It's been 2 months? What?!

I knew it had been a little while since I blogged but I didn't realize exactly HOW long it had been. I'm shocked that April was the last time I posted! It just doesn't feel like it's been that long. I guess when you're busy, time flies. A few things have changed lately. I work four days a week now, coming in around nine every morning and leaving at around five. I get one day a week off with Barrett and I am so glad that I decided to do that. I wanted to start it quite a few months back but I had to convince Ty and myself that I could take off work. I finally realized that yeah, work is important but Barrett is far more important. He'll be five years old before I know it and I'd regret not taking time away from work to spend time with him. I'd actually like to take off more time from work to hang out with him but for now, I need to work. He's doing really well in daycare. He adores his teachers, specifically Ne-Ne (Ms. Pam). I dread the day that we have to move up classes again but I know it will be soon. I know the teachers in that class will be good too but he's really comfortable in his current class.

Barrett is growing like a weed. Barrett is now about 3 feet tall and weighs 32 pounds. He's a big ol' boy :). He's the tallest kid in his class and actually pretty thin. He can say probably around 50 words now and has recently started saying two to three word phrases. He still has trouble with the pronunciation of some words but he's doing great trying. He goes to bed between 8 and 10 every night and usually wakes up between 7 and 9. He loves his sleep! He actually fights me in the mornings, when I get him out of his crib ;). He is definitely his mother's child! Barrett will be two years old in late November, which I'm kind of sad about. When he turns two, we plan on weaning him from the pacifier, start potty training, and wean him from the two bottles he gets a day. He gets 8 ounces of warm milk in the morning and 8 ounces at night. He is in LOVE with his bottle. I have gotten so much crap for him still taking a bottle. Last time I checked though, I am his mother and only me or Ty have the authority to decide when he will stop taking it. There are so many more things that I am concerned about besides him taking a bottle. I'm just glad that he's getting 16 ounces of whole milk a day. He isn't crazy about milk out of the bottle so he probably wouldn't drink over 4 ounces of milk in a sippy cup. Anyways, he is such a good child. He behaves well for me most of the time and is the most loving boy I have ever met. He is constantly coming up to me to give me a hug or kiss. He says "huck" for hug. It's so sweet the way he accentuates words. He makes to sure to get the "L" sound out clearly when he says "Lilly". I could go on and on about the cute things Barrett does but I won't bore you all with that, haha.

My life has been crazy busy lately. I work all day, then pickup Barrett from daycare and head home. Then, I either cook dinner or we go to a restaurant for dinner. We are usually finished eating by 7 or 7:30. Then, we try to settle down and get Barrett ready for bed. He gets a bath every other night. His Eczema gets really bad if we give baths every night. I rock him and he gets his bottle before he gets in his crib. Sometimes, he'll fall asleep in my arms and sometimes, we'll lay him in his bed awake and he'll go to sleep on his own. He doesn't mind either way! I have no intention of changing his bed to a toddler bed anytime really soon. He wakes up multiple times during the night, just to toss around. If he were to wake up and see that he could get out of bed, he would. I'd then be awakened every night by a little boy playing with his toys in the playroom. I like my sleep too much for that. Anyways, after Barrett is in bed, I do housework which includes laundry, dishes, or cleaning. There's ALWAYS something that needs to be done. I try to atleast get 30 minutes of free time to spend with Ty. It's normally around midnight before I'm done with everything. I get up around 6:30 during the week. It takes me about two hours to get myself and Barrett ready, and get out the door. I get him to daycare around 8:45 and I head to work.

We had a good Fourth of July. We literally did nothing during the day. I got to hang out with my favorite little boy, watching movies and cuddling. That night, we went over a friends' house for dinner and to chill. We had a good time but had to get home fairly early since the next day was a work day. We got Barrett put to bed and I took care of my laundry. I was finished with everything so I got an orange to eat and went to bed. I realized when I got in my bedroom that I hadn't seen Lilly, our dog, in a few hours. I looked under my bed and she wasn't there so I looked at the chair and a half in the living room but she wasn't there either. She is always in the living room or in our bedroom so I started getting worried. I yelled for her and said she could have a treat which always works. Shockingly, she didn't come running. Then, I figured that maybe Ty had forgotten to let her in the back door so I ran and opened the door, yelling for her and she was nowhere in the back yard. We do have a fenced-in back yard, incase you're thinking we're crazy for letting our dog run loose in the backyard. Anyways, I panic and Ty and I run around the house, checking every corner, etc. and don't see her anywhere! It was an awful feeling, thinking that maybe she got under the fence and is in a field somewhere lost. I had so many thoughts running through my head because I had NO IDEA how she could have gotten out of the house. We had already checked Barrett's room while he slept but we had not checked his closet. We went in and I saw a little nose sticking out from the closet door. I opened the closet door and she came running out, as if she had been trapped. I was so happy that she wasn't gone! Barrett's closet door doesn't clasp shut. His doors simply push up against the trim and the wind sometimes opens them an inch or so. I guess Lilly didn't think she could open the doors. I'm thinking that she ran in his closet when I was dressing Barrett in there, after his bath. A neighbor shot some fireworks as I was finishing and I think that's when she ran in the closet. Bless her heart :(.

Ty and I have a big event tomorrow. It's our fifth anniversary! I love him now more than I ever have before. He is such a loving husband and caring father. I just adore him. Of course, we have our hard times but a marriage isn't healthy if there aren't any disagreements. I can't believe that we work together too. Not only do we work together, our desks are butted up against eachother, where I'm facing his left cheek, probably 5 feet away from his face. I've grown to enjoy working with him and wouldn't have it any different. He has given me the best gift I could imagine...Barrett. I hope everyone has a great weekend! I know I will!

Just an update

Wow, I feel like it's been forever since I've blogged! Obviously, not much has been going on in my life, ha ha. I went to Atlanta for my nephew's birthday about a month ago. Then, about 3 weeks ago, I had Strep Throat which turned into some weird sickness. My neck hurt so bad that I couldn't move it. I had a headache with it and fever too. This all lasted for about 2 weeks. I went to the doctor and they couldn't figure out what it was. I was given a shot of Penicillin, a shot of Rocephin, and 10 days of Amoxicillin but none of it helped. I'm guessing it was viral. Thank goodness it finally went away because it was absolutely horrible. Towards the end of it, I was getting depressed from having to lay around so much. I'm not the kind of person that enjoys taking off of work and being lazy at home. I prefer to be busy during the week. It's just natural to me. I intended on going to church today but Barrett work us up sick this morning. So, I slept late and cleaned house for almost 6 hours. It was so dirty and needed a good scrubbin'. Of course, Barrett helped me clean too...you know...getting the dirty Clorox wipes out of the garbage can, picking up the toilet wand by the dirty end...that kind of help ;).

Barrett learns something new every day now it seems. His most recent thing is learning to call me "Ashlie". I can't help but laugh when he does it though. He says it like, "Atty". He's been able to say "momma" for a while now but has never really called for me in a room, saying "momma". He started last night by bringing something to me, saying "Atty". Then today, he did it multiple times as he was "helping" me clean. I correct him every time and tell him to call me "momma" and he will but the next time, it's like I never told him, ha ha. Oh well...he's still young. He says a ton of words now. He'll say, "Lilly" and it's the cutest thing. He says his L's so pronunciated! He doesn't make the "w" sound for L's like most toddlers do. He learned the word "apple" and "open" around the same time. The problem is that he doesn't hear the difference in the words or he just doesn't know how to say "open" correctly. When he wants something opened, he says "apple". He also says "apple" when he sees an actual apple. The same with "dog" and "door". The other day, I told him to close the door. He went and pointed to Lilly and said "dog". It's so funny. I tell him the difference every time but it's not soaking in. That's OK though! I'm beyond proud of him for knowing such a large vocabulary. He says, "duck, dog, apple, water, bottle, blanket, paci, shoes, socks, mouth, nose, eyes" and tons of other words. He's really good at repeating people's names too.

I'm just so proud of him. He was a little behind on some developmental things between 9 and 12 months so I was a little worried he'd always be behind on things. Obviously, he's just fine. He's so sweet too. He gives the best hugs and kisses. He's not crazy about giving hugs anymore but after I ask him a few times, he'll give in :p.

I've changed up my schedule in the past month. I work 9 to 5 now instead of 12 to 5. It's been a change for sure! I get up around 6:00 am and get myself ready. Then, I get Barrett up around 7:30 and get him ready. After he's dressed, I feed him breakfast. Then, if I have extra time, I play with him for a little bit. I have him at daycare around 8:45 and then I head to work. I am loving the new routine! I am definitely a person that needs a schedule in her life. It's good for me. It has proved tiring though. I get off of work at 5, pickup B from daycare, then head home, getting there around 5:30. I do all of the housework, so that consumes a lot of my evenings. We start getting Barrett ready for bed around 7:30 or 8:00 pm. He gets a bath every other night (having eczema, a bath every night would dry his skin out too bad). He gets a bottle of warm milk, then I rock him for a little bit and put him to bed by 8:30. I try to get in bed by 10:00 pm lately. Obviously, I'm making an exception tonight. I guess I slept too late this morning because I'm not really sleepy :/

Speaking of being sleepy, I need to at least get in the bed. Six o'clock is going to come sooner than I realize! I hope everyone has a great week! Good night.

Turning Over a New Leaf

I've wanted to do this for a long time but haven't had the determination to even TRY it. I haven't taken care of my body since Ty and I got married and especially since I've had Barrett, sixteen months ago. I was looking through my employee file at work, a few weeks ago, and noticed that on my application, I wrote that I was 117 pounds. On a side note, I'm not sure why I was asked how much I weigh on a job application, but the point is that I'm nowhere near 117 pounds anymore and haven't been in a very long time.
I got married in July 2007. Before getting married, I could literally eat what I wanted, when I wanted, and never gain a pound. That completely changed after getting married. I guess you get comfortable and sit around your house more...I don't really know. I put on about ten pounds just from getting married. I wasn't too worried because I was still in the normal weight range for my height. Then, I was lucky enough to leave my job at Regions Bank in December 2007 and go to work with Ty at my in-law's business, working with Medicare to help customers get durable medical equipment. It was a wonderful change but a hard one. I had always had jobs where I HAD to report to work at a certain time and couldn't leave when I wanted nor do what I wanted. Before my current job, I had always had a boss that I feared, in a way. However, at my in-law's business, I had much more freedom. As long as my work was done, I could come and go as I please. I am practically able to do what I want. It sounds fabulous to most people and honestly it is. BUT...there is no structure and I NEED structure to stay in order.
In February 2008, I went on a trip with my husband, his grandparents, aunt, uncle, and two cousins to Keystone, Colorado. I don't like flying, keep in mind, nor do I like cold weather or mountains. But, I thought I'd give it a shot. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?! I might not have fun? Oh well, that would be OK. I would survive and return home a week later. After about 24 hours of being there, I started developing physical feelings that I couldn't quite describe like nausea, shortness of breath, upset stomach, headaches, and light-headedness. We all assumed maybe I was lacking oxygen which is common when you go to high elevations. So, I went to a grocery store and purchased some $40 oxygen and tried that for a day. I continued to feel horrible so we made a trip to a doctor there, to see what was going on. They said my pulse and blood pressure were up but that my oxygen level was excellent so that definitely wasn't my problem. I was diagnosed with a "bug". The next morning, I started feeling panicky feelings but at the time, didn't really know what panic attacks and anxiety were, since I had never really had problems with that before. That night, the whole family went to eat at a restaurant and I had a horrible panic attack, while there. I went outside, crying, and called my mom. I told her that I was terrified to fly, especially by myself, but that I was going to buy a ticket first thing, back to Memphis, and I wanted her to pick me up at the airport ASAP. As a side note, we had driven to Memphis from Jackson, flown directly into Denver (about a 2.5 hour flight), then driven to Keystone, which was about an hour or an hour and a half drive through insanely steep and snowy mountains. I told Ty about my plans when we got back to the hotel that night and he told me that he understood if that's what I had to do but really wished I would at least give it another day and see how it goes. I did and decided to just grin and bear it through the rest of the trip, because I didn't want to leave my husband. I think it was a little worse that we stayed in a hotel versus a condo because I was cooped up in one room for about seven days straight. I was so "sick" that I couldn't go skiing or anything. During that time, Ty and his family spent most of every day out skiing, so I was basically by myself. I did leave the room one day, to go shopping but ended up having to leave after thirty minutes, because I felt like I was going to pass out. I didn't realize that I was doing myself more harm than good at the time, by keeping myself couped up in the room. They had AMAZING shops in the area and I hate I missed out on everything.
Anyways, we got home and carried on as normal the following week. I had an appointment at the optometrist to get fitted for contacts but little did I know, that appointment would change everything. I had a VERY rude employee trying to fit me for contacts and we just couldn't find any that felt right to me. She had such an attitude with me that I started getting nervous and rushed. I eventually had to leave because of feeling anxious, nauseous, and lightheaded. I had this never-ending feeling of doom that was indescribable. I went home, thinking I was just sick with a bug or something but ended up hyperventilating and calling Ty to come get me and take me to the ER. I honestly thought I was having a heart attack or something. After a couple of visits to different doctors and going through a few tests, I was diagnosed with Panic Disorder. I was started on Lexapro, an anti-depressant and finally started feeling better. But in the process, I also gained forty pounds. I have had the hardest time getting it off, since. I got pregnant in March 2010 and gained around fifty pounds. I gave birth to Barrett in November 2010 and lost sixty pounds in the first six weeks of giving birth. I suffered from postpartum depression severely for those six weeks (the reason for the extreme weight-loss) and finally decided to get on Zoloft, a different anti-depressant. Of course, I then gained back about ten of those pounds and have gained and lost, since.
I had gotten to where I just didn't care anymore but I'm now at the point where I have GOT to get my body back in shape. I don't mean just lose weight but an overall makeover of my health, my attitude, and my life in general. I'm 28 years old but don't feel like it. I feel like a 60 year old some days. My joints hurt. My blood pressure is high some days. I have elevated blood sugar at time. I'm always tired and have no energy. It's just ridiculous. This week, I've been working on about four hours of sleep a night. Wednesday morning, I was really shaky and felt like I needed to throw up. I laid back down for about two hours and felt so much better when I woke up. I guess that was my body's way of saying that I needed to get more rest...and exercise for that matter.
So, I have decided that I really want to re-vamp myself. I know I'm not going to be perfect at it and some days are going to seem hopeless but I want to at least put forth the effort. I want to feel like a 28 year old again, or even better, a twenty year old! Wish me luck, everyone! Day one is tomorrow.

Top 10 Reasons Why I'm NOT the Perfect Mother

Today, I ran across a blog that listed some reasons as to why the blogger wasn't the perfect mother and a few reasons as to why she could be considered the perfect mother. She encouraged readers to write their own blogs, each listing their reasons for not being the perfect mother and their reasons for being considered the perfect mother. I thought I'd give it a shot, since I related to her blog so well. So, here goes nothing.

My Top 10 Reasons Why I'm Not the Perfect Mother:

10. Barrett wasn't on a daily routine until he was a year old. He never wanted to do things at the same time every day and I just wasn't dedicated enough to force it on him. He ate when he was hungry, slept when he was sleepy, and played when he was playful. He just recently decided he wanted to do these things at around the same time every day. We survived before this new decision though.

9. If Barrett is for some reason in pain, I give him Tylenol or Advil. He even took prescription pain medication after he had surgery a couple of months ago. I don't want my baby in pain, when there is treatment available.

8. We took Barrett to O'Charley's when he was one week old. Some doctors suggest that you not take your baby out of the house until a certain age but we were too stir-crazy to stay in the house. In fact, he wasn't sick a single time until he was three months old. Not even with the common cold.

7. We didn't force tummy time. We attempted putting Barrett on his stomach for tummy time about twice. He screamed bloody murder each time. We just didn't push it after that. Yeah, I'm sure he would've gotten used to it but why force it? He's walking and talking up a storm now so I don't think him missing tummy time as an infant affected his development.

6. Barrett isn't always wearing a coat or something covering his ears when it's cold outside. We're lucky to get anywhere on time so putting on a coat just takes more time. Not to mention, it's usually simply forgotten because we're always in such a rush. He's survived so far. Yes, he's had about five ear infections but I think he'll make it. I've had quite a few pediatricians tell me that it's a myth anyways, that wind causes ear infections. Who knows if it's true but I'll go with it!

5. Barrett has been allowed to eat straight off of restaurant tables before, without me wiping it down with a disinfectant wipe first...GASP! I mean, how did kids make it a hundred years ago, with all of the germs floating around, and no disinfectants?! I have no idea, really.

4. I feed Barrett quite a few boxed and pre-made meals for lunch or dinner. Ty and I get off of work at 5:00 then I go pickup Barrett from daycare. That leaves us getting home around 5:30, which is when Barrett's ready to eat. Yeah, I probably have enough time to make a full-course meal and have it on the table in thirty minutes to an hour but I just don't want to. So, Barrett gets Gerber ravioli or some other pasta out of the box a lot of times and Dole carrots or green beans out of the can. Both are microwaved, though so at least it's warm. He also gets fresh grapes or bananas a lot of the time, so give me a little credit! ;)

3. Barrett is an avid television-watcher. I've read things about children shouldn't watch television before the age of two. Yeah, we can forget about that one. I have stuff I need to get done. After I get home from work, fix Barrett's dinner, and occasionally fix dinner for Ty and myself, I have loads of laundry and dishes to do. That doesn't include the other randoms like cleaning house, etc. Mickey Mouse and Elmo have been life-savers, I must admit.

2. I did not breastfeed. That statement alone makes me enough of a non-perfect mother. When people hear that I didn't breastfeed, they assume that I wasn't physically able to. For example, Barrett wouldn't latch or my milk didn't come in. No people...I didn't WANT to breastfeed. I had zero desire to. It just wasn't for me. When some people hear that, I get a whole different reaction, LOL. It's sad that some people don't realize that people in this world are different for a reason and allowed to have their own views and do their own things.

1. Barrett goes to daycare and I have not once felt guilty for it. I am actually relieved at times to be able to have a break from everything "baby". I went back to work when Barrett was two weeks old, working about ten hours a week. I HAD to get out of the house or I would have gone insane. Eventually, I realized that I wasn't getting anything done, taking him to work with me, so I enrolled him in Mother's Day Out at Englewood, which was Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 to 2:30. Ty's mother kept him on Wednesdays, from 9:00 to 5:00 and still does. I was then working about 25-30 hours a week, as I would take him to work with me on Mondays and Fridays. Once again, I realized that I needed a little more help. So, I enrolled Barrett in daycare at West Jackson when he was five months old. I have to pay for full time but he only goes from around 10:00 to 5:15 Monday through Friday, except for Wednesdays, when Ty's mom keeps him all day. I love how our schedule is now and it has worked out great for all of us. Ty gets the help he needs at work, since I'm his assistant. I'm able to get "adult time" and make some extra money in the process. Barrett has made lots of friends and has exceeded my expectations from having such excellent teachers and being around other children his age. It's essential in a child's development to be around other children.

Top 5 Reasons Why I Could Be the Perfect Mother:

5. Barrett slept in his bassinet from the time of birth to four weeks old. He started sleeping in his crib at four weeks old and has for the most part, since.

4. We do not let Barrett sleep in the bed with us on a regular basis. He did sleep with Ty and I, in our bed, when he was six months old, for about a month. It was the worst decision we could have made. I will NEVER forget how horrific it was to get him back to sleeping in his crib. Barrett would wake up around 3:00 in the morning, crying. We would get him out of his crib, put him in our's, and he would sleep until 8:00 am. After only about two nights of doing this, he was set in that routine. He would wake up at 3:00 am, cry, and he KNEW we would come get him out of his crib and put him in our bed. It is sweet that he wanted to sleep with us but we eventually got to the point where none of us were getting good quality sleep. It took about a week of letting Barrett "cry-it-out" at 3:00 am (sometimes crying as long as 45 minutes) to get him back into the routine of sleeping in his crib through the night. It's hard to decide whether there's something really wrong with him, causing him to cry. We eventually learned which cry was serious and which was for attention. There have only been a handful of times when he cried in the middle of the night and he actually needed something. Yes, I love him and hate to see him cry but it's best for all of us when he sleeps in his crib. He has grown to LOVE sleeping in his crib. For the past 6 months, we have been able to lay him down in his crib awake, and he falls asleep within twenty minutes, not making a peep.

3. I didn't allow Barrett to have crib bumpers, stuffed animals, or blankets in his crib until he was nine months old. This is partially because of my fear of SIDS. I was so worried about him suffocating in the first month that he was alive, that I would wake up every thirty minutes and have to lean over and look at him, then have a hard time falling back to sleep because I was terrified. At the time, I was putting a blanket on him and tucking it underneath him. But at around a month old, he was able to shift around and he was in his crib by himself. I decided that if I took off the crib bumpers and didn't allow any blankets or anything else in his crib for that matter, that it would practically be impossible for him to suffocate. I'm sure it's always possible, even with nothing in their crib, but doing this would eliminate my fear atleast. And it did. I began sleeping normal and obviously, he was fine. I always made sure to dress him temperature-appropriate and we never had a problem with him being cold or hot. I invested in a velour-like crib sheet that helped a ton when it was cold outside.

2. We waited until Barrett was six months old to start infant cereal and baby food. We attempted infant cereal when he was four months old but his gag reflex was still going strong. When we tried again at six months, he was ready because it went down so easy and he hardly ever gagged. We waited until he was one year old to start whole milk and eggs. Supposedly, children are less prone to allergy problems if you wait until these particular ages to start certain foods. We still have not tried peanuts or seafood. I have nephews with severe allergy problems so I'm going to do everything in my power to not pass off this family trait to my son. I feel like they're going to have allergies if it's in their DNA but it won't hurt to postpone certain things, when they don't have a huge benefit. I basically just used Barrett as a guide to when he was ready for certain textrues/tastes. He'll definitely tell me if he's not ready for something.

1. I have child-proofed alot of my house, putting locks on the cabinets and plugs in the electric outlets. Not EVERYTHING in my house is child-proofed though. There are some cabinets that don't have locks. We locked mainly the ones with cleaners, medications, or with little items that he could swallow. Most exposed electric outlets have a plug in them.


So, I have ten reasons why I'm NOT the perfect mother and five reasons why I could be the perfect mother. You can weigh those results and see where I qualify ;). Obviously, I am not a perfect mother and yes I have guilt for doing some of the things that you are not "supposed" to do but all I can do is take it day by day. Being a mother is the hardest job in the world but is definitely the most rewarding. I am proud of my imperfections. In a society where we are obsessed with competition, this was a great reminder. No matter how hard we try, or how often we compare ourselves to others, no mother is perfect. Not my own mother, not my friends, not my relatives, not readers of this blog, and CERTAINLY not I. I applaud anyone else that is able to admit their flaws as mothers (and fathers too) but you're also able to give yourself credit for doing things "by the book"! However, who's to say what's right and wrong? When it comes to your child, only you are the judge of that.

The Terrible Ones

I haven't blogged in a few weeks because I've been really busy. People have asked, "what have you been busy with" and I don't really have an answer, ha ha. I think "the terrible ones" should be my answer, if there is one. Barrett is such a good boy...really, he is. He's just in a funk lately and it's taking a toll on the whole house. For the past two weeks, he's whined and cried pretty much 24/7. He literally has this monotone whine that he does all the time now and it has just about driven Ty and I insane. Ty has always been so patient and handles stressful times with Barrett so well. I can tell that he's even getting impatient at this point. Unfortunately, I wasn't blessed with ANY patience so I'm struggling with this one bad.

Barrett's cutting a few teeth and has an ear infection so I know he's not feeling well. That along with his newly defiant attitude has made for some unpleasant times lately. I guess I just didn't expect this until he was two. You know, you hear, "the terrible twos," not "the terrible ones". He wants what he can't have. He wants to do anything other than what he's currently doing. He wants to be held one second and not the next. He refuses to eat certain foods. He's constantly sleepy, which is a new one. He goes to the doctor for his fifteen month checkup in a couple of weeks so I'm going to ask about it then. He sleeps twelve hours a night and takes around a two hour nap a day. We probably need to adjust his sleep schedule and break it up in a way that he's getting two naps a day. I'm dreading that process though :/.

When Barrett turned a year old, we cut down his bottles to just one eight ounce bottle in the morning and one eight ounce bottle at bedtime and he did fine with that. But here lately, he's become obsessed with his bottles. He'll walk around the house crying for his "ba-ba" and it's just pitiful. I don't want to take steps backwards though, so I'm sticking to my guns and only giving him two a day. In the next few months, we have to cut back to one and then none so this is just the beginning. It's just been difficult lately because I feel like I'm spending more time disciplining him than I am having fun with him. I'm hoping that we'll at least get a little break after he cuts these teeth and gets rid of this ear infection.

As far as his development goes, he's still not walking on his own. He walks behind things like his Mickey truck and dinosaur walker and knows how to turn them to make circles through our kitchen, living room, and hallway. He says a lot of words now. He knows how to color with crayons. He can operate the TV remote and light switches. He weighs 28 pounds.

He's moving up rooms again at daycare this Monday, which I'm really excited about. Supposedly, there's a mother dying to get her child into his old class because she starts work Monday and there wasn't a spot open. They said that they felt developmentally, it was time for Barrett to move up anyways. At first, I was hesitant but after meeting the teachers, I'm beyond thrilled. They seem like what he needs, to boost him to the next level. They do art in his new classroom which I'm excited about. They also no longer eat in highchairs. I visited Friday and was beyond surprised to see how well-behaved the children were, while eating lunch. There were about eight 14-24 month old kids sitting at this long, short table with little bitty chairs. Each child was sitting straight-forward in their chair and eating their food with such good manners. I'm nervous to see how Barrett tolerates this on Monday but I'm sure he'll get adjusted. I think it will be good for him and might help with the problems we're having right now. In the class he was in, they didn't do a whole lot of interacting with the children as far as activities go. They were there to feed the children, give them their naps, change their diapers, and keep them safe. The children played together but that was the most interaction they got. In his new class, they teach them sign language and do crafts every day. My little boy is growing up so fast :*(.

Anyways, I'm going to get off of this computer and watch Courageous with Ty. We are in desperate need of alone time since all of this stuff with Barrett, so we take advantage of the time when he's sleeping. Just say a prayer for us, please! I have got to learn how to be patient. Everyone have a great week!

***I appreciate no drama becoming from this post. Please and thank you ;)***

You have to watch what you say...

Lately, I've dealt with a bit of drama and I don't like it. To make a long story short, about a month ago, I wrote some stuff on my blog about work that was slightly inappropriate. It wasn't about a specific customer. It really wasn't about a customer of our's at all. It wasn't mean nor did I use any foul language. It was just a little rude, I guess, which could potentially give our business a bad name. I definitely don't want to do that. I love our customers and want to help them in any way possible. At the time, I didn't think anything about what I wrote and still don't really see much wrong with the content but at the same time, I respect other people's opinions when they say that I went a little too far. Anyways, some nameless people told a nameless person I'm fairly close to, about what I had written and from there, it was made to be a bigger deal than it actually was. I still haven't and probably won't ever get complete details of what was said about me nor will I ever be told exactly who started this nonsense but that's OK.

Last night, I actually opened that particular blog post and deleted the inappropriate paragraph, just to save myself additional drama related to this subject. I just haven't had to deal with this kind of stuff since I was in high school. I especially wouldn't expect it from women that are twenty to thirty years older than me. I've gone ahead and deleted a select few people off of my Facebook to at least decrease my chances of any foolishness from these people again. The comments about me and my blog got so silly that the fact that I post my blogs late at night (usually around midnight) and write three to four paragraphs in one blog, was made into a big deal. Gasp (said sarcastically)! I'm not sure what's wrong with writing late at night and writing four paragraphs in one post. I tend to have my highest potential late at night. I actually made my blog private last night but it was going to be a huge pain for people to read it, while it was private. When it's private, a new link has to be emailed to each person, every time you have a new post. Then, they have to click on the link I emailed them, to be able to read my blog. I have no idea who all reads my blogs. I know a select few people that do read my blogs regularly though. Tonight, I decided it would be easier to just leave my blog public and monitor how I word things and what content I blog about.

As I've said in a previous post, I use my blog as a way to express my feelings. It's similar to people that use paperback journals at home to document their feelings. I choose a blog over a journal because with a blog, people can relate to my situations and how I'm feeling. They give such helpful advice and encouragement. I love being able to relate to others and them being able to relate to me. I know some people have negative opinions about blogs, which they are entitled to. For example, I've heard some people say it's a way of bragging and putting your whole life out there. Of course, it's a way of bragging for some people! It's not for me though. I recall talking about my son's circumcision in my last blog post...Am I bragging about that?! Obviously not. I received emails from two of my Facebook friends that made me feel much better about the situation, so I'm glad I made that blog post. One person had even gone through the same problem herself.

Speaking of people giving advice, I truely appreciate any of you that have given me feedback and some of you even helping me through really hard times. I remember about a month after giving birth to Barrett, I was in such a deep dark hole of anxiety and depression. It wasn't just the baby blues...it was severe Postpartum Depression, beyond measure. It was one of the most joyful times in my life and also the most miserable. I recall in December 2010, writing a blog post about how anxious and depressed I was. What's even worse is you feel so bad about yourself for feeling that way after being given this precious baby from God that I had hoped and prayed for for so long. But unfortunately, it's the way some women's bodies and brains handle the hormone changes after birth. Within an hour of sharing that blog post on Facebook, I had so many people email me, text me, and call me, saying they were praying for me, telling me they cared about me, and alot of you even told me your stories of how you got through similar situations. Again, I thank all of you that were there for me. It really meant alot.

Anyways, I've got to go to bed...It's 12:33am!!! Haha. I'm a night-owl. What can I say?! Good night and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Mine's going to be busy!

P.S. Say a special prayer for my best friend, Audrey. She was due this past Tuesday with her first little boy, Austin, so she's now three days past-due. I know she's uncomfortable and so ready to meet this sweet man.

Sick.to.my.Stomach. :(

Straight to the point...Barrett was circumcised when he was one day old. It was a "conservative" circumcision as a handful of doctors have described it, even though we wanted a normal circumcision. I haven't wanted to intervene medically since then because: A) We have consulted at least five doctors (a few pediatricians) and they all agreed that I shouldn't get it fixed because it was only cosmetic, B) I can't stand to put my son through pain if it's unnecessary, C) It has caused no bodily harm, and D) I was told that it would look completely normal after he went through puberty. I've had a lot of people nag me about getting it corrected but Ty and myself would carry the life-long guilt, if something were to go wrong during the procedure. So, Ty and I always decided against it. Until now, it has been simply cosmetic anyways.

Well, we had something medically wrong happen a few days ago so I took Barrett to Convenient Care. I'm not going to go into detail with "what" went wrong. There are just some things that I keep private, sorry. Anyways, the doctor referred me to a urologist at Jackson Clinic and we had that appointment today. I'm beyond relieved to hear the doctor doesn't think it's anything serious but he does want to do surgery, which was my ultimate fear. The whole thing just terrifies me. It's going to KILL me to stand there and watch Barrett be put to sleep using anesthesia. I'm sure many tears will be shed that day, haha. The appointment is scheduled for January 17th at 11:00 am. The doctor said it should only take about ten to twenty minutes so it's not that bad. It's ten to twenty minutes longer than I'd like, but that's OK. He said that if this current situation had not come up, he would not want to operate but with all considerations, it's better to do it sooner than later.

On a positive note, I had such a good time with Barrett today! We had his doctor's appointment then went to lunch with my mom (Granny) and Steve (Doo-Dah). Then, we did a little shopping, got my car cleaned, did a little more shopping, visited daddy at work for a bit, then came home and spent a little time just playing in the floor together. After Ty got home from work, the three of us went to dinner. So, today's been a great day for sure! Barrett went to bed like a pro tonight again. I laid him in his crib at 9:30 and he just laid there, not making a peep. It took him about ten minutes of rolling around with his stuffed animals and blankets, for him to actually fall asleep. I just love my mini best friend!

On a totally different note, I may have to make my blog private soon, sorry. I'm still trying to decide. I figured I would make it viewable only to people that have Google accounts and request to follow my blog. I really hate to do that so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Blogging is not a way for me to start drama. It's not my purpose to brag or show off. I never mean to send off a negative message in any way. It has just recently come to my attention that subjects from my blog are being passed onto others, in a different form, carrying a different report. To be honest, I'm not quite sure how this happens or why, but it obviously does. I use my blog as an outlet. I know some people don't believe in broadcasting their life over a blog but I'm not some people. I'm Ashlie. I don't really feel like I broadcast my entire life anyways. Trust me...there are TONS of things that I would never EVER put on here for everyone to see. I do keep a lot of things private. I always read through my blogs a handful of times before posting them, to make sure I don't mind any and every one reading it, because that's always a possibility. Some people use an old-fashioned pen and paper as their outlet. Some people don't use anything as an outlet. Some people use blogs. I'm a blogger and that's OK. If you do come back one day and see that it's private, you are welcome to add me on Google and you are more than welcome to read away!

Now, back to Barrett's upcoming procedure. If everyone will just keep Ty, Barrett, and myself in your prayers on January 17th, we would be much appreciative! I pray that Barrett does great with the procedure and heals quickly! I also pray that he does wonderful with the anesthesia and doesn't suffer from any side effects. I pray that I can make it through the procedure without losing my mind :/. I pray that Ty is blessed with lots of patience that day.

I hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

My baby's growing up :(

I mean, obviously all babies grow up but it's so hard/unbelievable when it's your own. This time a year ago, Barrett was SO different. He was six weeks old and weighed around 14 pounds. He wore size six months in clothing and size one in shoes. He woke up randomly during the night and was on no kind of schedule, whatsoever. He drank around four ounces of powdered formula every two to three hours. He enjoyed laying in his bouncy seat, playing with a few small toys. Now, Barrett's 58 weeks old and weighs around 26 pounds. He wears size 18-24 months in clothing and size five in shoes. He sleeps a solid ten hours a night, sometimes twelve hours, very rarely waking in the middle of the night. He's finally decided he'll take on a schedule. He moved on from formula to about twelve ounces of whole milk a day and eight ounces of water and juice. He eats four meals a day and one snack. He loves cheese, bananas, pasta, green beans, and ice cream. He's definitely my child ;p.

He is just such a wonderful baby...really. I'm not saying he's perfect. No one's perfect. He's still a one year old and a male one year old at that! But seriously, I couldn't imagine having a more cooperative baby. For the past week, Ty and I have been able to lay our thirteen month old in his crib at bedtime and he doesn't make a peep. Even if he's not sleepy, he'll lay there, quiet as a mouse, until he falls asleep. In the mornings, I'm able to turn on a Mickey Mouse DVD in his playroom (right beside my room for all of you worrying about how I'm able to see him) and he'll play with his toys and watch his movie while I get a shower and get ready for work. Also, he's a really good eater. He eats the same proportions that I eat at times, which seems like a lot for a one year old. He's reached the age where he strives to entertain strangers when we're in public and I love it! Most of the time, he makes many new friends and they'll talk and play with him, which he just eats up. Rarely, we'll have a grouch ignore him and it breaks my heart. You can see in his little innocent eyes that he just doesn't understand why they don't even smile at him. I mean, how can you not even smile at a sweet little baby gleaming at you?! If you don't want to have a conversation, I understand but at least smile at him :(.

He's really good about not getting into things like electrical cords and plants, etc. Of course I still watch to make sure he doesn't get into anything because I know that one day, he may decide that that electrical socket looks very interesting ;). The only things so far that we have to really keep an eye on with him are: A) Lilly's food and water dishes, and B) the toilets :/. I've caught him twice with Lilly's food in his mouth. She eats dry dog food which is a good and a bad thing. It's good because it doesn't seem as gross as wet dog food would be in his mouth but it's bad because he could easily choke on it. He loves to stick his whole hand in her water dish and splash it everywhere. He hasn't dumped the whole bowl yet...YET, I said. The toilet situation is just disgusting. He's done it twice now...that is, he's stuck his hand IN the toilet water. The first time, I was getting ready for work and it didn't take him thirty seconds to get out of my sight and hands-first in the toilet. After that incident, we've kept our toilet lids down and the bathroom doors shut. BUT...I came down with some kind of virus Saturday night and felt too bad to even think about shutting the toilet lid or the bathroom door. I was running 102 fever, chills, body aches, weak, and felt really nauseous but never actually got sick (thank goodness for Barrett's hands' sake). I just felt awful and came back to bed and crashed. Next thing I know, Ty's like, "Ashlie!!! You didn't shut the bathroom door and Barrett's been in here splashing in the toilet!" Dis.Gust.Ing. But, I feel like that's Ty's fault...he knew I was sick ;). He should have watched B closer, maybe!

I've been told a lot lately that Barrett's beginning to look more like me than he does Ty...FINALLY! His eyes seem to be turning green or brown though :( Not that brown are bad. It's just that my mother, two sisters, and myself, all got our blue eyes from my great grandfather that Barrett is named after, so it would be nice if he kept his blue eyes too. Charles Asa Walker was my great grandfather's name and Barrett's middle name is Asa. 'Daddy Charles' was a wonderful man. He treated my great grandmother like gold. They were what every loving couple should strive to be. They had an unconditional love that was explained by the way they treated and looked at eachother. They must have been special people because they have four great great grandchildren that are named after them. My nephews' names are WALKER Penn Ridgeway, Jackson CHARLES Ridgeway, and Colin BRADSHAW Davison. My great grandmother's maiden name was Bradshaw. Before I knew that Barrett was a boy, I had intentions of incorporating 'Nuna Mom's' first name, Evelyn, as either a girl's first or middle name. I just wish both great grandparents were still around to see how much they are loved and looked up to :).

Anyways, I've got to go to bed at a desent time. Barrett's got a doctor's appointment in the morning that I've been dreading but anxious for so we've got to be up early! I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week! Happy 2012!

A Rant...Mostly...

As you're probably thinking, this blog is a total rant by yours truly. So, if you aren't in the mood to listen to me whine, then don't continue reading or at least skip about four paragraphs. Trust me, I understand. Christmas is in five days so I feel like I should be in such wonderful spirit. I'm not in a BAD MOOD necessarily. I'm just very moody. [CONTENT DELETED DUE TO SILLY DRAMA] I'm very excited for this break from work we're about to get! Ty and I are taking off on Friday and then we're closed Monday. Barrett's daycare is closed starting this Friday until January third so I'll be taking off a couple of days next week too. Ty's mom will be keeping him the other days, while day care is closed.

Another thing I've been having a problem with lately is people wanting to tell me what I'm doing wrong or what I SHOULD be doing with MY child. I've had one person that I see fairly often, make comments to Barrett about how "he needs shoes on" and "it's too cold outside for him to not have shoes on". For starters, my child HATES shoes. He's scared of them for some reason I have yet been able to figure out. I have made numerous attempts to put shoes on him and every time, he flops everywhere, screams and cries, shivers, and his face turns bright red. He'll continue to cry for a little while and can ruin a night. Obviously, he's going to have to wear shoes when he starts walking but right now, I don't want to fight that battle, when he's only crawling. I did buy some soft-sole shoes from Old Navy last weekend and he hasn't had as much of a problem wearing them, thank goodness. He pulls them off pretty often though.

I feel like I'm pretty laid-back about Barrett, which has made a few people comment on things I do. For example, he has recently started wanting to feed himself, refusing to let me feed him. He's still not good with a spoon or fork so if it's at all possible, I let him eat with his hands. My other choice is for me to shove food down his throat while he screams and flops around in his high chair. Yeah, I could "stand my ground" and make him let me feed him but then he just wouldn't eat. I feel like I did that for a month or so and that was also the same time that he stopped gaining weight. To the point of my story, tonight we went to T.G.I. Friday's with our best friends. I ordered Barrett macaroni and cheese and french fries. I cut the french fries into pieces, put them on the table, and also put a few spoonfuls of macaroni and cheese on the table. I put his spoon within his reach, in case he decided to try to use it. He started slinging cheese EVERYWHERE, which is when I decided to take the spoon from him. A waiter (not even ours) brought my food to the table and made the sarcastic comment of "it's a good thing it's not cold/flu season" and made a "yeah right" face. Seriously?! If he's so brave and opinionated, why didn't he just come out and say, "I can't believe you put your son's food on the table and let him eat with his hands, when he could catch a cold or the flu from the table"? Number one, he's gotten a flu shot so that's a minimal worry of mine. I know it's not sure-proof but it definitely helps. Number two, it's not the end of the world if he DOES indeed catch a cold. I'm not one of those parents that freaks out about germs. I've already got enough things to worry about. Ty worries enough about germs for the both of us, LOL! It's strange because I have slight O.C.D. but when it comes to stuff like that, I just don't care.

OK, I think I'm done ranting for the time being. On a totally different note, I am SO excited that my nephew, Austin will be born soon! Technically, he's my best friend's baby but he's a nephew in my eyes! She is due on January tenth but hit 37 weeks pregnant today, which is full-term, meaning if he was born today, he would most likely be healthy and completely normal. It's amazing how much changes in only a year with a baby. It's so hard for me to believe that this time last year, Barrett was a 13 pound itty-bitty thing that couldn't even hold his own head up. Now, he's a 25 pound professional crawler and soon-to-be walker. I'm so excited for my friend to be able to experience the miracle of motherhood! It's definitely a love that is indescribable and a magnificent one at that! And obviously, I'm excited to have a new baby around to love on but be able to give back to his mom and dad, LOL. I can't wait to meet him and hopefully it will be sooner than later!

In other news, Barrett's loving food right now. His favorite foods currently are bananas, macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese, green beans, Graduates Lil' Crunchies, and most any kind of pasta. He wakes up around 8:00 a.m. and gets infant mixed cereal combined with baby food fruit as well as eight ounces of whole milk in a bottle. He eats some kind of table food for lunch with whole milk in a sippy cup around 11:00 a.m. and then a snack, usually crackers or fruit, with water in a sippy cup, around 2:30 p.m.. He eats table food for dinner around 5:30 p.m. with water in a sippy cup. Then he gets infant mixed cereal again, combined with baby food fruit around 8:30 p.m. as well as eight ounces of whole milk in a bottle. His pediatrician said that baby/infant cereal and baby food are more nutritious anyways so as long as he'll eat it, continue feeding it to him. He's normally in bed (crib) by 9:45 p.m. lately, which has been WONDERFUL! He used to want to stay up until midnight, which took a toll on all three of us. Now, he's sleeping 10+ hours a night. He's been in a better mood, since getting more sleep. He goes to daycare Monday through Friday every week, except for Wednesdays, which is when Ty's mother gets to keep him at her house. He doesn't go to daycare until 11:00 a.m. every day and I pick him up between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m., when I get off work. I LOVE getting an extra few hours with him in the mornings. I will say though, that it's a little difficult to get ready for work with him frequently hugging me and giving me sugar, while I'm flat-ironing my hair in the bedroom floor :). Trust me...I don't mind at all! He's such a sweet and loving baby and I just adore him.

I'm so extremely thankful for such a wonderful day care with teachers that I trust 100%, every time I drop him off. He has learned SO much since starting West Jackson Baptist Church's day care program. The last Mother's Day Out program he was in at a different church (not naming names) was of no benefit to him. Yes, it allowed me some free time and I was able to get some work done, but he learned NOTHING there. Keep in mind, he only went Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.. Almost every day that I picked him up, ALL of the babies were screaming and the teachers were sitting in the rockers by themselves and had a slight attitude. I thought this was normal because it was the only thing I had been exposed to. Barrett started West Jackson and it's NOTHING like that. Yes, the babies cry but the amount that I see at WJBC seems normal and the teachers always give the necessary attention to that child. They have gotten Barrett into a routine which I have so far been unable to successfully accomplish. He recently moved up classes and I was terrified because the teachers he had in his previous class weren't far from perfect. But I can now say, his new teachers are just as good as his last and I love them! I think he'll be in this class for at least 6 months if not a year longer.

Barrett's still in love with Mickey Mouse. He's his number one fan, I believe :). He's spanning out his vocabulary lately. He says, "ma-ma", "da-da", "hey", "hi-D", "bye", "yay", "I did it", and his most recent, "ball". He's even said "Doo-Dah" a few times, which is my stepfather's nickname. My stepfather, Steve, is known for getting my nephews donuts from Doo Dah's donuts, the mornings they stay with him and my mom, which is where the nickname comes from. Barrett can clap his hands, wave hello and bye, point, pull up, give five and give five "up high". He knows how to open and close Lilly's crate. He knows how to use a hair brush, toothbrush and toothpaste, television remote, and cell phone. If you ask him to point at some one's nose or a light, he will. He knows what his "cars" are. He has lots of toy cars that he loves. This morning, he decided to play with a wall outlet in mine and Ty's bedroom. I told him, "no" and pointed my finger at him. I was surprised when I got back a pointed finger at me. I couldn't help but laugh. Luckily, I had time to turn my face the other way so he didn't see me laughing. It was just too funny though, seeing that little bitty finger pointing back at me. He's definitely developed an attitude in his "old age". He still LOVES Lilly and she loves him. She has gotten a little distant from him lately though. She's learned that he's rougher with her than she cares for and knows when to steer clear. She's always under his high chair though, when it's dinner time!

Anyways, I've written more than any of you cared to read, I'm sure! Sorry! I haven't written in about three weeks though and this is a good outlet for me, even if no one was to read my blog. Everyone have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year if I don't post again or see any of you between now and then!

Barrett's 1 Year Checkup

Barrett had his 1 year checkup with Dr. Woods Tuesday afternoon. Everything went as expected. He weighs 24 pounds, 11 ounces and is 31 inches long. He's between the 50th and 75th percentile for his weight and 75th to 90th percentile for his height. His head is 18.5 inches around, which is also in the 75th to 90th percentile. I asked the doctor to look at his "infected" ear again. The antibiotic (Omnicef) was making him very sick so I wanted to see if he still had to take it or if he could to swap to a different one. Turns out, his ear isn't infected, really. He said it probably was slightly infected because it was still a little red but obviously, 2 days on the antibiotics helped it. So, we've stopped the medicine, thank goodness! He had so many "bad" diapers during the 2 days he was on the antibiotic and screamed like he was in pain. I'm thinking his stomach was just hurting that bad :(. Since he's quit, he's a completely different baby. He's back to sleeping normally and isn't as grumpy as he was.

He also got his 12 month shots Tuesday. I believe he got 4 vaccinations, one shot for each. He's always gotten 4 injections but they'll combine as much as they can. For example, his 6 month shots contained 7 or 8 vaccinations but they were able to put it all into 4 injections. I was hoping he'd only get 1 or 2 injections this time but I guess they couldn't combine these. One of the vaccinations was his flu shot. He has to go back in exactly a month and get a booster for it. Oddly enough, I can't even tell by the way he's acting, that he got shots. I did end up giving him Infant Tylenol last night because he was a tad bit fussy and I can imagine getting 2 shots in the same location in each thigh will leave you sore. He's a little trooper, though ;).

I have finally changed Barrett's meals completely, since he's turned a year old. He gets 8 ounces of lukewarm milk in the morning and at bedtime then eats 2-3 meals a day with 2-3 snacks in between. He's off of baby food for the most part. He does still get a fruit serving of baby food with his cereal at night but that's it. He drinks water during the day with his meals and snacks. We sometimes splurge and let him get some watered-down tea, juice, or soda but are only going to let that happen every now and then. Everything in moderation! We had a hard time in the beginning, getting him to eat ANY table food. It was almost overnight and he decided he liked table food. He moved up classes at daycare on Monday as well and I think that helped a ton. I think that him seeing the other babies eat table food and use a sippy cup, all while sitting in their highchairs, makes him more comfortable and accepting of the changes.

Well, that's all I have to say for now! Short, sweet, and to-the-point is always good! Everyone have a great week!

Thanksgiving weekend

So far, it's been a great Thanksgiving break. Technically, this is our second Thanksgiving with Barrett but it feels like our first because he was only 4 days old for Thanksgiving last year and we were still in the hospital. It was nice spending the day, just us 3, at home, on our "first" Thanksgiving, just being thankful for eachother! Thursday night, we went to Ty's grandfather's house in Beech Bluff for dinner. Everything went well. Ty's parents ended up keeping Barrett that night and half of the day Friday. Thursday night, after Ty and I got home, we put up the Christmas tree and decorations. It took me about 5 hours to get everything done so I didn't get in bed until about 2 am Thursday night (Friday morning).

Our Tree:

I picked up Barrett around 1:30 pm Friday afternoon. I was so excited to show him the Christmas tree and decorations! However, he's not cared a single bit about any of it! I guess that's a good thing, since he probably won't be pulling off ornaments, etc. Since I picked him up, he's cried pretty much non-stop. He doesn't want to eat. He doesn't want to sleep. He doesn't want to play. He doesn't want to do nothing, though. He whines constantly. I knew something was wrong because he's normally so happy and content with everything. I've put off taking him to the doctor though because a) I haven't had time and b) I was hoping it would go away on it's on. Friday, I spent the day taking care of Barrett. When you have a sick child, it pretty much consumes ALL of your time. He wants to be held 24/7 and when he feels bad, I always give in and hold him. He'll only be this little once and I'm going to take advantage of it when I can.

When I wasn't caring for B, I was catching up on my to-do list. I finally ordered our Christmas cards, which I've been trying to do for a few weeks now. I cleaned the house a little bit. I went through some cabinets that desperately needed organized. I put a bunch of stuff out that needs to be sold next time we have a Garage Sale. That's on the list for tomorrow: actually putting the garage-sale stuff in the attic! Barrett really put up a fight, going to bed, Friday night. He would fall asleep in our arms but wake up as soon as we laid him down in his crib. He did this 5 times before we had no choice but to let him cry it out for a bit. It was 1 am Friday night (Saturday morning) and there just wasn't another option. I refuse to fall back into the pattern of letting him sleep with us. I made the mistake of doing it when he was around 6 months old and it was an extremely hard pattern to break. He cried for about 20 minutes and finally fell asleep. He slept until 11 am this morning though :/.

I've spent today cooking for my mom's Thanksgiving dinner that we had tonight. I made macaroni & cheese and cinnamon chips & fruit salsa. Both were delicious! We had so much food tonight and it was all wonderful! We finally took B to Convenient Care, after dinner and it turns out, his right ear is infected. But, the doctor said we caught it early so his antibiotic should help it not get much worse. We started Ceftin tonight and he's got to take it twice a day for 10 days. I also gave him some Infant Advil tonight to help the pain and honestly, I think that's why he fell asleep much easier tonight. I've always heard it hurts a baby to lie down, when he/she has an ear infection. I hate it because there's nothing you can really do to help him. Even holding and rocking him, he still cries from the pain. He just doesn't know what he wants. I'm hoping he starts feeling better within a couple of days.

He starts his new class at daycare on Monday, which I'm a little nervous about. He'll have 3 new teachers and will be with other infants/toddlers around 1 year to 2 years old. One of his new teachers was actually his teacher when he was about 6 months old and we really liked her so that's a little bit of relief. I know he'll eventually get used to the change but he got so close to his old teachers and I'm sure we'll have a little difficulty getting used to the new ones. He has his 1 year checkup and shots on Tuesday afternoon. He'll also have some urine test done to check for diabetes, I believe. They tried to do it when he was 9 months old but he wouldn't urinate while we were there. Instead of making us sit around and wait, Dr. Woods said we could just do it at his 12 month visit. Barrett's gotten so tall and thin! I can't believe it! He was just so stocky when he was born, I never imagined him being tall and skinny at a year old! I'm relieved though. When they announced after my C-Section that he was almost 11 pounds, I was scared that he had a lifetime of obesity ahead of him. That's definitely not the case though!

On another note, I'm so looking forward to Christmas! I just love this time of year. It's busy yet peaceful for me. I'm also excited that my best friend is nearing her due date to have her little boy. I can't wait to meet him! OK, I've said everything I have to say. I might just get in bed by 2 am tonight! What an accomplishment! LOL. Good night everyone! I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was fabulous!

Do I really have a one year old?!

WARNING: This is a long post.
DOUBLE WARNING: Talk of my C-Section is in this entry.

I just can't believe it ... I have a one year old son?! It's starting to slowly sink in but it's just so weird. On November 21st, 2010, at 9:17 a.m., I was given the most amazing 10 pound 14 ounce, 21 inches long blessing I could ever dream of ... my son. I remember the whole thing and this is the story.

We started trying to get pregnant in June 2009. We did everything to a T for 8 months, using all the tests available to try and get pregnant with no results. I finally had Laparoscopy in February 2010 because I had had some lower abdominal pain. They found nothing wrong with my reproductive system but did find 2 Indirect Inguinal Hernias, which were repaired during the same procedure. I was instructed to NOT get pregnant for at least 3 months so that my body would have time to heal. Well, to our surprise, I found out on March 15, 2o10, that I was pregnant. I had been nauseous for a couple of days and decided to test that morning, thinking that it was impossible. I remember staring at that pregnancy test, seeing a line but not seeing a line, at the same time. I went out and bought a few more tests which showed a little better line. I immediately called Ty at work and told him the news. Yeah, I would have loved to have some dramatic story of how I told him but I was just too excited!

After talking to Ty, I called my doctor and made an appointment for the following day. I also called a few close family members and friend because I was too excited to not tell anyone! I went for my appointment the next day and was shocked when I was told, "you must have had an early miscarriage because your pregnancy test is negative". I remember tears coming to my eyes. Luckily, I had brought my 8 (yes, EIGHT) positive home tests with me. That gave Dr. Hammond enough reason to do a blood test. I had to wait 2 extremely anxious days to find out the results. I finally got the phone call! The nurse said I was pregnant but that my HCG (a pregnancy hormone) level was extremely low, coming in at 26. In pregnancy, HCG can get as high as 100,000-200,000, to give you a comparison. Most home pregnancy tests detect anything above 25. The nurse said that their office tests probably detect above 100. So, they had me come back in that afternoon to do another test. In early pregnancy, your HCG should double every 2 or 3 days so we were looking for that result to determine if my pregnancy was viable. I had to wait until the following Monday to get the results. All of this waiting was horrendous! I took a million home tests in that time and I was so glad when the lines started getting darker. I got the phone call Monday saying my HCG was at 75 so that meant everything was looking good!

I was scheduled for an ultrasound for some other problems I was having, when I should have been 9 weeks 2 days pregnant. Once again, I had another scare when the embryo only measured 6 weeks 0 days. The baby did at least have a heartbeat of 118 beats per minutes though. The doctor told me to be "cautiously optimistic". In other words, it doesn't look good but don't completely lose hope. I went for a follow up ultrasound a week later and the baby was measuring a week ahead, so things started looking up :). I got my gender/anatomy ultrasound at 18 weeks 2 days and everything looked great! We found out "it" was a boy and decided on the name, Barrett Asa Jones. We just liked the name Barrett and Asa was my mother's mother's father's middle name. I made a list of 20 names for his first name and Barrett was the only one Ty would agree with ;). I thought a lot of my great-grandfather. He was like a second father to me when I was a child.

Anyways, I started measuring ahead around 28 weeks. I took my 1 hour glucose test at that time and passed with flying colors. At 28 weeks, I measured 32 weeks by ultrasound and fundal height. I continued to measure 3-5 weeks ahead until I gave birth. I remember at my 37 week ultrasound, Barrett measured almost 41 weeks, ha ha. Besides measuring large I didn't really have any other complications while I was pregnant. Around 35 weeks, I did start swelling really bad and got slightly high blood pressure. However, I wasn't diagnosed with Preeclampsia before birth because all of my lab work came back fine. At around 38 weeks, my blood pressure got pretty bad so I was scheduled a C Section for November 22, 2010. They also were expecting him to be large so it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and plan on the C Section.

Around 11 pm, November 20, 2010, I started having contractions but wasn't sure that's what was going on. They hurt but they weren't horrible nor were they less than 10 minutes apart. I told Ty that I felt weird but he convinced me to try and rest it off since I was scheduled for a C Section in about 36 hours. He of course, went to bed. I of course, did not LOL. I stayed up all night, sitting on the couch, pacing the floor, changing positions...pretty much trying anything that might help the pain go away. The contractions got more frequent, coming at least every 4 minutes but weren't intolerable yet. Around 3 am, they were at the point where I couldn't speak during them anymore. I finally woke Ty up around 6 am and told him we had to go to the hospital. I was only dilated half a centimeter and 50% effaced when we got there at 7 am. Thank goodness things moved along really fast. Dr. Ball was on call and did my C Section. I was cut open at 9:08 am and Barrett was born at 9:17 am. Very fast, to say the least! I'm just grateful he didn't make me wait all day to get it done.

We got there, I was checked in quick, I changed clothes and it all went extremely fast after that. I remember having to drink the acid reducing medicine then waiting about an hour. During that time, Ty called family and friends to let them know to come to the hospital. I wasn't sure I was going to stay at the hospital when we went so we called no one. I hated to wake everyone up at 7 am on a Sunday morning for nothing. That hour was probably the most stressful. You just have what seems like a ton of time to start worrying about the "what ifs". After that hour passed, I went back and got my spinal. I hated not being able to have Ty with me at that time. I was scared, to say the least. I had wonderful nurses in there with me though and I'm so thankful for them. I laid down, started getting numb within minutes, and I finally saw Ty come in. Me and Ty were speechless. I think he was just as nervous as I was. When I finally heard Barrett cry, I was so relieved. After he was born, Ty went to see him and I felt so alone. The nurse was there beside me but it's nice to be with someone you actually know, especially in such a nerve-wracking time.

Finally, Ty brought B to see me and I was instantly in love. I was able to quickly touch him and give him a kiss and he was taken away. It was around 9:45 am and they had me sewed up and took me to my room to recover, which is when I was started on my morphine pump. I was so eager to see my baby but I was told that he was breathing a little fast, so they needed to keep him in the nursery a little longer. They continued to tell me the same story every hour, for three hours. I was really worried something was wrong with him. Finally, they brought him in and said he was still breathing fast but they would go ahead and let me have him. He was just perfect! Such a stocky cute baby boy.

I was actually looking at our pictures from that time, recently, and saw a picture of him right after he was born. They had a tube down his throat with brown stuff in it. I asked his pediatrician about it and come to find out, he had swallowed meconium (practically poop) before he was born. I was never told that. I'm kind of glad to know that now though because a side effect of swallowing meconium is rapid breathing. Some serious issues can come about from swallowing meconium but thankfully, my little man hasn't suffered any other problems.

I was released from the hospital 3 days after he was born, with slightly high blood pressure. The night after returning home, I felt very light-headed, nauseous, and just not "right". I checked my blood pressure and it was 180/120. I returned to the hospital and they admitted me for another 3 days. The first 36 hours were spent on Magnesium which was not fun at all. It makes you feel like you have the flu times 10. I was finally released after 3 days, with still slightly high blood pressure, around 140/90. I was put on medication which helped within a week.

I got severe Postpartum Depression around 3 weeks postpartum. Thankfully, my parents, Ty's parents, and my sister were able to swap up keeping Barrett for quite a few nights just to let me get situated. I tried a couple of different antidepressants before getting on the right one and finally got better after about 2 months postpartum.

As many obstacles as I had after the birth of Barrett, I am so extremely thankful for him. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be having any more children because of the reasons stated above but I'm so glad I have Barrett. He's been a good baby from day 1. He's always ate well, slept good, and just been truly happy. Right now, he's crawling, pulling up, walking with his Dinosaur walker, and trying to stand on his own. He's still on formula and baby food, eating a few solids and some table food. He really likes potatoes as far as table food goes. He sleeps around 11 hours a night. He really loves his momma and daddy lately. He's as sweet and loving as he's ever been. I was told by his daycare teacher today, that he hugs and kisses the babies when they cry at daycare. That makes me so proud! He's moving to the next class at daycare on Monday, which I'm kind of bittersweet about. His class now has a lot of newborns in it so I feel like with him being a year old and almost walking, he may not be getting the attention/teaching like he needs. Not to mention, there's only about 2 other babies his age in there. Newborns just take a lot more time feeding, diapering, and comforting than a one year old does. So, that's the good thing about him moving up. However, he has 3 teachers right now that I absolutely LOVE. I can tell they adore Barrett and I know that he loves them. I haven't met his new teacher but I hope to before Monday. I'm hoping she will be just as good as his current ones but I don't know how they can be out-done;). His next class will be something like, 1 to 2 year olds. They don't really do classes solely based on age. They base it more on development but still like to put age into consideration.

I'm so sorry for the extremely long post! I should have updated sometime between Halloween and now but oh well! It's been an extremely busy time for me. Between hostessing my best friend's baby shower, organizing Barrett's 1st Birthday Party, and other family members and friends birthdays and events, I just haven't had the time to do anything else. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and rest of the week!

Busy Bee...

So, as my title says, I feel like a busy bee lately. I had a really good relaxing weekend though. Friday night, I went to eat with 2 of my girls. One has a son that's a year old and the other is due in January with a little boy. Barrett joined us as well. We had a really good time together. Saturday night, Ty's parents kept B overnight and we went with a couple that we're friends with to a Halloween party and had a good time. Today, I ran some errands, cleaned house and then tonight, we went to eat with my parents. I'm excited about taking B trick-or-treating tomorrow for the first time. I can't decide between his Hulk costume or his monster costume. Obviously, he can't eat candy yet but I'm sure we won't have a hard time getting rid of it LOL.

This upcoming weekend will be really busy. Friday night, we're going to dinner for our cousin's birthday. Saturday is my nephew's birthday party in Paris. Sunday is my best friend's baby shower at my house. Not to mention, this week I have quite a few appointments and other small things I need to do. My birthday is November 9th and I'll be 28. It seems really weird to say that. Barrett is getting dedicated at church on November 13 and I'm so excited! I didn't know about the last baby dedication they had until the day of so I'm glad I had the opportunity to do this one. November 19th is Barrett's first birthday party, which will consume and already has consumed a ton of my time but I don't mind a bit! November 21st is his real birthday so I'm sure we'll do something small that day as well. Then of course, Thanksgiving is November 24th which is busy for everyone. I have quite a few sides of family to celebrate with so we may have to condense what we can this year. It's hard to get a 1 year old to travel a bunch and cooperate. I haven't done a bit of Christmas shopping so I really need to get on that sometime soon. Right now, it's kind of last on my to-do list.

Anyways, I felt like I needed to update so there ya go. Barrett's now pulling up like a pro and starting to take some steps with the assistance of one of us or a piece of furniture. He knows how to brush his hair and turn on all of his toys, using them the way they were intended to be used. He just learns so fast and it's unbelievable. I am so very proud of him and love him more than anything in the world. I hope everyone has a good week!

A rough few weeks...

My family has been sick non-stop lately and it's getting old, to say the least. Ty started with a bad cold around a month ago. Then, B got it along with double ear infections. Then, I got the cold. It lasted around 2 weeks for each of us. I was stuck with a killer headache for about a week after the cold junk went away. The headache finally went away Tuesday. Wednesday, Barrett started acting kind of groggy and was really fussy. I got sick once Wednesday night. Thursday, daycare called and said he wasn't acting like himself and had a low-grade fever, so I went and picked him up and took him to the doctor. I was worried maybe he still had an ear infection but they said his ears looked good. Unfortunately, his daycare class has had a stomach bug going around. He ended up vomiting that whole day. He looked pitiful and it was probably the worst I'd ever seen him :(. He's had diarrhea ever since, multiple times a day. Friday night, it went through his pajamas and all over the living room carpet. Saturday morning, we woke up to it all over his crib. I stayed nauseous Wednesday through Friday and it hit me full-force Saturday so I've been worthless the whole weekend. To top everything off, Ty came down with it tonight. It's the hardest thing to take care of your child when you feel like death and now I have to take care of my husband too. Luckily, I got a little break last night. My mom and stepdad kept B so I could have a break. I literally didn't get up off the couch from 7 pm Saturday until today at 3 pm. I'm just hoping everyone gets over this virus soon.

I absolutely HATE being lazy though. We were in desperate need of some groceries so I had to go to Walmart today. Laundry and dishes also had to be done. Then of course, sheets needed washed and so forth to try and get rid of the sickness in our house. It was a horrible decision to do all of this stuff though because now I feel bad again. It's the weirdest thing. I know so many people that have caught this virus and I'm beginning to think it's a terrorist act LOL. I'm thinking all 3 of us are going to have to stay home tomorrow but we'll wait and see in the morning.

On a positive note, I can't believe that B is only 1 month away from being a year old! I've been so busy getting ready for his birthday party. I'm probably going overboard but he's only turning 1 once! I've had a few people say, "he won't remember anything so why are you doing so much"...it's annoying! I shouldn't have to justify what I do with MY child. Anyways, here are the details...it's going to be at Fun Zone in Three Way. For those of you that don't know about Fun Zone, it's a children's play-place with inflatable jumpers. Yes, I understand that the average 1 year old won't be able to do much in a jumper but most of the children invited are going to be above the age of 2. Any child under 2 can have a parent take them on the jumpers. They allow you 2 hours for parties. 80 minutes of playtime then 40 minutes in the cake room. I've got all kinds of cute stuff that I've ordered to decorate. I've invited 95 people :/ but I don't expect even half of them to show up. I'm getting Shirley's to make his cupcakes and ice them. I'm planning on making his animal cupcake toppers out of fondant. The party theme is circus/zoo animals. I hope it turns out cute and entertaining. He'll atleast be able to look back at pictures...LOL.

It seems like Barrett learns something new every day now. He blows kisses, waves/says hello and bye. He's crawling like a champ and can pull himself up now. He knows close family/friends' names. He loves kissing and patting Lilly. He's so good with her. He knows how to lovingly pat her instead of hit her or pull her hair. When I turn Mickey Mouse on, his little face just lights up. Luckily, he's going through a really good sleeping stage. He sleeps about 10 hours a night. We started the cry-it-out method a few months ago and it's the best thing ever! Yes, it breaks my heart when he has rough nights where he cries by himself in his crib but it's great for all of us. He wakes up happy because he gets enough sleep. He's still eating mostly baby food. I've tried cut up peaches and other fruits/veggies but he's still gagging and won't eat them. We'll try them again soon. He's not even one yet so there's no rush. He will try to take some steps when we hold his hands as he's standing. He just doesn't have the pattern down quite yet, as to HOW to walk. I'm definitely not rushing that though. Him crawling is more than enough for me to keep up with! He even has a girlfriend at school LOL. They're so cute! Her name is Reese and she's a little doll. They're beside eachother almost everytime I pick him up in the afternoons. The teachers all tell me that if one of them is upset, the other will come over and hug them. There's some kind of bond there ;). I'm sure it's because they're both there the latest together every day, usually just the two of them.

Anyways, I'm all talked out and worn out. I hope ya'll have a great week!

I never knew I could love someone sooo much!

Barrett has been such a doll-baby lately, even though he's been sick AND teething. He is just the sweetest little thing. I've never been so excited to get off work before! I always have something to look forward to (going to pick him up from daycare). It's so sad that he's grown up so fast but at the same time, I'm very thankful to be in the "fun" stage for now. We definitely still have our rough times but it all pays off when I see him learn new things and grow.

Right now, he's standing while he holds onto things. He can't pull himself up just yet though. We have already lowered his crib just in case he decides to do so randomly. He's been scooting around for a month or so now. He actually crawled forward a couple of times today, which is a first! He LOVES his jumperoo still. He enjoys sitting in the floor, pulling every toy out of his toy box. He likes his walker too, but still only able to go backwards in it. He says da-da (daddy), ba-ba (bottle), bye-bye, hey, and a few more things. He can say ma-ma but he only says it when he's crying ;). I feel like he's tried to say "Lilly" (our dog's name) a few times. I'll tell him, "say 'Lilly'" and he'll say "Izzy". It's pretty cute, regardless. He's still only eating level 2 baby foods, infant cereal, and formula. He generally eats 4 servings of baby food, 1 serving of infant cereal, and 25 ounces of formula a day. Sometimes, he'll eat some Puffs, Mum-Mums, and juice as a snack. Every once in a while, we feed him whatever we're eating if it's able to be mashed up really well. He has 1 tooth that we know of. It's his bottom front left tooth. He was sooo sick the week before it came through (2 weeks ago), bless his heart.

His room looks a little more like a big-boy's room now. We took down the changing table parts a few months back, just because when we change his diaper, we do it in the living room. We just keep a diaper caddy in there with diapers, wipes, butt paste, and diaper bags in it. It's so much more convenient for us! Since taking the changing table parts off, he has an actual dresser with his TV, piggy bank, toys, and DVDs on top of it. We still don't use his bumper pads in his crib because I'm just too scared of SIDS. They're adorable and yes, his crib would look so much cuter with them but it's not worth the risk for me. I figure shortly after his 1st birthday, we'll start using them since that's when the risk of SIDS goes down significantly. Really, the only reason why you need them anyways is to prevent the baby from getting a limb stuck in between the rails or to prevent them from bumping their head. I would much rather the latter happen than him smother to death. Even though some parents may not agree, it's ultimately up to Ty and myself.

We've woken up to him whining at night lately and found him sitting up in his crib. He's learned how to roll over to his tummy and sit right on up...it's so cute, yet bothersome at the same time because I have to go in there and lie him back down each time. This is the first time I've used a video monitor in his room. I used one when he was born but I found myself staring at it too much so I sold it. I've done fine with the basic sound-only monitor until we discovered him sitting up in the middle of the night. This way, I can look and if he's sitting up, go in and lay him back down. If he's still lying down when I look at the monitor, I leave him alone and let him cry until he goes to sleep or until I break down and go get him, LOL. I'll just check it every few minutes to make sure he's stayed lying down. He usually doesn't go to bed until 11 pm every night and wakes up between 6 and 8 am. He naps around 4 hours total every day, with no exact schedule. It's pretty much impossible for him to be on a to-the-minute schedule. It doesn't work for him or us. It just seems like we have too much going on to commit to it. For example, I don't want to have to stay home from going to dinner, just because he needs to nap. He can nap wherever we go and half of the time, he ends up staying awake, playing. He usually does things within the hour every day but we're never dead-on as far as the time goes. He's determined to stay up late...we've tried EVERYTHING, literally. I guess it's because we stay up late too, which is fine.

He's wearing 18-24 month clothes right now and size 4 in diapers. He likes to give kisses and hugs. He thinks it's funny to feed us and give us his pacifier, which we think is funny too. He really laughs when Ty takes his hands and makes him fake-punch things. It's great thing to teach him, I know, haha. We took him to North Park last week and he LOVED the swings. We'll be going more often now that it's cooled off a bit. I hate they don't have more than 1 baby swing though. We have a tiny park in our neighborhood and we're planning on going down there one day this week to see what they have. I'm sure it's not much.

Barrett will be 10 months old on Wednesday and 1 year old on November 21st! It's crazy to think about. I'm busy planning his birthday party right now. I've got his invitations and have most of the envelopes addressed. I've put together his party favor boxes. I have a few small touches to the invitations and the boxes before I'm done with them. I still also have to order some cakes. I've contacted Dumplin's and am just waiting on them to call me back. I figure I'm going to do 2 cupcake cakes and a smash cake. If they don't get back with me by tomorrow, I'm going to call the lady that did our wedding cake and has done some other small cakes for me in the past 4 years and see if she can do them.

Anyways, I think I've written more than you care to read, haha. I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Happy early birthday to my first-born nephew, Walker. He'll be 12 years old on October 1st! We love you, Walk!

Thank goodness THAT'S over!

Last week was one of the worst weeks for Barrett since he was about a month old. Firstly, it's been hard on him, having to get back into the daycare routine and not being with us 24/7 like he was while we were on vacation 2 weeks ago. Secondly, last Monday, we started letting him "cry it out" after we put him in his crib at night. We rock him to sleep every night. He would be knocked out but as soon as he was laid in his crib, he'd cry. The first night, he cried for about an hour before he fell asleep. However, since that first night, he's done MUCH better, only crying for about 15 minutes IF he cries at all. He's also waking up 1 or 2 times at night, which I know isn't really that bad but I'm just not used to it. For the first 6 months of his life, he slept in his crib for at least 8 hours straight, every night, hardly ever waking up in the middle of the night (of course except for the first month or so). At 6 months, we made the mistake of putting him in our bed when he'd wake up at 4 am or so, and it became habit. If I could go back in time, I would have never put him in the bed with us that first time. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing for all children to sleep with their parents. I'm just saying that it wasn't healthy for our family. I know Barrett loved it but he had gotten so attached to us that we couldn't hardly set him down without him crying for us to hold him. Also, we have a queen bed and it was getting to be a tight squeeze for all 3 of us. Now that we have our bed back to ourselves, I'm loving it! It's nice to be able to cuddle with my husband again!

Saying Barrett was fussy 24/7 last week is a huge understatement. We went to the doctor Monday for his 9 month checkup, which went well. He was fine at the time but as soon as we got home (go figure) he started coughing bad. We went back to the doctor Tuesday and Dr. Woods thought B had Croup again, so he took Prednisone for 3 days. I could tell he felt horrible from the Prednisone AND whatever sickness he had. When I picked him up from daycare Friday, the worker told me he'd had a REALLY bad diaper and it had gotten all over his clothes so I started getting concerned. I got home and checked his temperature and sure enough, he had a low-grade fever. Something made me think to check his gums and his bottom right front tooth had come through! I was relieved but felt bad at the same time. If I had known he was teething all week, I would have postponed the "crying it out". Bless his heart, now I know why he cried so much :(. I had no idea that teething would make him so sick. He was coughing, had diarrhea, runny nose, sleepy but not sleepy, ill, starving one second and not the next...you name it. I'm just glad that it came through because since Friday, he's been such a pleasant baby! He stayed with Ty's parents Friday night so Ty and I could go out with a couple of our friends. It was nice to have a baby-free night after the horrendous week we all had.

I'm relieved that every thing's back to normal. We were in Florida for a week. The day after we got back, Ty went to Bristol with some friends for a Nascar race, leaving Barrett and I at home. I loved getting time with Barrett by myself but it was a little exhausting! We got some quality mommy-son time. Ty was in Bristol from Friday to Sunday. Then, Barrett went back to daycare that Monday and Ty and I went back to work. I was expecting to be overwhelmed with paperwork, piled up from vacation but it wasn't bad at all! It was definitely enough to keep me busy all week, but heck, you can only do what you can do...no reason to get stressed.

I found out when I got back from vacation that my grandmother has been diagnosed with colon cancer. However, the doctor believes he removed all of the cancer and none was in her lymph nodes, which is a good sign. We went to visit her last weekend and I couldn't believe how well she was getting around! It had been at least a week since her surgery but the incision she had was really long and looked like it hurt. Her spirits seemed to be great though! The next step is to just see an oncologist and make sure she keeps herself updated with tests and all.

Ty's grandfather got married this past Thursday, so congrats to him and his new wife. Also, my sister, Christie's, birthday is tomorrow so happy birthday, Chris! Happy belated birthday to my father, whose birthday was September 1st. I'm so glad we have tomorrow off work! Everyone have a good Labor Day!