• Home
  • About Me
  • Contact Me

Persevering Momma

Taking The Day One Spoon At a Time

  • About
  • Parenting
  • Reviews
  • Contact Me
  • Media Kit
    • Expanded Giveaway/Review Policies
    • Disclosure Policy
    • Sponsorship & Advertising
  • Giveaways
  • How To: For Rafflecopter!

Take a Mini Vacation to Michigan Right Now!

May 17, 2017 by Ashley Leave a Comment

About Bavarian Inn Restaurant:

Celebrating 125 years of service in 2013, the Bavarian Inn Restaurant has become a Michigan landmark. Generations of diners, lodgers and tourists from around the globe have discovered true Bavarian hospitality thanks to Dorothy and her late husband William “Tiny” Zehnder. Guests experience the old-world European charm of the Bavarian Inn – whether it’s the famous chicken dinners, fresh baked goods or Michigan’s greatest selection of German beer. Bavarian Inn also prides itself on being one of the top consumers of Pure Michigan agricultural products. Nestled within a backdrop of authentic German architecture, a variety of shops and other fun activities, a
trip to Frankenmuth would not be complete without a visit to the Bavarian Inn Restaurant.

MY READERS RECEIVE AN EXCLUSIVE COUPON for Bavarian Inn Restaurant – HALF Off at the Bavarian Inn Restaurant!

About the Bavarian Inn Lodge:

The Bavarian Inn Lodge, nestled along the Cass River in one of Michigan’s top tourist destinations – Frankenmuth – is one of the state’s largest Indoor Water Park Hotels. The Lodge has 360 European-themed guest rooms, including whirlpool and family suites, an adult-only pool, two gift shops, two lounges and two restaurants — all under one roof. The Lodge’s expansive 35,000 square feet Family Fun Center houses two dramatic water slides, three pools and two whirlpools, over 150 video and redemption games, a two-story children’s play village and Willy’s Kingdom indoor mini-golf course. Guests can also enjoy live, year-round, nightly entertainment and test their own musical skills during weekend family karaoke. In 30 years of business, the Bavarian Inn Lodge has been an important destination for travelers, evidenced by the 1.25 million room-nights that have been booked there since its opening, along with
its top rating on TripAdvisor.

MY READERS RECEIVE up to $35 off their Bavarian Inn Lodge Stay! Any Pool Access, Pool Level or Suite OR $25 OFF – Any Standard or Balcony Guest Room (w/Two Double Beds or One King Bed) Code #1239JD Call (855) 421-1366

Learn more at www.bavarianinn.com.

Filed Under: Family Tagged With: michigan, Vacation

Stress Relief With Pinch Me Therapy Dough a Review

October 25, 2014 by Ashley 1 Comment

Disclosure: I received a free product from Pinch Me and Mom Buzz Media in return of an honest review of the product.

This past year has been pretty hard on me.  I have moved around half a dozen times in these past 10 months since I left Michigan and moved out to Indiana alone.  It has been tough especially since up until a few weeks ago I was unemployed and was finding it hard to make ends meet for myself and my adorable puppy.  There have been days when I felt like everything was collapsing around me.

pinch me therapy dough

I was thankful for this opportunity to review Pinch Me Therapy Dough because I have felt that I have needed to find a way to help relieve stress and unwind when I feel like the whole world is crashing around me.  In my own head I know that things are not as bad as they may seem in the moment, but my psychological anxiety and depression illnesses do not always like to stay in control.

My hopes were to get this therapy dough and find a way to control and curb my anxiety issues while I am at work and in public.  This was successful.  I was crazy excited when I got my Pinch Me Therapy Dough in the mail.  They all come in a variety of colors and scents all of which serve different purposes.  I chose Earth because I wanted something that would help ground me and keep me centered.  This scent did just that.

I love the reddish-brown color of the therapy dough as well as the scent.  It is hard for me to describe, but it is a very earthy and musky scent that helps me to just calm down and breathe slowly.  I was also unsure of what the texture of the therapy dough would be like.  I will be honest and admit that I was nervous about the texture because I can be pretty sensitive to textures of foods and puttys.

This therapy dough however is the softest dough substance that I have ever come across.  I am not sure what they make it out of, but it feels smooth, cool, and soft to the touch.  In addition to that it leaves my hands feeling soft and smelling wonderfully earthy.

If you are like me and need an easy way for quick stress relief this is definitely something that I would suggest you invest in.  The container of therapy dough is large so it can easily be slipped inside of your purse. I also love how every container you purchase will pay for a soldier’s half day stress management training with BootStrapUSA.com

Why do you need stress relief with Pinch Me therapy dough?

Filed Under: Featured, Health, Review Tagged With: AT&T, Health, Indiana, michigan, Review, United States

Mace Brand: Mace In The Face Keeps Me Safe?

September 10, 2014 by Ashley Leave a Comment

This is part of a sponsored collaboration with MACE and Crossroads Media Hub.  However, all opinions expressed are my own.

MACE Brand Keep Calm

Stay Safe and Feel Safe

Safety is something that most people seem to take for granted when they are younger.  I learned pretty early on that sometimes when you feel the safest is when you are actually the most vulnerable.   Unfortunately having your safety violated puts you on edge for the rest of your life.  I went off to college shortly after being raped and it made being on my own very difficult.  I did not trust anyone I met and I was pretty sure something was going to happen.

Due to the fact that I was unable to relax or allow myself to be alone I was unable to enjoy my semester away at college.  I was constantly paranoid and the few girls I started to get close to did not understand why I did not want to go party or anything.  I would have felt so much more secure in myself if I had been carrying around MACE Brand mace.

mace_red-186

MACE Brand Thinks of Your Safety First

MACE Brand is the most well-known brand that produces pepper spray. Their goal is to help people stay safe. To be honest when I was younger I would have laughed at the idea of carrying around some sort of weapon or deterrent as a way to stay safe, but that thought process has changed for me. I am not young, stupid, and niave anymore. I know that there are dangerous people out there and creeps who will try almost anything to get what they want from you.

MACE Brand ItemsA product like the ones that MACE Brand carries is one of the perfect things to carry for your own safety because it is small, light weight and can easily fit into your purse, clutch, or pocket.  While I always carry a pocket knife of some sort on me , but now that I have pepper spray I do not have to be worried.  I feel a lot more confident wielding the mace than I do a knife which is an additional plus.

I believe that pepper spray is the better option for women.  Don’t you all agree with me?  You are able to deter someone away from you long enough to get away and get them arrested without physically injuring them.  Not only are you going to feel secure carrying around a canister of mace, but you also can reach out to MACE Brand through Facebook and Twitter where they like to be active with their community.  Some businesses are not very active with their community via social media, but that is not the case with MACE Brand.  They want to help everyone feel safe and secure in themselves.

Check Out MACE Brand

You should really check them out and see the wide variety of products that they carry.  I was shocked by some of the neat products that I had never known they carry like the Mace Muzzle K9 Attack Defense Spray or the Mace Pepper Gun Distance Defense Spray that can shoot pepper spray up to 20 feet away from you!

Before purchasing you should check and see if your state has any restrictions when it comes to owning and carrying pepper spray.  Indiana allows all forms of pepper spray, but if I were living in Michigan still I would have to watch what types of pepper spray I purchase.  You can look up the information on your state laws on pepper spray.

MACE Brand Gun

Filed Under: Featured, Review Tagged With: Indiana, michigan

A Coffee Lovers Dream! iCoffee Remington Review

May 23, 2014 by Ashley Leave a Comment

I have always been a coffee lover and that is why for Mother’s Day this year I shared with you all some fun little Printables for Mother’s who also love coffee! My favorite was the “Dear Mom, I Love You a Latte!”  Anyway, I got sidetracked; maybe I need a little more coffee to get my mind on track.  I want to tell you all about the Remington iCoffee Brewer that I was given to review.  This was a big deal for me because when I moved from Michigan to Indiana I was unable to bring a coffee maker with me and I was going crazy without my daily coffee intake.

iCoffee Remington Review

Remington iCoffee Brewer
Getting ready for the unveiling!

I was pretty jittery when I got the box onto the counter. All I could think was that in mere minutes I would be able to have a cup of coffee and boy was I craving one right then.  I had to steady myself some and not let myself get too excited or else I knew my hands weren’t going to cooperate with me and let me get the brewer out of the box.  I took a few slow, deep breaths and did the honors of getting my newer brewer out of the box.

My iCoffee Brewer and Starbucks COffee.
My iCoffee Brewer and Starbucks Coffee.

Once I got it out of the box I made sure that I grabbed my new bag of ground Starbucks coffee from the shelf and got everything ready for my first cup! (Starbucks is in no way affiliated with this post though I would LOVE to be able to work with them on a professional level some day.)  I brewed my first cup of coffee and instantly fell in love.  This brewer has a nice big display for the time.  I love that I can set an alarm so that it will start brewing the coffee for me while I am running around.  Another amazing feature is the fact that it plays a little tune when it is done with brewing the coffee.

The little tune that it plays is nice and loud so that I can still hear it go off when it is done making my coffee.  My cup off coffee was just so tasty!! I added just a little sugar and milk to my coffee like I always do and sipped away at its glorious taste!

Where To Buy

You can find this iCoffee Brewer from Remington all over the internet, but if you are an Amazon shopper like I am then you might want to buy it off of Amazon.  If you do not want to buy it there then I would suggest doing a Bing search or going straight to the iCoffee website for more information.

Filed Under: Featured, Review Tagged With: Beverages, Coffee, Indiana, michigan, Mother's Day, Starbucks

A Mother’s Love is Eternal Despite Adoption

April 30, 2014 by Ashley 33 Comments

My Road To Freedom

A Story About Adoption From The Birthmother’s POV

Note: This is/was the hardest thing I have ever written or shared with people before. I hope you enjoy and hope that it helps someone out.

Six years ago my whole world turned upside down. I was a young woman of 20 years of age and I found myself pregnant, living with my boyfriend on a very meager income. He was working at McDonald’s at the time and we were barely able to pay all of our bills and afford gas and food. There was no real logical way to afford a child on top of that. At that same time I was going through a rough patch physically because of my handicap and was filing for Social Security Disability with the state of Michigan. That meant I had a long wait for court seeing as the state was really backed up on court dates.

Making The Right Decision

I began to panic. I wasn’t sure what to do. How do you make the decision when you are so young and so inexperienced with life? I know there are many teen parents out there and I know many people had children young, including my ex-boyfriends parents who were twenty when they gave birth to him. I had gone through many years of my life telling myself that I would never have a child.

I was afraid to put a child through the suffering that I went through as a girl growing up with a handicap and that made making a decision that much harder. I knew I had three real options. The first being an abortion, the second adoption, and the third was keeping the baby and raising him or her on our own. I have never been completely opposed to abortion and know that for some it is a necessary evil. Many people will disagree with me on this and feel free to I will not be offended.

To be completely honest here, abortion was something I was considering strongly in the first few months of the pregnancy though I quickly realized that it would be physically, emotionally, and financially difficult for me to go through with. That was soon thrown out the window because I did not have the money readily available for such a procedure and yes I am reluctant to admit that I considered abortion as an option so publicly. I am admitting this here for the first time ever.

Finding The Right Family

Once I knew I was not having an abortion I began looking into adoption agencies and the like. I was nervous, scared, and had no idea what I was doing. I finally started looking at families out there that were looking to adopt a loving little baby. I honestly thought that this part was going to be the easiest part of the whole ordeal, but I was wrong.  I was very wrong. I felt it would be completely necessary that I disclose my medical history as well as my ex-boyfriends medical history as well. This proved to make finding a family even harder.

th

No one seemed to want to be given the chance to love and care for a special little baby with all of the possible health risks that the baby could potentially be born with. This threw me into a downward spiral. I became depressed and felt completely defeated. I began to think that maybe I was doing the wrong thing. I cried a lot and thought I was a terrible person. I even had some people say that I should have just had an abortion, but I kept looking anyway.

I went to another adoption agency and was sent three potential family’s information and one caught my eye. They sounded so perfect and their story was heart wrenching. It made me tear up and cry. I knew I had to contact them and from that first conversation with them I knew I had found the parents for my baby. I still cried a lot. I hated going for my check ups. The ultrasounds were unbearable.

The Pregnancy Turmoil

I went to all of my doctor appointments alone. I sat there crying during the exams because I knew I was doing the right thing and yet a huge part of my heart was breaking and the baby wasn’t even born yet. Before I got to the point of giving birth I made a few things clear. I knew I needed an open adoption. I could not have handled not knowing if my baby was ok, I needed to know if the baby was healthy and I wanted the family to be able to reach out to me if any health concerns came along. My next stipulation was that when the baby was born I did not want to see or hold him or her. For me that was a big concern. I knew my heart would burst if I held my baby. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to let go.

The months flew by and I was soon hit with the reality that not only was my birthday around the corner, but so was the birth of my child. I remember my birthday pretty clearly. It was a very sad day for me. My ex-boyfriend worked and I was home at the apartment alone. I had no one around, but the baby. I had chosen not to tell my family what I was doing because my ex-boyfriend had said that his could never find out. It made everything so much harder. I felt completely alone through the whole thing.

I did not feel like I was getting any support from my ex-boyfriend or our close friend. I cried whenever I was alone and I tried to be strong around my ex because it didn’t seem like he could handle anything else. I did manage to get through my birthday and the beginning of the next month.

Planning For The Birth

April was the last and final month before the baby would grace everyone’s presence in this world and after much discussion and many tests in the doctors office it was decided that I would have to have a Cesarean Section instead of a natural birth. I do not have enough rotation in my one hip which caused me to be unable to have a wide enough birth canal for a safe natural birth. We planned everything out so that everyone could be there and that was not easy.

We had to make sure it fit with the doctor’s schedule, mine, my boyfriends, and the adoptive parents schedule as well. On top of that I had all of the craziness of explaining to my doctor and the hospital staff about the adoption and how I wanted everything to work. The papers were written up to have my ex as my patient advocate in case anything happened during the surgery while I was asleep. We also had to make sure that the staff knew that neither of us wanted to see or hold the baby.

Everything was planned for April 30th. She would have a great birthday. When the adoptive parents told me that they wanted to meet beforehand I was excited and nervous at the same time. I could not say no to them. I really wanted to meet them and give them both hugs.

It took me a week to convince my ex to go out to dinner with me when I went to meet them the weekend before having the baby. The dinner was very nice. We ate and chatted. Talked about who we were and who they were as well as any medical concerns that I had and they had about the conditions that this little bundle of joy might have. And then we went our separate ways.

The Birth of a Special Little Girl

The day of the surgery was a tough one. I wasn’t all that prepared really. We rushed there and all four of us were taken in to fill out paperwork and again go through how the adoption was going to go. This meant giving them all the rights and things once the baby was born. Making sure the hospital had their information for billing purposes and everything else. Much of that day is a blur. I cannot remember everything that happened though I do have all of my paperwork from the hospital and lawyer.

From there I went and got ready for surgery which meant I was soon left with the doctors and nurses alone. Everything inside of me was shaking. I felt like my heart was breaking and I didn’t want anyone to see. I was thankful my ex wasn’t there even if I wanted a hand to hold as they put me to sleep. I remember seeing all of the smiling faces as I drifted off in the operating room.

My Hospital Stay

Over an hour passed. If I remember right it was actually over two hours by the time that I woke up. I was sore, sleepy, and all alone in a big room. I tried to sit up, but that was not going to happen. Silent tears streamed down my cheeks as it really sank in what I had just done. I had just given up my baby girl to another family. I was never going to hold her, she would never get to hold my fingers, or my hand.

I wasn’t going to be there for her first words, her first steps, or her first day of school. The reality of the situation was so hard. I hadn’t let myself think about all of those firsts during the pregnancy. I told myself to stop wallowing in what never would be and that is when I realized my ex wasn’t there. I panicked even more. I wondered if he had left, if this was all too much for him. My emotions were a mess and no one had answers when I asked them where he was.

My sense of time was no where to be. It didn’t help that I was still groggy from the anesthesia, but it felt like forever before he walked into the room with our friend from his work. Seeing them two made things so much easier for me. I cannot remember what was said or anything. I remember having more paperwork to sign and I remember lots of people coming and going.

I was in for two days which really didn’t seem too terribly long. My arms were terribly bruised as were my hands because I kept getting dehydrated and they would have to put in a new IV of Saline every time they thought I was doing well. When I finally left all I could think about was getting back to my life and moving forward.

The Aftermath of The Adoption

Getting home was hard. I had to walk slowly. I was sore and walking up the stairs to our apartment was hard and painful, but I pushed forward. I can be one very stubborn little bitch when I need to be. The next few days, weeks, and months were hard and things were not quite the same with me and my ex. We did not talk about what we had done. We acted mostly like it did not happen. I knew this was a bad way to deal with it, but I could not handle much else right then.

There is so much more to tell you about how I handled the aftermath and that is something I will share in a completely different post because that will be another epic post that I hope will help other birthmother’s out there not feel so alone like I did. Please stay turned to hear the next portion of my story.

I would also love to hear your thoughts and stories. If you have gone through anything remotely similar to this please feel free to reach out to me. Visit my Contact Me Page or leave me some comments and I will get right back with you.

Filed Under: Featured, Health Tagged With: Abortion, Adoption, Caesarean section, Family, michigan, Mother

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 5
  • Next Page »

Let’s Get Social!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Newsletter

Categories

Family

Yumi Baby Food Display

Yumi Baby Food Review – Is It Worth It For Your Family?

My Yumi Baby Food Review Is fresh, organic baby food worth it?  Yumi baby food is a prepared meal service dedicated to infants and toddlers. They offer new seasonal flavors every week. The reason for the seasonal flavors is because they order their produce weekly from farms and make everything fresh for you. Their food is […]

#CampWarnerBros – Week 6 – Alex & Me Family Workout

This is a sponsored post for Camp Warner Bros featuring Alex & Me and some great family activities! This week we are featuring Alex & Me and are learning about disciple and setting goals. This is perfect for my 4 year old son. We have been working hard to teach him more responsibility now that […]

DIY Glowing Latern

Learn how to make a fun DIY Glowing Lantern with your little one!

#CampWarnerBros – Week 5 – DIY Teen Titans Character Banks

This is a sponsored post for Camp Warner Bros featuring Teen Titans Go! Vs. Teen Titans and a fun DIY Bank activity. This week is another fun one for us. We love Teen Titans and I love sharing my love for it with my son. He helped me make popcorn to watch the movie together […]

More Posts from this Category

Parenting & Family

Don’t Let Those Tummy Bugs Get You Down During The Holidays

This is a sponsored post thanks to DiaResQ. About a month ago I sat on the toilet while watching my son play in the tub. I had been at a loss as to what I should do. The poor guy had diarrhea so bad that his poor little butt and legs were raw. We had never […]

Save Big Money with Luvs!

This review was made possible by iConnect and Luvs.  I was provided compensation to facilitate this post, but all opinions stated are 100% mine. It seems like I can’t get beyond thinking about how I can save money.  I knew that having a child meant extra expenses, but I never really added up all of […]

Finding The Perfect Highchair For Our Family: Stokke Tripp Trapp

This is a sponsored post thanks to Stokke for the Tripp Trapp highchair with whom I met at the Chicago Baby Show. Raiden is 2.5 years old now and I have gone through two full sized highchairs as well as two booster seats for the kitchen table and yet I still didn’t feel like I […]

The Beauty of Being an Eco-Mom with Ecocentric Mom

Life has been a little crazy and amidst the craziness I have been thankful to find some really great companies that are helping me become the Eco-Mom that I am hoping to become.  You might wonder what exactly an Eco-Mom is, but I can explain that for you.  An Eco-Mom is a mom who wants a […]

More Posts from this Category

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

© 2021 · Handcrafted with d by 2 Pups Design Co.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok