The Good Life

Why is that when you're waiting on something that you really want, time just stops? Every other week that Colton has been born has just flown by and this week is taking forever!!! This week has been full of some wonderful things/news...but it's just seems to be passing by very slowly. On Tuesday, we did get a visit from my cousin, Susan and her 3-month old baby Logan. They drove over from Nashville on Monday and stopped by the house for the afternoon. I haven't seen Susan in about a year and it was my first time meeting baby Logan. What a doll baby. While holding Logan, I kept thinking "was Colton ever this still? Was Colton really this small? Where did the time go?". I can't believe how much Colton has grown - he looked like such a little boy next to Logan! Since he hasn't been around a baby younger than him, Colton was totally amazed with everything that Logan did. It's so much fun getting to know all of our newest family members! The visit on Tues

My sweet baby has added a lot to my life, but he has also taken a little bit away. I’m sure that is natural with any Mom or Dad. Being a parent has changed my life and taught me so much about myself that I didn’t even realize I needed to learn. Some days, I feel like I’m “just” a stay at home Mom and kinda miss my away from home job. I miss the structure, the schedule, the interaction with other adults and honestly, some days, I just miss getting “dressed up”.   But then I stop and think about what I would be missing out on here at home and I know that I would miss that WAY MORE than structure, schedule, other adults or any dress up day. Being a Mom has its challenges, but I have to believe that being a 24/7 Mom is a bigger challenge. Colton is getting to the stage where he takes everything out on Mommy. I read an article that said babies tend to be more fussy with Mommy because Mommy is the “comfort zone” and they know that no matter how they act, Mommy is still going to care for t

Now that the news is "out" about the house - I feel like I can get back to sharing about my every-day events without fear of mentioning something I'm "not supposed to"! :-) I hope to keep a journal of our journey on finding/closing on/moving into/growing in our new home! After our offer was accepted on the house, we shared the news with our immediate family members (they have been as anxious as we have and so supportive through this process). Of course I have been looking for any excuse(s) to drive by the house, so anybody that has wanted to see it has seen it. I had a feeling that the lady next door (our future neighbor) thought I was stalking their neighborhood because I was out there 5 out of 7 days last week - and she was outside every single time. I actually started looking away so she couldn't see my face as I drove by. Like she isn't going to know it's me as soon as she sees my car in the driveway - but I guess it made me feel better at the

It's been almost a week since my last post. I've been trying really hard to be patient and I was afraid that if I started blogging that I would "spill the beans"! Well, even if our "big news" isn't actually finalized, I just can't wait anymore! Matt and I have been on a house hunting journey for (what seems like) forever. It's either been the wrong location, the wrong neighborhood, the wrong state, the wrong price, the wrong size or the wrong timing. Since our search began for a house here in Greeneville (in May), we have looked at about (I'm guessing) 15 (or more) houses. The first potential purchase was a manufactured home. It wasn't exactly what we had in mind as a home for our (hopefully growing) family, but it was in our price range and it was in a pretty good location. It was a small house and it was going to be hard to accommodate a growing family, but since it came with a decent lot and 2 out buildings, we were willing to make

I haven't been sharing any blog posts this week because my mind is completely somewhere else. I have sat down and tried to type up some funny things that happened this week, but I would 1) get interrupted 2) get sidetracked 3) lose focus or 4) think of the other million things I need to be doing and get up and walk away. But today - here I am (let's hope I can remember anything from the week)! Monday night we had 4 new cloggers in class at LMH. I am so happy that they were able to join us and I'm looking forward to the fun we're going to have. I'm thankful that we have such a variety of ages, skill levels and personalities! Tuesday was...okay, let's just be honest, I don't even remember Tuesday! Wednesday I ran some errands in town, cashed in a gift card that I got for my birthday at Maurices (cha-ching) and did a lot of communicating back and forth with the print shop (Tennessee Thunder Cloggers are getting new T-shirts)! Yesterday, I spent most of

Saturday - September 7 Today, the Laughlin Memorial Hospital Cloggers   and Tennessee Thunder   teamed up to dance at the 2 nd annual Buggin’ For a Cure. The event is an all Volkswagen, charitable benefit held at the fairgrounds here in Greeneville and all proceeds are for the ACS, Relay for Life. We are so happy to support a great cause!   We have a small team, but though we are small, we are mighty. I'm so thankful that these dancers have so much heart, are proud of what they are doing and love clogging as much as I do. After only a couple of months of practice, our cloggers put on a 30 minute show and really entertained the crowd. We incorporated new line dances, a new precision, an audience participation hoedown and a traditional line. The 4-year old class and 7-year old, Ava performed for the first time and of course they stole the show! A big thank you to all the dancers who joined us to put on a great show!   Looking for a new type of exercise? No dancer too

Friday - September 6 31 – that’s the magic number. So many have asked, “how does it feel being OVER 30?” and my response is “I haven’t even had time to blink, much less think about it”. This past year has been full of pregnancy, baby showers, swollen feet, a long delivery, a new baby, poopy diapers, late nights, early mornings, up all-nighters, poopy diapers, being away from Matt for work out of town, making bottles, washing bottles, trips out of state, trips in state, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, new clogging classes, laughs, poopy diapers, cries, hugs, wet baby kisses, cleaning up messes, bath times, story times, trips in the wagon, poopy diapers, washing clothes, doctor appointments, anniversary dinners, birthday celebrations, arguments, make-ups, joy, disappointment, poopy diapers, highs, lows and everything in between but most of all this year has been filled with so much love! This year, we have been blessed beyond belief. We have experienced so many disappointing moments to f

Thursday – September 5 Today, my Mom took me “birthday shopping”. I can’t remember the last time that Mom and I spent a day shopping together, and we enjoyed a really fun day. Of course it wasn’t just me and Mom…we also had Colton in tow. J Since being pregnant and having Colton, obviously, my body has changed. There are women who have babies and then step right back into their pre-pregnancy clothes the next week (and I think that’s amazing)! I’m sure if I worked a little harder and ate a little less ice cream, I would have more success on finding a “style” that fits me, but that’s a topic for another time. J I think the struggle isn’t as much with clothes that fit me physically as much as fit my current lifestyle. I have only been “clothes shopping” about 3 or 4 times since Colton was born and out of those 3 or 4 times, I’ve only gone in a dressing room to try something on once (maybe twice). I’m not a big shopper anyway, so I guess I just felt like it’s not been worth

The morning of Colton's 8-month birthday (yesterday), the first thing he did when I picked him up out of his crib was take his two little hands on both sides of my face, look right at me and say "ma-ma". Sigh - I sure do love that kiddo. Yesterday, my sweet, funny, happy baby was back - ALL DAY! I'm hoping that since his two top teeth have finally cut through that he will not feel as miserable and that the happy Colton will stick around awhile! Yep, little booger officially has 4 teeth now...and he knows how to use them. At 8 months, little Colt is ON-THE-MOVE and into everything. I never knew little hands could move so quick. He can clear a table in one swipe if given the chance. Getting a good picture of him (one that isn't blurry from movement) is getting harder and harder but it's so much fun to see the growth and advancement each day. Little man absolutely LOVES music and I think he's finding his groove and rhythm (this makes Mommy very happy)! Talk