First Day of School

It happened, People...Sunday night I went to sleep and everything was normal...when I woke up Monday morning, I was the Mom of a Kindergarten student...How is it even possible that Hannah is old enough to be in Kindergarten?  I hate that every day she wants to tell me that she will be 6 on her next birthday...don't get me wrong, I am happy that she is excited to be older so she can do new things, but I am so sad at the same time because she is growing up MUCH to quickly.  She is one amazing gal though.  I would not trade her for any other little girl (someone PLEASE remind me of that when I am the recipient of her next batch of High Octane Sass...)

I don't really know when, why or how "we" became obsessed with Hello Kitty, but she wants Hello Kitty everything...

Mr. B was also excited that his sister was going to school

I, much like EVERY OTHER PARENT, decided that it would be a good idea to drive Hannah to school and take her to her classroom.  This very well may have been the worst idea I have ever had. The traffic for the "drop off" lane was backed into several streets...I ended up parking at the Electricity company across the street and we walked to school from there...I don't know how kids aren't considered tardy every morning because there is NO WAY all the kids made it to class on time. 

I did happen to get teary eyed as I walked Hannah to her class.  I probably would have lost it if her class wasn't so far down the hallway-AND if I didn't have a moment of clarity where I realized that if I started crying then there was a MUCH higher chance that Hannah would start crying and get scared...(not to mention that I do not want to be THAT parent who embarrasses her kid on the first day of Kindergarten...seriously, there is plenty of time for embarrassing moments) I pulled myself together and we BOTH made it to her classroom without any tears.  Before I left her room she ran to me grabbed my leg-gave me a hug and then sat back down at her desk...I had to leave or we would have had a situation...and by we-I mean me and by situation I mean-uncontrollable ugly crying status... I didn't even stay for the "Boo Hoo Breakfast" the PTA sponsored that morning-I feel certain that I would not have been the only one crying, but it was probably best for everyone that I start the 10 mile hike back to my car-and for any of you who do not live in the Charleston vicinity-the humidity yesterday was RIDICULOUS...I am sure I was sporting a nice Southern Glow... but not to worry, the traffic still had not gotten any better by the time I reached my car so I had PLENTY of time to sit in traffic cool off in the air conditioning before making it to work. 

I was so excited to pick up Hannah so she could tell me all about her day.  She told me she made lots of new friends and that they got to eat lunch in the BIG cafeteria-like a picnic on a table with all of her friends-AND that one of her friends from preschool was in her class (but she sits at the orange table and Hannah sits at the purple table so they ate lunch together...oh to be 5 again).

This morning, I was smart...I decided it would be MUCH easier for Hannah to take the bus to school instead of me trying to endure the drop off lane traffic (seriously-there are not 1 not 2 but 3 schools RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER that share an entrance for the drop off lane...3 schools...that is a LOT of cars at one time) and risking the "My baby is not a baby anymore tears" for the second day in a row...This was a much better idea...though we did have to wake up incredibly early because her bus picks up at 6:37...no wonder little kids have an early bed time-they have to get up before the roosters to make it to the bus stop on time...We made it-she boarded the bus like she was a veteran...didn't even stop to give me a hug-I don't even think she waved to me as they pulled away...I think pieces of my heart may still be found at the bus stop...my baby is not a baby anymore...

And Then There Were Two...

As usual, I have not blogged in a pretty long time, but this time, I really do have a good (well, better than usual) excuse... Hannah's little brother is here!
Bennett Michael made his debut on April 26th weighing in at 8 pounds and 5 ounces and was allegedly 18 & 3/4 inches long...I will get into that a bit later.  It is hard to believe I have 2 children!

Bennett's labor was fairly uneventful...I will spare you any of the grosser details...I was contracting on a regular basis-but really wasn't dilating...which is pretty important if you are going to be delivering a baby...so my doctor made the executive decision to start the maximum dosage of pitocin possible. Now, I am no stranger to the pitocin-as I was induced with Hannah and things progressed very nicely and her labor was actually pretty easy...I don't recall having too much pain-in fact, the most painful part was getting the epidural...probably because I called for it before I was in actual pain- don't get me wrong, I was experiencing discomfort when I asked for it, but not real pain...because of this, I tricked myself into thinking I has a higher pain tolerance than I really do...that and one of my very dear friends delivered not 1 but both of her sons naturally without an epidural so I thought, hey-maybe I can too...wrong.very wrong.could not have been more wrong if I tried.

Because I was not dilating, I was at solid 4 centimeters for a long time...for about 98% of my labor actually...(hence the decision to dial up the pitocin) and because I had tricked myself into thinking I could try for a delivery sans epidural, I took the nurse (who was amazing by the way) up on her offer of a drug that would "take the edge off.." I was having very regular contractions-about 2-3 mins apart, and they were incredibly painful...to the point that I thought I was going to throw up so I hovered over the trashcan for a while...now, when the nurse described this drug to me she told me it would make me sleepy and allow me to take a nap so I could be rested for the actual delivery- that I would still feel some pain but I would be able to sleep through it...um, ok, seems like something I could deal with, and a nap sounded like a great plan since it was 3 pm and I had been there since 6 am with no dilation progression...so she injected it into my IV (which btw, was the most painful IV I have ever had I am pretty sure was due to the actual placement of it...in the side of my wrist...)
 
I was laying in the bed waiting for this edge that the nurse spoke of to be taken off…and apparently I was already over the edge…perhaps I even jumped off the edge in an effort to end the pain well before I got that drug because it did not help with anything…in fact, the only thing it did was make me sleepy…so there I was, unable to open my eyes because they were so heavy, but feeling the worst pain I had ever experienced in my life, but I couldn’t tell anyone because I was all drugged up and sleepy…terrible-I would not wish that on anyone…after about an hour, I was able to coherently tell the Hubs that I was ready for my epidural…so the Mister tells the nurse I am ready for it…and that dang anesthesiologist took his sweet time getting up to my room-no lie like an hour and 15 mins-my contractions are about a min apart and yet, I am still only 4 cm…that man finally gets to my room and was, quite possibly, the slowest talker I have ever met…and I know I was not the nicest person to him, but seriously, had he of made his way to the room, even 30 mins sooner, I would have been able to be nicer…none the less…if you have ever had an epidural, you know that you cannot have one administered if you are contracting…please recall I said mine were a minute apart and I was only 4 cm…so that means…it was a difficult time to try and get the so desired epidural…I am not kidding you when I say that that man stuck me 8 times…8 times people, with that larger than life needle in my back-at one point I turned around and demanded that he tell me if he was almost done...
 
At this point, I was not cranky because of the contractions at this point, I was cranky because I could feel an incredible amount of pressure…so much so, I was pretty sure Bennett was on his way out…if he wasn’t partially out already…FINALLY the anesthesiologist was able to get my epi in, just in time, because the nurse checked, and sure enough I went from 4 cm to ready to push in about 10 mins…we are pretty sure it is because I sat up to get the epidural, if I had asked for one sooner, then Bennett would have likely made his appearance sooner…oh well…that poor anesthesiologist was still in the room when Bennett was born…I was able to benefit a little from the epidural…
 
Because I was at 4 cm for so long, my Dr. did not think I was going to be delivering as quickly as I did…but really no one thought I would so who can blame her- I should also tell you that my Dr. alone had 6 women in labor that day…6…and unfortunately, she was delivering another baby when I was ready to go…luckily the hospital has their own doctors on the floor for that very reason, and one came to my rescue…a woman I never met before delivered my baby…and I am so thankful for her!  My doctor came to my room about 30 mins after Bennett was born…
 
Now, you may recall that I said Bennett was allegedly 18 and ¾ inches long…well when we went for his 2 week appointment, he was 22 inches long…our pediatrician firmly believes he was measured incorrectly at birth, but it doesn’t matter because that is what is on his birth certificate…at 2 weeks, Bennett was also 9 pounds and 6 ounces…Little Mister eats…a lot…
 
He is so different from Hannah when she was a baby.  He fusses more and always wants to be held…always…even when he is sleeping.  Hannah rarely fussed and LOVED to spend time in her swing.  Bennett basically cried whenever he saw the swing…Hannah loved her bouncy seat…Bennett will scream until we rescue him from the bouncy seat…but when he is not screaming at us for putting him down, he is the sweetest little boy who loves to cuddle with his mommy and stare at everything…he is very curious.  His hair is thin and light…whereas Hannah’s was thick and dark…he seems to be taking after the Hubs when Hubs was a baby and Hannah definitely took after me.
 
Hannah says she likes being a big sister…though her actions do not match her words…we are having a bit of a difficult adjustment-she has had us all to herself for nearly 5 years and now she has to take the back seat to the baby for a while…and she is not a fan of that.  We are trying to be patient with her because it is such a big change for her…and she has been attending summer camp to ensure that she is getting to do a lot of fun things with other kids her age and not feel like everyone is focused on the baby all the time.  Camp seems to be helping her adjust…
 
We have been a family of 4 for almost 7 weeks now…well 6 if you include the 2 hounds…so I will try to give more regular updates, but I can’t make any promises as it is difficult to type with one hand-

 

What Not To Say

I don't know if you know this, but when a female becomes pregnant people feel like they can say ANYTHING to her...I don't know what it is, but now that I am in my 38th week of pregnancy and the Doctor just informed me that I should expect no 6 pounder, and, in fact, Baby is measuring on the larger side...(Actual conversation below)

Doc: So...you are an excellent incubator
Me: Um...are you saying that because this baby is showing no signs of EVER wanting to come out?
Doc: Kind of...I mean, it feels like all baby in there...How big was your daughter?
Me: 7.14
Doc: Yeah...This one is going to be bigger than that...you should definitely not expect to have a 6 pounder...
Me: To be clear...are you saying that he is currently bigger than that or that he  will be bigger than that when he finally makes his debut?  Because to be honest with you, I feel like he is already 6 feet tall and 300 pounds...
Doc: Oh he will be a little smaller than that...
Me: Oh good...so he will be somewhere between 8 and 300 pounds...perfect...

So that was yesterday...but I have been pregnant for a minute now...speaking of that, I had the following conversation with an actual nurse a few weeks ago...

Nurse: When is your due date?
Me: May 3
(as she is entering this into her computer) Nurse: So that makes you how far along?
Me: 35 weeks
Nurse: and how many days?
Me: 0 days-
Nurse: Um, that is not possible...
Me: pardon me?  I am exactly 35 weeks today...
Nurse: No, my computer says that you are 87 and 1/2 weeks pregnant. 
Me: I am sorry, but do I look like an elephant?  I assure you, if I were 87 and 1/2 weeks pregnant, I would not be as friendly as I am right now. 
Nurse: Hmm...let me see, oh wait...I thought you meant you were due May 3, 2012...

Where do these nurses come from?  I am optimistically assuming that she is not a normal L&D nurse, because if when I actually do go into labor, she is assigned to me, I will not be shy about asking for a new nurse...

A man at work looked at me last week and said "What are you still doing here?"  Considering it was about 2:00 pm I was a bit confused as to why this question was being posed...so I asked him what he was talking about? His response: "Aren't you having a baby?" I said "Not right now, and it isn't like he is going to fall out..."

At 3 people have asked me if I am ready to "Pop"- Do I appear to be a balloon?  Have you ever seen a person just walking down the street and all of a sudden just POP?  Weird, me either...

Are you sure there aren't 2 babies in there? or Wow! You are big!  Now, I haven't received these comments this pregnancy-but I did SEVERAL times when I was pregnant with Hans...and at one point, I ran to the bathroom in tears because a co-worker constantly stated how big I was, as if that was a compliment-meanwhile, all I kept hearing was - Holy Eff Lady-you are a whale!!! 

Are you dilating?  Um XQ, but I am pretty sure that unless you are the Hubs or I volunteer that information to you because you are in the circle of trust, you do NOT need that information...nor will I be providing that to you, you crazy! 

Was this a planned pregnancy?  OK, people...a) again, none of your business and b) Who asks this question?  Regardless of the level of planning that was done prior to my baby's conception, it makes no difference...do you really think I am going to respond and say-nope complete accident?  (Which I am NOT saying is what this was, to be clear.)  But do better people, do better.

This is not a statement or a question but an action-Listen people...Do NOT and I repeat DO NOT reach out and touch a pregnant person's belly EVER without first asking permission.  You would not reach out and grab a non-pregnant person's body part without asking first right?  right.  Additionally...if baby isn't moving you won't be feeling much anyway...just a belly...just ask-and don't get upset if she says no-personal space people...personal space. 

Are you going to eat that?!  Is it on my plate?  Then my answer is yes, you don't need to ask nor judge...I, personally am not eating any weird combinations of food so are you just commenting on the amount of food I am eating?  My portion sizes are not really any larger than what I was eating pre-pregnancy, so there really is no reason for that question, so my response is yep-you jealous?  or yep-are YOU going to eat that? 

Hubs and I are not name sharing until Baby arrives-which makes people crazy.  Now, there are people who just accept that they won't know the name until he makes his Public Debut, and then there are people who just get so upset and take it personally and think that we are only keeping it a secret from them...like the rest of the world knows and they don't...Even Hannah doesn' t know Baby's name-poor girl thinks his name is Peanut...I don' t know what will happen when she finds out that that isn't his permanent name...she may just call him Peanut for the rest of his life...But the reason we are not name sharing is because we don't want to hear your personal stories about how you feel about the "Stacy, Cassie, Brian, Joe" in your life...or that when you hear it you think wow-stripper/serial killer...you would be surprised how often it happens...and don't try to deny it, you have done this too-you may not realize it, but you have done it, and I assure you, it offended at least one person. 

You have to go to the bathroom again?  Yes, the answer is always yes.  I realize I just sat down from going to the bathroom 2 minutes ago, but yes, I do have to go again.  Thank you for being the bathroom police...and for the record...pregnant people have to have the cleanest hands of all people because of all of the hand washing that happens after going to the bathroom every 2 minutes...

Wow your feet are swollen...  You don't say?  I had no idea how large my feet and kankels have gotten-I have no idea that my shoes and sandals aren't fitting and I now have rolls on my feet-and that they literally hurt to touch them...thank you for telling me...

You look tired...OK, I am making a person...literally growing a human, I wake up to go to the bathroom several times at night, and I work all day long-and have, to date, been successful in not exploding in a hormonal rage on anyone for any of the ridiculous things that the people with which I work have said, and go home to play with my 4 year old, 2 dogs and try to have conversations with the Hubs-of course I am tired...even if I wasn't growing another human, I would still be tired...all I hear is WOW-You look like doody...

Are you going to work until you are in labor?  Well, yes, that is the plan...there isn't much else for me to do and I would like to save my leave to use when the baby is actually here so we can enjoy some time together...don't worry, again, he isn't going to just fall out-and if I think I am in labor, I will just call up the doctor and go in to get checked-I would not just try to finish what I was working on and come on into the office like nothing is happening...believe me, I don't want to go into labor at work...my biggest fear is that my water will break while I am at work...I don't think you can come back from that...

Your face isn't big at all!  Wait...what?  What do you mean my face isn't big-is my face supposed to swell up like a balloon or like I am having an allergic reaction?  anyone?  Know what does look big-my belly, thighs, and back fat-so maybe the "bigness" has just concentrated in the other areas and just hasn't reached my face...I really don't recall my face getting big before though...

Do you have stretch marks?  Um...ok...again, none of your business if I look like a tiger under my clothes or not-would you ask me this if I wasn't pregnant and what would you say if I asked you that?  Xactly.  Don't ask. 

When is that baby gonna come out?  Um-if I knew the answer to this I would be rich and I would never have to run into people like you who ask crazy unanswerable questions...he will come out when he is good and ready...or when my doctor determines that he is good and ready...

Oh-I would have thought that you would have had your baby by now...Um really?  I am due May 3...why would you think that at any time prior to then I would have had my baby?  I mean, I am not trying to hold the record for world's longest pregnancy (thank you ridiculous nurse from above conversation) nor am I trying to rush this baby out of the womb before he is done cooking-so let's just let this 40 week process ride...

When I was pregnant I...Stop.right.there.  Every person is different-what happened to you will not happen to me, and, in fact, what happened to me when I was pregnant with Hannah is not at all what is-or has- happened to me this time around...so don't try to scare me or tell me horror stories about your experiences or how you had a dream pregnancy...

When I was in labor...Again. Stop yourself.  What happened to you is what happened to YOU-my experience will be different because I am me-period.  I don't want to hear your L&D horror stories...I know for sure we will have the same ending though-baby is out and hopefully both baby and mom are healthy...the end. 

Not everything is bad though...
The other day a woman stopped me and said: "Wow you look beautiful,"  Thank you new BFF, you literally made my day because I was feeling like a whale and just wanted to blend in and have no one notice me.

I, by no means, am speaking for every pregnant person out there...I am speaking for myself...but really it boils down to -just think before you speak/act.  The world will be a better place for us all.

16

Hi Loves!

In continuing with the Letters to my child(ren) the next topic in our series is:
List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could...OK...even I am only slightly older than 16 this may take me a little while to work on...hang in there though, I am sure it will be worth the read... ;)

Love you to pieces-
Mommy

I was a Junior in high school in Virginia when I was 16...let's see here...

1) Your Dad wasn't kidding around-if you do not learn to drive a stick shift, you will not have a car to drive to school...you should probably consider taking him up on his several offers to teach you well in advance of the day before school starts...this will make the trip to school the next day MUCH smoother and far less embarrassing...you should probably also thank your dad for his willingness to teach you to drive a 5 speed, because this is a very useful skill set that most people do not possess and it comes in handy more times than you will remember as you continue to grow up.

2) You will have plenty of relationships throughout your life, even though it feels like  your heart is broken-you will be okay.  There really are more fish in the sea, and PLEASE remember that the sea is MUCH bigger than Hickory High School, the city of Chesapeake, or even the state of Virginia (side note-this does not mean that I tried to date all of the guys in those areas, I am really just trying to give some perspective here...).  You won't meet the Love of your Life for a while, so PLEASE try to enjoy life and not focus on who is dating who...

3) Make sure you make time for people in your life AFTER you move...(OK, this is cheating a little bit, because I didn't technically move until I was 17, but it is important)  This is something you will regret when you are much older.

4) It is never a good idea to drink a lot of cheap beer in one sitting...especially when you are 16.  I firmly believe that my extreme dislike for the taste of beer is a direct result of downing a lot of cheap beer in one sitting...I recently told a former coworker of mine that I did not like beer, and he told me that it was impossible for someone not to like beer based on the fact that there are over 3,000 types out there, so he is making it his mission to find me a beer that I do like...which, obviously has been put on hold based on the fact that one of you is currently growing in my belly...but eventually I will be accepting his challenge (side note, I am not encouraging you to drink underage, I am merely pointing out that just because you had one or 2 bad experiences with something doesn't mean you should give up on it forever...people change...and as Hannah just learned, you have to try new things because you just might like them...)

5) If you see a toilet on the side of the road, make sure it doesn't have any water in it before you pick it up and put it in the back of your friend's car...Stop shaking your head immediately...So one day I was in the car with my friend Alana and her sister Audrey, I am not sure from where we were headed but, we were on our way home and it was dark outside.  We all happened to notice a toilet on the side of the road...which you just don't see everyday, so of course, the natural thing to do is to stop, pick it up and put it in the back of the car...obviously.  We may or may not have gotten toilet water on us-I prefer not to think about that though.  We then had to decide what we were going to do with this gem!  After careful consideration, we decided that the perfect new home for this toilet would be our friend Stewart's front yard...complete with a few construction cones and some toilet paper...(I am hoping to find the pictures of these shenanigans for you to enjoy)

6) If you put a toilet in some one's front yard, be prepared for payback.  So apparently Stewart was so excited to have a new shiny potty in his yard that he decided that both Alana and I needed new yard decorations as well...so a few days later I walked out of my house to go to my car and drive to school (I think I might have even been picking up Alana that morning...) and I was greeted by several bright orange construction cones with pinwheels coming from the top of them on my car...so I said to my self, "Self...where is that toilet?"  I drove to pick up Alana, and was then made aware of where the toilet was...it was in her front yard loaded with cheerios and toy boats...this prank war went on for a while...I can't recall all of the details, but I do know that Mom and I were coming home late one night only to discover that our front yard had transformed into a zoo...of VERY large cardboard animals...(think refrigerator and wardrobe boxes here, not standard cardboard boxes...)  Prank wars are all fun and games until Mom gets involved...

7) Pack your sunscreen when you go for overnighters in the OBX because frozen individually packaged slices of American cheese are not very effective at easing the sting of a sunburn.  (Are you hanging you head in shame/disgust right now?)  So Alana and I went on an overnight trip to the OBX with our friend Blair...We decided that we were only going to lay out on the roof of the place we were staying at for about an hour and a half...and it was overcast outside, so how bad could it be, right?...very bad...worst idea we had in a while...(you know, worst only after not making sure there was no water in the toilet we scored from the side of the road...) we were fried...all 3 of us.  We didn't have any aloe or any sort of cooling lotion, and the only thing we came up with to help the burn was to freeze the slices of cheese (in their individual plastic wrappings) and then place them on our burned bodies until they melted from the heat (gross, I know) then put them back in the freezer to refreeze, and start the process over again...don't worry, I am 98% confident no one ate those pieces of cheese...

8) Unless you are prepared to choke and have your eyes burn-or are in Danger-spraying pepper spray in an enclosed area is not a good idea...I mean, you would think that this would go without saying, but no...My mom always had pepper spray on her set of keys...and I came home from work one night (it was about midnight) and while trying to get a snack and wind down, I happened to see Mom's keys out of the corner of my eye...hello pepper spray...Of course I was smart enough to make sure that the spray would be away from my face-give me a little bit of credit here) but not smart enough to realize that if you spray it into the sink while you are standing right in front of it, the pepper particles will still get in your eyes and the back of your throat and cause you to have a horrible coughing fit...just know that no matter how good of an idea you think it is, you really don't need to see what pepper spray looks like...nor should you spray it in the house...

9) You are going to find yourself struggling to be happy with your weight-for a very long time.  You will find that once you start losing weight that you feel awesome but then you realize that you will never be satisfied with the amount of weight you lose...even if it is dang near 100 pounds, you will still want to lose more...and you will be hard on yourself when you don't-Listen up sister, your weight does not define who you are as a person.  You find the love of your life and have a beautiful family-and they all love you no matter what number the scale shows.  Stop obsessing about it and enjoy your teenage years because once they are gone-they are gone for good...and then you have to pay bills and no one likes to pay bills.

10) Always make sure you have enough gas in your car.  You will find that when that gas light comes on, you really don't have too much longer before you find yourself (and Alana because it was your turn to drive that morning) stranded on the side of someones farm having to call up Mr. Mills to come save you-and no, you don't have a cell phone yet-so you actually have to go INTO the strange farmer's house to call for help...(Stranger Danger anyone?) Mr. Mills brings you enough gas in a can to get you to the gas station and then gives you each a few dollars to get a treat to help you get over the traumatizing experience of coasting into someones farmland...This will not be the only time you coast into a destination on the gas fumes in your tank...but luckily the next 2 times (yeah, obviously I did not learn from my first experience with not filling up the tank) you coasted into the gas station and you were able to save yourself...this is the very reason why you don't like to let your gas tank fall below half empty...(as a side note, unrelated to gas but related to car trouble- really thank your dad for teaching you how to change a flat tire because this will come in handy later as well...and that night that you and your suite mate find yourselves stranded at 10 pm on a Friday night on the side of the interstate because you blew a tire and are on an incline and it isn't safe for you to change it...remember to rephrase your response of "Yeah-there is a donut in the trunk" to "Yes sir, there is a spare tire in the trunk" because then he is less likely to give you a dirty look and walk away and more likely to actually stay and help you...)


You are a good kid-you work hard and you do well in school-cut yourself some slack and enjoy life-you have a great one!
Love Future You...

Baby Daddy

Hello Loves! 
This is the 3rd post in our series-and the topic is: Describe Your Relationship With Your Spouse.  So sit back, relax, and try not to cringe as I disclose all of the mushy details about my relationship with your father...hahahaha.
Love your faces!

OK, where to begin...well...I guess the beginning-right-makes the most sense, no? 

How I met your father...so as I mentioned previously, I knew of your father well before I actually met him, and to be honest, what I knew about him was not appealing to me in the slightest bit.  You see, when I was a freshman in college, Daddy was dating this girl that I went to school with-I will not go into a lot of detail about that, but I did not hold her in the highest of esteems either.  I saw the two of them together and they did not appear to have a stable relationship...(which, worked out for us, obviously) and I was in a relationship with someone else so that might have a lot to do with the fact that I was less than impressed with what I saw/heard...

Fast foreword to sophomore year.  I had an amazing summer-which included breaking up with the aforementioned boyfriend (and Daddy also broke up with his aforementioned girl friend...) and that is the day we met.  He was helping my suite mate move in (her boyfriend was and still is Daddy's BFF), and he saw that I was moving in without any help so he offered to help me.  based on what I had seen/heard of this guy, you can understand why I was skeptical...but I ended up accepting his offer and gave him one of my suitcases to haul up the stairs for me...by the time I made it up to my room, the suitcase was there but he was gone.

He ended up asking me to go to the zoo with him a week later-and we have been (pretty much) a couple since that date, September 2, 2001.  Now something I failed to mention is that Daddy's step sister, your Aunt Jillian, also went to the same college I did (briefly).  I was walking to my room one day when she stopped me and said-so I heard you are dating my brother now (weird, right?) and I said-I guess...to which she said "I hope you don't expect it to last because he isn't that kind of guy."  I just responded by telling her that I had no expectations and that i just planned to take it day by day...and that kids, is exactly what we did-and have done since day one. 

Your father and I take things day by day-we live in the moment.  We love each other very much, and always make sure we are having fun no matter what we are doing.  I am not going to lie and tell you that there are not days where I would love to punch that man in the neck, because he does know how to get under my skin on my very last nerve like no one else can, but that is what happens when you love someone, you try to learn everything you can about them-and in doing so, you learn exactly what it takes to push that person's buttons.  (Obviously I don't do this to daddy...and if he says anything different he is clearly in denial...)

We make sure to tell each other we love each other every day-even on the days where we don't have the opportunity to see each other.  We make sure we laugh every day.  We are there to support each other no matter what the situation is.  We put our family first and ensure that the Lord is a part of our family in everything we do.  When we have to separate for any amount of time, we say the following phrase: "Loe you, miss you, carefee" to each other.  (Loe you is a direct result of one day I was typing and rather than Love, I spelled Loe...and it has stuck ever since...carefee was a result of a stuffy nose, and again, has stayed with us.) 

Your Dad is my Best Friend.  Hands Down.  When I have good news, he is the first person I want to tell.  When I have bad/sad news, he is the first person I want to talk to...when I feel like I am bored, I want it to be him that occupies my time...Our relationship if full of Love & Laughter.  I admire your father for he has done and has overcome throughout his life...we are a team.

“It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.”
― Friedrich Nietzche

"You don't marry the person you can live with-you marry the person you can't live without."

"And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy." Hosea 2:19

3 Fears

Post Number 2 in the For My Loves Series-

Describe 3 Legitimate fears you have and explain how they because fears.

I am not going to list these in any particular order-well, that is a lie, I am going to list them in the order of which I find them easiest to write...you will see why soon...

1.) As previously mentioned I do not swim in water that I cannot see through because I am afraid of being attacked by an alligator and/or a shark...Of that, I have a VERY real fear of alligators/crocodiles.  So much so, that only recently have I been able to see one on the TV and not freak out and have nightmares about it (it is OK if you are judging me-your daddy thinks I am crazy about this fear). This fear came about when I was younger...MUCH younger-I witnessed a gigantic alligator rip the tire off of a Geo Metro...effortlessly.  And if that gator could do that to a car-I do NOT want to know what he could do to me.  I also do not like the fact that these critters live in and under the water...they could sneak up on me without any sort of notice and...well...you know what happens after that...

2.) Losing your father.  I love your father and we are a team.  I do not know what I would do without him-though we have come close more times than I care to think about...1 time is too many...Because he is a police officer, he constantly puts his life at risk to protect other people and uphold the law.  When I was pregnant with Hannah, I was pretty sick during the first trimester-so much so, my Doctor gave me medicine to help with the nausea, but it made me very sleepy so I was not able to take it during the day because I had to work.  I would come home from work, eat, take my medicine and try to fall asleep.  One day in January of 2008 was a particularly rough day of sickness for me so when I went to sleep, I turned off the ringer of my phone.  Turns out that was a terrible move on my part.  Daddy was hit by a car that night at work and no one could reach me to tell me.  Your Poppi had to drive over to my house to knock on the door to wake me up.  This was one of the scariest moments of my life.  I had no idea how bad the injuries were or anything.  Just that he was hit by a car and being rushed to the hospital.  I cried the whole way to the hospital thinking about how there was a possibility that Hannah would never meet her father...I wish I could tell you that that was the only time Daddy was hit by a car...sadly it was not...to date he has been hit by 2 cars (physically hit, car versus man) and was involved in an accident because a car ran him off of the road...all required him to go to the hospital and every time I thought about the possibility of losing him...I don't want to imagine what life would be like without him, and I hope I never have to know...recently the mother of some very close friends of ours passed away.  Seeing the pain and grief in her husband's eyes was more than enough for me to know I don't ever want to be in that position.  (please give me a moment, I am tearing up as I write this...now you know what I meant by writing them in order of being easiest to write about...)  "You don't marry someone you can live with – you marry the person who you cannot live without." – Unknown Author

3.) Losing one of you...okay, even the thought of it makes me cry.  I pray that neither of you are called to heaven before I am.  I do not want to know what pain like that is like-ever.  I hope I never get a late night call about one of you-or have an officer show up at my door to tell me terrible news...none of that.  Seeing your face(s) is what makes my heart smile, and it would break into a billion pieces if I ever had to say goodbye to one of you..."Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven." Henry Ward Beecher

That is all I can say about that because I am having difficulty seeing through the tears just from writing about the possibility...at the risk of being cliche-You complete me.

 “You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” 
-Dr. Seuss

 

"The best love is the kind that awakens the soul; that makes us reach for more, that plants the fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. That’s what I hope to give you forever." – The Notebook

 

"Pleasure of love lasts but a moment. Pain of love lasts a lifetime." – Bette Davis

 

"To be brave is to love unconditionally without expecting anything in return." – Madonna

 

 

 

I love you to the Moon and Back-
Mommy

Random Facts

My Loves,

This is for you.  I can't begin to tell you how much you mean to me- and I know that when these 30 posts are complete there will still be information about me that you don't know...I hope that when you are older you will feel that we have a strong enough relationship to ask me anything-and that you are only moderately embarrassed when you hear the answers to all of your burning questions...hey-seriously, Mommy never claimed to be perfect-I know, as hard as it may be to believe, I was once young just like you and had a lot of learning to do...luckily I had wonderful parents (much like yourselves-pardon me while I toot my own horn for a moment-toot toot!) to show me the way! 
I love you with all that I am.
Forever,
Mommy

Alright-jumping into the subject of this post.  You get to find out 20 random facts about me so let's get to it!

1. I always have to sleep with a blanket on-even when it is a billion degrees outside (we do live in Charleston-I am pretty sure a billion is an accurate weather estimate for this area).  When I feel like I am too hot, rather than take the blanket off, I stick one foot (or leg) out of the blanket to adjust my temperature.

2. I hate bananas.  I find this to be a shame for you because Hannah-you love them (I feel certain that Baby Brother would love them too) but you only get to enjoy them if I am not home or you are somewhere else because the smell makes me gag.  Seriously.  I can smell a banana from across a room-yuck.

3. Your Poppi tricked me into attending a college for women.  True story-that Poppi can be pretty sneaky sometimes.  We were touring several colleges one weekend and one was Columbia College.  Prior to this tour, we had attended about 5 tours of other schools, but as soon as I stepped foot in the parking lot of CC, I knew something was different.  I made a broad statement-something to the tune of "Sure are a lot of girls on this tour..." Now, your Poppi, sneaky sneaky Poppi, looks at me, smiles and says, "Yep, this tour is for girls only." While this was not, in fact a lie, I feel as if it was not a whole truth either...but it all worked out in the end because I loved the school and decided to attend.

4. I love shoes.  Your father will tell you that I am obsessed with them-he is just jealous that they don't make as awesome shoes for men as they do for women.  I was working on cleaning out my closet the other day and came to the realization that I need a bigger closet to accommodate all of my shoes...and just so you know, no, getting rid of some shoes to fit my small closet is not an option.

5. Your Father and I met in 2001.  I knew of him prior to meeting him in person, and from what I knew of him, I did not care for him in the slightest bit...funny how things turn out! (There will be a future post about how I met your Father later.)

6. I do not like swimming (or playing, standing, sitting, etc) in water that I cannot see through.  This is why when we take trips to the beach I stay with the towels and read or take a nap.  Daddy, on the other hand, will swim in the ocean all day long if you let him, so he is the one who you need to talk to when you are ready to play in the waves.  This stems from an irrational fear of being attacked by a shark and an alligator at the same time...or really just one at a time.  I just don't do it.

7. I really do not like to drive.  I am directionally challenged and I hate getting lost.  I much rather prefer to be the passenger in the car than the driver.

8. I have had a job ever since I was able to work, and even before that, I babysat to earn my own money.  I worked while I was in high school and in college, and I was able to secure a job before I graduated college so there was no lapse in employment.  Your grandparents did not force me to work, I wanted to earn my own money and do something constructive with my time.  I hope that you develop a strong work ethic as you grow up.

9.  I really dislike eating leftovers...when I was growing up we had leftover night at least once a week-it was my least favorite night of the week to eat dinner-I would much rather just have cereal or a sandwich.  Now, when I am not sure what I want for dinner, I default to cereal or sandwich...but 98% of the time it is cereal.

10.  I hate to be late.  It makes me very frantic to know that I am running behind schedule and I have a very difficult time recovering from that frantic feeling throughout the day. 

11. I have a difficult time falling asleep when it is too quiet.  I need a little bit of noise somewhere to help me go to sleep-this could be the fan, the TV, a radio, your Daddy snoring (this is a point that he will never admit to-he swears he does not snore, but we all know he does because we have all heard it)-whatever, but I need something.  I think this is because I have a hard time turning off my mind at night-I am always thinking about something when I need to be going to sleep so I need to have something else to take my mind off of it.

12.  I make it a point to tell you I love you multiple times a day-I never want a day to go by without you hearing and knowing that I love you-because I do-with all of my heart-and when you love someone you have to make sure that that person knows it.

13. I have lived in both the North and the South, and while both have their Pros and Cons, I much prefer the North. 

14. My favorite season is Fall.  The scenery is beautiful and the weather is wonderful...That is one downside to living in the south-Fall is very brief in the south so you don't get to enjoy the season as much as you could/would in a state that has 4 legit seasons.

15. I would live in Jeans and a sweatshirt everyday if I could. 

16.I have very thick hair.  Because of this, I really do not like to blow dry it because it takes so long and I get super hot...

17. I don't like to have hair in my face.  That is why, more often than not, you see me sporting a pony tail or side braid-or some other hair off of my face creation I have developed-well that and because I like to sleep-in in the mornings so my hairstyling time gets cut shorter than it needs to be to allow for another sort of hair style.

18.  I call you everyday after you get out of school.  Some days you don't want to talk to me, but I do it so I can get as much of a recap of the time you spent without me as possible.  If I wait too long to call you, the only thing you tell me is-my day was fine-bye.  If I catch you right after school is over I get ten times more of the details.  I also miss you-so please continue to humor your crazy mom and accept my daily phone calls...as they will likely continue into your adulthood...

19.  When brushing my teeth, I sing a song in my head (or hum it out loud) and dance to it...it makes the task far more fun!

20.  Sometimes when I am talking on the phone, I make faces at myself in the mirror...I don't know why or when it started, but I crack myself up when I do it...you should try it because it is hard to get caught up in taking life too seriously-take some time to be silly every now and then!


Okay, so those are the random facts about your most Awesome Mom-and, yes, that is exactly where you get your awesomeness from-it is not from your father (though, you probably already knew that ;) )

Seriously...Awesome right?

I love you!
Mommy
XoXoXo