Back to the real world.

We got back from Daytona Beach last Friday.  The vacation went by too quickly & I miss it dearly. We left Saturday morning and it took us about 10 hours to get there.  We had to stop by the Tanger Outlets and do some shopping and we stopped every couple of hours so Miss E could stretch her legs.  She did surprisingly well on the way down and on the way back, which was a pleasant surprise. Thank goodness for DVD players and Mickey Mouse! Miss E had such a blast down there, she loved the ocean and the sand and the pool. We went to one or the other every morning and then came back and got showers, lunch, and naps. Then we would go out and shop and find kid friendly places to eat. Daytona is not a kid friendly place so that was a challenge to find somewhere that is not a bar or pub to eat. It was so nice to not have to worry about Brandon's phone ringing and him having to leave. We really needed that time together to bond as a family again. 

Of course, the morning after we get home Brandon got called to work. Miss E had gone to her Grammie's to the Cotton Picking Fair and to spend the night. Brandon did get to come home long enough for us to go eat and then he got called again. He was gone til Mon night and left this morning, so he is gone again. It's hard getting back in the swing of him being gone so much. Miss E loved spending so much time with her daddy, she was a daddy's girl the whole time, it was so cute!

On another note, Miss E hit a huge milestone yesterday..she pooped in her potty for the first time! She was in the bathtub and she said "momma potty" so I asked her if she needed to sit on the potty and she said yes, so I got her out, dried her off, and put her on there.  She said "momma GO"! I thought she was telling me she had to go, but she was telling me to GO! She didn't want me to watch, so I turned around and sure enough she went!  I am so proud of my big girl! 

She has also went through a growth spurt so we went shopping today(her favorite thing to do) and it makes me so sad to walk by the 0-24 mo section to go to the toddler section. It's so bittersweet watching her grow up, it's just going by way too quickly!

Almost time....

In a few days we will be beach bound. To say this vacation is much needed is an understatement. I am getting a bit stressed though, Brandon has been gone for a week(with the exception of one night) and it's looking like he will be gone up until time to leave.  He has to be back by Friday at 5 since that is when he goes off call, but we leave very early Saturday morning. So that is leaving me to get everything packed, the house cleaned, the errands ran, and the dogs groomed, by myself. It's a bit overwhelming, but slowly I'm getting it done. The past 2 days have been really productive, but tomorrow I have a date with my best friend, so I won't be doing much tomorrow. I have to squeeze in the bank and getting my oil changed, but I'm going to try to do those before I meet her.  The biggest thing is getting the pups groomed. I'm going to shave them myself and I've been putting it off because I dread doing it. Especially with Miss E there too, it's not going to be an easy task. 

I'm dreading the car ride already. Sunday Miss E and I took a road trip to Chattanooga to see Brandon and the last 30 minutes of the car ride there and back, she screamed. I'm talking full blown loud wailing almost drive off the road screaming. Hopefully this time it will be easier because with Brandon driving I can hop in the back if she starts whining. He installed her TV/DVD player so I'm hoping Mickey Mouse will keep her entertained.  

She's been whiny the past few days and as much as I hate to say it, it is really working on my nerves. It doesn't help that Brandon has been gone so I have no help. As I type this, she is in bed whining. Not crying, but just whining. She has had a runny nose the past 2 days and I am praying to God that she is not getting sick. She is going to see her Grammie for a while tomorrow so I'm hoping she is good for her. 

I'm glad that Brandon got to come home last night, even though it was just one night. Our kitchen sink got clogged up and I couldn't get it to drain. I got some liquid plumber and poured it in there Sunday night before I went to bed.  I am extremely allergic to chemicals so I was nervous, but it had to be done.  I was really careful and didn't get a drop on me, but somehow I still had a reaction. I started getting hives and my face and throat started swelling. I finally found a Zyrtec and that helped tremendously. After all that, it still didn't break the dang clog. Brandon had to take apart and clean the trap last night and thankfully it is now fixed.  Even thought the liquid plumber didn't work, it left my sink and drain extremely clean!

That's about all I have for now, off to start getting our luggage down=)

So Brandon has been gone for 2 weeks, with the exception of 2 nights.  Luckily one of those was my birthday. I didn't plan anything, but all in all it was a good day. Miss E and I went to lunch with Tammy and Michelle then went to feed the ducks.  That is her favorite thing to do now and we go at least 2 times a week.  That night Brandon took us to Longhorn to get my favorite meal, the crab stuffed filet.  It's amazing! I had lunch with Erin and Logan Saturday afternoon and dinner with Angela Saturday night.  Then we went and got some material to make Miss E a tutu.  It turned out really great!

 I was thinking about making and selling them just as something to do, but instead of people asking me to make them they are asking me how I made it.  I've told 2 people because they live far away and are not in my target area, but I don't think I'm going to tell anyone else.

September is literally a few days away and I'm so excited!  It marks the beginning of football season, our wedding anniversary, beginning of fall, and our vacation(in that order). Our vacation has been so stressful to plan, but we finally have everything nailed down and finalized. We had to learn a hard lesson along the way(don't assume "family" won't screw you over), but in the end, we wound up with something better.

I'm hoping that Brandon gets to come home tonight and I'm hoping that he will be home Saturday night so we can go out for our anniversary.  I already arranged a baby sitter for Miss E so fingers crossed!

Peace and Quiet.

It is 8:15pm which means Miss E is in bed and I finally have some quiet time. I love this time of day.  Brandon is out of town for work so it is just me and I am enjoying it. She has been really good and then the past 2 days she has been extremely moody. She has her canines coming in, 2 of the 4 have popped through. I'm hoping we get a break from teething until her 2 year molars come in. 

I've been staying off the computer more to focus on Elyse during the day and to have time with Brandon at night. I realized I was spending way too much time on Facebook and that's time that I could be focused on doing things with Elyse. I did peek on there today and after reading maybe 3 status updates I shut it off. People post ridiculous things and it really gets on my nerves.  I need to go through and clean out my friends list so I can get on there without getting annoyed. 

My birthday is in a few weeks and I've decided that I'm not going to do anything for it. The past few years has been a pain to try to get everyone together.  Last year we had 14 people say they would come and when the night came, only 4 people showed up to dinner. So I'm over trying to plan things. It really hurt my feelings last year and put a damper on the night, so I'm sparing my feelings this year. Our anniversary is 2 weeks to the day after my birthday.  Brandon is not good with the romance stuff so we will probably try to get a sitter and go to dinner or something. I want to go to Strip, I absolutely love that restaurant! Then our vacation is just a few weeks after that, so there is a lot to look forward to.  I am so ready for the cooler weather.  Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year. 

August marks 10 years of Brandon and I being together.  A whole decade.  That makes me feel old saying it that way. We have come to a break-thru in our marriage and it's really great.  We have always had a good relationship, but there is always room for improvement.  Communication was where we needed our improvement and this past week we have really turned that around and it has made things so much better. 

Now I am getting off of here and going to get some much needed relaxing time in!

Serentity. Courage. Wisdom.

We all know the Serenity Prayer, right?  I LOVE this prayer, it really has so much meaning to me. I've been wanting to get it tattooed on me for awhile, just wasn't sure where I wanted it.  Coincidentally I have also been wanting a tattoo on my right foot since I have one on my left. Well Saturday night, Brandon and I finally got a much needed date night. At the end of the night, I asked if we could go by and see if it was even feasible to get what I wanted done and get it priced. So we go in and I tell them what I wanted and how I wanted and it and they said it could be done and got a good price on it and said that we could do it that night!  I was beyond excited! So here it is:

Excuse the shadows, it was bad lighting and Brandon is standing right over it to take the picture.  This was #6 and my most painful to date!
For Those of you who are not familiar with the prayer, this is it:

God grant me...

Serenity to accept the things I cannot change.

Courage to change the things I can

and

Wisdom to know the difference.

Awesome words to live by.

Terrible Two's: Fact or Fiction?

At this point I'm going to go ahead and say FACT!  My previously sweet, well mannered, well tempered child has become a tantrum throwing, messy, loud, hitting, screaming toddler. The past few times we have went out, we have had at least one episode whereas we used to go out and get so many compliments on how well behaved our child was.  So at the age of 18 months (as of tomorrow) my child seems to have officially hit the terrible two's.  

We still have our fun and when she is in a good mood, she is still the best child ever. But she has discovered her wild tantrum throwing side that is not so much fun.  The worst is the hitting.  I can't stand that.  I have popped her hand and her butt for other things, but I really don't think spanking her when she hits is effective. Telling her not to hit as I'm spanking her?  That's sending mixed signals.  So I am experimenting in the discipline area and hopefully will find something that is effective. 

Luckily her tantrums are still few(but not far between) and are still manageable.  But where she used to be content in the cart while we shop or in her high chair during dinner, she wants down and wants to wander around.  Because of this new development we are now the proud owners of a toddler backpack leash.  It's a cute little dog that is a harness and she seems to like it.  People have looked at me like I'm insane when they see her in it, but to me it just makes sense.  When she won't sit in the cart and doesn't want to hold my hand, what am I supposed to do?  I am not one to let my child scream in public and I will not let her walk around without some connection to me, so this is the perfect solution.  She gets a little deserved freedom and mommy is comfortable because she is still attached to me.

It's not all bad though. I prefer to call it the "Trying Two's" because it's not really terrible. She is at a really fun stage and we are able to do so much with her. She is like a little sponge absorbing everything around her and it's awesome to watch her transform from a baby to a little girl. Her vocabulary has really exploded these past few weeks and we can really communicate well. At the stage of development that she is at, it's easy to get frustrated and I know that's where the tantrums are stemming from.  So the best thing I can do is be patient and work with her as much as possible and try to avert frustrations before they occur.  It's a learning experience for us all, but we are doing it together.  Like with everything else, it's just a phase and it will eventually work itself out.

Mid-mid life crisis

I got my tag renewal in the mail last week and that reminded me that my 26th birthday is rapidly approaching. I'm inching closer and closer to 30. For some reason I'm having a hard time coming to terms that I'm going to be 26.  25 was easy, 26, not so much. Maybe it's the fact that now I have to dye my hair to cover the gray hairs instead of wanting to dye it because I've grown tired of the color. Maybe it's because I don't feel like I've accomplished a whole lot as an adult when I look at the people around me who have graduated college and have these awesome careers.  Maybe it's because I feel like I'm just a mom and wife. Maybe it's because I miss the feelings of when Brandon and I first started dating 10 years ago. Now we are more like a couple that have been together for 20 years. After the hustle and bustle of a busy day, you can find him in the recliner watching t.v and playing on his phone or lap top and me on the couch reading, playing on my phone or on the lap top.

So what does a person going through a mid life crisis do? They make changes.  That's what I did. I dyed my hair a different color, cut over 8 inches of it off and went and got contacts (no more glasses!). With the psoriasis gone, I feel a lot better and more confident and it's amazing how much little changes can make you feel so much better. So for now, I'm feeling a bit better, but I do have some things to work on.

Tomorrow Miss E is going with her grandparents down to Meriwether and Brandon is out of town working, so I will have the day to myself. I can't explain how much needed this is. I actually stayed up late tonight cleaning so I won't have to spend my day tomorrow doing that. I still have some stuff that I need to do, but I'm hoping for some relaxing time. Hoping is the key word there=)