A Pinch of Hope

This weekend I stepped WAY out of my comfort zone for something I knew in my heart was important. 

I have been unapologetically vocal about my disgust with those in leadership roles and my disappointment with those who put them there. I share this on social media and in the shirts I wear when I leave the house.

But lately, that hasn't been enough.

Last Friday I decided to see if there was a No Kings gathering in our area and was pleasantly surprised to see one in our little community. I told my Beloved I needed to be there. I texted my like-minded Bestie and her response was an immediate "I'm down." That night we bought markers and made signs. 

I was going outside......

Before we left the house, it was important to me that Alice understood why this was necessary.

We talked about our Freedom of Speech and how the current administration would like to silence those who disagree with them. We talked about how they are trying to manage what stories the Press are allowed to tell. We talked about how they are attempting to erase parts of history that might make us uncomfortable; but these are things that to be learned so we don't accept the terrible treatment of others as being okay. 

Lastly, we talked about the importance of showing up for our friends that do not look like us who are having to worry about being unlawfully detained for the color of their skin. That is not something we have to worry about and it's important to use our voices for them. By showing our outrage at the blatant injustice - we are showing them they are safe with us.

On Saturday, with our signs in hand, we headed to City Hall and joined around 300 people from our community in solidarity that NONE of this okay. The lies. The shutdowns. The disgusting internet trolling done by the freaking leader of the United States - NONE OF IT IS OKAY.

We held signs, waved, blew bubbles, sang, chanted - even when it rained.  

And for the first time in a long time, we all didn't feel so alone.

We stood next to a woman from our neighboring community who was thankful to be able to stand with people who felt the same way she did. 

It's easy to feel like we're crazy. But over 7 million people peacefully gathered to express their anger at where we are heading. 

And for the first time in a long time, I had hope.

Hope that the hate won't continue to win.

Hope that eventually the lies will stop and consequences will happen. (I miss accountability and consequences and checks & balances...)

Hope that communities can live in peace again.

Just.....a pinch of hope.

I'm thankful we attended because now I know I'm not so alone in the immediate space I share with so many. 

Until next time....

Treat

In August, we started the AIP (Autoimmune Protocol) diet in an attempt to decrease some of my symptoms and fix my health. Our original research into Granulomatous Mastitis mentioned that the disease sometimes presents with underlying autoimmune issues. I had another scan coming up so I thought it might be good to try.

The first 30 days require you to get rid of anything and everything that would bring you joy. 

No, really.

We bought the Autoimmune Solution Cookbook by Amy Myers, MD. I got overwhelmed reading it so my Beloved read it.

It has lots of information and he finished by saying, "we should try this, it could help you."

So we did.

And the first 30 days were HARD!!!! 

But we did it.

I was never 100% compliant because the shopping list for this diet is stupid expensive. So I did what I could and I avoided all the large items.

I lost 10 pounds which was most likely inflammation. I have been on steroids for almost two years now so I was carrying a lot of extra weight. 

I do not have a hard diagnosed autoimmune issue meaning my symptoms do not check off any of the same boxes for some diseases.

For example, Psoriasis symptoms are easily noticeable. I do not have such symptoms.  

So I am not sure how much it helped my issues. 

The scan still showed diseased tissue - more on that later. 

However, with the weight loss, my blood pressure was MUCH better and the redness in my face was gone. I was no longer itchy all over and my anxiety was SO MUCH BETTER. 

Again, my autoimmune issues are tricksy so I don't know how much they helped but I felt so much better and that made it worth it.

I am not as strict as I was the first 30 days but I am monitoring what I eat much better.

And I miss things. But I've found some substitutions.

I miss cereal so yesterday at HEB we found one that's mostly obedient. And it's not bad!

I've worked occasional caffeine and alcohol back in because I'm human and I have needs.

Some days, I let my guard down and eat like I have no issues and my body calls me all the names in the book and revolts so I try not to forget the next time. 

But I do. Because tacos.

I'm thankful I ordered the book. I'm thankful for a Beloved who went along with it and encouraged me every step of the way. 

And I'm thankful that on most days, I feel better.

Until next time.......

Out with the Old, In with the New

2016 seemed like the longest year in the history of ever. 

We lost some weight!
My baby brother graduated COLLEGE!
My baby sister GOT MARRIED! 
My Beloved had a health scare. 
We watched Alice grow and learn. Everything she does is magic. Except maybe the fits or her dogged determination to get her way. But even that makes us kind of proud. 
We booked her 5th birthday trip to meet the Mouse. WE ARE SO EXCITED! 
We lost some people we loved. 
We lost some people we admired. 
We lost some people we grew up watching on screens and while we didn't know them personally, they still hurt. 
We watched the world seem to fall apart.
We lived through the WORST PRESIDENTIAL RACE EVER. 
We were disappointed with the state of affairs and 'people' in general.
The hate was disgusting. The indifference was disturbing.
Our hearts hurt for the hurting. 
We gained some weight. 
I was discouraged. And sad. And stressed. And scared.
Lots of doctor visits.
Money doesn't grow on trees. 
Adulting is hard. And lame. 
I didn't finish the certification program I feel like I've been working on for FOREVER.
I got a part-time job at a church as their Wedding Church Lady.
I booked a big wedding for 2018 and will get to help plan from start to finish. I AM SO EXCITED.

And I am hopeful. 

My 'word' for the new year is "FOCUS'. 

I have spent soooooo much of 2016 so very distracted. I want to spend this year more focused. 

Focused on house keeping.

Focused on finishing my program. (Seriously, Mamaw, pray for me! I NEED TO FINISH BEFORE MAY!) 

Focused on health.

Focused on happiness.

Focused on just being present for Alice. And my Beloved. And my loved ones. 

Focused on sharing on this little space a bit more. I know, I say that a lot. I miss the outlet, I miss the creativity, I need it.

Just focused. 

So, Goodbye, 2016 and all your drama and nonsense!! 

And, Hello, 2017, we're so happy to see you! We are hopeful that you will bring newness and peace and that we can remain friends. 

Real talk, though. We're not playing. 

Until next time.....

Alice Goes Potty

For Christmas, instead of Santa bringing her diapers - he brought her panties. She was unimpressed. Her 'scary' fairy, Nixie, also brought her panties. I did not have the camera ready for the Santa reaction, however, Aunt Tami was prepared for the second panty find.

Classic. 

You might wonder why the fictitious characters were the ones to bring her panties. Because her parents didn't want any of that blame! No ma'am! Let her be angry at them! We're no dummies! 

We started potty training the Monday after Christmas with the goal of starting 2016 diaper free.




The first day went about as well as we thought it would.

In nothing but a shirt and a diaper, we put her on the potty every 15-30 minutes. Nothing. 

And then she went on the floor. She did not like that! It only happened twice. Then she started going when we put her on the potty.

Day two was better! She seemed to be getting it.....mostly. There was only one accident. 

Day three we had no accidents! 

She remembered every time to tell us when she needed to go.

We spent New Years eve and day at Nana's. This was going to be a big test because we were going to be away from home and around lots of distracting people. So we packed lots of clothes, expecting lots of accidents. She only had one! That was it! 

She started back to school this week and so far, so good. She told her bff, Chloe that she's a big girl now so she wears panties. And every time she goes - she HAS to tell EVERYONE in the vicinity that she just "pee-peed in da potty!" Bless. 

She had to use the potty at Daddy's school this weekend. She handled that like a pro.

Now with the glitches. 

She only goes when she thinks she's ready to go which could be ALL DAY. It's currently 1:50 pm - she still hasn't gone all day. She's been drinking - but not going. And if she doesn't think she needs to go - besides it being a huge meltdown and possible physical fight - sitting her on the potty is useless. The child will sit there for hours and not go. Her commitment game is strong. This is completely contradictory of how her Daddy operates. I am thankful she has my bladder.

Pooping. She still isn't a big fan of pooping in the potty. She has pooped in her pants twice. When we can tell that's what she is about to do, we put her on the potty and she doesn't do it. She'll hold it until her tummy hurts. I don't know how to fix this. The first time, it wasn't a big deal. However, she did it over the weekend and we were not impressed. 

The biggest potty battle we face is washing her hands. Seriously. It's not hard. It doesn't hurt. But Little Miss Drama has a huge scene every time we tell her to wash her hands. This is also completely contradictory of how her Daddy operates. 

For the few mishaps, she is doing really good. She sleeps in pull-ups mainly because we have them and she's been really good at letting us know when she has to go.  I was in the shower last week and she went all by herself. It made me proud and a little sad. We removed the changing table from the top of her dresser. Now it's just a dresser. It kind of makes me wish we had started earlier. But mostly not.

She's turning in to such a big girl and there is nothing I can do to slow it down. This isn't bad! It's just bittersweet. 

This is her singing on the potty. She sings or reads - it's adorable. 

But we're biased. Mostly we think everything she does is adorable. Mostly.


So we started 2016 diaper free! And we have only had to throw away one pair of pretty panties. We know there will still be some learning and we will have some accidents, but we're pretty proud of how well she's doing. (And I totally understand that by typing these words - I am jinxing everything. You would think I would know better by now. Yeesh.) 

While she does her business, we leave her alone mostly. And sometimes when we come back - we find her like this....

Our silly Little Bitty.

Until next time.....

Healthy Smealthy

My Beloved and I are baby-stepping it into losing weight. We're getting up earlier and walking on our exercise machines while we watch Friends. It's totally lame but we need to do something. I don't want to be a sports fitness-wear model. I don't want to be a size two with bulging arm muscles. I just want my pants to zip. I just want to not look like I'm carrying a child. I got asked by my little cousin if I had a baby in my tummy at dinner the other night. Nope, and now I'm going home to drink my feelings. My Beloved says he looks like he's carrying a child too. I told him he would NEVER get asked when his baby is due. Me, on the other hand.....

So we're starting small.

I say baby-stepping because I am so unprepared to do a complete overhaul of our life that I know we will be unsuccessful. So far, Daniel has been such an encourager and has done well at keeping me accountable. And it SUCKS every morning.

Next month we intend to add a diet to our new routine. Yay. Diets are lame. I know people have been successful on the Whole 30 but it just has SO MANY RULES. And what the heck is ghee?! And Weight Watchers has SO MUCH MATH. See, this is why I'm not successful in regards to losing weight.

I told my Beloved we were having baked potatoes for dinner and then followed that with, "baked potatoes are healthy, right?!"

My Beloved - "NO!! It's a huge carb!"

Well, crap.

They're SO YUMMY! 

And I'm TOTALLY irrational (big surprise) and I think if I walk a mile - I should lose a pound. It's simple math. Only I was never good at math. 

I haven't lost anything. I'm pretty sure I've gained a few pounds. I am hungry ALL THE TIME now and I haven't even started a diet!! 

Maybe this was all a bad idea. 

He feels we have attainable goals.

I want to lose weight before Tami's wedding. That's a year. We can do it. We're not trying to lose twenty pounds in a month. We just want to adjust things so we're healthier. We want to be around for a long time with healthier habits and I want to look better in pictures. That's doable, right?!

Now I'm looking for a diet that we can do and be successful at and not fail. I want to eat food. I cannot eat loads of Spinach and I can't even look at Kale. I have to be extremely careful when it comes to my Vitamin K intake to avoid interference with my blood thinner. And I have a 3 year old to feed. I'd rather not have to make two different meals. 

So I'm searching Pinterest - my Beloved LOVES when I say that - and hoping to find something that will work for us.

But right now I just want cake. Lots and lots of cake. 

We were grocery shopping this past weekend and we found ourselves by the ice cream. (Cricecream - as Alice says it.) My Beloved says we should get some and I look at him like he's crazy. "We're talking about losing weight!" 

Him - "Oh yeah! I forgot."

We decided on getting the little cups so Alice could have some occasionally.

I said, "if you come home and find all the cups empty and my face covered in chocolate - I don't want to hear any judgement."

This is not going to be any fun at all. 

Until next time....

Summer Goals

I gave myself and Alice a few goals to accomplish this summer. So far we've marked one off the list without much effort. I don't think the others are going to go as smoothly. 

Here they are:

1: Get Rid of the Pacifier - DONE! 
I drug my feet on this one. This is the one milestone I was heartbroken to get to. It's the one thing that made her so much my baby and since she will be the only, it was HARD letting it go. But in true Alice form, she did it herself. We set a rule that paci had to stay in the bed so that limited her use. It was hard at first because her Kiki (blanket) and paci go together. When she has Kiki, she asks for Paci. We did good about making it stay in the bed. We stopped taking it in the car with us and she only used it at night. I hid her bowl full of pacifiers. When I would check on her at night, she would have it in her hand and not her mouth. So one night when I was rocking her (it's not really rocking, we sit in the chair and go over the day and everyone who loves her) I put the paci out of sight. And she didn't ask for it. And that was it. She will occasionally ask for it when she's super tired but it hasn't been bad. It does make bedtime different. I now have to go in a few times and add another stuffed animal to her bed until she's so surrounded, it's comical. I sneak in when I know she's out and remove a handful. She is very much an out-of-sight-out-of-mind child and I think she was ready so the transition was MUCH smoother than I thought. 

2: Potty Train
Yeah, this will be a challenge. We put her on the potty before every bath. Sometimes she uses it no problem! Other times she sits for a few minutes and then pees as soon as she gets in the bath. It drives her Dada batty. When she asks me during the day to go potty, I throw her on the potty. Nothing usually happens but we do it anyway. She usually poops and THEN asks to go potty. This is inconvenient. And not at all the correct order. She doesn't care. We talk about potty and I will let her come into the potty with me. The other day she was watching me get ready and asked what I was doing. I said, "I'm putting on my panties! Big girls get to wear panties, not diapers. Do you want to be a big girl and wear panties?" Her response - "Nope." So I'm guessing she's not ready. I don't want to rush her, that will only lead to frustration and stress. When she's ready, she's ready. But how do I know. I thought about moving her from diapers to pull-ups to see if that speeds the process along. I'm just not sure though. I don't know nothing 'bout potty training no baby. 

3: Learn Some Letters
She's pretty good at saying her ABC's along with you which is totally cute! And I would kind of like her to be able to recognize some letters before she goes back to school. But I also don't want to rush that either. I think too much pressure is put on little ones to know too much too soon. And I don't want that. I want her to be little as long as she can, however, if she could recognize her name - that's good, right!?

So those are the goals. So far we haven't focused too much on accomplishing them. So far we've been playing and imagining. And that's really what the summer is for anyway. ;)

Until next time......

Counting Teeth

Alice had her first trip to the dentist last month! Her doctors have been pressuring me to take her since her 18 month check up. Finding one was a challenge. Most dentists won't see kids under 5 so you have to find a Pediatric Dentist and finding one in our area was a challenge. And because a pediatric dentist is considered a specialty, they are also outside of network with our insurance. Awesome. (Disclaimer: when we picked the dental plan, there wasn't a child involved. It might be time to pick a new plan.)

We don't really know why she needed to go. They're not going to do anything in the event her teeth are out of place! And she is my child - her teeth WILL be out of place. I pray she won't have as much dental drama as I had but I know there will be some.

And she hates medical professionals so I put it off as long as I can.

But she did really good! I took her Sheep so she could have something to hold. She got a little anxious when we first went back but we had a long wait before the dentist came in so we talked about what was going to happen. I told her she was going to brush her teeth and count them. And then we could go.I also packed lots of distractions.

We sat for a long time. She asked what all the noises were and I could see her anxiety lessen. Then a new family moved in next door and their little one was screaming like a banshee. I thought, "well, there goes that!" but she handled it well. She asked why the baby was sad and we talked about her being scared. I don't know how much she understood but she never got worked up. 






Her dentist was fantastic and Alice did SO GOOD! She let her brush her teeth and count them. She only puckered up when she tried to put Fluoride on them. Fluoride is super yucky anyway. As soon as the dentist was done, Alice asked, "we go?".  



Her teeth look great! She still has two molars left to come through - yay. But everything else looked great! We worried because brushing her teeth is a total calamity. She mostly just sucks the toothpaste off. Teeth brushing is the Dada's role and bless him, he tries! But she wants to do it all on her own so it's a miracle if they manage to get clean. 

At her last 2 1/2 well baby check, the resident said we should start flossing her bottom teeth. I'm surprised my eyes didn't pop out of my head. I said, "oh, okay. I'll let her dad know!" Yep. Won't that be fun!

***I'm done with school and I was going to have May all to myself to write and clean and organize. However, some things have happened and that won't be the case. I'll write when I can, however, I can't promise it will be too often. But I'll try!

Until next time.....

A Tisket, A Tasket

Let me start by saying that it cracks me up at the things my Beloved gets worked up about. For this story, it's her Easter basket. 

For Alice's first two Easters, we didn't do too much. We used a small felt frog basket I found in the dollar section at Target; however, this year she needed a little bit larger one for her school's 'Egg Hunt'. We started looking at the beginning of March since we had all month. Our first search was unsuccessful and then March fell apart so we didn't get the chance to look again until the weekend before Easter. This meant we only had 4 to choose from because Hobby Lobby was through with spring and setting up for Christmas again. I jest....a little. The options were diminished regardless. 

Every time I suggested a basket, my Beloved said it wasn't big enough. He wants this basket to be the one she has for years to come. Fine. We find a plain yellow basket that meets his size requirements and might be sturdy enough to last until she's in college, we'll see. But it needs something so I pick out some ribbon and spend a few minutes adding some color. I only burned off two of my fingerprints with the hot glue gun. I'm not sure why I try to craft.

After looking at it again, we decide it's too big to take to school. Her class only has 4 kids including her in it so she can just take her frog basket. 

While we're looking for the basket, we have to get candy which I leave up to the Dada. She NEEDS a chocolate bunny and candy corn and jelly beans and so on. We also pick up a bubble machine, sidewalk chalk and Popsicle molds. I picked up some stupid grass (I loathe Easter basket grass) and load up the basket. I leave a lot of the candy out thinking Daniel got the candy for himself. 

Him: But the candy corn carrot is for her!

Me: She doesn't need candy corn.

Him: but it goes with the chocolate rabbit! Get it, it's in the shape of a carrot!

Me: Oiy vey

So I add the candy corn carrot but I leave out the jelly beans.

Him: But those are for her too! Easter is all about jelly beans!

Me: Uh, I'm pretty sure Easter is about our Lord and Savior dying for our sins!

Him: Try telling the jelly bean people that!

Yeesh.

I load the basket up and show him. 

Him: It looks good! But shouldn't there be more grass? You know, coming out of the sides and stuff?

Yeesh. Again. 

The day before the egg hunt, I decide to get her frog basket ready only I can't find it anywhere. I tore up the house looking for it. It's been on the same shelf for MONTHS until the day before the egg hunt. When Alice gets home from school, I ask her if she can find it. She brings me every frog from her room except the basket. So she went to school with a Sesame Street bucket she got from a friend's 2nd birthday (thanks again, Henry!). I still can't find that frog. 

She didn't really care what was in the basket and got grass all over my grandmother's house. But she was happy!

We LOVED the bubble machine....while it lasted. I'm not sure what she did to it but it only blows one sad bubble at a time now. 

Oh well. 

So, Happy Easter! a little late....

Until next time......

College - The Return

I've seen the future and the future is bleak. 

I've been in school a few weeks now and I'm worried about our future. Seriously. If these are the people who will rise up and lead - we are screwed. So very screwed. 

I finally started my biology class so I go three days a week now.

Let me just tell you how the first day of class goes. We wait for forever for a teacher who finally shows up but doesn't know the key code to get into the class. We get all that settled and we start learning. (To his defense, I'm gathering he was thrown into the position rather late in the game and is still adjusting to teaching again. He's a retired ER MD and I find him endearing.) 

But let's back up a bit. As we're gathered outside of the class waiting, I people watch. I look around and there is a guy who has shown up with nothing but a phone. No writing utensil. No paper. No book. Just a phone. For reals. 

Let's continue.

We start by going over the syllabus and the required books - of which I've already purchased but I'm apparently the only student in the world of college life now that buys the book before class. (Yet another side rant - this was not a cheap book and it didn't even come with a spine! I had to buy a binder to put it in! What is the world coming to?!) So we go over the books and there's a lab manual that wasn't included on the required books before class started. No problem, we have a break before lab and we can run on over the bookstore then. Only they don't have the manual and it will take a week to get it in. So no lab last week. Fun times. We all have our lab manuals now so it's all good. 

So today, I arrived to class early and while we were waiting for class to start, a student approached the instructor and asked if he could not take the test next Tuesday because he JUST bought the book and he's behind on the reading. This is a student that has been in the class since day one. And he's NOT the guy that came to class with nothing but a phone!

I almost fell off my stool. Seriously, with his mouth, he asked the teacher this. And he was serious. The teacher of course said no because that's the most ridiculous request ever. These are grown people, folks. And this is reason #456 of why I'm not in education. There would be NO WAY I could control my "are you crazy?!" eyebrows - they have a mind of their own. 

After class today, my 'study group' had to meet up. They give me heartburn. There are 4 of us. Two of us do the work, one of us does about 30% of the assignment and the fourth didn't even know what chapter we were on. Y'all. She asked if the flashcards I was studying were for the entire semester so far. No. They are JUST for the quiz TOMORROW. And my grade is dependent on these people. Oiy vey. I had already typed the assignment because I'm a control freak and I want to KNOW it's getting done. And tomorrow I will turn it in with all 4 names even though I know it was only 2ish of us that did it. And this will happen every week until the others drop the class. 

Lord, give me strength. 

My side-rant is just how lazy people are. If you're paying for a class, why not attempt to do your best? Why on earth would someone think a teacher would let you reschedule a test because you're not ready?! 

The greatest example of the laziness is the electronic handicap doors. People with working legs and arms will hit the button and wait the extra 20 seconds it takes for the door to slowly open rather than walk the two extra steps and pull....the....handle....

This drives me bananas. Every time. 

So while I have my concerns with the state of our future, I am comforted in the knowledge that these souls might be too lazy to rise up and attempt to lead. So there's the silver lining! 

My mom is concerned the before mentioned people will see this on Facebook. I reassure her that I'm not friends with these people. Nope. Not happening. I'm pretty sure they BARELY know my name. One of the girls asked if Christie was my middle name today. I mean, come on. And last week, LMB typed the assignment and instead of ASKING our names at the review, she just had us scribble our names on the top of the page right before she turned it in. I'm willing to bet 4 quarters she doesn't know my last name either. My grade + these people. Yep. 

I did get to buy Scantrons for the first time in a LONG time today. That was fun! And it's totally fun to be back on a college campus with my Beloved. It makes me all smiley and giggly when I see him between classes. He's such a cutie. ;)

Until next time.....

Alice Goes to School

Alice started MDO last week! She only went for two days because Wednesday night she had a fever. Already. Oh joy! ;)

My Beloved drops her off in the morning and I pick her up in the afternoons. We both dropped her off on the first day and I have NO pictures. I was too focused on not crying that I didn't take any pictures. She shows a lot of apprehension at being dropped off but so far has cried very minimally.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she is in the 18-24 month class and on Wednesdays she moves to the 2 year class because she is the only 18-24 year old who attends on that day of the week. She seems to handle the older class fine and all the teachers say she's the sweetest. Thank goodness. And I don't know what magic powers they're using, but she NAPS!! They say she has no problem napping. Hallelujah! 

She only went twice last week and in her daily folder on Tuesday, we got a little notice letting us know two different kids in the 2 class have been diagnosed with two different things, both of which are extremely contagious. Lovely. Just lovely. She was with them both for ONE DAY. Now I'm dosing her with Essential Oils I got from the Nana hoping they stave off any contagion. Fingers crossed!

She comes home every day with a new craft - it's so precious! Yesterday, they built a plane. When I went to pick her up, she had red spots all over her hand and for a second I thought she was sick but then they handed me her plane. Thank goodness! 

I have a little DIY project to display her art, hopefully we will get a chance to work on it soon.

For now, we're adjusting to new schedules and new routines. 

Today is the first day of Mother's Day Out that she didn't scream for an hour after arriving home. It might have to do with the fact she got a cookie on the way out. 

She seems to enjoy school! On school days, I tell her she's going to school and she smiles and points to the door. She willingly gets dressed and seems to be excited! Once she gets inside, the apprehension sets in but she's smiling when I pick her up.

I'm so very excited she's getting to be around kids her age. And I'm very thankful to the staff for taking such good care of our girl.

Until next time.....

I might be too old for this.....

We started school. I took a quiz for the first time in a LONG time. Alice came home with a fever.

And so it begins.....

Let's start out with my school experience so far.

This is what I know - people are RUDE. Grown people will show up late, interrupt a teacher, walk around during class, lie and cheat. It's so very disgusting. And every time they do something super rude, I get all sweaty and nervous. It's like high school all over again. 

Right now, I only have my Wednesday class. My Tuesday/Thursday class doesn't start until next week. On the first day of class, she had us pick Study Groups and we will have joint assignments due each class period. I loathe Study Groups. I do not study well with people. People are distracting. 

My class is extremely diverse in ages. There are several fresh out of high school, a few my age and a handful of older ladies. There is only one other person in the class who has a degree besides me. On the first day, we had to introduce ourselves. All I said was my name, my age(ish) and what I was going to school for. Everyone else gave their life stories. Nope. Not me. 

We had our first study group gathering after last Wednesday. It was as magical as I thought it would be. We have a quiet girl who doesn't seem to want to work ahead, a girl who doesn't listen to instruction, a very bossy girl and then me. I know what you're thinking, "um, aren't you the bossy one?" YES! But I do it with such grace that you don't realize you're being bossed until you're halfway through completing the task I've assigned. My boss skills are a gift. Hers - not so much. I managed to do my assignment during the additional week we had to do it. She did not. So instead, she tapped her little impatient finger on my book and told me to go start typing. Me and Little Miss Bossy will not make it through this semester without a scene. She then went on to ask personal questions that she doesn't have any reason to know. No ma'am. This is not my first time in college. I am not here to compete. My main goal is to get through the class without ever having attention drawn to me. Her goal is to be the Teachers' Darling. I overheard her tell the teacher after class how she should handle the next class because there were some faults in how she was currently handling it. 

My eyes almost popped out of my head. Class #2. 

This was after the girl next to me LIED to the teacher about keeping her quiz sheet. LIED TO HER FACE! The teacher isn't dumb! And there I was stuck between the teacher and big, fat liar, liar pants on fire. I might need to find a new place to sit. The stress. 

So we got through the first assignment. 

I stopped to talk to Daniel and the other Library ladies I know. They asked how it went and I groaned, "I don't like people". My Beloved,"Alice is in school for socializing. Timberley thinks she's past that." Exactly! 

I'm not here to make friends. I'm not here to compete for Teacher's Pet. I don't want to be the best in the class. I don't want to be the loudest. I just want to get through it. 

See, I might be too old for this. 

I spent a lot of time studying my note cards the week before my first quiz. When I got to class, the loud women in the corner (who CONSTANTLY talk and interrupt the teacher and thanks to Little Miss Bossy, the teacher now knows cheated on their first quiz) were going over their note cards for what was probably the first time because they were getting them all wrong. I had to plug my ears. 

Maybe I should look in to online classes....

Until next time....

23 Months, y'all

I couldn't decide on one picture so this month gets four.

She will be 2 in just a matter of weeks. WEEKS!!! Can you believe?! 

I put her in her '1' shirt because she only has a month left to wear it. And she starts Mother's Day Out next week, we have a Meet the Teacher meeting on Thursday. 

There are moments I'm not ready. Moments I get so nervous and fretful that I teeter on the edge of saying "NOPE!! Never mind! I was just kidding!!"

But then we have a day where all she wants to do is crawl all over me and I think, "NOPE! We can do this! It's time!" 

And it is. She needs kids and structure and Jesus. ;) 

So the adventure begins....

We had to get her a nap mat for class. I did some internet searching and found some SUPER cute (not so cheap) ones on Etsy. I also found some DIY instructions on Pinterest. I told my Beloved about finding some kinda pricey ones on etsy and he looks at me with a raised eyebrow. I go on to tell him I found some DIY instructions on Pinterest and he says, "no! Not happening. How pricey are we talking?" ;)

We found a reasonably priced one on Amazon. I've been putting it in her bed at nap time to help her to adjust to resting on it. It seems to be working!

I have serious doubts she's going to take naps but we have to try!

Hopefully once we get through the next two weeks, I'll get to write more. 

I'm going back to school, that should offer some lovely stories! ;)

Until next time....

Chalk Dust and Sticky Hands

When the weather is nice, Alice and I head out to play on the driveway. I bring out bubbles but she doesn't want to blow them - all she wants is to put the stick back in the bottle and put the lid on....over and over again.

I draw something in chalk and then she sits on it.

Our summer is going to look a lot like this....

And we will be covered in chalk dust and sticky bubbles. 

And surprisingly enough - I wouldn't want it any other way.

Until next time...

My Little Pegasus

Last week, we FINALLY left the house. We ran to the store and then to McDonald's. (I know, I know - I'm a horrible mother for giving the baby McDonald's. I've noted your judgement and will take it in to consideration the next time I'm sitting in the drive through line.)

In her happy meal, she got a My Little Pony. It's adorable. She LOVES it.

Seriously - look at that face!

She carried it around all afternoon. When the Dada got home - she was all too excited to show him. He takes the little toy from her and says "aw! You have a little Pegasus!"

Me - "No, it's a My Little Pony"
Him - "Ummm, it's a horse with wings - that makes it a Pegasus."
Me - "Oiy vey"
Him - "Listen, she will be the only little girl in Kindergarten who knows what a Pegasus is."
Me - "And she'll be the only little girl in Kindergarten who DOESN'T know what a My Little Pony is!"

Again - oiy vey.

As he's examining it closer, he notices the little sticker mark on her back hip. He exclaims "is that tramp stamp!??!" 

Me - "Oh my gosh! It's just a sticker thing! Think of it as a brand."
Him - "Do they all have these?! Have they ALWAYS had these?! This is why young girls get tramp stamps!"

Oiy. Vey.

Lord, help this child and her cray, cray Dada. 

And Lord, be with her future teachers. I have a feeling we're going to be hearing from them a lot.

Until next time.....

The 'O' Word

Some words are now banned at our house.

Outside.
Go.
Bye bye.

Unless you are about to do any of these things immediately with our girl - DO NOT SAY THEM. It will be a dark, dark day if you mention outside and then have to tell her you're not really going. DARK DAY. And you'll end up outside anyway. So just don't.

If the weather is nice, we walk up and down our street. 

Sometimes she holds our hand and walks on her own. She likes to walk because she can pick up treasures.

Some days she rides in her tricycle. We got adventurous last week and took the dog with us. It was exhausting. We survived though!

When we're at the Nana's - she can explore! Our backyard is home to a dog so I can't let her run around by herself but at Nana's - it's FREEDOM! 

In this picture, she is attempting to pick up an ant. Yep. God is laughing. 

She is in a big ball phase right now so it was also a chance to play ball with Mamaw.

I left her with Mamaw the other day while we were helping with a shower and came home to this...

There is dirt under her nails, in her pockets, around her mouth and she was covered in tangerine juice. But at least her bow was still in her hair! 

Again. God is laughing.

God gave us a strong willed, dramatic child who LOVES all things outside. And He's REALLY enjoying it. ;)

She also does not understand the word "freezing" and completely rejects this as an excuse for not going out.

Yeesh.

While walking with the Dada the other day I snapped a picture. I have one just like it with me and my dad. I got a little emotional. 

On one of our walks I asked my Beloved if a walk counts as exercise if you don't get your heart-rate up. He said no. That's just stupid! Just going outside should count! Seriously. ;)

Until next time....

Distractions

Sorry it's been a while. 

Every time I've had a quiet moment (which are VERY few these days) and meant to blog I would get distracted and then I would shower or do a chore or work on a knitting project I needed to have finished by this weekend and it got away from me. It has been a rough few weeks and I'm exhausted. Right now I'm keeping my fingers crossed she'll finally give up and go to sleep so I can eat a few cookies with my Dr. Pepper and put up some clothes without her help. 

This is what it looks likes when she helps with the laundry.

That was all clean....yep.

She also loves helping with the dishes.

Those were clean too.

And this happened Monday all before 8am. She settled on this after we told her we couldn't go outside at 7:15 in the morning. Instead she gleefully moved on to her tambourine. At 7 in the morning. We ended up going to Nana's. 

It's been a very busy few weeks.

Alice is in to EVERYTHING. She is CONSTANTLY moving. ALL. DAY.

And she thinks she's old enough to drink and drive! Such a mess.

We spend a lot of time on the floor playing or exploring. And her new favorite thing is exploring outside. More on that later. 

With her being very mobile, trips out to eat are becoming a challenge. She is no longer content with sitting still. We decided to try crayons this past weekend. They were a hit! 

I can't wait to color with her.

She's a very busy, busy child. And in quiet moments, I've had a few other obligations that took precedent over the blog. I'll try to do better.

March is promising to be much of the same so I'm not sure it will be an every day thing but I'll try my best. It's Spring Break so we will have some family time! That'll be nice. 

Yesterday we were playing in her room. She's figured out her ball/hammer game. Although her enthusiasm with the hammer is a little troubling. ;)

Until next time....