It's My Baby's Birthday!!!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY BABY BOY!!!

These photos were taken last nite. 

More photos from today coming soon.

Love you FOREVER, 


MOMMY

Happy Birthday to Me

Another year gone by and I don't feel more accomplished. Not too many things have changed in the last year.

I do have another addition to my family. A beautiful baby boy whose turning one on the 24th.

I had a wonderful day. I'll elaborate soon.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank God for allowing me to get to this point in my life. I am so grateful.

Amen.

Late Night Thinkin'

Yes, I'm still  up. Yes, I need to carry myself off to bed. I just wanted to clear my head before I lay down.  Please forgive me in advance for the lack of rhyme or reason... I'm just purging.

I've been on hold with this Love Dare thing. I don't know why... I'm just really stuck on Day 6. Marginalizing my life seems almost impossible since I don't have anything laid out. I'm so needing to get back on the Flylady wagon. this lack of scheduling just has me left spinning and quite unproductive. It's borderlining on depressive.

I've been watching Clean House for the last two days. I feel like I'm on the verge of becoming like those families. Now, truthfully, is my home anywhere near Clean House worthy? NO. But in my mind it's not far from. It's just so overwhelming at times. The way it gets so out of control so quickly. Seems like I just can't stay on top of it.

 I know that it drives my husband nuts. And to be honest, I do feel bad. Here he is going to work everyday and I'm here at home. Well... what have I done ALL DAY? Nothing. Not a single thing. I really don't even know where to begin. And the kitchen seems to be the worst place. That and the laundry issues. Ugh, what a pain! I hate doing laundry!!! I didn't used to hate the total process. Now I do. Cause one step leads to the next. Then I'm stuck with baskets of clothes needing to be folded and put away. Ugh!

What's sad is that I have these moments where it seems like I've got it under control. Where I see a light at the end of the tunnel and I've got the schedule down pact. The problem is that it just doesn't last. Nothing that I set out to do lasts beyond 3-5 days. Oh, this truth is soooo sad. I don't know why I'm so inconsistent. This makes me a not so great wife, mother, sister, friend, etc. I really need someone to be accountable to other than myself. The problem with that is that no one else I know is very consistent either. "Birds of a feather flock together", right?

Taking a brief intermission cause I hear my son crying. I'll probably not return to this post. G'nite.

Weekly Menu for Oct. 26th - Nov. 1st

I know this is a day late, but...

This is the Menu Plan for the week of Oct. 26th - Nov. 1st:

Monday- Shrimp and broccoli sautéd in butter, onions, and garlic. Served on top of buttery white rice.

Tuesday- Shrimp and sausage jambalaya. Not from scratch. It's Zataran's with my meat additions. Could that be Semi-homemade? LOL! Sweet corn bread.

Wednesday- Left overs.

Thursday- Family Nite: Chicken & veggie stir-fry with white rice (brown rice for my son).

Friday- Chicken strips, mac n' cheese, and broccoli.

Saturday- Left overs. Might be at a birthday party.

Sunday- Crock pot meal. Undecided.


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Children's Ministry for October: Faith

Today I completed teaching the October curriculum for our Children's Ministry. I have one more night of recap and prizes for the kids. I can say that I was quite pleased with the outcome. It was my first time putting together a curriculum. I will continue to search out Children's Ministry material and post information and links that I find helpful.

"Love Dare"- Day 5: Love is Not Rude

He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be reckoned a curse to him. —Proverbs 27:14

My thoughts...

This is where I'm choosing to begin again. Right here. Why? Well, because this is where it got difficult. Why? I dunno.

Generally speaking, I don't think I'm a rude person. Not really. Now, if as the book states that being rude is by making it things unpleasant for my spouse then I might be guilty. Not intentionally. But I will admit that I don't go out of my way to make things more comfortable. And I am totally guilty of doing more for others than my husband. And I definitely say things, that are not the nicest or necessary out of frustration. Yes, ok, I'm a little rude.  So I'll work on this.

Here goes nothing... Tomorrow will tell. I'm kinda feeling that it'll be an easy day since he'll be gone for most of it. Maybe I'll check out Day 6 and work on that one too since it requires some introspection and I'll be able to do this without distraction from my husband. Hmmm... Yep, that sounds good to me.

My experience...

So I completed the dare. I only did Day 5 cause once I read the dare it was loaded. As we sat in bed watching t.v. I asked him in a sweet, kind tone. "Babe, I need you to tell me 3 things that I do that annoy or irritate you about myself. I won't say anything back about it. But please don't use this as a moment to attack me."

This is what he said:
1. It seems as if I'm not aware of my surroundings or the things that are happening around me. He used the example of me asking him about a bible that had been thrown in the trash. From my perspective he was vacuuming the house. He throws things away all the time. So I figured maybe he threw it away because our son had torn it up or something. Innocent question. Asked just matter-of-factly. But from his perspective he couldn't understand why I would assume first that he had done it rather than the baby. He even said that it wasnt' my tone or anything, but my assumption that bothered him.

2. I don't seem to be able to maintain my schedule whenever he's home. This is very true. I don't know why it is. It just happens. I guess maybe because I try to take advantage of the fact that he's home and do things with him instead of just cleaning and acting as if he's not there. He says I should be utilizing him being home and being able to help with the kids. That's true, but honestly, he's not that big a help.

Surprisingly, even after 2 days, he didn't have a #3. So I will take the liberty of remembering a conversation we had a while back and give myself the third.

3. I don't initiate intimacy. I could go on and on about why that is. But the fact of the matter is that I don't. I do, but it's so far and few between that the efforts really don't count. All I can say is that I hope that once this journey is complete this fact will have changed.

All in all the challenge wasn't so bad. I was waiting for him to just unload a laundry list of things. But all I got was two.

We did however have a moment of testing. The very next day we got into an argument about clothing. I made the mistake of asking him (innocently) about an outfit he was wearing to church. It was a little dressier than I think he normally goes. He had a fit about the question. Apparently he thinks that he dresses like that all the time. And then it came... #1 was thrown in my face. And to add insult to injury he throws in, "See! That just proves my point!"

I didn't argue really. Did my best to hold my piece and walk away. But then after it set in, my feelings were hurt. So in the car on the way to church I asked him, "Why do you feel like you had to prove a point to something that I never argued you down about or denied?" I told him that I was sorry that the morning had gone the way that it had and that I didn't want this to be the set up for the rest of the day. He said that I always act as if it's just that moment that causes him to blow up. I told him then he needs to stop letting things pile up. It's not fair to me for him to hold on to things until he hits a boiling point. I started to cry a bit, but quickly pulled myself together. Once we got to church I was fine.

I'm hopeful for what the next 35 days hold. It may take longer, but I'm going to complete this journey. I have to. My marriage is desperately needing to take a turn for the better. On the path it's currently on, it isn't going to last.

I look forward to allowing God to make me over again and renew my relationship with Him and my husband.

If you can, come join me on this journey. Leave your comments and let's be there for one another.

Read up for tomorrow:

Day 6: Love is Not Irritable

Getting My Heart Right

After much consideration and knowing what this Love Dare journey requires, I've decided to go back a few days. I very quickly lost focus on the goal. My heart is no longer in it like it was. I just really need to focus on this. Not be sidetracked or distracted or even discouraged. I no longer want to "give the devil a foothold" in my marriage. (Eph 4:27) 

What I found in the last week is that there was a calm before the storm. My husband and I had gotten along fine for a while. Everything seemed like it was going well. I thought that this challenge was gonna be easy. but I forgot the key word... "Challenge".

I had a conversation with a girlfriend of mine recently. She and I had a major disagreement. She doesn't believe that love is a choice. I do. And I've got to make the choice every day to show up in love for my God, my husband, my marriage, my kids, my family. And maybe somewhere in the end, be able to show up in love for myself.

This has been a very humbling experience thus far. One that I am glad to have decided to take. One that I am glad to not have to do on my own. One that I am glad to share. I'm hoping that the end result will be testimony to what God can do to, as Mrs. Pat Ashley would put it, "resurrect that which is dead."

I'm sure I've said this before, that my marriage is not in jeopardy of being over. But it definitely needs to be revived. And I am committed to doing all that I can to make sure that it lasts. I took a vow and made a covenant with God about my husband. I'm just not willing to go back on my word.

I heard today on Focus on the Family that without the proper resources we will have problems we can't deal with. Without the skills we will be overwhelmed. "If the responsibility is your life is higher than your skill level you'll be overwhelmed." So I'm on a mission to acquire the resources and skill to be able to not just survive the rest of my life in this marriage, but to honor the Lord, bless my spouse and children, and experience life to the fullest intent that God has for us.

In Jesus' Name.

So I'm going back to Day 5. Where I think my heart fell out of the equation.

I'm hopeful for what the next 35 days hold. I look forward to allowing God to make me over again and renew my relationship with Him and my husband.

If you can, come join me on this journey. Please leave your comments, suggestions, and prayers.  Let's be there for one another. Uplift one another as we move forward in God's design for marriage.

This is where I will begin again:

Day 5: Love is Not Rude

"Love Dare"- Day 4: Love is Thoughtful

How precious also are Your thoughts to me. . . .How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. —Psalm 139:17–18

"Love thinks." How true that is. When my husband and I met we were in high school. I was 15 years old. He was 16. I remember how it was before we were in a relationship. Oh my goodness, I was crazy about him. I would've flipped over backwards for him. And as the book says I thought about him constantly. What he wanted, what he thought, needed, liked, didn't like. It was all about him. He very quickly consumed my world.

And unfortunately also like the book says, our burning flames of romance have turned into very gray, very cold ash. And if I was brutally honest then I would have to say that our flames began to dim after the first year of our relationship. That was 11 years ago. It took 5 years fro our relationship to finally come to an end. We spent a little time apart and reunited once again. Talk about flames! Boy, oh boy, we were smokin'. And we eloped! But even then the flames began to dim and now here I am 5 years later without even an ember.

"Thoughtlessness is a silent enemy to a loving relationship." Ouch! In an effort to not point fingers I won't even defend myself here. All I will say is this is absolutely right. I have been incredibly thoughtless. And the sad thing about it is that in most cases I didn't even know it. Here I was thinking that it was all for him. That I was putting him and his needs first and forgetting all about me. What a crock! It's been about me for a long time. Disguised by the my "putting my wants and needs on the back burner". What a mess!

I could keep going, but I won't. What I will do is share what happened to me on this day...

Today's task was relatively easy, again. My husband was home today. He owns a business and was preparing to go set up for an event. So in an effort to complete the challenge I asked him if there was anything that I could do to help. He told me no. So I did my best just to be kind. And that seemed to work to get us through the rest of the day.  Easy peasy!

Now on page 18 of the Love Dare book it asks, "When was the last time you spent a few minutes thinking about how you could better understand and demonstrate love to your spouse? What immediate need can you meet? What the next event (anniversary, birthday, holiday) you could be preparing for? Great marriages come from great thinking." So here is my final thought... This is something that I should be trying to commit to every day. And as I told a good friend of mine recently we have got to learn to do things with no strings attached. That's where the pain lies. So here's a being a thoughtful person. Simply me... no strings attached.

I thank God in all my remembrance of you. - Phillipians 1:3

I'm hopeful for what the next 36 days hold. I look forward to allowing God to make me over again and renew my relationship with Him and my husband.

If you can, come join me on this journey. Leave your comments and let's be there for one another.

Read up for tomorrow:

Day 5: Love is Not Rude

"Love Dare"- Day 3: Love is Not Selfish

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.—Romans 12:10

Ok, so it's official... I need the "Love Dare" book. I've been using the website for my daily info. Needless to say I was unaware of how much more information the book contains. So after reading Krista's post which shares some of the books content (Thank you Krista), I'm very much aware of how selfish I actually am. Not just as a wife, but as a mom, sister, friend, fill in the blank. I suck! Absolutely and completely.

So now I'm dealing with that revelation what do I do? How do I change the form of thinking I've had for so long? "What about me? Who's gonna take care of me? Me, me, me..."

And here I am on Day 3: Love is not selfish. Ok, so I have to buy my husband something. Well we don't have much money, so what do I do? Well, dispite the fact that I'm sick and all I really want to do is sleep I got up to cook dinner. And let me just say that it was not for me in the least. I haven't had much of an appetite in a while. But then something happened. My husband said I didn't have to cook! I was shocked. I couldn't have agreed any faster. LOL! So off to Mickey D's we went.

Once again my day was rather uneventful. And I must admit that I'm a bit happy that I'm sick otherwise these last few days may not have been as easy as they have.

Now I have to deal with being selfish. Again I say, where does that leave me? Well, I need to stop being selfish. It will have to be a conscious effort for sure. But I need to take the time to give to others. Not things, but my time and effort. I would elaborate on this, but right now I just can't. I will one day.

Thank you Day 3.

I'm hopeful for what the next 37 days hold. I look forward to allowing God to make me over again and renew my relationship with Him and my husband.

If you can, come join me on this journey. Leave your comments and let's be there for one another.

Read up for tomorrow:

Day 3: Love is Thoughtful






P.S. I made good on Day 2. ;-)

"Love Dare"- Day 2: Love is Kind

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor. —Romans 12:10

Thanking God for, yet another, uneventful day. Part of that is because I find my self 6ft deep under the weather.

So today the task was to do an act of kindness on top of the Day 1 Challenge. Well, unfortunately the planned act of kindness just did not work out. At least not yet. The plan was to initiate a night of passion between my husband and myself. He says that it's not something that I do often. He's right, but it's because I'm tired, overworked, and, and, and... You know how that goes.

So needless to say my plans were foiled. No, not by my cold, but by a 10 month old little boy who refused to go to sleep. Ugh! And to think that I didn't even speak the plans to the air for fear of failure! I promise my kids have Lo-Jack or something on my body! They never fail to throw a wrench in the mix. LOL!

You know, I have to share this with you all though... I don't know what's going on over here at my house, if it's the Lord blessing for the intentions behind this journey, but I am so touched to say that today DH cooked for us twice! For lunch he made my special cinnamon & brown sugar pancakes and for dinner we had kielbasa sausage, rice, and corn. Now did he clean up? No, but I appreciate the fact that he cooked. I made sure to say so. Perhaps that was my act of kindness for the day. It is rare that I show appreciation to him for "helping out".

We did have an incident today that was rather touching. Just to give a bit of background: My husband's been off work going on three weeks now. He was suspended (mandatory) for a small fender bender at work. Now, this was only supposed to be 3-5 days, but is still in effect. Apparently their "investigation" is still underway. But when he told me the news today that we were going into the third week I almost cried. This means another month without any income. Don't get me wrong, I know the Lord is my source and shield. But I still felt it. Rather than freaking out or getting angry at him for what was an accident, we prayed. I hugged my husband and we agreed in prayer that everything was gonna work itself out and we had no reason to fear. It was a beautiful moment.

Well, I just wanted to share quickly before I turn in. Now that my son is sleeping maybe I can make good on my challenge. ;-)

I'm hopeful for what the next 38 days hold. I look forward to allowing God to make me over again and renew my relationship with Him and my husband.

If you can, come join me on this journey. Leave your comments and let's be there for one another.

Read up for tomorrow:

Day 3: Love is Not Selfish

"Love Dare"- Day 1: Love is Patient

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."—Ephesians 4:2 NIV

Today was the first day of my "Love Dare" journey. I started this day off nervous. Afraid that I was bound to fail at some point and might have to start over. Fortunately for me, today was not so hard. Actually, I'd have to admit that it was rather easy. We didn't fight, argue, differ in opinion, etc. Nothing. 

The most I had to deal with was my husband acidentally knocking my coffee cup off of my bedside table onto my journal and a few other things. I could've gotten an attitude because he didn't wipe any of it off. But he did wipe up the carpet. And would you believe that I actually considered apologizing for leaving it there?

Well, I thank the Lord for the ease of the day. I remain hopeful for what the next 39 days holds.

If you can, come join us on this journey. Leave your comments and let's be there for one another.

Read up for tomorrow:

Day 2: Love is Kind

"Love Dare" Journey Begins

Tomorrow is the day I begin this journey to hopefully rekindle the love between my husband and me. Now, don't get me wrong. We still love each other, but I'm praying for us to fall in love again. It's been a long time since I've felt that way. I'm sure it's the same for him.

I haven't told him that I'm doing this. I didn't ask him to participate. For one, I don't think he would, and two, WE wouldn't finish. So I'm flying solo on this journey. Not completely alone though. I do have some of my Twitter friends who have decided to join me. They will also be following this journey on their own and together we will uplift, encourage, and hopefully pray for each other to finish the course, no matter how hard it may get.

I'm hopeful for what the next 40 days hold. I look forward to allowing God to make me over again and renew my relationship with Him and my husband.

If you can, come join me on this journey. Leave your comments and let's be there for one another.

Read up for tomorrow:

Day 1: Love is Patient

Kitchen...

Post Coming Soon. Stay Tuned!

Living Room & Dining Room...

Post Coming Soon. Stay Tuned!

I’m Taking It Back. For Our Sake… Pt. 2

*Quick follow up on Wednesday’s post- The remainder of the evening/ early morning went off without a hitch. The baby slept until 3:19 a.m. Then when he woke up we nursed. I took him with me to turn off his sister’s tank light. (It’s being used as a temporary nightlight.)  Then once I returned to our room I laid him back down. He let out a small whimper and then he was out again. Didn't hear from him until 6:30 a.m.! (Happy dance resembling the Cabbage Patch.) And so began Day 2.

Day 2 was not as tough as Day 1. For nap time I nursed and laid him down in his bed and left him. He only cried for 12 minutes this time before he was out. This nap was short lived. About 30 minutes later I heard crying. Poor thing sounded so stressed out. So I went in and rescued him.

Bedtime was a little different. I called it our “cheat night”. We had our bi-weekly family night at my brother’s house this week. Unfortunately, but fortunately, we weren’t home for the normal bedtime routine. When we got home my little man was asleep. All I had to do was change him. But instead while changing him I tried to wake him gently. We nursed briefly and in the bed he went. Just like before, he whimpered a bit then went back to sleep.

At about 2:30 – 3ish a.m. he woke up. I made an attempt to not pick him up at all. It was unsuccessful. He started to get a little loud so I picked him up so he wouldn’t wake his dad. This time we didn’t nurse. I rocked him, gave him his pacifier, and he went to sleep. Didn’t wake up until 6:30 a.m.! And then we welcomed Day 3.

Today, we went a slightly different route. I’m starting to feel a little bad about the trauma that the baby seems to be experiencing. I can’t even motion towards or lean over his bed without him bursting into hysterics. But I’m still trying to hang tough. Still trying to stay the course.

At naptime I took a slightly different approach with the same end goal in mind. As he approached exhaustion he began insisting on nursing himself to sleep. We nursed sitting in my bed and I talked to him and kissed his hands in a valiant effort to keep him awake. My attempt was successful. After he released me I moved him into his bed. This time the difference was I stayed with him. Once I laid him down I rubbed his legs to calm him as he approached anxiety. Then slowly but surely I began to back away from him. From his legs to leaning on the edge, from the edge to sitting on my bed close by, from the bed to the door. Every time I moved away he started to fuss. “No, no, no,” would get him to pull himself together.

Finally I made it out. That process took 15 minutes. But the result was minimal tears. At least I thought so. Once I walked out the door he started up the real drama. But the bright side was he did that for about 15 more minutes. (sigh) I should of just done that to begin with and saved myself valuable time. Oh well, lesson learned. Once again he slept for about 30 minutes before waking up right back in his fit.

Now, here’s where I learned a real lesson. I went in to him too soon. My mistake. I’ll have to test this theory to confirm. (Keep you posted). He didn’t realize that I was there. As I watched, slowly he began to try to go back to sleep. He was putting up a really good fight. Still crying and calling my name, he grabbed his elephant and lay back down. At that point I realized, “Dang!, I shoulda waited.” Sit up, lay down, cry, don’t cry… Until he finally realized I was there. He stopped crying. There we were looking at each other. For about five minutes neither one of us did anything. Then the drama continued…

I waited trying to not pick him up in the midst of the crying. I don’t want him to think that a tantrum will get him what he wants. It had escalated to the point that his cry was silent. After calming him off the ledge to just a cry I picked him up. Would you believe that he stopped immediately as though nothing had ever happened?! That little booger.

Remember, he was still sleepy. He laid his head down on my chest and I rocked him a bit. Then I had a bright idea! Let me climb my tail into his bed. At least try to get him to see that his bed is not the enemy. In we went. (Please keep in mind that his bed is a Pack n’ Play.) I sat with him and eventually made him lay down. He spread himself so both arms were on my legs and his legs were in my lap. In other words, I was not moving without him knowing about it. LOL.

I was able to slowly pull myself from underneath him while he wasn’t completely sleeping. As I moved he adjusted and drifted further. Eventually, he was asleep again.

Bedtime tonight was relatively easy. For whatever reason he was exhausted. I bathed him and attempted to nurse him. I guess since he just ate he wasn’t really interested. I gave him his pacifier, rocked him until his eyes began to roll. In the bed he went. I turned off all the lights accept an extremely dim night light. I rubbed his leg for a bit and then began the easing away. In about five minutes he was asleep and I was out! Mission complete!

I’m going to see what happens if I don’t go to him when he wakes up tonight. Stay tuned.

 Miracles & Blessings.

I’m Taking It Back. For Our Sake...

Today was the day. I decided that TODAY was the day that I take it back! For our sake. My bedroom for the last four years (I’m including pregnancy time with my daughter who is now 3 years old.) has been taken over by our children. And believe me when I say my relationship with my husband has suffered for it greatly. Yes, I decided to breastfeed both of my children. Yes, I decided cosleeping would be best to promote breastfeeding and bonding, not to mention the ease of just being able to roll over and plug in. No bottle making necessary. But, DANG! No one told me once I started that process it would take blood, sweat, and tears to reverse it.

Our daughter slept with us EVERY night. Then slowly but surely we decided that she had a lovely room and a nice bed that were not being used and it was time for her to move in. So the daunting process began. I had read many articles about making the change and attempted to put them into practice, but to no avail; at least not at first. The problem was we, my husband and I, were very inconsistent. We would always give in. Finally we saw light at the end of the tunnel and more and more she began to at first fall asleep and then eventually stay in her bed. At that point I think we heard angels singing. LOL.

Once we got pregnant though, something clicked in her. I think with all of the change she began to regress. But this time we weren’t havin’ it. Not again. So we told her she could not sleep  in  our bed, but could sleep in our room. So a little bed was made for her on the floor with her blanket and pillows. That seemed to work. Then she decided she would sleep in the Pack N’ Play since the now newborn baby was sleeping in our bed. She compromised (wink, wink).

Now, let me make myself clear. I had no intentions on restarting the process, but it just kinda happened. I tried to put him in the basinet, but he was too far away. I couldn’t see him…, you know how it goes. So I moved him in. And there he stayed. Now almost 10 months later I’m here… writing about how I’m reclaiming our space.

I made an attempt not long ago to put him in his bed for naptime. He screamed and cried for 20 mins. before losing the battle and knocking out.

This was the result of that battle. No, I didn't leave him like this.

Today though… Today was it. Something inside me clicked and I am ready. So at naptime I nursed him and placed him in his bed. With the support of a new friend, Dr. Kim (Check out her blog.) on Twitter, I was able to tough it out and let him cry. Back and forth she and I went. Thank goodness for her. After about the same 20 minutes he was out. I vowed that this was it! In order to not cause him any trauma we are gonna make this happen!

Battle #2. Me 2: Baby 0

Normally, at night, I nurse him in the side-laying position and eventually he detaches, turns over and goes totally to sleep. I let him stay there for a bit and then move him into his bed. Some time in the middle of the night we wakes and will not go back to sleep until he’s in our bed. Apparently our bed has some sort of drug within its fibers because he’s back to sleep before he even gets in good. And there he stays until morning.

Tonight was different. I prepared my husband and told him what the plan was. Explained that what ever he needed to cover the next 20 minutes or so he needed to grab because he could not go back into our room until the baby was asleep. And the process began. I nursed the baby as usual. But this time I nursed him sitting up. Once I was sure that he was done and ready to do the “turn over” I placed him in his bed with his pacifier. Poor thing. Before he could even touch down he began to cry. But I held strong and placed him down, turned on a very dim light and closed my bedroom door behind me. Yes, screeching my name did follow. He can be soooo pitiful. But, would you believe it only took him seven minutes to go down? So now the only thing left to work out is the middle of the night. I’ll have to keep you posted on that one.

Down for the count. 3:0, but who's counting. ;-)

Day 1 is complete! (Sorta)

Miracles & Blessings.

Our First Day of School…

September 14, 2009

Sitting here tonight reflecting on the event of the day… My little girl had her first day of school. I can’t believe how quickly time flies. Yes, it’s only Pre-K, but still. She’s my first baby.

I was so excited to wake her this morning. 6:30a I kissed her and sung her a little song that I made up when she was a baby. “Good morning. Good morning. Good morning to you. Good morning. Good morning. How do you do? Good morning. Good morning. Good morning to you. Good morning. Good morning. How do you doooooooo?!!!” Add in a few light tickles and you’ve got a smiling face when she actually comes to.

I explained what I expected from her this morning before her feet even touched the floor. We turned on one of our favorite cds “Car Ride Fun: Kids’ Sing-Along with Nikki Loney” Then we were off! Thank goodness I put my FlyLady habit of preparing for the morning before bed (BBR) into play. We were ready to FLY. Already bathed, we brushed teeth, washed face, pottied, dressed, brushed hair, and were ready to go without a single hiccup! Excellent morning!

To add to the awesomeness of the day my husband, her dad, took the morning off to be present for drop off and pick up! So we said a quick family prayer, left the house, dropped off the baby with my grandmother (you know, so we would be able to provide undivided attention.), and made it to school with time to spare. I signed her in, introduced her dad to her teacher, received a super cute name tag (an apple with her name on it), and we headed to class.

Once all the kids had arrived we walked in, found her hook, got her settled in, kisses and hugs, and said our “See ya later”s. As the teacher lined them all up to wash up for breakfast, I looked back as the door closed to hear, “Bye Mommy.” (My eyes are welling up as I remember. Silly, I know.)

Time for pick up…

Had to make sure we were early. I wanted to be there before they let out. I just didn’t want her to have to wait for me to arrive, or (gasp) be the last child to be picked up. So we made it. Not knowing what to do (remember this is my first day of school too! LOL) I went to her class and peeked in. The teachers aide asked me to wait at the front of the school. By that time other parents picking up and dropping off their little ones had collected at the designated area.

Here they came. Each child’s eyes lighting up as they saw their parent(s) waiting for them. It was so precious. Then…, there she was, beaming like the sun… my love. “Mommy!!!” You would have thought we had been separated for days. It was only three hours! I scooped her up. Kisses and hugs galore! I spoke to her teacher. Excellent reports all around.

As we walked to the car she told me about her day. They had breakfast (she had a bagel with “white cheese”), did arts & crafts (leaving blue glue on her pants), sang songs, got a tour around the classroom to see where they could play, and played. They didn’t get to play outside. Once we arrived at the car the story began again because her dad was in the car. Surprise, surprise! He asked her what she learned. At first she said, “nothing”, but then started listing off all of the basic rules that a classroom should have. She did, however, make sure to emphasize that you can not hug anyone unless you ask them first!

So day one went very well. She had a GREAT day. We will be back tomorrow.

Miracles & Blessings.

Let Us Remember...

Let us take a moment to remember all those lost on Sept. 11th. Not to be captivated by the sadness of that day, but to appreciate the selflessness of those who gave their lives to save a stranger. Say a prayer for the families who grieve their loses, yet continue to press on. 

Let us also not forget those who continue to lay their lives on the line and fight for our safety and freedoms everyday. And in that time of reflection and prayer please remember to send blessings and protection their way. It is these very moments that should make you grateful that you reside in this country. 

May God Bless the USA. 

Thank you Leylan for choosing to be one of those people. My Hero.

*I also want to take just a minute to remember a great man. My grandfather Barrie James Sweetland Mayo. May you rest in peace. He left this earth on Sept. 11, 1999 and still his memories live on. Papa, I miss you and love you still. 

Miracles & Blessings!

Homeward Bound...

I walked through my house this afternoon taking it all in, the different rooms and all of their possibilities. How my walls have no pictures and the décor leaves much to be desired. We still have newspaper taped on windows! I’m realizing that after living here for the last three years my house still doesn’t feel like a home. Yes, we live here, my children are growing up here, and we have a lot of great memories, but I don’t know. Something is still missing.

The hard part is while I desire that “home” feeling I know this is not my home. Not somewhere we will stay. My husband and I have actively begun looking for homes. So maybe in the back of my mind is where my hard time resides. I don’t want to put more into this house than necessary because I know it’s temporary. But in the meantime I’m need to be able to create a home atmosphere for my family and myself.

A challenge I’m facing is a very, very tight budget. We are operating on a single income and don’t have much wiggle room. What I need to learn is how to make my visions come alive with little to no money.

With the season about to change and the holidays fast approaching I find myself wanting to seize the opportunity to start fresh. Take this house and turn it into the home that we deserve. Create an atmosphere that captures the feelings these upcoming seasons invoke. All while reflecting our character, style and creating traditions for our relatively new family.

So here’s the plan…

I’m going to declutter (using www.flylady.net, of course), clean, organize, repurpose, and decorate. The goal is to refocus the functions and purpose of this house, rid the CHAOS, and finally create our home. I’m going to start in one room and take on each one a little at a time. Which one, has yet to be decided. I’m thinking to start in the obvious place, the living room. However, there are seven spaces so stay tuned.

Miracles & Blessings!

Welcome to my world...

Yes, folks! Finally I've done it. I've got my own blog!!! (insert happy dance here) Now if I could just decide what I'm gonna write about I'd be good to go. Still have a lot of figuring out to do, but I'm game.

So, welcome. I hope you enjoy what you read. I pray as I make my way through this life I am able to share the many blessings given me. Yes, sometimes it's a little chaotic. Sometimes it's a bit, well... simply complicated. But hey, that's just me.

Miracles & Blessings!