Mommy Swimsuit Edition

I hate bathing suits. Even when I am thin and fit I hate them. There is something about walking around in a skin tight thing that shows every flaw that is just so...traumatizing. This weekend I realized that I have lost all the baby weight and am actually thinner than I was before I had Will. I. Was. So. Excited. I went shopping with my mother in law and happily bought several dresses in my new size. Then, feeling super confident, I decided to try on bathing suits. We are going to the beach at the end of April and I wanted to be prepared.



There are no words.



Childbirth and childbearing does wonders to your body. I was fortunate to avoid stretch marks but I will not even go into what babies do to your stomach. If I could afford a tummy tuck and breast lift I would have driven myself to a clinic right then and there.



Now, I know that we are beautifully and wonderfully made. I know that God could care less that my stomach can stretch to magnificent proportions. I know that God certainly does not care what I look like in a bathing suit. I also understand that this is perhaps the shallowest post I have ever written. I hesitated posting it because I thought I would get one of two reactions. I figured everyone would roll their eyes and think I am vain or else they would understand exactly what I am talking about. I am also aware that my body image will one day impact Laura Grace's body image and I better teach her that we are beautiful because of our hearts not our trim legs and hips.



That is why I am really glad she was not with me as I stood in front of the mirror and mourned the loss of my youth. Seriously. It was that dramatic.



So...this leaves me googling bathing suits. Lands End and LL Bean let you search using your body type. I am a triangle and this means a tankini that will draw the eye upward so people do not focus on my hips.I was rather excited by this notion and decided that spending a million dollars on a bathing suit that I will only wear for one summer would be totally worth it. However, when I shared this idea with Clay he pointed out that all I have to do is apply those same rules to much cheaper tankinis. Like this one from Old Navy...


Or Target. Target can make anything better.

What I Think Of Health Care Reform

Four Months Old!

I am four months old!! Actually, I have been for over a week but Mommy doesn't have it together. I have had RSV for a week now and got very sick. I went to the ER for the first time last Sunday and scared Mommy and Daddy. I stopped gasping for air when the nurses paid attention to me and they probably thought Mommy was paranoid. I had a lot of fun grinning and showing off my gums.

Now that I am four months I have decided to let Mommy and Daddy know more about my personality. I smile and talk most of the day. I have a BIG temper when I get upset. When I am sleepy I don't like the rocking stuff-just lay me down and let me sleep! I really like my bouncy seat but the swing annoys me. I am better about playing on my stomach but only because I can pull my knees up and scoot forward. I really like to look at myself in the mirror! I also enjoy licking my frog toy and playing with my soft books (I lick them as well).

I am drooling, mouthing toys, and chewing on my Mommy's fingers-she is wondering if I am cutting teeth but I don't think I have no plans to do that. I am still exclusively nursing, I hate those bottles and pacifiers make me scream in rage. Told you I have a temper! I do eat cereal once or twice a week but Mommy forgets to give it to me every day. She really does not have it together! That's okay, I could take it or leave it. Cereal is not that exciting, I will just wait until she mixes fruit in it.

I am going to dayschool now. Mommy works in the room with me and holds other babies. That makes me really mad! I watch her when she is walking around the room and cry for her. The other ladies are nice but I cry when they hold me. I only want my Mommy!

I am 17 1/2 pounds and lots of inches. Mommy was too worried at the emergency room to notice how many. I go for my 4 month shots next week and I am dreading them! I am wearing 6-9 month clothes and nursing every 2 hours. Mommy is thinking that I eat way too often and maybe it is time she starts feeding me cereal and baby food daily...

Four Months

Three Months

Two Months

One Month

Birth

Won't You Read To Me Wednesday

Well...it is Thursday. I did not even realize that yesterday was Wednesday until Clay got up from the dinner table last night and told the kids it was time to go to church! That is what staying indoors with a sick baby will do to you. All the days are running together.

My pick is The Little House on the Prairie series. I read this as a child and it is by far my favorite series for children. I am sure that every woman has read it or at least heard of Laura Ingalls Wilder!

There are also a set of books out that are for younger girls but are based on this series. They are written by Melissa Wiley who actually has a blog that I really enjoy reading. She is a homeschooling, stay at home mom who is so sweet. Her books are wonderful-they remind me of the American Girls books but with a Christian emphasis. The books are about Laura Ingall's great grandmother and grandmother. She lists her books on her blog-go check them out!

The Spaghetti Wars

Spaghetti.

It can be a controversial subject. I mean, who knew that there are a thousand different ways you could make it?

First, what is it to you? Spaghetti...does it have meatballs in it? Or just ground beef? Or do you call it Spaghetti and Meatballs to begin with? To me, spaghetti and spaghetti and meatballs are two different recipes.

What do you think?

And when it comes to preparations...how do you make it? Do you season your meat? Salt your noodles? Are your noodles al dente or soft? Do you top it with parmesan or are you a purist like me? Do you cook it in one pot?

Spaghetti leads me to thinking about garlic bread. Do you eat it with spaghetti? Or do you eat rolls? Do you use butter? Do you buy it already made? Do you use seasonings?

And then there is the salad... Iceburg or Romaine? Or do you prefer a nice mix? What salad dressing do you use? What toppings?

You are probably wondering if I have totally lost it. Why do I care? You see, I never knew that spaghetti could be so controversial until I got married. It never occured to me that people made it differently from my mama. Spaghetti was spaghetti. How could you mess it up?!? Then I met Clay. Clay had very different spaghetti ideas. Sauce was made from whatever you had in your pantry. Noodles were to be cooked until they were mushy. The meat was to not be seasoned AT ALL. Pretty much it was nothing like my spaghetti and he practically fell over after watching me make it. He never looked back and is now a spaghetti my way convert.

So, how do I make it? I boil 16 oz. noodles in well salted water. While they are cooking I brown the meat-always 80/20 hamburger. I sprinkle in Italian Seasoning. I drain the meat and then add two jars of Ragu Garden Vegetable sauce. I add the noodles and let it simmer for a little while so that it is hot. My garlic bread is french bread smeared with butter and covered in garlic powder and italian seasoning. My salad is a mix of greens with tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and ranch dressing.

How do you eat it?

I have a dream!

One of the main reasons we bought our current home was because of the large closets. Well.... that isn't completely true. It was also the only home under forty years old. But that is a whole other story.


Anyway, the closet space... It seemed glorious at the time. Deep, cavernous closets just waiting to be filled. Oh, and organized! I had grand plans of organization. I also had grand plans of always keeping the house spotless and then the kids moved in! However, shortly after these grand closets were filled with clothes, toys, shoes, and enough books to supply every child in Africa, I realized something very sad.



We have dysfunctional closets.



You see, it totally escaped my notice that there is no coat closet. In my family, we have a LOT of coats. I have this need to have one in every color because brown and black do not mix. I don't care what In Style magazine says! Laura Grace has a similar compulsion to wear coats of many colors and that adds up to a lot of coatage. There was also not a closet to keep the broom, mop, garbage can, ect... It was sad when I realized this.



The closet dysfunction continued when I realized that my children's closets were becoming a pit. Deep closets filled with misc. items and no organization can quickly become every neat freak's nightmare.


Seriously. I stay up at night sometimes and obsessively google how to fix these closets. One day, in the hopefully near future, when we don't have a pediatrician copay every week because a child is sick again, and we are not fixing a broken down car again, I will have money to make something of those closets.


And then we will probably sell the house.



But, anyway, this is what I dream of...

Master Closet

Little Girl's Closet

Nursery Closet

Mud Room-not that we have one. One day...


This is what I want our utility closet to become...

Some great websites that I love to browse through are...

http://www.californiaclosets.com/

http://www.easyclosets.com/

http://www.dreamclosets.com/

http://www.hgtv.com/search/results.do?hgSearchString=closets&hgSearchType=HGTV.com

Through the years

Positive, Positive, Positive

Maybe if I say it enough I will become it.

Positive.

I used to be a very bubbly person. Optimism practically oozed out of my pores. Okay, that sounds kind of gross. Ya'll get the point-I was perky to the point of nausea. Of course, I was also a teenager living in Phoenix and with all that sunshine it is hard to be negative. Unless you are attempting to be dramatic-I created drama just for the pleasure of riding in the wake of it. Chaos. Destruction. Yeah, I probably had deep issues.

Anyway, I was positive while being destructive because it was so stinking fun.

It ended probably around the same time that I was tired of being chubby (I am not sure to this day if I even was). I stopped eating and then somewhere around then the optimism faded. I got it back eventually but I am still not at the point where I could be described as joyous. And I miss that.

I read a book several years ago called The Power Of A Positive Mom by Karol Ladd. In it, it said to look for joy in everything. Be thankful for even the dreariest situations. In mom speak that means be thankful even when your toddler throws up on you because at least you have a precious toddler to upchuck.

At the time, I had a baby and a two year old. Life was manic. One moment I would be serene and joyous as I played on the floor with my beautiful children. Then next I would be battling tears because my toddler bonked the baby on the head with a toy hammer and then the toilet overflowed, and then the phone rang, and then the dog got out... Ya'll know how that is. I struggled on, valiantly determined to be positive.

I am back at that point, I find myself too tired to be truly positive. After I have cleaned house, nursed every two hours, made lunches, cooked, washed and folded laundry, run errands, worked on homework with a six year old and entertained a three year old all while holding a ginormous baby on my hip...I am tired. And frazzled. And not exactly June Cleaver.

Yesterday I decided I would be thankful all day. All day I would praise God NO MATTER WHAT. This is what my thoughts were like...

Why is there a cowboy hat in the bathroom? God, thank you that I have a little boy to wear that cowboy hat. I just wish that he would stop leaving it all over the stupid house...I mean, thank you. But please...no, wait...I am supposed to be thanking NOT asking. Sorry. Thanks, God.

Didn't I JUST pick up fifty million pairs of socks of Layton's floor? Do they MATE AND REPRODUCE BEHIND MY BACK?!?! God, thank you that we HAVE socks. Thank you for providing for us. Thank you for those little feet that wear these socks. Wait...when was his last bath?! Oh, no!

If I have to make one more lunch I will SCREAM. Why do I even bother when she takes one bite of her sandwich? Why do I go through washing all these vegetables and making sure it is healthy? No one appreciates it. Okay, God I need some serious help. Why am I so negative?! Thank you for a precious child who loves me even when I am grouchy. Thank you for giving us these vegetables that I shouldn't bother buying because no one appreciates how much time it takes to prep them and...sorry God. Did it again.

Why did Will have to get sick? Why now? I have SO much to do! Dear God, thank you for my baby. Thank you that he loves his Mommy and just wants me to hold him.

So. Needless to say, I am still working on it.

Featuring...

Every Monday I will be featuring a blog that I love. My first feature is Ashley at The Happily Ever Afters of the Lancasters. I love reading her blog because she is a sweet, sweet woman and we have a lot in common. She has a very multi faceted blog that touches on several things that I love-motherhood, Disney, design, and entertainment. Go check her out!

1) When and why did you start blogging?

I started blogging in the fall of 2007. I had just been married a few months, and I noticed the blogging trend. I've NEVER been able to keep a hand-written journal, but I desperately wanted to record my thoughts, events, etc. Blogging was (and is) perfect to me because it not only combines the written word, but you can add pictures, music, etc. that really makes it your own. Now I blog not only to chronicle our lives, but to give my thoughts about things, write about things I love, and connect with people. It's awesome.

2) Where do you get your blog material?

How do you come up with your posts?I blog first and foremost for my family. I want to keep a record of our lives, especially now that Evy Kate (my daughter) is here. However, there is so much more to me than just being a wife and mother (although it's at the top of the list!). I love to write about things I love: travel, managing a home, decorating, Disney World, the holidays, things I'm learning spiritually, etc. If an idea comes into my head for a blog post, I usually jot some thoughts down into a notebook and and then write the post quickly after. I definitely have some in my head right now.

3) What is your most important post? Your favorite?

Probably my most important post was when I wrote about really making the Lord real to me. I was pregnant, and it was a big spiritual milestone for me. You can read it HERE. A very special post was when my friend Suzanne posted pictures of Evy right after she was born. You can read it HERE. I have so many posts I've liked, but one that stands out is when I felt the Lord really speaking to me about claiming a verse for Evy. It was so specifically perfect for her; I was speechless before the Lord. You can read it HERE. And recently, I wrote a post about rocking my daughter that was probably the most real, from-the-heart post I've here done. You can read it HERE.

4) If there was one thing that you want your readers to know about you, what would it be?

I want anyone who reads my blog to instantly know that I'm a Believer, but to be comfortable while reading my blog, in the sense that I'm relational in my faith. I love the Lord and my family more than anything else in the world, and I take such joy in trying to be the best wife, mother, daughter, sister, etc. that I can be. I want people to know that there are many layers to my personality, yet I'm actually not that complicated. I want people to walk away from either reading my blog or seeing me in person and feel that I'm a genuine, kind person, because that's what I always try to be.

5) Is there anything you want to change about your blog?

No. I haven't changed my writing style since I began blogging 3 years ago. Most of my posts are happy, carefree, and light. A few are introspective. Some, on occasion, might even cause disagreement. But I'm always true to myself, and I'm proud of that.

6) What are your favorite blogs?

Design Dazzle is great inspiration for kids' rooms, birthday parties, etc. I love Hooked on Houses to see pictures of thousands of homes. I relate to The Nester in a lot of ways. I love BooMama for a good laugh. I love Kelly because I relate to a LOT of what she writes (and we share a Northwest Arkansas friendship/connection!). Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick has wonderful DIY ideas. Vicki Courtney is an excellent parenting resource (for older children, but it's never too early to start reading!). As far as personal blogs, I have SO MANY that I love to read. You'll have to go to my blog and look at my sidebar--I can't name them all!

Thank you, Ashley for letting me interview you! If anyone else would like to be featured, just let me know! I have a list of everyone else that has already expressed interest and will be emailing you shortly :)

Prayer Request

Will has RSV and feels horrible. It is hard to see such a little baby so sick. I would appreciate it if everyone would pray!

Week In Review #2

Monday- It was MLK day so Laura Grace did not have school. It was a good thing because she had a fever virus and ran fever all day. The children played and I cleaned house. As soon as I got it clean, the kids messed it up again :) Laura Grace didn't go to dance because she was sick so I never left the house. It was really kind of nice! I made lasagna for dinner.



Tuesday- Laura Grace was feeling better so she went back to school and the boys and I went to Mother's Morning Out. After MMO let out, I picked up Laura Grace from school. We went home and I cleaned house while Laura Grace did her homework. When Clay got home we decided to go out to eat in Tupelo and go grocery shopping. You can see how well that went here. We ate Chinese, shopped at Kroger and then went home. I bathed the children, tucked them in, helped put away groceries, and then fell asleep watching television.

Wednesday- Clay took Laura Grace to school so I could take advantage of Will sleeping in. I cleaned house that morning, ran errands around lunchtime, and picked up Laura Grace that afternoon. That afternoon we did homework and the kids played while I cooked steak, roasted sweet potatoes, and vegetables. The kids went to church with Clay and Will helped me clean up after dinner. When everyone got home we all took showers and the kids went to bed. Clay and I stayed up WAY to late watching television.

Thursday- I got up early because Will woke up fussy. I still somehow managed to get the kids up late so it was a hectic morning. We all rushed around getting ready for school and Mothers Morning Out while Will cried and the other kids whined. It was not fun. We managed to get to school and work on time. I ran a quick errand before work and then went to MMO. I worked all day-it was very long because the babies in the baby room were all fussier than normal. After work, I went home and cleaned house. Laura Grace went to the afterschool program at church so I didn't have to pick her up. Laura Grace and Clay got home around five. I helped her with homework and reviewed her spelling words. We ate leftover lasagna for dinner. After dinner, I drove Laura Grace to cheer practice. I ran back home, cleaned the kitchen, and went back to pick her up. Clay helped me get the kids in bed and I read a book until bed.

Friday- I got up, got the kids fed and dressed, and took Laura Grace to school. The boys and I ran errands for about an hour and went back home. I did laundry while Layton played and Will napped. After lunch, Layton took a nap while I rocked a fussy Will. I could tell he wasn't feeling very well. After naptime I picked up Laura Grace from school. We did homework and I cleaned house while the kids played. Clay got home early, around four, and I jumped in the shower and got ready because we had a date! His parents came over around six and we left for Tupelo. We got an Applebee's gift card for Christmas so we ate dinner for free :) The food was pretty good, but the waiter kept rushing us. He literally brought our dessert ten minutes after we got our food. After dinner we went shopping for a wedding gift for Clay's brother. We went home, visited with Clay's parents, put the kids in bed, and then went to bed ourselves.

Saturday- Will woke up early, fussing again. Layton soon joined us in bed and was then followed by Laura Grace. Clay and I gave up on sleeping in and got up with the kids. Clay made pancakes while I browsed different websites for Spring clothes (post about this coming soon). We ate breakfast and settled on the couch in front of "Property Ladder". It comes on every Saturday and features people who flip houses. It is amazing what people will do! I eventually peeled myself off the couch and took a shower. I had a hair appointment at eleven :) I went and got my hair cut and colored. It is a dark brown with red undertones and I LOVE IT. During my hair appointment, my mother in law called and asked me to go to Tupelo that afternoon and order Laura Grace's flower girl dress (for Clay's, brother's, wedding). I agreed. After my appointment, I rushed home and picked up Clay and the kids. Laura Grace was cheering at an Upwards Basketball game. While I was there, a crazy woman practically assaulted me. I am not exaggerating. I am debating on whether that story can be told. I figure that if I am unsure it probably shouldn't be! After the game, I rushed my family home and then drove like a bat out of a very hot place to Tupelo (it is about twenty minutes away). I was hoping to get there before the shop closed-I had no such luck. I drove back home, ran to Walmart, and then rushed home to get dressed for a wedding shower that night. After I got ready we fed the kids, greeted our babysitter, and then went to a BBQ for Clay's brother and his fiance'. I could tell Will was not feeling well and debated taking him. At the last minute he nursed and fell asleep so I decided he would be okay.

After the party, we got home and put the kids in bed. The babysitter told us that Will was not acting right. I realized he was running a fever :( We spent a looong, sleepless night trying to help Will. He was coughing, running a fever, and becoming increasingly congested.

Sunday- Around six a.m. me and Clay took Will to the ER. I was worried that he might have pnuemonia. Clay's dad came over to watch Laura Grace and Layton while Clay and I were gone. We took Will to the ER and they surprisingly got us in and out very quickly. They told us he had RSV and that he was doing well enough to come back home. We have a long list of things to watch for in case he worsens. We went back home to find that Clay's dad had made everyone breakfast. We ate, Clay's mom got the kids dressed for church so I could hold Will, and everyone went to church. Will and I have been on the couch all day. He is NOT feeling well!

Freak Out, Much?

This morning, as I was about to write a totally different post about clothes, I heard a bubbling sound. I checked on Will, he was asleep. I checked on Layton, he was playing with his cars and watching cartoons. Nothing was wrong that I could see so I sat back down. The bubbling noise started again. Only, this time, it was more of a boiling sound. I got up and went into the bathroom.

Oh. My. Goodness.

The tub, shower, and toilet were rapidly filling with boiling, bubbling water.

I FREAKED.

I ran for my cell phone, called Clay (who was driving to work), and screamed, "THE TUB, SHOWER, AND TOILET ARE OVERFLOWING!! WATER IS EVERYWHERE!!!"

But...see...water wasn't exactly everywhere yet. In my mind I was already envisioning a flooded bathroom that would lead to flooded carpets, soaked drywall, ruined furniture, and eventually Hurricane Katrina like mold that would leave us homeless.

So, the fact that the water had not yet overflowed escaped me. I was gasping (inwardly) that we didn't have flood insurance and THEN IT HIT ME. Our computer hardrive tower thingy (yes, I took computer science) was on the floor, next to the bathroom. The bathroom that was about to become a flood zone and leave us homeless.

Meanwhile, Clay is very calm. Like he always is.

"Hmmm...is water running anywhere in the house?" he asks.

I ignore the question. "What do I do?! What do I do?!?" I ask over and over. Slightly hyperventilating.

"I don't know, I am not a plumber," Clay responds-still very, very calm.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW!!!" I screech. I mean, he is a man. Shouldn't men instinctively know how to...I don't know...plumb?!

Before my husband can respond, I gasp, "A PLUMBER!! I need to call a plumber! Is there even a plumber in this town!?!" That is actually a pretty fair question. After all, we don't even have a Papa John's. Or a Kroger. Or even a Target.

I may or may not have hung up on Clay at this point. He was, after all, not helping to hold back the flood waters. By the way, I do have to admit that the waters were not actually overflowing. They were at the top of the toilet and still boiling so I think my panic was pretty justified.

I was thinking, GERMS!!! The house will be unsanitary!! We will blow all of our savings staying in hotels because the house is gross and then we will not be able to go to the beach this summer!"

So, I looked up plumbers. There is actually ONE plumber in our town.

I call.

"Hello, X Plumbing, how can I help you?"

"MY BATHROOM IS GOING TO OVERFLOW!"

"What!?"

"Oh. Um. Sorry."

I explained the situation, leaving out my fears of mold, and there is a long silence.

"Hmmm...do you have water running?" He asks. I dimly remembered Clay asking this question.

"Yes, my washing machine is," I responded quietly-realizing that I had just in fact, hung up on my husband.

"Turn it off."

I ran to the washing machine, turned it off and then ran into the bathroom. The toilet and shower was beginning to drain.

"THE WATER IS RECEDING!!!" I practically yelled.

Yes, I said receding. You would have thought that I was on Noah's Ark.

There was a looong silence.

"Okay, well, ma'am I think that everything is ok at your house. Sometimes sewer lines can get clogged and backed up. I wouldn't worry about it," the man said in a voice that very clearly said he thought he was dealing with a crazy person.

I muttered a thank you and hung up, too humiliated to say a proper goodbye. I sincerely hope that we don't know the man but I realize that hope is a futile one in this town. I then called Clay and apologized for hanging up on him. And then, I scrubbed the shower and toilets with bleach because I kept thinking about sewer lines backing up.

Back In The Day

When I was pregnant with Laura Grace, I was sadly one of those know it all pregnant women. I just KNEW that I would never let my baby cry it out, I was going to exclusively breastfeed, my children would never watch television and I would never yell or criticize. While these were worthy goals, I had no clue about motherhood. Oh, sure I had been a nanny twice and worked at daycares. I had probably done more babysitting than Supernanny. I just never realized that taking care of other people's children was nothing like actually being in the mommy trenches. I never dreamed that I would have days where I was literally covered in spit up, mustard poop, and drool. Nor did I ever think that I would ever throw up my hands and cry right along with my children.

Motherhood is hard. Very, very hard. Fortunately, for all of those sleepless nights spent administering breathing treatments, hovering over high fevers, and rocking colicky babies you also get gummy smiles, handmade cards, and mason jars full of dandelions. It is the cuddles, goofy stories, and wet kisses that make me look forward to the next day. It is just amazing how I truly didn't realize how life changing it would be.

That really isn't the point of this post. This post was supposed to be about how I anal I was as a first time mom. I was going to tell ya'll that I charted her baby food in order to make sure that on a daily basis she got a vegetable and fruit of every color. I would seriously obsess that she had eaten sweet potatoes and pears for lunch and needed green beans and prunes for dinner but she wanted sweet potatoes again. Yeah, I was wierd.

I also actually wrote down her "output" as the nurses called it. I would then have long, detailed conversations about the color of her "output" and how often I changed her diaper. I was pretty much hopeless.

I was just thinking about that today, working in the baby room at Mothers Morning Out. It is so funny how much you change as a mom and as a person. As my children have grown, so have I. In some ways. I still cry sometimes because they are. And, unfortunately, they do watch television, I do yell sometimes, and some days I criticize more than I encourage. I figure since I am still getting wet kisses and dandelions, I am doing okay.

Leapster Tag System

When I first saw this in stores, I was skeptical. I thought to myself, I read to my child daily!! Why would I need this?!?! Then I thought more about it... I read the same books over and over and over and over... I finally committed to the toy after Layton played with it for two hours at a friend's house. Needless to say, Layton was VERY excited when he opened it Christmas morning.

The system itself costs about forty dollars. It comes with the Dr. Suess book, Cat in the Hat. Additional books cost around ten dollars. I thought that was a little on the expensive side, but it has become a priceless toy in this house! Whenever I need to calm a grumpy child or am asked to read a book and I can't stop at the moment I hand over the Tag pen. Silence immediately follows. And ladies and gentlemen, right now I finally understand the phrase, "Silence is Golden".