Striped Toe Socks

My sweet baby,

I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. Every moment with you has been a treasure, even the hard ones. The sleepless nights, the struggles and the worries. None of these things are any comparison to the joy you bring me every day. the way your smile lights up my life.

You are curious about everything, but you are cautious to, clinging in my arms in new places until you feel comfortable. You say Mama, Dada and up, lifting your chubby arms. Your pleasure in the simple things delights me. Your favorite toys are empty water bottles and rocks. If fun isn't around you create it. You sleep with your legs draped across mine. You are a mamas girl through and through. Although you still love to nurse, you will happily eat whatever I give you. You cry when the watermelon is all gone. You share every meal with Molly.

Becoming a mother opened my heart, made me more patient, gentler, kinder and harder to. I would do anything, everything, to keep you safe, happy, healthy. If I could wrap myself around you and keep you safe forever I would. I hate that pain will happen in your life. I would take it if I could, but you will learn from it and it will make you strong.

Thank you, sweet child. You will not understand all that you have given me until you are a mother.

I love you forever,

Your Mama

One of my favorite weekends began with one of my worst days. J was laid off on a Friday and the next day was his cousin's wedding in Cleveland. Neither of us was feeling very festive, but we still wanted to go. We traveled up with his parents, SIL and niece. We left our problems and fears behind and had so much fun. Silly games in the cars and eating Wendy's in our wedding best while trying not to get ketchup on ourselves. Dancing, singing, and drinking at the reception and a lovely brunch the next day. It made us feel like we could get through anything, because we had each other. We did and I'm proud of that.

My parents and I took Grace to the park last week. It seems like winter was endless, so even though it wasn't sunny, it was nice to get out.


                                                              I haz to wear shoes?

                                                                Minions! Move my stroller!
             
                                                            Wheelies with Pop Pops

Grace has a cold and when she breathes she sounds like a pug. It's adorable, but she can't sleep. No nap all day and here we are at 10, still wide awake. For the record Daddy is sawing logs. I thought it would be a good time to catch up on the photo challenge.

My night was a little stressful, Grace was fussy. My parents came over just as dinner was ready, so we got to eat in peace! They brought Grace her new giant piece of plastic baby junk super fun new toy! It's a jump and spin that looks like a flying saucer and takes up the approximate space of an elephant. I should have gone with my instinct to wait until she was in a better mood to let her try it. She was completely overstimulated by it and started crying. Thankfully, Dad grabbed her and started playing with her and she had a blast.

                               I'm not sleepy.


While we were eating we had the news on, watching the massive destruction in Japan.  I can't begin to comprehend it, I can only imagine what it would be like to be in that kind of terror and uncertainty. Not knowing where your family and friends are and if they're safe. Trying to take care of your kids, pets and elderly with all resources gone.


I've been on a little pity party this week. I'm lonely, I'm overwhelmed, my house is a mess, I'm going to have to get out the summer clothes so we have clean things to wear. Seriously? I can just shut up now about my "problems".

When you have a little one and not a ton of money, TV is a great source of relaxation and entertainment. There are several comedies we watch together, The Middle, Outsourced, Community, and Perfect Couples. I watch Glee, Modern Family and a few other regulars by myself, usually overnight. I also love the History channel, TLC and House Hunters on HGTV. I narrowed my faves down to three.

Everybody Loves Raymond


No my in laws aren't like Frank and Marie, well not too much anyway. I think anyone who is in a long term relationship can relate to the hilarity and nod with understanding.

The Daily Show



Jon Stewart is hilarious and I agree with him in equal amounts as I disagree with him, but he always makes me laugh.

Teen Mom/Teen Mom 2



Yep, total shame here. I'm fascinated with the lives of these girls and their struggles to parent while trying to grow up themselves. Watching makes me thankful I wasn't a teen mom and if my daughter was ever in that situation I would do everything I could to help her.

Day two is the person you have been close to the longest.

My family has been friends with the Wilson family since I was a few months old. We were neighbors on Craig Dr, and although the Wilsons have moved many times, spending the last twenty years in Lexington, we have kept in touch.

For most of that time, while growing up, we vacationed together every year. We went to the beach a few times, two of those times involved hurricanes. The island we were staying on had a voluntary evacuation. My Dad watched the lines of cars camped out on the highway with coolers, waiting for traffic to move and decided we were staying, darn it! So we did. There were high winds for a day or so. The sand stung our legs like needles, so we opted for the pool. My Dad, ever the boy at heart, rigged up an umbrella to his bicycle and rode the wind all down the beach. What he didn't think about was how hard it would be riding against that same wind on the way back. The restaurants were empty and lots of things were closed, but we still had tons of fun with the beach to ourselves.

Most of the trips we took were to a cottage on a small lake in Michigan. The house was a small Cape Cod on the top of a wooded hill overlooking a small lake. The lake was just the right size to allow our parents to see us no matter where we were on it. This gave us kids a ton of freedom to explore in the paddle boats. There were "sunken ships", and strange neighbors, and the no mans land of across the lake. The best part was at night when my Dad would pile all of kids in the car and we would take long, slow drives around the heavily wooden road surrounding the lake. He would turn the corners and kill the headlights to terrify us. We loved every screaming second!

                                          Karen, Aaron, Jessie and John at Aaron's graduation from the police academy.

We are all grown up now, three of us are married, two with kids of our own. I most recently saw the Wilson parents at Christmas time. We sat around my parents living room and laughed. They played with my daughter and told us stories about their three granddaughters. I'm not as close to Jessie and Aaron as our parents were at our age, but the bond remains. We love each other, and I hope they cherish these memories as much as I do. 

Far be it from me to see a bandwagon I didn't want on, so I'm jumping on the 30 day photo challenge. I doubt my days will all be in a row, but I would like to finish it eventually.

Day one:a photo of yourself and ten facts


This photo was taken on the day of Js (college) graduation as I was walking out the door.

1) I've known my husband since high school. We road the bus together and I couldn't stand him for the first year I knew him. But the boy/man perservered and here we are, nine years of marriage and one daughter later.

2) I'm legally blind and have been since birth. I have a hard time with distance and I'm partly color blind. I never know how to tell new people this without feeling awkward. Sometimes it's really hard, but other times it doesn't matter and I feel thankful for the MANY things I can do. It's hard to be thirty years old and still wish to just feel "normal".

3) I'm addicted to technology. I can't go more than ten minutes without checking my email. Having an iPhone has made this ten times worse.

4) I used to be really into make up and nail polish and have, in the last couple months, rekindled that love. I would probably be a make up artist if not for number two.

5) I'm painfully awful at math.

6) I'm shy and find making new friends difficult.

7) I love going to new places, but I always get nervous right before I leave.

8) I don't know what I want to be when I grow up, but I LOVE being a mother and am happy doing that for now.

9) My brother and I never got along growing up. We are five years apart and always competed for our moms attention. Now we are the best of friends.

10) I love studying history. My favorite part of learning about the past is the mundane, day to day way of life and the experiences of those who lived it.


Ahhhh, so thankful to be able to hand Ladybug to her Daddy and spend some time with the laptop.