Bye-Bye Blackberry

I got a new phone today. Nothing savvy.  It will call and text people. It’s just a simple phone. And I love that concept…simple. As I was going through all of the pictures on my old blackberry, I realized just how much of real life I had captured with the camera on my phone. Most of these pictures are of Thomas, of course, and were taken to send as a text  to my Romeo while he was at work during the day.  Most of them are me without any make-up on, Thomas’s first grins/smiles, pregnancy belly photos, some baby pics of Mary Frances, and a few more really random ones…..so this, my friends, is probably the most accurate view of my life over the past year or two….

View Full Album

View Full Album

View Full Album

 

Anyways, in case you haven’t noticed or have just quit checking-in here completely, I haven’t been blogging as much lately. I hate to spend time on the computer once my Catfish Killer of a husband is home from work, and I definitely don’t want Thomas to remember his Momma spending all of  her days staring into a laptop screen.

 

But, while T is napping, I’ll do a quick update on where we’ve been lately:

 

We have been starting our days earlier (anywhere from 5:30a.m.-7:00a.m.) and ending them earlier! Daniel and I are the oldest farts you’ll ever meet when it comes to bedtimes. We love going to bed early and starting our days early.

 

We have been laying on the floor wrestling with our little 8 month old boy and chasing him all over the house as he crawls EVERYWHERE!! He has so much curiosity about what is around the next corner that we can’t even sit down for we are constantly chasing that boy!

 

We have been taking lots of last minute golf cart rides before the weather turns too cold.

 

We have been laughing as we watch Thomas learn to splash in tub and how his face lights up when he sees the water splatter everywhere.

 

We have been turning our heat on at night and our air on during the day (which drives my husband crazy, by the way).

 

We have been cringing as Thomas cruises down the couch and fireplace because we know 0ur little boy have more guts than he does brains at this point and is a little dare-devilish when explores his world:)  He takes some pretty hard falls. 

 

We have been unpacking the last of the boxes from the sunroom and finally hanging some pictures on the walls. Yes, we have lived here a year and not fully unpacked or hung many, if any, pictures on the walls

 

We have been feeding Thomas broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, acorn squash, summer squash, butternut squash, prunes, apples, peaches, nectarines, pumpkins, green beans, sweet peas, carrots, bananas, pears, and avocados.

 

We have still been mainly nursing but have had to start doing a bottle or two a day of formula to keep this baby full and content.

 

We have been praising the Lord in our hearts every time we hear “ma ma ma ma ma ma” and “da da da da da da” come out of  that precious little mouth.

 

We have been brainstorming about building our own swing set and how we want to design it.

 

We I have been training to run a 5k with Deborah….we don’t have one planned yet because our schedules are so hectic, but we are training our little butts off anyways! Pushing the kids up and down these hills and around the farm  in the jogging strollers has proven to whip our lungs into shape! Running has actually been enjoyable lately because I have a partner.

 

We have been dressing Thomas in his size 12 months clothes. They have a little bit of growing room which is nice because hopefully they’ll last us through the winter.

 

We have been going into our guest bedroom and petting the deer that’s on the wall. Yes, you read that correctly. Thomas loves staring at the deer. And like any other 8 month old, he then wants to touch it. And would probably put it in his mouth if I let him….

 

We have been attending Carriage Lane church and go to a small group on Monday nights. We have finally found a church that speaks Truth to our hearts, and we leave feeling both convicted and encouraged. We have fallen in love with the dynamics of the small group we attend. We are so excited, relieved, and refreshed.

 

We I have been sitting in the nursery during the church service with Thomas trying to get him used to the environment so hopefully he will be comfortable enough in there to stay by himself. No such luck yet. I tried sitting in there for fifteen minutes and then leaving for five minutes last Sunday, and he was so ticked the moment he realized that I was gone. This too shall pass, this too shall pass, this too shall pass…..

 

We have been watching the leaves outside turn to rich, golden colors and Thomas’s eyes turn even more blue.

 

We have been affectionately calling Thomas “Stinker”….”T-Bird”….”Bruiser”….”Red Bird”….and whatever else comes to mind at the moment:)

 

Ok, well Thomas is up from his nap now and wants his Mommy’s attention…imagine that:) I have many more blog posts  in my drafts folder that I began and never got to finish and publish so hopefully before Christmas I’ll get caught up!

The Real World of Mommy-Hood

Update: I just found this draft that I had forgotten to publish on my blog! Thought I’d share it anyways! It looks like it’s from about two months ago! Better late than never:)

 

Having spent the last six months as a first time Mommy, I have had a lot of new experience and many different types of them.

 

Some embarrassing…some fun…some humbling….some exciting….some exhausting…some overwhelming…some rewarding…some sobering…some life-changing….some that brought out my true colors….some that Daniel and I bonded over….some that we argued over….but more often than not, they were moments that our hearts fell in love with Thomas and each other all over again.

 

Daniel and I are very different people today than we were six months ago, to say the very least.  Here’s a glimpse of some of the things I find myself doing/feeling that I never imagined I would be doing/feeling at this point in my life:

 

For example, I keep finding myself googling what time the grocery store, the health food store, and many other stores open because our days often start at 7:00a.m. and so early morning errands sound like a great activity to make the time pass! And when I’m at the grocery store, I no longer look for the closest available parking spot, but rather the one closest to the place where you return your shopping cart so I don’t have to carry my very heavy six month old quite as far in the sizzling summer heat. And while we’re on the grocery store, I have to mention that my heart goes out to the sweet Publix produce men who are working whole-heartedly at keeping the fresh produce stocked when I come up to them and bombard them with questions like, “So how exactly do I tell if this avocado is ripe??”  or, “Excuse me, Sir. Could you please tell me what fruits are about to go out of season?? See, I’m trying to make some baby food, and if this stuff goes out of season before I can find it and get it put up then how in the world am I supposed to get my hands on some then?” Or maybe the most annoying question that I’ve asked them before is, “Do you have organic apples…When will you get them in??…Well, what if this was your last shipment, like you think it may have been, then when will they be back???….Do you know of any other place I could find organic apples?….By the way, where do these apples come from??….Is there any way that if you do get some in that you could like call me or something??….So, here is my shout-out to the Publix Produce men….I really appreciate y’alls willingness to answer my questions and patience as I go in circles with y’all!

 

Another person/place that is really patient with me is my pediatrician’s office. I recently called up there so many times in a span of a couple of days that I finally just quit identifying myself and would say, “Hey Latrell. It’s me again. Thomas finally pooped!! Yayyyy!” And speaking of poop, I also recently surprise myself (and grossed my dinner guests out…Sorry James, Leigh, and Cass!) when Daniel yelled from the bedroom that Thomas had a stinky, funny looking color diaper, and I jumped up from eating my dinner and said, “Ouuu, hold on!!  Don’t throw it away yet!! I want to see it!!”

 

On a little bit of a sadder note, I went shopping the other day at this cute little boutique that carries super cute and trendy clothes and did not find a single thing that I could or would even attempt to  pull off.  I kept looking at the clothes and thinking to myself, “Geez, I could never wear that….Oh wow, that would draw so much attention to my post-baby belly flab….Oh my, is this in style?! Man, I must be really be out of style if this is in style….what is this, a shirt? A skirt?…Huh?!?….” To further  describe my change in opinion on clothing items, I now think that finding  a bra with good support is worth more than my right hand. Ahem, I think all you nursing mothers know exactly what I’m talking about….

 

And while we’re on the nursing note, I considered giving this topic  an entire post of its very own, and then decided that this is one of the topics that my husband would probably say, “Amanda, you don’t have to tell everybody everything all the time.” Sweet Daniel. He tries his hardest to stop me before I embarrass myself. Too bad he’s not here now while I’m typing this post….Back to nursing. Oh, the places and predicaments you will find yourself in while nursing!  I could tell you every truck stop and/or restaurant between here and South Georgia that is “nursing-friendly,” meaning their parking lot has a good secluded corner you can use.  I also can tell you where we do not stop under any circumstances….and that is places with loud bathrooms!! There is nothing more complicated and frustrating that when I’m traveling by myself with Thomas and have to stop to use the restroom.  Thomas hates how loud public toilets flush. They terrify him, to say the LEAST. So, I have learned to use the restroom while holding Thomas in my lap and singing and smiling to him every time I hear a toilet flush in hopes of distracting him enough that he forgets how scared he feels. It’s exhausting. And complicated. It really is. 

 

Thomas still will not stay with anyone but me or Daniel. We have not been on a date since we tried to go on this fishing date, which seems like an eternity ago. When I hosted a couples wedding shower for Jenny last weekend, I went alone while Daniel stayed back with Thomas. When I need a hair cut, I wait and go after Daniel gets home from work so he can keep Thomas. When I have to go to the dentist and get x-rays, Daniel has to come home from work so I can run up there. I have had to take Thomas to several doctors appointments with me, and they ended up being every bit as disastrous as I had imagined they would be. So I think that it goes without saying that I really appreciate that Thomas will at least stay with Daniel! For my yearly gyn appointment, Thomas stayed home with Daniel. Usually, I am very impatient when it comes to waiting on doctors. I mean, really, why are they always running so behind?? But ever since I had Thomas, I find myself enjoying the wait. The waiting room is quiet. I know Thomas is in good hands. I can zone out and relax. Not to mention these waiting rooms are always full of good magazines like People. I love celebrity trash. It’s my guilty pleasure.  Leave your judgment at the door, please.

 

One of the biggest changes in our lives since Thomas was born is our schedule. I feel like people with young children are on a different planet from the rest of the world from about 5:00-8:00p.m. We go into survival mode. Get dinner going for me and Daniel. Put Thomas’s pacie in so he’ll temporarily quit fussing. Get out his baby food cubes and start heating them up on the stove top. Put Thomas’s pacie back in. Give Daniel a “Where are you and how soon will you be home!?” phone call.  Smile at Thomas and clap your hands to entertain him. Give D a kiss when he walks in. Inform him that Thomas missed his afternoon nap and is very cranky. Roll your eyes when Thomas starts screaming, again. Say to Daniel, “See, I told you he was cranky”. Apologize to Daniel for being grumpy. Blame it on being hungry and sleepy. Clean up the dishes from warming Thomas’s food so they can be used again in the morning while Daniel feeds himhis dinner. Decide who is the hungriest and who gets to hold Thomas while the other one eats first. Or, on a good night where Thomas did get a late nap, lay him down on the floor in the den while we both get to eat at the same time. A luxury, I tell ya! Clean up the dishes while the boys play. Go for a ride on the golf cart to pass the time and entertain Thomas until closer to bed time. Bathe Thomas. Maybe bathe myself while D but Thomas into his pajamas. Ahhh, bed time! Nurse Thomas so he’ll get a really full belly and hopefully sleep until seven or so the next morning. All that to say, if you have a child or children, you know exactly what I am talking about. If you don’t, then you probably can not imagine eating dinner at 5:30p.m. Before having Thomas, we would have never eaten dinner that early. Never say never:)

 

There are a few other ways that I’m reminded that I am a really different person after becoming Thomas’s Mother. I do not text and drive anymore, and I think it’s really dangerous and reckless when other people do it….the sexiest thing I own is my one-piece or maybe my tankini….the most entertaining thing that I watch is a two minute video clip of Thomas lying on the floor doing absolutely nothing, I love it and can watch it multiple times…my idea of going to church is now sitting in the nursery with the nursery workers and getting to know them. I only dream of being able to attend a service and sit all of the way through it.

 

Lastly, my twenty-fifth birthday is coming up. I am almost a quarter of a century old! Somehow, “25” sounds a lot older than “24” to me. When thinking of what I “want” for my birthday, the words '”grocery store gift card,” “a nanny,” and “a glass of wine” come to mind….and the combination of all three in the same day would just be too much for this housewife to handle. I don’t think I would have asked for these things on my twenty-fourth birthday:)