March....?!

HOW is it almost April? HOW is Easter next weekend. Wasn't St. Patty's day like last weekend?

Oh, it was. Hhmpmh. Life is getting away from me.

We've had lots going on around the McCasland compound. Ryan has had to travel to Austin for 4 weeks already this year, leaving me and EK to fend for ourselves. I've started working at another home health that is FOUR miles away from our house. It's so nice to not have a huge commute every day, and I get to spend a lot more time with the girl.

We had a little family birthday party for our big two year old.  Fun stuff happened. Stuff like men watched football games and stuffed animals rode the slide.

We've planted 11 trees around our land already this spring, and have updated the porch with new potted plants, courtesy of my fantastic mother in law. Hopefully, by the time we are 80 we will have a well shaded lawn!

Finally, I'll just brag a little and say that I've lost 7 pounds since mid-February. I've been following this little program called Naturally Slim. It's the easiest thing I've ever done. I just eat, whatever I want, only when I'm truly hungry. Simple! Ryan and I also gave up Coke for Lent, and we definitely don't plan to go back to our old soda habits. I've learned in my program just how much sugar is packed into those things.. it's scary, and really no wonder that so many people have blood sugar issues. Between different eating habits and working out several times a week, I'm feeling like a new girl :)

EK is growing so fast. We have lots of dance parties, and she loves to sing with her daddy. We also recently discovered the playground at Chik-Fil-A, but knowing she is my child, there was a never doubt in my mind that she would like that ;)

February 2012

February 2013

Look how she is growing! What a difference a year makes!

Stupid Kid Outfits.

We live in the south, where it's obvious that "fashion" is delayed, even for the little ones. I'm not sure you can claim it as fashion or "let's see what kind of ridic getup I can put my kid in today".  Anyway, last night a few friends and I ran across a few gems for toddler clothing... and a few extra things made out of minky dot fabric which we didn't mean to find. I'll never claim to be fashionable myself, more of a plain, sensible person, but EK generally is pretty cute. So, without wasting anymore time.. here I am, presenting: Worst Crap to Dress Your Kid In.

Where are her feet? This outfit is way too big for this kid. 

Again, way too big. Why do you need a short sleeve romper?! She looks like a  child parolee.

One of my friends came up with a little diddy for this dress.."He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake. He knows when you  have leopard print trim on a Santa dress, so be sure to really stress."

It's a bath mat, it's a bath robe, it's a diaper changing pad cover... Wait- it's a dress?

Minky dot is not supposed to be used to make clothes. Period. It's like... gross fur when you wear it.

Now, do me a favor and Google/ Bing/ Yahoo image search for the term "Lace Onesie". You'll see two things.

This is one of them.

The other thing you will see is lingerie- for grown women. I really had a hard time telling the difference between the adult version and the skanky baby getup.

While I'm at it, could someone please give me a link to a Pinterest tutorial to do EK's hair this way...?  I'm just determined that she will look this dumb for St. Paddy's.

Currently

 Loving: 

It's staying light outside for a little longer now! EK has been a crazy girl outside lately. It makes for a MUCH better evening when she is able to get a little of her energy out. Also, my mom has made a few outfits for EK that are just adorable.

Reading:

 I'm stuck in a book rut lately. I'm spending way too much time on the internet, aimlessly browsing Pinterest and my mommy boards. I did happen to pick up the first Harry Potter book a few days ago, so I may revisit that series. 

Watching:

Gnomeo and Juliet. X10,000. My mom gave it to EK for her birthday. It's EK's new favorite movie, but it's a little depressing to hear her call it "Momma & Daddy". I guess she is reminded of us when she sees talking garden gnomes. Really, I have been sucked back into Dual Survival and The Bachelor. Educational + trash= My television watching habits are incredibly well rounded.

Listening to:

The Thieving Birds- Hey, Leigh.  Love this band !

Thinking about:

How blessed we are as a family. I've been so worried for a few patients and kids that are in horrible situations, and I just can't be thankful enough that Ryan and I get to be the ones to raise our beautiful girl.

Looking forward to:

I have a hair appointment on Friday afternoon! My head is in pitiful shape.. I went way blonde in November, started taking Biotin for hair growth, and now I have 2 inch roots. It's bad, but at least my hair is getting longer. My childhood neighbor and fellow troublemaker is so talented at doing hair, and she always makes me feel pretty by the time she's done with mine. 

I'm volunteering in the nursery on Sunday, which will be interesting, I'm sure. As you all know, my maternal insticts aren't my selling points... I'm sure we will be fine though.

Making me happy:

 EK has manners! Seriously, she's adorable. She says "Thank you" (Tatue!) and "No Thank you"  (uh uh tatue!) Cutest. Thing. Ever.

A Small Break.

I'm taking a break from Facebook.  I feel like I'm losing all sense of humanity, and I'm feeling incredibly "stabby" lately.  I'm weary to the bone with status updates about perfect babies, things people's babies have done that are not as funny as their parents believe, unrealistic accomplishments and the bragging.  I'm tired of the requests for help and advice, only to get defensive replies when advice is offered that the person may not want to hear.  I am not willing to let myself think that these attitudes are OK. When I find out through Facebook about activities that my family and friends have done, when I may happen to not be a part of it.. I end up unjustifiably feeling left out.

....It's OK for things to happen without me being there...

I have been feeling this way for a while now. It started when I read a status update of a local lady carrying on about not getting to enjoy a sno-cone because a "stupid" State Trooper pulled her over.  Would she still have posted that if she knew that she was Facebook friends with that sweet Trooper's wife? The good of social networking far outweighs the bad (for every snipe or rant there are five sweet family photos that make me smile), but I seem to remember the bad too often.

I'm also finally tired of feeling like my life is part of a contest for display.  I’m finding that what Facebook is really great for, is BRAGGING, and that’s been a really difficult thing for me to deal with. I’m not a jealous person, but I find that seeing people posting about their new cars, stay at home mom crafts and get togethers, vacations, babies, and ginormous houses causes me to start comparing my life to others. And I’m guilty of it too- it’s hard not to post exciting news about your latest accomplishments or how awesome your kid is. Maybe I’m just being sensitive, and I should be able to applaud someone rather than covet what they have, but regardless, I just need a time-out from this hamster wheel.  I have a very sweet family, a new home, and all of our critical belongings are in perfect working order.

So, I think there's a lot of value in taking an occasional break from too much connectedness. Facebook is undoubtedly a time-suck, and I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed by it the past couple of weeks, like I'm too involved in people's lives and not present enough in my own. I just need to get away from it for a few days and refocus on the important people around me, rather than the poop/pee/sleep schedule of an acquaintance that lives 4 hours away and has either two or three children, whose names I could not tell you if I spent a year thinking about it.

Now, by no means do I think I am so important that I need to announce my departure for a social networking vacation- but I just needed to get out how I'm feeling.

I have an email address if you need me :)  Oh, and Granny Skeet- I will still post pictures of EK here for you.   :D

Screw You, Mom, and Other Triple P Adventures.

I guess EK was pissed at me after I blogged about her photo session antics yesterday. She definitely made me pay.

It all started in a nice warm bubble bath together. Never trust a toddler in the bath tub. They tend to poop. When they do, it's gross. It's even more gross when you're relaxing, and all of a sudden your water reeks and turns a nice yellow-brown.

 I fly out of the tub and start drying off as quickly as I can, so I can get EK out of her turd bath. The next thing I know, she's got one in her hand and is eyeing it lovingly, like she would her favorite candy bar. Oh, and she's sitting on another turd. I grabbed the turd and ran it to the toilet. This was a 9.9 on a 10 point scale of stinky crap. On the way to the toilet, I puke. Eww. Whatever.

I still need to get my turdling toddler out of the bath, so I suck it up and get EK out. She's all happy, happy, happy, and I'm all, 'Oh, lord I have to fish out four more stinky turds from the tub, AND THEN clean up my own vomit."  EK sees me getting a huge wad of toilet paper to grab the turds, and plays with the TP while I'm collecting.

She's laughing hysterically. SHE'S PEEING IN THE FLOOR. SHE'S RUNNING AND PEEING IN THE FLOOR. She slips, right into the puke.

It's just not the holidays without someone throwing up.
So, what do you do when your baby is covered in a Triple "P" mixture, and there are turds in your bath tub?

If you're me, you laugh. And laugh. And laugh. Oh, and curse your husband for working nights during this turd adventure. Then, you have a nice glass of wine.

Taking Pictures of a Toddler Is Hard. Just Ask My Mom.

There a couple of things I can think of that I would rather do than attempt family photos again in the next few years.

A few of those things are:

1) Gouge my eyes out with a dull pencil
2) Drink the mystery milk from the sippy cup I found under the couch
3) Live on the South Pole
4) Lay over the threshold at Target at 9pm Thanksgiving night

Seriously. When did it get so hard to get a cute picture of my family? Ryan and I are decent looking in my view. EK is gorgeous. We should look awesome, right?
  My poor mom. She is a really good photographer. However, her subject has been on the wild side the last few sessions. Halloween was a blur, literally. The girl stormed through the pumpkin patch so quickly. Christmas photos, wow. We took them on our land to make things "easier". About the only thing easier about this was getting there. While she got a great shot for cards and whatnot, check out the awesome rejects.

All kinds of awesome.

EK, off to explore poison ivy and whatnot.

I actually like this one.

Free and wild!

Expert baby wranglers.

Yay, tetanus. Oh, we got a cat. EK and I rescued her after gymnastics, she was whoring around downtown.

Yes!

We are a very loving family. Even this attractive cat.

At least we had a good time.

Hmmph. End of session.

Well, Mom did get SOME adorable shots. Case in point-

Aren't they the sweetest?

2 out 3 smiles isn't bad.

We may send a picture of the dog next year if EK is still in wild mode.  Newly married couples and couples with newborn, snuggly, tinies: enjoy your super-model Christmas cards.
The crap hits the fan once the kid's feet hit the ground.

Lately.

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.  I'm still here. Things that have happened that are somewhat interesting:

A)  I've changed jobs.
   I did a 180, and I'm teaching Pharmacy Tech at the local community college. I love love love it.

B)  I'm a red head.
    Interesting.

C) EK has HAIR. She looks like a little girl.  My baby is long gone.

D)  We are a one dog family as of yesterday. Hopefully our playtime will be a little more enjoyable!  Jake is still holding down the fort.

E)  Ryan and I have been practicing our shooting. Scary.

F) Ryan participated in a gator lasso-ing a while back. I wish I had been there, so totally cool.

G)  My sister and I became obsessed with mullets for a brief, fleeting, moment.

H)  I joined a Fantasy Football league this year... ack.

I) Nothing else!


Here's a photo dump-