See the Good in Everything

Literally and less Figuratively So the birthday weekend away was in fact a cabin trip in the woods of Amish Country.  The levels of commitment to his little white lie were pretty extravagant- including the hubby borrowing tents and purchasing gallons of water for me to do dishes over the fire. Lucky for him, the only fire was a gas one controlled by a remote with a TV atop! It was a nice little cabin with a picturesque woods backdrop and a cheesy heart shaped hot-tub. No worries, number two is no where in site! Before the swooning thoughts of "how lucky" and " oh- everything is ok now" go burrowing, yes, the weekend was a pleasant escape- but it was an escape, not a fix or a discussion of the issues surrounding the situation that is the stalemate that "we" have become. The fact that given a romantic environment and a hot tub we can still have a spark and ignore all surrounding factors proves that yes, we are still human and don't hate one anot...

At the end of last year and the beginning of this year, I started to take a good look at my life and where I am, where I want to be and how I got to this point.  New Years and the endless commercials about losing weight and bettering yourself coupled with the non-stop facebook memes of quotes about inspirational sayings and aspirations can make anyone feel like what they are doing is less than what they are capable of. But what I was/ am going through goes a bit deeper than all of the superficial swirlings of the January Jenny Craig Craze.  To begin- I have very young parents, who had me in high school and never married, and only now cam be in the same room without wanting to bring a court order upon one another- now that I am nearing 30. One has been to jail- more than once, both have been divorced and both are immature with multiple children. I am the only child from them both. My childhood was filled with missed visitation days, 20 questions about what happened at moms ...

February already... so hard to fathom! It has been over a month (yet again) since I have written. This is the busy season for work, so the six days a week and 40+ hours are catching up with me. Lack of sleep and the "Snowgeddon" that has plagued our area have also each played their own part in my procrastination and general tiredness.  So, what is new and exciting? Well, my wonderful son has learned to run, throw everything in the trash can, the wipe warmer or the diaper genie (he hasn't discovered the toilet... YET), and he thoroughly enjoys throwing anything he can down the stairs. Jumping on the couches, climbing (yes climbing) any and all furniture and available body part of mine (and ONLY mine) and opening all doors are also on his daily "to-do" list. Pulling the bottles of beer and/or liquor off the shelf in the spare bedroom is entertaining, as is chasing the dog and putting all dog food into the water bowl. Basically- if he isn't on a mission to ...

Wow, it has been almost two years that I have been spilling my frustrations and overfill into this piddly little vent-hole blog, and nearing 3,000 views- all of my one follower must have a sore finger from clicking that much! I am not one for New Years resolutions, they are a good idea, and they end at that. Lose weight, be more positive, eat better, spend more time with family- yadda yadda. I suppose that this year, if I were to resolve, it would be to be selfish. I am going to focus on myself and be happy. This is going to be a painful and hard path to begin, and I know even the middle will hurt, and the end will still have some thorns and splinters I am sure- but I have to do it, I need to make a change for me. When I started posting, it was to follow my adventures through pregnancy and motherhood, to vent about what I was going through. I used this as a tool to keep in tough with family that couldn't be here to witness all the good and not so good moments themselves (Uncle ...

When treats get left alone Christmas is officially done and celebrated- all twenty times. OK, so maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration- but it feels like it has been pretty never ending! 1/20 of my baking efforts NOT a Santa fan We started off with an early Christmas at GrandPauls and Grandma Ginas. Vienna puppy even got to partake in festivities there, and Caden got to enjoy his cousin Charlie- who is still larger than him! Upon opening his GINORMOUS Tonka truck, he proceeded to push her around in it. I am pretty sure if you look up adorable in the dictionary- the picture has been replaced with the two of them. Caden & Charlotte <3 My brother Jake and his current girlfriend was there. I am glad that his current girlfriend and his ex get along, I am hopeful that his girlfriends current college goals and enrollment prevent anymore nieces or nephews for me!! In other news- Christmas Eve- grandpaul got ENGAGED! I knew about it the Sunday before, he asked...

As Christmas gets dangerously close, it is bittersweet to look back at where I was at this time last year. I was wrapping gifts the other day and I vividly remember standing in line at Bed Bath and Beyond last year checking out with the grandparents picture frame for my dad when the speech therapist called to make our appointment for the swallow study. My little man was bundled up and my trusty Medela pump was in the back seat next to the diaper bag, I would have never guessed how much that phone call would change the course of our lives! Fast forward one year, and I am elated to be celebrating our FIRST Christmas at home! As I place the gifts under the tree (he has no desire to mess with them and could care less that half the toy store is wrapped in colorful delight for him), I remember how excited I was as a child for Christmas morning. Sadly, even as an adult, I wake up early and get butterflies every Christmas morning, I love the family time, the traveling, it is all magical to m...

We survived a whole year!   The pirate themed bash was a success. I may have lost a bit of sanity in the process, but in the end, all went well. Complete with bottles washed ashore, a treasure map and a dress up table- all in attendance seemed happy and thrilled by the festivities (if for no other reason I am glad that people still know the art of faking it!).  Caden did so well. The trick was keeping him at home for most of the day to stay on schedule and then bringing him after he had his lunch and morning nap. He was passed around a bit- but stayed with grandPaul and Uncle Trav most of the time. It was so crazy to see how many small children were around, it really put things into perspective for me, I have a ONE year old... I mean obviously before now, it has set in that I have a child, but seeing other kids, and the kids that I grew up with have kids or girlfriends or adult stuff just makes me realize that I really am no longer a kid, and someday, my baby will be in ...