The cat and the fiddle

(The theme on my midrif shirt pajama top if you can't tell)
This is the picture of a happy boy in a funny pair of pjs (that show his fully belly when he stands up. Brad dressed him and didn't realize the boy is "top-heavy") who found random pieces of Special K cereal on my unvaccumed carpet and had never been more interested in his find. I am sure the carpet fuzz added a special texture and some needed fiber, right? Sidenote: We are a clean family but with a move 8 days away everything has fallen to the wasteside. Note the overflowing basket of clean laundry in the background!

And the cow jumped over the moon

That's what we've heard would happen before we were to ever see snow in Savannah. We've seen our share of cold down here though not near to the extreme that our friends in the nation's capital have experienced. My friend, Heather, up there has been burried since last week in her sweet 600 ft condo! You don't even have to know her to agree that that is the mark of a patient woman. At first we looked enviously upon their covering of snow but a week later I couldn't imagine being stuck inside with an almost 9 month - moving, squirming, curious baby! Then our friends in Atlanta have really just had the worst of it and that is because the bitter, gray cold has rarely produced a monumental "Snowmageddon" - rather, just awfully ugly days that just make you wish the weeks would speed by and the warm would come. That was one glimmer of hope in our move to the coast - the slightly warmer weather than the metro area. And that "slight" has made all the difference this winter - enough of a termperature difference to atleast get out for a walk during the day and an occassional lunch on the dock.

But now WE WANT SNOW and our local weather dude is saying, "tomorrow night any rain could turn to, yes, snow!" How promising does that sound? (I'm not running to the store for milk and bread - let's put it that way). Brad doubts that the white-airy stuff would reach the islands even if it did make it down here to our corner of the state. Bah-humbug, Scrooge! I told him we would camp out in Forsyth park just to take the little guy's picture in his first blizzard if he thinks our zipcode doesn't have a chance. We will NOT miss the snow should it make it our way.

So, do your snow dance for us tomorrow night. I couldn't imagine the fire in Amos' belly were he to see his favorite stuff dusting our oversized back yard! Oh, and please on Saturday afternoon break out your bathing suit and let's all start hoping this nasty winter is behind us. I just want to taste a snowflake on my tongue but after that - bring on the typical warm Southern skies. Get this, my sun-craved friends and I used to sit on the sun deck at the Theta house in Athens come February 1st!

Yucky lessons learned

Warning: This post may or may not specifically site such horrid things involving liquids and solids leaving one's body. Ewww.

We've learned some tough lessons lately. I won't go into the big life lessons Brad and I have painfully been accepting involving career decisions, employer contracts, autonomy in the workplace, and the worst of all - budgeting stuff. Yuck yuck yuck.

I'll tell you about the more obvious ones that have invaded our home this week and seemingly taken up much of our time and all of my Lysol. The first of a many painful lessons this week began Sunday afternoon. We were sad to not be in Atlanta at a certain someone's neighborhood SuperBowl party. We wanted to eat pigs n' blankets and 7 layer dip and drink an adult beverage or too (not me, unfortunately) and talk about the commercials with other friends - many of whom are recent parents. Instead we were here trying to soak up one of our last weekends on the coast. So instead of pouting our lip out at each other and thus, receiving no sympathy whatsoever (because Brooks didn't seem to mind that it was just us 3 once again) I hopped over to Publix with all the other last minute party throwers and I grabbed our own most-amazing-Super Bowl-party supplies...or really, what was left on the shelf. I came home and made some home made pigs n blankets and some chicken chili. Just as every attempt-to-be-thrifty (and lazy) woman would do I roasted the chicken for two meals: the chili and enchiladas for the next night. I'll speed this up....Brad ate some of my chicken as I was bathing Brooks....the chicken I purposefully didn't cook all the way through because of the extra cooking that would occur in the above dishes. Fast forward: 330am. Chili in toilet. 430am Pigs n blankets in toilet. 530 am. Trip to the toilet. 630am - let's go have another party on the toilet. Poor poor Brad. I babied him all day and brought him gatorade. I called the doctor and even offered to call his boss as if he was in elementary school and needed a note from mom.
YUCKY LESSON #1: Don't touch your wife's food! She has plans in her head and may have poisoned something on accident so always ask. Always! Usually this principle applies to the uncooked cookie dough that mysteriously disappears before the oven has preheated. I'll admit - I am flattered that the mister of the house enjoys my culinary skills and I sort of like that he always wants a sneak peak but my advise would be to wait for the dinner bell unless you want to hang out with Mr. Commode all night. No fun.

Well, the following three days were just as unpleasant and personally, much more disgusting but fortunately involved the little man and not the big man. Bath time comes about 7 every night and right before we love our naked time. If I can find a way to video these 10 minutes without exposing the babies man parts all over the internet I would because it is good entertainment. Brad was out of commission Monday night, and at a work event Tuesday night. So as I was multi tasking - getting bottles ready, cleaning baby boogers off the crib sheets, running bath water, and having naked baby play time. Somewhere between cleaning a bottle and throwing away a diaper the little guy -2 nights in a row- pulled himself up on his dad's leather chair and literally proudfully dropped a surprise on the floor. I am temtped to say he was nothing but "sh*@'s and giggles" but that sounds so crass. It is the perfect depiction of the scene though. Luckily, I only unknowingly stepped in this surprise one of two nights, much to my sons amusement. You'd think I'd have learned from day 3 that little boys pee all day long, they poop as soon as you open the diaper, and they are instantly interested in what's behind the barn door. But no, nearly 9 months later I still think I can un-diaper the fine fellow and he will behave as every civilized human would. Not so much.
YUCKY LESSON #2: You are dumb, mom! I WILL drop a bomb the moment you take off my diaper even if I just did the same things in the diaper 3 minutes prior! Don't be fooled by my innocent smile and cute little baby-butt cheeks.
That's enough for now. I'm grossed out and I know this is only the beginning of the gross things a baby boy and a grown husband will teach me over the years.
I'll leave you with a few sugar and spice type images so you don't go to bed thinking icky thoughts about us. Here is Brooks with his South GA grandparents and his new cousin Max who was born a week ago today! I am biased I know but he is truly a cute infant. I would admit that even Brooks looked a little scary in the first hours of life but this 10lb2oz hunk is a heart breaker! Unfortunately, Brooks wanted him to wrassle and he was too tired from the whole birth thing. Isn't he so yummy?

Yes, my redhead is yummy too with baby Max.

My Vote

The Google "Parisian Love" Ad won my heart last night. I want to be that girl in the French cafe wondering about the American boy that seems to be looking deeper in my eyes than anyone else has before. And then I want to gobble up the French chocolates on the steps of the Louvre. Nice google, very nice.

Though it is a little scary how stinkin smart Google has become - knowing how to finish my sentences for me....suggesting the very thing that happened to be on my mind in any particular moment, giving me the right recipe for the right time and any image I could ever imagine for anything - I sort of like the "friendship" we have developed; that google and I. On a lonely Savannah day Google can tell me just what to do, what the weather might do if I do that thing, and I can even pseudo beam myself to where I want to be through Google Maps.
Great commercial, google folks. I'm even more of a fan.

Did you have a favorite commercial? Brooks liked the E-trade babies best, especially that little girl.

I say it every month

but an 8 month old baby is my absolute favorite baby in all my baby experience. Brad wants to know if we can just pop this next one out after about 17 months of growth in the womb so "shim" can be just like his big brother Brooks is now? I'll work on that one, honey.
I remember liking 4 months because I finally felt like the baby was my baby. Is that a problem that it took that long? He started smiling because he was happy and you could start to see his own little personality coming out. In Brooks' 4 month we spent most of our time in and out of a half-decorated condo while dad was starting the new job in Savannah. We missed him so much so we ate out lunch everyday and took two walks around our pretty neighborhood in the baby Bjourn. We both love September in Atlanta and we just had a blast getting to know eachother and keeping each other company.

Well, 5 months comes and the worm just starts rolling all over the house like that what was he was born to do. The first time he did this was in his crib and then just like he should do - he made us wait a few weeks before showing us his trick again. He is not a puppet he says. In October we enjoyed getting to know our new town by once again walking the neighborhood over and over and - aha! - eating lunch out! (We can have a budgeting discussion later.)

Oh and then came 6. Brooks hit all the high marks at his 6 month appointment. He is better than 90% of the kids out there in his weight and his height. JUST KIDDING! I don't understand those percentiles and personally hate that right out of the womb the world starts slapping my baby with numbers to live up to! I want him to succeed and all but couldn't we give the boy a chance to recover from the traumatic trip through the birth canal he just took? Anyway, just as the holidays were gearing up for some good Southern eating - so was our boy! He started with mama's mashed sweet tatoes and bananas and from the moment the spoon hit his tongue he has been a believer! Over thanksgiving he impressed his south Georgia grandparents and the rest of Plains, GA with his sitting capabilities. He kinda reminded me of humpty dumpty just sitting and waiting to be fed but he was sitting and that was all that mattered. At the time, I thought 6 months was the most adorable of all months. We must have been baby happy this month with all of Brooks' cuteness so the stork (because that is how it happens) plopped a sign on our door telling us there would be another one of these things next year. We were too in to Brooks to really care at the moment.

But then came 7. At the beginning of our boys 7th month of life he told us that he wanted to enlist in the reserves by age 4. Immediately he put his heart and soul into learning the most amazing army-crawl technique our troops may have ever seen. He uses one arm so the other is free for the grabbing of any lose object in his path - carpet fuzz, leftover Cheetos, computer chord, dirty sock, stray bullet....you name it - he can find an entertaining way to get to it and stick it right where it belongs in his mouth! This month we really got to see in to a little of Brooks' laid back demeanor. He is his daddy in this way to the fullest. We travelled with him 3 of 4 weekends, kept him out way passed his bed time at night and pretty much made him freeze at night until we figured out how cold his room was...all of that and not one complaint or whimper just a big ole toothless grin. He is just happy to be included in our little family adventures.

And as I've said before, Brooks ate his way into his 8th month. We discovered this month he likes lemons, pickles, and cucumbers. He likes to lean back in his high chair at a restaurant, get comfy, and just wait for the spoon to stuff him. This boys knows how to eat and will never say no to a swallow at something. I started cutting back on his milk intake this month because I realized he would drink a gallon ever other day if we let him. Buy the kid a cow for his birthday please! Whether he is hungry or not - he will eat and drink and maybe come up for air once. Fortunately, his one arm-army crawl has hit records of speed so he is sort of balancing out his calorie consumption. This month he pulls up on anything, loves to stand on his own, claps his hands if I say "clap, clap, clap", he makes the funniest squeals to get our attention or especially the attention of a toddler little girl, he notices everyone and follows them as they enter and leave a room, he sleeps like a champ, buries his nose in my chest when he is tired, flips over before you can start to get a diaper on him, crosses his legs at the ankles as soon as he falls asleep, giggles at Amos, sucks on his toes when he can get them over his belly, loves naked play time with dad before bath time, drinks margaritas, and says da-dy though he isn't sure yet what that will do for him. Of course Brad hears this and comes scooping him up with kisses galore. I love our 8 month old and I am sure that this will be the best month yet....until 9. And yes, he put his whole mouth on his dad's margarita glass last week and moved every body part he could to try to get himself in that drink. T-R-O-U-B-L-E!

He even has started to help us Brad pack the house. He's already working hard for his allowance.
Maybe I should get up and help, too??? Grrrrrrrr.....I have been dreading the moment I actually aknowledge that we have to pack this house up (twice) in the next few months before we actually get settled. Luckily my husband is amazing and loves having a project so he started last week while we were gone. Funny, he says he gets more done when I am sleeping or away???? Complain much? Not me!

Tired that I never knew

For many of y'all that have known me any length of time you know that I love teaching the 6m aerobics class, I can't sleep later than 7am, I can't sleep if I'm not in my own bed, I like to have walked 5 miles when I'm on vacation while everyone else is fast asleep, I was the girl that woke up from the slumber party and stared at every picture on your wall and went through all of your yearbooks while you were snoring, I usually can dance on a table with zero alcoholic drinks preceding, and I can never, NEVER nap.

Nearly 6 weeks ago I stopped exercising. I leave my baby to fuss in his crib in the morning until atleast 7:45 unless Brad has already scooped him up because I just. Cant. Get. Out. Of. Bed......
I've taken naps in the parking lot of the grocery store and Nordstrom in my car, I am in bed at night by 9pm but usually only after I have fallen asleep on the couch an hour before, I haven't danced on a table, and like I mentioned I must, repeat - MUST, have a nap - daily.

You can thank those good ole pregnancy hormones.

{Wipe up the coffee you just spewed out on your lap}

Yes, here's your official announcement. Baby B -numero dos, due mid-August and I think if I had the energy I may smile or laugh about this news but honestly, I have never ever fathomed this level of exhaustion.

Most of you have already picked up on this little "situation" (as my friends on the Jersey Shore might say) through some of my posts. I tried my hardest to keep this secret tight for some time for several reasons but supposedly I said back in December that I "had been sick for a whole season." I remember specifically not using the word "nauseous" but some of you are so good and you knew right away.

Anyway, we are seriously a little too tired to know how to feel. As we tend to do things around here, this situation miracle was not part of the plan. {You know, the back of your mind plan that you never really write down and somehow it never works out anyway.} Thus, we were once again pleasantly surprised with what most people say is one of life's biggest stressers (this isn't discounting all of the wonderful things about having a baby but it is supposedly in the top 5 list of life's biggest changes.) And yes, we have heard this news twice in about a year now. Added to the changing of two jobs which happens to be another one of those "stressers" "they" say. Oh, and pile that on top of **two relocation's. Relocation being yet another one of life's big changes "they" say. Bottom line - WE ARE POOPED!

**My amazing husband was offered an amazing job in Atlanta on the spot! I am so proud of him and I just want to tell the world. We had hoped to move back sometime early fall but once again, our plan has been thrown to the birds so we will be making the move back in less than 3 weeks. We now have 17 days to find a place to live in Atlanta, pack our house, move our things, beg our doctors to take us back, switch utilities and memberships, learn to crawl, finally eat at our few must-eat places in Savannah before we leave, kayak our backyard just so we can say we took advantage of our settings, throw an oyster roast for our Savannah friends, and start a new job. Whew. I need a nap again.

I can't lie - I wanted to wrap my Savannah experience with a pretty yellow bow and then say, okay let's go home now, I'm ready. I am not good with endings, you know that. But all of a sudden last Friday I found myself accepting a sweet invitation to join a women's bible study in Atlanta all the while knowing that my husband was about to get off the phone with his potential new employer and most likely tell me that he would need to start asap - hence, no new friends and bible study for me. Yes, I've wanted to come back to the comforts of home...a church we love, grandparents and family close by, familiar dry cleaners and favorite lunch spots but I really thought the fat lady would sing before that really happened so soon. I wanted to tie that perfect ribbon around the lessons we learned while being out of our comfort zone and somewhat- isolated for what seemed like forever but was merely a blip on the radar screen. I sort of feel like we are giving up too soon but in my sheer tiredness I just have to exhale and trust that this is our story and not our timing.


So once again the lesson in all of this....repeat after me......I AM NOT IN CONTROL. Ouch. Again, I AM NOT IN CONTROL. YOU ARE NOT IN CONTROL. The first post I started to write today said just that over and over as if writing on a black board in middle school for punishment but I thought you might send me to the crazy house if I actually hit PUBLISH POST.

And that's the beauty of it all. We are not in control and as much as we plot and seek and plan and strategize and dream, we serve a much larger God that delights in His plans for us and His plan for the world - which thankfully, He uses me in that plan. How cool! Today I cant think of the teenciest reason why we would have children less than 15 months apart from each other but I know God has written our story and He has the most divine purpose for this little baby's life. He already knows the deep bond that will be formed between Brooks and his slightly younger sibling. He knows the way my heart will crumble once again when we finally meet this "shim" in nearly 6 months. He knows. Luckily, in this state of mental and physical exhaustion for both Brad and I - we can know that He knows and that is all we need to know. I am so so thankful that I don't have to have answers for myself right now. It would take too much energy to come up with some. I am so glad that I can just rest in knowing the the Lord knows our steps. He knows the hairs on my head just as He knows why we spent these short six months on the coast. He knows that my heart doesn't have the capacity to take all of this in right now so I can just rest in Him and trust wholeheartedly that I am not in control because I am so dearly loved - not because I am not capable. His story is so much better for me than any chapter I could start to author. I guarantee I'd still be writing about my purpose and my passion and asking you to tell me "who I am" were I to even try to write even just the prologue of this story. Thankfully, 2 short years after marriage I know my purpose atleast for now - to pour into my spouse and build him up so he can be the best father, worker and husband. Secondly, right now I have two precious lives to look after but more so, two fragile little souls to point to our gracious God. That is huge purpose but purpose I never would have dreamed 2 years ago. (Realistically my purpose this month has been to wear in our couch and our cozy bed!)

Oh, and I've chopped my hair to my shoulders and gone blonde! I love it!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

I lied. I am just wondering what more big news I could throw into this one post. Thank you for walking beside us in this adventure. Thank you for sending me your recipes when I am too tired to even think of a meal to cook my poor family. Thank you for encouraging me when I "dump" all of this news on you. Thank you for praying for the details of this move to work out perfectly. Thank you for offering your blood, sweat, and tears to help move our things into place. Oh, ooops, no one has been that generous. We're still grateful though. Thank you!!! Atlanta bound in T-minus 3 weeks.