Moved.

I made the decision to transition my blogging to wordpress - so if you want to continue following my mamahood journey, go check out my new domain!

http://myfletchlife.wordpress.com

Hello June!

Time goes by fast when you're having fun! Or when you're preparing for a baby to arrive. The months have been flying by faster than I can remember what day it is. May was a busy month, actually who am I kidding - it seems like every month has been a busy month. June is definitely not an exception - if anything it's about to be crazy in the Fletcher household this month. Excitement, anxiety and fatigue has been the common feelings as we anticipate for Adela. Well, except for Rylan - he has been absolutely positive and excited during this entire pregnancy with no signs of worry. Oh to be young and be filled with only joy again. 

As we bid May away & welcome June, I wanted to share with all of you some of the adventures we had. If you follow me in any of my social networking sites - I'm sure you'd seen some of them but if not, then here is your chance :) 

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If you don't know who Tori Kelly, then you're missing out. She is an amazing artist that I have been following since she started on YouTube doing covers. Matt & I not only got to have a date during the week (thanks to a generous friend of mine for babysitting our little guy) but we thoroughly enjoyed the show.

If you follow me on Instagram, I have mentioned all the great opportunities that God has blessed me with. One of them is getting connected and meeting this beautiful lady here. She is the founder of Free Citizen Co. - she along with a couple of her friends came to Seattle for vacation and we were lucky enough to grab brunch & chat. It was so lovely & I am truly excited for all the amazing things God is utilizing her passion and talent to spread His greatness. 

We have been so thankful for the blessings in our life. Matt getting promoted has definitely been one of them. With it has had some downfalls though. Our days off no longer align and with a lot of the focus on getting ready for Adela, we haven't had much time together. We contemplated for a little bit whether we wanted to go on a baby moon - well we decided for it and it was definitely the best decision. Orcas Island was stunning & although the amount of things to do there was limited (especially being 34 weeks pregnant) we had a great time. We talked, laughed, ate, went on a mini hike and got to see God's beautiful creations. I know I can be quite a pain in the butt especially during this pregnancy - but this man has been the most patient and loving towards me and truly has been such a great leader for our family. How did I get to be so lucky?

 Sunset at North Beach in Orcas Island

 Mount Consitution

Deception Pass 

MY BEST FRIEND IS GETTING MARRIED! Her fiance proposed to her during their trip to Venice & I am so excited for this new chapter for them. When they got back from their trip, we had lunch and it was so great to catch up, hear about their trip and engagement. 

So many adventures with my special little man as we get closer to meeting Adela. The worry that he will feel less loved when she's here has been a constant fear of mine & I've been trying to make sure both Matt and I continue loving on him. There have been challenging moments with him, but for the most part he has been so good! I enjoy all our mini adventures, especially when it means taking trips to get bubbla tea, or in some instances Jamba Juice. 

Guys! I am 35 weeks into this pregnancy! It is almost time for her to be here. So many things to do and there never seems to be enough time in the day. The baby shower is this weekend and I can't wait to celebrate this bundle of joy with all our friends and family. So thankful for my sissy & brudder for putting the baby shower together <3 

Pregnancy Q&A

I get asked plenty of questions in regards to my pregnancy journey and everything else in between related to motherhood. I don't expect everyone to read my blog, but I figure if you somehow stumble your way on here then here are a few questions I've pulled from direct messages, comments and conversations I've had! Mind you, these are my own personal experiences/opinions - every woman & pregnancy is different so I am not answering for the rest of the women/mothers out there, just myself.

Is this pregnancy different from your first? Oh, it's completely different. My pregnancy with Rylan from what I can remember was easy breezy. I have felt just about every symptom a pregnant lady could have throughout my pregnancy.

How are you feeling? Exhausted. My entire body aches almost all the time & carrying around this baby girl inside of me has definitely taken it's toll on me. Pregnancy insomnia has kicked in really hard the past couple of weeks, so sleep has been scarce for me. But I love taking naps during the day, with me being on the go so much - it's been very much needed especially because I'm limited to how many cups of coffee I can have lol.

Is Matt excited? He better be! just kidding, slightly. Of course he's excited. The day we found out we were pregnant, he even teared up. He's definitely embracing this pregnancy & the coming of our baby girl.

How does Rylan feel about being a big brother? Is he excited? I'm not exactly sure to what extent he has really grasped the idea of what it's going to mean for him to be a big brother but he's definitely shown his excitement. For a few years now he's been asking me when he's gonna get a little brother or sister so he's definitely ready. He talks to my belly, hugs it & kisses it all the time.

Are you scared? I'm not sure if I'd say I'm scared, but I definitely feel anxious about what the experience of child birth will be like this time. Because the pregnancy has been so rough, I do worry that labor and delivery will be just as hard. My pregnancy with Rylan, spoiled me because he really was just so easy.

How do you think you'll handle having both a newborn and a 7 year old? Do you think the age gap will be a problem? Since finding out I was pregnancy, I was really adamant about doing our best to always keep Rylan involved during the pregnancy, and setting up things he could do around our home to help out mom & dad. He was there with us during my ultrasound when we found out the sex of the baby and anyway he can be of help to mommy whenever baby is getting a little too rambunctious inside I ask for his assistance. He's been so helpful and has really started to take on the role of big brother in certain areas. I can foresee that there will be a point where they will be in different stages in life, but I think he will do amazing at being a big brother. Just like with any siblings, I'm sure they will have their moments of disagreements, but I'm not too worried.

Have you bought a lot of maternity clothes during your pregnancy? I've bought the essentials, but really most of the items I wear are non-maternity. I had to buy maternity jeans, because let's be real trying to squeeze into non-maternity jeans can be a pain and the over the belly support that my maternity jeans provide is amazing. Luckily, prior to being pregnant I wore pretty loose fit and over-sized clothing so I didn't really have to buy a lot of new clothes. Definitely had to invest in new bras and undies though that's for sure.

How have you and your husband incorporated your faith in raising Rylan and preparing for your new child? In every opportunity we can. When I became a Christian, before my husband and I got married, I made it very clear that I wanted to raise Rylan and my future kids incorporating my Christian beliefs and life style. I also know that there's more to it than just feeding them with knowledge but also living out what we are trying to teach to them (which that in itself can be very difficult). Children are like sponges, they pay attention to what we do as parents more than we realize. Rylan knows that we will all make mistakes, that we do things sometimes that hurt others and even ourselves. We've also explained to him that relying on ourselves often leads us back to where we started and that we really need to seek His guidance and help. We pray with him constantly and definitely allow him to lead prayer when he feels comfortable. As a parent, you hope whatever you try to instill in your children sticks. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. One thing that shows me he's paying attention & really taking into heart what we're trying to teach him, is the fact that he is usually one of the first people to rebuke me in my sin nature and give me the same talk we give him. Praise Jesus for His good works, because He is definitely doing amazing things in my little guy's heart.

How did you think of the name Adela? When my last living grandma passed away 5 years ago, I was devastated. Her name was Adela and I told myself that if I were to ever have a daughter I wanted her to be named after my grandma. It was a really popular name in the early 1900's and means noble. Thankfully, Matt liked the name as much as me :)

Do you guys want to have more children? Absolutely. I was raise into a big family. As a little girl, I have always wanted to have 3-4 children. Obviously, it's not something we have control over so whatever God has planned for us in regards to children we leave to Him.

This was fun! If anybody has other questions that I didn't answer, feel free to comment, send me a message, text, email - whichever and if I get enough maybe I'll do these more often! 

Is this real life?

I joined the Instagram community about 4-5 years ago, probably because at the time it was the newest and coolest social networking site/app available. I enjoy capturing moments in my every day life, so I thought why not. When I started, the only people who I followed & followed me back were people that I had some sort of relationship or acquaintance with. Instagram since then has become such a huge outlet for so many businesses, creative mom's, and more. 

In just the past year I have developed new relationships (mostly with mothers) throughout the world, sharing life's experiences. It has also opened amazing opportunities for Rylan and I myself to support and represent some awesome small shops that we love. Of course, with any social networking outlets there are always downfalls, but I chose to focus on the good that has come out of having an Instagram account. With the sudden rush of new followers in the last couple of months I have also been trying very hard in making sure I connect in some way with all of you or those who leave me comments as much as I can, because for me that's been an essential part of showing others that I am no different than the next person. 

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About a month ago, a family writer/head of mobile & video section of a french magazine called Magicmaman.com reached out to me asking if they could feature a look of mine on their website. 

Below is a snapshot of the article. It's in French, so I can't read most of it but I feel absolutely grateful for being chosen to be featured. They were interested in capturing my looks during pregnancy & want to feature me again in their September issue after I have given birth. 

If you're interested in seeing the full article, you can go here: Insta Mam (warning, the whole thing is in French) 

#MOMGOALS

The other day, I watched a trailer for a movie coming out in July called Bad Moms. I'm sure there are a handful of you who have also seen it floating around social media websites.

There probably isn't one mom out there who couldn't relate to the movie in some sort of way. 

Whether you're single, engaged, married, divorced, a single parent, SAHM or whatever category you find yourself in - there seems to be this predisposition and unwritten expectation or stereotype you are labeled with from others. 

It's difficult not to be affected by the judgement. I personally am not as concerned with what strangers think of me but more so those closest to me or know me. Family for example, always have their best intentions when giving advise (at least we hope so lol), whether in regards to how to parent your child or what/what not to do during your pregnancy. And although I value their opinions, they are not always the best at communicating it in a way that doesn't come off so critical. I often find myself walking away from those conversations feeling inadequate and hurt. 

While I do strongly believe that we as parents play a huge role in shaping our children into the adults we'd like them to be, I also know that every child is different so there isn't a one size fits all when it comes to parenting styles or strategies. 

"Just like that! Good! Great job dad!" - Rylan (Rylan teaching Matt how to play Avengers on the WII)

Becoming a mother almost 8 years ago, I knew life was going to change for me. I have learned to take each day in stride. A lot of the time I feel like I have failed & then there are those precious moments that you're child does something that you can't help but be so proud & know that you have contributed to that. 

In a culture where parents can get looked down upon for getting their children vaccinated, or get shamed on because God forbid a parent fed their child junk food or something non-organic, or the emphasis on putting them through all the extracurricular activities, among so many other things, it's really difficult sometimes to feel like you're doing a good job at being a parent let alone sometimes just as a human being. 

Both my husband and I work full time jobs, I scramble after work to get our 7 year old to all his extra curricular activities, while being almost 8 months pregnant and still trying to find time to get home and cook a decent meal for my family. Sometimes it's doable, but lately it's been really really hard. By the time we get home, it's nearing Rylan's bed time and I am often just too lazy to cook a more substantial meal - so sometimes that means buying him fast food, or whatever I can find laying around the house (which isn't always the healthiest). Sometimes, we'll go an entire week eating horribly. 

Matt and I are trying to get our finances together so that we can eventually get ourselves into a house, so expenses are often tight - which mean as much as we'd love to, grocery shopping for whatever we can afford means picking unhealthy & non-organic items. That also means, sometimes telling each other no to things we want. Our home is hardly ever perfectly organized or clean, in fact most of the time there is piles of dirty dishes left in the sink, laundry still in the basket needing to be put away, and just crap everywhere. For someone who is a clean/neat freak & OCD it drives me nuts but I also just don't have the energy to be on top of my game in regards to keeping our home clean.  

So, to revert back to the title of this post. What exactly does #momgoals mean? For me it means a mother who is relentless in loving her children/family with all she heart and soul & does the best she can every day. Because at the end of the day, other people's judgement and opinions should be the least of our worries. And if today was a day of failures, we have tomorrow to start over new. 

PS. Just 9 more weeks left!