I'm Baaaaaaaack.

So I know it's been a while since I've blogged; about a month I think. Life has been a whirlwind the past month and it's completely drained every last ounce of energy out of me. So needless to say, I haven't felt like typing. So in attempt to keep this short (impossible) and get you all updated on what's been going on, I will make a list w/pictures.

1) March 24-26 I ventured up to Louisville, KY for the Mid America Truck Show all by myself. Yes folks, this little lady (figuratively speaking) explored the largest truck show in America all by her lonesome. I talked to vendors, looked at lots of pretty trucks, and got some major blisters on my feet. Never wear high heels to things like this. Here is some evidence I have from the show.

It was fun. A lot of fun. But on my way home I got stuck in traffic on I-65 in KY. This was the reason: 11 people were killed when a tractor trailer crossed the median and collided with a van. You may have seen it on the news.

2) My best friend, Casey, came to visit along with her husband, Phil. We spent Easter together and had a blast. Carter enjoyed his first Easter and we all enjoyed Josh Turner performing at our church.

3) Last week I closed my first big truck deal. My co-worker, Tom, and I sold 10 trucks to a guy that owned a local trucking company. It was a deal straight from God and we all needed it. 2 days after we got the trucks in, he called up and wanted to come look at them. They weren't even cleaned up yet, but I had him come by anyway. I showed him the trucks and got the ball rolling, then Tom took over getting the guy committed to buying all 10 trucks. I took care of running the trucks through our reconditioning shop and Tom and I both worked on getting the guy financed. In less than two weeks, we had all 10 trucks sold and delivered to the guy. We were all very happy. Here is Tommy Hoge with 9 of the 10 trucks we sold him: 4) This past Monday, Carter finally got his helmet. It has been a stressful situation, mostly because insurance doesn't cover the cost of the helmet or his visits to the plastic surgeon. It comes to a total of $3,000 that I'd rather not be paying, but I'd do anything for my son. He has surprisingly adjusted very well and it doesn't seem to bother his sleep. It's a good thing, because he has to wear it for 6 months 24/7. Here's my little helmet head:

5) Last Saturday I attended a Small Arms Training class with my dad and brother and got certified so I can get my handgun carry permit. That was fun and educational. And despite what my in-laws think of it, I don't think people that carry personal firearms are gun toting lunatics. I pray I'll never have to use it, but I want it to be there if the situation ever rises that I'm looking death down the barrel.

**Just 2 days after I went through my class to get my permit and my in-laws gave me such a hard time about it, my mother-in-law had the banked she worked at robbed by a man that passed HER a note telling her he had a gun and that she needed to empty her drawer. I find that to be incredibly sad, but ironic.

6) I think that's what number I'm on. Anyway, I spent most of this week in Kansas City, MO for the Truck Blue Book Conference and a truck auction. Once again, I went by myself. To say it was a bit intimidating to be forced to mingle with men from dealerships all over the country is an understatement. But I did it anyway. Then I attended my very first big truck auction all by myself. I've been to auctions before with my dad, but never have I gone by myself and had to bid on trucks myself. Not as bad as I thought. I figured I'd be a nervous wreck spending my dad's money, but turns out, I didn't spend any money at all. All the trucks went for crazy money. So I flew back to Nashville and celebrated my husband's 28th birthday last night by going out to dinner and then called it a night.

7) I told you it was impossible to keep this short. But to keep you updated in advance, my mom, Carter, and I will board a plane in a week and head to Houston to visit her parents. I'm very excited about it and I'm sure Carter will do just fine on the plane. I'm definitely not one of those nervous moms that worries about if her kid throws a fit. I guess having him at work has helped that a lot. Plus he's turned into a very happy baby, much different from what he was like the first 3 months of his life.

So that's it. That's what I've been up to. Hope that satisfies those that were wondering.

Should've had my camera

Last night my mom watched Carter overnight and Brett and I got a chance to relax a bit. When I got home from work at 6:00 it was still light out and the weather was amazing. Brett was already outside shooting some hoops and to my surprise the whole neighborhood wasn't over at our house like they usually are. All the little kids loooooooooooooove my husband and lately they've been flooding our driveway to shoot hoops with him, but not last night. We started shooting some hoops (I was in high heals) and we were enjoying ourselves, when I heard our neighbor's motorcycle from like a mile away. Uh oh, Craig's home, things are gonna get crazy now. He comes ripping up on his bike and parked it and headed over to our house. You just have to know this guy to understand the enjoyment he brings to our lives. He's loud, obnoxious and totally funny. He's from California originally and totally has that kind of personality. He immediately asked where his cocktail was, so I went and made him one.

Then we all started shooting hoops and the boys were getting a little crazy. I feel really bad for our next door neighbor, because Craig throws the the ball at his house as hard as he possibly can and yells "Come out and play ball!!!" It literally left white marks on the ball. When I say that we will be buying Jeremy new siding soon, Craig just says, "ah no...they're good people." Ummm, okay. Then the ball got thrown over Jeremy's fence and instead of walking around and going through the gate, Craig climbs the fence. Mind you, this guy is like 6'1" and probably 230lbs; so I'm just waiting for the fence to break. Then as he's climbing back over, he decides to start shooting hoops while on top of the fence. He kept saying, "just one more and then I'm done." Well with every shot he kept getting closer and closer to making it, so stayed up there for like 5 or 10 mins. Meanwhile, our other neighbor came home and was blasting her music and when she gets out of her car, Craig yells at her (while straddling the fence) to turn her music down when she enters the subdivision. Of course, he was just being obnoxious. But I wish I would have gotten this all on video. It doesn't seem like something worth taping, but it's the little moments like this that make me really enjoy my life. I've got great neighbors, a great husband, and a great child and I couldn't ask for anything more. When I get down on life and start wondering if it's all really worth it, this is God's answer to my question. Of course it's worth it!!!!

Helmet Head

I've debating even writing this blog, because I didn't want to seem like I was crying over spilled milk, but I feel like I want to let this out. As a result of Carter's Torticollis (which is now healed and no more physical therapy), he has a severe flat spot on the right side of his head. It's like the entire back, right side of his head is flat and letting it correct itself is no longer an option. He is now going to have to wear a helmet to correct it. The therapist pretty much told me he'd have to wear it for a few months. She broke the news to me easily, because she wasn't sure how I'd react, but I was okay with it. I was just relieved that there was something we could actually do to fix his head rather than waiting to see if it fixed itself. So, I put things in perspective and told myself that if wearing a helmet for a few months was the worst thing he's have to go through, then we're pretty blessed. Afterall, there are children out there that are battling cancer and I'm just glad we aren't facing that.

He is scheduled for a CT Scan on his head on Monday morning. I have to take him to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital again. That place really wigs me out. It does a good job of putting things into perspective when you see kids with serious illnesses all around you, but it's hard to swallow the fact that I have to take my newborn up there. After he gets his scan done, he will have his first consultation with a plastic surgeon. The plastic surgeon will then take a mold of his head at some point to get him fitted for a helmet. I know this will all be over with before I know it, but it still bothers me a little bit. I'm worried the helmet will upset him and he once again will be a fussy baby. Or what if he has to sleep with it on? Will he sleep crappy again? Oh gosh.

Also, all of this doesn't come cheap. The therapist told me that it is extremely expensive and I'm just praying my insurance covers it. If you knew the battles I've had with them ever since Carter was born, you would understand my concern. But even if they do pay their part, we are still looking at another couple thousand dollars out-of-pocket probably. We've already paid so much towards medical bills that it makes me cringe to think we will be spending even more.

I know I shouldn't be complaining about this, but it all gets to be a little overwhelming sometimes. Let's not forget that I work 50 hours a week and already have so much on my plate as it is. My mom has been sooooooooooo helpful with Carter with watching him 5 -6 days a week while I work, so we don't have to pay for daycare right now, but I still feel really stressed out some days. It's like a weight on my chest that I just can't manage to get lifted off. I try to give it up to God, but I don't think I'm doing a very good job of that. Just please keep my little one in your prayers and we'll be hoping for a really quick recovery.

Did I Mention How Serious I Am?

In case I didn't mention it already, I'm very serious about keeping my New Years Resolution and dropping all my baby weight and then some. To prove it, I bought this:
Yes folks, I bought a new treadmill and parked it right next to my bed. So there is no possible way of me forgetting that I have this nice piece of workout machinery. I will be a runner again and I will once again be in shapel. No more excuses!!!

Imma box you up.

So I have really been trying to stick with my healthier diet and exercise and I'm still seeing results. The weight drop has slowed, but I'm slowly but surely getting my old body back. I've lost another 3 lbs since I started tracking my weight loss, bringing the total to 10 lbs. And I'm down 37 lbs from my heaviest while pregnant. So I have another 14 lbs to get back to what I weighed at my first Dr's appt and then another 16 lbs on top of that to get back to my pre pre-baby weight.

I've really been getting serious about the workout and have gotten back into boxing. Boxing is a serious workout and unless my mind is right, I just can't do it. I usually have to think about something that makes me mad or sad in order to get a really good workout. For the past week I have been doing the elliptical for about 30 mins and then doing about 25 mins on the bag. I think what forces me to really go hard on the bag is when I actually take the time to wrap my wrists. It's a hassle and takes several minutes, but if I do it, I know I'll box for longer than 5 minutes. Not to mention, this really does prevent injury. I can not tell you how bad it hurts to bend your wrist up while swinging as hard as you can. Not fun!!

So here's to keeping up the healthier way of life and to looking good in a swimsuit again!

Final Some Results

As I posted previously, my resolution for this year was to lose 35 to 40lbs. I started working out again and was really feeling back on track as far as excercise goes. But, unfortunately the scale was just not agreeing with me. It wasn't moving at all. This depressed me. So I stopped working out for a couple of weeks (partly due lack of motivation from not losing any weight and partly due to lack of sleep and no energy). So I figured if I wasn't working out, I should at least start eating healthier again. God knows I do not diet and portion control is not in my vocabulary, but I was determined to find food that was way healthier for me and I didn't have to feel guilty about filling up on. So I made a trip to the grocery store and got lots of fresh veggies, lots of chicken, fresh meats, and veggie crisps instead of regular chips. I also refused to pick up any sweets. My moto is, if it's not in the house it can't tempt me.

So after a couple of weeks of eating a bit healthier, I have dropped 7 lbs. It's really weird, it just seems to be falling off now. Not that I can really notice anything with my eyes (I'm still a fat ass), but the scale can't lie. Can it?? So this was just the motivation I needed to start working out again. I've been getting more sleep lately (Carter is sleeping for 6 hours straight at night) and I have no excuse not to be doing something. I would really like to feel comfortable getting back into a swim suit, and that season is just around the corner. I might add that it will no longer be a two piece, because no matter how much weight I lose, stretch marks are here to stay.

So here's to losing 7 lbs!!! Yay!!

12 Weeks Old

Tomorrow Carter will be 12 weeks old. I can't believe it. Where has the time gone? I just wish my pregnancy would have flown by that fast. Carter boy is making so much progress each and every day I hardly want to blink in fear I will miss something. As you all know he started rolling over from belly to back when he was 6 weeks old (which he continues to do) and now he's getting really close to rolling from his back to his belly. I'm afraid I might miss that event someday while I'm at work. My mom got this really great play mat for him that has toys dangling down and he likes to kick and grab at them and it really works him up to almost rolling over.

He started his physical therapy the other day and the therapist was so impressed with his strength and development. She couldn't believe how long he could hold his head up while on his belly and the fact that he was holding objects already. She gave him a rattle to hold and he held it for several minutes and even tried to put it in his mouth. She said he thinks he's a 4 month old. Yay! But the most important part was that she saw major improvement in his torticollis and said the stretches I had been doing with him were working well. She gave me one extra stretch to do with him (which he hates I might add) and she wants to see him back in a month. She believes he is continuing to sleep on one side of his head now, because his flat spot is so bad not because his neck is still so tight. This is good and bad. I'm glad his neck is getting better, but wish I would've gotten the problem fixed before he developed such a bad flat spot. I mean it is really bad!!! I'm afraid he's gonna be a pancake head forever. Why didn't anyone ever tell me about flat spots?! Out of all the crap they warm you about with a baby, no one ever mentioned flat spots. Does anyone know when the soft spot closes up? The therapist says his flat spot will correct itself as long as he still has his soft spot.

Anyway, Carter was scheduled to be dedicated at my church on Jan. 31, but it was postponed due to bad weather. So they rescheduled it for Feb. 28. We're looking forward to that. Not only do we get to dedicate his life to the Lord, we also get to show him off to the whole church and you know how us parents like to show off our babies.

So here is the little guy (or big guy rather).