Thanksgiving 2009

We had a pretty quiet Thanksgiving. I'm not complaining though.

For years we went running to one family celebration to another. At one point and time we were celebrating four in one day. It was making holidays miserable since we spent the whole day in the car and spending very little actual time with the family. A few years ago, we finally said enough was enough, so we finally got the courage to say "sorry, we won't be able to make it this year." It's made the holidays so much enjoyable now.

Of course, David had to work the first part of the day, so OK and I hung out around the house while I tried to keep her on some type of schedule. That evening we headed to my Aunt & Uncle's to have Thanksgiving dinner with my family. Like always, there was too much food and I ate way too much. I've decided that Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite. I could eat it everyday.

I hate to say that I didn't get very many pictures. I was too busy stuffing my face and playing taboo with the cousins (the girls won). Here are a few pics that I did get.

Cuddling with mommy

Laughing at daddy

And my favorite...

Sitting with Grandpa

A Makeover?

Every year for Christmas David's grandparents give us money. We always receive it at Thanksgiving so we can just go buy what we want for ourselves and have it in time for Christmas. I think I've decided what I'm using my money for this year, I have been debating for awhile and I think I'm going to finally bite the bullet and have my blog receive a makeover by a professional. I keep holding off because I like change and I was afraid that as soon as I got it, I would want something different. But, I love the look of a professional design, so I'm going for it.

I've been looking around awhile now and I stumbled across Designer Blogs a couple of days ago. I love the look they have and I'm going to use them for my makeover. They have very reasonable prices and are right now currently having a sale for 15% off any purchase between now and December 31st.

www.designerblogs.com

So if you've been thinking about a makeover, head over and check them out!!!

Is it just me?

Am I the only one who has a eight week old who only sleeps thirty minutes at a time?

Just wondering if I'm the only cursed one.

Thankful

I'm thankful for....

The Waffle House

I'm thankful that my husband has a job. And not only that, a job that allows me to stay home with my baby girl. Yes, he may work every holiday, every weekend, and 75+ hours a week, but it's a job he loves and it allows us to live comfy. Even with the economy in the gutter and so many people struggling right now, the waffle is still taking care of us.

My Friends
(I don't have a picture of all of us)

I have many friends, but I'm talking about three in particular, Amy, Nicole, & Sheena. Honestly, I've never had many "girl" friends that I've been really close to. I've known these girls for years now, but this year we've grown much closer. I don't know what I would do without the three of them. They make me laugh till I cry and make me laugh when all I wanna do is cry. I cherish our time together, whether be at playgroup, a couples night, or girls night. If it wasn't for them these past few months, I would be in the nut house by now.

Our Family

When they rolled me out from my c-section, I expected to see them all there because I knew they wanted to meet Olivia. What I didn't expect, was to see them all standing there when I was rolled out of my second surgery. I know every year I say I'm thankful for my family, but this year it has a whole new meaning. Their excitement for Olivia has overwhelmed me and their support this past year has been so much needed. I love them all and thankful that we have family who loves us.

My Two Moms

Yes, this is a horrible picture of me, but this is the only picture of the two of them together. Plus, this picture describes what I'm thankful for. This picture was taken after my c-section and I had just been brought back to my room. While everyone else was oohhing and awwing over Olivia, they were checking on me. These two were the ones who put their lives on hold and took care of Olivia and I that first month. I could never be able to express how thankful I am for both of them and all their help those first few weeks. I talk to both of them pretty much everyday. I'm sure I probably drive them crazy calling with all my questions and wanting their opinions on everything. Thankfully, they both always answer their phones. Now that I'm a mom, my relationships with them seems so different but, I cherish them both even more now.

Of course, these two....

Words cannot express the joy these two bring to my life everyday. I'm thankful for the two greatest gifts I've ever received, the chance to be this man's wife and this baby girl's mother.
I love them both more than they'll ever know.

Hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

This one's for real....

I'm taking this post to completely brag on my hubby. I usually give him a pretty hard time on here and he lets me get away with it (he reads the blog) so I figured I would show you that he is a great husband.

Remember the fake pregnancy ring I bought a while back because my real wedding ring no longer fit, well, that ring also didn't fit about month eight and even after I've had the baby, it still no longer fits. Unfortunately, my feet also grew a size and I have a bunch of shoes that no longer fit. I've been mentioned to the hubby that I wanted to find another fake ring since the other one no longer fits and I was tried of being a single mom.

I got a big surprise last week & this one's completely real...

He surprised me and took me to the jewelry store on one of his days off to let me pick out a brand new wedding set. It was a present for our ten year anniversary that we were celebrating that week. It's all sparkly and shinny and I love it. The picture doesn't do it justice.

Please don't think he's only a great husband because he buys me stuff. I cannot tell you all how much he helps me out everyday. Regardless of how long of a day he's had, every night he comes in, takes Olivia from me and takes care of her for the rest of the evening to give me a break. And the best part of it is he does it because he wants to. Seriously, if it wasn't for him, I would be in the nut house by now.

Thank you honey for all the support, the surprise, and the ten wonderful years!!! I cannot wait to see what the next ten bring.

A New Favorite

Yes, I went and saw New Moon. Friday night we had a girls night and braved the crowds to see it. If your a twilight fan, your going to love it. I personally thought it was better than the first (of course the books are still the best). This go round the acting seemed much better and there were no more cheesy lines ("hang on spider monkey"). I wasn't a huge fan of the New Moon book. To me the book was slow and it was the one that took me the longest to get through, but I did enjoy the movie. Plus, Jacob wasn't too bad to look at either. Too bad the boy is only seventeen.

This one though is my new favorite.

I loved, loved, loved it!!!!

Sunday night David and I took a date night to go see The Blind Side. We saw the preview for it this past summer and I've been wanting to see it ever since. I would cry every time I saw the preview, but I'm sure that had nothing to do with the pregnancy hormones. This is a wonderful movie and seriously one of the best movies I've seen in a very long time. Sandra Bullock did a fantastic job and it's a great (and true) story. Go see this movie. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Reason #578 & 579 why I love my husband...

This conversation took place in October 2009:

husband: "I realized today that I was meant to be the father of girls."

me: "why?"

husband: " when you were in the shower, your mom asked me if I knew where your straightener was and the first thought that came in my head was...why? your wasting your time with the humidity like it is today."

*************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

baby crying

me: "did you check to see if she was wet?"

husband: "yeah, it was dry."

I go and feel her diaper and it's soaked.

me: "honey, she's soaked. How could you not tell she was wet?"

husband: "I felt the outside and it wasn't wet."

me: "honey, if the outside of her diaper is wet, we have bigger issues."

husband: "oh, I thought that's how you figured out they were wet."

Late Night Randomness...

• I've seem to have fallen off the blogging bandwagon. I feel like I've had nothing to talk about lately. The ironic thing is I have been busier lately than I have been in awhile. Between play dates, dinners with friends & family, and the everyday house stuff, I've been going non stop. Yet, I feel like I have nothing to say. If you wanna know what we've been up to, head to Nicole's. She does a great job of posting about what we've been up too. If we're not home, we're usually at their house anyways.

• We had a girl's night tonight and it was very much needed. We went and saw New Moon. I loved it, but the books will always be better. I cannot wait till Eclipse comes out next summer. If your not a twilight fan, it's worth paying the $10 to stare at Jacob the entire movie. Jacob is nice eye candy even if he's only 17.

• Things with Olivia are getting much better. She seriously seemed like a different child when she hit the six week mark. Unfortunately, right now she has a upper respiratory infection. Even being sick, she's still in a pretty good mood. The plus side of her being under the weather is that she sleeps all the time. I've gotten more done in the last two days than I've done in the last two months. We have her on some meds to clear up the congestion and hopefully she'll be feeling better soon.

• I'm dying to see The Blind Side. I cry every time I see the preview.
  

• We have relatives coming from out of town for Thanksgiving and this will be their first time meeting Olivia in person. I cannot wait for them to meet her.

• I'll admit to it....I've already put up our Christmas trees. Yes, I said trees. I'm one of those freaks who puts a tree in every room. I LOVE Christmas!!! It's my favorite time of year.

Alive

I'm Alive

So damn easy to say that life’s so hard
Everybody’s got their share of battle scars
As for me I’d like to think my lucky stars that
I’m alive, and well

It’d be easy to add up all the pain
And all the dreams you set and watch go up in flames
Dwell on the wreckage as it smolders in the rain
But not me, I’m alive

And today you know that’s good enough for me
Breathing in and out is a blessing can’t you see
Today is the first day of the rest of my life
And I’m alive, and well
I’m alive, and well

Stars are dancin’ on the water here tonight
It’s good for the soul, and there’s not a sole in sight
But this motors caught it wind and brought me back to life
Now I’m alive, and well

And today you know that’s good enough for me
Breathing in and out is a blessing can’t you see
Today is the first day of the rest of my life
Now I’m alive, and well
Yeah I’m alive, and well

"My baby can eat your baby for breakfast..."

I would like to introduce the newest member of our crew & Olivia's future boyfriend....

Cruz
11/10/09
6lbs. 11oz. & 18 inches long

Sheena gave birth to baby Cruz on Tuesday and he is tiny & so so cute!!!

I'm in love with him
&
Olivia could eat him for breakfast...

It's hard to believe they are only five weeks and six days apart in age. My baby girl looks like a monster next to Cruz.
Let's hope Cruz likes girls bigger than him!

Congrats again to Sheena & Aaron!!!

Believe it or not, this is the first time in like three years that someone in our group hasn't been pregnant. We've had four babies in one year. We need to stop drinking the water!

Blame it on the coffee....

So what's a girl to do to get out of her blah mood? Shopping was out of the question since I already blew that money, so I headed over to Nicole's to have some girl time. We didn't really have playgroup this week since we had some other stuff came up, so Amy and I just went over when the kiddos went down for nap. We were there for moral support while Nicole worked on Christmas dresses for our three girls. We're dressing them in matching dresses for our annual Christmas party...yes, we're that dorky.

As for the rest of the afternoon, we're going to blame it on the coffee and the fact that due to the weather, we've been shut up in the house for days now. On my way to Nicole's, I stopped at the racetrac gas station for coffee. This stuff is like crack. I've recently got Amy hooked on it and now have Nicole. It's good and it's cheap. You can score a 24oz. for $1.39 (and that includes tax). This stuff is like a drug for us. As Amy once said "Starbucks wasn't even doing anything for me anymore, this stuff is making me stutter." It's that strong. This stuff gets us pretty hyped up and ping off the walls after drinking it (Nicole made four dresses in less than two hours). It also makes us a little crazy.


It all started when we were talking about other blogs (nothing new there) and Nicole mentioned the post by Whitney at Glamorous Housewife where she measured her head and realized she had a big head. Well, Nicole had the tape measure out for sewing and yes, we measured our heads. Nicole was the winner with the biggest, followed by Amy and I with a tie. No, I didn't get pictures of us measuring our heads, but here's a few that describes the rest of our afternoon.

Why Amy and I shouldn't be in charge of buying the fabric...
"Do you think we got enough?"

The Fashionista...monkeys on her shirt, frogs on her tights, and white sandals after labor day


We found out Matalie likes older men...she was so flirting with my husband!


Naked Baby!!!


Olivia and her "Al Bundy" impression...

I love my friends.
Thanks for a fun afternoon!

Blah,Blah, Blah...

This week is just one of those weeks. It's not that anything bad has happened, but I just can't seem to get it together. I feel scattered.

My house is a disaster & laundry needs to be done.

The hubby & I have been fighting all week (and it's my fault).

What little bit of a schedule Olivia had, has seemed to be thrown out the window.

Plus, I have a cold.

I cannot seem to find the motivation for anything. We went out of town this past weekend and though we had a great time, it seems to have thrown us all off. I had planned on posting about our weekend, but if things keep going the way they are, it's not going to happen anytime soon. The weather has been nasty these past few days and it seems like it's here to stay. It's not helping my mood. I hate weeks like this. I hope I can get out of this funk soon. It's no fun.

This does make me smile...

Let's Talk About Sex...

I knew that would get your attention. I figured I would give y'all a break from the colic baby talk. I want to apologize to my grandparents in case this makes them feel awkward (they read my blog). But I am married and do have a baby, so I guess they know I've done it at least once. Moving on....

So, I went back to have my incision checked out yesterday morning. Even though I'm only five weeks postpartum, while I was there, they decided to go ahead and do my six week check up since it is next week. Everything looked great and I was giving the all clear for resuming normal activities. He said to wait till next week after it has been officially six weeks and I could start exercising and start engaging in sexual activities with my hubby again.

When they were checking all my vitals, the nurse asked what I was doing for birth control...um...not having sex I told her. She laughed.

After waiting almost two hours for the doctor to come in (that's a whole separate issue...don't get me started), he came in and decided to go ahead with the six week check up. Twice again the question came up of what I was doing for birth control...I told him I was practicing abstinence and again they laughed. He went on to explain they had to make sure I wasn't pregnant again. I told him I am a 100% sure. I've had two abdominal surgeries in the last month and have a baby with colic, the last thing on my mind is sex. He said you would be surprised at the number of patients that come in for their six week checkup pregnant.

Seriously? WTF? Your kidding me? Maybe somethings wrong with me, but the last thing that has been on my mind this past six weeks is sex. In fact, I keep reminding myself that's what got me into this situation to begin with. The only thing that has been running through my mind is when do I feed the baby again. Plus, I still have that thing hanging off me that no one warns you about...the flabby stomach. Yeah, thanks for the warning ladies. Um, it's gross and it jiggles like jelly. I feel like Santa. Does it ever go away? I mean not only are you operating on only a few hours of sleep a night, but how do leaking breasts and weeks of nonstop vaginal bleeding put you in the mood? Is it just me? Kuddos to those women who are ready to jump back into the fun so soon after having a baby. I'm amazed by your ability to take care of a newborn and your husbands.

Oh and don't feel too bad for my husband, I won't make him wait that much longer. I just seriously don't want to be pregnant two years in a row and I'm sure he couldn't survive that either.

Absences makes the heart grow fonder...

Yesterday was a bad day. From the hours of 10am till 9pm, Olivia screamed her head off. The only time she slept and stopped crying was when we went to walk at the park and out to eat dinner. Torture.

Today I had a doctor's appointment. I took Olivia to her Nana's this morning before my appointment and somehow I convinced her Nana to take her for the day (okay it wasn't that hard to do). I headed back to the house and it was bliss. I took a long nap, packed for our trip, and completed some chores around the house. It's hard to start and finish anything right now without being interrupted. It was a much needed day.

When we went to pick her up tonight, she actually wanted me for a change. It was nice. Plus, she kept giving me her sweet baby smiles. When we got home I held her for a straight hour while she slept in my arms.

I think we both needed a break from each other. It's true that absences makes the heart grow fonder.

One Month

Sorry, I've been working on this post for a few days now and it's a few days behind.

Olivia Kate is already a month old!

What you've been up to...

• At your three week checkup, you weighed 10lbs. 6oz. and were measuring at 22 1/2 inches long. I'm guessing your at least 11lbs now.
  
• You only wore your newborn clothes for about a week. Your already in a size 3months. All your clothes fit your long legs, but are too big in the waist.
• You can already hold your head up. You were holding your head up since the day you were born.
  
• You love to ride in the car, in your stroller, or in a shopping cart. If you stop moving, then you start to cry.
• Your still waking up a night about every 3-3 &1/2 hours.
• Your always moving your hands. Daddy laughs and says you'll be just like mommy always talking with your hands.
  
• Your always awake and alert. You don't sleep much during the day for a baby. You only sleep during the day if your in your swing, someone is holding you, or your in the car.
  
• You like to be out of the house and on the go. On days we stay home all day, your usually in a bad mood.
  
• You've got your daddy wrapped around your finger already. When he comes home from work, the first thing he does is pick you up to love on you. You can be screaming your head off and no one can make you happy, but he'll come in and pick you up, you immediately stop crying.
• You celebrated two family birthdays, one of them being your Grandpa's 50th, and celebrated your first Halloween. Mommy didn't buy you a costume to wear, but Mrs. Nicole made you a Halloween dress and you looked pretty darn cute in it!

It's hard to believe that a month has already gone by, but it also seems like that month has lasted forever. When you were first born, I remember thinking I'll be happy if we make it through the first month, well we made it, but now I'm hoping we just make through the second. Everyone keeps promising it gets better.

Surviving

My husband just informed me that I haven't updated the blog. I guess he's had nothing to read. I figured I should let y'all know I'm still surviving. Surviving being the key word.

It seems that baby girl has a little case of colic...yes, I said that awful c-word. I wouldn't pray colic on any parent. I can only describe in two words...it sucks. Evenings are rough for us right now. From the hours of about 3-10pm she cries nonstop and nothing can be done to console her. Oh and unless you have some miracle cure for colic that no one has ever heard of...save your suggestions...we've tried pretty much everything. It seems it's just a stage we're going to have to wait for her to grow out of. Let's pray she grows soon.

Also, I'm told Olivia is not a normal baby. She hates being at home and she doesn't really nap during the day. She seriously hates being at home, which has done nothing but get me in trouble with the hubby for spending too much money. I'm either at a store, at the park, or at a friends. She loves to ride in anything that moves, the car, stroller, or a shopping cart. Luckily, she's fitting into our lifestyle since we're both always on the go. Plus, unless your holding her or she's in the car seat, she doesn't sleep during the day which doesn't help with the colic in the evenings.

With all that said, I can say that I'm so in love with her and no, I can't imagine life without her. It's crazy that she's only a month old and already how much of her own personality shines through. It's also funny to see the traits of each of us that she has. I do hate to say that the older she gets, the more she looks like David. I was hoping she would some what look like me. Oh, well...

We've been busy this past month and I should have a ton to post, but I haven't had the energy. One thing we did do this month was have Olivia's newborn pictures done. We're still waiting on the final pictures, but Tiffany went ahead and sent me a preview. I can't wait to get the final pics to share!!!