One Of The Best Things Anyone Has Ever Said To Me

Sometimes, things come out of our children's mouths that astound us and stop us in our tracks. Often these things are inappropriate, funny or just out of this world. And sometimes, what your child says to you can be one of the best things anyone has ever said to you. I had one of these moments recently.


"Mom, how did you get to be so accomplished?" My 13 year old asks me.

"What do you mean?" I responded, a little surprised by his question. I don't often think of myself as "accomplished".

"I mean that you are 28 years old, married, have a kid, are pregnant, have a job and are getting your master's degree. You have already done so much."

I sat quietly, a little speechless.

"I don't know if I will have done everything you have when I am your age. How did you do it?"


I smiled and explained to him that I made a decision about what was important to me, and I set goals. I told him that he can accomplish anything he wants to by any age if he sets his mind to it. I have no doubt my son will be extremely successful. He is smart and charismatic. He is wise beyond his years in so many ways.

I was taken back by the thought that I am "accomplished". I spend so much of my time focused on the things that I don't have, what I haven't done and what I might not be able to do in the future. This conversation made me realize that I really need to take some time to reflect on my accomplishments, and give myself a little more credit now and then.

I try to stay humble, but maybe there is a fine line between being humble and not recognizing value in yourself on a regular basis. 

More than anything, it means the world to me that my son views me as accomplished. For me, it means that it has all been worth it. Every class, every test, every 20 page paper. Every date, every bad relationship, every time my heart was broken. Every time I struggled and I wondered if it would make a difference to anyone. It did. And that is why when my son told me I was accomplished, it was one of the best things anyone has ever said to me.

How Can I Be A Stay At Home Mom?

I am in need of some help and advice. I spent my lunch break at work googling "how to be a stay at home mom".

I have hit the point in my pregnancy where I am completely preoccupied with my baby. All I want to do is get her nursery ready, knit her a blanket and organize her cute little clothes. There's only one problem I keep running into: I'm too exhausted.

Right now I work full time at a job that can be both physically and emotionally demanding. Sometimes I am standing for 2-3 hours with a client at a work site assessment, or counseling an emotionally distressed mother, or getting cussed out by an angry client. By the time my day is over, there is no part of me that can muster up the energy to prepare for the arrival of my baby. I also take classes two nights per week, so there are some nights that I don't get home until near 10pm. I know school will be over in a few weeks, so at least I won't be quite so drained those two nights per week. I have reached the point where I spend my days dreaming (and researching) how I can stay at home with my baby.

When my son was born, I was a single teenage mom. There was no option to stay home. I knew that I had to work, finish school and he needed to go to daycare. I was in survival mode for the both of us and my mind was focused on how the two of us were going to make it in this world.

My life is different now. I don't have to be in constant "survival mode". I have a loving husband who will be my partner in caring for the baby, and my incredible teenager who will be here to help as much as we need him. This isn't a one woman show anymore. Ever since the thought has crossed my mind that I could be a stay at home mom, it is all I can think about.

I want to be with my baby all day. I want to be the one to care for her. I want to take her on walks and trips to the park. I want to have time to prepare her meals and make her healthy baby food. I want to be the one to help her learn her colors and letters and numbers. I was never afforded the chance to do these things with my son. I got to spend a few hours with him in the evening before bed. All while juggling school and work and being completely exhausted all of the time. I had to let family and daycare providers do all of the things I wanted to be doing. My son has turned out wonderful, he has always had the love, support, and everything he needed. It's me who has missed out.

So tonight, I am sitting in my bed, wiping away tears as I write this post. I am pregnant and emotional and sad. I am sad because I don't think I will be in a position to stay at home with my baby. I don't think I will be able to deprive my family of my income or the health insurance I carry. Financially, I just don't see how I can stay at home with my baby when she arrives.

This is where I reach out to my readers for advice. Have any of you made the transition to a stay at home mom? How did you do it? Maybe there are things I have not thought of. I need all of the help and advice I can get. How can I be a stay at home mom?

22 Week Bump Date: The Good, The Bad and The Really Bad

Last week was week 22 of Pregnancy: Marlene! I still love being pregnant...although this week did not include all of the sunshine and rainbows of last week. I may have "jinxed" myself by writing about how much I loved pregnancy last week. Go figure! Thanks for following, I love to share my pregnancy stories with you all, including the good, the bad and the really bad.

The Good...

Marlie has been rocking and rolling this week! She has been having little dance parties every night. This week I felt her move in more than one place at a time. My best guess is that she's shaking arms and legs at the same time. Let's just say this chick can really rock a womb (hahaha, get it?)!

Both Nathan and Jasen got to feel her move this week. Nathan has felt her once before, but this was the first time my son has felt her. It is such a great experience to share as a family! She was moving towards Nathan's hand on my belly, it was amazing!

The Bad...

Hello random second trimester nausea. I have not thrown up this entire pregnancy. During my first trimester, I felt sick to my stomach all of the time. It was a special kind of nausea that never goes away. This past week I started feeling intense feelings that I was going to throw up. It was so bad one morning that I ran to the bathroom three times at work. I still haven't thrown up though!

The Really Bad...

Warning: I am about to give you all way too much information. But it really wouldn't be fair if I only shared the good things about my pregnancy, right? I promise, I will spare you all the gross details. On Friday, my doctor had to do minor surgery... on my ass. Yep, that's right, it's the ugly side of pregnancy. For a few days I was stuck in bed, laying on my side.

My sweet husband held my hand through the entire ordeal and waited on me hand and foot when we got home. I told my son "when you are thinking about getting married, you have to think to yourself, 'would I hold her hand through butt surgery?' and if the answer is yes, then she might be the one". Of course he looked at me like I was crazy and he thinks I am a weirdo for posting this story on my blog. But it's real and life is real and I like to keep my blog real. So that was the really bad event of pregnancy week 22.

More Good...

I like to end things on a positive note, so I have a few more good things to tell you all!

My mother in law and father in law gave me a huge box of fresh fruits and veggies from a local farmer's market. Yum! If you follow me on Instagram, you have seen the pic. If not, come on over and follow me!

My son played two great baseball games in a tournament this weekend.

My husband played in his first kickball games of the season and won them both!

I finally upgraded my cell phone to the iPhone 5s! I love it!

While we were at the doctor's office for the umm...pain in my ass...we got to hear Marlie's heartbeat! It was in the 150's, which the doctor said was great! I love hearing her heartbeat. :)

Well, here was week 22 in a nutshell, thanks for following my adventures!

2014 Ultimate Blog Party! #UBP14

This is my party post for for the 2014 Ultimate Blog Party! I am excited to be involved and make some new blogging friends!

A little about Michelle's Pixie Dust...

I started Michelle's Pixie Dust in 2012. I can't believe it's been two years already! I started this blog as a way to display my DIY projects. For my one year blogiversary, I wrote a more detailed post about my first year of blogging. You can read that HERE.

Ultimately, this blog has grown to be a reflection of me. I post about whatever is going on in my life at that time. Sometimes I am really into Cooking and finding new recipes, other times I am into Craft Projects and upcycling. My career is counseling, so I have posted different Creative Therapy Projects. Sometimes I post about parenting and my family life. Right now I am pregnant, so readers will find a lot of Pregnancy Posts!

At present, I am 28 years old. I have been married since 2012 to a wonderful, wonderful man. I have a son who is 13 years old (which if you are quickly doing the math, makes me a very young mama) and I am expecting my daughter to arrive in August of this year. I have two little dogs, Mustang and Stella, they are chiweenies and are completely our babies. We recently adopted a stray cat, Walter, who is sweet and sneaky and possesses all of those other cat-like qualities. I will graduate in less than a month with a Master's Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. I have a Bachelor's of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology. And I still have yet to figure our exactly what a want to do for a career.

Sometimes I am a "bad blogger". Sometimes I don't post frequently or update my social media. One time I let my URL expire...As much as I love blogging, it usually falls at the bottom of my priority list. I get caught up with family and work and life (as many of you can relate)!

So thank you for stopping by my little piece of the internet and I hope you enjoy some of the things you read here. I love to connect with my readers, so please comment me and follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

Happy Blog Partying!

21 Week Bump Date: Pregnancy Love

I am already 21 weeks pregnant...We are half way there, how exciting! I have to say, I really love being pregnant.



I love that my husband and I created this beautiful little person.


I love that I get to have her with me all day right now. I can feel her move a little bit now and then, and it makes me happy every time. She is moving while I write this :)


I love thinking about our daughter who will be in our arms in just 19 more weeks.


I love the baby girl clothes that people keep giving me. Everything is so tiny! My son passed me up in height about a year ago, so I am amazed at the thought of having a tiny baby again.


I actually enjoy watching my belly grow and filling out my growing stash of maternity clothes.


Sometimes I just stop and think, "How amazing is it that there is an actual human growing inside of me?"



Of course there are a few pregnancy symptoms that I am not a huge fan of, such as:

• Waking up to pee in the middle of the night
• Lots of tossing and turning
• Crying about ridiculous things
• The wonderful mood swings (happy-angry-sad-angry-sad-happy-happy)

I have realized that the good outweighs the not-so-good and most importantly, every second is completely worth it.

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