Happy Memorial Day

Still packing, friends.  We will be moving in a week.  Until after the move, I will continue to post only occasionally.  Bare with me.  I will be back.

Cat friend!

Trae is starting to eat solids!

Brief Update

Hey, guess what?  We are leaving the apartment life behind, FINALLY!  After three apartment moves, endless loud neighbors, mold, leaks, and oh so many more joys, we are going to be moving to a house.  I had previously written about us buying a house.  We did not end up buying.  Instead, we decided to pay off credit cards and other debts and continue renting for awhile longer.  I feel like this was a fantastic plan because I can now proudly say that we are almost debt free.  We still have the unfortunate car bill, hospital bill, and a washer and dryer to pay on, but really, we have come so far in a year!  I am really proud of us.

As soon as Trae wakes up from his nap, we are going to put down the deposit on our new rent house.  I am  really excited about this!  The house is three bedrooms and the garagehas been turned into one big game room.  It has a real washer/dryer room and a real kitchen!  Can you tell that I am happy about that?  What is even better is that all of our neighbors will be old people.  Ah, silence!  

And now for a Trae update.  While Art was home, Trae had his first professional photo shoot.  He was great.  He smiled for every picture!  I was so proud.  Yesterday, he had his 4 month shots.  He didn't like them, but he was pretty good the rest of the day.  Also, he is now sleeping every night from 7pm to 7am.  I know, he is perfect.  Please don't steal him.  Oh, and one more thing... We are starting to try solids!  He hates them.  I can't wait to start making all the fun stuff, though.  We just have to get over the rice cereal first.

Okay, back to packing.

Moving

Yes, I have been absent from blogging again, but for good reason.  Art and I have been packing up our apartment so we can get outta here next time he is off work.  I am so excited to finally be in a house.  Other than packing with Art, we also had family pictures done.  There are some cute ones.  I will post as soon as we get the disc.  Well, I will probably not be posting too much in the next week, so don't give up on me.  I will be back as soon as I finish packing!

HOPE

I found an old journal tonight.  I forgot how terrible my first few years of college were for me.  I spent my first two years at a Baptist college.  Please don't even get me started on religious schools.  I love Jesus... so much.  He has the power to rescue, for sure, but I still would not recommend ANYONE to go to a religious school... This journal I found reminded me of just how hard it was for me to go to a close-minded school being open-minded me.  I was so depressed, hurting, wanting to not even exist anymore.  It hurts me to read it.  It hurts me to remember who I was.  Here is the thing, guys... I didn't die.  I want every one of you to know that no matter what you are going through, rescue is possible.  I AM STILL ALIVE.

Husband

Today:

Today I...

• Got two pairs of jeans and a skirt for $30 at Forever21
• Got a book on how to make my own baby food
• Got six big bottles of Bed Head shampoo for $50
• Bought Trae some new toys
• Got flowers and gin from my husband
• Ate sushi and seaweed salad

Let me elaborate.  Bargains, bargains, bargains!  Forever21 is one of my favorite places to get clothes.  They won't last a lifetime, but they are cheap and fun.  I think everything I wore today was from there.  It is really importnat to me to make my own baby food for Trae.  We haven't started any solids yet, but I know the time is coming, so I thought I better start reading up and getting what I need.  The WalMart salon was having a great deal on Bed Head shampoos.  If you buy one big bottle, you get two big bottles free.  Holla!  One of the toys we got Trae was a little blue dog that shakes and plays music. He got the biggest kick out of it.  I love hearing him laugh.  Art got me some really pretty flowers.  It was really sweet of him to do that.  They are lots of lilies floating in a vase.  It is a very different arrangement from what he has gotten me in the past, and I really love them.  He also bought me a bottle of gin because he knows the way to my heart.  Also, I am about to sit down to eat LOTS of sushi and watch The Big Bang Theory.  I know upon finishing I will feel like I have eaten way too much, but I only eat this much once every three weeks, so I think it's okay to live a little, right?

Finally, A Moment To Myself

Alright, so, the last few days with Trae have been a challenge.  He was doing so well sleeping through the night every night, then all of a sudden it's like he is a newborn again.  He is up and inconsolable every three hours.  It. Is. Driving. Me. Crazy.  If you didn't know, I'm really serious when I put a period after every word.  He has also been super cranky and really tired during the day too.  The problem is, he just won't sleep during the day now.  I even gave in and put him in his swing and NOTHING.  Really, I am frustrated and glad beyond belief that Art is coming home soon because I need a Trae break.  I love being a mom always, and I enjoy being with Trae 98% of the time... but the other 2%... I just need some time for me.

I am also super stressed about this week.  Art will be home this week, which is always nice, but there is just so much we need to accomplish in seven days.  We need to find a house to rent, buy a million groceries, see family and friends... I know it doesn't sound like that much.  I am just overwhelmed.  Debbie Downer, Negative Nancy, blah, blah, blah...  On the positive side, Art coming home always means one good thing: take out sushi!  We wait until Trae goes to sleep then order up some sushi... and of course a seaweed salad for me, because YUM.

Trae fell asleep sitting up... while eating.  I told you, the kid has been tired.

Trae has also discovered that his hands are really great because they can hold a bottle.  He still needs a little help, but he'll have it down soon.

In exchange for Trae not letting me sleep and waking me up at 6 every morning, I took two hours to get ready on Saturday while Trae (somewhat) patiently watched.  I feel like it was a fair trade.