Merry Christmas to Me!!!

...Last Friday was a pretty sweet day for me! First off, I was off work so that's always fun. Then I headed down to Cape, but first stop was at my sister's. She gave me my early Christmas present from my entire family-an iPhone!!! Wow, twelve days before 2015 and I finally entered the twenty-first century! Crazy to think 2.5 years ago I didn't even have texting! Well, watch out, world! Now I'm going to be a social media queen (hopefully not! I plan to try to limit myself and not use my G a ton!).

I was supposed to meet my dad at eleven but I was early so I decided to swing by "The Bar" from the movie Gone Girl. Talking to a friend on my way down there, I found out that the place had been vandalized and the windows broken so I guess that's what these guys were doing, not realizing they were being a total buzzkill for my photo. Trying not to look too touristy in my hometown, I snapped a quick pic, the very first on my new phone, not realizing that #crackkills. :-/

My dad and I went to lunch at Dexter BBQ-mmm, delish! Then we headed over to the Toyota dealership where I traded in my Tahoe for this little go-cart, a 2014 Toyota RAV4. The deal was pretty sweet and I couldn't pass it up. Honestly, I hated the Tahoe. It was so wide and I really didn't get any more storage than I did in the Tribute so that's why I decided to downgrade. It drives great, but yeah, the storage is pretty small in it. The hardest thing I'm struggling with is that I've finally decided to turn AR around so she's forward facing. I know, I know, it's time, but it's still hard for this Momma because it means my baby is growing up.

Saturday morning, I headed to the fire station to have AR's carseat installed. Saturday morning hanging out with firefighters, well, don't mind if I do! When I got home, we went for a ride and she kept saying, "I get to ride in the front seat!" and "Thank you, Mommy, for my car. It's so cool!"

Of course, now that I'm in my new ride, I have to protect my seat backs. A huge thank you to Dot Dot Travel for the car seat back protectors. As you can see from this picture, they've already come in handy.

All in all, it was a pretty sweet day!!! Thanks family for the phone and thanks to me for the new RAV!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. 

Photo Dump...

...Sometimes your kid just does silly, crazy things and you grab your camera. So that's what this post is...silly, crazy AR! For instance, running around the basement with a fishing net on her head!

Or jumping on her trampoline with her Pooh bear!

Or Mommy going to dinner with friends expecting her baby to be in bed when she gets home but instead finds this...

Or driving 45 minutes to meet Cat in the Hat and having a horrible experience but at least you got a picture, right?

#lovemyAR

Phone Photo Dump...

...My phone doesn't take great pictures but it does capture precious memories. Here are just a few that I've taken in the last month.

Me and my girl early one weekend morning after taking care of our doggies.

She's a hambone!

A few weekends ago, the three of us grabbed Chick-Fil-A and ate at this pond. Apparently the fish in this pond weren't fans of CFA fries.

We went to the Kid Expo with Jenni and Emma. AR rode her first pony and loved it!

On Mother's Day, we went to Home Depot and picked out flowers to play at her Grandma's.

Nanny requested a photo of us on Mother's Day. This was before bathtime. She looks exactly like my cousin in this picture, it's uncanny! Side note: Does anyone use the word uncanny any more?

The night before AR's birthday, my mom, her and I went to El Maguey for dinner. They gave her a sombrero to wear, sang to her, and she ate flan. She thought it was pretty awesome!

Here she is sitting not very ladylike in the doctor's office before her two year check-up.

Memorial Day weekend, we played in the front yard with our water table. A little mix and match swim suit going on and of course, our Minnie flip flops.

Don't mind the Goldfish in her mouth. She's really digging her sunglasses this year which is exciting!

And this was last Friday night. My child in her Nike sandals, a diaper, her helmet running on the sidewalk in the rain! #summertime #toddlerlife #lovemyAR

Professor Life...

…I survived my first semester of teaching! Now that it’s over, I can admit that I was really nervous going into this class. I’d never taught a class to anyone over the age of 5 before and most of my classes included crafts and snacks…what a bummer there are no snacks in college classes. Unless, of course, I’m your professor, but I digress. Aside from feeling like I had no idea what I was doing, I was afraid that I would hate it and dread the next fifteen weeks.
 

From day one, I was so concerned with being able to fill an entire hour and 15 minutes of class time. And for the first two weeks, I really struggled. Then finally my students warmed up and started interacting! It was glorious because suddenly, I was running short of time, but my students were discussing and sharing and interacting!
 

While I hated to read a textbook in college, I actually found almost all of this reading enjoyable. Perhaps it’s because I’ve now worked in my field for fifteen years so everything was coming full circle and it all clicked and made sense to me now.  Of course, we’d discuss something and then a news article would flash across my homepage that related to what I’d just lectured about. I loved when that happened because then I could say, “See-real life!!!” What I loved even more was when my students would email me news articles THEY found. Those emails were definitely a few of my proud professor moments.

 

I am horrible at pronouncing words/names that I don't use on a regular basis. There were a few students names that I know I butchered. Finally, a couple weeks in, I told them to just correct me every time I got it wrong. Eventually, I think I finally got it right...or they just gave up on me. I had one student that I'd ask to pronounce philosophers name for me to which he'd reply, "I'm not Russian," or Italian...or wherever the philosopher was from, but he was a good sport and helped me out. From day 1, I told them they could call me Alyssa. I never was. I was only addressed as Professor and it took me a few weeks to realize, oh hey, they're talking to me!

 

I tried to make class fun. I brought candy on the first day and on a study day. I even brought in cookies for my birthday to share and a goodie bag for each of them during finals week. We played kickball, discussed #cakewaytothewest, and hailed Canada. We became good friends with Aristotle, in the words of one of my students, "Man, he has an opinion on everything!" We discussed not only "book" issues, but how leisure is applied in our every day lives, in ways we don't even realize. I think most of the students, including me, took away from the class that leisure is so vital to our every day well-being and it's more than just watching tv.  

 

This class made me feel old. I'd reference movies or songs and most of the students stared at me with a blank look on their face. I guess I need to study up on current musicians and movies before I teach again. There were also a few teachable moments that the students taught me something. For instance, I learned all about women's wrestling, places in Arkansas and Boston as well as what food locations to stay away from on campus. Did I mention that I got free lunch? I only discovered the amazing chocolate chip cookies three weeks before semester ended which is probably a good thing.  

 

Another take away I have from the whole experience was the last week of class when two of my students told me they were both taking recreation jobs for the summer and they were EXCITED about it! Neither of them are recreation majors so that's a major win!  

 

So I survived my first semester of teaching and I loved it! I only got mistaken for a student, oh you know, every day, but it was still fun. It helped that I had an awesome bunch of students so hopefully my future classes will be just as great. Oh and all of my students passed! That makes me one proud professor!

#Kidpresident Advice...

...If we all bought each other a corndog every now and then, life would be good, would it not?

To All the Mommas to Be & New Mommas...

...Be sure to let your newborns watch this message from #Kidpresident. He knows what he's talking about and you want your kiddos love for corn dogs to start early, right?

Start Your Week with a Laugh from Kid President!!!

...It's Monday. It's Monday after a holiday. Are you dragging? I know I am. I discovered #Kidpresident last week on Facebook. I am seriously in love with this kid! I've decided for the next few Mondays, I'll post a few of his videos on Mondays to help get your week started. Take the time to watch this, it will make you smile, hug your kids, and put down your phone (unless your kid's name is Phone!). Seriously, it's a loaf of meat!

 

I think my favorite part is: stop cleaning. Partially because hey, I'll stop, but mainly because I love "Our house is awesome because we live in it." Family is what makes a house a home, right?

AR's Almost 15 Minutes of Fame...

...Yesterday morning, I boot up my computer and login to check my email. My stomach dropped when I saw that I had one titled "Photo Permission." I always jump to the worst case scenario and I've heard horror stories about bloggers who snag an image on Google only to be accused later of not having permission to use it. I carefully open it and am relieved when I see a picture of my own child. Whew!

It was actually from the Creative Director at Realtree Outdoors. All of you hunting wives know what Realtree is and for those of you who don't know, they are a nation-wide camouflage brand, read that as they're a big deal! He had done a Google search and found AR's baby pic by Katie Beach and was asking permission to use it on a post today for Valentine's Day.

I was so excited! They ended up not being able to use it, not sure why, but he sent me the mock-up that they did with permission to use it and they're also sending AR a Realtree onesie/shirt. Although it didn't pan out, it was still super awesome! Their Facebook page alone has 1.3 million likes and the pic they ended up using had over 3,300 likes. I told Katie she should add some Realtree to her prop basket!

 

UPDATE! She made it on their Facebook page Sunday morning with the comment "Realtree camouflage is always a great backdrop for baby pictures! A big thank you to Alyssa and her husband, outdoor enthusiast and hunter, Matt (aka "Grizzly Daddy)," for allowing us to post these pictures of their daughter AR. Alyssa pens a popular blog called "My Husband's Watching TV While I'm Watching The Baby."

 

Is that not an awesome shout out to 1.3 million people or what!

Back to the Grind...

...Today is back to work for me. I've been off since last Friday and it's been wonderful to chill, be lazy, and hang with my girl. This is a random post of this and that and other thoughts.

I took full advantage of my week off from good eating and working out. I also paid $50 to join a 12 week weight loss challenge where the first place price is $700!!! That's the kind of motivation I need to keep going so today marks back to working out. My goal is to do boot camp or run in the morning before work and then run in the evening on boot camp days or do a Pinterest at home workout on running days. I think the next few weeks I'll be able to swing it, but once my class starts at LU, I'm worried about my time crunch. As long as I get one workout in a day and eat well though, I should be okay. Plus the weather will be warming up in the next couple months which means AR and I can do more things outside which will be nice.

Since I've been off, I've been putting all our Christmas gifts away and trying to get the house back in order. AR was loving playing in the box of peanuts.

But once she started hiding toys in them and taking them out one by one, it was time to get rid of it. Bye, bye peanuts!

My sister got AR a broom just her size. Of course, she still prefers to use mine which I let her until she jabbed it in my ear when I was on my knees picking up spaghetti noodles we dropped.

Heading back to work, I'm all caught up on laundry. AR likes to dance around her room while I put away clothes. Thanks for the help!

Luckily, my child tries to crawl IN her crib instead of out of it. Oh, she's also had this nasty cough for a few weeks. The Monday before Christmas, my mom took her to the doctor who said it was just her sinuses. Last Saturday, I thought the cough was getting better and we could stop the meds. Then wouldn't you know it, she woke up Sunday morning with a nasty runny nose. We're definitely getting our money's worth out of that humidifier.

Oh hey, her hair is long enough for a ponytail! Woohoo!!! Now she has three hair-dos we can style. Still haven't got her haircut although those front bangs/hair are in her eyes if it's not pulled back. As part of the sitter's Christmas present, I gave her a whole box of ponytail holders so she can do AR's hair (this was in addition to other goodies and an extra week of pay).

We've had lots of time to play around, be silly, and take pictures like this one. I don't know why, but I really like it. Oh! My SIL got engaged the weekend before Christmas. She's asked me to take pics of them for their Save the Date cards. It's a total honor, but I'm worried that they won't turn out well. I really struggled with outdoor lighting so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 I'm also considering doing a photo challenge in February if anyone is interested. Here's the challenge I plan on doing.

We've enjoyed being silly girls!

I bought her some new sippy cups. It's like the next step after straws I guess. It's spill proof and helps them to drink from a regular cup. So far, I'm loving it and so is she. The ones we bought were the Playtex brand. I only have two right now so she'll stay on the straw cups at my MIL's but we'll send these daily with breastmilk to the sitter's.

 

Yes, I still have frozen breastmilk but I'm guessing we'll use it all up by the end of this month. I'm happy I had some to help her through the winter this year, but I'll be glad when I don't have to thaw it out every day and then we won't have to send ANYTHING to the sitter's which will be AMAZING! So thankful we had a great breastfeeding relationship. I miss it in some ways, but in others, I'm so glad we're done. Not that we have a choice about baby #2, but that's one of those things that if we had a second, I wonder if I could I do it again for another year. I'm sure I could and would, but it wouldn't be something I was looking forward to.

My sis got AR a LeapPad 2 for Christmas. AR's favorite program is the camera so we have lots of pictures of the two of us. I finally got her to stick out her tongue when I tell her to so here's one of the cuter ones that we have.

And then we did a selfie with my DSLR to match! The little LeapPad doesn't take bad pics, probably just as good as my phone.

 

So that's what we've been doing for the past week. Now it's back to work clothes instead of sweats, fruit instead of frosting, and hanging with adults instead of AR. Today feels like a Monday so I'm pretty excited that it's already Thursday. Oh and an update since I wrote this, Matt has to go in to work at 3am because of the weather so there goes the plan to run before work today. Please tweet or FB me to guilt me into running when I get home this evening!

We're headed to Florida in a couple weeks to see Nana. While I'm NOT looking forward to traveling alone with her, I am looking forward to lounging and chilling with her and Nana in the warmer Floridian weather! 

Paying It Foward to the Firefighter...

...if you've read my blog for awhile then you know I have a thing for firefighters. Today I paid it forward to one of the firefighters in our community...

Friday morning, I had a coupon for a free breakfast sandwich at Chick-Fil-A. I got there right when the doors opened at 6:30am and was 2nd in line, behind me was a firefighter. As soon as he got his drink, it started leaking so he got another. We started chatting about what station he was at, which one I go to for our carseats, etc...then I notice him starting to panic and looking a his watch. It had been a good 15 minutes since we'd order and no one had gotten their food yet.

He tells me that he can't be late to work and he has to be there by 7am. I asked what he'd ordered and we'd gotten the same thing. In my mind, I was thinking I'd just give him mine since he ordered after me. He keeps looking at his watch and tells me that they're only allowed to be late 5 times in their whole career and then they get fired. He told me in 18 years, he'd only been late once due to an ice storm which still counted as 1 of 5. He finally said he had to go and walked out the door without getting any of the food he'd paid for.

I felt so bad but what could I do? As soon as he left, the manager came out and gave us all coupons and apologized for our wait. I told him that the firefighter had to leave so he wasn't late...and then I told him exactly where his station was and hinted it would be nice if he made it up some way. I did see the manager write it down then I got my food and headed to work myself.

I still couldn't shake what had happened so on my way home, I stopped at a different Chick-Fil-A and ordered a #1 plus a bag of cookies. I spoke to the general manager there that I know. I told him what happened and asked if he could be sure to talk to the other store and make sure some coupons or something got dropped off at the station. He said absolutely, he'd take care of it. Then I took my goodies, got in my car and headed home...right past the station and took him lunch and cookies for the other firefighters. He was very grateful and thanked me many times. I told him it was the least I could do for everything they do for our community...and for all the carseat installations!

Cupcake Wars: Shutdown Week!!!

...last week at work, our building was closed for annual cleaning and maintenance. It's always a rough week because you're working and moving all day long and when you're not used to it because you sit at your desk all day long, well, I usually sleep pretty good at night. My jobs are typically painting and carpet cleaning...just don't tell my husband!

In an effort to keep up morale, I decided we should do Cupcake Wars over lunch one day. Here's the content of the original flier I sent out:

Join the fun of the Inaugural Shut-Down Week Cupcake Wars!

The rules are simple:

1.     Bring in 6 cupcakes (or 12 mini cupcakes) to be entered into the Wars.

2.     Cupcakes will be judged on decoration, creativity and taste.

3.     The theme is Shut-Down Week.

4.     What the judge says is final. No complaints on the prizes or your title will be revoked.

5.     Participate because we all want cupcakes.

6.     All cupcakes entered into the Wars must be on the conference room table on a plain white plate with a “name” for your cupcake by 11am on Wednesday, September 4.
 

We cut 5 of the cupcakes into fourths (mini cupcakes in 1/2) and you had to sample EACH cupcake. Here's the ballot:

Thank you for participating in the Inaugural Shut-Down Week Cupcake Wars. Please sample ¼ of each cupcake (already cut for you). Don’t whine, just eat. You can make notes on the back of this sheet to help you with your voting decision. You have been provided a cup; please take a drink between each cupcake to cleanse your palette. There is a pitcher of water located on the table. After you have tasted each cupcake, rank your votes in the category accordingly with 1 being the best.

Overall, there was a great turnout! We had 12 entries which is WAY more than I imagined. Here's the spread of c-cakes:

This was mine: Dust Bunny-chocolate cake and peanut butter frosting-yum! I got a few votes for taste but as you can tell, my decorations lacked. My co-worker even asked to take my non-cut one (we kept one whole for presentation) home to her daughter and that made me feel like a winner!

This is a margarita cupcake which was runner up in taste. We actually had to do two tie-breaker votes to get the winner!

How cute is this one!

Almost all the cupcakes were chocolate flavored except the margarita and this one, Squeaky Clean & Fresh and it was a lemon cupcake.

Another dust bunny one but with cotton candy on top as the dust.

Jakcee won for Taste with her Butterfinger cupcake. She's the resident baker, seriously, she makes the best chocolate chip cookies.

Rochelle won for creative with the Dust Bunny Races.

And Steve, aka Mrs. Steve (his wife) won for best decorated with the swimming pool one. Oh and don't you like the homemade trophies made from outdated trophies.

Everyone thought it was great and it definitely gave us all something to look forward to and talk about throughout the week. As for a morale booster, I think it worked! Luckily, I ran in the morning so I could indulge. Now on to think of the theme for next year because everyone's already said they want to do it again next year!

Response from Southwest...

...here is the email I got regarding our experience with Southwest. At least it was an apology and not automated although their only "solution" is to fly it them again to give them another chance. IT was also sent from a no-reply email address so I can't email them back. Thoughts???

Dear A,

Without a doubt, we acknowledge how vital Customer feedback is to our operation, and your comments and concerns about your January 18 travel experience with your daughter have been heard and taken to heart. Travel is complicated enough, especially with kids, and we know that a little help is always appreciated.

As a courtesy to our Customers, our Automated Outbound Messaging (AOM) system is intended to proactively deliver customized automated messages to Southwest Customers when there has been a change (or we anticipate a potential disruption) to their flight. AOMs are typically delivered via telephone call, text message, or e-mail to the phone number or e-mail address indicated as the preferred method of contact during the booking process. We sincerely regret if you did not receive the AOM until your flight landed.

Additionally, although we were disheartened to learn of your disappointment in the service you received from our Customer Service Agents (CSAs) as well as the Flight Attendants onboard Flight #, please know that complaints concerning a lack of sympathy, patience, or kindness from our Employees, particularly toward families, are quite rare. Many of them are parents themselves and are predisposed to respond compassionately to children, even under the most trying circumstances. It is clear that you are disappointed with the service you received from our CSAs as well as the Flight Crew and we are very sorry that this experience was not indicative of the considerate service we strive to provide. We appreciate your providing us with the details of this experience, and your concerns in this regard have been included in our monthly report, which is distributed to our Senior Leaders.

Again, we truly regret having disappointed you. We wish that we could erase such an unpleasant memory; unfortunately, we cannot, but we can encourage you to let us create a new one by traveling with us again soon. Your family's patronage is very important to us.

Sincerely,

Amy, Southwest Airlines

Fear and Faith...

...I don't know about all of you but I can't get the incident in Connecticut out of my mind. I'll be driving down the street or rocking AR or unloading groceries and my eyes fill with tears and my heart aches for the families that lost loved ones. I can't even imagine what those families are going through or how they'll ever recover.

It makes me scared for my sweet AR, for my family, for our world. I remember back in '99 when the word about the shooting in Colorado occurred and that was a rarity but now every time you turn on the news, there's a mass shooting at a school, on a college campus, at the mall, at the movies. Are we safe anywhere??? It makes me want to keep my AR home and shelter her from everything but what kind of life is that?

Sure, you can live in a bubble and be a hermit but at some point, you have to have faith. Faith that there are good people in the world, faith that when you leave your house that you family will come home safely and most of all, faith in God. I believe that God has a plan for each of us and He'll protect my family and me and if it's our time to go then it's our time.

I won't live my life in fear but I will live it in faith of God that He will protect this sweet baby and all of our loved ones.

Don't Forget to Vote!!!

...today is election day and it was AR's first time at the polls! In total mom brain fashion, I took Matt's voter registration card instead of mine. So I had to take AR and the carseat BACK out to the car and get my driver's license and back in. I should have arms of steel soon.

As you can tell, AR was worn out after voting...

When we got home, I took her out of the carseat to take this picture. As you can tell, she was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open. Like how I also put her in stars to be patriotic ;-)

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and vote!

Turtle vs Dogs...

...this past Saturday, I was getting out of the shower and looked out the window. I saw a turtle running across our backyard, for real this thing was MOVING! I grabbed my camera and headed to the backyard. He's a pic I snapped of the turtle:

The dogs came out with me. This was about as close as Shad got to her, he was freakin' out!

Emma was much braver but still didn't get TOO close.

I tweeted a pic and my friend's husband, whose a biology teacher, said she was probably red-eared slider looking to lay her eggs.

Matt was working so I texted him to tell him about the turtle. He texted back that I should get a box and catch him. I text back, "Well, that's one way to try to get labor started!" A couple hours after I originally found her, I let the dogs out again and she'd moved to the other side of our yard. I poured a cup of water over her (it was almost 90 degrees) and then I put the cooler over her with some room for air flow. Luckily, Matt got home about 10 minutes later so he could pick her up. We fed her some raspberries and Matt released her out of the yard. And that my friends, was my excitement on Saturday!

The Great Debate Part II...

...one of my most popular post ever was the one titled "The Great Debate" which discussed Matt and I's difference of opinions on our religions. He's Lutheran (MO Synod) and I'm Methodist, you'd think the differences would mean we're Catholic and Jewish but honestly, we're both just stubborn. Read the original post so you're all caught up...okay, read it? Good, now I'm sad to say that it really hasn't been resolved, just put on the back burner because it wasn't really an issue.

In my "many" years of marriage, I've learned that I need to pick my battles wisely. So we've been attending his church (honestly, we haven't been in awhile...not even Christmas Eve because I had to work or Easter because I was sick!) because I feel it's more important for us to be in church and me missing communion than not being in church at all. I also know how important his church is to him being that is how he was raised and where he went to school. I would hope that if we lived in Cape then he would feel the same and attend my church rather than trying to find a new one or a Lutheran one there. Marriage...it's all about give and take, right?

So now that we're T-minus 4 weeks (holy moly!?!) until Baby G arrives, I knew that we needed to sit down and figure things out. After only like two years of urging, I finally emailed the pastor and asked him to meet with Matt and I. Last night was the night and it went...well. The pastor was young, prob in his mid-late 30s and wasn't judgmental in what I thought at all, just did his best to try to explain things to me.

When we arrived, Matt was all nervous because he'd never sat down to talk to a pastor (outside of being in trouble when he went to school!). I told him don't worry, I'll do the talking. I explained to the pastor that I had questions about communion, told him what I believed and was honest that the "turn off" to their religion for me was not being welcomed. He agreed that it was a "tough sale" with communion. He even asked if he could discuss our other questions first before tackling it.

What I took away from the conversation: They believe that all people taking communion should have proper instruction. By only allowing people of their religion then they know that they've had that instruction. Also, they as a "church family" are making an affirmation together. He suggested that I take their adult confirmation class to better understand their religion and it was totally okay if I went through the classes and decided not to be confirmed but at least I'd have that knowledge. He said if I decided that then we could meet again and I could tell him, hey, I don't want to be Lutheran but we want to a family together at church and could work something out on the communion front.

In summary, my mind isn't changed. I still believe that anyone who believes, repents and asks for forgiveness should be able to take communion. I don't think that Jesus is selective in who can take communion. At the same time, I understand that it's their church and they have the right to decide who, what, where, when people take communion so I can't be upset at that. After meeting with the pastor, I at least don't feel as snubbed if that makes sense. I don't plan on taking the confirmation classes offered this summer as my hands will be a little full but it's definitely something I will look into next fall or even next summer (summer is a shorter session).

We also discussed baptism. I know there's lots of debate out there about Infant Baptism vs Infant Dedication. Matthew was baptized 3 days after he was born due to medical issues and I wasn't baptized until I was in 6th grade. My understanding of  the debate between the two is that infants can't make up their mind to be baptized so that's why some churches do dedications instead of baptisms and then baptize the child in middle school or later in life. Luckily, I'd done my research before we met last night so I had a good idea and the pastor confirmed my thoughts.

Basically though infant baptism, we, the parents, are speaking on behalf of the child saying that yes, this child believes in God, repents of his/her sins and would like forgiveness and to receive the gifts of God. Then later in life, that child can go through confirmation and make his/her own decisions about their beliefs and make that re-committment on their own.

It was kind of funny because we started talking about confirmation and he was telling me how a parent has to go with them each week to which I asked, if we aren't available can their sponsor (AKA godparent) go with them instead. I also asked if the class was in the evening or during the school day because we haven't decided private vs public school yet. Then I started laughing and said, "Can you tell I'm a little OCD? I'm planning this out and it's 13 years away!!!"

I asked how old the child was when s/he was baptized and he said it was up to us, some as young as a week while others wait a few months. He said he baptized his daughters quickly because it was peace of mind to him to know.

Matt and I discussed afterwards and I think we'll be planning a baptism in August when the baby is about 3 months old. Me personally, I don't want the baby around a lot of people or in super public places before they hit 8 weeks. I guess I differ in the mindset too that I feel like God will watch over and take care of our child before s/he is baptized similiar to what those believe that do Infant Dedication so I guess I believe in a mix of the two.

Matt and I are also in discussion, not debate, about godparents/sponsors. We both quickly agreed on a godmother. The godfather on the other hand is where we're stumped. Matt's brought up 2 people that I've politely said no, we've discussed 2 others-one that I think would be awesome but Matt thinks he's too old but he also doesn't have anyone else in mind!

So that's the summary of our meeting with the pastor. Am I convinced to become Lutheran? No but I'm doing my best to understand and respect the religion because it is important to my husband. More than likely, we will continue to attend his church and raise our child in his church but if they can respect my opinions than I can respect theirs.

Nesting with My Momma...

...whew! It's been a busy, busy weekend to say the least. Yesterday, I worked until about 12:30, had lunch with some great Twitter gals and then came home to a broken cell phone. After almost two hours, I had a "new" phone that rings like a Mario game and I'm seriously contemplating getting texting and picture text but that's for another day.

This morning, my mom arrived at my house and we made a mad dash to Target where I got 2 new spring maternity tops (to be displayed later) and a pair of cargo capris. We also bought a new shade for the lamp in the nursery but have to wait for Matt to see if it will work together.

After Target, we headed to lunch with my MIL where the two dished about Baby G and I had to refrain from some major eye rolling. Soapbox for one minute, I am my own person with my own opinions. While it may be "okay" in the eyes of someone to borrow certain baby items, in my eyes it may not so don't tell me it's okay and that's what I should do. Trust me, I'm all about borrowing (you should see our basement with all the toys and things that we've already gotten used from friends) but there are just certain things that I do not feel comfortable borrowing (I'm leaving out what this certain item is because I don't want to cause a debate). Other than that, it was a good lunch but I'm ready for a home cooked meal because I think I've eaten out 4 of the last 5 days.

After lunch, my mom and I hit up the grocery store for the weekly items AND to make some meals to freeze for when Baby G arrives. Thank you Pinterest for lots of ideas! I checked out this blog for recipes and we made 2 that were listed: Sausage & Peppers and the Teriyaki Chicken which made a total of 4 meals for us, we just have to add the starch when the time comes to make the meal. I think my mom is planning on making us a lot more frozen meals, today was just a trial run. The one bad thing about a lot of the blogs I came across for freezing including soups and stews which I don't think we'll be eating much of come May/June. Here's a pic of my mom with the finished product:

She also made us dinner for Sunday/Monday night (yum-steak and rice!!! An Hfield family favorite!), helped me move the couch and wash the windows in the living room AND we made what I call Hoosier Turtles to share with our classmates tomorrow night since it's our last baby class (I still owe you a recap of Class #3 which had TONS of information!).

OH! And my mom made me her famous homemade chocolate frosting. This has become a pregnancy tradition if you will. I make the cake, she makes the frosting and this momma is happy! She'll be back up here the weekend of my showers and is staying that Sunday to help me put all the baby items we receive away.

We also sorted through a lot of the clothes we already bought and she fitted the baby quilts she made on the bed (but I had to leave the room so I have no idea what they look like). When I say quilts, I mean a girl one, a boy one and about 4 others! She also made the cutest little hats for either a boy or a girl for him/her to wear while at the hospital. After our tour, I decided I wanted to bring my own hats so that s/he didn't look like every other baby at the hospital. I'm so lucky I have such a crafy mom!!!

I sent her a link the other day to make a shopping cart cover and a Moby wrap to which she replied, "When is this baby getting here so that mom will stop finding projects for granny!" I told her that the projects were going to be ongoing, I just may not have as much time to search online for them. 

This and That...

...I have lots of thoughts in my head so I figured I'd do a this and that post so here goes!

*I broke down and bought a brace for the carpal tunnel. I don't think it's doing any good but I'm going to give it at least a week and then ask the doc again this week. At this point, I'm not sure what I can do but I'd love to have the feeling back in my fingers on my right hand!

*I haven't been sleeping very good at all! Even naps are no fun, I'm tired and want to lay down but my legs bother me so I'm constantly tossing and turning...so is Matt for that matter. About 4:30 this morning, I whispered to him, "The baby is wide awake." Sure enough, s/he was tossing and turning too. Guess I should get used to being up at that hour of the night, huh?

*I also feel like the baby is getting long because when s/he kicks, I can feel it on opposite sides of my body. I have an u/s in 3 weeks so it'll be interesting to see what s/he is measuring.

*My good friend Jess had her son, Owen, on my birthday! He was originally due on Matt's birthday but decided to come on mine. Although I haven't met him yet, I know he's gotta be pretty cool since he picked me over Matt :)

*Good 'ole MO has decided to share 70 degree weather with us. Normally I wouldn't care but that means it's time for a whole new wardrobe! Luckily, I found one pair of khaki shorts that fit (not sure how long they will) but it makes me feel better wearing them than basketball shorts out in public or sweating in pants.

*My fingers and toes look like Vienna sausages.

*Yesterday was my last weekend manager shift until after Labor Day. Of course, it was insane crazy with storms rolling through but I'm happy to say I survived and came home and went straight to bed about 8pm.

*I'm starting to get a little bit panicky about April coming up because that means there's just 6 weeks until Baby G arrives. I have SO much to do at work before I go out so I might be putting in some longer hours to make sure it all gets done. I'm worried I'm going to forget something and it'll slip through the cracks while I'm out.

I feel like I have a good handle on things at home. After I have my showers, I'll feel better too and can start packing bags (diaper bag, hospital bag, labor bag, etc...). I already have most of our documents typed up, just need to review birth plan with my doctor and then put it all together for Matt and my sister. I'm getting a little nervous about breastfeeding because I have no clue what I'm doing. I'm debating whether or not to take the breastfeeding class at the hospital. I just contacted the 2 local La Leche groups in my area but, of course, I already missed the March meetings, April is bananas and Baby G will be here in May!

Deep breaths, I know it'll all work out. It's just overwhelming at times!

*We got invited to a wedding June 2. Matt really wants to go. I keep telling him that we'll have a 1-3 week old baby but he doesn't get it! I told him if he wanted to go then he could but there was no way that I would feel ready to i.e. I'd have to pump while at the wedding/reception, I'd have to stock pile milk before (and that's not very much time) and I'm not sure I'll be ready to leave my baby at that time!

Okay, I think that's all the random thoughts for now. I'm going to paint birds that will be book ends and then Matt and I are sharing a birthday dinner at his mom's house tonight. Hope you all had a good weekend!

The Biggest Loser Season 8...

...the Biggest Loser Season 8 returns to my life! Remember back in May when I ran the Indy Mini Marathon and met Allen from Season 8? Well this week I'm off at the Lake at conference and the keynote speaker was Danny Cahill who won Biggest Loser Season 8 (and is also the BIGGEST loser of all time!). Here's a picture of Paula and I with him (uggh, speaking of Biggest Loser look at those cheeks on me!):

He had a good message which was summarized in "Give up your QUIT!" Stop making excuses, stop regretting things, give up your quit and get things done!

Target FAIL!!!

I ordered a maternity shirt from Target...I opened the package and received a pair of bikini bottoms instead! TARGET FAIL!!!

Happy New Year all!