Wednesday, August 31, 2011

(almost) wordless wednesday

The other night, BG and I were hanging out on the porch while Mr. P grilled up our dinner. Apparently someone thought it was a bit too hot...

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

the accent vlog.

So I vlogged.

Can I preface this by saying that I HATE my voice, I say umm a lot, I say anyways a lot, I fidget big time and I'm throw up nervous putting this out there.

I don't know why. I kind of feel like y'all are seeing me naked by hearing my voice. That's weird. But... if the shoe fits...

But it's here. Gulp.

Love the cameo by the climbing seventeen (gasp!) month old in the background. And listen carefully for the "thump" followed by complete silence. Let's just say BG and the floor got in a fight. So there's that.

I'm linking up over at Jenna's blog to share this so check out the other bloggers that did this.



Just a little background, I'm from Georgia and have lived there most of my life. I moved to Missouri with Mr. P for about nine months where I was made fun of mercilessly for my accent and my expressions. Now I'm in South Carolina and I don't see the accent chilling out any time soon.

Here's the words and questions. Y'all have fun!

The instructions are to say these words:
Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught


And answer these questions:

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?

What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?

What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?

What do you call gym shoes?

What do you say to address a group of people?

What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?

What do you call your grandparents?

What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?

What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?

What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

Monday, August 29, 2011

laid back.

Time and time again I get comments on how laid back I seem with Baby Girl. Especially for a first time Mom.

It's true to an extent; I don't get worked up over food on the floor (five ten second rule was made for a reason), if she cries when I drop her off somewhere, I still leave her every time knowing she'll be fine the minute I'm out of sight (I'm not heartless; I listen around the corner to make sure she does chill out). I pick my battles with her already; there's no fighting over clothes or shoes. If she wants to wear something, she wears it (unless we're headed to church). I'm all for individuality.

We didn't really baby proof. Of course we covered the light sockets and locked up the cleaning supplies (we're not trying to kill her), but the rest? We figure she needs to learn about and figure out on her own. I don't stress about her messes because they'll be cleaned up one day and if they're there, it's proof that my babe is here and alive and well and making messes. I'm not at all concerned about her paci. I figure she won't take it to kindergarten and the whole messing up her mouth thing? Well, I never took a paci a day in my life and had horrible teeth. So there's that. We'll take it away eventually.

My laissez faire attitude seems to have rubbed off a bit on my child. She's pretty chill (usually) and goes with the flow. She doesn't usually have a problem being dropped off at the nursery or sitter( USUALLY doesn't, currently we're having some issues), she's comfortable in almost every situation, and when she falls, she gets up, checks out our reaction and when she sees we're fine, she's fine.

Problem. It's time to take a stand on discipline.

I'll admit; I'm struggling with this. What the heck works with a toddler?? I tried time out one time just to get her to calm the heck down and all she did was sit in a chair and scream. Super fun. I am not opposed to spanking (don't get riled up people, I said spanking not beating), but I don't feel like it's the answer to every little issue.

I tend to lack sticktoitofness as I've said before, but I know this is an issue where this girl has to be a bit more firm. Great. Since I'm SO good at that.

So what worked for y'all? This isn't meant to be a bash parenting styles post (and comments that do will be deleted), just an honest inquiry. Keep in mind that my child is VERY headstrong. She is go with the flow until the flow tells her "no". Then she's balls out pissed off. And will spend hours trying to figure out a way to beat the system.

Discipline sucks. But at the same time, I don't want to have that kid at school that no one can stand because she's such a brat. I'm also not planning on raising a hooligan. So...

I'm trying to nip this in the bud. Currently, I got to be honest, most of our issues come about when she's over tired. Solution; don't let her get over tired. But I know it's coming. I figure I better have my arsenal packed with some tips before she catches me off guard.

I sound like I'm going to war. Hmm... :gulp:.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

silent sunday






She walked face first into the hose. So funny!

Friday, August 26, 2011

friday free for all...

I'm feeling a little bit censored on this here blog lately and me no likey. I'm working on getting over that (trust, I will get over it) but it's pissing me off that I'm giving second thought to what I want to write.

Bah.

Teething is a beesh. Currently my poor little is coughing her brains out due to excessive amounts of drool draining down the back of her throat. I don't even know which teeth it is at the moment. I stuck my hand in there tonight to figure it out and she bit down so hard I had to pop her on the head to get her to give me back my finger. Then she laughed while I surveyed for blood. Freaking teeth.

Speaking of "beeshes" (ha), last night while skyping with my parents, my Mom and I got into a discussion of female dogs. Apparently my little brother had called one a "bi&@#" and she was taken aback.

"Well Mom, the technical term for a female dog is a "bi&@#" I said, because it is.

The next thing I knew, I heard Mr. P in the kitchen saying "No Baby Girl! We don't say that word!".

Perfect.

But then to take it one step farther, Baby Girl then said "bye bye bi&@#!" and took off laughing.

So that's awesome.

In other news, I've cleared a shelf for my Mom of the Year Trophy because I've got that junk in the bag.

I currently have about eleven different projects going right now. Eleven. That's ridiculous. Can we say "lack of focus" much?

I wore a fabulous pair of shoes to work today. I thought they made my legs look amazeballs. But thirty minutes into the day they gave me a fierce blister. No one looks amazing when they're limping and have band aids all over their ankles. Note to self: buy more comfortable shoes.

The little broke into tears for the first time when I dropped her off at her sitter's house today. I almost didn't leave. For the first time I felt hugely guilty about going back to work. Sigh.. the Mom guilt is never at ease is it???

She's awake again. I should be thankful that once she gets deeply to sleep she won't wake up even with this teething mess. Unfortunately she is having the hardest time getting there. Blah.

This post is a mess. But then so is my head. Thank goodness for a weekend with my little family. Have a great one y'all!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

some good eatin'...

So my child is actually a pretty good eater.

I know you're shocked by that fact and all judging by her thighs, but what I mean is, she actually likes the healthy stuff. So not like her Mama.

Snacks for her are blueberries or bananas, she only gets water and milk, and she loves her some veggies. This girl? Not so much.
I spend a lot of the meal trying not to gag as she tears into corn and peas and carrots and... ugh. I'm retching.

Monday night, I gave BG some corn on the cob which she loves. She sat there for a while chewing on the end and eating more cob than corn. Mr. P turned it the right way and showed her where to "bite" and y'all, girl went crazy. Nonny, Mr. P and I were rolling as she started going to town, coming up only occasionally to say "mmmm!" and then getting back to her eating. I wish I'd taken video of it, but I didn't. Fortunately these pictures are so funny you can kind of get the idea...



Never has an ear of corn been so adorable. She cracks me up.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

10 years later and still fabulous!


A lot of people were shocked when I mentioned that I was heading to my high school reunion this past weekend. In the Facebook day and age, I will admit that a reunion seems a bit unnecessary as I can tell you just about anything and everything about a person due to my stalking checking things out.

However, I still adore 95% of my friends from high school and any reason to get us all together is a-ok in my book. So I enlisted my Mom's help with BG for the weekend and packed it up to make "reunion weekend" a big 'ol Girls Weekend 2011!

*Reunions aren't the Mister's thing. So I cut him some slack and let him off the hook for this one.*

I made it down to Savannah super, super late on Friday night/Saturday morning and was woken up at 6:15 am by my friend's two kiddos. For the love, I am spoiled by my child and her sleeping til 9. Le sigh.

We spent Saturday hanging out with my Grandma at the hospital, doing some shopping, and then heading downtown to get the festivities under way. I got a hotel downtown with my three best pals in this world (two who went to high school with me, one who came down to spend the weekend with us). I can't even tell you what it does to my soul to get together with these girls. They have made me who I am today and I adore them. And the laughter? Nonstop with these ladies. I LOVE them.

I spent the entire evening laughing with the people who I spent four incredible (and some longer than that) years with. Who I played sports with. Some that I dated. Some that I went on to college with. And some that are still my dearest friends. Obviously we've all changed a lot. There was less talk of parties and boys and girls and more talk on kids, homes, and jobs. There were tons of wives and husbands to meet. Tons of pictures of kids to "aww" over. I laughed so hard and talked so much that I couldn't even talk on Monday. Good times.

I'm so glad that I went. It was HARD being away from BG for the first time and it sucked leaving Mr. P at home, but I had SUCH a good time with my girls and with my old friends. I will never be able to express how thankful I am for my pals. They seriously rock so hard.

It was so fun reminiscing of the "good 'ol days" but I'm not going to lie; I was super glad to be home Sunday. However, I can't wait for the twenty year! These times are good for my soul!

Monday, August 22, 2011

project 365: week 33

I'm back.

Still alive, but just barely. Apparently someone forgot the while she was in fact at a high school reunion, she is no longer in high school and cannot run on a total of seven hours of sleep in 72ish hours.

Yea. Dying over here today.

But this past weekend was a blast and also emotionally draining (more on that later).

Today though, you just get pictures. Because I have mush for brains....

Sunday, August 14th:

Daddy teaching his little girl how to climb on her swingset. Love that she's in a dress but rocking a fierce skinned knee.

Monday, August 15th:

Hanging out at the park :)

Tuesday, August 16th:

Working on her crown at "Princess Night".

Wednesday, August 17th:
Boo.

Thursday, August 18th:

My precious girl before heading to the sitter that morning.

Friday, August 19th:

Nonny (my Mom) came into town to spend the weekend with BG while I was in Savannah. While I was at work on Friday, Mr. P took Nonny and BG on a little tour of the area. BG found her a little seat while they were out.

Saturday, August 20th:

Group shot from my reunion. Such a good time!

Friday, August 19, 2011

mish mash

I feel all discombobulated as of late because as usual, I've waited til the last possible minute to get about fifty things done. That's fun.

One would think after years of doing this and being mad at myself for doing it, I would learn. Alas, one would be wrong.

But......

I'm heading home to spend an entire weekend with my two best friends in the world today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nothing makes me feel like "me" again than some good head clearing girl time. I can't wait for gossip, drinks, and dancing with some of my favorite people.

Unfortunately, having a "girls weekend" means leaving Mr. P and BG and I hate that. Especially since this is the first night since she was born that I haven't been with her.

Yep. Helicopter Mom much?!? ;)

Anyway, I can't wait! Hope you all have a great weekend! I'm sure I'll have some good stories come Monday!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

girl time.

So let's talk politics shall we?

Kidding.

I think I'm good on the stir the pot posts for a while ;)

So for real, let's talk....

PRINCESSES!!!!!



Okay, not that one (who regardless of that Duchess title is totally a Princess in my book). More along these lines..


Last night, our local Chick*Fil*A had a "Princess Night" where all the little girls wore their princessey (word?) best and made crowns and got their fingernails painted and pictures taken with other "princesses".

This former tomboy was much like a fish out of water as little girls ran by in play high heels and ball gowns and big girls walked around in prom dresses and tiaras to play the part of the princess. BG wasn't sure what to think at first and then she saw the big Princess cow and freaked out. So that was fun.

Fortunately it didn't take her long to calm down.


After we ate, BG decided she was okay with the situation and wanted to go get in the thick of things. We averted her eyes from the scary cow and went on to the back to make us a little crown and hang with the Princesses.



Pretty fun. She absolutely loved it.

As we were leaving, Mr. P looks at BG and says "we'll have to get you a real Princess dress for the next one".

I pointed out that her dress had princesses on it.

"It's not the same. She needs a real Princess dress" he informed me.

They are already ganging up on me. And I'm the one who spoils her?!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

her eyes.


The Paper Mama

I'm linking up with The Paper Mama this week. I saw the challenge was on your baby's eyes and since I pretty much think BG's are incredible, I had to join in.

And thanks so, so much for the feedback on the last post. You guys made my heart smile yesterday by getting all fired up. I love it. Love y'all!

Monday, August 15, 2011

vs.

I got an email from one of the eight million "Mom sites" that I subscribe to the other night that got my panties all in a knot. It was something along the lines of "stay at home moms vs. working moms" and had percentages and crap with information about both sets of mothers.

Truthfully, I don't care what the numbers say, I could not get past that one little word in the title; versus.

That word, or vs. in this case, automatically implies some sort of competition. And why, when mothering is already the hardest damn job there is, do we need to add more competition and fight to an already fierce battle?

The part that gets me more than anything else, is that nine times out of ten, it is moms that are fueling this little fire. Moms keeping this competition going. You don't hear our husbands talking about stay at home moms or working moms over their lunch. Or berating the formula feeding Mom for reaching for the bottle instead of popping our her b*oob when her babe gets hungry. That's us that is doing that. Other Moms.

I don't get it. One thing I love about the blogging community is the absolute support that you get. You ask for prayers; you'll get them. You suffer a miscarriage; emails will flood in with support and prayer and compassion. Your baby turns one; everyone will celebrate with you and make you smile at the Tweets and emails that come in for your little one. It's awesome. And totally helped me survive my first year.

But then there's the other part of blogging; that dang competition part. I freaking loathe that part.

Moms struggle enough with every single decision they make. Stay home? Work? Formula? Breast? There is no black and white when you're a Mom. While some love staying home and are fortunate enough to do so, some simply don't want to. And some can't. Who are you to ever judge what that Mom chooses? Some working Moms have to work. Maybe they don't want to tell you that. Maybe it breaks their hearts so much that they can't even share that it's not an option to stay home. Thought of that? Maybe some SAHMs want to work. Maybe they can't. Maybe they can't afford to go back because of the outrageous cost of childcare. Thought of that?

Breast versus bottle steams me to no end. I tried nursing BG. I tried until I had beat myself down and still wouldn't give up. I tried til both she and I were screaming in frustration, despair and plain hunger on her part. When I pulled out a bottle and mixed formula in a restaurant once, I wanted to shank a lady two tables down that gave me a "look". I wanted to jump on a table and scream "I couldn't make milk heifer" but I didn't (my husband is so thankful for that). But give me a break. No one wears a sign explaining their every move so don't assume to know why they came to the decision they did.

It amazes me how fired up people get about crying it out. I get it. It's not for everyone. Some people are tougher with it than others. I did it. Yep. I said it. I didn't do it as strictly as it might have called for, but I did it. And my kid started sleeping through the night at six weeks. Now to some, that's not important and the soothing of their baby trumps sleep, and guess what? That is fine. Get it woman. Go get your child and snuggle and cuddle. Because they are only that little once. I don't care how you "sleep train" your child. It's your child. But do not judge me for the way I did mine.

Sometimes I think we look for things to judge. Whether it's how we dress our kids (good grief let the smocking nazis die), whether we have housekeepers, how we budget, where we buy our clothes; someone is going to judge you. Someone made a comment to me once about how many other clothes I could buy BG if I would lay off the smocking. Maybe true, but dude, I buy 97% of her clothes secondhand or off a discount site. And I don't shop for me. Like ever. So I'm giving up stuff because I want her to have those clothes. Sacrifices people. Some people give up nights out for pedicures. Not this girl. So don't look at my toes ;). Some people drive older cars so they can afford a housekeeper. Me personally? I don't trust anyone enough to let them clean my house. But if you have one, more power to you.


Chill the heck out people. If you want to make your own baby food or buy it off the shelf. Who cares. Just feed your kid. If you want to delay vaccinations or not (just please get them, but that's another rant for another day), you get to choose. Circumcise or not. Breast or bottle. Stay home or work. No kid is the same and no one will know what is best for your kid but YOU.

My point? Lay off people. . We're all doing our best. We're all just figuring this out. We were all a first time mom at one point just trying to hold on for dear life. Support one another. Because Moms, get this; no one else understands your job but other Moms. Not even your husbands. Yep. Said it. No one else will ever get it. You can wax poetic to a friend of yours without kids and while she may be all "I get it", newsflash; she doesn't. Only another Mom will.

So build each other up. I'm all for healthy discussion and heck even a debate, but to bash another Mom for her choices? That is so dumb. For real (thanks Antoine for making that statement one I'll always hear your voice on). I guarantee you that she's already put herself through enough to come to a decision. She doesn't need you to help her with that. No two people are the same (thank God), so why should they all make the same decisions? Every Mom, every day is making the decisions that she thinks are best for her family. I promise you that.

Seriously, can't we all just get along?!





Sunday, August 14, 2011

project 365: weeks 31 & 32

WEEK 31
Sunday, July 31st:

This is proof that I took the pictures to do a WW update. I just haven't gotten it down on paper yet. I should get on that...

Monday, August 1st:

I had a photoshoot Monday afternoon just outside of town. How cool is this location?!

Tuesday, August 2nd:

The other day when we got home, I peeked into my back seat and was taken aback. Seriously, who is this little girl in my backseat?! With her sucker she got from the bank and her sippy cup, she just looked so grown. Man... it is going way too fast.

Wednesday, August 3rd:

Baby Girl likes to go up to anyone that has food and just stand there with her mouth open until she gets some. It's kind of adorable. We call her our little bird. It could get annoying one day, but when you're this cute? You're good.

Thursday, August 4th:

Someone was having a blast traipsing around the house in her Daddy's big 'ol shoes the other morning...

Friday, August 5th:

BG is currently on a book kick. But she still won't sit down to read one. She likes to pull them all out and thumb through them, or she'll come and sit with you long enough for you to read maybe two pages. Then she's off. But I see hope that I'm raising another bookworm!

Saturday, August 6th:

BG giving me the stank eye for trying to make her sit still for her sixteen month photo shoot. If we make it to two years doing these, it will be a small miracle.

WEEK 32
Sunday, August 7th:

Spending my summer afternoons with her are by far the best thing ever. She's so cool y'all. For real.

Monday, August 8th:

Lacy is just now starting to warm up to BG. Yep, sixteen months later. Which is a good thing because BG loves her some Lacy. This two are starting to actually become buds and it's so fun to watch. Lacy was rubbing all over BG here and she thought it was hysterical!

Tuesday, August 9th:

A little afternoon frozen yogurt date with my best pal.

Wednesday, August 10th:
:(

Thursday, August 11th:

BG can manage a straw like it's her job. Which is all well and good and super convenient until you realize your drink is missing and you see a little two foot person taking off with the goods. Which she will then drink down to nothing. Nice.

Friday, August 12th:

Daddy brushing his sweet girl's hair before bed... Melt my heart.

Saturday, August 13th:

My little family. Loves.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

it's kind of like dating....

You know what I sucked at?

Dating.

That whole getting to know one another junk. Hated it. I wanted to skip to a few weeks in where you both knew a bit about each other and both liked each other and were both planning on sticking around for a while. I didn't like the constant "is he really into me?" or "did I say something wrong?" and all the insecurity that came at the very beginning. Hated it.

Making friends as a twenty seven year old mom is way too similar to dating for my taste. In trying to make new friends, I find that the insecurity that I've only felt when dealing with the whole dating scene, is back. And it's stronger than ever.

I have an amazing group of friends. Over the years I've cut the amount of true friends down to a smaller, but dare I say, happier number. At one time I have tons of friends that I could call on in a moments notice to hit the town or what not. Now that a call at a moments notice is probably about my child's spit up, the number is much smaller. But the people on the other end are much better quality.

Since I've moved to South Carolina I have struggled a lot with making new friends. I tell you the truth when I tell you that the Devil plays with my head more in this area of my life than in any other. That may be sad or what not but this area is where I am least confident and he knows it.

I feel like I do a good job of putting myself out there. Of setting up playdates or sending emails and such and when they aren't reciprocated, I take it personal. And the crazy thing is, I know how busy people are, heck, I'm always busy, but I struggle with feeling left out or not good enough to be that persons friend.

Crazy? Maybe.

Maybe not.

It's so, so hard to make friends at this stage of life. First of all, it's a total blast to have couple friends but then you have to make sure that four people mesh instead of two and ugh, so hard. Then you want Mom friends, but Moms are so busy so much of the time that coordinating dates can be a nightmare. I won't lie though. While I do want Mom friends, I still want friends who want to go out and just talk about us and not my child's every move every once in a while.

I struggle big time with feeling left out. It gets me bad when people I feel like I'm building relationships with, don't seem to be returning the feeling. See: insecurity. Hate it. It's just so dang hard.

But.. just like dating, it's usually worth it. Because I don't need five hundred friends. I need quality friends. So I'll keep setting up play dates and keep sending emails til I do build those relationships. You'll never make friends by just sitting at home whining about not having any.

I just wish there was a fast forward button to a few weeks in where a friendship is already established. Can whoever made the fast forward button for my child's first year get on that?!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

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