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.

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.