Grace is 6 months old!

You know you are a Mommy when...

- you seem to never be able to end the day in a clean shirt.

- your car slows down or speeds up and music plays (usually from one or more children's items in the back seat, diaper bag, or tailgate.)

- you never really get a good night's sleep, even if your child doesn't wake you up, because you have a to-do list running through your head or you are just worried about something (usually relating to your child.)

- you enjoy eating leftovers, only because that means that you don't have to cook that night.

- you trade your Coach purse for a diaper bag, or if you choose to one day carry a purse then it typically has at least one diaper, wipes, extra passy, one or more toys, a book, a bib/burp cloth, and a formula packet with an empty bottle (well, maybe not the last part if you are blessed to be able to nurse.)

- you choose to surround yourself with more children just to be able to sneak in a little light, interrupted conversation in with another Mommy or two. (AKA a playdate)

- you get excited about hearing a burp or poop.

- your schedule usually revolves around naps and feedings(and not your own).

- your favorite thing about nap time is actually when your baby wakes up from it and gives you warm, under the chin, sleepy, cuddly hugs.

- you are cooking dinner and you realize that you never actually ate lunch.

- you have nothing breakable in your house from your waist down, including on your Christmas tree.

- you get really excited about being able to take a long shower or bath without having to set a child up with an activity or distraction and without having someone watch you (and I don't mean your husband...lol).

- you spend more money on cute little clothes that are only worn for a few months than your own wardrobe, which you usually wear for a few years.

- your child-less date night somehow seems to end up including some type of errand for your child.

- you call your friends "Auntie" or "Mrs." so-and-so, even when your children aren't around.

- you refer to ages in weeks or months (except your own...that would be SCARY!)

- you call your hubby "daddy" instead of his own name.

You also know you are a Mommy when you love EVERY bit of it and wouldn't change a thing! :)

Grace sucks!...her thumb, that is

I am just devastated (ok, maybe that is a little dramatic)...Grace just started sucking her thumb! She did it for the first time last week. I thought it was just a fluke, but every day since then she has done it, and multiple times a day. I was hoping to avoid the whole thumb sucking thing, so ever since the day Grace was born, I have popped a pacifier (or "paci") in her mouth. (Mam brand to be exact...I like the different size options) The thing I like about pacis verses thumbs is that you can take a paci away, but you can't quite take away a thumb. Oh well, life will go on, and I will still keep taking out her thumb and pushing that paci!

Be careful what you post on Facebook, someone might just care!

Today was the first day as a stay at home mommy that I found myself asking, can I do this all day every day?! It started off with a bang, so to speak. Grace woke up at 4:15am (which is VERY unusual for her) and after a bottle, finally went back down at about 5:00am, but woke up again at 6:15, ready to go. Grace, Jasper, and I decided to walk Paul to work, and since it was such a nice day, continue our walk around the 2.5 mile loop in our neighborhood. Everything was going great, until we got on the exact opposite end of the loop from our house and Grace lost it. I stopped and held her until she calmed down and put her back in the jogging stroller. It's like she has a sensor in her bottom because she would immediately cry as soon as she landed in the seat, I had not even taking my hands off of her yet. I picked her up and began carrying her while pushing the stroller with Jasper attached to it. This lasted about 10 minutes before my arm started cramping and we hit the up hill streak. I finally just had to put her in the stroller and keep going. She screamed, and every jogger/walker/biker that passed me gave me some judging glance or word about her being hungry or upset or something...NOT helping people. I can clearly see that she is upset, but I am trying to get home. Once home, I fed her and she slept for all of about 45mins, only with me holding her, of course. Well, Grace and I were committed to taking Meg to Duke for a doctor's appointment. Thankfully, Grace was pleasant during lunch, but again, not so much while we walked around the park waiting for Meg...and the entire way home! It took me every ounce of restraint in my body to not scream at my 5 month old to STOP SCREAMING!...why can't I reason with you?...lol. My sweet, wonderful hubby called to check on us, and hearing her in the background, came home and sent me away...anywhere. I went to Chick-fil-a (of course) and sat in a quiet corner both, with a Diet Dr Pepper, finishing my Bible study, childless. It was bliss. Both Paul and my mom (because I just had to call her to commiserate, since she was also once a stay at home mom) convinced me to still go to my woman's Bible study that evening, even though I was mentally exhausted.

So, getting back to Facebook. In the midst of the craziness that was my day, I posted a few statuses, such as, "Walking Paul to work and then walking the 2.5 mile in the neighborhood with Grace and Jasper = great start to the morning. Having to carry a screaming baby while pushing the jogging stroller and wrangling Jasper = not what I expected! Needless to say, it's been a rough morning..." and "I have never enjoyed the quiet as much as I am right now, sitting in a corner booth at Chick-fil-a, drinking a diet Dr Pepper, finishing my Bible study reading, child-free...especially after a day of constant screaming, like today! Thanks baby! (And sorry you had to witness it Meg!)" I walked into the Glover's house for our every-other week woman's Bible study, and had 5 or 6 of the other moms ask me about my bad day, which they knew about only because they read it on Facebook. What a blessing to have such wonderful, concerned friends asking me about my day and giving me such a reassurance, who wouldn't have even known about my rough day if it hadn't been for Facebook.

Happy Birthday Month!

I would be lying if I said that I didn't love my birthday. It's not the presents, as a matter of fact, I enjoy GIVING presents way more that receiving them. I just really enjoy the words of encouragement and the time that people spend with me (definitely my love languages) because of my birthday. Thankfully, my hubby has allowed me to indulge in my "birth day month." However, this year I have to say that I haven't been counting down to my birthday month nearly like I used to. I'm not sure if it was having Grace or the fact that I turn 29 this year...my last year in my 20s!! Paul turned 30 last year and I threw him a surprise party. I am just going to say it now, I want to have a big bash...or maybe 2 or 3, however many I have to have in order to be able to celebrate with all of my friends and family (from Baltimore to Raleigh to Greenville.) You only turn 30 once! So, let the count down begin to my 30th birthday month...only 365 days! :)

Grace sure did fool me today

Today was the first day that Paul and I took Grace to the church nursery. We have been going to Life class and taking her, but not to service. We go to Providence Baptist Church, which has a FANTASTIC KidCheck system. You scan your key card to check your child in, where you can type special instructions/etc, and print off a label for the child and for each of the parents. On the label, it has a picture of the parent. How cool! I feel that she is super-duper safe there, it is just hard to leave her there for so long (a total of 3ish hours total between life class and service) with people that I don't know yet. Well, I made the mistake of going by her room between life class and service (Laura, I totally should have listened to you!). She was laying on the changing table, screaming her head off. In their defense, she had just woken up and needed her dirty diaper changed before her next bottle. I just couldn't handle it, so I told Paul that we were taking her and going home! Of course, as soon as we got her and all of her stuff, she was fine. I guess there is always next time...but I will NOT be walking by her room, I'm leaving that to Paul!