Organizing your Blog

One of my favorite things to do at the beginning of a new year is organize!

My family has a lot planned this year and it aids my planning (and sanity) to stay on track. Also, what better way to start a new month, than by figuring out what is in store for it!

As my family slowly adjusts from being a family of three to a family of four, I am finding myself needing to do things differently than I was before. Organizing our day keeps me and the children happy and focused. Without it, we might end up sitting around doing nothing all day - (which can sometimes happen).

Organizing my blog is another way I can control my time and make sure I am using it most efficiently. It also helps me stay on track with my goals and the plans I have for growing.

This might not help you, but this style is what works for me most. If you like using paper calendars, rather than your phone, this might be for you.

Here are some ways I have organized that help me stay on track:

• Post-its (or color coding) can be your best friend

I got a few ideas from other bloggers about how to organize a calendar and the one that popped out to me the most was using post-its (or other things) to color code to keep track of your categories. This helps because at the beginning of each month I can plan out my posts. The color coding is useful because then I can see which categories I am posting about too often. Each color is coded with a specific main topic on my blog - such as fitness, family, or how-to posts.

Here are some of the other posts I took my ideas from:

http://www.venustrappedinmars.com/2014/02/saturday-sessions-guide-to-blog.html

http://www.elizabeth-loves.com/2014/05/tips-for-starting-blogging-calendar.html

• Checklist Printables

I made these on my own because I was so overwhelmed by all of printables out there for blog organization. Plus - I loved being able to put my logo at the top to make it feel official - plus when you feel confident and happy, you are more likely to work more efficiently. The printables I made are a monthly and weekly blog checklist as well as a "fillable" daily to-do list and form for blog post ideas. That is so that I am able to write down ideas as soon as they come. Because I sure know that this mama of two forgets things moments after I think of them unless I write it down.

These blogs make free printables:

http://www.everydayenchanting.com/free-printable-blog-planner/

http://www.lambertslately.com/2014/02/the-ultimate-blog-planning-notebook.html

http://www.mamamiss.com/2014/01/01/2014-blogger-planner-calendar-menu-planner/

I love finally feeling organized and on top of things - since having a newborn can make things oh-so-crazy and disorganized.

What are some ways the YOU keep you and your family organized??

A Letter to a Two-Year Old

Little Ox #1,

When I think over the last two years, I am amazed by just how fast it actually went. Everyone always tells you "It will go by fast", but you don't realize it until you experience yourself and you stop for a moment and see how much has changed in the last two years.

I remember the time you were growing inside of me like it was yesterday. I remember being pregnant with you and not being able eat almost anything the whole first three months. I can recall the first time I felt the beautiful little flutters inside of me that told me you were in there. I remember thinking about what you would look like, how you would act, and what your personality would be like. I remember how nervous I was when you broke my water and we knew your arrival was imminent. I remember, so vividly, pulling you out on to my chest and looking into your little eyes for the first time.

I remember those sleepless nights, breaking down and giving you bottled breast-milk because breastfeeding just seemed too hard at the moment. I remember panicking, waking up after your first time sleeping through the night and finding you fast asleep. It seems like just yesterday you were learning to hold your own head up, rolling over, and trying your first foods. I remember cheering you on, watching you crawl and walk for the very first times.

You are TWO now though and those things seem like just yesterday and so long ago, all at the same time. You love Spiderman, singing Jesus Loves Me at bedtime, and you LOVE making people laugh. You are hilarious, you are fascinated with cars, and your grandpa is probably your favorite person. You love watching Daniel Tiger, you love to read, and you think football is the greatest thing ever. You want to do most things yourself, you are almost fully potty trained, and I still melt every time you say "mama".

I love you Josiah Samson. I love being your mommy more than you will ever know. I love being the one who grew you. I love being the only one who could feed you for your first 6 months. I love being the one who you run to when you are hurt, the one who's leg you grab for when you are scared, and the first girl you will ever love. I love every single moment we have shared so far in your first two years on this earth.

From our first moments:

To a year later:

And the year after that:

So, my little two year old...

I will try to be the best mommy I can for you. I will try to be there with you in every moment, so I don't miss a thing. I will try not to think about my stresses and my to-do list, because I know that you need me. I want to embrace the fact that you do need me, for I do not know the day when you will not need your mommy any more.

"So while you are living in these times, remember there are only so many of them and when they are gone, you will yearn for just one more day of them."

I HOPE YOU HAD A WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY!

A Little Hobby

One of the things that I love to do every now and then is sewing! Whether I get the chance to do it very often is another story...

However, I like to pick up a few projects every now and then. Mostly because -

1. It reminds me of my grandma that I lost two weeks before I became pregnant with Little Ox #1 (She was a wonderful seamstress!)
2. It gives me a chance to do something with my mom - (who is also amazing at sewing)
3. It allows me to do something "for myself" every now and then - which can be relieving! 

When I got pregnant with LO #2 I wanted to sew some things for him and I decided on sewing him clothes! Nothing too crazy but I thought it would be cute to sew him some adorable baby boy leggings! 

They always have such cute clothes and leggings for girls, but you can hardly find things like that out there for boys - so I decided to make them myself!

Here are two of the ones I made for him:

I LOVE the mustache and anchor prints and thought they would make great leggings.

It's so fun being able to see your baby use something that you made for them.

Here's this one, just because. :)

Updates!

I am pleased to announce a few new changes!

One of which, you can read about HERE.

The link above is the birth story of our second Little Ox, Nolan who surprised us a month earlier than he was expected!

Oxmamafitness has officially change to theoxmama.com!

Essentially it is the exact same blog, with just a different name. I will still focus on clean eating and fitness but I wanted to emphasize the thing that I am most passionate about which is family.

I love being a mom and it is the reason for everything I do and everything I put my effort into. My main focus will be sharing my life and family with you all as well as bringing to you some of my other passions like cooking, sewing, fitness, and many others!

Thanks for moving along with me in this beautiful journey!

Welcome, Nolan! (A Birth Story)

Happy One Month birthday, Nolan!

On December 13, 2014 our Little Ox #2, Nolan Robert Oxford, came into this world!

Nolan's Birth Story

At 36 weeks and 2 days, on December 12th, it was like every other day and I was at the table with Josiah (Little Ox #1) having lunch. I was struggling with him, trying to get him to eat what I had made for him (which is usually a daily struggle - unless it is pizza, noodles, or breakfast foods).

After feeling defeated, I got up from the table to throw his food away in the garbage and think about what I could feed him that he might eat. As I bent back up from throwing the food away my WATER BROKE at 2:00PM. I knew it the moment that it happened because the same thing happened to start my first labor - read about it here.

I panicked, left Josiah in his high chair, and ran to the bathroom. I laughed to myself for a minute because I was telling Mac for months that our baby would be coming that weekend. (I was joking, of course, because I knew that THIS weekend was probably the worst day for him to come). Mac has his busiest day of the YEAR coming up and my mom had an important day for her business that same day too.

I decided to call my mom first. She answered the phone and I said "I know you don't want to hear this, but my water just broke". She laughed and thought I was joking and said she would be there soon. Next, I called Mac, and I said the same thing. He worked an hour away, so I knew he was going to jump out of his chair and leave right away. After panicking on the couch for a few minutes thinking of our boy coming a month early and that he might have issues after birth, I came back to Josiah and called for my brother to keep an eye on him for me while I got last minute things together. 

I turned on Daniel Tiger for him, gave him a cookie, and headed downstairs. I changed and got things together while waiting for my mom to pick me up. I put Josiah down for his nap and explained to him that his baby brother would be here soon and that mommy had to leave for the hospital. I left him with Grandpa and took off to the hospital with my mom. 

We bypassed a triage room (since my water was clearly broken) and we stepped into labor room #8 and waited for Mac to get there. My friend Kendall arrived and we watched FRIENDS (again) and we all waited for my contractions to start. We pondered about whether he would be here on the 12th or the 13th - since Josiah came fairly quickly.

(I had wondered throughout my pregnancy what this labor would be like, since my first labor could not have been more perfect and "easy". Well I was right that there was no way it was going to go as well as it did with Josiah.)

When I think about my labor with Nolan - sometimes I wonder how I even progressed at all. Throughout my entire labor, I did not have regular contractions - even up until I started pushing. I attribute this to him being late preterm. 

I came into this labor thinking that labor is labor and it would feel JUST like it did before. I came into this labor wanting to do it all natural, like the first time. However, once I realized that back labor is MUCH different than regular labor - my thoughts changed after hours of more pain than I experienced my whole labor with Josiah. We tried natural techniques for a while and the pain became unbearable. I asked for them to check me to see how close I was (even though my contractions weren't normal like I said before).

I WAS AT 3. It was after midnight. I had already been in labor longer than I was for Josiah and I was only at 3. That's when I decided that I wasn't going to be a horrible mom if I got an epidural. I was not going to let myself feel guilty or like a failure because I couldn't do it like I did last time. So I talked with Mac for a while and he told me he would support whatever I chose to do, so nervously, I asked him to tell the nurse for the epidural. Another factor for this choice was because of how late it was and the knowledge that we would be up all night long waiting for this boy to come.

The epidural was a lot less scary and a lot less painful than I had expected. After that, it was so nice to get some rest and sleep for a while. I could still feel the pressure that was coming from the pain masked by the medication. After quite a few more hours of NO regular contractions, I asked to be checked again - and I was at 8 cm around 5:00 AM. 

Coming into the final stretch - everyone was sleeping and I was laying awake waiting to get to 10 and dreaming of the little boy who would soon be in our arms. I thought about how BEAUTIFUL this labor was - even as different and unexpected as it was. It was crazy that how two very different labors could be equally amazing. (I know I am crazy, but I love being in labor). This made me think of every woman who has had the opportunity to birth a child - how each story is so perfect and different in their own way.

With the pain easing its way through the medication, I asked the nurse to get my midwife and check me one last time because I felt like it was time. She checked and I was at 10 cm and things were being brought in to bring our baby into the world. The nurse told me that when I feel pressure to push to call her, but that it might take a while to feel it. About thirty seconds later, I felt it and called her in. It was 7:50 AM and I was ready to start pushing. Since it took me an hour of pushing with Josiah, I expected it to be about half that time, but little did I know that in only 7 minutes and 2 and 1/2 pushes later - our boy was here. With the first push, you could see his head, the second, his head was out and The last push, he came so fast that the midwife almost dropped him, and I could not pull him out like I did with Josiah. 

Nolan Robert Oxford was born on 12/13/14 at 7:57 AM

7 pounds 4 ounces

19.5 inches long

Yes. You read that right. My little month-early-preemie was SEVEN pounds. I don't want to think about how big he would have been if he had gone full term. Either way, my beautiful little baby boy was here. I loved my labor just as much as I did with the first. It was amazing and breath-taking. I love having Nolan in our life and looking down at him every day thinking he is just like a mini-Josiah. I swear they are twinsies. 

Either way- I am so thankful to be a mommy of my two amazing little boys.

Watch the announcement here:

http://vimeo.com/115130602