Hells to the Bells

Tami came in this past weekend. 

That's how some of the best blog posts start. ;) And once again, we should probably never leave the house together.

Let's start with Walmart and yet another example of my brain damage-ness.  Because I've been busy lately, I had a few last minute gifts to buy. This meant Poopie and I got to visit Walmart at 9pm on the Friday before Christmas. Oh joy, oh delight. We do our shopping but I still need to get something from the jewelry counter which was unmanned at the time. So Poopie waits there while I check out at the front. She's thirsty so we buy a bottle of water. After I pay - we switch places. She texts me from the front of the store asking which bag her water is in. Only it's not in any bag because I THOUGHT I put it in my purse....but it's not there. Ooops. I have no clue where it ended up. I lost a bottle of water within a span of 2 minutes and about 20 feet. That's talent my friends! Thankfully Alice has lots of people praying for her.

While she was waiting, Tami observed a strange character wondering around the front of the store. He apparently bought some of those trading cards kids play with and proceeded to hang out at the front of the store looking all stalkerish. A few minutes in to my wait (which was about 20 minutes at the jewelry counter) I get a text stating "HURRY UP!! THIS GUY IS FREAKIN ME OUT!" Lovely. Once I finished I hurried towards the dehydrating Poopie who practically runs out of the store. We're walking to the car as she's describing Mr. Creepy and all of a sudden she goes "oh my god!! Oh wait, that's not him. Thank God." She checked to make sure we weren't being followed the whole way home. 

On the drive home Tami asks if I've ever forgot Alice was with me. She then follows up this question with "don't let that question worry you about my babysitting skills - I totally got this!" ;)

Now to Merle Norman. Heaven help us all. 

Saturday was Mamaw's birthday so we were heading over to Mom's house for birthday fun. This was the plan - my Beloved was going to drop me off with Tami at the Merle Norman store, go get gas, then we were going to meet him at CVS so I could drop off a prescription. Easy peasie! 

We never made it to CVS. 

We walk in to Merle Norman and there are 3 people in front of us. After the couple checks out (which takes a little extra time because the girl working who's never worked a Saturday before forgot to charge them for a few things) a lady approaches the counter. Her first words are "just so you know, it smells disgusting in here. I almost can't take it it's so bad. I don't think it's you (meaning the check out girl) but it just STINKS!" Oh yeah, this is going to be fun. She then proceeds to look through her wallet for cash to buy a gift card because she's NOT spending more then she has on her. Period. Turns out it's $40. She's buying a gift card for her granddaughter who went to Texas State but is going to go to A&M soon maybe but is living with her right now. "Can you look up what make up she uses in the computer? One time I bought her a gift certificate and she gave it to a friend. I was so mad! How much is this?" She picks up EVERY ITEM on display on the counter and asks this. EVERY ONE! Mind you - it still smells 'disgusting and she's going to be sick'. Yeesh. Meanwhile, Daniel calls from the CVS parking lot. I tell him we're aborting that mission and to head back. When he arrives I go out to explain the situation in true dramatic style with flailing arms and everything. He is stuck in the car with a baby that likes to go so he proceeds to drive around the parking lot. As I'm walking back in, I notice a car parked in two spots. Completely straddling the line - I should have taken a picture. I think to myself - I bet I know who drives that....I go back in and we're still waiting on the loud mouth with a sensitive nose. Now she's asking what she gets for free with buying a gift certificate. A $40 gift certificate. Seriously!? She then goes on to say the normal manager who is much better gives her free samples and such when she comes in. She's just much better. 

If this was that show Boiling Point - we'd have bubbled over. 

The only thing keeping us quiet is the fact that if we get arrested my mom would have to come bail us out because Daniel can't stop the car or the baby will cry. And that might ruin Mamaw's birthday. So 1 point for self control! HOLLA!

It takes FOREVER for the girl to fill out a gift certificate (seriously, Merle Norman needs to computerize their stuff!) and FINALLY the nasty woman with the sensitive nose heads out the door. 

I tell Tami to watch which car she gets in to and....TOUCHDOWN!!! Yep - the rude parker is also the rude customer. Nice.

We hurry to the counter and start by saying "it doesn't stink in here - it smells like make up. And all we want is a gift certificate." 

We made the girl smile and feel a little better and had a story to reenact for the family. 

We were in the store so long Mamaw almost got the 'Hussy' perfume gift set. 

And now I can't find the prescription I was supposed to turn in to CVS. 

Hells bells. 

Until next time.....

A First Christmas

This Christmas was extra magical. :)

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Because I need a Laugh.....

TMI: This will be filed under 'Too Much Info' but The Sara(h)'s and Kristl could use a laugh so here goes...I haven't had a 'monthly visitor' since Marchish. I also haven't been at work since September. Last Monday was my first day back after spending 3 months with zero contact with the people I work with. None. Nothing..for three months. No "how's it going?" "are you alive?" NOTHING. This doesn't leave me with warm fuzzies. So my first day back I get an email saying my action item for the day is to inventory and pack everything and send it to the corporate office under the guise of "end of year inventory". Yeah, okay. Since I'm NOT an idiot, I also pack up some of my personal items from my office including the contents of my desk drawers including a bag of girly items. 

So I get to work on Tuesday and guess what I need!? Yep. Never fails. 

Sounds from the Baby's Room:

A few weeks ago, our sweet little angel child had a particularly disgusting diaper and her mother called 'Not It' so the daddy got to change it. As I'm sitting in the living room - this is what I hear: "Uggggg!! That is disgusting little girl! Oh my god. Ewwwww! Don't put your socks in it! Oh my lord - I worry about your survival skills Alice. Uggg!! SHE'S STILL GOING!" At this point I'm snorting with laughter and head in to assist him. 

Friday after I fed her she spit up all over me and her and the couch. And I mean ALL OVER. So my Beloved takes the child so I can clean up the couch. As I'm cleaning the couch cushion with spit up dripping down my shirt and pant leg, he's in the bathroom cleaning up Alice. This time I hear "Oh my lord it's everywhere. She has enough outfits, can't we just cut this one off of her?!" And I snort. I can't believe the hospital let us bring home a child. Seriously. 

I was retelling this story to my mom and Daniel called me a tattle tale. I reassured him this was going in the blog because as he would say "funny is funny." 

Our Poor Pound Puppy: The dog is starved for attention. Poor little thing. The other morning he was underfoot and I looked at him and said "listen, we're all out of patience and what patience we have has to go the baby so we need you play independently. Go find your bone." He didn't. 

I went to the store a few days later and bought him a bone because he really has been a very good dog. As I'm unpacking the groceries I notice he is sitting very patiently next to a bag. The bag holding his bone. :) 

A Young Man's Game: My Beloved and I feel that having a baby is something young people should do. At 35 and 31, we might be too old. We like sleep. We miss sleep. I tried to put my phone in the Diaper Genie the other day. And trust me, if I ever manage to put my phone in the Diaper Genie - I'm buying a new phone. 

Our Feisty Young One: But no matter how tired we are - we LOVE our girl. We think she's brilliant and cute and perfect. And she is definitely strong willed. We had her in one of those swaddle blankets the other day and she managed to free both of her hands. She doesn't like being tied down, at all. :)

Until next time......

A Broken World

My Beloved came home to a crying wife again Friday. My first words to him were "Alice is going to be home schooled. She'll learn everything she needs to know from seasons of Supernatural and Veronica Mars." And because he knows me, he said okay. 

The sadness that is the assassination of an entire classroom of babies is something that should break every heart. 

And now the debates begin. 

Who's to blame:

~Some will blame the shooters parents. This is unfair and unjustified. Even if it turns out he has spent his entire life living with abuse, it does not justify his actions. NOTHING justify his actions. Nothing.

~Some will blame gun laws. Seriously? Both sides have it wrong. Gun activists will claim harsher gun laws will "impede freedoms." Bull pucky. Our founding fathers meant the "right to bear arms" as protection I.E. guns used to protect self and home. NOT semi automatic assault rifles - pretty sure they didn't see those coming. Should people be able to protect themselves if they feel threatened - yes. Should this be done with weapons designed to kill on a mass level - not so much. Some will say they have the right to 'collect' such guns - again, bull pucky. Joe Blow doesn't need a semi automatic assault rifle....or four. Period. Anti Gun people will say no one should have a gun....ever. Yeah, good luck with that! Much like moonshine and drugs - people will get the things they want be it legal or illegal. We're a tricksy folk and we justify things we do that aren't right. And guns exist and so do people and as long as we both exist - we'll keep using them on each other. Period.

~Some will attempt to blame a school that wasn't prepared. Again - seriously?! How do you prepare for something like this? How do you see this as even being an option? The answer - you don't. You don't until you're standing face to face with a shooter on a mission. And then it's a little too late. They did what they could and they died protecting their children and next time things will be different. Because it's a sad world we live in and there will be a next time. That makes me sound like a Debby Downer but truth is truth. 

People are asking for a reason. Will that help? Will it help to know he killed a classroom full of kids because his mom told him to take out the trash? Or he lost a game of Call of Duty? Or someone somewhere made fun of his glasses? 

No. 

He killed a classroom full of kids because he was broken. Broken beyond repair. It doesn't matter who failed him along the way, the actions he took were his. And those actions have destroyed families forever. 

All those babies did was go to school. That's all I keep thinking. 

All they did was go to school.  A place where they were supposed to feel safe. A place of learning. 

And that's been destroyed. Not only for the Sandy Hook community but for a nation of kids. 

After Columbine, our high school ran drills for 'just in case'. Will Elementary schools add those drills to their schedule now? How heartbreaking. 

So my heart hurts for a broken world. It hurts for the family and friends of the victims, the traumatized teachers and students left to pick up the pieces and the general state of which our world is headed. 

It's just so sad. 

So for now, I'll snuggle with our girl and tell her I love her as much as I can because there are mommy's that won't get that chance tonight for no other reason then a broken boy. 

Until next time....

A Month with Our Girl

Alice has been home over a month! And she's doing so great. 

At the last Doctors visit she weighed 6lbs 4.9 oz! And as of yesterday - she is officially unplugged! No more monitor which is WONDERFUL! Now she can be carried around without having to worry about setting the alarm off. However now I find myself checking to make sure she's breathing more than before. It'll take some getting used to. 

It's amazing to me how quickly she's changed. And our little pocket child is the size of a normal baby now - it's weird! When out people will ask how many days she is. When we say she's 10 weeks they look at us like we're crazy. When we explain she wasn't due until this past Sunday they say "oh!" It's a fun game.

I'm going to selfishly complain a little. I was supposed to be home with her for a little bit longer than a month. We were supposed to have that time at home but that's not what worked out. I've loved being with her. But life comes at you fast and time never slows and now it's time for me to return to work. LAME! Being an adult is hard. If only someone would pay me to stay home and blog - any takers?! ;)

So now I face my last week at home with her. I'm trying to control the crying....

Seriously, who would want to leave this face?!

I'm so thankful to have had this time! I'm glad we did get to bring her home more than a month before her due date. I'm thankful she was here for Thanksgiving. I'm thankful when she screams like a Banshee when she needs a diaper change or is hungry. I'm thankful I can tell the difference! I was worried I wasn't going to be able to. I'm thankful for our family. Period.

Until next time.....

A New Christmas Tradition

When Daniel and his brother were growing up, every year at Christmas they got to pick an ornament. His mom stored each ornament with the year and their name on it. (Fun Fact - in 1981 my Beloved picked a Kermit ornament. This is the year I was born and frogs are my thing. :) We were meant to be! ;) ) 

When we moved in to our house, his mother gave us his ornaments for our tree. 

This is a tradition I love and this year we got to start it with Alice. 

This is her very first Christmas ornament. 

And it makes me smile uncontrollably. ;)

Until next time....