I'm under there somewhere!

So its no secret, I've had two kids. I love my children more than life itself but sometimes having children can leave your body less than desirable. It would be great if we all could look like celebrity Mom's after having children but the reality is.. we don't. I tried to enjoy my pregnancies and much as possible. Ate what I felt like eating, sat around when I felt like doing nothing, and told myself oh it will all fall off once the baby is out. Well lets just say that isn't the smartest way to go about being pregnant if you want to look as close as possible to how you looked before you had kids.

Before I had children my body was on point! Ok it wasn't anywhere near my Sister's body, but lets face it, who's is right? I had an amateur athlete's body. I was toned but not all muscular. I had a tight little stomach, faint arm cutties, and some pretty nice looking legs(if I do say so myself!). Never in my life was I over weight and really didn't have to exercise much. These days that is sooooo not the case.

I honestly didn't think too much about my weight before. I talked myself in to thinking it was acceptable because I was a Mother of two. It wasn't really until after I became single and took a long hard look at my exterior and how it made me feel that I realized something had to be done if I was ever going to be comfortable in my own skin again. It's surreal how having children can change your body in ways you never thought imaginable. Most things you really have no control over either. We can apply tubes and tubes of that dang stomach lotion in hopes of not getting stretch marks but really its all in God's hands! The markings of life will always be apart of me, but the condition and size of my body I definitely could change. So....I did! Or at least am trying to.

Since I want to say....January of this year I've really been on it. I've been eating really good, less, and trying my best to only eat the things I LOVE on the weekends or special occasions. I'm much more active now than I was before even though I'm still lazy when it comes to working out. Not sure if that will ever change but maybe I'll stumble upon something I actually like doing that will burn calories at the same time. How many calories does watching movies burn? None? Ok....just checking! Anywho...I just thought I'd kinda share with you the landmarks of where I started, where I was, and where I am now. It's progress baby!! And I will continue to make progress until I am happy with where I am and how I look. I'm proud of myself!!






before I had kids...



few months after I had my second child....biggest I've ever been! yuck!




2 days ago!! If you know me at all, you know how not even Jesus himself sees me in a bathing suit so these pics were a pretty big deal for me to take! but damn if I'm not getting there!!!!!

"Is this your child too?"

So today I decided it would be nice if I took my kids out to eat for breakfast and spend a little quality time together...because honestly they were starting to bug the crap outta me and usually they act way better once out and about.Well while at IHOP paying for my half off breakfast because I had received a coupon on Mother's Day that I decided to make good use of, I encountered the dreaded question that haunted my young childhood. I can still remember the exactly question, the setting, and how it made me feel to that day! The question went as follows:
"Is this your child too?"

To most people this would seem like no big deal....pure curiosity right? Well to me it is a blunt reminder of how much my son doesn't look like me. I mean don't get me wrong, I don't wake up every morning crying over it. To me I see so much of myself in him but I guess to the unfamiliar eye, he looks like a kid I'm babysitting for a Caucasian neighbor.

As a young girl, my mother, my sister, and I were at some counter...hotel, doctor's office....not sure but I remember the woman at the counter asking my Mother if we were her kids. For those of you unaware, my Mother happens to be white. She, like so many other women decided to marry a black man and have herself some mixed babies. Result from doing so can be that you produce children that don't necessarily resemble you. Having heard this stranger just ask my Mother whom I love oh so much, if we were hers honestly made me question if I really was. I struggled with this for years, asking her if I were adopted or something, was she really my Mom, and that if I also had a twin because for some reason when I was younger I really wanted one. All answers were no fortunately. But it was the first time in my life where someones question made me look at how my skin and my physical features looked so different from the person who gave me life. It even got so bad that I use to cry and beg my Mom to move us back to Long Beach so I could be around people who looked more like me. NO JOKE!! She even remembers this.

Basically, this random waitress' comment today stood out to me, not because I myself haven't gotten over that childish nonsense with my skin color, but because I don't want my son to ever feel the way I did as a child growing up with a Mother that didn't look like me. I don't want him to look at his sister, who actually happens to be darker than me and asking himself why he isn't the same color as her. Actually I wish color of skin or ethnicity wasn't ever a factor or something thought about in his life. But with our ignorant society more than likely it will be. Let's just hope he doesn't ask to move to North Dakota to be around people who look more like him....because that isn't gonna happen! ha ha

(My Savior in Disguise, Ty)

Thoughts, comments, advice? Leave it.

My Official Grand Opening!!

First off let me say WELCOME and thank you for stopping by and reading my blog. Like I mentioned previously, I had been thinking about writing my own blog for some time now but felt I was more of like a witty comment here, something funny there, or one of two serious comments when needed....but a whole blog with my words? CAN IT BE DONE? Well we are about to find out ladies and gentlemen!

So I think it's appropriate to include in my introductory blog, a little about the person writing it.
For starters if you didn't catch it, my name is Brittany, I'm in my mid 20's, ethnically mixed, mother of two, currently a college student, loves the color purple, deathly afraid of spiders, eats circular food actually in a circle so that the middle(which is the best part) is left for the last bite, and sometimes sounds British when asking questions. Yeah no idea where the last one comes from...it just kinda happens. Perhaps it was my obssession with being Scary Spice from the Spice Girls, when I was younger.

My life, up to this point has been a 'wild ride' to put it softly. Full of ups and down, twists and turns, high speeds, and rough stops. Occupied with all sorts of emotions ranging from happy all the way down to "is this rock bottom? cuz it sure is dark and rocky..." But regardless of where my life has taken me, its my life and I embrace every day to see what it will bring.

So basically my goal for this here blog is to just share my life with you. Share me, my thoughts, feelings, ideas, opinions(which you all know I have tons!!!), and advice. My writing will probably be a little rough around the edges seeing as how I'm not use to thinking about how others will perceive things I write, so I apologize now for things I may say later. That's still sincere isn't it? haha oh well, anyone who knows me knows everything I do comes from a good place. So yeah, I'm super excited and can't wait to get to writing!!! just as soon as I get back from breakfast cuz a girl be huuuuuuuuuuuungry!
Have a blessed day :)

You Asked For It......

Well I've decided since so many people have encouraged me to start my own blog, I might as well try it out. So it is coming......VERY SOON!!