The flu=EVIL!

I took Miss E to the dr yesterday because she woke up with a bad cough again. We had been around so many people the last week so it wasn't really a surprise that she would pick up something. I actually just called the dr office and asked the nurse to call in a refill on her cough meds, but she insisted on us coming in. Thank goodness we did. When we got there her fever was over 102 and so they did a flu test and it came back positive. I woke up yesterday not feeling so great, and by the time we made it back home from getting her Tamiflu, my temp was over 103. Not good. Luckily my MIL works in a dr office and called me in Tamiflu, so we both have been taking it since last night. Great. Except our insurance didn't cover the liquid form for Miss E, so I have to take caplets apart and hide the powder junk in different things (i.e. mixing it with a small bit of yogurt, hiding it in between a piece of cheese folded in half) and so far it has all been a fail. It tastes horribly and I feel terrible, but it's not like I can mix it in a whole cup of juice because I have to make sure she gets ALL of it. I've been having to keep Motrin in her constantly because that is the only way her fever will stay down and even then it lingers around 101. And somehow the child still has energy and wants to play. For very short periods of time because she gets exhausted easily, but I have NO energy to keep up. All I want to do is sleep. All. The. Time. And that is just not possible with a toddler. "Mommy, I'm done, come wipe me", "Mommy I need more water", "Mommy, can I have a snack", "Mommy, can I play on the tablet"? It's never ending. At night is when it is bad for her, all she wants to do is lay with a cool wash cloth on her face and I'm like "finally"! Rest time for mommy too! My body aches to the core and I have chills that will not go away. But the OCD side of me still needs certain things done, so I'm the freak with the 103 temp doing dishes because I just can't sleep knowing they are in the sink(Brandon is out of town working). It's a horrible sickness and I fully acknowledge that.

Anyway, Christmas was great. We went to Alabama Christmas Eve day, then we did our family stuff on Christmas morning, then went to my in-laws to open gifts, then to Memaw's for more gifts and lunch. I must say that I am extremely lucky to have married into such an amazing family. Miss E got more gifts from Grammie than she did from us (same as the last 2 years). Brandon and I also got some great gifts, I got a new big crock pot(which I have been wanting), some kitchen things, some dvd's, clothes. I love that my MIL and SIL know me so well:) My big gift and the one I was most excited about was from Brandon and Miss E though. I FINALLY got my nice camera! I was so surprised and have been pretty much obsessed ever since. Anyone who knows me knows that this is something I've wanted for 4 years now. Don't worry though, I not one of THOSE people, you know, the ones who get a nice camera and in a month they are a professional photographer charging people for pics;) Although I have always been obsessed with taking pictures, I am in no way wanting to go that route. I just want to be able to take nice pics of my own kid whenever I want to, not on someone else's schedule. I do have 2 photographers that I absolutely love and will continue to use them as well. So yes, Christmas was freaking fantastic this year. I'm just glad we got the flu after it was over! 

Hopefully we will both be over this flu crap quick. I have a birthday to plan and invites to get out. I still can't believe that Miss E is going to be 3 in two weeks!

I got the Liebster Award:)

Woo hoo! I got this the other day:

Thank you Erin over at http://mother227.blogspot.com/. She has been an inspiration to me as I'm starting on my weight loss journey. 

So now I guess it is my turn to nominate 11 people, give some random facts about myself, and answer some questions.

So here are the rules:

1. You must thank the person who nominated you for the award.
2. You must write eleven facts/things/tidbits about yourself.
3. You must answer eleven questions that were given to you from your nominator.
4. You must nominate eleven other bloggers who have 200 or less followers and tag them in your acceptance post.
5. You must create eleven new questions for your nominees to answer in their acceptance post.
6. You must notify your eleven nominees on their blog, so they can accept their award and pay it forward.
7. You must not nominate the person who nominated you.
8. After all of this is done, you may add the Liebster Award Button to your blog.

Here are my 11 things about myself:

1. I LOVE being a mother. I truly believe that this is what I am supposed to do with my life. Raise my little girl and maybe another one one day. My daughter is the absolute greatest gift. I don't think you can know what true love is until you have a kid. It's freaking amazing. 

2. I have 5 siblings, 2 younger, 3 older, and I don't talk to any of them. It sucks but that's the way it is. 

3. I was lucky enough to marry my absolute best friend. I swear Brandon knows me better than I know myself sometimes. He is the only person in the world that knows *every* single thing about me and the only person that I can be myself 100% around.

4. I think RIC (routine infant circumcision) is wrong and disturbing.

5. I despise coffee, but I LOVE the smell of it. Sweet tea is my coffee.

6. I am currently working on shedding some major pounds. It's not easy, but it will be so worth it when I finally get there.

7. I love tattoos. I have 6 of them and I want more. 

8. I also love guns. I have 2 myself, and in my house we have quite a few. My almost 3 year old loves them too, but she knows the difference between her play ones and mommy and daddy's real ones. It's all about teaching gun safety at an early age. There is nothing better than going to the range to let out some stress. Also, I will NEVER be left defenseless. 

9. I want to go to Ireland before I die. I want to see where my family comes from. 

10. I love college football. I think the pros are pansies. College is where it is at. During football season I plan my Saturdays around games. I have and will always be a UGA fan. I think I will always miss Matthew Stafford. 

11. I'm trying to think of something spectacular here, but honestly I have nothing. The only thing I can think of is that I'm a planner. I plan everything. I like things to be done well before time so there is no stress. I booked Miss E's birthday party like 4 months in advance. I buy presents extremely early. I'm just not a last minute person. 

Ok now that those are done, here are the 11 questions from Erin that I have to answer:

1. What is my favorite holiday? That's easy, Christmas! I love the season, the lights, the celebrations, the family time, the food, the look on my daughters face on Christmas morning. I just love everything about it!

2. What is my favorite food: Longhorns crab stuffed filet. It is freaking amazing. They don't carry it anymore and I refuse to go back til they put it back on the menu.

3. What is my favorite memory that includes alcohol? This one is tough. I have quite a few...I think Music Midtown 2004. I went with my roommate and Brandon and it was just a freaking amazing weekend. I just can't even explain it. 

4. What is your favorite memory without alcohol? Dang, I have a few of these too...do I have to pick just one? I'll go with the day we arrived in Daytona last year. It was our first family vacation with Miss E and her first time seeing the ocean. I will never forget the look on her face. We were standing in the hotel parking lot, the sun was going down and Brandon was holding her. I can still smell the ocean. That was an amazing memory, I won't ever forget it.

5. How long have I been with my significant other. We have been together 11 years, married 4. I was 16 when we started dating and he was 17.

6. Where did you meet them: Well we went to high school together, but our families just happened to be in the same place at the same time for vacation one year. He saw me at the pool and the rest is history.

7. What would be the first thing I bought if I hit the lotto tonight? I would pay off the house, my car, Brandon's truck, and anything else we owed. I would donate to foster kids, women's shelter's and animal shelters. I would pay off Brandon's parents house and vehicles(after everything they've done for us, it's the least we could do) Then we would probably buy land and build. I would also love to foster dogs. 

8. What is my dream car? I don't really have one. Cars aren't really my thing, I just need something practical with good gas mileage. I mean, I wouldn't turn down a Bentley or BMW though:)

9. What would be my dream place to live? I wouldn't mind staying in Ga I guess, but I want somewhere with land. I don't want to be too far away from civilization, but I love the quiet and the privacy. 

10. If I could get plastic surgery today, what would I get? A boob job. I'm waiting until we get done having kids, and then I am getting one.

11. Where is my favorite place on earth? Honestly, probably my home. It's my safe zone, the place where I have great memories, plus I love who I share it with. I guess I was supposed to say the beach or something, but oh well.

Ok so here is who I nominate:

1. Anna at http://justnormalthinking.blogspot.com/

2. Elizabeth at http://mylifeaslizwifeandsahm.blogspot.com/

3. Christine at http://inspire-to-create.blogspot.com/

4. Amanda at http://justtakeonebiteplease.blogspot.com/
5. Kristen at http://kristenplusjswifts.blogspot.com/
6. Mommy2Izzy at http://mommy2izzy.blogspot.com/
7.MommaSachs at http://mommasachs.blogspot.com
8. Mommy RiRI at http://thatgoesdouble.blogspot.com/
9. Amy at http://threeoclockcrazy.blogspot.com/
10. Christina at: http://twoboysandarucksack.blogspot.com/
11.Michelle at http://ourlifeontheoutside.blogspot.com/

And here are my eleven questions:

1. Who is your favorite author?
2. What is your ideal job?
3. What is the best concert you've ever attended?
4. What is your favorite movie?
5. What is your favorite thing to cook?
6. What is your earliest memory in life?
7. What is one thing on your bucket list?
8. What is your favorite tv show?
9. Do you collect anything?
10. Why did you start blogging?
11. What is your guilty pleasure? TV show, book, movie, anything like that.

Ok, that took forever, but I'm done!

First week weigh in.

Today was my first weekly weigh in. I'm happy to report that I am down 4 lbs even. Nothing spectacular, but to see the numbers go down is a great motivator:)

It's much easier to eat healthy when its just me and Miss E. Throw my husband in the mix and that is where it gets tricky. But I've been doing great not eating the things I'm not supposed to even though I'm having to fix them for Brandon. Last night I did indulge in a piece of cake for my FIL's birthday, but I came home and did double time on the elliptical too. 

So there it is, my first week back on the wagon and I feel good about it. I knew it wasn't going to come off easily, but I'm working everyday at it:)

Me vs the Elliptical

I won!

I started back on it today for the first time in too long. I have bad knees and they started giving me problems (no cartilage) and swelling really badly. I started taking glucosamine to try to build the cartilage back up and took a break from the elliptical. I was nervous to get back on it tonight and had really low expectations. I gave myself a goal of 15 mins (low, but better than nothing, and I don't want to hurt my knees) and wound up doing 30! It feels great to be back on it and the best part is I have NO pain in my knees! I know I'm going to have to build myself back up to what I was doing, but I'm so proud of myself for taking the first step and getting back on it. I love the energized and accomplished feeling of when I'm done. And yes, I had those jeans draped over my elliptical the whole time as a reminder of why I'm doing it:)

Change of subject now, I got Miss E's Christmas pictures back yesterday and they turned out amazing! The same girl that did our family pics back in August did them and I must say that I just love her. If you're looking for a great photographer, I HIGHLY recommend her, here is her FB page:https://www.facebook.com/mmcphotographyy?fref=ts.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Ok, so that was more than a few, but I think my kid is adorable:) The third one just shows her personality perfectly, always dancing and twirling. We took her to her dance studio's holiday show on Sunday and the look on her face as she watched the dancers was just priceless. It was a great experience for her. 

It has taken me about an hour to write this post (had to stop for a tea party then to put Miss E to bed). So I think I'm done for the night, goodnight!

Motivation

Today I finally found my motivation for weight loss.

I lost 28lbs last year, got lazy and have since gained 10 of those back. Boo. That is what happens when you're just not motivated. Should I be motivated? Sure. But I haven't been. I'm healthy as can be(I had to have tests done at the GI specialist and my blood pressure and cholesterol and all that jazz is perfect). People don't treat me differently because of my weight (I'e been on both ends of the weight spectrum, from too thin to well, overweight). I have a freaking amazing husband who has never said anything negative about my appearance, which has changed drastically over the past 11 years. I was a blonde size 0 when we started dating and now, well, I'm not either of those things. I have some self esteem issues, but they aren't that bad, I don't think I'm horrendous or anything. So basically, I just haven't cared too much about it.

That changed today.

I was looking through the back of my closet for something and there they were. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. THE pair of jeans that looked freaking amazing on me 7 years ago. The ones that even if I felt horrible and wore no makeup, I could put them on and they made me feel like I looked like a million bucks. Those jeans. I don't remember the last time I wore them or even saw them to be honest. I pulled them out and that's when it hit me. I want to wear those jeans again. I started digging further and pulled out a few more pairs(they started going up in sizes) and I realized that if I went up these sizes, I can go back down. It's sure as heck not going to be as much fun as eating whatever I want and such, but it will be worth it to finally be able to put on those jeans. They are the smallest pair in my closet (all of my tiny anorexic clothes are long gone, I'm not dumb enough to think I will be a 0 again, nor do I want to be). So I'm going to start working my way back down my old jean pile until eventually I get to that one pair. They are currently hanging over my elliptical so they are constantly in my sight.

Any inspirational stories are welcomed and greatly appreciate as I start this journey. Most people send me FB messages after reading my posts because they don't like putting their personal stuff out there. One request, don't bother with the "I took this and lost 20lbs in a week" crap. I've never tried weight loss pills or fast fixes before and that is not what I'm interested in. Last year I did it on mostly diet alone, throwing in walks around my hilly neighborhood and using my elliptical. I just like reading real success stories from people doing it the old fashioned way and having that inspiration. You can also follow me on myfitnesspal.com. I've been on there for almost 2 years and set it to where I'm starting with today's weight so I can work my way back up.

This time, I'm going the distance. I'm GOING to wear those jeans again.

It's Friday!

Which also means its payday, which unfortunately means that I'm sitting on the computer paying bills and drinking hot chocolate(I don't drink coffee), which means all that money will be gone very shortly. But I'm just thankful that we have the money to pay said bills. 

Miss E and I started the 25 days of Christmas crafts yesterday. She remembered us doing it last year so she was very excited to start this year. We started off with a construction paper Christmas tree. She loved cutting the strips of paper with her little safety scissors, she thought that was a big deal. I'm thinking we will do the Popsicle Santa's and Reindeer today. 

As most everyone knows, Miss E is and will be home schooled. We don't like the public school system here, or really anywhere close to here. If she gets older and decides she doesn't want to be home schooled anymore, we will look into private Christian school. Right now since she is only at the Pre K level, we don't have to report yet nor do I have to follow a set curriculum. I started her when she was 2 to just get her into the routine of it and it became  something she loved doing. She knows when we wake up and eat breakfast, that afterwards it's school time. She loves talking about it to other people and telling daddy about what she did for school when he gets home at night. It has just become a routine part of our day. 

She knows her alphabet really well and you can say a random letter and she can tell you what comes before and after it. So now we are on to letter sounds. She thinks letter sounds are hilarious, she particularly loves the 'Z' sound. She knows how to spell her name and knows how to spell it in sign language, so she is working on writing it right now. She does the 'E' and the 'L' well, but has a hard time with the 'Y' and 'S'. That wasn't something I was going to start with her yet, but she drew the 'E' one day and said "look mommy, I drew E" and we just went from there. She loves drawing smiley faces and circles and squares too. She just loves to learn and soak everything in right now, so I want to cram all this knowledge in there while she is so willing. We don't have a set amount of time we do for school, just whenever she starts getting antsy, it's usually an hour to an hour and a half. I don't push things on her, I really just follow her lead, she usually lets me know what she is ready to learn and that has been what works for us. So far anyway. The day she tells me she doesn't want to home school or if she gets older and it is just something that isn't working anymore, we will enroll her into private school. I'm not going to push it on her because that just defeats the whole purpose of it. 

Since we are done with school and bill paying for the day, I'm going to take her to do some Christmas shopping:) We still have a few people to buy for and she loves picking out presents for other people!

Lets play catch up!

Truth: I am a horrible blogger. It's been almost 2 months again since I've blogged and I said last time that I wouldn't let it go that far again, but I did. I think about it often, but since the death of my laptop and my desktop being a dinosaur, and it's just a pain to blog from my phone or tablet(unless it's something really short) so that is why I haven't been keeping it up. Brandon did a reset on the dinosaur computer and it's actually working really well now, so here I am.

Lets see...since my last blog post, Miss E has been to Disney for the first time(without mommy or daddy), we've had to switch her dance schools because of a bullying issue, and I'm sure there have been significant other things, but those are the 2 that pop into my head right away.

So Disney...it was a very last minute thing. Like night before last minute. My MIL called the night before they were leaving(they already were planning a trip to Fl for a vacation) and said that they had been given tickets to Disney and really wanted to take Miss E. I was invited too but I had no one to take care of the 3 dogs on that short of notice. We had been planning on taking her next year to Disney for her first time and so this was a difficult decision to make. We decided to let her go because what if something happens and we aren't able to take her next year? Plus, I didn't want to be selfish and not let her go just because I wouldn't be able to. So she went. It was a hard 5 days for me, but she had so much fun with her aunt, Grammie, and great grandmother. I know she will have those memories forever(and the pictures) and I don't regret the decision one bit to let her go.

We had to pull Miss E out of her old dance school, and that was a very tough situation. She adored her teacher, it's the only teacher she has ever had. She had her last year, over the summer, and this year. But it was something that had to be done. There were 5 little girls in the class and one of them, who was the youngest in the class btw, was a bully. At first, it was a push here or a kick there. The mom always had an excuse. No nap, loud house, something about daycare, etc...Well the behavior continued and was getting worse. The girl just didn't want to be there, she was always trying to escape from the class while her mom held the door shut from the other side. The mom eventually stopped watching the class, she would wait in her car for it to be over. The teacher was spoken to, I know we all had communication with the owner of the studio, and I spoke to the mother as well as one of the other moms did. Nothing was done. The owner said she was going to sit in a classes for a bit, she sat in the class the day that I spoke to her and the bully wound up leaving halfway through the class. The next week she showed up the last 20 mins of class bc her kid was sick. Well that week the teacher shut the curtains so we couldn't see in and I was pissed about that. When the owner finally showed up, I told her I was NOT happy about being shut out and she kinda laughed it off and went it. The girls Halloween party was also that day so we tried to be calm for the girls sake, but after class was over, I pulled the mom aside and basically let her have it. A few days later I sent an email to the owner saying we weren't coming back. All four of us left that week. So she lost 4 students over that one. Bad business, bad policies, just all around bad. We tried 2 studios the following week and really liked the second one. The first thing I asked was the policy on bullying. 

I hate it because this has really stayed with Miss E and the other girls. We all four wound up at the same studio, 2 of us in one class and the other 2 in a different day. But they all 4 still talk about it. Every week when we go, Miss E asks if that girl is going to be there and how much she hurt her feelings and how she was mean to the other girls. I'm hoping eventually she can put it behind her. I can't believe this starts at such a young age. I teach Miss E to be nice to everyone and she is. She is such a sweet girl to everyone she meets, so she just didn't understand why this girl acted like that. But I am glad that it is over and we have moved on. 

Oh, we've started going to story time every Tuesday, she has loved it. It has replaced our home schooling on Tuesday mornings. They sing, dance, learn sign language, and of course have 2 books read to them. They wrap it up every week with a craft. We both really enjoy it and I wish I would have learned about it sooner. 

Miss E turns three in a month and a half. I will be a mom to a three year old. It looks weird even typing it. But I am very proud to say that she is fully potty trained! I may have mentioned that in my last post, I don't remember. She's been partially trained for a long time now, but she would still still have an occasional wet pull up in the morning. But for the past few months she will wake up to go pee in the night if she has to go, so now I say she is fully potty trained. I can't really take credit for anything because all I did was put her on the toilet, she completely did this by herself, no pushing from us. Now she just goes whenever and just calls me when she needs to be wiped. I'm just glad she decided to do it before she was 3 and I'm thankful it was so easy because I know it's not easy for everyone.

We are in Christmas mode full swing here. All of our decorations are up and the majority of the presents are under the tree(I am on top of it this year!). Miss E actually likes Santa this year, she had a photo shoot with him and got to hang out with him and drink juice and eat cookies and she thought that was really cool. The only thing she wants for Christmas is a Cinderella carriage  with Cinderella and Prince Charming. She's going to be a happy kid come Christmas morning:) We were talking about Santa the other day and she said "mommy, does Santa come in the house to bring presents?" I told her yes, and she said "while we are all sleeping?" So that freaked her out some, I told her that mommy and daddy would meet Santa and he would give us her present and we would put it under the tree. She said "good"! 

I've been at this for awhile now, so I think that's going to be all the catching up I do tonight:) I'll catch up on her schooling and stuff tomorrow hopefully!

It's been awhile...

It's been over 2 months since I've blogged. I just never seem to remember to do it and I've been staying pretty busy these days. But a lot has gone on in the past 2 months.

First thing is I turned 27 in August. I didn't plan a night out or anything like that because I just wanted to spend the day with my family. And that is what we did. We went and ate lunch at the Olive Garden then went to Mountaisa where we spent the day. We played putt putt and played all the games and Elyse loved getting to trade her tickets for prized. She told daddy that she wanted to get a prize for me since it was my birthday so she picked out a purple bracelet and I wear it all the time. Brandon got me the Hunger Games DVD and a ring with Elyse's name on it. But the company sized it wrong so I haven't been able to wear it just yet. Then my sis in law made me dinner at her house and surprised me with cheesecake(my absolute fave). It was a really great day. Brandon took his stress days on my birthday and the day after. So the next day we woke up at 6 am for family pictures. It was so worth it though because all the pictures turned out amazing! I will eventually post some new pics on my blog, but since my laptop crashed and I mostly use my phone and tablet and the slow as Christmas computer, I just haven't done it yet.

The next weekend Brandon and I headed to Blue Ridge for our anniversary. We spent the day wandering around and then we did horseback ride through the mountains. It was so peaceful and amazing and we have decided that we are going to make that a tradition. I was SO incredible sore the next day though! But I can't wait to do it again. 

The end of Aug beginning of September was our staycation. We had so much things planned and made a ton of great memories. We went to the aquarium and spent all day there. We hiked Stone Mountain (the sky lift was closed, so we had to hike). That was tough with a 2 year old. Every day we did something, it was almost better than actually going somewhere, there is something comforting about getting to sleep in your own bed every night and we didn't have to worry about boarding the dogs. 

Elyse had her first dance performance for the new dance year. They performed at Paulding Meadows and she did a great job. That kid loves the stage and loves putting on a show. She is doing great in the older class and it was definitely the right move putting her in the next class up. She has another performance in a few weeks and then she will also be in the Nutcracker in December. I really appreciate that the new owner is involving the younger kids with everything and not just having them in the end of year recital.

The fair came into town and so we went to that. Elyse wanted to be in the beautiful baby pageant, so she got to pick out her own dress and walk across the stage. After that, she rode every kid ride and one not so kid ride and had a blast. I think I had more fun this year watching her enjoy everything so much than I ever have in the past before we had her. 

Some not so good news is that Brandon got caught in a speed trap and got 2 tickets that we have to pay for in a few days. I really need one month with no unexpected expenses. The cop was a prick, he gave him a speeding ticket and a window tint ticket. I've had my car for 5 years and no one has ever said anything about my tint. I bought the car the way it is and had no idea that my back windows were illegal. It was the end of the month and you know how cops have to get their quota in. He should have given us a warning, but no. I don't like power hungry cops. They really piss me off.

Anyway, our yard is really looking good and Elyse loves having a huge front yard to run around in and all 3 dogs love having the back yard to run around it. It's a win for everyone.

I know I'm missing some things, but my mind is drawing a blank. Maybe it's because it's dinner time and my stomach is growling:)

I know I say this a lot but, I really will try to keep this more up to date!

My name is Meagan and I am a co-sleeper.

Today Brandon and I made a super bed. Meaning we pushed Miss E's twin bed up against our queen bed. It's pretty awesome! 

I guess that by the above statement you realize that we are a co-sleeping family. Not just co-sleeping, we take it one step further and bed share. That's right, our 2.5 year old daughter still sleeps in the same bed with us. *GASP* (enter eye roll here). 

I am SO sick of people thinking co-sleeping is unnatural or weird. Some people are very understanding, they are usually other peaceful parenting people like myself. Others just think it is so weird that we co-sleep. 

Let me start by saying that before we had a child, we said we would never bed share. That changed the day we got home from the hospital. I had a c/s that I had complications with and was breastfeeding. The thought of getting up every 1.5 to 2 hours to pick the baby up, feed her, then put the baby back down didn't sound too good to me. She did have a bassinet set up in our room. When she was hungry, Brandon would get up and bring her to me so I could feed her and then put her back down. But that got old really quick. It was SO much easier to have her beside me and when she got up, just pop a boob in her mouth til we both went back to sleep. Lazy, yes. I was a new, very sleep deprived mom. I had an incision that had complications and I was very sore. Plus I had a colicky baby that cried. A lot. She only seemed content at night when she was in bed next to me. So it worked. We all started sleeping great. She would still wake up to eat(she didn't drop her last night feeding til she was right at a year old), but she always went right back to sleep.

Now she is 2.5 and still loves to sleep with mommy and daddy. She was asking to sleep in her room on and off and we would always let her choose where she wanted to sleep. Even when she did go to sleep in her bed in her room, she would always wake up at some point and come in our bed. She has never slept an entire night in her room. We have never forced her to sleep where she doesn't want to. We have never made her "cry it out". We want her to be comfortable. If that's in our room with us, then so be it. We don't mind at all. There is going to be a day when she doesn't want to hang out with mommy and daddy so until then we are enjoying it. 

I get asked a lot why we just don't make her stay in her own bed in her room. I just simply say that is not where she wants to be. Then I get asked why don't we just let her cry. I then say that we are not believers in cry it out and we think that it is a horrible thing to do to a child who is crying. I could *never* let Miss E just cry and not respond to her cries. I wanted Miss E to know from day 1 that if she cried, mommy and daddy were going to respond and resolve whatever was wrong, even if she just wanted to be held. Then we, without fail, get asked the million dollar question. "If she is sleeping in your room/bed, then how do you and your husband have 'quality time'"? Or the "Oh, you guys must not have a very good sex life with your kid in your room all the time" To this I answer(with a smile on my face), "if you can't have a sex life without a bedroom, then you have bigger things to worry about than where my child sleeps". Because that is the truth. If you can't have sex except for on a bed in your room, then you seriously have bigger issues than how my family chooses to sleep.

I can only do what feels natural to me. Having my child close to me is what feels natural to us. To some, it only feels right having them in their own bed in their own room. To each their own. My kid is a very well adjusted, smart, independent, thriving child. So no, you don't need to worry yourself about how and where we all sleep because we are all doing just fine=)

FINALLY!

Are you ready for this??? After 4 months, we finally have a yard!! Sod was laid on Sunday and it looks amazing! I finally have the huge yard that I have wanted since we moved in. The backyard is still getting worked on, but it is close to being done as well. As I type this, the fence guy is here putting up the fence in the back. It will be awhile before the pups can have full reign of the back bc we have to wait til everything settles, but they are going to have a great place to run back there. The best part is Shyla finally gets a bigger pen, more than double the size of her's now AND she won't have to stay in it all the time, she can run around the backyard as she pleases. 


I had NO idea how much work was involved taking care of sod. Apparently we got the high dollar, best grass, very thick and durable once it takes (it's good to know people). Watering it is seriously a full time job. We have three sprinklers in the front that I have to alternate and watch the time bc it has to be wet, but it can't be too wet. Then there's the sprinkler in the back (we only laid sod where Shyla's pen is going to be and connecting it around to the front of the house on the far side) that I have to move to 3 different spots, it has to be in exactly the right spots to hit everything for a certain amount of time bc again, it has to be wet, but not too wet. Then there's the other grass that has to be hand watered. It's just really a lot of work, but in about a week or so, we are going to have a beautiful front yard! I can't wait to plant rose bushes and plan the garden out(which should be fun since I have never planted or taken care of a garden ever). So basically, we are almost done with the yard renovations and I couldn't be more happy with the out come.


Now for some updates I guess. I recently got back in contact with an old friend. We just kinda lost touch after I had Miss E (although we were friends on FB, so we both kept up with each other). She came over and we got to catch up and talk and it was like we never lost touch. We had a girls night out a few nights later, we went and ate and had margaritas (only 1 each, neither of us are drinkers anymore) and saw Magic Mike (horrible plot, great eye candy). I have really missed this girl and didn't realize it until we started talking. It's nice to have someone that understands how you think and are on the same page about so many things. I have few friends that are like that and I need to keep those close. I've had friendships fizzle out bc we just have nothing in common anymore, from religion and politics to the way we live our lives and raise our kids. I'm not saying you have to think exactly alike to be friends with someone, but there does have to be some common ground that you can base a friendship on and sometimes as we get older people change and part ways. 


I think I wrote in my last post about Miss E going to Florida. She had a blast. She was gone for 5 days and the day she was coming home, I was over at their house 2 hours early. She loved telling me all about the beach and the pool and everything she did. I'm so glad that she got to have that experience with her aunt, Grammie, and Memaw, but I think it will be a long time before she is away from me for that long again. 


I'm counting down the days til Brandon is off for vacation. We are at about a month and a half. I am so excited about our weekend anniversary trip(which we still need to book) and about our week with Miss E. I did some research and wrote out a list of things to do and how much each thing is so we are prepared. Brandon doesn't know this, but I've been putting money up every week so we can pay for that week in cash and that way I know we have the money to do everything. 


Oh and if there wasn't enough to pay for in July and Aug (my tag renewal is in Aug), I got hit with a law suit. I've been fighting this credit card company since 2009. This is the back ground on it: I got a pre approval for this card in 2008 and so I called and got the card because it was to a major store that I was wanting to buy Brandon a new TV for Christmas and I was going to use the card. Well I wound up getting him something else and just paying in cash so that I wouldn't have to worry about having another card payment. So the card was never even activated. Fast forward to a year later when I get a notice from them saying that I owed money. There was a yearly fee and interest on that, plus late charges for every month. I called them and said it had to be a mistake bc the card was never even activated much less used. They said the card went active when I called and accepted the pre approval offer. I said okay, well why wasn't I notified of any outstanding balances in that entire YEAR that had gone by? They said they have sent bills (I never got any). The amount owed was over $1000 and I told them I wasn't going to pay that. I would pay the 1 yearly fee and close the card. Well, they said no and we have been back and forth since then. Last week I got the call that they had filed a law suit against me so I did some digging and it would cost me more to pay the lawyer fees and court cost than to just settle the stupid card out. So I have to pay $826 on a card that was never even used. You better believe that store will NEVER have our business again. I paid the first half last Friday and will pay the last half the first week of August, so that puts a huge damper on things. But at least it will be done and not hanging over my head anymore. And I am also one step closer to having all of my credit cards paid off. I am now down to 1 (from 7). That is one of the lessons I'm going to teach Miss E about for sure. I wish older me could go back and tell younger me to never open those cards(or use them). But it's just another one of those life lessons learned the hard way. At least I learned it relatively young though!

Empty Nest Syndrome

Today is day 1 of 5 with no Miss E:( We were invited to go to the beach with my MIL, SIL, and Memaw, but with Brandon's work schedule and 3 dogs, it was impossible for me to go on short notice. Finding someone to take in the 2 inside dogs is hard and it was too short notice to board them on a "maybe". If we could guarantee that Brandon would be home, it wouldn't have been a big deal. But either you book a room for the pups or not, they don't do "maybe's". Elyse was SO excited, she has been wanting to go back to the beach since we left last year, that it wouldn't have been fair to not let her go. So we dropped her off last night and I cried the whole way home. This is the longest that I have ever been without her and I'm kinda lost to be honest. Brandon is working so I'm by myself for 3 days, then who knows if he will even be home this weekend, so I could be by myself then too. But I know she is going to have so much fun, this kid LOVES her Grammie, Aunt Shell and Memaw(her great grandmother), I'm just sad that I won't be there to see her excitement when she sees the beach again and have those memories. But I also know that it is important for her to have those memories with them. The house just seems so big and empty and quiet without her and I'm just lonely without her.


On a different note, we have been trying to decide what we wanted to do for our vacation this year at the beginning of Sept and we finally got it figured out. Brandon asked me if I wanted to go away for the weekend for an anniversary trip just the 2 of us to Savannah (this is SO unlike Brandon to even think to do something like that) so I jumped on the offer. So Miss E is going to stay with her Grammie for the weekend (2 nights is so much easier than 5) while we do a mini vacation. Then we are going to use the week to fun things with Miss E. Like go to the zoo, aquarium, stone mountain, Acworth Beach, things like that. This way, we don't have to worry about boarding the dogs for 7 nights(which is really expensive). We still get to do fun things as a family and have the time together. We figure Miss E is still young enough that she doesn't care if we go out of town, just as long as we all do things together. Next year is going to be the fun year though, we plan on taking her to Disney next year and I can't wait for that! Everything from the time this vacation is over is going to be about planning for Disney next year:)

I fell off the wagon this weekend.

Yep. I was doing so good. I haven't eaten fast food or anything "bad" in about 3 weeks. I was doing my elliptical for a min of 40 mins a day. Then this weekend happened. I ate Zaxby's, Little Caesars, Arby's and Chinese. I didn't do my elliptical Fri or Sat. I also drank a Dr Pepper (which if you know me, you know that I NEVER drink soda) and haven't drank any water since Friday. Bad Meagan.


In my defense, Friday is the one day a week that Miss E and I go to lunch and I have my "cheat meal" of the week. This week it was Arby's. We played at the playground for a few hours and did lots of walking in the 6 stores we went to. The reason I didn't do my elliptical is because when we got home, It was 76 in my house (normally it's around 72) and I realized that our AC was BROKEN. It got up to 86 that evening in the house, it felt cooler outside than in my house. It was miserable. So I didn't cook (didn't want to turn the stove on and make more heat) so Chinese it was. I probably would have burned more calories since I was sweating on the elliptical that night, but I was just too hot to care to be honest. 


Saturday my FIL came over to do yard work (still working on getting it ready from the tornado) and I took Miss E to her Grammie's to spend the night. I needed something cheap to feed the rest of us though so Little Caesars it was. $7 for a large pepperoni pizza and bread sticks. Then the rest of the afternoon was spent getting the AC taken care of(which we did thanks to one of our best friends) and the guys working in the yard. Last night we went to Sam's to upgrade our phones (finally!!) bc we had gotten something in the mail saying that we get to upgrade early. We've had our phones for 2 years and all the electronic nuts know that with all the new technology coming out so frequently, that means our phones were terribly outdated. Plus mine had been broken since November, but I didn't want to pay to get the same phone back so I just stuck it out. I was contemplating on getting an Iphone, but my old phone and Tablet is Android(which I LOVE) and I don't use Apple anything so there was just no point, I was just contemplating a change. Plus the new Iphone 5 is coming in September and I didn't want to wait that long. Anyway, we both got new phones and they are awesome. By the time we got all that done is was almost 10 so of course we didn't want to go home to cook, so Zaxby's it was. 


Today I've jumped back on the wagon after weighing myself and realizing I gained a pound back. You may think that a pound isn't a big deal, but when you've been on a strict routine and have been steadily losing, it's really discouraging to gain even a little back. But it's okay, just a minor set back. I went to the grocery store today and got all my healthy stuff for the week so I'm all set. 


I wish I had more friends that lived closer to me that actually enjoyed walking. When it's not rainy, Miss E and I take evening walks around my subdivision(which is full of hills so it's a nice workout when your pushing a stroller). But I live out in the boonies and the friends that do live close don't really care about walking or working out. I need more health conscious friends to be doing this with me, but I'm still doing okay on my own, it would just be nice to have someone to share the journey with and swap stories with and share frustrations with. I'm absolutely addicted to MyFitnessPal and I have a good number of people on there doing it with me, but it would be nice to have someone IRL doing it as well. 


The good news is I'm 18lbs down, but I still have a ways to go. It really does get easier over time. The first 2 weeks are the hardest, then after that it's just habit. 

Mother's Day

Today is May 13th...it is also Mother's Day. Today is a bittersweet day for me. Three years ago on Mother's Day we announced to the family that we were having a baby. Today she is a beautiful 28 month old. On May 13th last year (it was Friday the 13th) I found out that I had lost a pregnancy 24 hours after finding out that I was pregnant. So today I should have a 28 month old and a 4 month old. But it just wasn't God's plan for us to be a family of 4 just yet.


Today was a good day. We all slept til 10 this morning (2nd day in a row that I got to sleep in!). Then we had breakfast and relaxed for a bit. Brandon then gave me my cards and said that I had an option. He had been looking at cameras for me and had gotten burned twice trying to get me one. So then he started looking at tablets and was unsure because I had never shown any interest in one. Truth is, I had never thought of getting one since I have a laptop and a smart phone. Since he had gotten burned on the camera deals he said that either I could take the money and put it up and it could go towards a camera once we found the right one OR we could go tablet shopping today. Well since anytime we put money up for something else, it always gets spent before on other things so I decided that we could go looking at tablets. Long story short, I am now the proud owner of a pretty awesome tablet. I like it much better than my phone(which is a pos) and my laptop(has an incredibly short battery life and has somehow reset itself to where it won't open my preferred browser no matter what I do). My husband is now playing deer hunter on my new tablet while I am blogging on my laptop:)


We went and had lunch with the family and gave Grammy and Memaw their gifts(homemade from Miss E of course). Miss E then decided that she wanted to go with them to look at a house that Michelle is looking to put an offer in on, so that is when Brandon and I took the opportunity to go shopping for my tablet. She wound up eating dinner with them so we went and ate the 2 of us before getting her back. She didn't get a nap so she was kinda cranky, but went right to sleep 30 minutes before her usual nap time.


Before I was a mom I hated Mother's Day to be quite honest. I haven't had a mom in many years to celebrate and pamper on Mother's Day. This day was just always a reminder of what I don't have. But now that I have Miss E, it is different. I'd be lying if I said I don't have hurt feelings and anger, but she has made me so much more. I love being a mother more than I ever thought I would. I can't put into words how much I love my child and my husband for giving me this precious gift. Even though I don't have my own flesh & blood mother (or adopted), I have a mother in law that I think of as a mother. She has been more of a mother to me than my adopted and biological mother ever were. I really believe that she thinks of me as a daughter and not just her son's wife. We have an excellent relationship and I am incredibly lucky to have her. She has been there for me for the better part of a decade and I can't ever thank her enough for all that she has done for me. She is such an amazing example of hoe to be a mother and how to live life. I don't think she will ever realize how much she has influenced my life and made me a better person. 


I am a very lucky woman. When times were really bad, when my biological mother was getting pulled out of the house by cops at 2am, when my adopted mother was telling me that I was nothing and would never be anything, I would pray that one day I would have better. That I would have a family that was full of love. I would pray that even though things seemed hopeless at the time, that God had a bigger plan for me and that one day everything would be okay. 


I am so happy to say that today, everything is okay:)


Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Updates!

Our internet was out for about a week because the phone line got dug up during yard work, so that is why I have been MIA. But I do have a lot to update!


Brandon was in Texas all of last week for school. He finally got a promotion(and a raise!). While he was gone, my wisdom tooth decided to try to make an appearance. My right bottom one started to come through and got stuck, which created a huge hole in my gum which got severely infected. It started on Monday and by the time I went to the dentist on Wednesday, my gum was infected all the way to my front teeth. Luckily, they took one look and decided not to touch or do anything since I was in so much pain. They just did x-rays and made the appt to get them removed. They said they would have taken them that day if I didn't have the infection. I've been on antibiotics and pain meds and am feeling a lot better. I'm just dealing with the wisdom tooth pain now, which I can deal with.


Brandon got home on Friday and we all went to dinner and did some shopping. I threw a baby shower for my best friend Angela on Saturday. This was the first shower I had ever thrown, but it was stress free and very easy. I had 2 people helping and everything was just perfect. I had a very specific vision in my head and it all came together beautifully. Everyone had a great time and it was so good to catch up with old friends.


Later that night, Ang sent me a text saying that her water had broken and they were on the way to the hospital. She was 32 weeks 2 days. She has been in the hospital since and they took the baby tonight. Little Dylan was born perfectly healthy and extremely handsome=) He is in the NICU but hopefully he won't have to stay for too terribly long. I am going up there in the morning and I can't wait to meet this little boy that I love so much already!


Miss E had her last dance class tonight. She has her very first recital on Saturday and she is pretty excited about it. I don't know how she is going to do though, she has never been on a stage in front of so many people before. She always does great in the classes, but this is going to be a huge difference. She has a rehearsal on Friday and hopefully she will get adjusted to the stage then. Her dance school just announced this week that they are closing, so I'm sad about that and am looking into dance schools for next year. She is going to do tumbling over the summer, her dance teacher teaches it, so that will give her something to do so maybe she won't miss dance so much.


I think I pretty much covered everything that has been going on=)

Amazing love

Tonight when it was Miss E's bed time, we sat on the bed and had a real conversation. We talked for probably a good 45 minutes about everything from how the Easter Bunny had left her a basket at our house & Grammie's house to how much she loves dance to what she wants to be when she grows up. That's right, my 27 month old told me tonight that she wants to be a doctor. I have no idea where that came from, but I love it. I love everything about her and that is no exaggeration. I am so unbelievably blessed to be this awesome little girl's momma. I never imagined that I could unconditionally love someone with all of my existence. 

I wish I could freeze time and keep her this age. Don't get me wrong, I love watching her grow and I look forward to seeing who she becomes. But there is something so special about toddlers. They are so pure hearted and innocent. She looks at the world and everything around her and see's nothing but good. When she see's someone, she doesn't see color or race or sex, she just see's a person that could potentially be a friend or someone to play with. She loves unconditionally as well. She doesn't care what anyone looks like, how much they weight, what their hair color is, etc. There is no hate in her heart, just pure innocence. I envy that in her and want her to hold on to that forever. I would love to see the world through her eyes for just a day. 

Having her has really changed me a lot. I don't look at things the way I used to and I have become a lot more tolerant of things because that's how I want her to be. I want her to be a good person.  A non judgmental woman of God. I want her to be accepting and caring. I have such high hopes for her and I pray for her every night. 

I am so proud of that little girl and the person that she is becoming. No, she hasn't had to overcome any hurtles such as a language or developmental delay, but that doesn't make me any less proud of who she is and what she accomplishes every day. She works hard and is so smart. I can't wait to see what awesome things that God has in store for her. 

I don't really have too much to update. We are still working on the front yard, but it is really close to being done. We are seriously going to have a HUGE yard, which is what I've wanted for a really long time. I want a place where we can run & play with Miss E & our future kids & that is what we are finally going to have. We are going to have a swing set and a garden with a cute little turquoise mini picket fence around it. I am really excited, I can't wait to see the final product. 

We finally got Miss E's loft bed/playhouse in her room, so today I rearranged her room around it. It is really cool & Miss E just loves her little house. We aren't quite finished with it, we still have to add the shutters and stairs and some other cosmetic things, but I'm really impressed with how it turned out.

It is going to look amazing when it is really finished. I told Miss E that this is extra special because her daddy hand built this specially just for her & now she tells everyone that she has a house that her daddy made just for her. It is really cute and she just loves spending time in there. Oh and you better not leave the door open bc she will tell you real quick that the door HAS to stay closed. I raised her well!

I am in an organizing, cleaning mood today, so that is what got her room done. I love being in these moods! I love really getting into something and getting it done. I think I'm going to attempt to move some furniture back into our bedroom today(it's still in our dining room & kitchen). We aren't moving everything back in there, but I would like what is going back in there, to be in there. I might try to move the desk and tv stand downstairs, we will see on that one.

I was thinking of having a little get together when all the renovations are done, a way to say thank you to the one's who have helped us and been here through out this stressful process and as a way to say screw you to the one's who have disappeared and haven't been around, not even a text message or anything. I'm still toying with the idea, the last time we had a party here, I said I would never have another party here. If we do, it will be a no alcohol thing(we don't believe in drinking around Miss E or any kids, well we don't drink at all anymore). I guess that's another thing we will have to wait and see about.

Projects!

We have had an extremely busy weekend. Miss E spent Sat-today at her Grammie's house, so we had time to get stuff done. Saturday I painted our bedroom (finally!) and it looks awesome! I was afraid of how the color blue was going to turn out on our accent wall & turns out, it is perfect. I'm so in love with how it is coming together. While I painted, Brandon worked on Miss E's loft bed/playhouse. Sunday, we both worked on her bed, I got all the pink & white parts painted, so today I'm going to paint all the purple parts. Then when Brandon gets home tomorrow night we can finally get it in her room and get it put together! I am SO excited since this has been in works since January. We still have to get the crack in her wall fixed from the tornado, and then I can finally get her room back together. 

Once her bed gets done, our next project is our bed. We have decided not to put it on the old frame & posts since it is so high. We took it down when Miss E was born for safety reasons and decided we want to keep it low to the ground(but not on the floor like it is now) to keep it safe for Miss E & any other future kiddos we have. So Brandon is going to build us a platform bed & a headboard. Oh and matching nightstands as well. I'm very excited about how our room is going to come together.

We should be finished clearing the trees in the front yard this week. Then we can start the grading work and hopefully get sod down within the next month. Then we have to start the back yard. We just have to take it one day at a time, as frustrating as that may be sometimes. 

Miss E is doing awesome. She decided to go ahead and have another growth spurt, so now she is in 3T/4T shirts (she has some 4/5 that fit as well) and went straight into a 7.5 shoe. I can't keep up with her growth spurts & it gets expensive quick! 

Right now, life is good, just busy, but I'm enjoying all the progress we are making!

Home Improvements

A lot has been going on this past week. Good news is that all the damage on the house has been officially repaired. The gutters are fixed and the window that was broken is now also fixed. A guy is coming tomorrow or Saturday to pressure wash the entire house and then I can re paint the front porch. Our house is going to look amazing! Now all the focus is on the front and back yard. We are on our 4th roll off dumpster($300 a piece!) for the yard debris. But our front yard is really starting to come together. Brandon's dad has been here almost every day when he gets off work and works until about 9pm. When Brandon is home, he also goes straight to work as well. To say they have been working hard is a huge understatement. I am so very grateful that Darryl has done as much as he has because he doesn't have to. He is seriously one pf the best people I know. 

While the guys have been busy improving the outside of our house, I've been busy improving the inside. On Saturday I started making the guest bath into Elyse's bathroom. She picked out the theme she wanted and then I painted it light purple(purple is her favorite color). The bathroom before was a light but bright blue, so covering it was not easy. I got the 2 in 1 paint and primer and had to really layer it on. I didn't get finished til after 11, so touch ups had to wait til Sunday. After I finally finished touch ups on Sunday, I hand scrubbed every inch of the bathroom. I'm talking on my hands and knees cleaning square by square on the floor kind of cleaning. Then I put in all of her new stuff and moved all of her bath stuff in. I had bought her all new towels and washcloths to match. Every thing looked great! I am so happy with the way it turned out. The best part was Miss E's face when she saw it the first time. She said "mommy, it's purple"! I said "this is your new big girl bathroom" and she said that she loved it. Now she wants to go in there numerous times a day to stand on her step stool and brush her teeth by herself and I happily oblige. 

Monday Darryl came over early and surprised me by telling me to go pick out new carpet for the bedroom! I can't even explain how happy that made me, our bedroom is in dire need of new carpet. He said we had enough insurance money from the tornado to put carpet in the bedroom. He had told Brandon that morning that he was going to surprise me with it. It almost brought tears to my eyes, this is something I've wanted to do since before Miss E was born, but we just couldn't afford it. We have a pretty big bedroom(it measured out to be 35.33 yards of carpet needed), so this is just awesome. He had already called the guy and told him that I was going to be coming and told me to pick out whatever I wanted. So yesterday Miss E and I went up there and picked out the type I wanted and brought the samples home so I could pick the color. I went back and ordered it this morning and it's going to be installed next Wed! Happy doesn't describe how I feel! It's enough to make me forget about what a crappy day I had Saturday.

So now I am on count down mode to Wednesday. After it gets installed, I'm going to pick out paint and finally paint our bedroom. We've lived here for 6 years and the walls are still bare and white and our bay windows still have no curtains. So I'm changing that and making it what I want it to be=) After I ge the bedroom how I want it, I'm going to start on the kitchen. I have plenty to keep me busy this summer with home improvements=) I'm excited because I love having projects though.

Tuesday we got our new roof. They came at 7:30 in the am and were up there banging all.day.long.I would have packed Miss E and I up and left for the day, but I was completely blocked in and I would have had to ask all of them to move their vehicles & the dump truck, so we just stayed in. It was a very long day to say the least, but our new roof looks amazing! We got an architectural roof and it looks so much nicer than the old one. And the best part is they finished it in one day!

The siding got finished this morning. They were here yesterday and had to come back and finish this am, but I am happy to say that is done too! We still have gutters to replace and some more minor things, but the big stuff on the house is done!

Miss E's room is still all messed up, all of her furniture is gathered in the middle of the room still, except for her twin bed, which is still in it's normal spot so she can sleep in there. I can't wait to get that room back to normal. Anyone who knows me knows about my OCD and I freak out a little every time I walk in the room. 

The kitchen window is still broken, but luckily we have double paned windows, so it's just broken on the outside.

Our insurance adjuster is AMAZING! Since Darryl is doing the tree removal himself(the insurance only pays for trees that caused damage to the house, truck, and Shyla's pen), it's looking like we should be completely covered and not have to come out of pocket for anything(well, we will have to be reimbursed for some of the things that have already been done). This is a huge blessing since we have about 100 trees down and it was going to cost about 10,000 to get them all taken care of. Our front and back yard is going to have to be completely redone( I can't even begin to explain what they look like at the moment) and sod is not cheap. So this is really a huge weight lifted. 

It's probably going to take all summer, but it's going to look amazing when it gets done=)

Big Picture

Darryl & Brandon started leveling our yard out today. Right now it looks like a huge muddy mess. But according to Brandon, you have to make a mess to clean up a mess. We have a huge roll off in our yard, a loader, piles of limbs, huge logs, etc. But I'm trying to look at the big picture. I'm finally getting the yard that I've wanted since we moved here. Since we are going to be stuck here for awhile, I'm glad we are able to make it into what we want. We are going to have a big front and back yard. Miss E is finally going to get a swing set in the front yard and have a place to play. I'm finally getting a backyard that I can put a vegetable garden in. 

So even though I want to cry every time I walk outside and see the huge mess, I'm trying to look at the big picture, and then I start smiling again.

Stormy weather

I'm about a week late on this, but I'm sure everyone has heard about the tornadoes that hit Paulding County last Friday. Well it hit our subdivision really hard, meaning that it basically destroyed our neighborhood. It's heartbreaking to drive around here. Everyone has tarps on their roofs, their windows are boarded up, yards are covered with fallen trees and limbs. Our usually quiet neighborhood is now busy with contractors, roofers, constant chainsawing, & hammering. As I type this, the Dish guy is here walking around trying to figure out where he is going to mount the satellite since our we haven't been re-roofed yet. We've had to put 'No Soliciting' signs up at the top of our driveway since they have been like vulchers. Saturday(the day after) cops had to close off our neighborhood bc apparently we were the big attraction of the day for everyone in Paulding County. I tried to leave around 2 and couldn't even get out of my driveway hardly. I had words with quite a few people that day. I just couldn't take it anymore. I felt like we were some kind of freak show that everyone wanted to come see. Sunday was no better. Elyse was with her Grammie and Brandon had gotten called to work at around 6 am so I was really wanting to sleep in, esp after not sleeping at all the night of the tornado. But no, contractors started ringing my doorbell at 8am. I was irate. So I put a sign on the door that basically said if you weren't here with a hammer or a shovel, then don't even think of ringing my doorbell. It worked too, so that afternoon I moved it up and put it on the mailbox so they wouldn't even come down the driveway. 

It these kind of times when you realize exactly who you can rely on. Darryl and Dennis(Brandon's dad & uncle) were here first thing Sat am and got to work. All day long, people were in and out bringing materials, and volunteering to help us. My friend Angela came over first thing that morning (my phone had been dead since we had no power) and helped me clean out the fridge & freezer and salvage anything we could & stored it at her house. Then brought us back breakfast. Misty came that evening and brought all dinner and hung out with me for awhile. It was great to have company to take my mind off of what was going on around me. The power finally came back on Saturday night after being off for 23 hours. A bunch of Brandon's family called or dropped by to check on us, but of course no one in mine did. Sometimes I forget that I really don't have any family, but it's times like me that I'm slapped in the face with the reminder. Heck, some of our friends didn't even check on us, but most did. I made a mental note of the people that didn't though, mark my word on that.

It's going to take months to get all the trees and everything cleared out, but once we do, we are going to have a nice big front and back yard for Miss E to play in. That's the upside in all of this I guess. We were just so incredibly blessed that none of us got hurt and that our house wasn't worse than what is was. 

On an unrelated topic, I put the twin bed up in Miss E's room and she absolutely loves it. On the other hand, it made me sad last night when she said she wanted to go night night in her big girl bed and went right to sleep in it. She has slept with me every night of her life(except when she spends the night with Grammie) and I'm not ready to let that go yet. Luckily Brandon could see that and moved her to our bed when I was ready to go to sleep. I guess I'm just not ready to have her grow up and be so independent. I love going to bed and laying down next to her and saying a prayer for her while she sleeps. I love snuggling in with her and the way she rolls into me as soon as I lie down. So we decided that she can decide where she wants to fall asleep, but one of us will just move her before we go to sleep.

I don't really have time to go into anything else since the Dish guy is coming up to the front door, but I will try to this weekend to update everything else.

Please slow down!

It really hit me hard today that Miss E is really not a baby anymore. When she came out of her room fully dressed in clothes that she picked out & dressed herself in(headband included), it stopped me in my tracks. She said "I did it"! so enthusiastically with her arms raised in the air. I gave her a big hug and told her how proud I was of her while wiping tears from my eyes. My baby really isn't a baby anymore.

 We have been doing "unofficial" homeschooling for a few weeks now. She is like a sponge at this age so I want her to soak in anything I can teach her. We do letters, numbers, shapes, colors, etc. She knows how to spell her name and we are working on learning how to sign it as well. She does it pretty well most of the time (as well as her 2 yr old motor skills will allow). We also do some kind of craft or art project daily. We both really enjoy this time and she really enjoys learning new things. When she is 3 is when we will start "official" home school. 

I think it's funny how some people perceive home schooling. I get the "looks" and the "oh I would never do that, I wouldn't want my kid to be socially awkward" comments. The same crap that we heard when we said that I would be a SAHM and not put her in daycare. I used to get really defensive to these ridiculous comments, now I just laugh. Miss E has never stepped foot into a daycare and she is nowhere near "socially awkward". She's a happy, normal, 2 year old. We decided to home school her after looking at the public schools around us and looking at the pre k programs and just not being happy with them. The student to teacher ratios are terrible and quite frankly, I'm not comfortable dropping her off somewhere where I don't know anything about the other kids and how they are raised. You can say that I'm keeping her in a bubble and she needs to be around other kids and blah blah blah, but I am perfectly okay with keeping her in a bubble to an extent. By doing home schooling, I'm able to teach her one on one and really make sure she is learning. For some reason people thinks that home school=holed up at home all day. I'm not sure why this is the case. Have you ever tried to sit at home all day with a 2 year old? It's just not possible! We get out and about just about every day. That's another good thing about home schooling her, she's not couped up in a class room all day. Once we are done for the day, we are free to enjoy our day. We can go out and do things, like go to the park, go shopping, and have play dates. That's right, we have these things called play dates. You know, social interaction with peers around her age(catch my sarcastic tone). She loves going on play dates and I love them because I know who she is interacting with and I get to know the parents as well. I've actually made some good friends. She also gets to interact with kids of all ages, not just other 2 year old kids. So with all of these factors, the better question to me is, why would I NOT home school? At least during the these crucial learning years.

I guess my point is, don't look down on us that choose to home school our children. It's not something I blindly decided to do. It took a lot of research, time, discussion & prayer to come to our decision. I'm doing the best I can do for my child.