St.George Vacation 2010

Our “summer vacation” this year was quite different from any other one we’ve ever taken. We rented a house at St.George Island since Grandmama told us that when she was at her beach house in Gulf Shores it “smelled fishy” and “clumps of oil” lined the shores. We went with Katie & Andrew & Mary Frances, Karen & Jeremy & their 18 month old, Caroline, and Summer & Scott & Kennedy!  You can imagine the business of the house with four kids under 18 months old! We packed for what seemed like days….and had to bag everything in trash bags so it wouldn’t get wet on the back of D’s truck if it rained….and the bagging the bags part just seems to make packing that much more involved….

Thomas did pretty well on the car ride. It was long…and since it’s December 1st when I’m typing this and this vacation was back in September, I don’t quite remember exactly how long it was. It felt like about ten hours, but in reality, I think it was more like five…BUT!! We survived, and we arrived at our house, Almost Heaven.

We stopped in Eufala, AL, and ate some lunch at a little cafe in their downtown district. We stopped a couple more times along the way to give Thomas some interaction and milk.

 

Kennedy was still obsessed with her bouncy seat at this point in time. I have never seen a child spend so much time in one chair!!

 

The house was one road off of the beach, but it came with a golf cart so it was not bad at all…and much cheaper since it wasn’t sitting directly on the beach. Since every couple there had a young child, none of us were ever on the beach together at the same time except for me and Summer, and that little trip to the sand and ocean lasted all of 10 minutes. I have no idea why we thought it was a good idea to take my 6.5 month old down to the ocean. By the time we got him all lathered up in sun screen and the beach bags packed and everyone out the door, it was time to come back in for a nap or nursing. Consequently, we spent a lot of time at the pool and indoors playing, which was just as fun in our opinion. Anyway, the golf cart provided not only transportation, but also a lot of entertainment for the babies and the adults, too. Thomas and Mary Frances love (love, love, love, love, love!!!) golf cart rides! It is a great way to entertain a baby when the afternoon-after-nap-but-not-quite-bedtime-crankies appear. Trust me, when it is warm enough outside, we spend almost every evening riding our golf cart! Anyways, Summer and I were complete heifers rode the golf cart to town one evening after Thomas was asleep to get ice cream, and it splattered all over that heifer’s her shirt, hair, and face as we rode back and she tried to eat it while we were in motion. And if you know Summer, you know why this is funny. Just picture it!!

 

Andrew dropped the golf cart off at the beach and walked back….reading his case notes. I don’t know why I thought it was so funny to see him walking down the sidewalk reading his lawyer paperwork stuff, but it was to me.  But a lot of things that Andrew does are funny to me.

Some other things we did were model Mary Frances’s hair bows…..

Play nicely in our pajamas…..

and eat!!  Daniel and I went out on a date night with Summer and Scott one evening once we put Thomas to bed. Have I mentioned that I love the fact that my child goes to bed at 7:00p.m….it brings a whole new meaning to freedom!! We ate at the same restaurant that my family ate at when we vacationed at St.George Island in 2007. In fact, the night before I left for that family vacation was the night of mine and Daniel’s first real date….the only other time I had ever seen/met Daniel was a few weeks before when he and Scott, my brother-in-law, came to town and took me out to dinner at Longhorn’s. I spent most of the evenings of this family vacation downstairs in the bedroom when Jenna and I were staying talking on the phone and falling in love with Daniel. My family kept telling me that I wasn’t playing “hard to get” very well, but at that point in time, I think I realized this one wasn’t a game to be played. This One was my forever.

 

And don’t let these pictures below fool you. It may look like we were leisurely playing and relaxing on the beach, but rest assured, there was nothing easy or uncomplicated about getting our toes in water. However, as short lived as it may have been, Thomas did enjoy his time in the ocean water.

   

I was so busy trying to take pictures of Thomas’s reactions to the water and waves that I was waist deep in the ocean with my camera and swim suit cover up on and all the while dragging Thomas’s paci through the ocean water before I realized it. So, like any other mother who is obsessed with taking pictures of her child, I did not take a time-out to adjust my wardrobe. The show must go on! I hope you all appreciate how much of a martyr I am in order to bring you these family photos….even if they are three months old and two seasons ago:)  Speaking of which, now that it is December, I’m guessing that it is officially “winter” which means that I need to get around to posting all of my “fall” photos from our trip to Dahlonega, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and May Fray’s birthday party. This post is about to be concluded with all pictures! Enjoy!!

 

Hold on, I can’t leave you with these pictures and no explanation! “The Fray” as she is appropriately and lovingly referred to, pooped in our pool and shut it down for a full 24 hours. We spent lots of quality time inside playing during those 24 hours seeing as how taking the babies to the beach was a load of work that neither Daniel nor I (or Scott and Summer for that matter) cared to take on.

     

My final thoughts on St.George Island is that it is a wonderful, safe, quiet, private, family-friendly place to vacation! It was the absolute perfect location for our family this year. However, if you are looking for a place with a lot of entertainment and restaurants and surf shops, this is definitely not the place. It worked out great for us thought because all we needed was a pool, some open floor space to throw down a blanket and T’s toys, and some great sisters and friends to share it with. Now that I think about it, I think we could have gotten all that and more at the Holiday Inn….and don’t they provide a free continental breakfast?!?…..

Camo Cuties

When Thomas heard his Daddy was headed to shoot doves, he immediately wanted to go….

We explained to little Thomas that the gun was three times his size, and he was much too young to shoot this year…..

But we promised him that a day would come when he could be the first one out the door when huntin’ season came in….

Well, right behind his Papa Joe, who is quite the outdoorsman!….

Thomas buried in his little heart his desire to start hunting and settled for a photo shoot in his camo before Daddy headed out to do the real hunting….

He was very interested in Daddy’s baling twine and how it all worked…..

He was also a little grumpy because it was HOT that day and because he had to stay home with Mommy while all the other boys went out to look for birds…..

I think I’ll be seeing a lot more of these boys in their camo over the years…..

Consistently Inconsistent-Turin Pull Pics and videos

DISCLAIMER: Please excuse the total randomness of this blog. The Blog World should shame me.

 

It’s Sunday morning, and somehow, I have found a few quiets minutes to spare before church to check-in on some blog entries that I am currently working on but haven’t published yet. And low and behold, I have found another old one that I never did publish nor finish. But, for the sake of moving forward with life and the blog, here’s how far I got:

 

I’m guilty! Very guilty of being consistently inconsistent! This blog is proof! So is my diet and exercise:) I’d love to have blogged more frequently over the past month because we have been very blessed to have had some wonderful times with our little man, and he has really changed a lot recently! Daniel and I officially have a crawler and a “puller-upper” on our hands! And needless to say, our hands are even busier now. At the risk of sounding very cliché, we are very blessed to have a son, and we are constantly finding an even deeper appreciation for the mate and companion we have found in each other.  We are loving learning to do the “family life” thing. It fulfills us in a way that brings a new meaning and purpose to our lives.

 

In August, we had Aunt Francie and “Uncle” Ryan come up for a weekend visit. Daniel and Ryan went to the Turin Tractor Pull, and we stopped by briefly that afternoon with Thomas to check out the scene. It was so hot that it was miserable.

 

When we got home, I let Francie carry Thomas in…along with the diaper bag and purse..I told her it would be a good experience for her to do it just once. This was the end result….

 

You see, he was crying because as Aunt Francie so eloquently posed for this picture, she was smashing my baby’s fingers against the bricks….

Thomas was not amused, but he decided to let them stay the rest of the weekend anyway. That’s another jewel in his crown in heaven one day;)

Francie and Ryan trying to be all romantic at the Turin Tractor Pull…..

I mean, seriously….this is supposed to be a “family friendly” place….

But aren’t they kind of cute standing with a stroller:)

 

Thomas and Daddy loved watching the tractors….imagine that!

 

The best seat in the house….

So, Thomas loves Lady, and Lady doesn’t really care about Thomas. He can’t feed her treats of chase her around the yard so she has little use for him. But Thomas doesn’t let those facts rain on his parade. He’s not really (and I say “not really” because that means it is a rule when I feel like enforcing it, and it’s not a rule when I don’t feel like enforcing it. Great parenting, right? Remember the title of this post…."Consistently Inconsistent”….) allowed in the laundry room. Lady’s raunchy kennel is in there, my gardening boots that Thomas likes to chew on are in there, and  Daniel’s cell phone charger (aka, cord Thomas could tangle himself up in or try to eat) are all in a little boy’s arms reach. So, it’s just off limits.

 

Most of the time.

 

But, apparently on this particular day, it was not. Thomas gets excited when he sees Lady and runs full speed ahead straight into her kennel with his big, clunky walker. Lady kind of whimpers because she’s not thrilled that he is able to get that close to her and she can’t run away from him. She stands up and turns in a few nervous circles and starts panting and looking at me like, “Please, get him out of here!”

 

That little smile and those chubby cheeks make bending a few rules worth it every now and then:)

Thomas also loves to take his walker to the front door and look out across the street to his Great-Grandparents house and see what all is going on around the farm.

And I think he is always hoping to get a glance of his Daddy’s truck pulling in the driveway….

 

Speaking of Daddies, my Daddy Tom was really sick this summer! He had a staph infection in his blood and was and still is having horrible neck pain with it/from it/we don’t really know why he’s having the neck pain!  He and my Momma are coming up here next week to go to the doctor at Emory. We are definitely praying for answers and relief from the pain for Daddy Tom.

 

I think Mimi and Francie have been the best little nurses to Daddy Tom and have taken really good care of him. Well, I don’t know. From the looks of this picture, I think Charlie may have the #1 spot at the best nurse:)

All of that snuggling just wears him out though.

Summer and I went to visit him and try to keep him entertained with the babies! I think we both were so busy and had our hands so full taking care of Thomas and Kennedy that we were more of a tornado that blew in than we were guests:)

Summer….I think you need sleep in this picture. You look strung-out!

 

Thomas was not crawling yet during this trip, but he was starting to think about it!….

 

I love a little boy in footed pajamas…it just melts my heart.

    

Thomas after his dinner on night. He is eating about 9 cubes for dinner, and then will take a 6-8oz. bottle two hours later at bed time!  I better get used to being in my kitchen:)

My dear friend from college, Jenny, got married a few weeks ago to her sweet love, Wiley. I helped host a wedding shower for her in Decatur, but of course, I had to go solo because of Thomas’s separation anxiety from me and Daniel. Daniel stayed home with him and Cassie and I made a night of it!

    

I am so relieved to finally say that I think his separation anxiety is getting better. We have never been able to successfully leave Thomas before this past week. My sister and her husband, Scott and Summer, were in town and kept Thomas some for us.

 

HE WAS COMPLETELY FINE.

 

I have no explanation for why he had this odd anxiety/fear of people so young or why it went away as quickly as it appeared. I don’t really care to figure it out as long as it doesn’t come back:) He is actually just now at the age where true separation anxiety should be starting. Lesson learned: not all babies follow what the books/doctors say! My baby had separation anxiety from the time he was six weeks old until now at 8.5 months! And, NO, I did not neglect him/leave him in his crib unattended for 12 hours a day/starve him/beat him, or anything else that can lead to some strange behavior in babies.  If Daniel and I are guilty of anything, it’s snuggling and lavishing him with too much attention:)  

In This Moment….

I am the one who helps him keep his balance when he pulls up at the back  door the look at Lady through the window.

 

I am the one who wakes up at 6:30a.m. to the sound of his baby babble talk streaming through the monitor.

 

I am the one who pops out from around the corner yelling “BOO!!!” and sends him into a hysterical laughter. It’s his new favorite game, by the way. It never gets old. It’s still just as funny at 5:00p.m. as it was at 7:00a.m. when you played it for the first time that day.

 

I am the one who he clings to when we go to a new place or are around a group of new people and he feels scared.

 

I am the one who comforts him, who feeds him, who consoles him, who wipes the poop from his butt, and who goes into his room after he falls asleep at night and puts all the pacies back in his crib that he threw out so he will easily be able to find one if he wakes up in the middle of the night. Alright, and I make D do most some of these things most some of the time. He has to earn his keep around here somehow;)

 

Earlier today Thomas was in his walker in the kitchen while I folded laundry and put it away. We started a game of chasing each other around the island in the kitchen with me sneaking up behind him and yelling “BOO!!!” and then both us cracking up. It is hilarious to watch him because I literally scare him. He jumps out of his skin every time I pop out, even though he knows I’m behind the corner and knows I’m about to jump right back out at him. Well, the fun part about playing this game around the kitchen island is that he would try to come get me once he saw which corner I was hiding behind, but I would have already snuck around the other side of the island by that time and would be ready to jump out from behind him and give him even more of a thrill. We both were cracking up. It probably was the hardest I have laughed in a really long time. It was one of those times when I thought, “This is real joy. This is one of those few pure moments of life.”  The kind where you have such a grateful heart that all you can feel is adoration for your loved one and thanksgiving to the One who created him. I love the moments where I get so lost in the wonder and blessing of raising a little person that my heart is free from any frustration or weariness that it may carry from other aspects of motherhood. Don’t you know that God must love when we worship him through the love of parenting?!

 

I am so grateful for this time with Thomas when he is young and innocent and the biggest obstacle I have with him is keeping him from giving himself a concussion while learning to crawl, cruise, and walk. I know a day will come when parenting him looks completely different than it does now. There will be no more diapers to change and instead of jumping out from around a corner and yelling “BOO!!” at him, I will probably be yelling '”GET TO YOUR ROOM AND DON’T COME BACK OUT UNTIL YOU’VE CHANGED YOUR ATTITUDE, YOUNG MAN!!!!!”

 

…..Excuse me. Did anyone just hear Joan coming out in me??  Ah, this world may be an even scarier place than I realized!!

 

Anyways, back to what I was saying. I know that different seasons and challenges in the world of parenting lay/lie (what the heck is the correct word to use here anyway??)  ahead of me and Daniel. And I know that the “leave and cleave” season will come, too.  And I cringe at the very thought of her it:) I know that the Lord did not design little boys to stay at home forever with their Mommas. There is great purpose and fulfillment in everyone when a little boy is trained in the ways of the Lord in his home and is one day ready to leave his Momma and Daddy and to cleave to his new wife and life. But still!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

So today,  my dear friends in blog world, I am going to live in this moment with my son and cherish it. I am going to log off of the computer for the day and spend the rest of our “free time” for the day on the floor with Thomas. Wrestling, spitting, scratching our butts, biting, whatever it is little boys do:)

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….

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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:)