Keeping It Real Friday

I was two hours late to work this morning.  Two!

Trey is serving as Dad for a Happening on the coast, so it is just me and Jones from last night until Sunday.

OK, that is not entirely true.  I am a baby and hate staying alone.  Laura spent the night with us last night and we are staying in Starkville for the remainder of the weekend.

Anyway. Not the point.  I was two hours late!

I knew I was going to be a touch late.  You can't drop Jones off at school until 7:30.  I normally leave for work around 7:15-7:20 to get to my office by 8:00. 

What I didn't realize is that during my absence of taking Jones to school, he and Trey had develop some sort of routine in the mornings which includes taking a slooooow breakfast.  The kid just sat and looked at his breakfast. Then he would take a bite.  Say something.  Talk to Sophie. Sing a song. Demand to watch Winnie the Pooh.  Sing another song.  Take another bite. I should have woken him up at 6!

I finally drop him off close to 8, drive to Starkville, drop Laura off at her house and get to my office at 8:45.  Not bad.

But then I had a fear.  I just knew I had left the oven on broil.  I could think about anything else.  So after 10 minutes of being at work, I drove back to Columbus only to find that no, the oven was not on.  I am just losing it. To make the trip worth it, I had a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. Then it was back to Starkville.  I was in my office a little after 10.

Good thing I love my co-workers and they love me.

Are you losing it? Is it just me? It is a wonder I am able to function enough to meet deadlines at work. I would blame this on pregnancy, but I never really got it all together after Jones was born.  If he took half my brain, then this baby is sure to take the other half.  You do the math.

In other real news, this is what Jones calls me now:

He is saying Heather, in case you can't understand Jones talk.

And finally,  hooray for USA! I was so proud of Gabby.  She is like a mini-super -smiley-person and I want to just put her in my pocket.  Did you watch? I love her.

Happy weekend, folks!

Keeping it Friday

If I can't stay home and play with my child all day and then home school his pre-k and kindergarten years (after that, my math skills get shaky), then I might as well work for the greatest place on earth.

No, not Disney. That's the magical place.

And also, not Seaside. That's the for real greatest place.

I retract my earlier statement. It now reads: "I might as well work for the greatest higher education institution on earth".

I really like my job. Most days I can look past my hatred of sitting at a desk and focus on how lucky I am to be working here.

Today was Staff Appreciation Day. I spent the better part of two hours outside enjoying live music, photo booths, MSU ice cream, snow cones, lots of yummy food, and....wait for it.... A tattoo booth.

Who's the hottie in the middle?!

Yep. I got tatted. They assured me it can be easily removed with rubbing alcohol.

Wish me luck.

Great day. Great school. Great town. Great tat.

And now I get to enjoy a great weekend with my great husband and great kid.

I can just feel the greatness of it all.

Bottom line: I got to get a grip. I got to stop dwelling on things that are no longer. And I got to enjoy this place. Every. Single. Day.

And always, when given the chance, get a tattoo while at work.

Have a real great weekend.

Muffins with Mom

Last Friday, Jones' school hosted a Muffins with Mom breakfast in honor of Mother's Day. It was such a sweet time to eat with Jones before school and see him interact with the other kids.

Sweet card he gave me at breakfast.

 I love his school so much. He has learned an incredible amount since starting there in January. He knows his colors, animals, some letters and numbers and is such a social little man.  I love seeing him love school and I love that he gets excited about going.

I am sad that he will be leaving this school next month, but I am so looking forward to the next chapter in our life.

His next school is a great one and I am so happy Trey will be right there, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous and sad. Jones has wonderful teachers and wonderful friends at his current school. They will be missed. I pray his next school will provide him with sweet friends and caring teachers, just as this one has.

I am trying to focus on our blessings and the new adventures coming our way. You would think I would be used to change by now.

Jones gave his two teachers and the school director each a rose bush for Teacher's Appreciation last week. 
He loves them so!

Keeping it Real Friday - Mother's Day edition

I am not sure sure why I have been a touch more emotional this Mother's Day than the previous.  So fair warning that I have no idea how this post will turn out.  I am just writing.

When Jones was just a few days old, I celebrated my first Mother's Day.  Being a mom was so new to me (in ways, it is still so very new). I was just beginning to grasp the idea of motherhood.

 This was also my Nana's last Mother's Day with us.  My sweet, sweet Nana.

4 generations. Mother's Day 2010

Last year, my parents made the trip down to Gulfport to spend Mother's Day with us. 

And this year.  This glorious year.  2011 was not so great. For lack of better words, it sucked. (sorry, mama.  I know you hate that word.)

But 2012 -  Things are looking up in a major way. 

Trey is doing what he has been called to do his whole life.  And it is a beautiful thing to witness. We are happy and content and totally satisfied knowing God's purpose in our lives.

So maybe it is because this is the first holiday celebration since this new life, but for whatever reason, this Mother's Day approaching has made me sentimental, nostalgic, and ever grateful.

Sunday we will celebrate mothers. And I am feeling - now, perhaps more than ever - more thankful for my mom. 

Mother's Day 2011

My mom and my two grandmothers, one who is with us still and one who has already left this life: I can't thank them enough for showing what it means to love.  And for showing us what it means to be a mother. 

I can only hope I am half of the mom as those three women. 

From Jones - Mother's Day 2012

 And for this little man.  The reason I am a mama.
 Sweet love of my life. 

A lot of people in my life are struggling to have a baby.  And some have lost pregnancies.   I think about how I am quick to say I am ready for another baby, and how I often get impatient at the thought.  If only I would slow down more and appreciate the blessing I already have.  How precious is he. 

I will never again, I pray, take my mother for granted.  I only wish I could take back some of the ugliness in my life during a few teenage years.


If this past year has taught me one thing, it is this: love.

Show the ones you love that you love them.  And learn to love those who don't.

We get by with the help of those we love and who love us. Love can sustain us when there is nothing to offer and nothing to give. At the end of the day, regardless of where you are and what you have, if you have love you have everything. (sorry for the Hallmark-ness of it all)



I don't know about you, but I am going to spend this Mother's Day loving on my mama.  And my sweet baby.  And my sweet baby daddy. 

And I hope you spend yours loving on someone you love.  Regardless if you have a mom or not and regardless if you are a mother or not, I hope you feel loved this Mother's Day.

Keeping it Real Friday

Did you miss me last Friday?

I was keeping it real, just not on the blog.

Here is a real picture taken last week, moments before I was late for work. Consider this last week's installment of KIRF.

For this week's keeping it real, I want to talk about the recent comment made towards Ann Romney by Hilary Rosen.


Don't worry, this has nothing to do with politics.


But I do have comments on her comment suggesting that being a full-time mom is not work at all. Although she apologized for her poorly chosen words, it was far too late to prevent lighting a fire in the ongoing faux battle between stay-at-home moms vs. working moms on this here Internet.

For what it's worth, here are my two cents:




I have been both. One was a decision made by choice, the other was a decision made out of necessity.




When I was pregnant, Trey and I weighed both options heavily before we decided that we would be able to make the necessary financial sacrifices in order for me to stay home with Jones from the beginning. He knew how important it was to me and, still to this day, I can't thank him enough for believing with me in that importance.

But let me state this first keeping it real fact: it was, indeed, a financial sacrifice. I don't care how much money you make or how much your spouse makes, eliminating one salary plus adding another (small and expensive) human into the equation requires some changes, be it big or small. We cut out unnecessary expenses and learned to live on less. Does this mean we went without? No. We were comfortable, happy and blessed. But it does mean that we didn't always have the latest and greatest thing and I became comfortable wearing last years trends. And I have since learned how to clip coupons.




But let's put finances aside, because let's be honest: that's not what her statement implied. I seriously doubt the Romney family sacrificed much in terms of finances. Sure, they would have been making even more money if she chose to work outside the home, but come on: he is a presidential candidate. Regardless of which side of the political fence you sit, if you are running, you have money. Lots of it.

I digress...

Being a full-time mom is hard. Very, very hard.

Leaving your child with someone else to work 8 hours outside of the home all while still being a mother is hard. Very, very hard.

In the beginning, when I was nursing all day, I thought I would surely die before I got the chance to shower again. I was scared to leave him alone for fear that, of course, he would not be able to go on living without me right beside him. So naturally I found myself more times than I would like to admit on the toilet while nursing an infant.

Keeping it real, people.

You are tired. There are no sick days. No vacation days. And there were days that I was jealous of Trey's lone car ride to work. He could sit in silence! No crying baby! No swollen breast from needing to nurse! And he gets to stop at a red light for more than two seconds without having a sleeping baby wake up screaming due to sudden lack of movement? The sheer luxury!

Then I would feel guilty for even thinking those things.

Which brings me to the next point: Guilt.

Mommy guilt is the real deal. I can't speak for other moms, but for this one: it is legit.

Being a full-time mom, I sometimes had guilt that I was not working. Working full-time now and I have guilt that I am not home. Guilt for thinking you need to work. Guilt for working. Guilt for wanting things. Guilt for not bringing in money. Guilt for letting your infant cry in the crib while you are face down crying from pure exhaustion. Guilt for not spending time with your husband. Guilt for not making time for your friends. Guilt for not sewing. Guilt for not cooking. Guilt for having to leave your child while you travel for work. Guilt for missing his party at school because of a work meeting. Guilt for sending your somewhat sick child to school because you have no leave time.

GUILT. GUILT. GUILT.

It is nasty.

I have been a full-time mommy and I have been a mom who works outside of the home full-time trying to also be a full-time mom. How can I ever say that I am not a full-time mom? No, I don't stay home with him anymore, but he is still my first and most important job and he is never far from my mind.

They are both hard. They both have their gives and takes. They both have their good days and they both have their days where I want to go to bed and never do this again. They both require a great deal of balance.

And this is coming from a mom with only one child.

Yet, I love it. I love being a mom. And, even though I still vaguely remember those sleepless nights the first few days (months...), I want to one day do it all over again. And I know, that if blessed with another, I may have to leave my next child earlier this time.

Someone who has never left their job and salary by choice to stay home with their child shouldn't be allowed to judge or even pretend to know what it is like to do so. It is hard work.

And someone who has had the privilege to stay home and never had to leave their child in the care of another shouldn't be allowed to judge or even pretend to know what that is like. It is hard work.

Both are wonderful at times. Both suck at times.

And I have never had to leave an infant with a caregiver, Jones was 18 months before I went back to work. So I must never pretend I know how hard that must be.

So let's please don't judge. Or make assumptions. Or feel guilty that we are not doing something right.

I don't know what the next mom's life is like and, although I keep it pretty real, you don't know everything about mine.

But I would like to think that all of us moms are just trying to do our best with what has been given to us. Make the best of what's around, you know?

And, finally, Happy Friday.



Hip Hip for the weekend!!

Cute girl working.

Or at least a working girl trying to be cute.

Say bye bye to my boring stuffy business planner and hello to my bright and fun one!

Who says working can't be colorful and fun? Organization with style. I like it.


Now I just have to get busy transferring stuff from my old planner to my cute new one!

Thanks, Kristen, for turning me into a cute working mom. By planner standards, anyway.

Get yours here: www.erincondren.com

Keepin' it real Friday

Happy Friday to you! I don't know about you but I, for one, am glad to see this day come. Onward to the weekend!

Today I want to keep it real by sharing some things with all you bloggers.

Before I was a mom, I had plenty of "I will never...", "my child will or will not..." blah, blah, blah.

Guess what? I am eating my words. Everyday. And that is ok. Jones is happy and healthy, and that is the most important thing, no?

Here are a few of my pre-mom crimes I have committed just in the past week:

1) My child will never ride in one of those disgusting cars/carts at the grocery store.
FALSE. My child will. And will love it. And I will be able to get in and out of the store without Jones having a giant-size toddler meltdown or me having to chase a very active boy around the store. Or both.



2) I will never. EVER. bribe my child. What parent would do that?

Pa-lease. This parent would. Just yesterday I used a juice box to coaxed Jones into getting in the stroller after work so I could go for a mini-jog. Worked like a charm and we were both happy. Win-win.

3)My child will love all vegetables and will happily eat whatever I lovingly prepare for the family.
What fantasy was I living in? First of all, I have yet to conquer this preparing a meal for our family gig. Now that I work, we are lucky to have a cooked meal two times a week. Secondly, my child hates all vegetables and meat. So guess what? He eats cheese, fruit and yogurt at almost every meal.

4)TV? Whatever. Not until he is at least 2, and even then no more than 15 minutes a day.
Trey leaves for work around 6:30. Which means I am left alone in the morning with Jones to get both of us ready for school and work. (Props to all of you single parents out there. You are my hero). We both need to be somewhat presentable and without tears (noticeable tears, at least) and out the door by 7:25. The TV has saved me many a times. I can either chase him around the house, scoop shoes and toys out of the toilet, come into the kitchen to find the pantry items covering the floor all while trying to clean my teeth OR I can put on a DVD and brush my teeth in peace.



5) I am not buying into all that cartoon character memorablia crap.
Jones has discovered Elmo. And there is no turning back. Give him his plush Elmo or give him death.

I read an article this week about pre-mom judging. I am guilty. I even was a stay-at-home mom judger (yes, it is a word. On this blog, at least) of working moms. Why would you put your kid in daycare?! Make sacrifices for the sake of your kids, people!! Sorry, moms out there. I was wrong.

We are all just doing our best in this scary thing. Nobody has it all together and we all feel like we totally suck at mothering at times. Good days/bad days. We all have them.

No judgement here, people. Do what works for you and let's all just be happy.

That's me keepin' it real today.

Check out the great article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kara-gebhart-uhl/mom-judgments_b_1319775.html

Here is a picture of us from last weekend. We went on a date! First to the symphony, then out for drinks and appetizers. Cute boy. I like him.

Keeping it Real Friday

Wednesday night was not our best night. Which led to Thursday not being our best morning. By the time I got to work, I was about 1.5 seconds from breaking down. Like, ugly tears breaking down.

Jones' teacher called around 9:30 and said that he just wasn't acting like himself. She said she didn't think he was sick, but wanted me to know that he wasn't playing or smiling.

We needed a day.

So I walked into my boss' office and told him I needed a personal day and, thankfully, he told me to go home and have a wonderful day. I have the perfect job.

I went home, changed clothes, went for a jog, then went to get my baby. Jones and I went straight to the park and played for two hours.

By nap time, we both felt like new people.

So, yeah, I skipped work to play with my child. It was both unexpected and totally necessary.

Keepin' it real Friday

My cute friend, Jenni at www.mattandjennimurray.blogspot.com, likes to keep it real on her blog on Fridays.

I like it, so I am copying.

I like to think I keep it real on here all the time, but just in case anybody out there thinks I have it all together, I am here to prove you wrong. There are many snapshots of my life I could have taken for today's installment of Keepin' it Real Fridays, but I narrowed it down to two.

Here is a picture of what my kitchen looked like when I finally woke up this morning after pressing the snooze button for thirty minutes:

Few things of note:
- The dishwasher is full and clean. And has been since yesterday morning. I just haven't unloaded it yet.
- There is a towel under said dishwasher because it leaks. We haven't really looked into the problem, we just put down a towel.
- There is half of a glass of wine next to a sippy cup. I think that is self-explanatory. Except, why did leave wine? Also notice a BOX of wine on the counter. Keepin' it classy in '12.
- You can't see it, but the sink is full of dirty dishes.

This is exactly how it looked last night when I intentionally ignored it and went to bed.

On to the next keepin' it real picture:

Me. At 5:45 this morning in Jones' bathroom.

Let's all notice how swollen my eyes are.

Yesterday was not a good day. We all have bad days, and for me, yesterday was one of those. Luckily, today is Friday. Also lucky for me, I cried like a baby last night and felt much better afterwards. My eyes, however, are suffering this morning.

I am happy to report that after a shower, three cups of coffee, some mascara and lots of concealer, I look somewhat better.

Happy Friday to you!

my view

I don't hate working here.
The groundhog may say more winter, but this weather screams spring.

Feb. meal planning

I have tried several different meal planning techniques since I started working full-time. Including not cooking at all.

I even signed up on an online meal planning website. They send you a meal plan and shopping list for each week. It is convenient and I recommend the site, but it just didn't work for our family. The problem I ran into was that I was not realistically cooking 6-7 times a week, I was spending more money on groceries each week than I would like, and the recipes often took longer to prepare and cook than I was willing to do.

Jones and I get home between 5:15 and 5:30 during the week. Jones immediately goes to his highchair and says "ee-ee-ee" (eat, eat, eat). I can sometimes get him distracted by playing with Trey while I cook, but the bottom line is the kid is hungry after school! So I needed fast - but healthy - meals with little prep.

I decided to make my own meal plan. I am only in the first week so I can't say it's perfect, but the past two nights have been easy - and tonight's dinner is already prepared.

I worked out a plan for two weeks, cooking three times a week. 3 times a week is a little more realistic for me. Plus, it gives us nights to eat leftovers, which we always have.

Trey and I made a commitment not to go get Mexican this month (we are trying to not eat out at all). We have found ourselves eating Mexican once a week- it's fast, yummy, and cheap. But it's not really healthy and we don't need to spend that money eating out.

Anyway, thought I would share the first two weeks of meal planning. I try to grocery shop on Sunday afternoons after I get coupons from that morning's paper.

It is nothing fancy or earth shattering and definitely not gourmet, but hopefully it will work for us.

Jones certainly enjoyed the yummy chicken soft tacos Monday night, which is success enough for me. I cut up avocado and grape tomatoes and he loved it! He is not a meat eater at all, but this chicken was so flavorful and tender, he ate it all. We had it for leftovers last night. Just as good.

Tonight we are having poppy seed chicken, which I prepared last night. All I have to do is put it in the oven and heat the green beans. Yay for low stress week nights.

Friday night we are having zucchini fries. I have to sneak vegetables not only in my toddler's meals, but also my husband's. Wish me luck!

Here are the links to some of the recipes I am trying:

http://pinterest.com/pin/237776055296085946/ - Weight Watcher slow cooker lasagna
http://pinterest.com/pin/237776055296097612/ - taco chicken
http://pinterest.com/pin/237776055296041670/ - fries
http://pinterest.com/pin/237776055295957804/ - crock pot french dip


What are some of your favorite easy weeknight meals? How do you quickly get healthy meals on the table? I would love to know!

My Current State of Affairs

Idea stolen from one of my favorite blogs: Rare and Beautiful Treasures. Hope you don't mind, Erin! (PS - I love you and want to be your real-life friend)

I added a few I-phone pictures thrown in for your viewing pleasure

Current guilty pleasure: Sunday afternoon nap while Jones naps. 3 weeks in a row. Lovely.

Current nail polish: I am bare!

Current play list: "It is well with my soul" Pandora station on my computer at work. I like it. A lot.

Current read: Just finished Tina Fey's Bossypants. Hilarious. Now I am reading the Bible with our church's read through the Bible in a Year program. It takes up my reading time, but Trey and I are enjoying it.

Current drink:hazelnut coffee with hazelnut creamer. Can't get enough.

Current food:frozen dark cherries and almonds.

Current favorite show: We don't have cable and we don't watch much TV at all, but right before bedtime, Jones snuggles up with me and we watch a Baby Einstein DVD. It's my favorite time.

Current wish list: material - a new purse / non-tangible: to sell our house in Hattiesburg

Current needs: faith and patience

Current triumphs: I have not cried on my way to work in over a week! And I am really enjoying my job and Jones loves his new school. We are going to make it after all!

Current Indulgence: breakfast at Starkville Cafe with Trey and Jones

Current blessing: a sweet lady at work has taken me in as one of her own

Current excitement: Trey and I are going to Oxford to visit old friends, Russell and Callie, next weekend. Adult time!

case of the monday mornings

Only it's Wednesday.

And only I have it every morning.

I am not sure what I am in, but it is a major funk. I cry and/or get mad every. single. morning. on my way to work. As I type this, I realize I sound a bit unstable.

Once I am in my office and settled in, I am better. I am usually fine by 9:00.

I had a 7 am meeting this morning. After which I met with the dean of the college, my boss, around 8 am. She commented how perky I always am in the mornings and how put together I seem to be.

I almost simultaneously laughed, cried, and tee-teed on myself.

Put-together?

Let's recap, shall we?

1) I have on tights under my dress, but nothing else. Clean laundry is hard to come by at my house these days.

2) My hair is in a pony-tail because my child woke up at 5 am so I attempted to straighten my hair while in the kitchen reading him a story while he ate his cheerios.

3) I haven't eaten a meal since yesterday at lunch, unless you count the crust from Jones' grilled cheese sandwich last night
4) I am fairly confident I forgot to put on deodorant this morning

I appreciated the confidence boost, thanked her, and considered joining the local theatre; I was putting on some show here.

My mom reminded me this morning when I called her at 6:45 on my way to the meeting in tears, that this is normal. The working-mom part, not the overly sensitive psycho part. This too shall pass, my friends.

Jones got in the daycare we have been waiting on. He got on the waiting list the week we moved here and we found on Jan. 3 a spot came open and he got in! He could start the day after MLK day! In the words of Jones - YAY!

Only he got sick the Thursday before. Fever at school. Sent home. Fever lasted until Friday afternoon. Then it happen - he broke out. All over.

Yep - Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. Or as I refer to it: Disgusting Disease Kids Get at Snotty-nose Daycares.

He's better now and started his new school this morning. Acording to Trey, he walked right in and started playing. Praise God! I know this to be true because, as all wives know, husbands sometimes tell you things you want to hear and I was not going to be played a fool. I called the director of the school and checked on things for myself. He told the truth! Jones walked in like he owned the place. Score one. Check that off the worry list.

It's hump-day and I am looking forward to dinner with fun friends tomorrow night. What gets you through the day?

put your big girl panties on

I read my last post to Trey. He made me realize I need to put my big girl pants on a deal with it. No, he didn't say that. He was very supportive and offered suggestions to make it work. He knows I am happier when I run (and, come on, when mama ain't happy....).

But as I read the post out loud to him, I realized it sounded like I was a complaining brat. Sorry, readers.

But thanks for the suggestions! (except you, Evelyn. 4 kids and she runs at 4:30 am??? Who is this wonder woman?? It will never be me. j/k. I valued yours suggestion, too. I guess)

My schedule is consistent and everybody has the same 24 hours in the day as everyone else. So I will figure it out. I was just in a pitiful mood this morning that consisted of me thinking I was the only woman in the world that had to send her child to daycare. Brat. Sorry.

I leave you with a picture of my sweet man in his favorite outfit - rain boots:

I am not wonder woman. I need suggestions

I am a working mom now. It's fine. I really like my job - it's a great fit for me. And I work for the greatest institution known to man that also allows me to have off two weeks at Christmas. The perks are good. And I am slowly learning how not to cry from the drop off at daycare to my office at work.

But there are a few things about my new role that I can't seem to figure out.

Let me explain.

I like to run. I enjoy it. It is my me time. Before our abrupt move to our new town, I was in the middle of training for a half-marathon. When we moved here and our lives were turned upside down, that training fell to the way-side.

When I was a stay at home mom, I found making time to run simple. I had a running partner that would meet me at 5:30 to run a few mornings a week. I would get back home in time for Trey to leave for work at 6:45 and then Jones would wake up at 7:00. I would have time to jump in the shower before Jones woke up. But I didn't have to worry about getting fully dressed for a job and having both me and Jones looking somewhat presentable, fed, happy and out the door by 7:30 for work and school. That schedule just wouldn't work now. Especially since Trey leaves for work even earlier now. There are not enough hours in the morning.

Let me stop you before you mention the unmentionable. Do not tell me to wake up before 5 to run every morning. It just won't happen. Not with me running alone. I won't do it. And there is no need for me saying I will do this, only to not then in return feel like a failure.

My other simple option of running while I was a SAHM was to put Jones in a jogging stroller after breakfast and go. Jones loved it. It was nice. This is, for obvious reasons, not an option now. At least not during the weekdays.

I would run my long-runs on the weekends.

And finally, my last running time was when Trey got home for work. I had been with my little man all day and I felt no guilt taking an hour or so to myself and running alone. This is the one I am struggling with now. By the time I get home from work, it is 5:30. I have seen my child for a total of about 45 minutes all day. I refuse to leave him again to go run. It is just not that important to me. I miss my child all. day. long and being without him for one more minute is just not going to happen.

So this leaves me with my last option - running after he goes to bed. He usually is asleep by 7:30, so this seems like the most realistic option.

By the time he is asleep, I am changed and ready to go, it is 8:00. This does not take in consideration anything I need to do around the house, dishes that need to be put away after dinner (if, in fact, I cooked dinner. Let's not be mislead, this does not always happen) clothes folded, etc. And what about my time with my husband? I have seen him even less than my child during the day. At least I get to take my child to and from school. Car time = quality time these days.

So sometimes I run and sometimes I want to cry and sink into the couch with Trey and watch Friday Night Lights on DVD. (Clear eyes. Full hearts.)

And then the cycle repeats itself - saying I am going to run at 8 or 8:30, not running, going to bed, feel like a failure.

I am running this half in April (I was thisclose last year before chaos ensued) so I need suggestions. How do I juggle it all? Maybe it will get easier when he is older and stays up later? Maybe I should do the unimaginable and wake up at 4 to run? (please oh please don't be the answer) Maybe it will get easier when it doesn't get dark at 5:30?

I know working moms run. A lot. So how? When? I see moms with multiple kids and high-stress jobs doing a lot more than me. I am not sure about this working mom thing, but I am doing what I have to do so I am determined to make it work.

it's been a while.

Anyone still out there?

I have many reasons for not blogging, and they are all pretty darn good, but I am going to take another stab at this thing. Jones is growing up right before my eyes (20 months on the 17th!!) and I don't want to miss a thing.

I am working full-time now. Very thankful for a great job, but I miss staying home with my not-so-baby-baby so much. Obviously this was not in "our plan" that Trey and I worked out before Jones was born, but life rarely follows our rules. Sometimes you just have to do what you gotta do and when life throws major curve balls in your face, you just gotta do your best.

So that's what I am doing. My best. I don't beat myself up for working outside the home(well, ok, some days I cry), don't beat myself up for not have a clean house, dinner cooked every night, or for not working out everyday. I am still trying to figure out this working mom gig. Thankfully I have a wonderfully supportive husband who has done more than his fair share with cleaning and grocery shopping and bath times.

Changes are hard, and this one is no exception, but thankful for God's daily graces.

Moving on.

Jones is hilariously wild. WILD. I know boys are wild. Mine may win. And, according to his teachers at "school", he does win. Yesterday he got his first bad report card. I had to talk to his teacher this morning. Parent/teacher conference at 3 days shy of 20 months. Pray for me.

Anyway, they proceeded to tell me that he tackles every child and then lays on them while the poor, innocent victim cries for help.

I believe this. He can bring me to the ground. PS - he weighs 30 lbs. I am pretty sure there is a girl in his class that weighs no more than 15. Bless her.

They informed me that after Christmas break he will be moving to another classroom. That's right. He is getting kicked out of his class. He is moving to an older classroom "where the kids are more his size". Am I raising a bully? This is hilarious.

I have tried to talk to him at home about being sweet and gentle and hugging all of his friends. Which he does - right before he brings them to their knees.

Right before he takes his next victim. You can see the fear in that poor child's eyes.

I have tried several "discipline" techniques including time-out (sitting still for 1.5 seconds....maybe) and even popping his little hand, to which he looks at me with his big blue eyes and long eyelashes, tilts his head and says "mama" ever so sweetly while leaning in for a kiss.

This kid is good. And I have my work cut out for me.

His loves right now: trains ("cha-chas"), his big cousin Henry, his little cousin, Noelle Adams ("awww"), balls (duh.), trucks and books. Oh, and tackling.

On his non-love list: Santa.

His vocabulary is still a little slacking. Trey is a bit worried. I think he just is satisfied with tackling and sees no use for words. At any rate, he has his very own language. When he sees a train he says " Cha-cha, mama!" Say that in a very British accent. That is how he talks. He can also say daddy ("da"), "book", drink ("thisss"), "ball", Thank you, ("tanktu"), "boot", and "dog".

Other than that, it's his own language. Most everything is "adda!". Who knows. We thought for a while "What's that?" but now I am not so sure. He is very funny and has full conversations with me in his own language, changing his tone, expressions and even shaking his little finger during the really important parts. I usually respond with "ok!" and he seems satisfied with that answer. I sure hope I am not promising a pony for Christmas.

He had tubes put in his sweet ears on Monday. Bless his heart, the Dr. said they were just awful. They are still draining a good bit. We go back next Monday for a check-up. Hoping for a clear bill of health! And we are also hoping being able to hear will help with his speech.

We are getting settled in a precious home in our new town. We will be renting this home for about a year and a half. I love it and could not be more grateful. Our home in Hattiesburg that we rented out for years while we were living in Gulfport is back on the market. PLEASE, for the sake of all things good in this world, someone buy it soon. If not, you may find me and sweet hubs in the nut house soon after the new year.

His favorite movie watching spot at our house -- inside the ottoman.

Maybe it won't be months before we talk again.
LOVE MY WILD MAN