitfunky.com).

After presents and a donut breakfast and nap time, we all loaded up and went to Walmart. (We picked up school supplies for my sister and looked at toys.)

We did something a bit different for cake and birthday dinner. For instance, we did cake first, and then picked up dinner on the way home.

I had several people ask for the recipe for my cupcakes on Instagram.

These cupcakes are egg-free and oil-free, and are so easy to make. All you need is a box of cake mix, a can of pumpkin, an avocado, and some milk (we used almond milk).

There isn't anything particular about what flavor/brand/variety of cake mix you need. We've used vanilla, white, yellow, and several different chocolates, which we prefer. We've also used organic and gluten free and we haven't had to adjust for anything.

If you have a blender, blend your avocado and a 1/2 cup of milk until creamy and lump-free. Mix this together with your pumpkin and cake mix until you have a nice thick batter. Scoop into a cupcake pan and bake at 375* until cooked thoroughly. We topped our cupcakes with 2 ingredient chocolate buttercream, and they were perfect.

All in all, Sper's second birthday was amazing and crazy. He has gotten so big, and has learned so much just in this last year. I'm so proud to be his mommy.

LB

Giftaway

I love giveaways. I love hosting them, I love participating in them, I love winning them. (Who doesn't?)

On Saturday, I set up a different kind of giveaway on my Instagram. I called for people to nominate others to win, calling it a "giftaway." 

Turns out, not many people were into that. Oh well, then.

The rule of the giftaway was to nominate someone who was in the adoption proces

The winner would get a wood slice painting of the country or state they are adopting from.

I chose the winner this morning, and out of the three entries, April of Marine Parents (nominated by Ines of Discovering Ines) won!

I want to do another giftaway in the future. Hopefully next time, more people will participate, simply because giving is the best.

Vacation

A lot of stuff has happened in the last month.

• I put the shop on vacation.
• I finished my first semester of college.
• Bear had his very first last day of school.
• So many appointments.
• Husband came home for two weeks of R&R.

Back in May, I had a sale over on my Instagram account that didn't go over so well. A lot of paintings were posted at a discount, and only a handful of people bought anything. I'm not going to lie and say that it didn't bum me out, because it did. But I also learned a lot from it.

After the sale, I put the shop on a very much needed vacation. I was getting burned out, so I took a break. I'm really glad I did, because I have had the opportunity to fine tune some designs and practice some other things.

The shop is opening back up this week, and I'm really excited about it. I've opened an account over on Society6 to sell some of my designs, and they'll be available as shirts, coffee mugs, and even shower curtains, if you're feeling quirky enough.

I've also made changes to the way custom paintings are ordered, in an effort to make things a bit more streamlined. I love the way that Etsy has added little options in the listing, and it will really help me be a bit more organized.

Also in May, I finished my first semester of college. Between January and May, I took 6 classes. Out of all of them, my lowest grade was a B. I'm so proud of myself for following my dreams, even though some days all I want to do is cry from the stress. I'm taking one class during the summer semester to give myself a bit of a break, and I'll go back up to my normal amount in September. I'm hoping that by taking an extra class or two during the summer semesters, I'll be able to finish up my Associate's degree a bit early, but only time will tell.

Bear also had his very first last day of school. He has learned so much since starting preschool back in January, and I cannot be any more proud of him. He has the sweetest little personality. He's done with school until late August/early September, but he and Sper still have speech and occupational therapy twice a week.

 We have also (finally) got the ball rolling on ABA therapy for Bear. ABA is an in-home behavioral therapy that is very common for children with Autism to have. It helps with dealing with stress, changes in plans and environment, and other everyday things. We are very excited to be doing this, as we've waited over a year to hear back from our case workers.

Sper has been going to the audiologist once a month since for the last 6 months. There are some anomalies in his middle ear that may be affecting his hearing. It's really hard to tell, though, because every time we go in to get his hearing tested, he ends up screaming and fighting with the audiologist. We have to figure out some plans for Bear and then get an ABR test for Sper, and hopefully then we will know for sure what we will have to do from there.

We also had Husband home for two weeks for R&R (Rest and Relaxation). He got to come home because his deployment is longer than the average deployment. It was so nice to have him home. I loved having the extra hands to help with the house and the boys and the appointments. We arranged his R&R so that he would be home for our 5th anniversary.

 

We went to the Oceanside Pier, ate lunch at Ruby's Diner, went to the Mechanized Museum on base, watched movies at home and at the theater, went on walks, played games, visited the stables and saw ponies, and generally enjoyed having him home.

 

The biggest and coolest thing we did, though, was go down to San Diego and get tattoos. They are written in Elder Futhark, the runes that the Norse/Viking people used to write with. It reads "Come What May," which have been the words that we as a couple and a family have lived by basically since we met. (We got the words from the film "Moulin Rouge!" And here.) We have plans to make it a larger piece on each of our arms, each with meaning for us individually and as a couple.

We took him back to the airport last week. It's been rough readjusting to having him gone. Lots of tantrums, trouble sleeping, and all-around grumpiness has been had by all. But we've passed milestones in this deployment. Once things get busy again for us, the time will fly and then we'll be welcoming him home for good. (Well, not for GOOD good. But he'll be home for a while.)

I can't wait have him home, to get back to school full time, to have the shop open and selling again. I plan on taking full advantage of every opportunity I am given, and without everyone in my life being supportive and caring, I would not have them. Thank you!

All Geek To Me

Alright, everyone.

I'm kind of freaking out right now.

Earlier this month, I did an interview with Kait from All Geek to Me, and today it went live.

This is such an amazing opportunity, and I am so lucky.

I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you to Kait, and to everyone at AGtM.

You can read the interview here.

100 Happy Days

Honesty time.

I suffer from clinical depression and PTSD. I am unmedicated. I'm managing and thriving most days, but sometimes I would rather stay in bed in my dark bedroom. When it gets like that, I have a hard time finding the good things about my day.

I've noticed on my Instagram feed the 100 Happy Days challenge: people listing one thing a day that makes them happy. 

After a particularly rough couple of months, I decided to join in. Even on the worst days, there has always been at least one thing that makes my day better, and finding something that helps me keep track of it is great.

100 Happy Days (http://www.100happydays.com) is a simple website where you sign up, customize your hashtag (or not), and they track your progress. 71% of people who started the challenge were unable to finish. My goal is to not only finish, but appreciate the things, both big and little, that make me happy.

Day 1: Got an issue with an order sorted out in under three hours, including a replacement shirt.

Day 2: My father-in-law sent me this picture of a baby Bear.

Day 3: My indoor garden is blooming. It's right above my kitchen sink, so I see it multiple times an hour.

Day 4: My boys are so amazing. Sper is learning so quickly, and constantly tells me that he loves me. Bear insisted that he was Elsa, wrapped a blanket around his waist, and sang "Let It Go" non-stop for three hours.

Day 5: I met Max Brooks and got him to sign two books for me and Husband. We are big-time zombie enthusiasts, so this was such an amazing opportunity. When I walked into the store, I didn't even know he was gonna be there. He snuck me in when no one was at the table, and told me he liked my shirt. 

I'm only 5 days in, and already this challenge has helped me out. Looking for this things, noticing them, has kept me a bit more optimistic throughout the day. I'm looking forward to see how the next 95 days make me happy. 

If you want to stay updated on my #100happydays challenge, be sure to check out my Instagram. (@bearandsper)

Good Things

Mondays suck. Like, they really suck.

I dread Mondays with the burning intensity of a thousand white boy suns. I've never had a good track record with sleeping, thanks to chronic insomnia and bad dreams, so Monday mornings are really hard for me. Waking up early to take Bear to school after tossing and turning for hours is a bad way to start the day, let alone the week.

So this morning I decided to start keeping track of the good things that happen to me on Mondays.

Some good things that have happened to me on this otherwise crappy Monday:

-My financial aid request got approved, which means I start my next three classes on March 31.

-I got a gorgeous piece of happy mail from Mandy of Mandipidy.

-The shirt I've been waiting for came today.

-I resisted the urge to stop in at Wendy's and grab a burger. I rewarded myself with coffee.

-I mailed off 2 custom orders.

-I'm married to this amazing, understanding man.

-I was told by a good friend that she is making me a gift!

-I captured this gorgeous sunset in photo.

-I get to take the night off and just relax.

So despite all of the things that make Monday bad, there are also things that make Monday good. I'm going to try and focus on that more often.

Make sure you check the goodthingsonmonday hashtag on Instagram, and tag the good things that happen to you!

Rough Weeks

If I were one to lie, I would say that this week has been pretty smooth sailing.

Unfortunately, I don't like lying, even if it means coming clean about the fact that I've spent more time this week crying than not.

I've got a lot on my plate, and I don't get a day off. My day to day schedule looks like this:

-Wake up and take Bear to preschool

-Do homework while Sper eats breakfast and plays 

-Pick Bear up from preschool

-Lunch and playtime with the boys

-On Wednesdays, nap time is pushed back a couple of hours so that the boys can go to speech and occupational therapy

-During nap time, I clean and, if my homework is all caught up, I work on orders and talk to Husband on Skype 

-After naps, the boys get to watch a show while I get dinner ready and clean

-Dinner, baths, and more cleaning or homework

-After the boys are down for the night, I work on orders and finish any homework I have

-Fridays are a bit better, since Bear doesn't have preschool, but I do have to take them to therapy still

All of this, with errands and shopping and appointments mixed in. The weekends are best because I don't have to go anywhere.

With all of this, I'm surprised that I haven't broken down before now. But I did. I ended up calling Husband at midnight my time crying. 

I've been so incredibly blessed this deployment. I get to talk to my husband almost everyday, schedules are mostly  predictable, I'm able to go to school, and my business has been picking up. No one has been seriously sick or injured since we came home from Utah, and my boys are angels (they're toddlers, though). 

Sometimes it gets to be too much. I wonder if I've taken on too many projects, if I need to cancel some appointments, extend production time. I've actually stepped back from a few things because the thought of doing that, too, has sent me into a full-fledged panic attack.

I'm so thankful that I have such a good support system of friends and family that I can talk to when it gets to be too much. I even have a place to escape to when I need a façade of me time. Everyone needs someone to support them, even in the tiniest ways. It really is a good thing.