Refreshed!

Man, have I been busy. I don't know if it is the fact that I turned 27 last Monday or the fact that on the same day I got sick and I was out of commission for the next 2 days. Either way, a spring cleaning bug has bitten me. You name it, I'm going through it and more than likely getting rid of it. I'm organizing our bedroom to make it feel more homey. I'm finally getting rid of t-shirts from college, the cat socks that my mom gave me in high school, and the stuff that "I might wear one day, maybe." I'm cleaning out the bins that hold crap from our trips (a plane ticket? Really? I'm pretty sure we don't need that to remember Vegas.) So much space we could utilize and make our house less...junky. I'm having a wonderful time and am making lists upon lists of organizational stuff I could buy or a new throw that would look good instead of the one from that garage sale that I only kind of liked. I am even organizing my grocery list by order of the aisles in Walmart. I can not tell you how refreshed this is making me feel...even if I do have to part with my beloved cat socks. Ah, I guess I am 27...time to put those to rest.

Is it Weird?

Is it weird...that I want to pluck my 3 month old baby's eyebrows already? She is getting a uni-brow!

Is it weird...that I must know what time it is at all points of the day yet I don't wear a watch? I literally have a clock in every room.

Is it weird...that I know practically every local newscaster by name and act like we are best friends?

Is it weird...that I love to be organized yet I'm not very good at organizing? I have to reorganize my organization every month or so!

Is it weird...that the baby is asleep, Justin is asleep, I very much should be asleep and I'm up writing this instead?

Yep.

The Trip

We went to Neosho, MO this past weekend to see Justin's grandparents. Justin's parents also came down since it's about the half way point for everybody. Haylie was a real trooper in the car...and for the most part did okay away from home. We did have a feeding that was more screaming than eating and she didn't sleep through the night the first night we were there, but that's okay. We still had a good time with the family and I know everyone was excited to meet Haylie.

On the way home, at one point I was in the back with Haylie to give her a bottle and she later fell asleep. Justin had on this really boring CD that he borrowed from his friend and this is what Haylie and I BOTH thought of it!! Turn it off! :)

We probably won't be doing any overnight trips anywhere again soon - I was pretty stressed. But now I know it's always a possibility!

Who Wants to Get Sick on Their Birthday?

Yesterday was my 27th birthday. It was going to be a super fun-filled day...and it was! I got to spend all day with my mom, Haylie & Eli. There were some stressful moments of being out with a newborn all day, but we survived. What we almost didn't survive is the stomach bug that hit me right after dinner. We ordered Texas Roadhouse and it was reallllllly good. Apparently my stomach did not agree. I threw up once we got home and then again at 4 am to empty the rest of my stomach. Justin was a trooper and went to OnCue to get me 7Up. Then he also stayed home today and let me sleep ALL day! I only woke up to feed Haylie and that's pretty much all I could handle. I felt so weak that I could barely hold her for very long. I am feeling much better today but still weak. Hopefully tomorrow I will be back to 100%. Who knows is this was a quick stomach bug or bad food from the Roadhouse. I am just so thankful Justin was able to take care of me and Haylie. Hooray for great husbands. Still stinks that I got sick on my birthday. Boo.

Baby Clues

If you ever wondered about a baby's gender, most of the time you can look at contextual clues. These include but are not limited to the car seat, blankets, the outfit or whether the parent says, "he", "she", "him", "her"...you get the point.

The other day I went to visit my Nana at the nursing home. One of the nurses stopped me and wanted to see "the baby." Haylie has a pink bundle me on her carseat (clue #1) and was wearing a totally pink outfit (clue #2). So the nurse goes, "ohhh how sweet. Is it a boy or a girl?" Trying to hold back any sarcastic comments, I just told her she was a girl. So the nurse goes, "Oh really? She looks like such a boy! Really? It's a girl?"

...........

Maybe I'll buy one of these so people won't have to wonder anymore.

H's Valentine

I hope you can see these pictures, but Jennie Goss made Haylie a little Valentine from Kyndall! How precious is this? Of COURSE we said yes! (Although Justin has already gone Daddy and says she is too young to have a Valentine...) But how can you say no to that little smile?

Phase 2 - Countertops!

The countertops are in!!!!! Not only do I LOVE them, but I LOVE them!!! The guys who came to work on them were great and did them in just a few hours. Too bad they didn't do the backsplash too...that will be Justin's Phase 3 project this week. I may help. Justin and I tend to not work well together on projects like this. So, as Kayla reminded me, it is a really good thing we are attending the marriage seminar in a few weeks at church. We may really need it!

Phase 1 - Before

We are getting new countertops!!!! I can not even describe how excited I am. We have had these others since we moved in and they are chipped, bubbling and just plain nasty. Justin ripped off the backsplash yesterday and started removing the countertops. Since I needed water today, he was so nice to let me keep the one countertop & sink connected. :) Tomorrow is the big day for them to be installed and then comes the fun of the tile backsplash. Any takers on helping? Yea, didn't think so.

Well I am off to clean off my refrigerator. It's making me dizzy in these pictures.

Little Joys

Transitioning from a full time working wife to a full time stay at home mom has proved to be a little more difficult than I thought. For the first few weeks of my baby's life, I border-lined on feeling a little...down. I was still happy, but just the transition of going from doing whatever I wanted whenever I wanted to being at home in the same place for hours/days/weeks on end was not something I was truly prepared for. Now that Haylie and I go out and about and see more than the living room walls, it really make me see the little joys I have in my life.

• Play groups with other stay at home moms. This helps me realize I'm not all by myself!
  
• Sporadic conversations on phone/text/g-chat/facebook with friends. Now that I'm not at work, I can talk whenever I want to good friends. (My cell phone bill proves it!)
  
• Sonic happy hour! When we do venture out, it's nice to know that between the hours of 2-4, I can get a half price treat. I love great deals! This also includes any drive-thru that doesn't make me get the baby in and out of the car.
  
• Finally getting Haylie to sleep and putting her down in her crib for a nap...and she stays asleep! This guarantees me just a few moments to relax.
  
• Daily showers. Never taking this for granted again.

In all honesty though, the little joys I get now throughout the day is being with my baby girl. She provides me with a joy I never thought I could feel. She is truly a blessing from God and everyday that I have her with me, I never want to take it for granted. A year ago, I was really starting to doubt that this day would ever be here when I would be home with my daughter. God is so good!!

Gangsta

Such a Dad

For the past few Sundays, I have gone into Haylie's room to pick out what she is wearing that week to church. This week I thought a kitty jumper dress would be a good pick so I laid it out. Since I get up and make sure a bottle is prepared, Justin gets himself ready and then he is in charge of Haylie while I get dressed. So he got Haylie ready to go and off we were to church. I was in the back of the car with her giving her the bottle and I looked down and noticed...Haylie has her clothes on backwards. Everything. The shirt, the jumper. All the buttons are going down her front, the tags are practically poking her in the face. So I tell Justin that her clothes are on backwards and at first he was adamant that they were on the right way. So I show him the tags and the buttons and he just shrugs and says, "Well, it was just easier that way!" Oh wow. I can NOT wait for him to have to deal with training bras and periods if he has trouble with a simple dress!

Drama Queen

We went from this...


To this...in a month!! My baby is growing up! :)



Today was our visit to the pediatrician. Haylie is 22.5 inches tall and weighs a hefty 11.5 lbs!! She is right on track with her growth, but does have a petite head. (Justin...) She impressed the P.A. with her temper and screaming...and we didn't even do shots today due to insurance issues. I think the whole office was ready for us to leave!

Haylie loves

• to swing and look up and the mirror/rotating butterflies.
• to play on her playyard and stare at the animals hanging off!!
• bathtime with daddy
• watching TV (although we try not to let her!)

Smiles are starting to come! Haylie also loves to talk and will let you know the moment she gets upset. I think we are going to have a drama queen on our hands...

Lucky #30

I think Mercy Hospital dropped the ball for us and didn't submit anything for Haylie to get her SSN. Well, in prime tax season, a SSN for our baby is a good thing to have! So, to get a SSN, you have to go get a copy of the birth certificate. The options are to go in to the office or mail in for a copy. Well........my advice as of yesterday - MAIL IN (but allow 4-6 weeks)!! Going down to the state dept of health's office was just terrible. First, everyone/thing that I was near seemed to smell like weed. Second, everyone was in their pajamas and house shoes. Why is it that no one dresses normally anymore? Granted, I would love to wear my sweats all the time (and do some days!), but I wouldn't go to a public office dressed like that. And I would at least put on shoes.

So, Haylie and I were planning on going down to the office in between her feedings. I didn't bring in the diaper bag because I thought we wouldn't need anything (HUGE mistake). Well, about 5 minutes after I got there, Haylie spit up thick, white spit up all over my shoulder. Luckily I had a few tissues in my purse to wipe that nastiness off. I had to hold her the rest of the time and finally she fell asleep. Meanwhile, I am scoping out places in the back corner where I could still hear for my number to be called in case she woke up and needed to eat...because we were pushing the time!! I didn't have my diaper bag so that was going to be an interesting experience if that happened. So, the whole time she was sleeping, I was sweating bullets because I didn't want to nurse her in the nasty, not so private and definitely not sanitary state dept of health's office with only my fleece as an attempt to cover.

Finally after an hour and a half of waiting/sweating/constantly rocking my baby in attempt to keep her asleep, our lucky number 30 was called. Whew. We made it. And will never do that again!!