Not Up In Here
Since my mommy has done zero about my blog debut, I decided to do it myself.
Now that I am days away from being 6 months old, I thought I would share some fun facts about me otherwise it may never happen.
I’m just saying.
When Did We Get That?
My response to the Daily Prompt, a ten minute free write. Good luck reading it. 🙂
He can’t say no.
And because this impacts me too, I would like to officially request that you only ask The Coach to help you move when the following is true…
You are completely packed and all you need is some labor assistance.
There…I said it!
My Sweet Husband will help you move if you ask him because he is that kind of guy. But problems arise when you send him home with stuff you (a) no longer need and feel someone should have or (b) don’t have the energy to pack it or even throw away. He will likely say okay to something. First, he will text me and ask if we need (insert miscellaneous item here). I respond with a yea or nay but he will still show up with some random item.
Now, don’t get me wrong we have obtained some awesome move related things like:
- A brand new camcorder (courtesy of my Mother-in-Law)
- A flat screen TV (I guess it does pay to be nice)
- And my favorite, my writing chair in my office (Thank you, Neighborhood Mom!)
But oftentimes he comes home with gems like this (The Coach spent a good 2 hours reliving his childhood, fixing the tires, chain and seat. I wholeheartedly expected to find a card in the spoke):
Quick note: Our daughter is three and while she is below the weight limits, she exceeds the head circumference restrictions. In other words, Georgia Peach has inherited her Mommy’s big ol head (sorry, Love) and I can not see over it! Besides, I look like I am riding a horse while riding this bike. Not cute or comfortable. Looking forward to him taking that weird seat thingy off!
That is all. 🙂
Love-Me-Downs
Often times when we think of hand-me-downs, material items come to mind. Things. The problem with things…they can be lost, damaged or stolen.
The Daily Prompt asked, “Tell us about some of the meaningful hand-me-downs in your life.” I decided to share a few verbal hand-me-downs that have stayed with me through the years.
From My Grandma Josie:
“Never love a man more than you love yourself.”
“One of the reasons I decided to marry your Grandpa was because he was sincere.”
“Don’t expect to be paid for everything you do.”
“Praying is your letter to God.”
From My Mom:
“I know you think you are too impatient to be a Mother, but I see the capacity in you. You will see it one day too.”
“The sooner you realize that life isn’t always fair the better equipped you will be to handle it.”
“I wish you could see the beauty I see when I look at you.” 🙂
There really are so many nuggets of wisdom my Mom and Grandma shared not only with me but, with so many others over the years, I could really write a longer post. Even though I selfishly wish I had more time with them both, their many hand-me-downs always provide me with what I need, when I need it most. Comfort, laughter, strength, support or direction.
And they will never be lost, damaged or stolen.
Friday Night Sister Wife
She is back.
There is always a noticeable shift in my husband’s demeanor when he begins seeing her again.
Continue reading → Friday Night Sister WifeYou Ain’t So Bad
When I was pregnant with GeorgiaPeach (GP), the Coach and I decided that we aka I would breastfeed our Little Peach. I made him promise me that if I wanted to quit he would remind me of the commitment I made to our family and to stay with it. Sounded simple enough to us. What could possibly go wrong?
We took a breastfeeding class. I read books and asked my Circle of Moms who had breastfed successfully and (not so successfully) what I could expect. I was as prepared as I could be. One emergency C-Section later, I was in the breastfeeding business or…so I thought.
It was a rough start for me. I was nursing GP on demand as you should but, I didn’t realize she didn’t need to nurse for an unlimited amount of time! My precious baby was channeling Clubber Lang, kinda like this scene from Rocky III.
After going to my corner and spending 3 days feeling like a human pacifier, unlike Rocky, I was ready to throw in the towel. Can I order some formula, please? And that was when all of my ‘I Just Had A Baby And She Depends On Me To Eat’ emotions came to the surface and I broke down.
Me (crying): I quit! I’m not breastfeeding anymore. I don’t know what I’m doing. And IT HURTS! Did I miss someone telling me that part?
The Coach (very concerned and looking for the slightest symptoms of Postpartum Depression): What happened?
Me (still crying): I don’t think GP is getting enough to eat, I am still waiting for my milk “to come in” and I miss my Mom! Listen, before you even start with me, I don’t have PPD so stop looking at me like that, this is normal, I JUST HAD A BABY! And no, I do NOT want to harm myself or our child, okay? I know there are other symptoms but trust me I’m fine, exhausted but, fine.
The Coach: Okay. But Babe, you don’t want to quit. You and I both know it. You are doing great, GP is definitely filling up these diapers so she is getting fed. I don’t know what you are feeling but, I will do everything I can to help and support you. Should we call someone?
The Coach: Wait. It hurts?
Me (exhausted): I don’t know who else to call! I’ve called Jesus, my Friends, the Lactation Consultant from the hospital AND I emailed the instructor from the class. I have one more day left in me and that is it!
So…I didn’t quit, my milk ‘came in’ the next morning (the way I found out was pretty hilarious but, I will spare everyone the details) and I successfully breastfed GP for the next 11 months. 🙂 But the point of this entire post is that the I felt slightly bamboozled by the masses.
Breastfeeding hurts…in the beginning.
Now, before you go all Lactation Consultant on me, hear me out.
As a first time natural “provider” of nourishment to a newborn, I had never (ahem) used my lady parts in such a capacity or as much in a short time span. Know what I mean? Even when you are doing it correctly you will be sore, in the beginning. And I had cooling pads, creams, a nursing pillow, a comfy chair, etc! The whole process took some getting used to and I was reminded that we were both learning what to do. Obviously, a number of women are not able to breastfeed for various reasons so, I get it. You have to do what works for you and YOUR family. Period.
So…I said all of that to say…if you are thinking about breastfeeding or if you just started, the truth is you will be sore and there will likely be some pain but, the experience was one I would never trade. Once I relaxed and settled in, GP and I started to work together. The pain DID go away and the experience transformed into what I envisioned all along, our first collaborative effort. 😉
Breastfeeding, in the words of Rocky Balboa, “You ain’t so bad”.
And So, It Begins…
When I became a Mommy, there were many things I looked forward to experiencing as a parent. But, there was one thing the Coach and I decided on up front that he would take the lead on when the time was right.
Watching animated movies with Georgia Peach(GP).
Couple of little known facts about me…
- I have a thing for bullet points (if you hadn’t already figured that out, I think they are great and very useful).
- I have little or no motivation to see dancing/singing animated characters in a full length movie.
I accept your judgement. 😉
The latter truly baffles The Coach. From time to time, he will see a title to one of these “amazing” movies and ask me with the tiniest bit of hope the SAME question only to be disappointed with my response, “No, I haven’t seen that movie, either.”
Sure, I have seen a couple since becoming an Adult but, I can count the ones I have watched from start to finish on one hand.
- The Lion King-Who hasn’t seen this classic, right? I get it. I’m not saying much with this one.
- Shrek-Hey, I am an Eddie Murphy fan. And to The Coach’s dismay, I find the movies Norbit (check out the awards for this film) and Bowfinger to be ridiculously hilarious. Again, I accept your judgement.
- The Incredibles-Any movie that has Samuel L. Jackson adding his yelling I mean acting voice to an animated character warrants a try. And let me tell you, it does not disappoint!
- Rio-I hear from those who watch these types of movies, I should not be proud to mention this one.
As a side note, we are aware that in a game night situation if the category of Disney or Animated movies comes up, I can offer limited assistance. The problem is that we are pretty competitive and have been known to randomly practice different trivia categories so we are ready to win when we get the call. So, I’m not sure what is more disturbing, the fact that we practice or that we haven’t actually been invited to a game night as a couple. We obviously need some friends here otherwise we will have to keep traveling to FL and IL to play with our family. 🙂
Back to these movies…so, my thought was that when Georgia Peach was old enough to see one of these movies, I would buy the tickets for them. Their first Daddy/Daughter Movie Date, cute right?
Obviously, I am too slow for them. Check out one of the gifts GP got for Christmas from her Daddy, a DVD. I suppose it doesn’t matter that she hasn’t seen the first movie of the series?
At any rate, I guess she was old enough on Wednesday. And so, it begins…
A Little Something For The Road…
The Coach is a pretty funny guy. Early in our relationship, we had the following conversation about funerals…
The Coach: I’ve been thinking about the type of funeral service I want to have when the time comes.
Me: What do you mean? Why are you telling me this? Is there something I should know?
The Coach: First of all I’m not dying and I’m telling you because you will plan it. I want my funeral to reflect me.
Me: Okay, but don’t most funerals reflect the deceased?
The Coach: Well, I haven’t been to many funerals but, the one that sticks out to me involved a terrible singer. The good thing about this guy was that his singing was so bad, he made us laugh. So, I decided that I wanted to do something a little different for mine. Let’s be honest, I’m a fun guy so why not put the ‘fun’ back in funeral. Most importantly, I want us to put together a cd of songs for our guests to experience. You know something they can play whenever they are thinking about me.
Me (laughing pretty hard): Wait, time out. The ‘fun in funeral’? And you want funeral favors to be handed out?? Since when are you an ‘experience’ guy? This is beyond crazy. Are you kidding me?
The Coach: I am serious! I would like people to have a little something to take home to remember me on the ride home or whenever. I was thinking a 2 disc cd set.
Me (still laughing): Where will this epic funeral take place? You know some of your favorite songs are not appropriate for a church.
The Coach: At church of course but, the cd wouldn’t be played during the service, it would be debuted at the wake/visitation. It will be a gift for coming to the funeral.
Now, I am laughing so hard tears are streaming down my face. A funeral cd? I am unable to speak. Finally, when I am able to collect myself, we continue the conversation.
Me: So, to be clear you want those attending your funeral to get some sort of party favor at the end? And you want that to be a cd?
The Coach: Exactly! And I want the liner of the cd to be a copy of the obituary.
Me: This keeps getting better. I’m not doing that, you are outrageous.
The Coach: But isn’t the funeral suppose to be about me? I’m telling you this is what I want, isn’t it a great idea?
Me: Maybe we could do A cd, 2 is a bit much.
The Coach: You know I love for people to have a good time especially if we are hosting something, shouldn’t my funeral be the same?
Me: I agree, funerals are a celebration of life. But you my friend, can go a little overboard. We will have to work on the details a little on this one. Can we table this conversation for say 100 years? 😉
The Coach: Yes, but you have to do it for me!
So, naturally I did a little research on the subject and as I should have known, memorial or funeral favors exist. Just not to the extent of what The Coach would like to do.
Seriously, what have I gotten myself into here? 🙂
Talk Baby To Me
If you are a parent, I guarantee this has happened to you (or is happening to you now it just depends on the age of your child). Shortly after Georgia Peach was born, the Coach and I started to notice how some people would speak to us THROUGH our baby in an effort to tell us what they thought about our parenting.
Went a little something like this…
Passive Aggressive Person (talking to your baby): “You don’t need this pacifier you are almost 12 weeks old! Let me have it” (as they try to remove your boob saver aka pacifier from your infant’s mouth).
Listen Lady, Georgia Peach is a very enthusiastic breastfeeder if you would like to take a go at it being her food source every couple of hours, please be my guest. I could so use a nap.
The worst part about this form of ‘Baby Talk’ is that it turned out to be contagious…I caught myself doing the same thing to our Nanny! Boo. 😉
Ever happen to you?
Marriage Advice From Your Single Friend?
This might be a bit of a rant so, I will try to keep it together…as much as possible. 🙂 I understand that some of you will not agree with this post, which is cool. 😉
Not too long ago, I was scrolling through my twitter feed and came across a tweet with a link to an article which I found rather ridiculous, entitled, “Why Single People Should Give Married People Relationship Advice”. Ummmm, say what?
I have always subscribed to the philosophy that single (and never been married) people should not give married people advice. Period. So, when I saw this link I decided to read it and check out the Author’s perspective. Maybe I am missing something? In the article, the Author shares four reasons, why she is equipped to pass out her pearls of wisdom to her married girlfriends. The Author is a single, never been married woman and feels her relationship experience has given her the knowledge to provide guidance, when asked. She understands that often times her friends reach out to her to just vent but, really?
Stating, “No, I have never been married, but I have been someone’s significant other and know the difference between right and wrong”.
That’s sweet.
I have only been married a short time and I can honestly say my marriage is completely different from any previous long-term relationship. Granted, I married a pretty awesome guy who I like, love, and adore. But first and foremost we trust and believe in God which is immensely helpful just in our day-to-day interactions. Yet some of the issues/decisions we face, I could have never imagined nor did I encounter as a single woman in a long-term relationship. So, I find it difficult to seek advice from someone who hasn’t experienced something similar within the confines of marriage.
I do not believe that just because someone is married they are equipped to offer advice to other married people. I’m not! 🙂 I think you should consider the source in all matters. There are some people who shouldn’t be or just don’t want to be married so soliciting advice from them about marriage should come with a yellow flag attached to it. 🙂 That’s not to say they don’t have something valuable to share. It is likely they do.
If you needed a life saving surgery, who would you rather have performing your surgery? An expert in that procedure or someone who has watched the surgery performed but knows right from wrong?
What do you think?
Let Them Eat Cake
This summer GeorgiaPeach (GP) was blessed to have two birthday parties! First, a small party at our home and then a family party back in the Land of Lincoln. I know! Sounds crazy to have two parties for a two-year old BUT, her very first birthday was a party of four (GP, the Coach, our dog, and a sad Mommy). I grew up in a very large and supportive family where birthdays, all sporting events, dance recitals, and concerts were celebrated, supported, and attended. If you had an event, someone in our family was there to support you. I wanted Georgia Peach to have similar memories of the “Family Birthday Party” with scores of her Aunties, Uncles, and Cousins so, we decided to travel to the love fest. Thanks, Coach!
As with most things these days, I learned a thing or two about Kiddie Parties…
Take Pictures Early
GP loves Elmo so, I made her Elmo’s face out of a platter of fruit. Now, I am NO Martha Stewart, I am more of the Pinterest Fail Kinda Mommy BUT, I will try. So when I made this for GP and it somewhat resembled Elmo I was excited! 🙂 But here is where I made my FIRST mistake… I finished my precious Elmo, put him on the table and began to finish up some last-minute items. As people started to arrive, I invited them to enjoy the food when I realized I forget to take a picture of Elmo! By the time I snapped the picture, he STILL looked like Elmo but, a little troubled in the mouth area (the blueberries were good!). Nevertheless, the Elmo face was a hit and the Parents loved the fresh fruit and yogurt option.
Don’t Be Tardy for the Party
Anyone that truly knows me knows that I take my parties and party planning very seriously. From the invitations to the food, the favors to the music, the thank-you cards to the decor, I try to make sure it is all cohesive ( or at least cute!). An hour or so into the party, I started to panic a little when I thought we could possibly run out of pizza. We still had an extra-large left but, I was worried. How could this happen? Just when I was about to order another pizza and send the Coach out to pick it up, I mentioned to my Cousin LudaLike (Ha!) what I was about to do.
LudaLike: What time did the party start?
Me: 11A. It ends at 1P, I need to keep GP on her nap schedule.
LudaLike: If someone shows up at this point and there is no pizza, don’t worry about it. Party started at 11A. Save your money.
Me: Oh wise younger Cousin and experienced Father, I like it. Sounds like a plan.
Turns out we didn’t even need an additional pizza. The remaining pizza was enough and we nibbled on it hours after the party ended. Whew!
SpitCakes Anyone?
If I don’t remember anything from this party I will never forget this…
Since our sweet daughter loves cupcakes, My Fabulous Aunt J offered to have an Elmo cupcake cake made for her. She is extremely generous and it was a cute idea. Thanks again, Aunt J! We lit the candles and gathered everyone around to sing, ”Happy Birthday”. When the song was over the family started to hype GP up into blowing out the candles. But…
I didn’t let her blow out them out!
I mean who wants toddler spit on their cupcakes, right? Apparently, everyone except me. When I say this was a BIG MISTAKE, I mean I may as well flipped the table in a fit of rage RHONJ style from the looks and comments I got! I thought I was going to get kicked out of my OWN child’s party for this move. In hindsight, I should have put the candles on her own cupcake and let her blow out the candles. Lesson learned.
Seriously, next year everyone gets spitcake! You’re welcome. 🙂
Seriously, I Didn't Know 