"I'm a sneaky girl"

     Growing up for anyone is tough, but changes for a 3-year-old can be heartbreaking.
     Since she was about 7 months old, she has slept in the bed with me.  We've been working for a few weeks on moving her to her own bed.
     We live with my parents; therefore, we've always shared a room.  This made it difficult to ever let her cry out while she was still in her crib. Now, we've fixed up her own room for her to us as a play room, but I plan on moving her in there to sleep as well...eventually.
     Conquering moving her into her own bed has been a lot more difficult than I expected.  To get her less dependent on someone at bedtime, I've also been encouraging her to go to sleep on her own rather than having me lay down with her until she goes to sleep.
     Our current routine consists of us saying prayers, either a story or a song, I sit with her a few minutes, and then, she's on her own.
     Last night, she was up and down for about an hour. My little girl is a big drama queen...haha. Therefore, she's not happy about these changes at all.
     Finally, she had been down by herself for about 15 minutes.  I thought she was asleep.  I was one happy mom thinking she had finally done it.  I went in just to double check, but I did not find what I expected.  Her little bed was left empty:

I look over to find Isabella curled up in my bed instead:

     After finding this discovery, I picked her up and moved her to her own bed.  When I talked to her about it this morning, her only response was, "I'm a sneaky girl."

     She is too smart for her own good. She even out smarts me now.  These milestones might be the death of me.  I wish there were straight answers for how to handle these situations.  If I figure out the secret, I may write a book.

     This Darius Rucker song really reminds me not to sweat the small stuff at times like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5zCaRaJ-kE&ob=av2n

     

Nothing Entertaining About It

     I'm not sure when teen pregnancy became considered source of entertainment, but shows like MTV's Teen Mom and ABC Family's Secret Life of the American Teenager make no sense to me.
     Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2 follow eight girls as they struggle through parenthood after giving birth at a young age.  Like most shows on MTV, it is overly dramatic and often emphasize stereotypes.  This show along with Secret Life sort of glamorize teen pregnancy.  It makes it seem like if you get pregnant, you get put on TV.
    Also, if they're going to have shows about this issue, I would love to see all sides represented.  Not all teen moms are as dramatic as these girls are portrayed.  I personally know plenty of young and/or single moms who have graduated high school, college and pursued lucrative careers. I don't feel like these type of women are represented well in this show.
     If shows like this are going to continue to be a present source of entertainment, I would much rather it discourage teens from having sex at all.  Secret Life closes with a disclaimer about how teen pregnancy is 100 percent preventable, yet almost every character on the show is sexually active, one has a child and others are either pregnant or want to be.  If they are trying to prevent teen pregnancy, this is not the way to do it.
     I have a sister who is in high school and loves these shows. Honestly, this is not the kind of example I want set for my sister or her friends.  I don't want her to make similar mistakes to mine.  I would never consider having Isabella a mistake, but I do wish I would have waited to become sexually active until I was mature enough to really handle the consequences without having to rely so much on my parents.
    Whenever my sister Darby has any questions related to sex or anything for that matter, I am completely honest with her.  Too many parents try to protect their children by not educating them, but I think it makes them more curious, and they end up going to a friend for information or learning from experience.
     I would much rather Darby feel comfortable enough to talk to me about anything and learn from my mistakes rather than finding out the hard way for herself or based on some unrealistic TV show.
    Being a single and young mom is not easy. Luckily, I have an amazing support system so I don't have to go through it alone.  Most girls aren't as lucky.  This is why high schools should educate students much more on the topic and the direction these TV shows should be changed.
     Instead of making it look like it's normal and even cool to have sex in high school, teens should be encouraged to wait until they're married or at least out of high school.  The older and more responsible the better.  Because not having sex is the only way to 100 percent prevent getting pregnant before you're ready to be a parent.
     I love being a mom.  Being a parent is so rewarding, but trying to juggle school, work and being a mom is not an easy task at all; therefore, encourage the teens you know to be careful and wait.

“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” -Malcolm X
      The media does influence society in so many ways especially those who are easily influence like teens and children.        

Shot Gun Weddings

     Getting pregnant does not automatically mean you have to get married.  Too many people keep to their old-fashion values rather than what is realistic.  Luckily, my parents thought realistically and looked at the big picture and did not force me into a marriage that would have never lasted.
     According to PressTV, the divorce rate for a first marriage in America for 2011 is between 40 and 50 percent.
     http://www.presstv.ir/usdetail/170458.html
     Also, according to divorce statistics the divorce rate for those married at 20-24-years-old is around 37 percent.  For those under 20-years-old it is about 27 percent for women and about 12 percent for men.  With statistics like these, I have no idea why people think it is a good idea to get married so young especially for a reason such as getting pregnant.
     http://www.divorcestatistics.org/
     Two people should get married strictly because they are happy, love each other and want to spend their lives with each other not because of a situation like an unplanned pregnancy.  I see people who got married around the age of 20 or even younger because of an unplanned pregnancy, and they're not financially stable and unhappy.  They live paycheck to paycheck and argue constantly.  I feel that not being together at all would be a better atmosphere to raise a child than trying to raise them in a stress-filled home.
     All situations are not the same; therefore, I realize all shot gun weddings are not this way, but in my opinion, it is best to wait until the time is right instead of hurrying before the bride is too big to fit in her wedding gown.


"The right thing and the easy thing are never the same thing." -- Bill Purdin

Blessing in disguise

     On July 2, 2007, at 17-years-old, I found out news that would change my life for ever.  I found out I was going to be a mom my senior year of high school.  I gave birth to the most beautiful little girl in the world, Isabella, ten days before my 18th birthday.
     Becoming a mom at such a young age is not something I planned and definitely not something I recommend.
      I was scared beyond belief considering I was still a kid myself.
      Being a mom is the most challenging, but rewarding task I've had so far.  When I found out I was pregnant, I knew my life was going to be impacted significantly, but I had no idea that it would change it so much for the better.  Honestly, I initially thought my life was over, but instead, it really had just started.  She truly made me realize that there was so much more I wanted out of my life.
      Isabella is the reason for my determination and ambition to succeed.  Although she was born into a non-traditional family, she and I are so blessed to have such a supportive family.  Because we live with my parents and sister, we are constantly surrounded by those we love, and it has made it so much easier to remain in school full-time and be involved.
      Stereotypically, people view being a teen mom negatively, but to me situations are all about how you handle yourself.  Although I am a "teen mom," I catch myself thinking stereotypically about girls in similar situations to mine. I wish it wasn't this way though.  I think the reason most people have these opinions is because of the way most girls react to the news.
      If more people learned and grew from bad decisions, even the most negative situations can have a positive outcome rather than consequences.
      Situations like these bring out the best and worst in people.  I hope that even though I did get pregnant at 17 that my actions after can set an example for those around me.  I pray that ones around me can not only learn from some of my mistakes, but also, through my determination to succeed and provide the best for me and Isabella.

"You don't know how strong you are until strong is the only choice you have."