Long day...

As I am sitting here waiting for the cold medicine to kick in I thought I would catch everyone up on the happenings over the past week.
Austin - what a great city! I had an amazing time, mostly beautiful weather, lots of fun with my sister, manicures, Mexican martinis and some shopping - courtesy of mom! I did manage to keep up with my training and pounded out 4.2 miles on a treadmill. Not fun, but I did it. I have to say that while I did miss Baby H and my hubby A LOT, it was nice to have a restful and diaper free few days. Sweet Boo was an amazing host. And I loved everything that we did, but I think one of my more favorite things was drinking coffee curled up on the couch under the blanket and watching The Today Show!

Ok I know these pictures look like all we did was booze it up, but I think those were the only two drinks we had. :) But quintessential Austin beverages, the Mexican martini and a beer michelada style.

So then I was home for not all of three days and drove to Memphis for the Downline Summit for Women.

I went with my wonderful Mom-in-law, um aunt-in-law (is that a real term?) and about 1500 other women. Huge conference led by some really amazing, challenging, and Godly women. Left me with a lot to think about. I will be the first to admit that going into these things I am always so skeptical, and even doubtful. But I went, and I am glad I did. It is going to take me at least a month to unpack everything that I heard, learned and read while I was there. But let me just say - good job Downline on making a conference that was not cheesy or overly warm and fuzzy. Thanks for feeding our intellect and not playing (or preying) upon our emotions.
A few highlights were:
- listening to Miranda Dodson, from you guessed it...Austin, such a unique sound  
- hearing about the three waves of Feminism and how we (women) got to where we are now
- Kay Arthur sprawled out on a table, hysterical
These and so many other things. I am sure that it will take me a while to unpack and sort through everything that I heard, learned and read. I am sure some of it will show up on here so just bear with me. If it is possible I think I came back a little more in love with my husband, our baby and my family.

Ugh, it seems the medicine is keeping me up instead of making me sleepy. Either that or the two naps I took today. I honestly have not felt this bad in a while. I think I am just going to go in there and lie down, pretending to sleep and see if I can trick my body into actually going there. Sleepytime tea I am rather dissapointed in your performance, or lack of, I should say.

Little bean!

I cannot believe that we are rounding out to the halfway mark! While today may be the over-commercialized day of love for some there is a much bigger event happening. Make that two...
First: it is Baby H's half-birthday! Woo hoo! She is six months old today, wow. I cannot believe that all of us are still alive. All of us, including Lola our 3lb. very persnickety Yorkshire Terrier. She has finally adjusted to the fact that the noise making little human is not going anywhere and she is making her peace with is. Baby H is still alive. We did not kill her with less than sterile bottles or by sending her to daycare. Well, the after effects will be years in the making, but I figure if she can survive this long with me she will make it for the long haul.
The other celebration is that I can officially say that I have made my goal of breast feeding! Now, as of about two weeks ago she was no longer exclusively breast fed because I was spending more time with my pump than my baby or my husband - and well, that is just no fun for anyone. But if anyone knows the story of Baby H's first two months of life you know what an accomplishment this is. Let's just say that it involved lots of tears, sleepless days and nights, and pain worse than childbirth - before the epidural kicked in (which by the way never really 'kicked' in, ugh did you know there was a button on those things?!). And I can sympathize on almost every level with dairy cows - not a pretty picture.
But we are here now! And I am so glad that we, all three of us, were able to work out all of the issues.  I need to thank my sweet husband for sticking it out with me and being so amazingly supportive and doing things that I am sure he never envisioned having to do - especially in out first year of marriage, maybe ever.

Side note: yes we somehow (well we know how) managed to get pregnant about a month after we were married, so caution to all you newlyweds and about to be newly weds. We were celebrating our one year anniversary with a two month old at home. Go ahead...do the math...everyone else did, and they still do.

I would not trade a minute of our crazy lives together though. I have been blessed with a Godly, loving, and mostly unselfish husband - hey no one is perfect! But he lives with me and that deserves a medal, I am totally crazy. And we have a beautiful sweet laid-back (for now) baby. And Lola just puts up with us. What a great life!

Got that Boom Boom Pow

I don't know about chickens jackin' your style, but they sure aren't jackin' mine. Man, I went to my first Zumba class Monday night and I am still feeling it today. Of course since then I have run a few miles and got in most of the Hard Body Yoga DVD, thank you Tari, and thanks mom for the DVD. And if you are counting, yes, it is only Wednesday.
Let me just say that I heart Zumba. Mostly for the music. Let's face it, I am a white girl and I grew up Southern Baptist, and I have the flattest booty you have ever not seen, but somehow, I can dance. Thanks to Mrs. Nadine and the ballet lessons all through grade school I managed to develop quite a bit of rhythm... the sass came all on its own.
Our instructor is just so amazing, that woman smiled and wiggled the whole way through the class. Did I mention she was pregnant? Uh huh, visibly pregnant. So freakin' cute pregnant, that it made me jealous and want to have another baby, but pissed because I would not be the cute pregnant that she was. Just this little bump in the front. As history has proved, I am pregnant from my toenails to my hair follicles. EVERYTHING gets bigger. Hence, Zumba.
It kicked my ass though, I was making all the moves but my cheeks were pink and I was definitely winded. Ha, winded. Anyways I was also one of the bigger girls in the class. Not that I am huge, but just another reason on the list of why I hate that college students can't go freaking work out in their own gym. EAT already! But thanks to M.E. - my partner in exercising crime - we made it through the class and lived to tell about it. And I cannot wait to go back for more of that Boom Boom Pow!

We have a winner!

We are famous - sort of... Harper is Baby of the Month!

Thanks to Kati and the rest of the staff at SnuggBugg Baby for making such great products and for recognizing a cute baby when they see one. I know, I am biased. And thanks to Mary-Kathryn and Kathy for thinking of us and getting us those precious hats and sending me the link to the contest.
I must confess, I will be glad for the warmer weather, but I will be sad when she cannot wear all of her little hats. But we still have some SnuggBugg onesies to show off!

Boo Boo

In four days I will be somewhere warmer and hopefully sunnier than it is here. Ugh, I am over the cold and the rain. Will I be missing my daughter's half birthday? Yes. Will it make a big difference in the grand scheme of things, only her future therapist will know.

I am going to the capital of weird, Austin, TX! I cannot wait. Home of the bats, SXSW, chicken shit bingo and my SISTER!! Since everything else is linky let's just link her up too. Here is her blog. And here is a picture of her on one of her recent travels. She totally looks like she is about to shatter some clays. I am a little intimidated I must say.

While I was rocking a sick wailing baby this morning, I think we  voted Mexican martini's and chicken shit bingo to the top of the list. A Baby H, who mysteriously was crying in her sleep. How do they do that? She felt so bad poor thing. So I let her nap on me. Me, parked in the chair with nothing but my unmentionables on because the world was about to shatter into a million pieces mid-dressing with the screams of pick-me-up-right-now-woman-damnit! (in the south damnit is one word) So there I was, shivering by the light of the iPhone, texting to keep me occupied while Baby H got in a good hour nap. AN HOUR! I was sitting in my undies with a crying slobbering snotty baby on me with nothing for warmth but the little booger monster I was holding. Am I up for mom of the year or what? Ok, maybe not but I do deserve a Mexican martini! 

Anna, otherwise known to her mother as Anna-Kathryn, and to most of the rest of us as Boo Boo, is an impeccable hostess. Now I can't remember who gave her that nickname. Hmm, it was either my Granny or out sweet aunt Sheila. My sister is going to text me right now and tell me - she doesn't forget anything! It started as Anna banana, then Anna Boo Boo, then Boo Boo and now sometimes just Boo. Way before Usher was singing about her.
Anyways I love visiting Boo Boo because once I get there I am on a total vacation. It is like having your own personal GPS, concierge, therapist, and co-conspirator all in one. But one that knows all about you and plays a key role in about 87% of your memories.
I can only pray that Baby H will have a sibling relationship half as close and special as we do. No there is not one on the way, everyone take a deep breath.  One of my favorite memories, I am not even sure I was present for, but I think I was...on a ride home from school one day, I think she was about 5 or 6, she saw a street sign and with a dismayed sigh said "momma, that isn't nice, they shouldn't talk about those slow children that way."

Safer Bath, Safer World

 I really want this little bath ornament from Skip Hop! As if bath time isn't fun enough for us.

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If wedding hoopla makes thousands, then baby hoopla makes millions!  There are so many things out there that are marketed to strike fear into the heart of expectant and new moms. You must have this bottle sanitizer or your baby will get the fatal ick! I could make a long list here but I won't. There are also tons of toys and gadgets promising to make your baby happier and your life easier. Let me tell you that if I have learned a little so far it is this: happy momma = happy baby. And this happy momma doesn't need a ton of baby crap piling up in my 1263 square foot house. So my policy is to have one large toy and once it gets boring we move onto the next large toy. First we had the baby papasan - which was great when Baby H got the Baby Boogies and had to sleep almost upright. Then that was boring. Then we had the swing - magic for managing dinners with the hubby during the early weeks. Now we have the exersaucer/ jumper - I could not shower and dry my hair without this thing!

We have about 6 little toys that we rotate including the BlaBla and Baby H is none the wiser. Sure we will end up with a trunk full of things, but for now we manage this small menagerie. Ugh, though I shudder to think what child marketing will do to her little brain. Maybe it's best to just keep the TV off for the first decade?

Deep sigh of relief

Saw this and it instantly made me feel better about the federal disaster zone that is my house.


Cleaning and scrubbing can wait ’til tomorrow

For babies grow up, we’ve learned to our sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,

I’m rockin’ my baby, ’cause babies don’t keep!

-AUTHOR UNKNOWN-

Can we let go?

 Somehow I manage to read blogs, my goal this year is to read actual books. You know the things with all of the papers bound together with words and numbers at the bottom. You probably use them as shelf fillers or if you have a baby, you may use them to fend off the Baby Boogies. I used to read a ton after college and before having a baby. I did, I actually read books, for fun. A lot of them. I didn't have time in college, and I know all of you English majors out there will agree with me. And now that I have outed myself please resist scrutinizing this blog for impeccable grammar, at this time of night I am doing well to just spell correctly...most of the time.

Anyways. I read blogs. Quite a wide variety and as soon as I can figure it out I will link them all up somewhere on here. So I was catching up on one of my more favorite ones Becky and Hollee (their upcoming book is my new favorite mantra "Good Enough is the New Perfect") and came across a guest writer with a new concept. One that I have say, as a full time mom who works full time I really appreciate. This is such a novel idea, and may not be widely accepted. Even less so down here in the south. Saying No - please read this because it is so well written and explains a lot of what I think we (women) struggle with. As I was reading it a friend called me and and I read a bit from the post, she said "I don't know who wrote that but they are my hero." Really, I think there are several things that women need to let each other 'off the hook' for so to speak. We really can be our own worst enemies. Granted we had to work hard to get where we are and all that women's liberation jive, but it doesn't mean that we should ignore some of the innate things within us that make us uniquely female. I think that qualities like compassion, deep understanding and genuine sympathy come easily to us. We just know how to FEEL for another person.

This is to all of the amazing women in my life who manage to do so much for so many. There are a lot of days that I can feel the waterline creeping up just below my nose, and I know I am not in here treading water all alone, so for all of my women out there just know that if you forget to or just simply decide not to write me a thank-you note I will absolutely understand. Assuming I did something worth thanking, my motivation is never the expectation of recognition.