I'm back! ...
And boy does it feel good to be back!!! :)
I don't need to tell you that it's been a while since I wrote a post to my blog. There are a lot of reasons for that. But it feels GOOD to be back here, and be ready to be writing again. It feels good to no longer feel like I don't know what I would write about, or like I'm not capable of writing about being a bonus mom. It feels good to be over that hump in life.
For a while my health was REALLY bad. I had mentioned in a previous post that I had been struggling with my health. I have a feeling that more posts will talk about my new adventures with my healthcare and all that I am learning and how, in many ways, I am becoming more similar to my kiddo #1 in some ways since the doctors have started to figure out what is going on. Either way, I am on my road to recovery and I am beginning to feel better. I am so grateful to my friends, family, and kiddos for their support-- it was not an easy road. No doubt, as things got really rough, it made it hard to want to do anything, especially blog about being a mom, when I didn't feel like a very good one on most days.
And then there is the Bio mom. Anyone who has followed my blog knows I don't write about the Hubinator's ex-wife often. I largely stay off of that topic unless I have nice things to say. I try to abide by "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". I know I am blogging online and the last thing I would want is for our kiddos to see me write something awful about their bio mom. In my opinion that's just bad parenting. That all said, anyone who bonus or step parents knows that it's hard work, and there are often some serious challenges that come along with the political waters between ex-wives and ex-husbands. In the past six months the tensions have risen to points that I, never having been in this situation before I married the Hubinator, couldn't have imagined. Ok- well perhaps I could have imagined them... but I certainly would have thought they were for movies-- not that actual people behaved those ways. The stress level for us, and more so for our kiddos has been astronomical. And, I have had an entirely new level of pain and sadness to learn to cope with as a bonus mom. I have wanted to protect these two innocent children, to take t heir pain away, to stop them from being hurt, and manipulated, and emotionally used, abused, and scarred, and in this situation, as simply a bonus mom and thus... pretty incapable of making any useful changes to the situation... I feel very inadequate at protecting and parenting. In addition, I have become the target of bio mom's attacks and she has targeted my relationship with the kiddos, as well as me as a person, and my parenting skills in general. This hasn't helped the situation either. So... all in all things have been rough, and ... because I haven't always been comfortable writing about this, and haven't been sure HOW to write about it, I've just avoided writing all together. I'm still not sure if that was the right choice, but it's the one I made.
In my time away, some big things have happened. Most significantly, I started my own business! I am now working at home selling Scentsy Family products. For those who aren't aware or haven't heard of Scentsy Family, Inc. it started out as a wickless candle company. It has now expanded into multiple brands. I sell Scentsy Fragrance which includes our wickless candle warmers, scent bars, other scent accessories, Buddies (stuffed animals), and our Layer's line -- which is a bath and body line of products. I also sell our Velata brand-- which is a fun Fondue line featuring Premium Belgian Chocolate, Creamy Cheesy Fondue, and Fondue warmers and accessories. I cannot begin to tell you how great this has been! I am bringing in money again to help support the family which is great for all of us, but great for my sense of self. I am learning about business through the many trainings they offer. I am making TONS of friends which is fantastic. It's been a great boost to my self esteem. I am able to do fundraising so it's a way for me to be giving back to my community and to organizations I care about, which is incredibly important to me. And it's great because I am able to demonstrate to the kiddos how I can be at home and still be a working mom. I LOVE that I can be and do both. And... the kids love Scentsy and velata too :).
Through Scentsy, I have met some other bonus moms. It is some of those bonus moms and moms in general who have actually given me such support in the past month, that it's inspired me to start writing my blog again. So to them, I dedicate my first post back. Thanks to Kat, Courtney, and Jennifer :).
And if you're interested in Scentsy or Velata... check out my websites or find me on facebook ;)
www.angealboruk.scentsy.us and www.angelaboruk.velata.us
www.facebook.com/kickthewickwithangelab
www.facebook.com/funfonduewithangelab
