Friday, June 7, 2013

Well...here we are...

Well...after years of thinking blogging is a good idea, I've finally found the nerve to start one. Hi! I'm Jessica. Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I'm a 28 year old mother to three that lives in Northwest Arkansas with my husband and children. I've lived in Northwest Arkansas my entire life and to be honest, I'm not sure I could ever leave. I love this place. My world has changed drastically in the last 12 months and that is how I got here....sitting at the kitchen table...writing a blog. 

My husband and I have been married for 6 years (as of this Sunday). After only two short years of marriage, we decided two was too few and in October of 2009, I gave birth to Macy. That child is my whole world. She is literally me reincarnated. You always hear that you will pay for your child hood with your own child. That is so incredibly true. Not only am I paying for it...I'm living it AGAIN...just instead of being me...I'm now my mom! The funny thing is I wouldn't change one second. That girl is perfect. She if funny and crazy and a pain in butt. I love her. :) 


Last summer, Trace and I decided that maybe it was time to think about making our family of 3 a family of 4. We quickly got pregnant and I was excited to welcome a  new baby in February of 2013. However, within just a week of finding out I was pregnant, the joy turned to sorrow when we learned that I actually wasn't pregnant. We're not sure if I just received a false positive or if my body created something called a "fantom pregnancy," but either way...no baby for the Skordals. I was devastated. Way more devastated than I ever thought I could be. The worse part is I felt like my devastation was completely ridiculous. There was never a baby...so why was I so sad. I told Trace then that I wasn't ready to be a new mom yet. I wanted to wait. However, The Lord had different plans for our home. In July of 2012, I went to the doctor with a chest illness and one short blood test later showed that the Skordals were having a baby. I didn't even know how to react. The worst part is that I refused to be happy...at least for a while. I had to make sure that there really was a baby in there. Not just another hoax my body liked to play. My doctor suggested we run another blood test to be sure the pregnancy was "viable." Three short days later, the phone call came. Not only was I pregnant, my levels had tripled (a normal pregnancy would double during this time). Which meant that everything was great and we were having a baby. I was ecstatic!! A few short weeks later we learned more about those overachieving blood levels during our first ultrasound. To our surprise, we weren't pregnant with a new baby...we were pregnant with TWO babies! 


27 short weeks later and we welcomed Jackson & Dawson at 36 weeks gestation. I'm told I'm one of the luckiest twin mommas around. The boys were born weighing in at 5lbs 12oz (Jackson) and 4lbs 15oz (Dawson). Though the were considered premies by birth date, the boys never showed any signs of trouble. We went home 3 days later and the boys now weigh in at around 11 pounds each. 


Twins brought a ton of change to our world. Besides the double duty of EVERYTHING, we also had the new financial burden. My plan was to return to work as a high school teacher the August after the babies were born. Unfortunately, when you go from having one child that is 3 to 3 children under 4, daycare cost gets complicated. In fact, it's more than my salary...and I have a Master's degree people! So...here I am...mom to three, staying at home in a crazy financial situation that will either break me or make me. The truth is, I've never wanted anything more. I feel like The Lord calls me to stay home, but I've always been too afraid to answer the call. Too afraid that we won't survive the financial strain. Too afraid that I couldn't hack it as budgeting goddess. My answer was to pray about it and hope he would answer. Answer he did.....times TWO!! Now...I don't have a choice...I'm home. The funny thing is...I've never been happier. I'm terrified of what tomorrow brings when it comes to finances, but would honestly rather eat Ramen Noodles (which I love P.S.) every day for the rest of my life than spend one more day away from these babies. This is where I'm meant to be and I feel peace in that. Hopefully our bank account will too. 


So....here's what you can expect. I've never had a challenge that I didn't face head on and that is my plan with this whole Stay at Home Mom thing. The title of the blog is a Chronicles of a Frugal Mom. Needless to say, that's what you'll find  here. I plan to share coupons, secrets, special finds, recipes, and more as I adjust to this new frugal lifestyle. I've go one year to make this work.....here goes nothing! 

Jessica  




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