Happy Easter!

From our family to yours!

We're not a big Easter basket family. It can be distracting from what we celebrate on Easter Sunday. However, when I saw this basket - she had to have it. ;)

I kept things basic because she doesn't need much and she can't really do much. ;) So she got baby bath, a ball and an Easter Olivia book. The lullaby dolly came from our Aunt Melissa who continues to spoil her via the US mail. ;)

Our girl sure is loved.

Until next time...

Day 31 - Stuff

I was going through some old stuff a while back and found these. They're old bookmarks that are dated 1983 which means they once belonged to my mom. And I still have them. And I still use them. 

;)

Until next time....

Day 30 - Relax

We had a busy day yesterday so before dinner, we rested a little at Nana's house. I relaxed and watched some Supernatural while the baby and Daddy napped. 

My mom has been trying to come up with what Alice should call her. We've tossed around several different options and she keeps saying Alice will decide. But that might be a while! And until then, I need something to call her! 

I think we've settled on Nana. We like Nana.

So Nana it is!

Until Alice changes it.....

With a Sheep - Week 12

This is a day late due to a very fun filled Friday and stupid internet issues. Technology, I swear. 

There's a smile!

We've had another busy week! We had a successful shopping trip, had trees cut down, brought our L&D friends some candy, visited my doctor and had a fun dinner with Nana and Aunt Tami. 

Since I knew were going to be out of the house Friday, I took this picture before we left the house. I usually try to take them early. The earlier I take them - the more accommodating she is. If we wait too long - she's just not interested. :)

Little Alice is 27 weeks old. She's watching things and giggling. She's TRYING to hold her bottle. Mostly she holds it and pushes it out of her mouth. It flew halfway down the couch the other day. Silly baby.

Here she is waiting at the doctors office with us. Her little half smile slays me. 

We're in trouble. 

Until next time...

Day 29 - Goodnight!

She is totally over sleeping in her Nap Nanny. This means we've had some sleepless nights. While she has a lovely crib - she prefers the full sized bed with the egg crate on it. And since the bed is a little big, I worry about her sleeping alone so I've been sleeping with her. I know, I know - that's a HUGE no, no! 

But I don't really care.

If she's in the bed with me, she sleeps for 8 hours. Do you know how long it's been since 8 hours of sleep was an option for us? A WHILE! So I don't fret too much about sharing her bed. 

Now I also don't sleep the 8 hours. I spend a lot of time worried I'm going to roll over her or that she'll suffocate on the sheet she keeps pulling over her face. 

The child has zero survival skills. We will bundle her up to try to keep her warm and all she does is kick out of her blankets and pull her mittens off. And when she's cold - she cries. This is another reason I put her in the bed - it keeps her warm. 

And I have a small confession. I kind of like sleeping with her. Her tiny sighs settle me and when she holds on to my shirt, I feel extra needed. 

However, she kicks in her sleep like her Aunt Tami. Yeesh. ;)

Until next time....

Brachiosaur Sauropod, Our Brachiosaur Sauropod!

Did you know the Texas state dinosaur is the Brachiosaur Sauropod? Yeah, I didn't either.

Last night my Beloved came home with a booklet from the state senator's office on the Lee campus. In it  lists the official Texas state symbols. And there are plenty!

The list entertains my Beloved but also frustrates him. He's annoyed at the fact we need a state gem AND a state gemstone cut. He is also put out with our "flying mammal" which happens to be the Mexican Free-tailed Bat. He's put out because he's pretty sure bats are the only flying mammal with the exception of the Flying Squirrel which "as we all know - glides!"

He is also annoyed with the fact that the list of 33 - including everything from dish (chili) to grass (Sideoats Grama) to pepper (Jalapeno) to native pepper (Chiltepin) to seashell (Lightening Welk) - required legislation. EACH. ONE.

Yep, our tax dollars at work. 

He is very passionate about this even before my second cup of coffee on an early morning after about 3 hours of sleep. ;)

I go on to say everyone in our house is crazy. (This is after we had to pretend to put a scoop of the dog's 'new food' in his old food so he would eat it. It's the same food. He's retarded.) Daniel claims if everyone in the house is at 100% crazy - he's only like 20%. 

To which my reply was "ummm no, you're about 98.5%."

And he laughed. Mostly because he knows it's true. ;)

Here's the list just in case you were wondering what the Texas State Folk Dance was. Spoiler alert! It's the Square Dance! 

Until next time....

Day 28 - In the Mirror

I've spent today avoiding looking at myself in the mirror so this picture will have to do. I took this on our way from Huntsville. Such a pretty sunset!

This morning we had some trees removed which meant we were up very early. This would not have been a problem if I had slept. However sleep seems to be something I can't do lately. It's not the baby, it's just life I think. There are some things going on and I think my mind is a little preoccupied. Hopefully it'll pass soon enough. 

Until then I'll leave you with a baby win. She managed to get off two pairs of socks.

And she doesn't look one bit ashamed!

Time for three pairs..... ;)

Day 27 - Pair

The prettiest pair of blue eyes I've ever seen! 

These are the first attempts. She was less than accommodating this morning...

On to a success of the day! I had to venture out to the bank and since I didn't get to do any grocery shopping yesterday I was able to split my list between Walmart and Kroger. This meant I didn't have a huge Walmart list after all.

So I put my big girl panties on and took the baby to the store. 

I can do this. 

And while she did take up a lot of cart space, she was willing to share it with diapers, Easter candy, Clorox wipes, dinner and dog food. 

We got this!

While we were in line, the lady behind us mentioned she remembered when her kids were that small. She said she would get hand baskets to put the groceries in while the baby was in the cart. I told her my incompetence when it comes to putting the baby on the handle bar. She was quick to say never to do that, it's just not safe. This made me feel better. I KNEW it wasn't safe! ;)

We not only visited the bank and Walmart but we also got gas! HOLLA!!

Now we're back home and safe in our jammies. ;)

Until next time....

Day 26 - Something you did...

I mastered the Sock Battle!! I can't keep socks on Little Bitty to save her life. She just kicks and kicks until she's barefooted and freezing. My Beloved worries about her survival skills. Last night when he came home he noticed she was wearing two pairs of socks.

I told him since she's mastered getting one pair off, I'm challenging her. 

HA! Take that kid! Try getting TWO pairs off!! 

If she does, she'll be wearing three pairs. And when she masters three - four.

One day my Beloved will come home to a child wearing her entire sock drawer. But she'll be WEARING them! 

Now for something I DIDN'T do. A mommy fail.

I attempted for the second time to shop on my own with Little Bitty. However I didn't make it in to the store. 

I can't figure out how to secure the seat to the cart. I worry I'm an idiot. 

The first time I only needed a few things so I put her entire seat in to the cart. She takes up a lot of room! 

SEE!! She takes up ALL the cart space!

But today I needed lots of stuff. When trying to get her balanced on the cart like all the other cool moms who have NO trouble at all, I was worried with how unstable it seemed! I'm not a great cart driver. One bump and over the edge she goes! 

So I panicked and put her back in the car with her "momma cray" face and cried all the way home. 

Sometimes I'm no good at this.  

Luckily, she doesn't know any better. ;)

Until next time....

Day 25 - In Your Drawer

I love me some crazy socks!

;)

Day 24 - Up

Today we got to go to Huntsville to visit with Grandma and Grandpa and Granny! My Beloved had to run by the school first so I snapped this picture going over the bridge:

We had a great visit! Our girl sure is loved. ;)

Until next time....

This deal STINKS!

I'm pretty sure my Beloved and our daughter have made a deal.

You see, she can spend ALL day with my Beloved and then he will leave the house for 10 minutes.

And in those 10 minutes...

...she will poop. 

Every time.

I think the garage door going down is a signal - "here's my chance!"

And as if to solidify this deal - she has a onesie that says "I love my Daddy" and every time I put her in it within 2 minutes of having it on - she poops. And then smiles! 

Because it's HILARIOUS! 

Yeesh.

;)

Until next time.....

Day 23 - What You do for FUN!

I do a lot of things for fun!

I read.

I blog.

I watch TV.

I lunch with friends.

I shop.

I hang out with my Beloved.

I take pictures.

Like this one. 

Silly Momma.

Until next time....

With a Sheep - Week 11

I'm going to need a taller step stool. ;) Our girl is getting big! She turned 6 months old on Wednesday which seems NUTS. It can't be six months! But it has been.

She had her 6 month check up today. She's up to 13 pounds, 10 ounces! She also got a ton of shots which totally stinks. I've been really good and haven't cried at any of her appointments but today I couldn't take it. The tears and wailing were too much to handle. She slept it off the in car and was smiling by the time we got home. 

Such a pretty girl

Our girl is 26 weeks old. HOLLA! She still hates Tummy Time and I'm pretty sure she's teething. Sadness. 

Today's onesie is brought to you by MamaCase Prints. It's still a little big but I wanted her in something comfortable after her shots. The pants are from the Mayes Family. It's an owl set but she only fits in the SUPER cute owl pants. She's in between 3 and 6 months clothes. The 3 months clothes are too small however the 6 month clothes are way too big. Poor child. Welcome to being a girl. ;)

Until next time....

Day 22 - About You

I am a silly girl with a blue streak, crazy socks and a library card. 
I like beer (surprisingly), Dr. Pepper and chocolate.
I knit, write and attempt to sew. 
I love my family and our dog. 
I loathe roaches. 
I LOVE my red shoes and wear them every chance I get.
I am a mom. Crazy, I know.
I don't look for crazy - it just happens.
I'm a medical mystery. 
I like to blog and take pictures. I'm thankful my Mamaw and Coulette enjoy it. ;) And since I KNOW they read it - I'll add a picture of Alice. Because I have no shame when it comes to pictures of our girl. ;)

Until next time....

Day 21 - Working

My new day job.

Perfection. Even on the hard days.

I read a quote that said "bad moments don't make you a bad mom." I think it's important for every mom to realize that. 

Today she had a brief moment of fussiness and wouldn't settle. I found myself saying "are we about to have a moment?" ;)

Until next time...

Day 20 - Clean

A bubbly bowl full of bitty bottles.

Clean. I like a mostly clean house. I'm not a fanatic. I understand we LIVE here so dirt and mess happen. We also have a dog so we'll never have clean floors again. These are things I've come to terms with.

However, I am NOT okay with sharing my home with rodents. No ma'am.

About a week ago the dog started barking at something. My Beloved checks and says it's nothing but really it's a small rat on the porch railing. Nasty.

We had the exterminator out and he put out some poison and set some traps in the attic. We haven't heard anything from the attic and since I'm up at all hours of the night, I feel this is my responsibility. I have great hearing and I've heard nothing. The exterminator suggests they're UNDER the porch. Yes, under the porch is better. 

Traps set, we're good to go.

Fast forward to Monday. We're having mom over for dinner and I look up to notice a few HUGE flys in our kitchen light. I jokingly say "you'd think we had something dead up in the attic!" And then we got quiet and looked at each other. 

My Beloved - "I'll check the trap."

He comes in from the garage and proceeds to get out a garbage bag and gloves and assures me "everything is fine." Liar, liar - pants on fire.

Now I'm in TOTAL freak mode with visions of our baby being carried off by a group of disgruntled rats in the middle of the night. Months ago when were having foundation issues, Daniel had to cut a hole in the kitchen to reinforce the cabinets. I also had visions of rats flying out at my face at 4am when I'm mixing bottles to avenge the one that went for the peanut butter. 

Because my husband loves me, he fixed that problem.

We're laying in bed that night and I say in all seriousness "it's just so gross! The house now has death in it." And he laughs because his wife is a CRAZY person.

I don't keep a dirty enough house to have RATS! Gross! But we live on a water way so it's going to happen. It doesn't mean I have to like it. One bit. 

Until next time...

Day 19 - A sign

Today Little Bitty and I were out and about and got to stop in to see the ladies of Labor and Delivery at The Woman's Hospital of Texas. They like seeing her and she likes to be seen so it works out. ;) 

She got to see her original NICU doctor and all the nurses that work with Grandma Karen. These are women who prayed for us while we were there. People that worried for us. People that didn't know us but knew my mom and that alone made us family. These are women that saved my life and took care of our girl.

And I'm forever grateful. 

Until next time....

Day 18 - Shoes

We wore red shoes on our wedding day. Red is after all my signature color. ;) I wore the CUTEST pair of kitten heeled red shoes and my Beloved wore red Converse. He was reluctant but willing to wear his red shoes during the reception. 

So when we found out Little Bitty was a girl - I knew she HAD to have a pair of red shoes of her own. And here they are. His, mine and hers. 

His, mine and hers

This was my first attempt to take the picture while the baby was asleep. 

I guess Atticus didn't want to be left out. ;)

A family picture of sorts

The last time Alice tried her shoes on, they were a little big. ;) 

Soon enough

I love shoes. I haven't bought any in a while and I haven't worn my cute ones in a while as well! But 'Hello Summer!!' That's about to change!


Until next time...

Day 17 - Green

Nobody is pinching our girl this St. Patty's day!

Coming or going! ;)

Until next time....

Day 16 - 9 O'clock

9 o'clock and Dad's eye is twitching!

Sometimes it's hard to come up with stories to go with each picture. Our life is not ALWAYS crazy. ;)

I found this picture on Pinterest long before Little Bitty was born and wanted to duplicate it one day. Only our girl's feet were way too small for such things! 

Disclaimer - this is NOT my picture. Just one I want to copy.

Well, last night as she was kicking on the couch it occurred to me that the feetsies might be big enough! So I grabbed a pen, her foot and attempted to write on it. My Beloved sees me grab the pen and asks what I'm doing. When he sees me grab the baby's foot he says "don't write on our baby! What are you doing!?"

I tell him I saw this super cute picture on Pinterest (this earns an eye roll and a sigh - I'm pretty sure he wants to punch the Pinterest creators in the face). I say the pen didn't work so I'll have to try eye liner or a sharpie. He follows this up with "don't write on the baby!!" To which my response was "yeah, you're going back to work next week." Him - expletive. Me (to Alice) : "Don't use Daddy's words!" ;)

I hit my phone right after this conversation and the clock said 9:02. SCORE! Now I have a story! 

This isn't the first time he's had cause to worry about how we fill the hours while he's at work.

We had her at the doctor the other week and she was smacking on her hands. 
My Beloved: I wonder what her hands taste like.
Me: They might taste like dog.
Him utterly disturbed:  what?!
Me: Well! The dog has been known to lick her hands!
Him (to Alice): That's it. I'm quitting my job to stay home with you and your mom is going back to work! :)

I'm not sure that would be much better. I ran an errand the other day and came home to this:

Me: Daniel! Her toe is sticking out!
Him: It's perfectly normal for your toe to stick out of your socks.
Me: No, no it isn't! If your toe is sticking out of the sock - throw the sock away!
My Beloved: Oh, my bad. 

:)

Again, I'm VERY thankful there are LOTS of people praying for our girl. Lord knows her parents need it. 

Until next time....

(Editors note: Daniel says he feels misrepresented and says he meant that she could wear the outfit one last time before we threw it away. Not that is was okay to have your toe sticking out all the time. Just one last time. ;) )

Day 15 - Explore

Bright shiny things catch our girl's eye...already. ;)

Today while at Mommy's doctors appointment, Daddy's watch held her attention...

...until she figured out she couldn't get it in to her mouth. ;)

It's fun to watch her watch things. She follows people, colors, the dog. She's grabs on to anything within reach and to the mouth it goes! She was very upset the couldn't figure out how to get a box in her mouth the other day. It ended up on the floor. We're in trouble. 

Until next time....

With a Sheep - Week 10

This week has been Spring Break so we've had Daddy home with us all week and we got to see Uncle Travis! We started the week a little under the weather but Little Bitty seemed to recover quickly. 

Alice is 25 weeks old and counting. She'll be 6 months next week. Yeesh.

Until next time...

Day 14 - Tasty

And refreshing!

For a little something extra, I'll include a tasty recipe. I grew up eating Spaghetti Pizza and I still love it! It's an easy quick meal that's not the same old spaghetti. 

Spaghetti Pizza:

Ingredients:About 1 ½ lb of spaghetti noodles1 jar of Spaghetti sauce – your choiceShredded mozzarella cheeseYour favorite pizza toppings - we stick to pepperoni 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Cook the pasta to ‘al dente’ and drain like you would for regular spaghetti. After you’ve drained the pasta pour into a 13x9 baking pan. Add enough butter throughout the pasta to keep the noodles from sticking. Pour the entire jar of spaghetti sauce equally over the top. My Beloved prefers his pasta saucey, I like mine more buttery. So for his half, I mix the sauce in. You can mix it all in if you prefer. 

Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the sauce. Add any other ingredients you wish such as pepperoni. Put the pan in the oven and cook until the cheese is melted. 

Cut the pizza in to squares and serve! 

Yummy goodness

Until next time....

Day 13 - Sound

Let me start by saying we're not early risers. And we've been blessed with a child that feels the same way. She ate at 6ish this morning then back to bed she went!

So at 9:30 am when the you-know-what hit the fan - she slept right through it. 

Here's how the day started....

At 9:30 am the door bell rings, the dog goes BERSERK and my Beloved springs out of bed. 
"It can't be 12:30 yet!" I say in my cold med drunken state. (The Exterminator is set to come at noon.) "No - it must be the city" he says. While he throws on some clothes, the neighbor calls to let me know it's the utility guys trying to get in to the backyard and she knows we have a big dog. 

I'm sure by now the whole neighborhood knows we have a 'big dog' - he barks his head off every time the mailman drops off the mail or they pick up our trash. EVERY TIME. 

So now we're up. We can't complain - it's almost 10 am for crying out loud! But we were sleeping good. 

As I'm getting in the shower before they city decides to cut the water off to fix the leak  I say "I'm going to need some coffee."

My Beloved - "You and me both sister!"

The city fixed the leak without having to remove our fence. The exterminator came and went. Daniel took the dog for a walk through this adventure. Atticus HATES the exterminator. 

After all the commotion, we left the house for a bit. The dog was working my nerve! And I've decided why Daniel is his favorite! When he acts up, I spray him with the water bottle (which might as well be acid with the way he reacts) however my Beloved gives him a treat to shut him up. Yeesh. 

The leak is fixed. The house has been debugged. We've had a cupcake. And now it's almost time for bed.

Until next time....

Day 12 - In the Distance

This week my Beloved is on Spring Break and because we are proud homeowners he's taming the backyard. And this is about as close to the Outside as I care to get...

our yard today

The previous homeowners of our house spent a small fortune in yard care. We are not those kind of people. We've slowly removed things that we don't care for. Mother Nature killed other things. The dog managed to destroy a few things. My Beloved has spent many a day moving rocks. The previous homeowners also liked rocks. A lot. 

My Beloved is in the process of building a storage shed in the backyard. This process is currently on hold due to the fact that we've found a water leak that the city will have to fix right in the area a shed is supposed to go. That'll be fun! 

When we moved in, the yard was set up for entertaining. I like to entertain! But Inside. And now our priorities have changed. We have a dog. We have a baby that will eventually be a little girl who might want a swing. We aren't gardeners. We like simple. So we're purging the backyard, so to speak, in a hopes that things will be more manageable. 

4 years ago

And who knows what our yard will look like in another four years! Hopefully there will be lots of grass, an open porch and a swinging little girl. 

But all that's in the distance. ;)

Until next time....

Day 11 - Important...

Your EYES!!!

Take care of those peepers!

My shiny, new Rheumatologist (who I like a lot better than the last one) started me on a new drug. One that has some gnarly side effects including potential damage to your retinas. Fun times. This possibility does not bring me joy mostly because I paid a pretty penny to have my eyes fixed and the idea of screwing that up gives me heartburn. I like seeing. Period. 

So she sends me to an Ophthalmologist. Yay! A NEW specialist! I went in a few weeks ago for the initial exam. I like the doctor - she's a good fit for me. (Side note - with the exception of my original Rheumatologist assigned to me in the hospital, I have ended up with doctors that are good fits for me. I'm a challenge.) She looks in my eye and makes some notes. She adjusted my medication and told me to come back when my eyes weren't dilated for more tests. 

That brings us to today.

I went in this morning for a bunch of "click the button when you see the light" tests and nerve pictures and color tests. Luckily I didn't have to take the "Better, Worse, About the Same" test. I HATE that test. After the testing I see the doctor for the results. She looks at the pictures of my nerve and says (verbatem) "the nerve in your left eye is a little funky."

Yep. That'd be me. 

Mutant
Variant
Funky Nerve

Go ahead and chart it. 

She also said I failed one of the light blinky tests because I cheated. Apparently you're not supposed to LOOK for the light and the stupid machine can tell when you do. Tattle tale machine. Yeesh. I got better the second time which means I'm "trainable". Score for me!

Now I Get to back every 3 to 4 months for the testing. 

Oh joy, oh delight.

At least I can see!

Until next time....

Day 10 - I want....

...about 5 more hours of sleep.

Seriously. If I could close my eyes and sleep for about 10 hours straight, I'd be one happy girl. 

But that was so 6 months ago. ;)

Sunday we took a trip to Huntsville which meant we were up a lot earlier then I cared to be AND we lost an hour. Lame. ;)

While the weather started out yucky and I was feeling less than stellar, we had a lovely day!

Day 9 - Faceless Self Portrait

Rocking a sleeping Little Bitty. 

I like Faceless Self-portraits. I think they're fun. I like obscure pictures of feet and hands. I think it tells more about ones personality than a picture of their face. For example, you can usually judge my mood by the socks that I wear. This picture was taken yesterday and yesterday I had on my spring socks! They can go from St. Patty's Day through Easter. I like a versatile pair of fun socks. ;)

Side note - a perk of staying home is I get to wear my crazy socks every day. HOLLA!

Until tomorrow....