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:)

Wise Words I’ve Stumbled Over

"I need to start the day (after the prayer and exercise start) with a shower, clothing and lip gloss, and then some quiet time with the Bible. I want my children to find me in that room, with a candle lit and the Bible on my lap when they first wake up. I don't want them to find me staring into my laptop." ~Elizabeth Foss

 

I don’t know who Elizabeth Foss is, but she seems like one wise woman from whom I could learn a thing or two….

 

But does she really start her day with exercise and a shower?!? 

 

Needless to say, I’M IMPRESSED.

 

Go check out this thought-provoking post and let your heart and home be challenged….

Summertime Babble

We spent July 4th in Statesboro this year. We did have a tradition of going to the beach with Heather and Kelby, but we decided last year that the holiday weekend was not a good weekend to spend at Grandmama’s beach house in Gulf Shores because there were so many people there on that weekend. Plus, the traffic is awful when it’s that crowded and adds almost an hour to the already long trip. Not to mention, Daniel’s Grandmama was just there this past week and said there was oil washing up….and it smelled bad…

 

….and there were dead fish. Enough said.

 

Bye-bye Gulf Shores…at least for now. Thanks to BP, we will be spending Labor Day weekend at St.George Island with the sisters! We are renting a house with a private pool! Everyone going has a young baby, so it will be perfect to be at the beach and have a pool for the kiddos!

 

This summer has been a very long, hot one. We haven’t had a chance to go to the beach or the lake yet, and we are itching to get our toes in some water. We have had several visitors this summer, including this little fella that showed up on our bedroom window. 

And this sister and this adorable little niece of mine showed up at our door for a weekend visit. We had such a good time with Katie, Andrew, and Mary Frances.

 

Well, most of us did. I think if Thomas could talk, he might would have told me that he did not find this play time with Mary Frances enjoyable seeing as how she clawed his eye balls out and chewed on his head.

 

This was Mary Frances looking very innocently at Thomas as he screamed from her “playing”….

Anyways, the blueberries are on their way out, and this makes my heart very, very sad. I love them, especially when they grow in your own back yard!! Daniel and I picked some pears and blueberries last night once Thomas was in bed, and I ended up eating all the blueberries as soon as we came in.

The garden is also making its way out. We had too much rain too fast this Summer, and so a lot of our cantaloupes and watermelons are rotting. A lot, but not all. We did have one good watermelon so far, and it was sweet and tasted like summer time.

 

I ate a lot of salads this summer because our garden had tons and tons of cherry tomatoes! They were so delicious! And all of our squash is in the deep freezer either in the form of baby food or sliced up waiting to be sautéed.

Here is Thomas posing on his Father’s Day gifts to his Daddy. He was anxious and excited in this picture because we were waiting for Daddy to come in and find his surprises!!

 

I am not sure why I even attempt to take Thomas out and snap a few photos in the late evening. I know his bedtime is 8:00. I know he starts getting really cranky at 7:30. I know he does not like to pose and be out in the heat this late in the day. But the photo freak in me just can’t help it. The sun is perfect at this time in the evening….

 

But Thomas’s attitude is not!!!

Daniel and I are still working on developing a green thumb. We are so far from it but so much closer than what we used to be.

Have you ever met such a manly-man?!? I love it, and I love him…

And now, meet Lightening. He is our friend and newest family member. Daniel found him at the farm and brought him home to me. Lightening took residence in the shade under our Azalea bushes and under the gutter where the water dripped constantly and made the ground cool..That is, until we dug them out (as pictured above). So, like any good parent, we found Lightening a new home. He now lives in our Mama T and Papa Joe’s pond across the street. At least, we hope he lives there. We haven’t spotted Lightening since the day we dropped him off. We have, however, seen two more turtles at our house since then. I think Lightening must have spread the word that the wacko woman with the baby will take in any stray. Speaking of stray animals, we wondered what Lady would do if we put Lightening in her back yard to live with her. So, we set poor little Lightening down on the back patio in front of Lady, and with one paw, she took a big swipe at Lightening and sent him spinning across the concrete. Oh well, it was worth a try….

  

We were in Statesboro three times this July. Once, for July 4th, and twice to visit Daddy Tom. He got a Staph infection in his blood and was very sick. To know Daddy Tom is to love him, and to love him is to love his yard. He works very hard at keeping it up, and it is always perfectly manicured and beautiful. He has given me high expectations for Daniel (Just kidding, Honey!! Well, kind of…)

 
Things in Statesboro can be kind of predictable….like for instance, I can promise you that someone will be in the pool every afternoon…and this time it was Francie!!  I caught her reading the same book that she was reading this time LAST summer. Francie is averaging one book per year. Go, Georgia Southern, Go!! She did, however, finish it this time!

Another thing you can expect when is Statesboro is Daddy Tom being silly! He only gets funnier (if that’s a word?) as time goes on. Here he is mocking Thomas. We were wondering how in the world it could be comfortable for Thomas to lay on his back with his legs up in the air like that. So, Daddy Tom got on the floor and tried out the position himself! He even put something in his mouth like Thomas!

Here is my other favorite red head. We are starting to see her resemble her Big Boy Cousin sooo much! I love it!

 

Imagine that, another photo shoot with the babies!

Thomas wanted to know if we would get some shots of just he and KenKen, so we said, “Sure!” Here he was trying to figure out just how we wanted him to hold onto her…

Kennedy didn’t have much patience with him. She was worried that he was messing up her hair and no one was telling her!!

But her Momma made things all better.

Cousins:)

 

Kennedy thought it would be funny to let T-Bird in on the joke that the family calls him “Melon Head” behind his back…

Thomas did not see the humor in the joke! He was so ticked! All this time and no one has told him that he has a big head! Kennedy was just relieved that the secret was finally out…

Then, her conscious started to get the best of her, and she apologized to Thomas.

Thomas’s feelings were already really hurt, and he would not accept her apology. This upset Kennedy dearly. She never would have told him if she had known that he would hold a grudge against her for it!

Even with all of Mimi’s love, the tears continued to fall. The cousins needed a time-out from each other and everyone needed a little alone time:)

 

The next day, Thomas informed that he was over Kennedy’s insults, but would like to put his hat on his head to keep the sun off of his fair skin.  As a red head myself, I understood. Back to his happy little smiley self, we headed outside for a day at Daddy Tom’s pool.

 

Thomas loved the pool! He just laid back in my lap and was so relaxed the whole time.

Daddy Tom peeled peaches on the porch and watched everyone swim. Later, we had homemade peach ice cream! It’s no secret why we gain three pounds every time we go to Statesboro! Something about seeing that city limit sign just changes my appetite! Since he was sitting on the porch at the time, he got put on duty to bounce Kennedy. I have never seen a child love a bouncy seat so much!!

 

Thomas’s wrinkly little toes were a sure sign that he had enjoyed enough pool time:)

 

Kennedy was dressed for the 4th of July occasion in her red, white, and blue dress!

  

And Thomas was, too! Mimi made him a little red, white, and blue t-shirt with a dinosaur on it and some matching bloomers! I’m sure you don’t call them “bloomers” when a boy wears them, but y’all know what I’m talking about!

Kennedy took a break from the celebrations to do some tummy-time…en    

Kennedy has sooo much hair still! And a cute little neck roll, too:)

Is she not sure a Clark?? Kennedy looks so much like her Daddy that it’s not even funny! It’s a good thing he’s handsome!:)

 

Here are the three cousins lined up like little duckies…

Mary Frances is wondering what Thomas is doing in her pack-n-play, and Thomas is wondering how he can get out of it! MayFray is looking for a way to help him…

Andrew continued on with his normal quirky routines, and we all watched him  because he is quite entertaining! Here he is reading up on something to do with the law, I’m sure, as Tuff guards the porch.

We are officially those people who are in the pool by 9:00a.m. When you have a kid, you’ll understand.  It just works well that way.

And as the festivities in Statesboro were wrapping up, I did a last minute photo shoot of Mary Frances. She was ready for her morning nap, and so she was not quite as happy-go-lucky as she usually is, but she was still a doll! If you look closely, you can see her two first teeth in these pictures!

 

I think this might have been her first time ever sitting in the grass. She did not know what to think!

 

I can honestly say that I am ready to welcome the fall. I am not one to wish away any season of life, but I am ready for the change of pace that the fall brings. Not to mention my all time favorite activity of the year occurs during the fall: THE COUNTY FAIR!! Ahhh, don’t even get me started.