Party On

Our baby is 10 months old! I can't hardly believe it, so much so I literally tell myself that about 12 times a day. It most definitely hasn't been perfect, but I wouldn't change it for anything!  We had a rough week. Eli and Anias both got the stomach flu so I spent 2 days straight cleaning and caring for my babies. We also found out that it's going to be insanely expensive to build the plans we bought on our land. Our builder kept saying he wasn't sure if the house was going to fit, but I couldn't understand that because we have 1.3 acres and on the map it looked fine. What he meant was the land wasn't nearly flat enough. The building envelope that was detailed when we were under contract was actually too close to the road because there are electric lines over the property. After pushing it back to meet regulations we had a lot less moderately sloping land to work with. We were off by 45' in depth. To excavate that for 70 feet (length), well that...

Ahhh I'm 31 now. The actual day itself stunk, but before and after were wonderful. I'm really quite spoiled. I treated myself to a hair appointment where I committed to pink hair. I've wanted to do that since Gwen Stefani circa 1999. I couldn't do it when I was in school or when I was working, and since I'm hopefully returning to work in a year or two now was the time! It was a little too bright initially but I'm loving the toned down color now. We celebrated as a family on the 3rd and 4th by taking a family trip to Chattanooga. We had so much fun swimming, learning about penguins, and playing with spiderwebs at the Children's Museum. We ate so much good food and ran through the rain. I had a blast. It was such a good way to start another year. Then I got to come home to a seriously delicious dinner with my sweet friends, a pizza from my bestie, and had a super relaxing spa day at Carmen's Day Spa down the road. My in-laws and Josh treated me to studio...

Put your thing down flip it and reverse it... I have been thinking about going back to work. I honestly believe this whole 'balance' thing is a lie. Isn't it? Does anyone out there really feel like they're doing their best in all areas? In any event, my current 'balance' is out of whack. When I was working I missed out on so much of Eli's life. I missed him. I would wake up at 5:30 and get home at 6-6:30 then go to bed sometimes at 7pm so I could feel somewhat rested since he woke up constantly and would stay up for hours.  I feel really blessed to have been able to quit and spend the last almost 3 years with him, but it's getting to be that time again where I feel restless. I miss talking with other adults. I probably average 2-3 hours a week of adult interaction outside of my relationship with Josh and I need Eli to see other adults as his authority. I feel like I'm snapping at Eli a lot. I worry that the constant task of being his sole autho...

This week's title is brought to you by my Eli... I don't actually need help, but I'm very blessed to have help with these two. Especially when we're one parent down at home. I'm so thankful for friends and my mother-in-law this week. Week 38 I started standing and cruising! I also had my first swing ride. I throw a tantrum if you don't let me feed myself and macaroni and cheese makes me gag. I chase brother while he's motorcycling around the house. Week 39 I dance every time Moana's 'You're Welcome' comes on. I pat brother on the back and climb up slides. I help with chores by unfolding laundry and chasing the broom. I finally said Dada and Mama in the appropriate context. When dad got home I exclaimed,"dada!" and when mom turned the corner, I was looking for her and yelled "mama!". I got another tooth! My third one. I turned 9 months old today! Eli Whenever I choke on water or food, I tel...

If you didn't sing a little "I can't rise above it" move along. I joke. I've been reading James Dobson's The Strong Willed Child and it is speaking to my soul. I haven't made it super far yet, but this is so my life. This paragraph in particular I underlined twice. "It is very common for these moms and dads (of strong willed children) to feel great guilt and self-condemnation. They are trying so hard to be good parents, but the struggle for control that goes on at home day after day leaves them frustrated and fatigued. No one told them parenthood would be this difficult, and they blame themselves for the tension that arises. They had planned to be such loving parents...The difference between life as it is and life as it ought to be is distressing" (pages 11-12). I really love Eli. There are days where I feel like all I'm doing is correcting him, but I love him in the correction. There are days where every bit of me wants to throw my hands...

Sometimes my faith in humanity wavers. We went to Denver this past week to enjoy some time with my family while Josh was in Vegas for work. It was so nice to not have to catch another flight and shell out an extra $300 per person to make it to Wyoming, and it was awesome that I have such a kind family that they're willing to drive 6.5 hours to come see our kids, but in the general public sometimes I just don't know what's wrong with people. When we wrangled all our luggage (think 2 car seats, 3 carry ons, 2 huge suitcases and a double stroller with two kids) we made it to the car rental wait station and did our best to keep the (eh hem non napping) kids happy during a 20 minute wait. The tiny bus finally made it and what did people do? Push in front of us rather than wait in line. By the time we got on the bus it was standing room only. Did anyone offer their seat to me and Anias? Nope. They were fine cooing at him, but to actually give up comfort? Nope. This is so ridicu...

Y'all- it was a rollercoaster of a month. I would say so far in our marriage we've been blessed with mostly "for richer" periods of time. Sure there was the odd let's be really careful sort of month, but this month was so much harder than that. I can say if we didn't have a credit card some of our bills wouldn't have been paid  we would have had to drain our savings. So many medical bills. So many surprises (fully busted car window for example). It was unexpected and pretty stressful, but God totally took care of us. I mean, I have no idea how we paid off nearly 4k in one month, but we did! I had extra jobs I wasn't expecting. We had a random 'oh you paid too much for your mortgage' check. The list goes on. I know we aren't remotely poor and I'm not pretending we are. I'm just saying- sometimes you get put in a pinch and you get through it and I'm so glad we seemingly are. Week 31: I like to stand up from sittin...