The Good Life

As fast as Colton is growing into and right back out of clothes, it's hard to keep an inventory of clothes that fit (especially sleepers). This week, I picked up 4 "sleeper sets" and one shirt for Colton. The items were on sale and still totaled over $50. Once I got the items home and out of the bag I realized 1) that I had very little product for the money I had spent and 2) that he was going to be out of these within a month (or two if I'm lucky)! I have never been one of "those Moms" who is afraid to put my kid in "hand me downs" and we have been so fortunate to have been given a lot of those from friends and family. Since we're running a little low on inventory of his current size, I decided to return the sleepers and re-think my strategy. I've had several friends and family members tell me about Once Upon A Child. Unfortunately, "our" closest store is on the west side of Knoxville - so a little over an hour drive away. Matt...

This past weekend, Matt and I left Colton with my parents for the first time overnight. Of course with Matt working out of town when Colton was first born, it wasn't his first night away from him but for me, it was. I was looking forward to / dreading it all week. Colton has entered that "clingy stage" (see previous post) so I was nervous that he was going to have a total melt-down on my Mom, but I was so excited to get away with just Matt for a night. Friday night, Colton slept 12 hours (first time in the history of EVER). It was only the second night in (almost) 8 months that I have gotten at least 8 hours of sleep. It was pretty amazing to open my eyes and read 7:00am on the clock and not 2:30am! :-) Saturday morning, Colton was in a "so-so" mood. He was clinging to me as I was trying to get packed and loaded up. We finally had everything ready to go and it was time for the goodbye. I read an article about leaving a "separation anxiety kid" and it...

Colton has entered what I am calling a "clingy phase". Since I'm a first-time parent and I'm at home all day with him, I sometimes feel concerned that I'm doing something "wrong" when Colton cries every time I walk into the next room (this has just started in the past 2 weeks). First, I thought he was extra fussy and clingy because he was sick, but now he is pretty much over the sickness and I'm still noticing some "separation anxiety" that wasn't there before. Colton used to warm up to anyone, but now he clings to me whenever a stranger or even some family members approach. So, the question arises in my head, "have I made him too dependent on me?". After reading some articles and books, I have learned that this is a normal phase that most babies go through toward the end of their first year. - Insert sigh of relief - Now that Colton is crawling around, he looks up every few minutes to see if I'm still there. If he can...

Well, it's day 11 and Colton is finally feeling better! :-) HOORAY. Little guy had a good (for him) night's sleep and his little nose isn't running like a faucet. He is still battling a little bit of a cough...but I'll take it. Shew, I sure hate going through that. I'm once again reminded of how blessed we have been to just now be experiencing his first sickness!!! GOOD NEWS... Today is a big day for our family. My sister-in-law, Danielle, checked in to St. David's Georgetown Hospital  to deliver our newest nephew, Hunter. At 9:30 this morning (TN time), they broke her water and she was beginning to have stronger contractions. As of 12:45pm (TN time) she had elected for an epidural and was waiting for her Doctor to check in. :-) Shouldn't be too much longer now...we hope! I can't help but think back to January when I get her updates. It brings all those emotions flooding back. It's such a stressful, exciting, nervous, painful, joyful, amazing t...

It's been over a week since my last blog post - and to those of you who might actually look forward to reading my "every day stuff", I apologize! :-) What has happened since last Monday? It feels like is went by in a "woosh"... Last week was a crazy week. Matt and I have been on a roller coaster of emotions in regards to finding a home. We thought we had found a house, we went through loads and loads of paperwork, we waited over a month and it all fell apart. SO, we are back to square one. Ugh, it's so frustrating BUT we are trying to stay positive and focus on the fact that God sees the bigger picture! So, we carry on and ask for prayers in finding the right home for our little family. On Tuesday (last week), my Mamaw and Papaw Bishop brought Colton a new Step2 Wagon . He LOVES his new wagon. I'm so thankful that he enjoys being outside and this wagon makes it easier for me to haul him around. Scout loves to follow along as I pull him around in th...

I know we have all woken up on a Monday morning and just knew, from the minute our feet hit the floor, it's going to just be "one of those days"! I, personally, have had many of those days (not just Monday). Today, I am experiencing it as a Mommy. Our poor little teether had one of his roughest nights to date. I'm not sure why some babies can get teeth through and not even react at all and others are, well...like Colton. I feel bad for him but at the same time (after doing everything I can think of) I'm thinking "dude, how bad can it be - come on, toughen up a little bit". I mostly think that at 3AM, so maybe I'm the one that needs to toughen up. :-) As I was laying in bed last night and Colton started to cry (for the hundredth time), I said to Matt "if this happens with every tooth, we're never going to sleep again". I swear he is like Dr. Jekyell and Mr. Hyde. So after another sleepless night, I got up with a semi-rested baby this...

A year ago, I was about 19 weeks pregnant and we were anxiously awaiting our "gender reveal" ultrasound. I remember wanting to know so bad whether we were having a boy or a girl and thinking that the day was never going to come. I wanted to be able to change my thoughts of having an "it" to having a "boy or a girl"! It was like once I knew our little miracle's gender, it made everything that much more real. Today, that little miracle turned 7 months old. What a great 7 month old he is. He is currently working on more teeth, so he has grouchy spells - more often than not - right now, but overall, he is such a pleasure to be around. What's new at 7 months? Well, he is crawling (slowly on hands/knees - quick as lightening with "army crawl"). He says "ma-ma (Mommy)", "ba-ba (not sure) and "pa-pa (Papaw) on a pretty regular basis. He has said "da-da" (Daddy), "pah" (Uncle Pat) and "ba-ooooo...

Just a few years ago, if you saw me out (even at the grocery store), more than likely my outfit matched. This time of year, I probably had a cute tank that matched my shorts, flip-flops, makeup (maybe no makeup), earrings (I always had earrings) and my hair was -if not straightened- put together in a cute way. It didn't take a lot of time/effort to put myself together...or so I thought. It wasn't until I had Colton that I realized how much 'extra' time I had for myself. :-) Now if you see me out, you would probably be thinking "poor thing, I wonder if she's feeling okay..."! I am lucky to get out the door with a shirt on that doesn't smell like spit up or have some type of "Colton stain" on it. If my top happens to match the capris or pants (I'm gradually allowing myself to wear a few pairs of shorts in public) I'm wearing, I consider that a small victory. There is absolutely zero chance that I will be wearing my hair in anything ot...

I could say I have never heard of the word "brining" before, but that wouldn't be 100% accurate. I think I've "heard" the word but I haven't ever paid attention to what it was...until now! I got a few chicken breasts at the grocery store the other day and I was looking for new ways to bake them. I always bake them because it's supposed to be "healthier" (even though I usually have a bowl of ice cream for dessert)! So I was looking on the handy-dandy Internet for baked chicken recipes when information "popped up" about brining chicken. Curios, I clicked on the link and began reading. For those of you who have been doing this already, you're probably thinking "welcome to the club" but for those of you (like me) who haven't - here's the deal. Brining makes cooked meat moister by hydrating the cells of its muscle tissue before cooking, via the process of osmosis. The salt and sugar in brine make changes to pr...