2015... Let's play catch-up!

Ok, so I started off strong with this blog almost a YEAR ago, and I was so excited about it... then life happened!  Let me try to play catch up...

Heber J started his 2nd year of med school at the end of July, and he has been doing really well this year!  He only has like 2 weeks left of actual class and then it's board prep until BOARDS this June!!!  Eek!!!  I can't believe we are half-way through this part of the med school journey!!!  In other news, most of you already know, but Heber J was placed at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center for his next two years of clinical rotations, so we get to stay in Spartanburg!!! Woohoo!!  Another update on Heber J is that he was rushed to the ER last night because he was experiencing TERRIBLE stomach pain! I have seriously NEVER seen him in so much pain!  He has his first kidney stone! Luckily he is doing much better today after seeing the urologist, but he isn't in the clear just yet!  Please keep him in your prayers!!!

Watson turned 4 last month!!!!  When did THAT happen?!  We celebrated TMNT style, and let me tell you... it was epic!  He is totally obsessed with TMNT, and his party turned out absolutely perfect!!  We also started Watson in 1/2 day Montessori preschool.  He LOVES it!!!  He is already learning so much!His teachers are Ms. Garrett and Mrs. Burnett!  I love hearing about all he has learned when I pick him up each day!  He is working hard on writing his name! 

Eliza just turned 2 on Wednesday!  I can't believe how big she is getting!  When we first moved to Spartanburg, she was just a little over 3 months old!  Time has FLOWN by with our sweet 2nd child!  She is TOTALLY obsessed with babies right now!  She was given a 2nd baby doll for her birthday from one of our dear friend's and now it feels like we have another child added into the mix!!  Seriously, Baby Ellie (her first REAL baby doll) and Baby Jenna (new baby) are her pride and JOY!  She loves to take care of her babies!  She pushes them in the stroller (another new bday present we gave E), feed her babies (they eat WHATEVER E has on her plate), rock them, and lays them down for naps/bedtime (YES, babies sleep with her)!  I love how nurturing and caring she is with them!  I hope that she has learned this from me, and if so, I must be doing something right!  ;)

Now, for an update on myself...

Well, I survived Heber J's first year of medical student and I can ALMOST say I've survived the 2nd year!  There's only a week left of classes, but then we have board prep until the end of June, so we are getting CLOSE to being done with the hard part, and on to the FUN part!  Like I mentioned previously, he will start his clinical rotations at Spartanburg Regional in July!  He just got his rotation schedule, and we are excited for what is to come!  

During this 2nd year of med school, I decided I needed to take some time for ME!  Mid August I had an emotional breakdown and pity party for myself.  I felt like I had lost control of my body with my weight, and I was tired of making excuses for myself.  I have ALWAYS loved food, and I am an emotional eater!  Since having my two children, I let myself go.  Because of this, I came to the conclusion that EVERYONE in my family was suffering!  I would lash out at Heber J because of how insecure I felt about my body and my role as a wife!  My patience was pretty much non-existent with my children, and I wasn't setting a healthy example for my children with my terrible eating habits and LACK of exercise routine!  I was suffering as a mom, wife, and woman!  I needed to DO something to fix this rut I was in, and I needed to figure it out QUICK!  

I reached out to a friend that I went to Clemson with, because she had recently been posting all of these incredible transformation pics on FB!  I asked her for her help because I felt like whatever she had done was REAL!  It wasn't a gimmick and I KNEW her!  I knew her BEFORE she started her fitness journey (and let me just mention that she was absolutely beautiful BEFORE she started working out).  She quickly responded with some tips and tricks to try and mentioned a program called Tone It Up.  She urged me to take progress pics so that I could actually SEE the results even if the numbers on the scale weren't changing much.  Fast forward almost 7 months, and I have lost a total of 55 lbs!!!  I feel like a BRAND NEW WOMAN!  I have so much more energy, patience, and self confidence it's ridiculous!  Tone It Up is absolutely amazing, and if you haven't heard of it and want to change your life, LOOK IT UP!  It's no JOKE!  It's not a QUICK FIX, or a magic pill!  It is a lifestyle of eating LEAN, CLEAN, & GREEN as well as incorporating daily cardio and toning exercises!  I am usually done with my workouts within 45 minutes, and that's it!  I eat when I want to eat, and I eat REAL FOOD!  I am not starving!  I don't eat all the JUNK I was eating before, but if I want to treat myself to something "not so clean" I do!  And I don't feel bad about it!  I have worked so hard to get where I am now and I refuse to go back to the old Carrie that was overweight and unhappy!  I am truly excited and in love with my new lifestyle and I love sharing tips with others!!!  

Another new adventure for me has been starting my new business as an Independent Consultant for Jamberry!  If you haven't heard of Jamberry then check out my website... carriesberrys08.jamberrynails.net  I started selling Jamberry because we needed some extra income, but also because I wanted to earn free nail wraps! :)  So far, I am doing great with this new adventure, and it has allowed us to have a little extra spending cash as a family!  

Sorry for such a long post, but I had to play catch-up!  My goal is to try to post once a week or at least every other week!  I'll do my best to stick to this goal, but like I mentioned in the beginning... LIFE HAPPENS!  :)

Girl Power at it's finest...true friendship!

Ok, so I just finished reading another blog about being a "lonely mommy," and it really made me reflect on my current stage as a stay-at-home mom and 1st year (soon to be 2nd year...woohoo!!!) wife of a med student.  This may just be me rambling on about things, so please excuse me while I brag/vent a little...

In the post I just finished reading, I found myself agreeing with certain parts about how lonely it can be while staying home and being a mother to your kids, in the sense that you don't get very much time to have adult conversation or you feel like you can't really nurture the friendships you had before you became a mom.  While this may be the case for some of my friendships where my friends are at different stages in their lives, I hope to try and do better.  I'm sorry if I'm not always a reliable friend, or I don't always pick up the phone to chat when you call or forget to text back right away.  Things get a little crazy when you have kids and those that are already parents completely understand where I am coming from in that sense!  But again, let me apologize to my friends that may feel a little neglected at times because of my slackness at continuing to nurture our friendship like it needs to be.  I love you all, and I promise to try and do better!  

But to my other mommy/VCOM friends...this is for you...

I don't know what I would do without you ladies!!!!!!  I could stop here and it would be enough!  You know what I mean by saying that, and I love that it needs no explanation!  But I am feeling the need to "count my blessings and name them one by one".... so here is just a little taste of my appreciation for these ladies...

I love that I can call/text any of you at anytime with just a simple "hey" or "what r u up to?" and instantly carry on a conversation but it can last throughout the day!  It's ok that there are large gaps of time between questions and answers because we all understand that sometimes life is full of constant chaos when you have kids and you forget to text back or lets be real... something crazy just happened and you are probably cleaning it up or trying to play peace keeper between your children!  

I love that I can always find a friend willing to go to the park, zoo, library, etc. at the last minute just to get out of the house so we can have adult conversation!  Or even come over for a spontaneous play date because we want to let our kids be crazy together!  One of my favorite things to do is sit on my back porch, fill up the kiddie pool, turn on Pandora, pull up my capri workout pants (or maybe even throw a swim suit on) and try to get some sun while eating popsicles and putting my feet in the water of the FREEZING pool!  How redneck does this sound, but I'll tell you one thing... we MOMMIES LOVE IT!!!!!!!  

I love that I can drop my kids of with one of these ladies in order to run a quick errand or go to the doctor without having to torture my kids by sitting through ridiculous waits just for a checkup.  Or when I need to take just one child to the doctor, I can rest assure the other child is in good hands and much happier playing with a friend!

I love that I can text one of you ladies in the middle of a show and it feels like we are watching it together!  It sounds silly, but it's so nice to feel like you aren't really alone watching tv!  Let's face it, most of our husbands are either at school studying or completely zoned out studying at home.  

I love that we can plan a girls night and all we do is go out to eat but sit at the restaurant for like 4 hours just chatting and it feels like the most refreshing thing we have ever done!

I love that you all understand my love of all things related to FOOD... especially sweets!  And to counter balance my love for food... I love that I can usually find at least one of you willing to take a Zumba class or go running with me!  Y'all inspire me!!!  

I love that I can randomly text y'all and we decide to go to Target, the mall, or Costco and make an adventure out of it....or better yet... IKEA!!!  For those privileged few that have experienced going to IKEA with me... BLESS YOU!  Every time I have gone with my kids, it somehow turns into a nightmare, but y'all have stuck by my side and endured the craziness that is my life and still say you enjoyed our time together!  I love you all for being able to deal with my disaster!  You should earn a medal for your patience!  

I love planning baby showers and parties with you girls!  

I love that y'all don't mind that I'm usually 5-10...sometimes 15 minutes late!  And most likely, you are running late too!  It's not the end of the world, and we are totally fine with our lack of punctuality!  

I love knowing that our husbands are GOOD guys and would never do anything to harm our marriages or families!  We struck gold when we found these guys!  

I love that I can be myself around y'all and I never feel judged!  I am by no means a perfect mother, but I try really hard to do my best.  Some days are better than others!  It's so comforting knowing that I don't have to try to fake it to make it!  

I love that you love my kids like your own!  It makes my heart happy to know that my kids feel safe and comfortable around you and ask when they will see each of you again!

I love the support we have for each other and the understanding that we are not alone in this journey, whether it be VCOM or motherhood in general!  I love knowing that I have you all to lean on and that you know I am there for you too!  Most of all, I love knowing that I am not LONELY!  While there are times I feel lonely in the wife sense, I know it's just temporary and it will be worth it in the end.  And when there are days when I just want to vent about how much I wish my husband would just spend time with me instead of staying at school all day, y'all are there to fill my day full of activities or just simply say... "YOU ARE NOT ALONE!  I feel the same way!  ME TOO, GIRL!"  I know I will have you girls to keep me company... even if it's just through texts and phone calls!  I am so thankful for the friendships I have made here!  I love feeling so loved! :)  I may not have a ton of friends, but the friends I have made are AWESOME!  I am thankful for each and every one of these fine ladies and the many more that I will continue to get to know and develop friendships with in the future! 

I love you girls and the power and strength I gain from each of you!

Sorry for the rambling but I felt it needed to be shared!  I am truly blessed!!! 

And so it begins...

I'm new to this whole blogging thing, but I was starting to feel guilty about not keeping a journal. I have so many blessings in my life, and my greatest blessings--an amazing husband and two precious kiddos! I want to capture their special moments and milestones, so I was inspired to start blogging!  Here goes nothing!...

My husband and I were married on May 24, 2008 in the Columbia, SC LDS Temple.  We have been married for 6 years now, and I can honestly say I love him more now than I ever have before!  He is my best friend and always knows how to make me laugh!  I am thankful that my Heavenly Father placed such an amazing man in my life, and I am thrilled to be able to spend eternity with him by my side!

Our first 5 years of marriage were spent in Hartsville, SC.  Heber J grew up in Hartsville, so we were able to be near his family for the time we were there.  It was truly a blessing to be close to family for so long.  The first three years of our marriage, I worked as a first grade teacher at Petersburg Primary School in Pageland, SC.  I loved teaching, but I love being a stay-at-home mom even more!  My third year of teaching, I was pregnant with our son, Heber J Watson IV.  He was born on February 10, 2011, and it was love at first sight!  I finished the school year out at PPS, but decided to stay home and raise Watson instead of going back to work.

Heber J finished up his undergrad at Coker College in Hartsville that same year, and was able to get a job as a medical technologist at McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, SC.  He worked at McLeod for 2 years before he got into medical school here in Spartanburg!

Eliza Faye Watson was born on March 25, 2013 at McLeod!  We found out Heber J was accepted to VCOM right before Eliza was born, and it was a huge blessing!  We had been waiting for 2 years for him to get into medical school, so it was an answer to our prayers, for sure!

We moved to Spartanburg, SC in the end of July 2013.  It was a fresh start for us, and we were super excited for the adventure!!  Throughout this past year, we have made some truly amazing friends!  We lived in a 3 bedroom apartment for 10 months and have recently moved into a 4 bedroom house on the other side of Spartanburg.  Things are a little calmer on this side of town, but we love having a yard for the kids to play in and we don't have to worry about loud neighbors waking up the kids in the middle of the night or our kids making too much noise during the day!

Because we moved to the other side of Spartanburg, we had to switch wards in our church.  We are excited to get to know more people, but a little sad to have to leave a ward where we were beginning to make so many close friendships with and come to love!  I just recently had the opportunity to teach Relief Society in our new ward, and man....was it so enlightening!  I haven't had the opportunity to attend RS very much since I graduated from Clemson University in May 2008 because I have either had a calling in Primary or Young Women!  This was such a fun experience for me!  I must admit, it was SUPER scary at first, but I love learning from the other sisters in the ward!  I am excited to be able to learn and grow closer to the gospel through attending my RS meetings!

So back to my family...

Heber J will finish up his first year of medical school at VCOM by the end of June!  It's hard to believe that we have already made it through our first year of medical school!  And yes... I mean "WE."  For those that are in the same boat, it needs no explanation but for those that aren't familiar with the process, medical school affects EVERYONE in the family.  Since moving to Spartanburg, I have truly come to appreciate the single moms in the world!  I find myself in tears many days wondering how in the world so many single woman raise more than one child and stay sane in the process!  I never realized how much I counted on Heber J to help with the kids until we moved here!  He is gone from about 7:00am-5:00pm about every day!  (And sometimes I don't even see him until midnight!)  When he has a week packed full of exams, I may not even see him but for the 5-10 minutes I spend to drop him off lunch/dinner, a left power cord, or thumb drive.  One time, a few friends and I even texted each other at like 3am to see if any of us had heard ANYTHING from our husbands!!  It wasn't a very good feeling, but the guys have since learned a quick text of phone call to say they won't be home because they are pulling an all-nighter to cram for an exam the next day goes a LONG way!  That was NOT my favorite night to say the least!  I was worried out of my mind.... WELCOME TO BEING MARRIED TO A MED STUDENT!!  While the adjustment to being married with two kids and a husband that is attending medical school has been a little rocky at times, I am extremely thankful for the time that Heber J takes to spend time with us!  He has done a pretty impressive job of making sure that we don't feel left out or forgotten!  Hopefully he feels our support and knows that even though we hate to see him leave each day, we support him no matter what!  We are excited for the opportunity we have been given to stay in SC and still be close to family for support during such a new chapter in his journey to becoming a physician!  Needless-to-say, we are SUPER excited to go on vacation soon while he has an entire month off from school!  It is MUCH needed and we can't wait!

Watson has grown so much since we have moved here!  He will talk your ear off in a heartbeat and I think his conversational skills are pretty impressive for a 3 year old!  He LOVES to do all things BOY!  He loves being outside and discovering new things!  Since moving here, we have joined the local YMCA and it has been such a fun place for Watson to learn and grow!  He has participated in several activities such as swimming lessons, zumbini, and youth outdoor soccer!  He just earned his first trophy in soccer, and he absolutely loves it!  He wants to sleep with it every night!  He has even shined it a few times and he hasn't even had it for a week yet!  He wasn't the best soccer player, but he definitely improved throughout the season!  Heber J set up half of a soccer field (complete with lines and a net) to practice in the backyard!  Watson LOVES to go outside and play soccer with anyone that is willing!  I love watching him play...he has so much joy in his eyes!  Swimming lessons were kind of a joke, but he enjoyed them!  That's all that matters!  haha.  Zumbini has been something that he looks forward to every week!  He loves his teacher, Amparo, whom he calls "ZUMBINI!!!"  She is such an amazing lady and so much fun!  He loves to sing and dance and move around to fun music!  He loves to play with the scarves and play with the musical instruments!  We are sad that zumbini is over for now, but we are looking forward to starting up again this summer!  Watson also enjoys going to story time each week at the library downtown!  He has learned so many rhymes and songs and really developed a love for reading by going to pick out new books each week!  He has made some really great friends since moving here and I am so glad to continue to see him make new friends and explore the world around him!  He teaches me more about life than any other person in the world!  He is such a happy and loving kid!  I absolutely LOVE being his mommy!!

Eliza has grown up soooo much since moving to Spartanburg last year!  She was only about 3.5 months old when we first moved here, so she has really conquered some milestones while living her.  She is a dainty little princess, and she rules the roost!  She has a very STRONG personality and we can truly say...she gets it honest!  She is a diva, and that's okay!  I love having a little girl to dress up, and man...she is a sassy little thing!  I love her so much, though.  She has recently started walking and there is no stopping her now.  She doesn't have very many girl friends here, but that's ok... she can hold her own with the boys!  Just before her first birthday, we had her tested for possible food allergies.  We found out that she is allergic to eggs, peanuts, and wheat.  Finding food that she LIKES to eat that doesn't contain those allergens is very difficult.  I told myself when I was pregnant with Eliza that I would try to do better about introducing her to more of a variety of foods so that she wouldn't be such a picky eater like Watson is, but that was all thrown out the window when we found out about the food allergies!  Meal time is not my favorite time of the day basically because it's hit or miss with E but we are learning as we go, and I'm trying to be more patient!  Eliza was also able to take zumbini with Watson this last session and ABSOLUTELY loved it!  She loves the instructor as well, and she can't wait to start the next session!  Eliza also loves going to story time, but her favorite part is when they bring out the musical instruments and sing songs!  She also tries to steal the teddy bear every week and give it cuddles!  I don't really try to stop her because I think it's sweet!  She just started sleeping with her bunny and loves to give it cuddles!  Eliza loves to be with her mommy, but if she isn't with me... she is with Heber J or ANY other male figure!  She LOVES to hang around and be held by any available man!  She is such a flirt and loves the attention!  I love my sassy little princess and I know she loves me!  I wouldn't want it any other way!

I know this post is getting SUPER long, but I just want to take a moment and share how I have been doing in this new life here!  I love meeting new people and being in a new place!  While I know we miss our families at times, this move has been the best thing for our relationship!  Heber J and I are able to rely more on one another and I have loved growing closer to him!  We are stronger as a couple and we have grown stronger as family of four than I ever thought possible!  I love being a stay-at-home mom to my two beautiful kids!  I am so grateful for the chance that I have to be home with them each day and learn and grow from each new experience with them!  I can't imagine my life any other way!  I am thankful for a husband that works so hard to make sure we will have a comfortable life in the future!  I know we have a long road ahead of us, but I love the journey we are on to get there!  I love every moment we share together and I know we are truly blessed!

I am so excited to have made so many good friends since being here!  I love learning from each of them and am excited to grow closer as we continue this journey together!  I don't think I could make it through this experience without these lovely ladies!!  Y'all know who you are!  Thanks for being there for me and keeping me sane!  Love y'all!

I doubt I will ever post anything this long again, but I'm worried I may have just started a new addiction!  :)  I love knowing I can capture these moments forever on here!  Until next time...