A's first Christmas list

It's getting to be that time ...

:)

Family/friends are asking what they can buy for A-man's first Christmas soooooo ...

Here's some things we are thinking A might like:

[Foam play mats.  He loves playing in the floor and he needs his own crawl space.]

[The conversion kit to turn his bottles into sippy cups.  These are Think baby.]

[High chair that can attach to our tall table.]

[Diaper covers from our favorite place: Rock-a-bye booty!]

Of course, we could always use clothes (9-12 months), books, puzzles, anything with dinosaurs (or monsters), and learning toys.  

I'm so excited for A's first holiday season.  It just means so much more now that he's here with us.  Ahh, love it.  

Off to bed.  Every second of sleep is precious for a retail girl during Black Friday week.

It's been 10 days ...

... since my last post.  I'm a SLACKER.  

No, not really.  I have a sick baby.  I have a sick, TEETHING baby.  I've had a sick husband for about two weeks.  Its holiday time at work.  I'm pregnant.  The list goes on ... #whine.

My nerves are shot.

On the bright side of things, A has two teeth.  They are pretty, white, and cute.  We're conquering our first sickness (I think I'm going to post about it).  The husband feels much better.  He was also Crossfit level 1 certified recently!  My store looks so festive and sparkly.  We get another cute baby to snuggle on.  

Life isn't that bad.  I just need more hours in the day.

I promise, I'll be back soon.  There's a few posts in the works.  I just need to sleep for now.  Forgive me, please?

Get to know me a little better...

With these 50 questions.  I found this from A Shoe that Fits and decided it's time for another little "about me" fun.

Honestly, I just have to admit I'm a sucker for these things.


1#  Where were you 3 hours ago? - Sitting here at my house.  I have the weekend off so I plan to soak up as much time with my little man as possible.  
2#  Who are you in love with? - My house full of boys.  Including our pup.
3#  Have you ever eaten a crayon? - No.
4#  Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? - I'm actually wearing pink pajama pants right now :)
5#  When is the last time you went to the mall? - Today, I work in a mall so I'm there constantly.
6#  Are you wearing socks right now? - No, but I really need to put some on.  We got our first snow today so its a little chilly.
7#  Do you have a car worth over $2000? - No.  It's nothing fancy but gets us around and that's all that matters.
8#  When was the last time you drove out of town? - Technically, today.  I don't think it really counts when you live 7 miles from the border of another state though.
9#  Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days? - I haven't been to the movies in almost the past 5 months.  Transformers was actually the last thing we saw in theaters.  It's just so pricey.
10# Are you hot? - No, I'm cold.  Remember, snow!  ;)
11# What was the last thing you had to drink? - Water with lime.  I love it so much more than lemon.
12# What are you wearing right now? - Pink PJ pants and a comfy hoodie.
13# Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it? - The husband does it.
14# Last food you ate? - A and I shared a steak.
15# Where were you last week at this time? - Eating sushi with my family.  A loves miso soup.
16# Have you bought any clothing items in the last week? - No.
17# When was the last time you ran? - I haven't ran in a month or so.  I'm sure that will change with all this new information my trainer husband is learning.
18# What's the last sporting event you watched? - Crossfit games.  Most impressive athletes ever.
19# What's your fave animal? - My Memphis pup.  I loves him so much.
20# Your dream vacation? - Honestly, I just really want to go back to Colorado with only the husband.  That's where we got married.  I was actually looking at the pictures today and renewed that urge to go back.
21# Last person's house you were in? - The neighbors.  We took A to their house to trick or treat.
22# Worst injury you've ever had? - None really.  (knock on wood)
23# Have you been in love - Best feeling in the world.
24# Do you miss anyone right now? - I miss my BFF and my family.  I also miss Chick-fil-a, white mexican cheese dip, and krystals.
25# Last play you saw? - Oh goodness, I can't remember.
26# What is your secret weapon to lure the opposite sex? - I don't like using "secret weapons".  Either you accept who I am or not.  That's why the husband and I work so well together.  We never "tried" with each other.  We just were.  I actually have a tattoo on the top of my shoulder that says "I am because we are".  That's how much we just fell into each other.  Gah, I love him.
27# What are you plans for tonight? -  Snuggling with my baby boy in our room where its warm.
28# Who is the last person you sent a myspace message or comment to? - And now we see that this came from an old myspace bulletin.  Love it!
29# Next trip you are going to take? -  Not sure.  Holiday seasons don't allow much for travel when you work retail.
30# Ever go to camp? -  All the time when I was little.  Now we just go camp wherever we want.
31# Were you an honor roll student in school? - I was.  I graduated 8th in my class in HS.  Now college, that's a whole other story ...
32# What do you want to know about the future? - Nothing, I want to live it as it comes.
33# Are you wearing any perfume now? - No.
34# Are you due sometime this year for a doctor visit? - I'll have a midwife appointment sometime in the next few weeks.
35# Where is your best friend? - On the other side of the country.
36# How is your best friend? - She's finding her way.
37# Do you have a tan? - Never.  I'm always pale.
38# What are you listening to right now? - My sweet A-man fighting sleep.  He's so, so sleepy but won't give in.  These teeth are going to be the end of me.
39# Do you collect anything? - I don't think so.  I used to collect anything, and I mean ANYTHING with Britney Spears or Justin Timberlake on it.  I had boxes, and boxes, and boxes of things.  They were burned.  I cried.
40# Who is the biggest gossiper you know? - I think we can all be a little gossipy.
41# Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over? - Almost a year ago.
42# Have you ever drank soda from a straw? - Who hasn't?? 
43# What does your last text message say? - I don't text.
44# Do you like hot sauce? -  Oh gosh yes.  Especially while pregnant.
45# Last time you took a shower? - Yesterday morning.
46# Do you need to do laundry? - I have like one small load I could probably wash.  Just random things like the baby sling, the moby, bibs, etc.
47# What is your heritage? -  I'm not really sure.
48# Are you someones best friend? - I am.  I love her with all my heart.
49# Are you rich? - Not money rich.  But I have a wonderful life.
50# What were you doing at 12 am last night? - Crawling into bed after watching American Horror Story with my man.

I'm glad you're here ...

I did something BIG today.  Like, REALLY BIG.

I deleted my facebook ... AHHH!

I was way too addicted to the thing and found myself sitting on the computer for hours.  Neither can be healthy.  Not only that, but I was tired of reading everyone's "crap."  Pretty much everyone I went to high school with is in the EXACT same place as 8 years ago.  There's only a small amount of us that I truly care about and those either follow my blog (like, Heather at A Young Wife's Tale) or I actually talk to them (which again, is not very many).  The people that are truly important in my life have some other way of getting into contact with me.

It was seriously turning my brain to mush.

But, I have to say, I'm already having minor withdrawals.  I've already found myself looking for facebook in a tab, typing in the address, and just wondering what's going on in the big social network.

I keep telling myself, I'll be better for this.

Hi, my name is Sam.  I have an addiction to facebook.

So, lets be super social on my blog.  Y'all are my new blogger friends and I look forward to getting to know you a little better.  I think this is exactly where I'm supposed to be in my life!



PS:  Keep A-man (and mom/dad) in your thoughts.  He's teething hardcore and the blood curdling screams aren't good for any of us right now.  It makes me really sad for him.  We have some homeopathic Hyland's gel which seems to work, but he's just so miserable.

Deep breath in ....

Already half a year ...

My baby is 6 months old today, y'all!  This is so exciting and a little sad all at the same time.  It seems like just yesterday that my amazing husband was coaching me through bringing our first little one into the world.  We labored as a team, as a family, and honestly we didn't even look to see what the sex was for the first 5 minutes.  We didn't care.  We had a happy, healthy baby that was wide-eyed and alert.  We had a little pink baby that was staring into our eyes like he knew exactly who we were.  We had someone that now relied upon us for everything.  Someone that we made.  Someone that we loved more than we ever thought possible.

Now that little someone is 6 months old.  He has his own personality.  He's mobile.  He eats like a champ. He cries when we aren't doing what he wants us to do.  He runs the house.  He listens to Muck Sticky "Feel so Good" AT LEAST once a day.  He loves going out to eat Japanese and will drink half a bowl of miso soup by himself.  He sleeps sideways in the bed, now at the very end so he has his own space.  He nurses for comfort but prefers real food to milk.  He loves his Memphis pup.  He can grab anything and everything in sight.  He hits his toys on EVERYTHING.  He is 100% boy.  His little blonde hair is finally growing in.  His eyes are the most amazing gray-blue I've seen.  He loves momma.  He and daddy have a schedule and he gets upset if momma messes that up.  He loves swimming in the bath tub.  He hates to be sitting still.  He loves ice cream.  He uses the potty more than his diapers.  He's so healthy.  He's freakin' strong.  He was such a big boy when mom was out of town for the week.  He loves being worn, still.  He has routines.  He loves his bink, but is a big boy and can sleep without it.  He hasn't tried a food he doesn't like.  He loves being in the gym with dad.  He would stay outside all day if we let him.  He has the biggest smile.  He goes to sleep so easily.

We are lucky.  We are thankful.  We could stare at him all day.  We are IN LOVE.

A-man,

Happy 6 months, sweet boy.  Mom and Dad love you more than you will probably ever understand.  We want nothing but the best for you and hope you always know how important you are to us.  Thank you for being YOU and always remember that is most important.  We will always be here to support you in whatever path you take in life.  You are the most amazing thing that's ever happened to us and we can't wait to watch you teach your little brother/sister to be as amazing as you are.  We are very thankful to be your parents.  We love you so, so much.



PS:  We are totally saving up for a nice camera so we can get more pictures of our boy.  He's too cute for grainy iPhone pictures.  Merry Christmas to us?!? Fingers crossed.

Wordless Wednesday

I'm not MIA ...

I spent this last week on a business trip and that's why I haven't updated! My company is absolutely amazing and sends all new managers for a week training where basically you get to pick the brain of a very successful manager and if you are lucky, you spend the week with another new manager too. We spend the entire week talking about things like accountability, feedback, creating a great store environment, motivating your team, and all those other fun leadership concepts most new managers struggle with. I now have a battle buddy and an amazing support leader to call when I'm having a hard time being the manager instead of the friend. It was truly eye-opening and I am so thankful I work for a company that is so invested in our growth.

I'm home now though and snuggling on my boys. It was my first week away from the A-man and I did surprisingly well. I think that because dad is always home with him and he's in his own space, it doesn't really bother me to be away. I'm so happy that we have this set-up and my husband is a WONDERFUL stay-at-home dad. He loves it and I love him for it.

I also have some really good news: My blog won its first award!!! Yay!! :)

 HEATHER AT A YOUNG WIFE'S TALE AWARDED ME THE LIEBSTER AWARD. THE LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD IS GIVEN TO UP AND COMING BLOGGERS WHO HAVE LESS THAN 200 FOLLOWERS. LIEBSTER IS A GERMAN WORD MEANING DEAR, SWEET, KIND, NICE, GOOD, BELOVED, LOVELY, KINDLY, PLEASANT, VALUED, CUTE, ENDEARING AND WELCOME.

To keep this award going and pass it along to other new deserving blogs, the recipient must now recognize five other bloggers with less than 200 followers that have really stood out in the crowd.

The rules for the Liebster Award are:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.

2. Reveal your top five picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love too!

So first thing is first: Heather, thank you so much. You are the sweetest thing ever and I'm very blessed that it was you that gave me my first award. For those of you who don't know Heather, she's a new mom living in the UK with her gorgeous family. Milo is the cutest little girl like EVER, and man, you should see her hair. They cloth diaper, breastfeed, practice baby led weaning, and blog their day to day life living away from their family. Her blog is FULL of the most adorable pictures that will always put a smile on your face. We've been friends since high school and toss opinions around now that we are mommies. I so wish we lived closer so Milo and A could be friends! Check her out, she's great.

Now for the new shout outs:

[Dawn's blog is all about her Paleo Pregnancy journey. It's nice to have another person out there going through the same things and trying to eat Paleo as well. She's due any day now so we get to welcome a new Cave baby! Everyone follow her journey and get ready to squeal over new baby posts.]

[CJ, or Carly is a sweet little Texas girl who married a British-born, Cali-raised boy. They are about to about to have not one, but two babies!! CJ has the cutest style and her pictures are so cute. Her posts consist of cute fashion ideas as well as her pregnant with twins stories. More power to you, sister! Plus, being from the South myself, I love the pictures of their big truck!]

[Jennifer is young. She's funky. She's cute. She has tattoos. Her daughters name is Olive. She gave birth to her at home. Seriously, I think I have a mom crush. Or maybe we should just be BFF. Haha]

[Lindsey is on of my best friends. Drew Needs Rest is her blog where she talks about the loss of her first son, our sweet angel Andrew, and her brand new baby, Thomas. Like brand new, brand new. A few days old. He's adorable and she is the BEST mom in the world.]

[Judah is the cutest little boy ever and loves to take pictures with mustaches AND wigs. Need I say more?]

So there you have it. Everyone give these amazing ladies some love and lets grow our blogging communities!