Author: meagenlea

I live, laugh, love with no regrets

Everything Happens For A Reason

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Sometimes things happen and you don’t understand in the moment the reasoning, the why behind it, but then you look back and realize it all fell into place the way it was supposed to. Some of the things that have transpired over the last few months have been beyond stressful, scary, chaotic, and honestly here we are again feeling those same emotions, but trusting the process and remembering that everything happens for a reason.

A few months ago, when I was 8 months pregnant we decided to take a leap of faith and move out of Washington. When we embarked on this journey we had a few places we wanted to avoid moving to and ones that were top on our list which included Arizona, Florida, Texas, and Idaho. We really thought Tyler Texas was going to be our home, but we ended up heading to Southern California to Rancho Santa Margarita for a job for my husband. We listed our home for sale on June 3rd and our daughters due date was on June 5th, our first open house showing weekend was June 5th and June 6th. Of course if you read my previous blog Magnolia decided to make her entrance on June 5th! We accepted an offer on our home on June 13th (the 3 year mark of losing my Mom who was my best friend). After accepting the offer, we headed out. Luckily we accepted a relocation package with my husbands company so we didn’t have to pack or move we just loaded up our bus and headed South with a 2 week old and 16 month old, 2 cats, and a dog.

Living in Southern California has honestly been magical, the weather is amazing, being so close to the beach has been perfect, but the politics with everything going on are way worse that Washington. I will say Orange County works much different than the rest, but with the recent recall election I am sure that will change. We began realizing that this isn’t a good fit for our family, living in fear of what is going to happen to California. So we started planning on buying a vacation home in a state that better fits our values. Our top pick was Arizona since it is only a 5 hour drive and we can easily get there via car or our bus. So the vacation house hunting began! When we started looking for vacation homes, my husband received a message out of the blue with a former co-working about an opportunity in Phoenix…what are the odds. So the interview processes began….and things started getting more serious that a full more permanent move would take place. So our mindset started to shift and we started looking for a home more suitable of being a forever home. As things progressed we got in touch with a realtor who set the parameters for our dream forever home. That Sunday after we spoke with her my husband found the one..it checked all of the boxes to a tee, all of the things we had talked about prior to even building our North Bend home, this home had it all. We texted our realtor to see if we could schedule a viewing, loaded up the car, the kids and the dog in under an hour and hit the road. We didn’t want to miss out on this. As we pulled up to the hotel there was a hummingbird right in front of our car as we parked in the dark…I knew this was it.

We had a viewing at 9am the next morning. As we walked in we both looked at each other and knew immediately this was home. We told our realtor and she drafted up the offer letter. She also added in a bidding clause just in case so we would have the last say should there be another offer and my goodness I am so thankful she did that! We were one of 2 offers and with that clause we outbid the other buyer by $1,000….! As we left the house a hummingbird flew right in front of our car and I knew right then and there it was a done deal.

After our offer was accepted the realtor told our realtor that the seller felt a spiritual feeling that we were the right people for the house (her husband recently passed away) between that and the hummingbird I feel like everyone is watching out for all of us and guiding us threw this thing called life.

So as I sit here typing this we are a week out from closing on October 13th, not sure how this will all work out, but I know everything happens for a reason and those we love that are not in the physical world with us now are still with us.

Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and jump in to the land of unknown and embrace the ride, because life is so short.

x0_meagen lea

Magnolia Lea’s Birth Story

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Magnolia Lea-June 5th, 2021 9:44pm

Contractions started on May 19th. Scotty had accepted the position at Walmart that Monday the 17th and had to take a drug test. Anchor and I were sitting in the car in the parking lot while he went into complete it and the contractions were super intense. I had thought Magnolia was going to be born on the Full Super Blood Moon called the Flower Moon on May 26th so when this happened I thought wow this could be! We tried every wives tail in the book leading up to the full moon on May 26th including Eggplant Parmesan using the Eggplant Babies recipe, but nope! May 26th was not going to be the day. Contractions continued to be regular especially after going for walks around the neighborhood, they definitely increased once I hit that 1 mile mark. But June 5th (Magnolia’s due date) at 3:33am I knew she was going to make her debut. Contractions started (very mild) at 3:33am and where a consistent 20 minutes apart. We had just gone live on our home to sell on June 2nd and had our first open house scheduled for June 5th and 6th. We had to be out of the house early so the open house could take place for the day on June 5th so our original plan was to go to the RV which was parked at the Fall City Airport and hang out there until the last appointment at 5pm was done. So we got up got ready and loaded up to head there. The contractions were still consistent at 20 minutes apart but super mild. When we got set up in the RV I laid down for about an hour and that’s when they started to fizzle out, so we decided to go for a walk around the Spring Glen neighborhood and they started to pick up again.

We were in such tight quarters with everyone in the RV and lots of distractions (not calm enough for me to focus on laboring) so Scotty booked two hotel rooms in Issaquah by the Issaquah Target. So we loaded up again and headed there. On the way the contractions started to get more intense. Anchor and Cinda were all situation in one room, and Scotty and I went down the hall to another room. When we got there I told our doula Willow maybe she should head our way. This was at about 11:45am. I also reached out to our midwife Chris to let her know this could be it. I paced back and forth in the room trying to keep them going (walking seemed to be the thing) then we walked around Issaquah for an hour or so and they continued to stay consistent and progress. With all of the chaos Anchor wasn’t able to take a nap, everyone was tired so we decided after the 5pm showing we would go home and then go back to the hotel the next day. So we headed back home at 4:45pm and that is when they really started to get intense. Once we got home they were longer and super intense to the point of taking my breath away. We called Chris and were on the phone with her for 20 minutes while she listened thru contractions and said I am ready when you are. And said as soon as Anchor goes to bed I bet you will be on your way to the birth center….sure enough. As soon as Anchor fell asleep they were just a couple minutes apart and super intense, coming quicker and quicker and back to back. So we got in the car and headed to the birth center.

When we got there the first words Chris our midwife said was “you are too smiley to be in labor” but once that first contraction hit while at the birth center she knew it was time! My dad showed up and listened to Magnolias heartbeat and sat there thru a few contractions as they filled up the bathtub. We had arrived at the birth center at about 7:45pm. Chris checked my progress and I was 9cm and 100% effaced.

Once I got in the tub the contractions eased up a little bit so I switched positions and instantly it was time to start pushing. My water hadn’t broke yet, but it was right there. After pushing for about 30-45 minutes my water broke and not even 5 minutes later Magnolia Lea entered the world at 9:44pm weighing 8 pounds 1 ounce and 21 inches long. Absolutely perfect and such a magical amazing birth experience!

x0_meagen lea

Getting It All Done

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I get this question a lot, how do you do it all? How do you have an 11 month old, your 21 weeks pregnant with baby 2, keep the house running, working out and all the things? With everything it takes time, I am not always perfect, things get missed, but that is okay! Life isn’t meant to be perfect! One thing to keep reminding yourself is it takes roughly 3 weeks to create a habit or routine. So here are a few things that I have been doing to get it all done!

Ivy Lee Method-

One of my favorite bloggers posted this method a few months ago and also talked about it on her podcast. If you don’t follow or listen to The Skinny Confidential, it is a good one! I will be completely up front and honest, I started doing this method a few months ago and even wrote a post about it, but life moving, a baby, a miscarriage, another pregnancy all just hit me at once. So like I said I am not perfect, I am real. With that being said I fell out of rhythm with it and a routine. I stumbled across it again a few weeks ago and it just clicked, I need this back in my life and my routine! I have modified it to fit me and my needs, but here is the general overview. Get a journal and each day has a page. From top to bottom the format is as follows;

Date;

Tasks; (6 total-anymore and it gets overwhelming at lease for me)-For this start on this at the middle to end of the day prior of things that come up throughout the day that you didn’t get to or popped into your head to be completed for the next day. 

Quote; Pick a quote, mantra, affirmation for the day, this really helps set your tone for the date

Workout; I like to write down my workout so I feel accomplished and proud when I check it off

Growth/Learning; this could be a book, a podcast, a blog post. It doesn’t have to be anything huge, but something that helps you learn and growth. Time block 15, 20, 30 minutes just some time to set aside. 

3 Grateful; list out 3 things that you are grateful for

3 Ways To Feel; list out 3 ways that you want to feel that day. This is HUGE! 

Other Notes; odd and ends 

Routine-

Create a routine and give yourself grace! It won’t happen overnight! Setting a routine will help with the layout of your day and overall mindset. It is possible to get it all done!

Cut Out The Distractions-

There have been many days where I have felt so overwhelmed by everything that needs to get done and felt like there is not enough time and then I realized I spent so much time on social media! I will say after watching The Social Dilemma this curbed my addiction real quick, but I also put a 30 minute max on social media on my phone, so when that 30 minutes is up, it is up! We are all guilty of it, sitting and scrolling, it’s the way the apps where created, so no shame!

Time Blocking-

This is a great tool, it goes back to social media (I time block 30 minutes, where I can scroll) But time blocking other things helps with time management. They sell time block cubes on Amazon as well with an alarm so you can set aside 30 minutes, 15, 5, or 60 minutes for tasks so you don’t spend too much time on one given area. 

Planner-

I am a HUGE planner fan! I have been for years, it just helps me layout my weeks, month, year so I know what is ahead what to expect etc.. 

Make A Date For Yourself-

Self care is a big one. I make sure to make a daily date for myself to workout, I know that when I do my day just feels better, I feel better, I feel recharged and ready to go! I am also setting aside one night a week for alone quiet me time also to help recharge where I’ll make a bubble bath, light some candles and read. 

It won’t happen overnight, routines and habits take time to break and create, but everyone starts somewhere! 

Happy Monday!

x0_meagen lea