Back to the Land of the LIving and Goodbye 2008

Our family and extended family has been passing around that nasty stomach virus that everyone seems to be getting lately. Jeremy had it last weekend and finally got better Sunday night. Monday everyone felt great and I went to bunco and won "Most Wins," woohoo!
Tuesday morning rolled around and Gracie started vomiting after breakfast. She has never been one to spit up and it has probably been months since she has spit up at all and the only other time she has been sick was with two ear infections, which really don't bother her that much. Needless to say, it was so hard to watch her suffer as she vomited NINE times throughout the course of the day. We both went through countless outfits (and Dad even got puked on once too), crib sheets, and three baths. I was so worried that she was dehydrated so I packed her in the car and headed to Locust to the dr. at almost 5 that night. Turns out, there was nothing that they could give her and I just had to go buy Pedialyte and start trying to get her to keep it down. Anyways, after many shed tears and prayers she has not thrown up at all today and hopefully the diarhhea that everyone else has gotten will not be bad if it starts tomorrow. Now I know why moms are such worriers, it is so hard to watch your child suffer like that and this was only for one day. I can't imagine having a child with a serious illness or disease. There are days when I feel like I have it all together on this "Mom" thing and days like yesterday when I was clueless as to what to do.

As my mom would say, I am getting "back to the land of the living" and finally getting caught up on housework and laundry on this New Year's Eve night. Hubby is of course at the church until well after midnight so I am going to be reading one of the fabulous new books he got me for Christmas. Anyone else out there a Karen Kingsbury fan? I am on the 4th book in the "Redemption" series. You won't want to put them down once you start.





Happy New Year everyone!

A short list at 2008 for our family:

• God watched over us in January as a man ran a stop sign and t-boned us on a country road on our way to church. My Malibu was totalled and I spent the night in the hospital to make sure the baby was ok. Thankfully, we both walked away with only minor bruises and scratches.
• We became completely debt-free in Feb.
• We were blessed with FOUR baby showers and everything we could possibly need to welcome our baby girl into the world.
• We found out a week before Gracie was born that our house would no longer be "provided" for us and we would have to pay rent or buy it.
• Gracie surprised us with her debut into the world 3 wks. early and completely changed our lives forever.
• I said goodbye to a job I loathed and co-workers I had grown to love.
• Super Summer, Falls Creek, and the usual summer youth activities
• We decided to stay in our home and closed on it in July.
• We put a new roof on the house and new windows.
• Enjoyed our first holidays as a family of 3.
• Continuously counting our blessings that God provided for us in 2008 and looking forward to what will happen in 2009.

15 Random Facts

15 Random Facts About Myself (in no particular order)

1. Every week I read online in the paper the legal notices that shows who got married, divorced, sued, ticketed, sold their home, etc. I'm not sure why I find this interesting, but I do.

2. Other than our house we are completely debt free and proud of it (maybe a future post on this).

3. I have 3 sisters who are 26, 11, and 6 and think the term "half sister" is completely ridiculous.

4. My husband works at a church. I do too, but the check is made out to him :).

5. I am already planning Gracie's first birthday party and know what I want to buy her for Christmas next year.

6. If someone leaves me a comment on my blog with a question I always try to answer them back and I wonder why some people don't when I leave them comments.

7. I miss wearing maternity clothes.

8. I might have a temporary part-time job soon but don't want to jinx it by saying what yet.

9. My favorite local restaurant is Las Fuentes.

10. I want to start training for 5k runs again next year.

11. I miss college life.

12. I don't think I ever want to go back to working in Social Work again.

13. I want to go to Hawaii for my 10th anniversary.

14. I had a Pog collection in elementary school.

15. My husband is my best friend.

Ok, I tag whoever wants to do this-that way no one feels obligated :)

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to say a quick "Merry Christmas!" to all of you as I probably won't have time to post in the next few days. May you feel the beauty of this season as we celebrate His birth. Also, if you wouldn't mind saying a quick prayer for my family as my mom is making tough decisions concerning putting my 84 year old grandma in a nursing home. Thank you and God bless!

Baby Survey

I stole this from Lisa.

MY FIRST BABY
Here you go Moms - a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about you and your first baby.
Were you married at the time? yes
How old were you? 24
How did you find out you were pregnant? I went to Wal-Mart at 2 in the morning and bought a pregnancy test because I could not sleep not knowing.
What was your reaction when you found out you were pregnant? a little surprised and so excited
Who did you tell first? Jeremy
Did you want to find out the sex? yes, I can't handle suspense like that
Due date? May 9
Did you deliver early or late? early, at exactly 37 wks
Did you have morning sickness? some, but mainly just bad migraines
What did you crave? mexican food and ice cream
How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? about 45
Did you lose all the weight? yes, and then over 10 more, thanks to breastfeeding and quitting a stressful job
Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? not really, but I did have to stay overnight at the hospital for observation at 24 wks. because we were in a bad car accident and my blood pressure got a little high in the end
Who drove you to the hospital? actually I drove myself-my mom went with me to the hospital to turn in my 24 hr. urine test and my water just happenned to break on its own while we were at the hospital
How long were you in labor? almost 9 hours total including 2 hrs. of pushing
Did you take any medicine for pain? loved that epidural
How much did your child weigh? 6 lbs. 12 oz.
What did you name him/her? Gracie Rayne
Was he/she named after anyone/anything special? nope, her daddy came up with it
How old is your firstborn today? 8 months tomorrow
Does your firstborn have any siblings? nope
If not, how many siblings do you want your firstborn to have? the jury's out-ask me again after I have one more

Neighbors

Do you know your neighbors? Let me introduce you to mine. When we moved here we hit the neighbor jackpot. We have several fantastic neighbors but our next door neighbors are the best.

Before we moved in, (well technically it was just Jeremy because it was a few months before we got married) we worked on the house for a few weeks first painting and just trying to make it liveable really. Our neighbor would bring us and our youth group workers over sandwiches and drinks. How nice is that?

Their children are grown and they don't have any grandchildren yet so they have sort of adopted Gracie. When we brought Gracie home from the hospital they met us in the driveway taking pictures and with a homemade chocolate cake that said, "Welcome Gracie."

She is an excellent cook and enjoys all things decorating. If her husband is at work and she needs something heavy lifted or nailed in the wall she calls for Jeremy and I send him over. In October she organized a block party and we hosted it in our front yard. We thought we might have a few people and they might stay long enough to eat. Well I think we had about 25 people and it started at 3:00 and when I put Gracie to bed after 8 some people were just getting ready to leave. We had such a fun time getting to know one another.


jam session at the party-we have some very musically talented people on our block (husband included)

Yesterday afternoon, she called me to see if I had made dinner yet. Of course I had not because we were running extremely low on groceries and I did not want to leave the house in this icy weather. She said she had some homemade stew and rolls for us if we wanted it so I jumped at the offer. She does this frequently when she makes a big dinner.

Well, I have rambled on enough so if you do not know your neighbors what better time than to take them a Christmas card and some homemade goodies.


our wonderful neighbors-note: Pepsi in hand-not beer :)

Ornaments

I have been meaning to do this for a while and have just now gotten around to it so here goes:

I have quite a few of these brand new ornaments in my attic and would like to get rid of them and make a few bucks in the process (don't ask how I got them-long story). They are Partylite ornaments that are brand new in the box. Some of the boxes may have some wear due to storage but none of the ornaments are damaged. The names of the ornaments are: Father Christmas, Snowbell Boy and Girl, and Snowbell Mom. I believe that they are "retired." The boy and girl come in the same box and the Father Christmas and Snowbell Mom are by themselves. I am asking $1 per box or will make a better deal if you buy a lot. You could use them as fillers for your tree at home, office, or last minute gifts.



Let me know if you live in my area and are interested in some. Thanks!

Culturing my Husband

Today at my Mom to Mom group we played a fun game of Dirty Santa. I normally just buy a cutesy Christmas decoration at Hobby Lobby for these games, but knowing our tight budget this year I was thrilled at the instructions for the game for this group. Our leader said that we could buy something if we wanted to or if we had something at home we wanted to bring that was fine too and we also had to write out why we had brought that item. I had some good ideas of what I could go buy but decided to spend my $15 getting Gracie's Christmas pictures done at Wal-Mart instead. So I came home empty-handed and at the last minute remembered the cute Christmas picture frame that my husband's aunt had given me last year. I think I have probably re-gifted a lot more in the past few years than I care to admit. Anyone else out there a re-gifter?

Anyways, on with the story. I ended up getting some DELICIOUS Lindt truffles (I already ate 3 today! Woops!) and the Michael Buble Let It Snow CD. When Jeremy came home I showed him what I won and he says, "Who's Michael Bubble (like the gum)?" I thought he was joking but it turns out he really has never heard of him. I think I need to get him out more.

Cord Saver???

Random Poll: Does anyone think it is odd to save the baby's umbilical cord after it falls off to put in their baby book? I told my family that I did this and they thought it was so weird!

Later my dad tells me that after I left they were talking about it and my dad and my grandpa's wife had my cousin convinced that I also had the whole cord saved in my freezer because of the life-saving capabilities in the cord blood. I guess she had heard of how valuable the cord blood was but didn't realize you had to do that at the hospital, because obviously I do NOT have anything like that in my freezer!

Family and Losing Everything

Well, I among the holiday bustle I missed the obligatory "What I'm Thankful For" post. Oh well, maybe next year. We had several days of lots of family, food, and short baby naps. I'm ready for some sense of normalcy soon. After we got home last night and I got Gracie to bed I looked at my husband and said, "I've had enough familiy for one week." To which he said, "Me too, I think I just want to go hang out with some strangers for a few days." Don't get me wrong, we both love all of our quirky families, but we love to come home to just our little family of three.

On another note, I am so tired of being forgetful and losing things! It started on Friday when we were going to take some pictures and I could not find my battery charger for the new camera anywhere. Last time we had the same problem and it was found in the car of all places. Well, it is still lost.

After we sped home last night for Jeremy to watch the bedlam game we got out of the car and I realized I had forgotten the diaper bag at my mom's house (25 minutes away). I was much too tired to go back for it last night and there was no point in asking Jeremy to leave the game to get it.

We had a fun lunch with friends after church today at Las Fuentes and Jeremy was putting Gracie in the car for me so I laid his wallet on top of the car for him to get when he got out of the backseat. We drove separate so I took off of the parking lot and our friend was behind me and I thought he was just driving stupid when I saw him pull into a parking lot. It looked like something had flown out of the back of his truck and then I got further down the road and it hit me that Jeremy must not have picked up his wallet and that must have been it flapping in the wind. I had to wait until I got home to call him (because my wallet and cell were still in the other diaper bag at Mom's house) and sure enough he was standing in the middle of Hwy. 69 trying to pick up the pieces of his wallet that he had just ran over with his truck. Oh my, what a week!

I feel like George-"SERENITY NOW!"

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy...maybe

So we have the church Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday night. I decided to bring mashed potatoes. I will probably be peeling potatoes all afternoon because I bought the 10 lb. sack! I'm pretty confident in my mashed potato making abilities (can you really mess them up?) but I thought maybe I should take some gravy too. I am not really proficient in homemade gravy and being as I am not (praise the Lord!) cooking one of the turkeys I won't have any turkey juices or anything like that. I was going to buy some Turkey Gravy mixes at Wal-Mart but the McCormick was a $1 a packet and they didn't have any in the Great Value that said "Turkey Gravy." So I bought four packets of the GV "Country Gravy." Is this white gravy??? I have no idea if this is going to work. Also, I was going to put it in a Crock-Pot so it would stay warm. Anyone ever made Crock-Pot gravy? Or maybe you have an easy recipe for gravy that goes with turkey??? Anyone? Verla?? :)

7 Months

Happy 7 Months to my precious Gracie girl!



taken this morning post-bath. Please note how brave (or stupid) I am because I had not even put a diaper on her yet. I always carry her from the bathroom to her room and put lotion on her before I put her diaper on and she has never peed or poo'd on me yet...knock on wood.

She his so much fun and full of life. Just look at that drool all over her face and her drool-soaked shirt. Love it!

As I wrote in her baby book today, six months was a big month for her. She started sitting up on her own, started fruits and veggies, started rolling all over floor playing and getting into things, and she celebrated her first Halloween.

I am looking forward to her first Thanksgiving and Christmas and just seeing her reaction to all of the lights and festivities. Something about seeing the world through a baby's eyes makes you forget all of the petty stuff that is going on in your life, like certain people in my family who are stirring up drama. Lord, help me to glorify you in the coming holiday season and to treasure all of the little moments and memories.

Longing

(Warning: pity party post to follow)

I long for the days…
When my husband is home more than one night out of the week.
When we have a little left over at the end of the month to save for our future and start Gracie’s college fund.
When we can go to church together as a family on Sunday mornings and me not have to get everybody ready by myself.
When I can sit through a whole church service with my husband by my side.
When people at church would stop taking my daughter’s socks off and telling me I should be feeding her cookies and biscuits and gravy and other junk besides the homemade nutritious baby food I make her.
When I can get a dishwasher and central air in my house.
When I have the money and time to organize our office at home.
When I have the money and time to scrapbook.
When I can learn to truly just be grateful and content.

Pumpkin Fluff Dip

I thought I would share one of my all-time favorite easy fall recipes. I found it on www.allrecipes.com a year or maybe two ago and it is one of my favorites to take. I made it for my Mom to Mom group tomorrow and if I weren't so lazy I would put a picture up, but I'm going to go watch Little People, Big World instead. So, here it is:

Pumpkin Fluff Dip
1 15 oz. can solid pumpkin
1 vanilla pudding mix
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 8 oz. tub Cool Whip

Mix together the first three ingredients and then fold in the Cool Whip. The recipe actually calls for 16 oz. of Cool Whip but I think that is way too much so I use 8 oz or less. I serve it with apple slices and graham cracker sticks.

PSA

I thought I would pass along this info. that I found tonight in my "Parents" magazine because I know that a lot of people have these Chicco car seats like we do.

"18,000 child safety seat bases including those in the Keyfit, Keyfit 30, and Cortina Travel Systems (sold from February 2008 to March 2008) were recalled because of a defect tahat prevents the base from being installed securely when the lower latch attachments are used. Attach it to your vehicle's safety straps instead, and call 800-807-8817 for a replacement base."

I called Chicco at this number and they told me that it was only the bases made in Feb-March 08 and they could still be used but you just have to follow their instructions for proper use. I looked at my seat and even though it was bought in March 08 it was manufactured in Dec. 07 so ours was not affected. Anyways, if you have one you might check out the date it was made.

Halloween

A few Halloween pics.:

my pretty little flower


helping clean out the pumpkin


Dad did great on his first time pumpkin carving!


Gracie with Daddy and her cousins as Yoda and the Itsy Bitsy Spider

Homemade Baby Food

A few weeks ago I started Gracie on homemade baby food. I thought I would share a few things that I have tried so far. Doing the homemade baby food is definitely not for everyone. If I was working outside of the home or probably if I had more than one child I don't think that I would have the time to do it. My two main reasons for choosing to do it this way were the cost effectiveness and the variety that you can make. I am living vicariously through Gracie by trying to make her like a variety of healthy foods so that she will be a healthy eater, unlike me. Soon I will have to start eating all of those veggies that I don't eat now because she will be asking me why she has to eat something and I don't, so my time is coming.

First off, I started by ordering this book online:


This book and pretty much every dr. recommend that you start them on single ingredient purees and wait 3-5 days so that you can make sure that they don't have an allergy to the food. We usually do them for 3 days and then move on. So the first recipes in this book are for single ingredient fruits and veggies. A lot of them are common sense on how to prepare the food. The rule of thumb for veggies is to steam them or cook them in as little water as possible and them put them in the blender or processer and add the water that you cooked them in until you get your desired consistency (except for carrots because of that whole weird nitrate issue). However, common sense is not something that I seem to have a lot of these days. What really helps me is the variety of foods that it suggests and there are a lot of great multi-ingredient recipes. Some of them are foods that you would not normally see in the jarred variety. For example, this weekend we will be trying fresh avocado puree and we also tried a fresh pumpkin recipe, which I found on this site: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/pumpkin-babyfood-recipes.htm

That is a great website for recipes and tips if you do not want to buy a book.

Right now I am mainly buying the fruits and veggies fresh, cooking them, and then portioning out the next 3 days worth. Then if I have any leftover I pour them in ice trays, freeze them, and then you pop them out and store them in bags in the freezer. Also, Gracie refused the cauliflower and broccoli when we tried them so I froze all of them and will try again later. I have read that you sometimes have to introduce a food 10 times before they will eat it.

I keep a calendar on the fridge to keep track of what we have tried so far so I will know what might be the culprit if we have a reaction. We have had some constipation issues since starting the foods but our dr. says that is normal. Gracie hates regular apple juice by itself so we tried the Gerber apple prune juice and she loves it, but I think it is making her breath stinky!

Here is a picture of her first food: sweet potatoes (Gross side note: sweet potatoes came out in her diaper looking exactly like how they went in!)



Well I don't think that very many people read my blog but maybe some of this will be helpful to you.

Long day...

Today I was having a very bad morning but the day got progressively better and I am over it now and ready to face a new day tomorrow. Isn't it great how God reminds us that He is in control and He loves us no matter what? Well, any time that I am having a bad day I just look at this sweet face:

Her daddy thought it would be funny to put her book on her heaed and the ring just happenned to fall over her eye. We laughed at her so hard and she just laughed back at us and we all three just sat there cackling for a while. Moments like that are so priceless!

Thoughts on Breastfeeding

Here are a few things that I have learned/felt from 6+ months of breastfeeding now. (Disclaimer: Please do not read too much into things and think that I am criticizing you if you do not breastfeed.)

1. You definitely need a Boppy. If I were rich I would have bought one and left at every place that I frequent so I didn't have to lug mine around so much.

2. Invest in a good pump. My sister in-law gave me her Medela Pump In Style. I know you're thinking that's gross, you're not supposed to use someone else's pump but I did replace all of the parts/accessories which is a lot cheaper than spending $250+ on a new one. If we do get a night out I just pack the pump and plug it in the car and use it while we are out. If you see a crazy lady sitting in a car with tubes coming out from under her shirt or a blanket, it's probably me :).

3. Teething HURTS! When my daughter first got her teeth she would bite me when she was done eating and ready to play. I tried to break that one quick and she hasn't bit me in a few weeks. I just laugh when people say, "She has two teeth and you are still breastfeeding???" Please, I'm tougher than a few bites.

4. Nursing is much cheaper than formula! Thank goodness we have never had to use it, because honestly I don't even know what the ratio is to mix that stuff up!

5. Get a super cute nursing wrap. I have one of these: www.bebeaulait.com
I don't use it that much anymore because Gracie hates to be covered up and she gets distracted if she is not eating in a quiet room but it was a lifesaver in the beginning.

Picture LInk!

You can look at Gracie's 6 month pictures here: http://www.picturethemoment.net/gracie6/index.html

I need to get a job just to pay to have her pictures taken! Is she not the cutest flower you have ever seen? We weren't sure if we were going to get any good ones out of here in her costume but she came around after a bottle. If only I had bought the bigger size the hat wouldn't have been so small!

6 Months Old Already!

Yesterday my sweet baby girl turned 6 months old. I can't believe how fast it has gone already. People always tell you how fast your kids will grow up and how time flies when you become parents but I never really believed them until now. I really like the age that she is at now. She loves to smile at people, especially when they tell her that she is cute! She is getting better at sitting up and she can scoot a little bit on her belly. She has had two teeth for about 2 months now and she is still chewing on everything so I figure it won't be long before she has a few more. She has been on rice cereal for a month now and yesterday we started "real food." I am making my own baby food and so yesterday and today she had sweet potatoes. She seemed to like them. I think she would have licked the bowl clean if I would have let her.

Yesterday we went to the pumpkin patch in Porter. I would definitely recommend it if you live in this area. It is the real pumpkin patch where you ride out on a hayride and pick your own and they have an apple orchard also where you can pick your own apples. I told my husband that I felt like it was a place where Jon and Kate would go. I'm such a dork! We had such a good time and got some great pics. of Gracie and the pumpkins. Tere are a few of my favorites above. For some reason I can't figure out how to get them where I want them on my posts. Can someone help me figure it out???

Happy Birthday to me!

That was me as a sweet baby. Today I turned a quarter of a century old! Yikes, I'm getting up there! I am so excited for our date night tonight. We are going to try out a restaurant we have been wanting to go to since we were dating and then to the OKC Thunder game in Tulsa. I can't wait!

Giveaway!

Check out my friend Allison's giveaway at The Pink Potpourri!

Confused Mess

Does anyone ever feel so many emotions at once that they are not even sure how they feel about a situation? Well, to be really vague, I am feeling anxious, confused, nervous, upset, frustrated and depressed about a current situation in our lives right now. If you read this please say a little prayer for God to give us wisdom and peace in our lives right now. Thanks!

Dr. Laura

So my husband and I frequently switch vehicles between our trusty 10 year old Honda Accord and his not so trusty and dirty 15(?) year old truck. Whomever is going the furthest gets the car to save on gas since the truck is a gas guzzler.
Anyways, I got into the Honda the other day and Dr. Laura was on the radio. I don't usually listen to talk radio like he does but I didn't feel like changing it. Dr. Laura was reading a letter that someone had written her that was telling about how she had taken a human sexuality class while in college and the professor was leading a discussion that day where everyone was sharing all of the details of their first sexual experience (when, where, who, how, etc.). Sounds quite different from the human sexuality course I had at OBU with Dr. Camp. The woman writes that she politely declined to share anything as it was not a requirement but tells Dr. Laura that her first sexual experience was in fact on her wedding night. She was not ashamed of this fact by any means but felt it was better to be modest about something so private. I thought how admirable and understandable for her to feel that way.
For me the clencher of the whole letter was how the woman wrote about how nearly all of the stories that the other students shared were of how they were in high school during their first "experience" and had plenty of opportunities at their empty houses because both of their parents worked outside of the home and weren't home for several hours after they got home from school. The woman shared how she had never had those kind of opportunities as her mother was always a "stay at home mom" and so is she herself now.
Now I don't think it is practical for a lot of people to still be stay at home moms when their kids are teenagers (as it is pretty expensive) but it did give me some "food for thought." Maybe I will just have to find a job that puts me home by 3:00 when my kids are teenagers :).

Vote for Gracie!!!

Hey everyone! If you are reading this, whether you know us or not, please go to this blog and vote for Gracie's picture. Check out her blog and website also because this is the fabulous photographer that took our newborn pictures.

Here is the link: http://picturethemomentphotography.blogspot.com/

Gracie's picture is the second one from the bottom and you just click on her name on the right. Thanks!

Handbag Giveaway!

Follow this link to win a free handbag from Handbag Planet!

http://www.handbagplanet.com/

New Fave

I am always looking for something to satisfy my sweet tooth and I found these at the store the other day. They are absolutely delicious! Honestly, I have never even eaten a real pomegranate but these have a great flavor and if you are trying to watch what you eat, they are only 40 calories per bar! Great news for people like me who are trying to reach their "goal weight."

Speaking of, I must pat myself on the back for fitting into some of my old college jeans today. I've been out of college for 3 years now and have a 5 month old so I think that's pretty darn good! Since Gracie was born, I have lost about 55 lbs. and have 10 more to go to what I want to be.

Let me know what you think if you have tried these!

I had to do it!

I have been seeing everyone do these yearbook pics. lately and I had to try a few:

I think I may have been a different race in that first one!

I could have been hot in the 60's right? :)

Mom to Mom

I have recently joined a new group called Mom to Mom. It is a Bible study/fellowship group for moms who are mostly stay at home moms and mostly have young children. You can read more about this ministry on their website: http://www.momtomom.org/. They have programs all over the U.S. so you should see if there is a church in your area with one. If not, think about starting one at your church. It has been such a blessing to me. It has been so good to get out and meet new people and fellowship with other moms that I might not get to otherwise meet. We are from all different churches and several different towns. Anyways, I thought I might share a few things I have been learning so far.

The first week we talked about legacy living. It was about how the way that we parent today affects our kids future and we should be thinking now about what kind of legacy we want to be leaving for our kids even now. This may sound like a no-brainer but when you have a baby there are some days that you are just trying not to get pooped on and bedtime seems like forever away when they are refusing to take a nap! I have started to jot down a few of my thoughts and hope to be forming my "Mom Mission Statement" soon. I will post more on here when I have some more coherent thoughts to put together. Although, that may be an oxymoron for me these days. Well, I don't think many people will read this, but if you do I hope you will start thinking about what kind of legacy you want to leave. Even if you don't have kids yet, it's never too early to start thinking about what kind of mom you want to become.

The Absent-minded Mommy

Here are a few new pics:

This is Gracie at almost 5 months. She is now rolling over.

Family pic. on our vacation to Tennessee

Has anyone else ever noticed that after you became a mom you start getting really forgetful and do crazy absent-minded things? I am convinced that you transfer about half of your brain to your baby in-utero. For example, while house-sitting at my in-laws a few months ago I changed the sheets on their bed before they got home because that's where we had been sleeping. I took the dirty sheets down to the basement and washed them. A few days later my mil is asking my husband where I put the sheets because she can't find the fitted one anywhere. She finally found it underneath the clean one where I had left it! I did it again at my house when I went to change the sheets last weekend I found the dirty fitted sheet underneath! And today I ran water and put in detergent for a load of laundry only to check it later to put it in the dryer when I discovered I had started it and never put the clothes in so it ran through all of the cycles with nothing in there!

Does anyone else feel like they have lost it since they have became a mom???

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 3rd Anniversary to us! Well, technically, it was yesterday. But, it has still yet to be celebrated because my poor husband has pneumonia and has been sick for the past week and a half. He is getting better finally and is no longer contagious since he finally broke his fever. This sickness thing has been a lot harder to deal with since I had a baby and a hubby to take care of on my own. I just have to keep telling myself, "In sickness and in health Melinda, those were the vows..." Really, it hasn't been that bad, and I am just totally blessed to have him as my husband.

On the left from when we were dating and the right is an engagement pic.

I was going to add more but it is giving me trouble and I have to be up at about 5 to let the roofers in the garage so I am dragging myself to bed right now!

3 Months, 3 Weddings, and 3 Funerals.

Gracie turned 3 months old last week. In this picture she is wearing the dress and bonnet that she wore for her baby dedication at church. This is the same dress that my older sister and I both wore when we were dedicated. That is the Bible that our church gave her. She looked so cute that day and she did so good. We had a lot of our family there and it was one of the best days. I had to fight back the tears. She is getting bigger every day. She is our little chubby cheek girl and weighs over 14 pounds now! Fat babies are the cutest! Right after she turned 2 months old she started smiling a lot and in the last few weeks she has started laughing. It will just melt your heart.

As of Saturday, in her 3 short months, she has also been to 3 weddings and sadly, 3 funerals. My aunt passed away last week after battling cancer for a while now. Jeremy was on his way back from camp so Gracie went with me to the funeral.

First Post!

Well, I finally decided to make a blog. I have been reading other people's for a while now and I guess I am a lurker because I like to read other people's blogs but not leave comments. I'm really not a stalker, I promise...I usually just find other people's lives more interesting than my own. But lately I have realized that my life is just as interesting as everyone else's and I am finally content with where I am right now in my life.

Please don't judge my blog for looks right now...I will have to work on it in quick spurts during naptimes. If you have or have had a new baby you can empathize with me that naptimes are a glorious time that you can accomplish a lot of things, so I have to make good use of my time.

Along the same lines, we have had several people come by in the last few weeks campaigning for the local offices that will be decided in the election here in a few weeks. We had one come this morning. It was not early, but I was not dressed yet and neither was hubby. I didn't have anywhere to be this morning so I was taking it slow. The doorbell rings and we both look at each other to see who has more clothes on to answer the door. I won, by a narrow margin and had to answer the door. I have learned to just say ok, thanks, and take the flyer. Well an hour or so ago (during naptime), a young girl came by and rang the doorbell. I was afraid she would ring it again if I didn't answer it so I quickly ran to answer the door. She gave an enthusiastic, "Hi, I am out campaigning today for....." to which I put my finger up in the shh sign and said, "My baby is sleeping," because she was being rather loud. She apologized and kept talking in a whisper. I said thanks and she quickly left. That might have been a little rude of me, but I was not ready for naptime to be over yet and would have had a cranky baby on my hands if she didn't get her nap out. Well I better get busy before naptime is really over!