Family Photo

Piercings

Well, I am officially back home for longer than a few hours.  It feels good to sit down and get Trae back on a schedule.  He has been a major grumpy pants after missing so many naps.  I hate for that to happen.

We did get some time to take our monster dog, Moses, to the vet this week.  We found out that he weighs over 80 pounds, and he will probably still do some more growing.  I can't wait for Trae to get big enough to play with him.  They will have fun together.  Since Moses has been staying with my parents for the last month (hallelujah!) to give me a break, it was Trae and Moses' first time meeting.  It was also Trae's first time to meet my parents lab (and my favorite dog in the world), Isaac.  Every time Isaac would hear Trae cry, he would pick up whichever dog toy was closest, run to where Trae was, and drop the toy next to him.  If dogs could babysit, I would pick Isaac.  What a sweet dog.

You guys, I have a piercing addiction.  As I said in one of my lasts posts, while I was in Oklahoma, I got a new one.  I am loving it kind of a lot.  In the past I have had my septum and labret, and I still have helix, tragus, anti-tragus, and of course, the ear lobes.  I have a love/hate relationship with the way I feel about having piercings at this point.  On one hand, I am young and they are fun and temporary.  On the other, I am a mom and I need to look somewhat mature.  I have taken out all facial piercings, just leaving the ones on my ears.  I feel like they are cute... and I am still young, so I think they can stay in a little bit longer.  What do you guys think about piercings on moms?

My helix and anti-tragus piercings.

Trae's Playlist

I mentioned before that I do not plan to raise Trae on the typical children's music.  When I was little, I listened to actual good music, and I want him to be the same way.  Because of this, I have started to make him a playlist that we listen to when we are hanging out at the apartment.  It is nowhere near finished.  Actually, there are jut a few of my favorite songs on there at the moment.  I have well over 6,000 songs to sort through and decide on, but I have a little bit of a start.  Here it is:

Everything Will Be Alright - The Killers
Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll - The Killers
Hey Jude - The Beatles
Let It Be - The Beatles
Magnetic - Sanctus Real
One Love/ People Get Ready - Bob Marley
The Luckiest - Ben Folds
Lullabye - Ben Folds Five

Any good songs you think I should add?  Let me know!

Other than that, here is a special little photo of Trae and his great grandmother.  She has been really sick lately, but today she was like her old self.  I am so glad she got to hold him.  This picture is special to me.

A Little Scattered

As I mentioned in my last post, my little boy get his first set of shots.  While he was there, we got his weight and height.  It is always exciting for me to see how much he has grown.  He is now a whopping 24 pounds and in the 80th percentile.  He has come a long way from the 6 pound 12th percentile he started out in.  He is also not almost 24 inches!  He has grown so much.  I swear most of it has happened in the last two weeks.

My husband is home this week.  Weeks like these make me feel like my life is normal.  I wish life was like this every day.  It is so nice being able to have someone around to talk to.  You can always tell when I have  been deprived of human interaction.  I will talk your head off.  As much as I love talking to Trae right now, sometimes I just wish he could talk back.  It's great having someone home to have dinner with.  It's even better to wake up and have your husband home.  This is how it's supposed to be, y'all.  Art's job is just so hard.  I have to constantly remind myself that it is a blessing that he has a job.  Remind, remind, remind...

Well, we have gotten the opportunity to do a little bit of driving long distances with Trae in the last week.  We have been going all over the place taking him to visit great grandparents and aunts and uncles.  Let me tell you, driving anywhere over five miles with a baby is HARD!  There is so much to bring.  Diapers, wipes, bottles, blankets, bouncy seats...  These little ones are hard to please!

So, being my free spirited self, while we were out I got myself a new piercing that I have been wanting for a long time.  I got an anti-tragus piercing.  I will take a picture of mine when it is a little less swollen and nasty, but here is an idea...

It was quite a bit painful, to say the least... But, it's done!

My posting might be a little scattered for the rest of the week, but I will be back into the swing of things next Tuesday when Art goes back to work.  We have many relatives to squeeze into a short week while he is home.  I hope all of you are having a great week too!

Date Day Tomorrow!

Hey, guess what? Art is home! My parents are in town! Life is exciting this week. My parents have been awesome babysitters. I love holding Trae, but it is nice to have more than just a few minutes to get things done around here. Tomorrow Art and I are having a much needed date day while my parents spend more time with Trae. We are going to go to Keemah, and Art even agreed to ride a Ferris wheel with me. What a charm.

Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.

I have thought long and hard about this one. I am generally happy being myself, so I had a hard time thinking of a specific person I would like to trade places with, but after some thinking, I came up with a very honest answer.

Let's see if I can make this make sense. I want to trade places with a normal family. By normal, I mean that I want to trade places with a family where the husband comes home every night. I want to stay me. I still want to be married to Art. I want my family to stay exactly the same. I just want it to be normal in a sense that I don't have to be lonely all the time. Depressing? Yes, probably, and I am sorry about that, but at least it's true.

The Journey from Then to Now

As I sit here looking at Trae, I can't help but think how lucky I am and how much my life has changed in the last few years. Art and I met our first day of college. However, we weren't even friends for a few years after that. I guess I had to do some growing up, and I am SURE he did too. Haha. I remember the process of finding myself and becoming happy with the person I had become. This process was long and painful. It included many ups and downs, giving my heart away far too easily, finding what I thought was fun in all the wrong places, and a terrible fear of being alone. The summer that Art and I started dating, I spent a lot of time listening to my favorite band, The Killers, painting, and smoking cloves on my back porch. Coincidentally, this was also the summer that I decided to buy a ferret... then get rid of a ferret. Friends, don't get a ferret ever. They are evil little animals.

One night I discovered something incredibly crucial. I needed to be content being by myself. I think that I had gotten in such a habit of avoiding my thoughts, that when I was left alone with them, it was really scary. Slowly, I began to work through those thoughts. I settled things with myself, and I settled things with God. It should have gone in the reverse order, with God being first, but I just wasn't there yet. I think that's why my relationship with God is so awesome and special to me now. I ran for a long time, and He was so patient with me. God' love is powerful and His grace is truly amazing (Good thing they wrote the song, eh?). As I sorted out the things in my mind, I came to the conclusion that it was alright to be by myself and that my mind wasn't something to be scared of. It was then that I realized I had been trying to find completeness in so many places, and the only place I would find it was in God.

Ironically, soon after I decided that I was okay with being alone, I found a person who did not complete me at all. Instead, he perfectly complemented me. This person was my wonderful husband, Art. It is hard to believe that one person could be so wonderful, but he really is. I love that man. He is an awesome spiritual leader, he is a provider, he is quickly showing me that he is a great father, and he is my best friend.

Life has a funny way of dealing cards that will bring you to a certain place. A few years ago, I would have never thought I would end up where I am now. I always told my friends that I wanted to wait a long time to get married and an even longer time to have children. I especially never thought that life would take me away from my friends and family and the great state of Oklahoma, but it did. Sometimes I am still trying to figure out why, but I do know that I am happy where life has taken me, and I am one hundred percent sure that this is exactly where God wants me to be.

Meet My Family

I thought I would use this post to introduce you to my little family. I have been trying for the last two days to write a more substantial blog post, but I have just been so exhausted. I had heard of third trimester insomnia, but I had never experienced it until this week. I am almost to tired to even think. I am sure that will only get worse in a few weeks when Trae is born.

Meet me...

This picture was (obviously) taken on my wedding day, almost a year and a half ago. I can't believe it has already been that long.

Meet my wonderful husband, Art...

What a good looking man! We met our first day of college, but didn't even start dating until about three years later. In fact, we barely even talked until then. I will have to post our story on here sometime. It is pretty unique.

Meet Moses...

I promise you, he looks cute, but he sure can be frustrating. I think he was put in our life to develop my patience.

Meet Moo...

This cat was my very first pet of my own. I love him a lot. He first belonged to one of my best friends from college who named the poor cat Nameless Slob. Then his name went to Slobs. After I got married, I grew a heart and realized that he needed a better name. Someone once told me that Moo means "cat" in another language. I think it might actually means "pig," but regardless, the name has stuck.

Finally, meet Moxy...

After Art and I got married, my grandmother sent us a check. Art knew I was lonely because of his work schedule, so he suggested that we take that check and go adopt another cat at the SPCA. You can't see his eyes in this picture, but they are bright blue, which is why we picked him.

So, that's my little family. I know, we have way too many animals. That kind of explains why I am always cleaning. I hate having animal hair on the floor. Unfortunately, that means that I have to vacuum about twice a day.

Okay, I am off to make cookies. Do you want to know what the best chocolate chip cookie recipe is? It's on the back of the Nestle chocolate chip bags. I'm not even kidding. Out of all the recipes I have ever tried, this one is my favorite.

I guess it's time to start blogging... At least that's what my husband tells me. I need something to call a "hobby." I have been blessed to be (f)unemployed for the last six months. I like to say I am retired, but I guess soon, I will say I am a "stay at home mom." This little blog will be about my little family. I am married to a wonderful man who I met on my very first day of college. We have been married for over a year, which is crazy. I never thought I would be where I am right now.

Our life is about to change... a lot. In about a month, we will have a baby. I can't wait... I think. I looked at our little countdown today and it said there were 33 days left. That is more than overwhelming to me. I am so far from having things ready. I love to plan. I love lists. I love to have things done weeks before hand. However, for some reason, I have nothing done for the baby. I am absolutely so excited for him to be here, but I think I am in a little bit of denial. His room is a disaster. The clothes are not washed or hung up. I have no thoughts of packing a bag before hand. For some reason, none of this worries me, which is weird. I am the worlds best worrier. In any other situation, I would be stressed out of my mind, but I am completely stress-free about the fact that there is nothing done. I'm sure it will all work out... See the lack of stress? It's great. I am completely convinced thatI am going to end up having my baby in the car because I will be in denial that I am in labor. And, hey, if I do, I will have more to write about, right?

So this is life, and I am pretty pleased with it. I hope you enjoy reading.