Hello? Is this thing on?

I'm not even sure who reads this blog anymore outside of my Aunt Deda who really just comes here in an attempt to catch a rare new picture of one of my adorable offspring. Bless her heart- she is disappointed 9.5/10 days that she checks.

Obviously, I have become a total blog slacker. I looked back to my 2008 archives the other day. I was posting 30+ times a MONTH! (I mean, seriously, what did I have to say that was that important. Answer: nothing!) If I write anything on here anymore it seems to be something that I'll "one day" print out to put in my kids' books. (Whenever that "one day" finally gets here, I better have 5 ink cartridges and 15 stacks of paper on hand. And some big binders. With reinforcements.) I contemplated just getting rid of my blog, but then: 1) I'd have nowhere easy to store my kids monthly updates that I know each of you waits to read with a burning anxious desire and 2) I've met some pretty awesome people through blogging and don't want to disassociate myself from those relationships. I mean, there is facebook, but....I think I'll keep it around for a while.

Why don't I write anymore? Let's see: 1) I have nothing interesting to write about. Someone recently said that what you should write about is what you are passionate about discussing in conversation. Well, what excites me is serving my family and raising my kids and there are 5 gabillion other super popular blogs out there with 7,000 followers each that cover those bases really well. (See my blogroll.) So why beat a dead horse? 2) My day is pretty repetitive. I won't list out the timeline in this post (I'll save it for another post. Yes, I'm leaving you with a thrilling cliffhanger.), but let's just say it includes cleaning the dishes, washing laundry, disciplining, training, changing diapers, swimming in the pool, playing in the floor, watching Caillou, doing more dishes, and doing more clothes. I mean that one sentence was boring. Consider reading post after post about it. BO-RING.

So the result: maybe 2 blog posts a month. IF I'm on time with my kids' monthly updates.

You know waybackwhen, like 2 whole years ago, when you'd get tagged in the blog world to list 101 interesting things about yourself? I know. Seriously. Who has time for that? Well, I did. Like twice. But I'm too lazy to link up to them on this post. Use the search feature if you're that interested. Anywho, now whenever I realize a weird fact about myself (which, hey, is quite often), I think, "I'm gonna remember that for my next '1001 interesting facts about me' post.' Am I the only one that does that?

Here are some interesting thoughts I've had recently: (Yeah, they're probably only interesting to me.)

1. I give lots of asides in my writing. See above. (See, I told you.)

2. I shake out my towel before drying off after the shower to assure no spiders have crawled into my towel. One time a few months ago I decided not to because I decided I was paranoid. Guess what? HUGE bite on my abdomen. Few weeks later I do the routine shake-out. Guess what fell out?! Yep. A spider. Always shake.

3. The quality of my writing has gone to pot. See above. And while you're at it, see below.

4. If a restaurant lists "Sweet Tea" on its menu, the tea should live up to the name. I think some restaurants are out to single handily rid the world of type 2 diabetes. If I wanted weak, half sweetened water I would have just ordered water and thrown some lemon in there. (This reminds me that I didn't take advantage of Free Sweet Tea Day at McAlisters. Poop.)

5. Yesterday while Drew was nearing the end of his visit at my mom's house, she asked, "Drew are you ready to go?" He responded, "No, JaJa, my house is a MESS." Thanks for the boost, son.

6. I know you're wondering. We have no idea why he calls her JaJa. She wanted to be called Granna. Instead she got JaJa. I know it sounds weird, but it has stuck. At least every woman in a crowd won't have to turn around when he calls for her in public.

7. God has answered my prayers in the most unexpected, but most rewarding ways lately.

8. Did you know you can use hairspray to stunt a spider's movement for just a moment? My husband knows if I see a spider hanging from the ceiling, after I freak out and shoot my blood pressure up, I'm going to grab a can of hairspray.

9. I'm going through some hormonal crisis here at 8 months postpartum. I can't recall doing this with Drew at this point. I know my hair fell out once earlier on with him, but this is my SECOND round of hair loss with Hannah. I'm talking 20-25 hairs are lost with each hair washing. I was going to schedule a haircut next week to get my thick hair thinned. Now I'm thinking I might not have any left by next week. Add a decreased appetite, acne like a 14 year old, new white hairs, about 10 extra sweet teeth post 9pm, and crazy moods to the mix and you've got yourself a nice package of crazy hormonalness. I'm just praying it results in about 10 pounds of automatic weight loss. I can hope, right? Yeah, you're right; pass me another cookie.

10. I'm attempting to learn to cook something that hasn't been on my 'repeat' list for the last 7 years of our marriages. There have been some successes. There have been some failures. And I'm not sure it's healthier than grabbing a Sonic burger and large fries. (A new recipe I tried used an entire pint of whipping cream on the enchiladas. That's gonna cost me a good stent one day.) If I find any stellar ones, I'll send them your way. No, wait. I probably won't. I don't blog that much.

11. Is it almost fall? Because I'm ready for fall stuff: scents, foods, activities, clothes, weather. You name it. I'm there.

12. I have an awesome camera. I have 'ner an idea how to use it off the automatic section. I've been going through these free tutorials, and they make SO much sense as I'm reading them. However, as soon as I step outside to take a picture, I am instantly and totally confused, and want nothing more than to throw my nice camera into our blow up pool. I resist and just switch back to automatic mode. Good enough.

13. We are attempting to take Drew to his first theatrical movie tomorrow. It's Winnie the Pooh, so at least we know it's clean. Right? It's only 70 minutes long, but I don't think we'll make it that long unless he really loves the popcorn. Nevertheless, he's excited!

14. It isn't hard to figure out where my son gets his ubercountry/Southern twang if you listen to his parents more than 5 seconds. But I'm not sure we're THAT bad. Example: Drew says the word boy with two syllables: "bow-ee." And the number four is "foe-er." Way to turn on the southern charm, sweetheart!

15. My husband is hot. And sexy. And hardworking. And makes camo look good...even with dried blood. And he mows my grass so the spiders don't jump on my feet when I make a run and jump for our blow up pool. I heart him.

Well I feel totally accomplished. And now I'm pooped. I might even attempt to write another post not 100% dedicated to my children within the next 6 months! Stay tuned....all, er...., 1 of you.

PSA: A Call for Common Courtesy

Sometimes I have light, airy, positive posts. Other times I rant on about things that made me mad. You get a little of all of me here. Well, lately I haven't been able to shake some incidents that leave me with the idea that people do not posses common courtesy. I'm sure I've been guilty of some of these from time to time, but generally I try to be polite.

I've considered emailing this to our President to see if he would mail each U.S. citizen a copy so that I don't get so ticked off when I leave the confines of my home.

Public Service Announcement: For the sake of mankind, please try and follow these simple, courteous rules when you mingle with other homosapiens.

1. Upon opening the entrance door to a building, turn slightly to see if there is someone close behind. If they are within a 3 second-5 second range of the door, hold it for them.

2. The same rule applies to exiting a building.

3. If a woman is coming through a door that is not automatic and is simultaneously juggling a screaming child, diaper bag, purse, and a stroller, a longer rule of thumb will apply. Example 10-15 seconds. That lady really needs some help.

4. If a child is making noise in church and the parent is doing everything necessary to calm them, there is no need for 50 sets of eyes to turn and give mom a bad look. She's trying to get his diaper bag together to get him outta there! No need to stare.

5. Upon entering a parking lot, do NOT under any circumstances hold up an entire lane of traffic while waiting for a mother of 3 to unload her children and groceries into the car so you can get her space. By the time you park and walk those extra 3 parking spaces, all the people behind you could have parked as well. A little walking won't hurt you. Promise. (This especially annoys me when the traffic is then held up into the main driving lane of the shopping center, causing a jam.)

6. If you push your cart of groceries into a long line at the grocery store and the checker in the newly opened lane announcees for "the next in line to check out," THAT IS NOT YOU. That would be any of the people in FRONT of you. You were not next in line to check out. Common courtesy!

7. If I have courteously parked my shopping cart on one side of the aisle (trying to get out of the way) and am looking across at the other side of the aisle at an item, please do not come and stand in front of EXACTLY where I'm looking and search for your item. If you do, you will notice I'm going to cough and clear my throat a ridiculously large number of times. (That'll teach you.)

8. When attending a movie, do not under any circumstances commit any of these moviegoer sins: 1) Scream when the theater goes dark. (Are you 2 years old?)
2) Drench yourself in the strongest scent off the Wal-Mart perfume aisle you can find.
3) Talk across the aisle (and me) to your friend during the movie.
4) Lean over on my armrest and get into my breathing space trying to hear them better.
5) Talk during the entire movie.
6) Leave your cell phone on.

9. If you actually clear your plate at the restaurant, do not try and complain afterward to your waiter that it was cold so you can get free food. (The O'Charley's in Southaven used to be notorious for granting these people free food for this complaint.)

10. Lastly, get off your cell phone in the grocery store unless it's a quick call about a grocery item. If you must chat in the grocery store, move to a deserted part of the store and park yourself there until your call is finished. Some of us are there to buy groceries.

Whew. I feel better.

Just Polly & I Here

Pollyanna is back. Aren't we all thankful? I know I am.

I am so glad to say the Lord blessed us with a great day, however rainy & cold it has been outside. Even on the toughest days like yesterday, I am still so thankful for the opportunity to be a mommy and a wife. All the good days FAR outweigh the tough days--by tons! I pray that days like yesterday can teach me more patience, self control, and humility before God. I hope that's what my kids see in me on those days.

Moving on....good things happened today that are worth noting!

-Drew has been in a fabulous mood.
-He blew bubbles from the bubble wand for the first time. I didn't know he could do it!
-After he blew them and I praised him, he leaned in and gave me a big, slobbery kiss!
-I melted. ;)
-Got the grocery shopping done and saved $55
-Made white chicken chili for dinner (thank you, McCormick's) and it was DELICIOUS.
-Laughed as Andrew screamed and ran in holding Drew 3 feet from himself yelling, "Honey! Help!! Help!! Drew's having diarrhea!! Help!!" He couldn't even stand to change it because it smelled so awful. I couldn't help but laugh! We definitely need daddies in our lives, but not for the bad poopy diapers it seems! ;)
-Taught Drew how to put ornaments on the tree. Well, they usually fall through to the floor, but it's a start.

Oh...and he sometimes doesn't realize that other items don't go on the tree.

-Finished the laundry...only to see more in the bathroom floor after all the showers, BUT....for 2 solid hours, the basket was empty!
-Drew is signing really well these days. He's done it quite frequently today. I love it!
-Have $30 in Kohl's bucks I need to go spend tonight. Woo hoo!
-My husband told me he thought I was hot. That always makes my day.

So a good day, overall! Thank you all for listening to my pity party yesterday and for your sweet encouraging words on blogger, email and facebook. I'll try not to do that again anytime soon. ;)

Hope you are able to find positive, good things even on rainy, cold days!

Just Nancy & I Here

I'm just going to warn you on the forefront: this post is not positive. Pollyanna walked out the door around 5pm.

Today has been a "day," and since writing helps me relieve stress, well, this is just what the doctor ordered.

Let me break it down for you:

1. Drew took a 5 min. nap yesterday (Yes, I know that wasn't today, but it leads to today's problems)

2. Drew woke up last night screaming and wouldn't go to sleep. He ended up in bed with us for the first time in months. Let's just say it's amazing how 25 lbs and 31 inches takes up an entire King sized bed. None of us got much sleep.

3. Drew took a 30 min. nap today. That doesn't do a lot for him...or my showering agenda.

4. He threw his tray onto the floor at lunch, spilling food/drink everywhere. Swept the floor.

5. He climbed the stove and got into the potholder drawer more times than I can count.

6. He climbed the coffee table repeatedly. "No no" just rolls off my tongue now.

7. The tree. Oh, the tree. I'm just ready to take it down. For all the ornaments I've REhung, I think I could have decorated 10 trees from the start.

8. He bit me. Twice. Then punched me in the lip. I'm like a human punching bag, I declare.

9. He screamed outside my shower door the entire time I rushed to get clean. I know you other mothers have been through this.

10. Decided to be sweet and order pizza since my boys love it so much (and since I didn't have my coupons clipped for Kroger). Went to order online. Couldn't get the stupid site to work. (Husband says it was probably user error--thanks, dear). Searched the website and found the local Pizza Hut's number. I call. I get a recording saying this number is invalid. I hang up. I call again. Same response. I'm seriously almost in tears over this situation. I'm hungry and emotionally spent.

11. Finally find a number to get to a Memphis call center for Pizza Hut. I tell the girl I've almost been in tears for 15 minutes trying to find a phone number for them. She thinks I'm crazy. Don't blame her.

12. I race out the door in my flip flops in 40* weather with no makeup on, intending to run in and out of the pizza joint.

13. I told the girl my name and she looked at me with this "please-don't-punch-me-in-the-face" look and then said, "We forgot to put it in the oven," as she crouched backwards. I must have looked evil.

14. I informed her it was alright (trying to remain a Christian woman), but also took the time to tell her the phone number was listed wrong on the Pizza Hut website. She could not have cared less.

15. As I was sitting waiting on my pizza, I looked down and saw a chunk taken out of my favorite Yellow Box flip flops. Yep. Drew ate my shoe. Grand.

16. I walked in the door 20 minutes later with the coveted pizza. My husband takes one look at it, then looks at me like I walked back in with squash casserole or something. "This isn't a large!" he said. That's when I realized I ordered the wrong size. The pizza just must not have been meant to be.

17. Drew threw his tray on the floor again. Swept again.

18. Drew spilled his milk on the floor on accident...twice.

19. Drew spilled his milk on the table and himself...purposely.

20. Drew fell off his train, slid across the floor, and slammed his head into the oven drawer.

21. FINALLY got Drew to sleep only to have him wake up as I laid him down. He then stood up screaming and with his eyes closed, accidentally slammed his head into his crib twice. He was wide awake then!

So here I sit. I have not yelled. I have not lost my temper. I admit I did privately punch the couch cushion earlier and have cried 3 times. But tomorrow is another day. At 7:50am sharp, when Drew wakes up, we'll let Pollyanna waltz back into our house. But for now, Negative Nancy is sharing the couch with me and we feel loads lighter after getting this off our chests.

It's bedtime. Hallelujah. Can I get an Amen?

Random Thoughts

Ever have one of those nights where you have 500 things on your brain, but none of them relate? No? Oh. Well, I have them all the time. In fact, I feel that way tonight. I don't know if this list will total 5, 10, or 13 random thoughts. Let's take it from the top...

1. I got an awesome deal on Target wipes today. 16 boxes of wipes for 9 bucks. Thanks, Audrey!

2. I don't like arguing with my husband. Good thing we can't stay mad at each other long. When we look at the other we start smiling. I love that about us.

3. My son pitched constant fits in Target today because he wanted to run around on his own. What age do they start holding hands again?

4. I was reading through my Bible last night about all these things that God dislikes. It included murderers, jealousy, adultery, etc. Then, just as I was thinking I was safe, it said, "outbursts of anger." Ugh. Caught. Sometimes between the screaming and messy house and phones ringing, the stress just goes to the top of my head and I have a minor blow up. I am not perfect. Thank God His grace is sufficient for me.

5. Oh and that whole gentle and quiet spirit of a woman thing in the Bible? I gotta work on that, too. Sometimes my ways are none too gentle.

6. Our sit-in preacher the other day explained a good reason to us why some people have to go through bad things. You know where the Bible talks about the seed that got thrown on the side of the road and the birds ate it up? Did you know that some seeds have to be eaten by a bird and go through its digestive tract and be pooped out before it can produce? It's true! So it is for some people. Some of us just have to go through a lot of (excuse the term) crap. It would be unfair to call what some people go through (cheating, loss of children, physical loss, etc) to be poop. No. It's far worse than that. But they go through this stuff because God knows at the other end of this "digestive tract" is going to come a beautiful person who will bear great fruit!

7. Drew is going through a naptime funk. We went from 2.5 hour naps to 1 hour. Not pretty.

8. I'm sitting amongst a pile of coupons, begging to be sorted. My fridge is begging for food. My loving husband told me I shouldn't go to the store tonight. "Relax instead." So here I sit.

9. I mess up so many times a day. Not the type of sin that is public, but a sin is a sin. I pray daily to be a godly wife, mother, and person. Some days are so much harder than others.

10. How soon is bedtime? I'm catching up on Heroes and House, MD tonight. Can't beat that!

Post Children Fashion Rules

I was at the store the other day during nap time, trying to hurriedly find an item worthy of my Kohl's bucks. After searching through every department and coming up empty handed, I spotted the perfect pair of boots in the shoe department. They were adorable, my size, and the exact color I wanted. How lucky can a girl get? I pictured myself cruising the mall, the movies, and restaurants with these cute boots on.

As I headed to the register, boots in hand, I thought, "Wait a minute. When am I actually going to have a chance to wear these boots to the mall, movies, or restaurant?! I haven't been to a real mall in ages, and I've been to one movie in a year and a half; eating at a restaurant usually means Drew's chewed up and spit out food ends up on my feet!"

Motherhood surely takes its toll on our fashion choices. Post baby, it seems there are different times that affect how we don our bodies. During breastfeeding days you must choose wisely: button downs and flowy shirts are good; one piece dresses and tighter fitting shirts are bad...very bad. Then you must consider matching your hooter hider material to whatever you're wearing that day. If you're pumping at work, you must choose clothing that comes off and goes back on easily...and is not too prone to wrinkling if you must hold that article of clothing between your knees as you pump in a public bathroom.

Then take the kids' runny nose days; you'd best wear something green so the nasal output blends in. Oh and just forget anything white or that says "Dry Clean Only." It's a waste of your time and money! And let's not mention jewelry choices post baby: namely small and nondangly...and indestructible to little hands.

So Clinton and Stacy, as you continue dishing out advice to mothers around the world to look cute and stylish while heading to the grocery store with kids-in-tow, just remember all the rules those mothers are having to abide by. And they're probably just lucky they got a shower and dry hair that day. Much less 3 inch heels and a matching cardigan.

Oh and just for kicks, I got the shoes. I decided I could wear them while I electronically, socially network with you all.

Revelations of Toddlerhood

1. My job as a parent is basically damage control.

2. My house is never clean longer than naptime.

3. I don't waste naptime cleaning anyway.

4. Noise, however headache enducing, is confirmation of play. Quiet is never good.

5. I no longer explain to guests why the toilet paper is loosely rerolled onto the tube.

6. The toilet bowl is like the golden standard of toys.

7. "See-food" is the daily special around here.

8. I didn't need the cover of that magazine anyway.

9. How is it that his shoes cost more than mine and they're a 10th of the size?!

10. The wet ponytail bump is "in." Someone let Stacy and Clinton know.

Today

Today I:

Sat with Drew at the back door as he stared at the rain.
Got a little boy out of his first mud puddle.
Slept in til 7:37.
Watched Drew feed himself with a fork for the first time.
Shopped at Kroger.
Actually wanted to do self check out.
Limit was 30 items.
Saved 75 dollars in coupons.
Closed my eyes outside and listened to the birds.
Got the courage to pull a weed in my flower bed-without gloves.
Almost had a spider run across my hand.
Screamed and nearly scared Drew.
Decided not wearing gloves was stupid.
Fought Little Man for an afternoon nap.
Lost the battle.
Flirted with my husband.
Spent too much time on facebook.
Reorganized my pantry.
Decided I have enough food to feed an army.
But I won't be able to find anything for lunch tomorrow that I want.
Sacrified sleep to do this post.

For no good reason at all!

Aspiration: Experienced Seamstress...or just using a needle without needing stitches

I really should have paid better attention in home economics back in junior high (yes, Missouri actually taught home ec to their 8th graders--it was fabulous!). It would have been MORE fabulous if I had realized I actually might need to sew a button on some pants one day. I am so needle-and-thread challenged, y'all. If I can finally get a needle threaded (took me at least 8 minutes tonight), I end up bleeding from 15 different pokes in just one finger. I need to wear 9 thimbles or invest in bandaids.

So sometimes this creative bone in me flares up, urging me to break out of my little comfort zone. (Using a needle & thread is breaking out of the zone for me.) So now I have this urge to applique some kind of onesie or shirt. The tutorial looks easy enough, but it does require a sewing machine or manual sewing. Definitely gonna forego the latter since it wouldn't even be wearable. I'm thinking maybe I'll get my mother in law to help me this weekend. She could sew anything!

Here's my list of things I'd like to "one day" make: (each project is linked)
1. Appliqued shirt
2. Apron
3. Modern Quilt (yeah, I'm a LONG way from here)
4. Felt food (for that future girl in my life!)
5. Pillowcase

So there you have it! Maybe by the time I'm knocking at death's door, I will have accomplished at least 4 of these....I'm not really holding out for the advanced quiltmaking. Eh, I can dream, right?

If I attempt the appliqued onesie this weekend, I WILL post my progress (ie, either brag til you're tired of hearing about it or put in my resignation for domestic goddess).

Random Recap of the Weekend

* Edited * Did anyone catch that I abbreviated Hobby Lobby as HB? I have no idea why, but it hit me mid-shower this morning. With all 500 toys that we own which sing the ABC song, you'd think I'd know the difference between an L and a B!

1. First off, the weekend went great! Drew fell asleep without any difficulty at the parentals' house, slept through the night in his playpen, and was a happy camper! THANKS MOM & DAD!

2. Andrew & I enjoyed dinner together AND movie AND shopping. It has been 14 months since I've been to a movie. I looked like a 5 year old in a candy store sitting in that seat. I even enjoyed the previews.

3. We saw Harry Potter: The Half Blood Prince. I usually choose long movies to watch when I'm paying nearly 20 bucks to see it. 2 1/2 hrs of a good, clean, and even funny movie--I feel like I got my money's worth! I think it was my favorite Harry Potter movie so far...but I'm not a huge HP fan to begin with.

4. Remember me talking about who in their right mind buys Christmas stuff in July? Crazies, that's who. Well, Andrew & I are crazies. We bought Drew a Christmas ornament today from my beloved Hobby Lobby (HB). It's a little boy with a cowboy hat and huge oversized boots. In my defense, Andrew is actually the one who picked it out and insisted we buy it. And we had a coupon. I was more interested in this beautiful wreath...all $127 worth. Andrew said no. Even a coupon wouldn't make it affordable.

5. I'm hosting Kacie's baby shower 2 weeks from tomorrow. What a great excuse for a visit to HB. Ahh--fabric, ribbon, decor. I love thee. I can't wait to tie it all together! It's gonna be F-U-N!

6. I cannot believe it's almost time for Ms. Caroline to make her big debut! This aunt cannot wait to hold and cuddle her!

7. I realized with Drew gone this weekend how absolutely pitifully boring our lives would be without him. It was nice to have 24 hours of downtime, but I would never choose to go back to not having kids after being on this beautiful side of the equation. He makes our lives fun!

8. My grand plan of sleeping in until noon today was a flop. I woke up at 6, 7, 8, and 9:15. I couldn't fight it any longer. I had to get up. I think I'm getting old. Or maybe I'm just trained. Can old dogs learn new tricks?

9. My living room looked like a toybox threw up in there. I finally decided the toys needed to be in Drew's room for the weekend...and my coffee table needed to be moved out from in front of the fireplace to its rightful spot. It's so lovely. And organized. And clean. Well, at least til tomorrow afternoon.

10. I don't have a number ten, but I hate having odd numbers of things.

Have a blessed Sunday!

Why I Have No Pictures to Show

So the birthday party went great. Here's why I have no pictures to show yet.

A first birthday is bittersweet. Somewhat sentimental, right? I mean, the baby year has gone. You're welcoming the toddler stage, full of lots of new challenges and surprises. To commemorate the event, I decided I was going to make a slideshow of music and pictures from the last year. And then I was gonna tally up how many people cried by the end, myself included.

It was going to be approximately 175 pictures long, from birth to 12 months with 3 songs, all fading in and fading out.

Attempt 1: Used Nero because it had a nifty "Make a picture slideshow" button. Easy enough! 25% of the way finished and the program freezes up my computer. I get that wonderful message that says, "Nero has encountered a problem and must close. You will lose any unsaved data." Had I saved it? Of course not.

Attempt 2: Used Nero again, saving every time I put in new pictures. After picture 99 (of 175) was entered (I would tell you the percentage, but I can't divide in my head. Over 50%. How's that?) I get yet another message. "You have reached the maximum capacity of pictures allowed in a Nero slideshow. Would you like to start another slideshow?" I was seriously about to pull my hair out. I closed down the program and waited for Andrew to get home.

I had now sacrificed TWO naptimes for NOTHING.

Attempt 3: 2 nights before the party. A little stressed. Windows Movie Maker this time. I had forgotten why I hated it so much several years ago. Because it STINKS. You have to manually click each slide to fade in and reclick it to fade out. So 175 x 2. Equals...I don't know. A LOT OF CLICKING. Then I realized the default time for each slide was set at 10 seconds. That's a lot of time to look at one single picture. I wanted it set at 3 seconds. Guess what? You can't just "select all" and change the time for every picture. Nope. Gotta individually change all 175. Added in the music. Made sure music and picture times matched. Done. Finally. Saved. Went to bed.

Friday, the day before the party, I walked into the bedroom to see a black screen with white writing flashing. The computer was making a loud clicking noise. Yep. The computer died- along with all of Drew's pictures, the movies from the last 12 months, and the slideshow, all of which we thought were backing up on a different computer. They weren't. I cried. Andrew was mortified. He called people and found out if he put the computer in the freezer for at least 2 hours, he would have about 20 minutes to get whatever he could get off. Well, we got the pictures off. Not the movies. Not the slideshow. We're still working on getting the movies back. That's all I care about.

So, to make a long story longer, I stayed up until 1:30 on the morning of his birthday party to complete the slideshow for a second time.

It was worth it.

Lots of laughs. Lots of tears.

So once I get my computer back which has an SD card slot, I'll upload pictures. Until then, you're stuck reading what I have to write and imagining a little boy who played his heart out.

The Attack of the Ivy

"Leper!!!!" they cry. And the crowds immediately part like the Red Sea. And there I am. Standing all alone...in the middle of Target.

Okay, so it's not quite that bad. But it hasn't been fun.

The last week of my life has consisted of caladryl, cortisone creams, pouring salt in my wounds (yes, you read correctly), popping blisters with needles, wearing gauze to bed, wearing long sleeves in the dead of summer, and taking Clorox baths. Oh and being stared at in public. And drive thrus.

You guessed it. I have poison ivy- and I'm not the only one. My dear Andrew has it as well. We cleaned out his mom's backyard of fallen trees LAST Sunday, and apparently, rolled in poison ivy while we were out there. He got it on Tuesday. I got it on Wednesday. He got a shot. I did not. And I'm glad now because he's no better off than I am!

The leper-like rash was clearing up some around last Saturday. Sunday I broke out in brand spanking new spots. GRAND! I got to start all over with this beautiful healing process. I have no idea where it's coming from now. Apparently, the oil from the plant (which is what causes the allergic reaction) can get on anything and live there for....well, indefinitely.

I've washed bedsheets, towels, and clothes twice just to make sure they are not the source. Andrew scrubbed the truck seats. I'm now Lysoling everything down. If this doesn't work, we may move and sell all our belongings. Or maybe just leave our stuff in the house and sell "as is." Requirement of buyer: immunity to poison ivy/oak/summac.

If you'd like to submit an offer, just leave it in the comments section. I'll get back to you after the morning's Clorox bath.

My Journey to Becoming a SAHM

I want to preface this post by saying that I DO NOT believe it's wrong for a mom to work out of the home. It doesn't make her ANY less of a mom than those who stay home. Some moms CAN'T stay home. I understand that--I've been there! We all have to do what's best for our own families. So this post isn't about putting down working moms because they don't/can't/don't want to stay at home. This post is more about following your heart when God plants a seed there, whether it be staying at home with your child, teaching, managing, or becoming a missionary! This post is about going where God leads you and having faith that He will see you through, even when it doesn't make sense at times.
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Amy @ Finer Things published a post last week about stay at home moms. Even though many won't be able to relate to my story, I thought a few people just might. I was hesistant to post this on my blog at first, afraid it might offend some, but then I thought, "It just might give one woman comfort or hope or an added ounce of faith." So here goes...

"Mommy, come home!"

Though my tiny newborn couldn't utter these words to me as I headed back to work after a short 6 week maternity leave, I could feel it. He needed me. The Lord had grown him inside me for 9 full months and I'd been his provider of everything for the past month and a half. I nursed him, rocked him, comforted him when he hurt, and held him while he slept. He had given purpose to my life. And there I was, laying him into arms he barely knew to walk out the door for my night shift. "Gotta make ends meet."

Guilt. Sadness. Frustration. Anger. I felt them all. But how could I ever express these feelings of negativity to anyone when I was "only" working 1-2 12 hour night shifts a week. People thought I had a luxury by only working ONE day a week. I felt like I would be perceived as ungrateful and lazy for desiring to be a stay at home mom. A lot of my fellow nursing friends thought it was crazy that I'd spent 4 1/2 years in college and taken a large chunk of student loans, "just" to stay home. I wanted to pull out my hair; no one seemed to understand the way I felt! Was I crazy for wanting this?

I examined my motives. Why do I want to be a stay at home mom? Why do I feel guilty about my desire to raise my own child in our own home? Am I putting too much stress on my husband to earn that extra dollar? What do I think God wants for me? It's like Amy stated: "Staying home to raise my children is so much more than what I do. It’s who I am." I've felt that yearning and tugging at my heart to be a stay at home mom since I was a teenager. I just felt like it was what God wanted me to do. And then I remembered, "he knows the desires of my heart."

I explained my desires and frustrations to my husband, Andrew. He and I both wanted me to stay at home, but the funds just weren't there. The numbers didn't add up at the end of the month. I prayed fervently as I continued working. I went in for my night shift, exhausted, feeling as if I were a danger to my patients at times. My energy level was nearly zapped seeing as how I was still nursing every 2 hours at night and not getting a nap during the day. Oh, and let's not forget mommy brain. I couldn't remember what medication I was supposed to be giving, what patient just called for a urinal, or why I was standing in the kitchen break room looking for casting supplies. I wasn't doing anyone any good, and I feared I would end up actually harming someone! Something had to give.

We prayed. And prayed some more. And some more. We cut the extras: no more satellite, drastically reduced the take-out, started cutting coupons, only drove when we had to. Finally we thought we had a financial break. I counted down the weeks to hand in my resignation. I was preparing to head into work to announce to my boss my new job as a SAHM. To say I was excited would be a severe understatement. That's when my husband called and explained that the financial break we thought we were getting wasn't going to occur anytime soon. I was crushed. Was God not listening? Did he not want me to have the desires of my heart? Why the wait? Am I supposed to be learning something here? I held my baby and cried. That afternoon while he napped, I prayed. I literally cried to God, explaining my thoughts, questions, hurts. This will be strange to say to some, but, I felt him telling me to hand in my resignation anyway--even though there wasn't enough money in the bank. "What a crazy idea," I thought. "We can't pay the bills on nothing. God, I feel you telling me to stay at home, but I don't know for sure that's what you're saying. God, I need a physical sign!!! How will this possibly work?!"

A few minutes later the phone rang. It was one of my best friends calling to tell me that she and her husband were in a similar situation. I asked her what I should do, fully expecting her to tell me to just wait it out at work until the finances came through. "You know what?" she said. "God is gonna provide. I think you should resign and have faith that God will let your ends meet. He won't let you go without food and shelter! He says we're supposed to trust him in EVERYTHING, including finances." I cried tears of joy on the phone with her, explaining to her that she was my "sign."

I poured my heart out to my husband and told him my burden had been lifted. He was 100% okay with me resigning that night. So I did. I put my letter in my boss' box with no fear, guilt, or worry. I knew God would take care of us, even if the numbers didn't add up on paper right then.

It's been months since that day. And you know what? We haven't gone without paying the bills, without eating, or without a roof over our heads. And we're finding that the more we give to God and others in need (even if we may not have it to give), that he blesses us right back. Little things are always happening to give us extra income. My dependence on God has made my faith and my relationship with him so much stronger.

I know I am right where the Lord wants me. Being a SAHM is not for everyone, but I know it's for me. And if you feel a tugging in your heart that the Lord has placed within you to be a SAHM, don't fight it! Trust that the Lord will take care of you and your family. He is such a generous God and wants us to have the desires of our hearts--especially when our desire and His plan is to care for His children!

Best Qualities in a Man

I was thinking last night about why I love my husband so much. There are tons of reasons I wanna list, but I started wondering, "What do other women find so attractive in their husbands/fiances/boyfriends?" Is it his patience? His love of children? His manly arms?! Come on. Brag on your man.

I'm eager to see what we women REALLY look for in a man. At 60 visits a day, there are a lot of lurkers out there. COME OUT AND VISIT! I don't bite. Not hard at least. ;)

Free For All Yard

There must be a sign in my yard attracting idiots. Seriously. Remember a while back when we found those two teenagers getting hot and heavy in our backyard? Well, they must have passed on the word that our yard is like a free-for-all.

(Quick lesson on our yard: our neighbors on each side both have fences. We don't. There's a tiny dead end, one way street behind our house that leads to one person's home on that road. Back to the story...)

I had just gotten Drew down for a nap yesterday, and decided I was going to take 10 minutes or so to catch up my blog. While I was sitting at the computer, I saw a blue van drive slowly behind my house. I thought it strange, but the van continued on, so I thought nothing of it until...here it came again...heading towards the dead end. As it approached the end of our lot (where the neighbors fence was about to start), the van stopped. A large woman in a long purple dress (yeah, not the fashionable maxi dress type. Think more redneck...maybe Fred's version.) got out of the van and kept her back towards it. She started yelling and throwing her arms around, motioning for the van to continue on to the house.

At this point I'm thinking those two must be in a fight. Maybe she's gonna high tail it back to wherever she came from. Maybe back to Fred's. I dunno.

Well, the van pulls off. Purple dress lady is still in my yard, ranting and raving. She starts pulling the tree limbs (which are technically the neighbors, but they hang in our yard, so I'll claim them). Her arms are still thrashing, and at this point I've decided she's psycho. (Please don't forget that I'm paranoid of someone trying to get into my home.)

So now I'm on protective parent mode. Here was my conversation with myself:

What do I do?! What do I do?!
Call the cops. Yeah, call the cops.
Wait.
Where's my phone?
All the windows on the backside of the house are open. She'll see me!
*I'm now in the army crawl position, crawling across the house, looking for my phone*
It was in the bedroom, where I originally was.

Dispatch answers.
"Yes, my name is Audra Laney. I live on _____. There is a lady who was dropped off in a blue van right behind my house. She's in my backyard ranting and raving and waving her arms around." (I refrained from saying, "Get someone over here NOW!") I waited to hear, "Someone is on the way ma'am! Take cover and lock your doors!"

Um, no. My expectations are too high. They wanna know what she looks like. Race. Hair color. Size. What the van looked like.

I'm like, "Who cares?! Just come over here with your big ole guns and get her!"

"Someone will be right over, ma'am."

Seven minutes later it begins to sprinkle. Cops still haven't arrived. So the lady starts walking towards the house at the end of the dead end street. Wouldn't you know--out of my grass (read: weeds that are obviously too tall) arose a teenage boy. She'd been sitting there scolding her son (?) in my backyard. I guess their backyard wasn't good enough. Maybe there weren't any limbs in her yard to pull on.

Just as they left my property, the knights in shining armor rode in. Yes, more than one. They were at the end of the street for 10 minutes, and then they left. Without telling me what just happened in my backyard.

Anticlimatic, I know.

And the worst part? I spent Drew's entire naptime spying on Ms. Wannabe Maxidress yell at her son and didn't get a shower.

So now I'm thinking we need to take up a fundraiser to build us a fence. Just leave in the comment box however much you're willing to donate.

Writer's Block

I'm having blog withdrawals. My normal blogging computer with all my pictures of Drew has been moved to the bedroom so Drew can't get to the cords as easily; I was losing all my hair trying to keep him out of them. (Hm...as I type this, I'm looking at my laptop cords being dragged across the living room. What is it with boys and cords???) I digress. I feel like I can't write a post without pictures of my sweet boy's face. I mean, what on earth else would I talk about? No, seriously! I have nothing else of note to write about that doesn't pertain to Drew.

Instead of typing anything worth reading, I'll just summarize in list form what's going on in our lives right now:

1. Drew is saying "mama" & "dada" all the time.
2. He only hugs his mama. :)
3. He dances to music and shakes his head side to side.
4. I'm starting to teach the 4&5 year olds this month at church. Love that age group.
5. We're going to visit Sardis Lake Christian Camp tonight for a few hours. It's like we will have come full circle since Andrew & I met there, he told me he loved me there, went on our one year anniversary there, and now will take our son there!
6. Oh but it's going to be hot and sweaty. I hate sweat. But you already know that.
7. Confession: I bought my son Cheetos, but he's eaten maybe 1 total. I've eaten the rest of the bag.
8. My black thumb might be turning green. (Am I jinxing myself?) My yellow lily has over 10 huge blooms on it. It's gorgeous! And my calla lily from LeeAnn is coming back x 5 this year! Did I mention my wave petunias are still alive (and blooming!) 3-4 weeks after being planted? I'm on a roll!
9. I've been doing lots of studies about what in the church is more tradition/ritual than scripture. Very eye opening, to say the least!
10. We're heading to Greenville to see Andrew's mom at some point this month. I can't wait to take Drew to the big pool while we're there. He's going to love it!

Random statements? Confessions of guilt? Suggestions on something I can write about besides Drew? I'm open ears!

It's Wummertime!

It's that time of year again. The time of year where you're fearing for your newly budded plants' lives one chilly night and sweating getting into your vehicle just hours later. Yep. It's spring in the southeast. You can't quite decide whether to put away the thin winter sweaters and break out the flip flops or hold onto them a while longer. I always end up layering most everything with some sort of jacket anyway since I'm pretty positive my body temperature runs lower than most.

The days are getting longer (Hallelujah!) which means evening walks (now with a stroller in tow), porch-side talks, and even ice cream stops! I love this time of year. My flowers are starting to put out, one by one. The grass is screaming to be cut just 7 days after last being trimmed. That probably has to do with the torrential rain we got this past weekend. My front yard had a creek running through it. Ah, just another facet of the southeast spring!

The only part of this I don't like? We usually get 1-2 weeks of weather that sticks around in the 70s (this year accompanied with rain--yuck), and then the temps skyrocket into the 80s and 90s within days. And with that comes 99.999% humidity. Every woman who steps out of her house has a bad hairday and everyone with asthma will have a harder time breathing.

And hence my conclusion: we really don't have such a thing as spring here in the southeast. It's more of a one month transition from winter to summer; we'll call it wummer. I mean, who really pictures 98 degree sweltering heat and humidity with spring? That's a summer attribute, if you ask me. So...I'm going to go enjoy the last few hours of wummer before summer kicks in on Wednesday with 80something degree weather and bad hair. But, hey! If I don't like it, I can always wait around for next week! Who knows--we could be back in the 40s with staticy hair!!

Ahhh southeast spring!

To Tell or Not to Tell

My last post stating I was no longer telling any of you if you had broccoli in your teeth got me to thinking: 1) What factors do you take into consideration in telling someone if something about them is "off?"

Say...if she is walking out of the bathroom with a long strand of toilet paper. Does it depend on where it is? If it's hanging out of her pants? If it's attached to her shoe? If you know her or not? What makes you decide to tell or not to tell?

If someone has something terrible in his teeth? Or a large, green nose friend?

2) What's something you've noticed before about yourself you couldn't believe no one told you about??

My answer: I tell if I'm not laughing too hard. I know that sounds mean, but I get so tickled I can't get the words out. One time in Steak n' Shake, I went to the restroom and saw a woman on the way out with a massive line of toilet paper a mile long stuck to her shoe. I wanted to tell her. Truly I did. But the tears through laughter got in the way. One time I tried to kindly tell a friend she had B.O. I couldn't quit laughing long enough to get it out "out of love." Well, she got it eventually got the message, but it didn't come out as smoothly as planned.

You should have told me: I had my pants on inside out at work. And they had been "home hemmed" for length and it was totally obvious...7 hours into my shift. Another time I had one of those huge stickers that runs down Gap jeans all the way down my right thigh with the size and "ankle length" written on it. I'd been out in public for hours before I noticed!

My 100th Post!

100th Post!!!

I think Post #100 is supposed to be considered some kind of landmark. Maybe that I have way too much time on my hands or way too much thinking in my head that normal people wouldn't dwell on. Either way, it's been 100 posts--some funny, some sad, some sarcastic, and some complaining in nature-- and so much has happened since I started blogging. Let me see if I can recall the biggies:

-Orientation as a nurse
-Andrew turned 26
-Put on my big girl drawers and was an R.N. "on my own"
-Vacationed with Justin & Hilary in July (update, Hilary-haha)
-Andrew got a new truck, which he still dotes upon
-Innertubed for the first time in August--go me for still being able to walk
-Lost a family member in August
-One year anniversary of Papaw's death
-Kacie turned 21
-Lots of showers/celebrations for Kacie & Judd
-Found out we were pregnant!
-Kacie & Judd got married
-Christmas 2007
-Saw the rest of our lives on an ultrasound monitor

I seriously cannot imagine what the next few months is going to bring (besides a baby, of course). Thank you God for the immeasurable amount of blessings you shower upon us daily even though we don't deserve them!

Random Recap

It always takes so long for the weekend to get here, and when it finally does arrive, it goes by more quickly than I can enjoy. It goes by even more quickly if you go to bed at 7pm like some crazy pregnant women do. Kacie and Judd were in town this weekend with their adorable puppy gang (see new lab Reese on left). We went shopping for a while on Saturday morning where I found some awesome maternity deals at Kohls (3.40 for an adorable summer shirt!). We went to mom & dad's new house afterwards to help put a few odd and end things into place. Their big move date is February 16th. Unfortunately, even though I requested not to work the night of the 15th, I got scheduled. Grand. Not sure how long I'll be able to function that day, but I'll give it a whirl. Their new house is sooo beautiful & perfect for them. It's on 3 acres with a pond in the backyard.

It seems strange that this house doesn't seem like my parents' home yet because it's all so new. There are no real memories in the house yet. However, this is the only house my kids will remember my parents in. It will seem to them as though they've always lived there. Just a strange feeling. :)

We had an incredible sermon on Sunday at church. The guest speaker was a professor from Abilene Christian University. Even though the whole service ran a lot longer than usual, I don't think anyone looked at their watch to see 'how much longer' it would be. So inspiring. We had a potluck fellowship afterward and got to visit with family/friends. We all went out to Anna's new house afterwards in Coldwater. It's so cute. It sits in the country, overlooking the hillside filled with cows and a pond. She has the sweetest little front porch to put a swing on. Baby & I will be making lots of trip to visit in the future!


Kacie & I


Anna, Kacie, and I

Other random thoughts this week:

-I'm pulling together insurance stuff for baby--so fun
-I have a maternal-fetal consult with the cardiologist on Friday
-Representing the paleness of the Earth, I'm now down to Clinique's lightest foundation color.
-I love, love, love my new maternity pants. Makes me wanna wear elastic when I'm NOT pregnant! (j/k)
-I love my husband even more for taking me to Chick-fil-A for a hashbrown on Saturday morning when he still had an hour & a half left to sleep.
-I love him for all the other stuff he puts up with--usually with a smile!

Well, I went to bed at 7pm last night and missed the Superbowl (sleep seemed so much more of a priority at that point) and woke up at 7am. Now, of course, I have work tonight so I'm going to be exhausted. :) Guess I better see if I can take a nap. Have a blessed week!