It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Well it's less than 2 weeks from Christmas and it's actually starting to feel like it around here. By that I mean, it was 10 degrees out during my drive to work this morning. Brrrrrr...so not used to that. Really 10 degrees is pretty much as cold as it gets here in TN on its very coldest day and it usually doesn't happen until January or February. So with that said, we are replacing our upstairs heating unit. We replaced the downstairs unit when we bought our house, but held off on the upstairs. Well after I went up to wake up Carter a couple days in a row and his room felt like Antartica (not really, it was like 65 degrees), we decided to buy a new unit. Our current unit is entirely electrical and our electric bill can nearly reach $300 during the winter and summer months, so by switching it out we should be able to cut that down by a 2/3. It's not exactly the time we want to be dropping the money on it, but luckily we had set aside some money to put towards a new roof, so it doesn't hurt as bad. Although we won't be replacing the roof for a while now.

Speaking of cold, it actually snowed here on Sunday. We also usually don't see any snow until January or February, but we got some this weekend. I think we got about an inch at my house and it shut the entire mid state down. I'm not kidding. Every school in Middle TN was closed. It's just different here, that's all. I think they have like 15 plow trucks for the entire state of TN. We're not used to it. And actually I haven't had a white Christmas since my last Christmas spent in South Bend 6 years ago. So Santa, all I want for Christmas is snow! Seriously!!

Speaking of Christmas, my family and I went to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular this past Saturday and aside from the major parking issues (Opry Mills parking lot is all blocked off since the flood in May), it was spectacular! (pun intended) Brett and I arrived at 5:00, thinking the show started at 5:30, so we patiently waited for the rest of my family to show up. They got stuck in all the parking mess and didn't arrive until 5:30. That's when my mom informed me the show started at 5:00. Dang it!! We couldn't get in since they had our tickets, so we missed 30 mins of the show and walked in during the Toy Soldier performance. Even though we missed 30 mins of the the 2 hour show, it was still way better than I expected. I'm not much for singing and dancing but this show was great! I was especially impressed by the ending. They performed the Nativity Scene and really explained the true meaning of Christmas and that it's about Christ's birth, not Santa and presents. They didn't shy away from it at all and it was really amazing. I LOVED IT! Definitely worth going to if you ever have the opportunity.

Other than that, we have just been busy trying to work, chase Carter around, and get Christmas shopping done. We recently lost our other salesman at work, so it's been just me trying to hold the fort down lately and it's been a little hectic. Thankfully, we just got another guy hired and he starts Monday. This means I will no longer have to work every Saturday as well as Mon-Fri.

That's all for now folks.

Carter's 1st Birthday

Did I really just say that? Is my baby a year old already? And I guess he's no longer a baby either. Toddler.....wow that's different. Anyway we had an amazing birthday weekend (except for him getting 4 new teeth in all at the same time). We headed towards South Bend Thursday night and got up there about noon on Friday. We went to Brett's grandma's house where Carter got his first birthday/Christmas present and then we stopped by the Pop Shop on 31 to see Brett's Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin. For those of you familiar with the Pop Shop or Michiana Archery, Brett's Uncle owns that, we weren't just randomly meeting them at the Pop Shop. After a couple hours of visiting with Brett's family, we headed to our hotel in attempt for me and Carter to both get a nap. Wrongo! No nap was had.

Later on we met my BFF, Casey and her husband Phil, for dinner at Hacienda. I've been craving their Mexican pizza for about 3 years now and I just had to have it. I was disappointed, they most definitely shrunk in size. Should've gotten a wet burrito. Oh well. After dinner we took Carter back to the hotel to play with some of the birthday toys he got. Like I mentioned early, he was getting 4 teeth in and had no afternoon nap, so the playing didn't last long. He soon turned into quite the grumpy little guy and it was time for bed. For those of you that have kids and have friends without kids, you can probably relate to the whole situation about trying to kick your friends out nicely so you can get your baby to bed. Kidless people sometimes don't catch on that quick. Anyway, once we got everyone out, Carter fussed for a bit but then went to sleep like a good little boy. At some point in the night he decided since it was his birthday, he wanted to sleep in bed with mom and dad, and that's exactly what he did. Here's Carter and daddy enjoying their ZZZZs. The next morning we got up and headed out to meet my former boss and his family for breakfast. I used to babysit his kids and I learned a lot about babies after watching his daughter, Ava, when she was little. I tell ya what, seeing those kids now makes me feel really old. Ava was 1 and Aaron was 9 when I started watching them. Now Ava is 10 and Aaron is 18. Crazy!! So anyway, breakfast was great and I'm so glad they finally got to meet Carter.

After that we headed to my Uncle's memorial service. It was a very touching service and just made me wish I had gotten back to see my Uncle before he passed away. I guess it's true, you don't know what you've got until it's gone. It was really nice seeing some of my family, but just wish it was under different circumstances. I wish my uncle had gotten to meet Carter, but I know he's in a much better place now and that's good.

Once the service was over, we cut out and headed back home. We had Carter's birthday party the next morning and lots to do to get ready for it. We hosted it at my parents' house and it turned out really nice. Our closest friends came and we had a blast. Carter loved all of his toys.

Nana got him a wagon. What's better than a little boy and a puppy in a wagon?

And last but not least, the smash cake. Need I mention we forgot to feed Carter dinner before we let him dig into his cake? Yeah, he would have eaten the whole thing had we not stopped him.

My Way Back Home

It's been 2 1/2 years since I've been back to my hometown of South Bend, IN and the last time I was there it was for my best friend's wedding and I was in and out of there so fast, I barely knew what happened. Actually over the last 4 years, I've only been back 2 times and it's been for quick weddings. But this Friday I will once again be heading back to SB for a quick trip, even quicker than all the rest. My uncle passed away this past weekend and his memorial service is on Saturday. It's sad that it takes this kind of event to get me back up north, but it's true. I need to be there. Unfortunately life and death doesn't plan itself around our schedules and Carter's 1st bday is on Friday and his party was planned for Saturday. So we moved the party to Sunday and will have a dinner for him in South Bend on Friday night. Due to the schedule change in his party, I feel it's given a lot of people excuses not to come to his party, but we will have fun anyway!!

Anyway, back to our trip. I am mixed with sadness and joy all at the same time. I am sad, because we will be saying goodbye to a great man and joy because I will spend my son's 1st birthday with a very small intimate group of friends that don't normally get to see him. So we will put our warm boots and coats on (must get carter a winter coat) and travel almost 500 miles north for an overnight stay. This shall be our 2nd family trip together. Let's hope everyone leaves their cranky pants at home.

Dinner for 4

Brett and I decided to host Thanksgiving at our house this year, because he was on-call for work and my dad likes to host Christmas, so I wanted one of the holidays at least. Once that decision was made, we were given the motivation we needed to hurry up and finish updating our kitchen and dining room. My parents bought us a brand new SS glass top range for our 2 year anniversary, which was an amazing gift!! So we then decided to paint our cabinets and update all the hardware from brass to brushed nickel. Then it was onto the dining room. It was a very boring beige with an ugly brass light fixture, so that had to change as well. I painted the room Posh Red and white and hung a new light fixture that will coordinate with the other light fixtures I'm going to change out in the kitchen and foyer. I wanted this all done for Thanksgiving, so we busted our butts and finished it up this past weekend. I'm a perfectionist so it takes me extra long to go back and make sure every little line is perfect and there are no 'oops' spots anywhere. It looks great!!

P.S. I do not recommend Valspar Signature Series HD paint that you see all the commercials about and it being able to cover really well. Wrong!! This is dark red over a skin tone beige and it took 3 coats (4 coats on the largest wall) to cover it completely. Next time I will stick with my Sherwin Williams paint like I'm used to.

Anyway, back to Thanksgiving. We were planning on having my family, Brett's family, and my parents' neighbors over at our house for the big meal. But Brett's family decided they'd rather stay at their house, because his dad likes to cook. Okay. So it's just my family and their neighbors. Then my dad called and asked me if I'd be upset if my mom and him went to Colorado for Thanksgiving to spend it with my grandma. No. Go ahead, I'd do the same if I could. So since my parents weren't coming, their neighbors won't be coming either. That makes it just me, Brett, Carter, and my brother. Instead of being bummed about it, I am still very excited. Just because there will only be 4 people instead of 14 won't stop me from making a meal to feed 30. I will be in all my glory from breakfast to dinner. I really enjoy being able to spend the day cooking. I used to really enjoy making great meals for Brett, but since I work so much nowadays, I really don't have the time anymore.

I can not wait for Carter to be able to enjoy his first turkey dinner. Last year he was only a week old and I was still in major pain from giving birth to him. Also I was dealing with the baby blues that I swore I'd never suffer from and was an emotional mess. blah.

So those are my plans for Turkey day, what are everyone elses?

Justice Shall Prevail

My father just received a call from Lieutenant Kyle Norrod of the LaVergne Police Department informing him that no charges will be filled against him regarding the incident on Tuesday. It was determined that my dad acted well within his rights of the law to protect himself from grave bodily injury or death. Duuuuuuuhhh!!! We already knew that! But thank God the police figured that out.

I never feared my dad having to face prosecution from all of this, because I knew for a fact he acted within the legal guidelines, but I was seriously disturbed at how some of the media outlets spun it. And even more saddened how the police treated him during this process. Rather than investigating where more of his stolen property had gone, they pursued trying to bring charges against him. Had they done their job and called around to the local scrap yards on Tuesday, like they should have, they would have found about $4,000 worth of his stuff at Clark Iron & Metal in Murfreesboro. But it's too late, because once the owner of the scrap yard saw the story on the news, the metal had already been scrapped. He had to call Chief Boyd at the LaVergne Police Dept. 4 times before the jackass would take his call. Someone needs to fire that prissy bitch.

Now, I have contacted all 3 news stations that ran their first stories in hopes they will run a follow up. We'll be watching!

Protecting The Criminals

A couple of days ago my father found himself in a very scary situation that we as humans hope that we never have to face. He interrupted a robbery on the property he owns in which he has plans to move his business to. He was on his way to early vote and he drove past a couple of guys on his property stealing some contruction equipment. He pulled in to assess the situation and that's when things went south. He stepped out of his vehicle to confront the theives and they jumped into their pickup and attempted to run him down. Every member of our family is a gun carry permit holder and we all carry personal firearms in case we are ever faced with a life or death situation. As the men were charging their truck towards my dad, who was next to his and didn't have the option of jumping out of the way, he had a split second to make a decision to try and save his life or keep him from grave bodily injury. That's when he pulled out his gun and attempted to shoot out their rear tire to put a stop to their threat, rather than shooting the men themselves. It worked. They didn't run him down and they turned and fled the lot. My dad called 911 and the men were caught and arrested as they were trying to get on the highway.

My dad came back to the office and was obviously worked up over the entire ordeal, but felt as though he had done the right thing. He then went back to the contruction lot to see what all had been stolen. That's when the situation turned on him. The police were there to question him and they soon turned to him as the criminal. Long story, short the police are pursuing a case against my father in which they are investigating whether or not he lawfully fired a shot in self defense. I understand that they have to look at every angle, but they went on the news saying that he was only trying to protect his property. I am infuriated!! The story aired on 3 news channels here in Nashville and only Fox 17 got the story right. The other 2 channels chopped it and twisted to make it look as though my father saw them stealing his stuff and he shot at them. Words out of one news reporters mouth were "Clark saw the men stealing his property and that's when he got a gun". Are you kidding me?! Are you seriously kidding me?! First off, he didn't just get a gun, he carries it, and second of all he wasn't shooting at the vehicle because the douche bags were stealing his stuff!! His life was being endangered and he took action rather than being a sitting duck like most people in society!

What Channel 5 news failed to mention was that one of the men was listed as a dangerous gang member as well as being a convicted felon in possession of a loaded gun. Yes, that's right, they had a loaded gun with them as well. They were complete scum bag, dangers to society and to my father, but my father is the one that's being made out to be a criminal. Somethings wrong with society and it's comes down from our leaders. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Here is the news clip from Fox 17, who happened to portray the story in the most accurate light.

WZTV FOX 17 :: Newsroom - Top Stories - Police Question Whether Shooting Was Self-Defense

Going To The Shows

I think I must bridge this blog from my last one somehow, but not sure how. So in regards to the recent events in my life, I have given them up to God and put my trust fully in him. He knows his plan for my life and I will be satisfied with whatever that is. I am now choosing to focus on the positive things in my life, so please don't take it as blowing "it" off. Thanks. Here we go.

I know it's a little early, but the Christmas buzz is really starting to pick up around Nashville. Of course this being Music City and all, there are some really great shows and concerts going on. There is no better time in Nashville than Christmas time. Opryland Hotel always decorates their entire hotel in Christmas decor and people from all over the country come to see it. This year it will be extra special, because the hotel was flooded back in May and won't reopen until around Thanksgiving. Most of their decorations were destroyed, so everything will be new. It should be quite the sight to see.

One show I have been really wanting to see the last few years but haven't gone to yet is the Radio City Christmas Spectacular held at the Grand Ole Opry house. Well that's gonna change this year. My mom just bought tickets for us all to go see it on Dec. 11. It's a bit pricey, but I think it will totally be worth it. And Carter gets in for free!! Let's just hope he'll sit still and there will be no kicking and screaming. He's usually a very well behaved baby, so my fears aren't too great, but you never know. Whatever the situation, it will be a great time! I can't wait!

I also wanted to get tickets to see Michael Buble on Dec. 5, but it's 8:00pm on a Sunday and seeing as how Brett and I both get up at 5:15 to go to work on Monday morning, I'm not really sure that's the best idea. I'm still debating it though.

Michael W. Smith is also having a Christmas concert at Brentwood Baptist Church and I think that would be really great to check out. The tickets go on sale Friday, so we'll see about that.

The Opry also puts on a huge display/exhibit made out of ice every Christmas season. It's called "ICE" (pretty fitting) and the themes over the past couple of years have consisted of The Grinch, Charlie Brown and some other famous characters. I have also failed to check this one out, so that is definitely on my To-Do list this year. Carter is sort of big enough to enjoy it too.

And to finish the season out, our church, World Outreach Church, puts on a mean Christmas Eve service. This area doesn't lack in the department of musical talent, so if they don't manage to get a famous singer in to perform, their own talent is pretty darn good. I'm already getting so excited! And yes, I'm one of those freaks that likes to play Christmas music from Halloween - on. Don't roll your eyes.

So cheers to the upcoming holiday season!!

Not Worthy Of A Title

This blog is not worthy of a title, because I don't what I could really title it. I'm sad, angry, crushed, and the list goes on...but I just don't want to put a title on it. What I have to say really sucks and is far from the happy joy filled blogs I normally write.

This morning I was at work when the office phone rang and the name of my doctor's office came across the screen. They called me at work. At work. This could only mean one thing in my mind. I picked up and the nurse practioner that checked me out was on the line, she informed me that my HGC levels had continued to drop, but slowly rather than rapidly. This in their minds would indicate a ectopic pregnancy rather than a miscarriage. This would also explain the pain I felt last Friday. They said they would recheck my levels once again on Monday, but that they would most likely be terminating the pregnancy at that point. All the hope that I was still holding onto at that point was crushed. This baby is not going to make it and there is nothing I can do about it. What filled my heart with joy a few days ago has now filled it with sadness. I know that lots of women go through things like this everyday, but I never thought it would happen to me.

So with that said, I wish I could at least have a day to mourn my loss, but I can't because I'm at work and someone already called off sick, so I'm stuck here to just suck it up. It's pretty hard putting on a smile and talking to customers when I feel so crummy inside. But I guess I will do what I have to do. Brett and I will get through this and we'll try again some day. Thank you everyone for all of your support. It's been more of a help than you probably realize.

This Is What Faith Is For

Let me just start this off by saying one thing. I am a completely open book when it comes to my life and I don't keep much to myself. I believe in sharing the good with the bad and letting people know when life doesn't always treat you fairly. With that said, I hope that gives some kind of explanation to those that may think I shouldn't be sharing this. Now, here we go.

When I went to the hospital on Friday night and found out I was pregnant, I was completely shocked but have come to really embrace the idea of having another baby. I have actually become very excited. The blood work they did on Friday showed my hCG level (pregnancy hormone) at 89. In a healthy, normal pregnancy this count should double every 48 hours. So I had another count done on Monday and am going back today to have yet another count done to see what the levels look like.

This afternoon I got the call to make sure I was coming in for more blood work and I grilled the girl about what my count was on Monday and that's when she informed me it was 64. Devastating. My faith tells me to keep holding onto hope that everything will work out the way God wants it to. But what God and I want, may be two different things. A drop or lack of increase in the hCG count could indicate an ectopic pregnancy or be a sign that I should anticipate a miscarriage. I am trying to think positive, that maybe the count was wrong on Friday, but I will know something more tomorrow. Please keep me and my family in your prayers as we were not anticipating any of this.

Why Waste Any Time?

So this past Friday was one for the record books. It was a very stressful day due to me having to let someone at work go and overall just wasn't that great. So my stomach was in knots the entire day and when I got home it didn't ease up much. But at about 7:15 pm as I was just getting done with dinner, I had a horrible pain in my left kidney area. I ran to the bathroom and fell to my knees in pain and then noticed some blood. So I immediately thought it was a kidney stone and after making a call to my mom, decided I should go to the hospital. This pain was like no other pain I've ever felt. It was worse then labor pain!! We dropped Carter at the neighbors' house and booked it to the hospital.

I went to the hospital by my work, because they are known for their fast ER and I was checked right in. Of course they had me take a urine sample and hooked me up to an IV to get some pain meds in me. They had decided they needed to do a CAT scan, but were going to do some blood work first. About 30 mins later, the nurse comes back in, pulls up a seat and just stares at me. Her expression said "I've got some news for you", I just had no idea what it was. That's when she informed us that my pregnancy test came back positive. Whaaaaaaaaaa?! That's impossible! I just had my period a week ago! And TRUST ME, that's impossible! Well I guess it's not, cause I was definitely pregnant. Note to all...conception can happen the VERY day right before your period. I am proof.

So they cancelled the CAT scan and looked closer at my blood work. My pregnancy count was only 89, which either means they had caught the pregnancy very early on (ummmm...yes, i think that's the case) or the pregnancy may be abnormal. It was too soon to do an ultrasound, but they urged me to go to the OBGYN as soon as I could and have them check me out. The kidney pain I was feeling subsided with the pain meds and never returned all weekend.

So now I am left wondering what happened. Did I really have a kidney stone and it possibly stopped moving, so the pain went away? Or is there something wrong with the pregnancy? I guess we'll find out when I go to the doctor this afternoon. At this point, I'm just praying everything is okay. I'm also praying that God gives me the strength and patience to take care of two babies!! Oh my gosh!!! I mean, Brett and I weren't exactly being the most careful, but we had just decided we were going to get back on BC and wait a while. Haha! I guess God had other plans. Even though we weren't expecting this, we are very excited! I'm excited about staying healthier and in better shape this pregnancy. No more gaining 50 lbs!!

Let's hope for a girl!!!

If I Die Young

The Band Perry - If I Die Young
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Pancake Head - No Longer

That's right, my son used to be somewhat of a pancake head, but as of today he is not that any longer. He went for his 4th helmet check (about 5 months) today and the doctor gave us the great news that he doesn't have to wear it anymore. He said he looked great and will continue to round out a little more on his own, but the helmet has done its job. YAY!!! We were so excited. Except now I have to actually watch him real close to make sure he doesn't whack that little noggin on everything. It's been a little journey and now we're finished with it.

I know that sometimes it's a little hard on my heart when Carter has these tiny little battles in his life, but it's nothing compared to what he could be facing. Over the weekend my high school youth pastor's niece passed away from cancer at the age of 5, when just 10 weeks ago she was a normal, happy, healthy little girl. It's things like that, that make you really check yourself about what you're complaining about. Maybe Carter has had to go to several specialists for various issues since his birth, but nothing we have faced has been something that wasn't fixable. The doctors that Ava went to couldn't fix her, so God took her home. I can't even imagine going through that with my child. I may never understand why things like that happen, but I know that I will shut my mouth about the little stuff and give Carter lots and lots of hugs and kisses everyday, because you never know when life can be torn away from you.

As for now we will celebrate Carter's helmet coming off and pray for a family that has had to face the unthinkable. God Bless all the little children and the people that love them.

9 months

Well Carter has officially been out of the womb as long as he was in it. Today marks his 9 month birthday. To celebrate, daddy and I sang him happy birthday this morning. If it's possible for a 9 month old to be confused, I definitely think he was. Okay, so it's not really your birthday, but every month counts these days! He is now crawling, standing (while only hanging onto something with one hand I might add), jabbering a whole lot (mostly consisting of dadda dadda daddy dadda da), and eating some whole foods with the two teeth that he has. I predict he will be walking in a month. He went to the doctor for his 9 month checkup yesterday and weighed in at 22 lbs 8 oz. and was 29" tall. His growth spurt has slowed a little bit, but the doctor just said "well he used to be quite the chunker, but he seems to be slimming out a little". He's still above average on his height and weight though. I talked to the doctor about his acid reflux and told him that the 2 prescribed anti-acids didn't work, so I quite giving them to him. I said it has gotten a little better since he's sitting up on his own, but he still spits up now and then. He said if it didn't completely go away once he was about a year, that he would send him to a specialist. That's when he asked "have I sent you guys to a specialist before?" Now keep in mind that Carter had his helmet off, so the obviousness of that wasn't staring him in the face, but here's what I really wanted to say. Ummmmmm......YES!!!! Are you kidding me?!! We've only been to a bone doctor at Vanderbilt for his broken collar bone, a physical therapist for his tortacollis, a plastic surgeon for his head, an orthotics specialists to make his helmet, a gastroenterologist for his acid reflux, and that doesn't include the places we've gone to have CAT scans and X-Rays done. So needless to say, I just looked at him with a blank stare on my face.

Anyway, on a different note, Carter had his 9 month shoot with Master Creations Photography, http://www.mastercreationsphoto.com/, and we decided to do a big rig shoot. Since our family owns a semi truck dealership and he's been around trucks his entire 9 months on this earth, it seemed fitting. Plus we tried to incorporate a semi truck tire in his newborn shoot, but something about him getting his little winky stuck between tire tread didn't make him too cooperative. So we tried it again and he enjoyed it so much more this time. Here are some of the pictures.
So now that we've done a baby-on-a-truck shoot, I'm not sure what we'll come up with next. Hmmmm....gotta get creative here. Anyway, I'll go think about it and get back to you. Until then, enjoy these pics!

Insane

Yes I must be insane, because I've signed myself up for Insanity. The workout program that is. I've been hearing sooooooooo much about P90X from so many of my friends, but didn't think I had the time for any workouts that last over an hour considering I work so much, so I was told about Insanity. A couple of people I know have done this program and said it's just as intense, but a little shorter and doesn't involve buying weights. So I went ahead and ordered it. I've told my husband that he has to do it with me, but considering he works outside in the 95+ degree heat all day, I doubt I will get his full commitment. I'm so on board for this, it's not even funny. My problem is that I tend to get into a workout routine for a couple months and don't see the results I want, so I quit. This program promises great results after 60 days.

I'm so ready to be in good shape again. I was a little chunky in high school and during my sophomore year of college I decided to change that. I started working out and lost 30 lbs. and was in the best shape of my life for a few years. I ran about 3 miles a day, boxed, and did weight training. I actually had a 4 pack (not quite a 6 pack, but close). Then I got married, started working full time, and quit working out. I then packed on 15 lbs.....and then I got pregnant. And as bad as I don't want to admit this, I gained like 52 lbs during my pregnancy. Out of control!!!!! So I've lost 37 of those 52 pregnancy pounds, but want to lost another 30 to get back to my slim figure.

Diet and exercise go hand in hand and when I'm working out so hard to lose the weight, I don't allow myself to eat all the junk because it's like throwing my hard work away. So if I can really commit to this Insanity program, I think I can lose the weight. Cross your fingers folks!! It'll be here in a few days. My only question is....do you do the 60 days straight? or is it like 5 days on 2 days off, until you hit 60 days?

August Update

And you probably won't get another one until September. I know I'm lame, but between working 50 hours a week, loving on my child the other part of my week, and squeezing in household duties in the little bit of free time I do have, I just don't have time to blog. Or I just don't have the desire anymore. I start an entry many times and then just get tired and delete it; but I promise to finish and publish this one. So here we go.

I took Friday off work to celebrate and enjoy my 25th birthday and spend a little time with my baby Carter. Just spending a couple of uninterrupted days with him has proven to me that if I blink, he'll be graduating college. He has now gotten 2 teeth in, is crawling with full force (belly off the ground and everything), and is now pulling up on things and standing on his own 2 feet. I left him in the family room for less than 30 seconds the other day and when I came back, he was standing up and holding onto our ottoman. I almost died. or cried. whatever. I was excited but so terrified at the same time. I then made it a priority to get all the baby proofing essentials from Toys R Us this weekend. I put soft corner pads on my coffee table but have since decided to remove it from the room all together. That way Carter will have more room to play and I won't feel the need to rap my table in bubble tape. Like I stated previously, Friday was my birthday and my wonderful husband woke me up early to give me my first gift. It's sheer proof that he does listen. I had told him I wanted a bike trailer to pull Carter around in and that's exactly what he got me! I was thrilled! So thrilled that once the temps dropped to around 90 at about 8:00 at night, I hooked him up and we went for a sweltering bike ride. I enjoyed it very much, but will enjoy it much more when I don't feel like I'm going to die of heat stroke. Carter will be 9 months old on the 19th and about a week after that we will be taking him on our first family vacation. We've booked a loft in Savannah, GA and we're going to spend a week down there at the end of the month. I hope it's not boiling hot, but I'm afraid it will be. Oh well, that's what the beach is for, right? And I do miss the beach. Tennessee has some of the prettiest lakes I've ever seen, but no beaches so if you don't have a boat, you can't really take advantage of them. But besides the beach, I'm really looking forward to the Paula Deen tour! I think it may involve eating a stick of butter and drinking mayonnaise, but I'm totally up for it.

Oh, I almost forgot. Tomorrow night I'm dragging my husband to a Hanson concert at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville. Yep, you heard me right....Hanson. I'm still a teeny bopper at heart, so every time they come to Nashville, I go see them. Don't be jealous.

Anywho, that's all for now folks. See ya again in another 6 months. Just kidding.........I think.

Yes, I'm Still Alive.

Yep, still alive, just been far too busy to think much about blogging. And I sorta, kinda lost my passion for typing out everything that was on my mind. Buuuuuuuuut...none the less, I have an update for ya'll. So here goes it.

Carter will be 8 months old on the 19th (let's not talk about the fact that I still haven't lost all the baby weight). I just can't believe he's growing up so fast. Before you know it, we'll be celebrating his 1st birthday. Apparently he has saved up a lot of new tricks and has waited until this past week to start showing them off. In the past week he has learned how to sit up on his own, crawl (army style) and he's even cutting his first tooth. It doesn't help my fear of him growing up too fast when he meets these milestones all at once. He's also eating more solid foods, like puffs, baby cookies, mashed tater tots, and anything I think he won't choke on. Oh and even started eating jarred meats!! Let's just say, he wasn't exactly happy about it.

So here is some proof of Carter's advancement in life.

Despite 4 out of 5 pictures showing Carter without his helmet, he still wears it 23 hours a day. I just usually snap a picture of him in the morning or while he's eating and that's when he gets his breaks. His head is rounding out nicely, but he's still got some progress to make. He'll probably have it for another 4 months or so. But I actually love it, because I don't have to worry about him smacking his head on the hardwood floor or the tables, or walls, or any hard surface for that matter.

He was diagnosed with reflux recently and has been put on 2 different medicines to try and help it, but nothing has worked. So I'm taking him off of it and seeing if this "sitting independently" thing will do the trick. I've heard that once babies can sit up on their own, the spitting up stops. So we'll see!!

Anywho, that's all I have time for now. Later.

Big Boy, Big Trucks

Carter had a helmet appointment today, so he skipped daycare and came to work. Living like a rebel. Sittin' on the big trucks and not caring about wearing his helmet!

6 Months

My baby is growing up so fast I can't even believe it. Tomorrow my, not-so-little, Carter will be 6 months old. He is really beginning to become a little person instead of a baby that can't do anything but lay there and stare at you. He went for his 6 month check up yesterday and came in at 20 lbs. 3 oz. and 28 1/8 inches long. He's destined to be a line backer. My hope is that he will be bulky enough when he enters school that no one will pick on him for fear of him opening a can of whoop ass up on them. Is that wrong? I don't think so.

He has had his helmet for a month now and has accepted as part of his daily attire. He wears it 23 hours a day and doesn't mind it at all. Brett and I have actually been tossing around the idea of buzzing his hair off so he stays cooler under there. Trust me, when it gets hot and sweaty it's really nasty, so as much as I love his beautiful hair I think he'd be better off with a buzz cut for the summer. Plus, it's not like we even get to see his hair most of them time anyway.

He has matered rolling over from belly-to-back and back-to-belly, so his prefered form of transportation is rolling everywhere. He is on the verge of crawling, but most of the time just does donuts. He just spins in circles or goes backward instead of moving forward. I think in a couple of weeks there will be no stopping him.

His sleeping has also became something straight from Heaven. He now sleeps from about 8:00 or 8:30 until 6:00am when we wake him up. This is probably due to the fact that he sleeps on his belly now. He ignores his momma's concerns about sleeping on his belly and does it anyway. But since I really don't want to stand over his crib all night and turn him back over when he rolls to his belly, he's gonna continue to do this. Honestly, I think the helmet really prevents him from being able to smash his face straight into the mattress even if he wanted to.

Carter has also made the transition to solid foods and is a great eater. The doctor told me to go ahead and upgrade him to the 2nd stage foods and switch him to only eating 3 times a day. He told me to back off the formula and feed him more solids. My only concern is about keeping him hydrated. I guess there is enough water in the fruits and veggies, but I think I will give him a bottle of water or juice about once a day.

And the biggest transition of all for the both of us will be the fact that he goes to daycare next Monday. Yep, I found a great lady that has a little in-home daycare and Carter will be her 4th and last child that she will watch. I'm more excited about this than I am sad. No, I won't get to spend the day with my son anymore, but it will be better for him. He will be able to crawl around on the floor and interact with the other babies, instead of being confined to his bouncy seat all day like he is at work. Plus he will get endless amounts of attention, something else I am not able to give him at work. I think he'll be much happier.

So that's what we've been up to lately. I'm sure he'll be riding a motorcycle before I know it.

Nashville Flood 2010

Sadness and frustration both fill my heart right now. Last weekend while I was in Texas with Carter and my mom, rain started to fall on middle Tennessee in record amounts. By Saturday afternoon my parents' farm began flooding like I've never seen it flood. Their property is bordered by the Harpeth river that runs through Franklin and Starnes creek. After several hours of non stop down pour, their fields looked more like lakes. By the end of the day, the water was so close to the house, we just knew it would flood it. Thankfully the rain stopped over night and the creek receded back into its banks. Then Sunday came and the rain started again. The water crept right back up to where it was and my dad feared it was going to reach the house. But when it finally stopped for good, their house was dry. They couldn't say that much for everything else though. One of their big hay bails even picked up and floated across the field and a river Otter came swimming into their back yard. Strang I tell ya. Keep in mind these are hay fields, not lakes.

Below is a picture of the river otter swimming through the backyard. Crazy!!
Although my parents and I were lucky enough to not have our houses flooded, so many people out there were not as lucky. Thousands of homes were consumed by the waters and hundreds of people had to be rescued by boats. Any town that bordered the Cumberland River was pretty much devastated. Opryland Hotel, Opry Mills Mall, and the famous Grand Ole Opry House were all sitting in 10 feet or more of water. The Opryland Hotel is estimated to be close for about 6 months while they fix everything. The Nashville symphany, Country Music Hall of Fame, and all the honky tonks were flooded as well. Also Sound Check, a place where all the country music stars store their equipment was completely flooded and everything in there was expected to be a loss. This flood not only took everything from orndinary people, but it didn't discrimate and several country music artists lost everything as well. Julie Roberts being one of them. Her house went under and she and her family had to be rescued by boat. She broke her foot climbing in the boat to top it all off.

The flood was far reaching and well beyond the city limits of Nashville. It even hit my hometown of Murfreesboro, which is about 30 miles south of Nashville. Here are just a few pictures I took while driving around.

I think the part that stings the worst for the people of middle Tennessee is the lack of national media coverage on this flood. We all watched the floods that hit New Orleans for months upon months, yet this flood is nearly as bad as what Katrina caused and if we get 5 mins worth of coverage on the nightly news, we're doing pretty good. I flew over the Nashville area on Monday and it nearly took my breath away. The flooding is something you couldn't imagine in your worst nightmare, yet most of the country doesn't even realize how bad it is, because the media is more focused on a failed bombing attempt in NYC than focusing on the people that truly deserve it!

Despite not having the support from the rest of the country, Tennesseans have band together to help each other as much as they can. On Tuesday Clear Channel hosted a radiothon and raised $250,000 for the flood relief. Brett and I felt as though God had blessed us in keeping us safe from the flood waters, so we reached in our pockets and gave without hesitation. It's funny how God speaks to you and you just can't ignore it. He put a dollar figure in my head and at first I thought "that's too much", but I ignored those thoughts and picked up the phone and donated the money without thinking twice about it.

Last night Channel 4 hosted a telethon and once again Tennesseans gave without hesitation. In 4 hours, they raised $1.6 million dollars. Imagine what they could have raised if more Americans were aware of the crisis down here. It really broke my heart watching it as they flashed video images of people being pulled from the water, a home burning down in the midst of the water, horses trying to escape, a mobile school trailer floating across the highway, and seeing Opryland submerged. I just sat there in shock thinking to myself, how could I be so lucky? How? These people have lost everything and most of them don't have flood insurance. Can you even imagine that?

Here are just a few images of the flooding. I couldn't possibly post all of the pictures I've seen, but if you want to get a better idea of how things look go to: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/flooding_in_tennessee.html

If you feel so compelled to help these poor people out, you can do so at http://www.hon.org/. That's Hands On Nashville and they are aiding in the flood relief.

Now....I will get on my soap box for just a second and then I'll get off. I have been fortunate enough to have survived 2 major natural disasters in the past year untouched. The first being the F-4 tornado that ripped through Murfreesboro last April and now this flood. During both storms, not a single one of my friends from back home took the time to pick up the phone to check and make sure me and my family were all right. Not a single one. This breaks my heart. I had customers and vendors take the time to call me and make sure I was all right and these are people that barely know me, yet my lifelong friends can't bother to do the same. I can't even describe the disappointment that I have in my heart. I think that's why Tennesseans have come together so strongly, because it's as if the whole world has forgotten us.