“You think you know, but you have no idea.”

Confession:  You never really know what’s going on inside someone else’s world.

It’s funny how something so obvious is often forgotten. You see people living the dream. 3 kids, fantastic house, great marriage, perfect job, impeccable style etc. and it’s easy to think that life for them is amazing. And while I’m sure each could go on again and again with the abundance of true blessings, each person has their struggles. (I know, its sounding like I’m gonna do a FB rant, but bear with me…) I attend craft night, with some very lovely ladies and most often we keep it light and chatty, but since we have been seeing each other every month for almost 2 years, it lends itself for some deeper discussions. And with those deeper discussions come amazement at the strength of these women. It’s one thing to deal with an ordeal, trauma, health struggles,  publicly but it’s another to deal with it personally. To have your mountain be so big that you keep it close and it resides within just a few trusted hearts. It’s those struggles that people usually don’t talk about and those struggles that make me want to be cheerleaders for these women. They are mommas, wives, professionals. They have laughter and smiles and kind words to give and share and then you find out just how big their mountains are and how they have tackled or are tackling it with such grace and composure is amazing! But sometimes within that silence, within that solitude of your mountain are mommas who ache to be heard. They ache to be understood and they are looking for the camaraderie of those going through the same thing.

So to the momma’s who….

don’t get a nap during the day after their kid was up all night…

don’t get to snuggle their babies during weekday cartoons

drop off their babies to day care

have to hear “Mommy don’t go to work” and know there’s no choice about that

don’t have a job and wonder how to put food on the table

have a house or apartment that feels too small, or old or not what they’d dreamed

have family that lives far away and they don’t get to see often

have love handles, stretch marks and a few extra pounds they can’t shed

have slept on pee stained sheets because they forgot their kids peed on them or were just too tired to care

forgo makeup or doing their hair or working out or much needed “me time” for that of their family

have aches and pains and are bed ridden or home bound or not the picture of health they once were

desperately want a child, to grow their family or begin their family

are going at life alone, without a spouse to love and support them

have loved ones with whom they aren’t speaking to

is picking up toy after toy and clothes after clothes and the house is still a wreck

is just struggling to hang in there…

to those moms, I hear you. I so very much hear you! From a mom who has more than one item on that list, I hear you. I feel you. You are not alone. Take a deep breath… you can do it. A quote that always gets me is “No mom ever said, id wished id hugged my child less” Same could be said for “No mom ever said, I wished id spent less time with my kids” But I can promise we will wish we had forgoes that homemade meal that had us pulling out our hair in turn for an hour of snuggle time or play time with our kids. A house that’s a mess  because you chose that time to accept the invitation to play from your baby that will only want to play with you for a few more years. It’s thoughts like that that help me get through it. That and knowing I’m not alone, I’m not perfect and that’s okay.  Thoughts that remind me to remind MY friends that you are doing amazing, you will reap the fruits of your labors as a mom, wife and friend, and that in the end it is so worth it. So.Very.Worth it.

 

 

It's been a while...

Confession: It’s been 1 full year since I posted a blog.


I say posted, because in my defense, I have been blogging (okay more like journaling in MS Word), I just haven’t posted anything. No worries, it will make its way up eventually, but anywho! So what has happened in my year long sabbatical? This time last year…good Lord, I can’t even remember what I did this time last year! Im blaming my age. Ya know, once you hit 30, everything just starts shutting down…right? Well last year was filled with different things, some good, some not so good, some mehh. But for the most part it was a good year. I spent time with my favorite little Colty, watching him grow and learn and try new things. I enjoyed spending time with my niece Maddie, and loved seeing her intelligence grow. I spent a lot of time with mamsita, Christy and Susan as we prepped for Susan’s much anticipated wedding to Blue Eyes! I made new friends, I deepend relationships with old friends. I laughed (a lot). I cried (occasionally). I worked on my relationship with my dad *sigh*. I crafted. I drew closer to the Lord. I had snarky moments. I had kind moments. And oh yeah, Alfie knocked me up (yeaaahhh buddy!). And yet I didn’t blog. At.all. I know. I'm bad.

But on my first post back, I would like to dedicate it to (and brag on) some fabulous women… My Triple C girls. That’s my (I say mine because them b’s be mine, make your own dang group if you wanna craft, this one is too special to share!!) pimpin’ craft group that meets once a month every month for almost 2 years now. We are a hodge podge of ladies from all walks of life: stay at home mommies, teachers, designers, engineers, photographers, project managers etc. but each one crafty in her own way and each one brings a special spark to the group. The best part is not all of us knew each other before hand but wow how fun it’s been to seen relationships build, advice given and received, ideas shared, hearts opened and so much laughter heard over the course of these months. I know each lady challenges me to be a better wife, a better mommy, and a better friend. They know that sometimes fast food and tv is a totally acceptable form of healthy dinner and family activity. They know (and can advise) how best to take an office poo (lol shout out to last craft night). They accept (and humor me) during my “lets make everything dir-tay” moments. They talk about the not so glamourous side of pregnancy… can we say sore boobs, ‘roids, heartburn, body aches and moodiness, anyone? And ofcourse there is never any judgement when I we stuff my our faces on the delicious snacks people bring.

So Triple C ladies (you know who you be) this is for you! My first blog post back in a year, a little rusty, but it’s a start. Thanks for the encouragement to get back on it and ride it hard… that’s what she said.

True Story: The Boob Pillow...

**Based on ACTUAL events. Names have been changed to keep people anonymous**

So a few years ago a group of my friends go together for a Christmas gathering. We had previously decided to exchanged White Elephant gifts. Awesome. Everyone did a great job bringing silly items. But the most hilarious gift was an anatomically correct bright pink pillow in the shape of Tata's. Yeah that's right! I think we guessed them to be a D or a DD. The best part was they were originally opened by Bark and Mecky who sooo DID NOT want them but got stuck with them in the end via the luck of the White Elephant process! lol And thus began the game of dropping them off at each other's home. Bark and Mecky stealthily kept the pillow hidden until they could sneak it into someone else's home and leave it to be discovered at another date by another couple. Such as a Murder Mystery party at Meve and Stegan's (they sound Swedish, ya!). Well Meve and Stegan found the Billow (haha boob pillow, that was Alfie's phrase, not mine) that had been hidden in their bedroom and then proceeded to share the billow wealth and dropped it off at Rosh and Jobin's (haha Jewish??orrr Jamaican, mon' ??) and Rosh and Jobin made sure to bring it to our house, where it sat on the floor in our room waiting to be taken to Cave and Dassie's (haha Southern friends ??? lol). And this is where it gets interesting....

Alfie and I lived next door to his sister and brother in law for a few years at 290. It was great getting to see our niece and nephews, especially in the summer when they would be out playing when we would get home from work. On this particular day Cristen and the kids stopped over (i think i was home due to morning *all the time* sickness).

Side note: Alfie and I leave stuff around. no surprise here. Especially in our room. Neither of us are masters at picking up. But we also don't have anything dir-tay that NEEDS to be tucked away, however we are good about keeping things that should be private, private. Moving on...

So of course we didn't care that the kids would go into any room as they would search for our cat Nelly. We were used to this, and often Nelly would hide under our bed. No biggie. It was not shocking that as Cristen and i stood chatting in the family room, the kids had made their way into our bedroom. Although this time they came out with THE PILLOW. OH.DEAR.LORD. I.HAVE.CORRUPTED.THE.KIDS!! THEY HAVE THE PILLOW! (which had been on the floor by the dresser waiting to be taken to Cave and Dassie's).

"What is this?" was pretty much the first thing out of their mouth. I could not believe this was happening...NO NO NO! Luckily Cristen jumped in with a "Hmm what do you think it is?" (brilliant! test out what they know and see how much damage control we need to run...perfect!! What a mom!!). Micah jumps in with a "I think they look like eyes" and proceeded to hold them up like eyes. (Okay, i can see that... one down, one to go before we are in the clear). And then Jonah pipes in with "I think they look like these" and to my horror held them to where the large D-Cup mamba jambas would naturally be. DANG IT! Right on the money! Smart lil guy! Luckily their wise mama jumped in with a "Maybe Aunt Kimi uses them to practice for the baby?".....so clever, so clever. She then proceed to usher the boys out of the house and encourage them to play outside. THANK YOU JESUS! BUTTTT not before snapping a picture and sending it to Alfie with the caption "Uncle Alfie, what are these??" haha At which point he called saying "uhhh are you at home?!?!?" haha fearful that the kids had been at our house without me. You can bet that I made sure Cristen knew the back story of how we got the pillow as a white elephant gift and that it was not some freaky sex toy her children were holding. There really would have been no coming back from something like that I'm sure.

Ohhh the Good times at 290!!

Yee Haww its a Barnyard Birthday!

Well I made it through Colton's first year all in one piece! And sure we had some occasional oops, like a fall off the couch, a fall (ok, 2 falls off the bed), issues with formula and issues with sleeping. Saturday we celebrated among close friends and family, Coltons Barnyard Birthday! (Photo's courtesy of Christy Roushey)....

We had everyone dressed in their farmers best....

and some got crazy with it.... (Auntie Lor Lor "keepin' it rural" as her shirt says)


We took some family pics before everyone arrived...

Abuelita ('Ita for short) and Colty

Titi Christy, Uncle Ben and Maddicus

Uncle Fer and Titi Susan

I slavvvved away for weeks creating the banners, the menu cards and all the little "1" banners for the cupcakes...

The centerpieces for each table (I made these using pairs of Coltons baby jeans)

Pictures of Colty to decorate the gift table

YUM first taste of the cupcake...

YIKES crazy sugar rush baby!!! he liked it but did a serious gag after a few bites. Dessert over!

Momma's favorite 1 year old!

We had a great time and Colton was showered with gifts from the many friends and family who love him! Happy Birthday Colty! (thats your last party for a long while!)

Cookies, coffee, and crafting OH MY!

So last night I attended a fun night of coffee and crafting at Bethany’s house. HOLY INSPIRED. No joke. Not only was i inspired to do more crafting (specifically sewing) BUT i was inspired to put up more pictures in my house. HUH? Let me explain. For those who don't know, Bethany is an AMAZING photographer. She helped with my wedding pictures and did my maternity photo shoot (I was GINORMOUS and feeling ugly, and she made the pictures come out far from that!). So I knew her house would have lots of pictures but I didn't realize what an impact that had. Not only is her home gorgeous (very Pottery barn-esque) but the priorities in her life are on clear display! And I.LOVE.IT. It totally that lets you know how important, loved and valued her husband and two boys are to her. I walked into her house thinking "She LOVES her family" and I left thinking "i want visitors to my home to feel the same way", so thanks Bethany for the great inspiration. Now on to printing, framing and hanging pictures of my priorities :)

Anyways, it was such a great night of meeting new people, chatting with current friends, and watching ladies of all ages work on fun crafts! Now my "craft" wasn't so much A craft as it was working MY craft...lol I curled Christy’s hair. Haha. Since I LOVE doing hair this is ALWAYS fun for me and since I don't usually have the time and right atmosphere this was perfect! But I did get my hair curled by Christy AND the chance to try out some Pinterest styles on one of B's good friends. THENNNN to add the caramel syrup to the sundae (not a stupid cherry cause i HATE cherries..gag me. LOVE caramel though) SOhl (I like calling her by her blog name, it’s so clever it makes me chuckle, so in my mind sometimes I refer to her as Sohl...betcha didn't know that 'eh Sarah) brought me my phone case...aka My Phone home...lol or Phone dress or Phone sleeper...No, my PHONE SNUGGIE!! that’s sooo what I’m calling it. Anyway, the snuggie is AWESOME! It made tossing it in my purse and finding my phone SO MUCH easier and a lot less riskier if I drop it. I am lame-o and didn't bring my camera, BUT Bethany had hers so pop over and check it out.

Side note: We were told to come in comfy clothes (you don't have to ask mama twice!) and I did, so pardon the "Jammer" shorts and my sport-tastic E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES shirt. Comfortable was the name of the game, so no judgment, k?

And Sarah made some awesomely easy magnets that I am definitely going to try. Keep checking her blog for the tutorial.

It was funny sitting around the table, looking around and feeling very much like I was back in the "little house on the prairie" days and the ever popular "quilting circles" (although technically my minority status back in the day MAYY have had me watching through the back window instead of sitting at the table). Overall it was a very fun night and I look forward to more coffee and crafting nights in the future!!

Weekend

So this weekend went by too fast! But not without PLENTY to laugh about. Friday night we went to the graduation party for becky. It was a lot of fun and we got to play Rock Band 2, which at first glance is AWESOME, but after saturdays plans its banned from the house until further notice. But anyways, we had a lot of fun playing RB2, and its songs were wayyyy better than the first one. Then saturday rolled around, and we had planned (prior to playing on friday night) to play on saturday for a bit. Well it was my understanding it would be me alfie, jake, ryan and lauren... ohh boy was I wrong. Well it was 4 of us for about 2hrs but then it quickly turned into 10 ppl in my little home who kept playing for another 2 hrs. so we had the dumb thing going for 4HOURS!! in my world thats 2hrs too long. Not only that but i had totally just cleaned that morning so now I had people moving things around to sit and it got crazyyyy loud and I just wanted quiet (i had gotten up at 8 to clean) andI had stuff i needed to get done but couldn't really do that. Moral of the story is NEVER AGAIN. :) That my friends is how things become unwelcome at my house :) (im starting to get annoyed just thinking about saturday).



Then the fun got brought back when we went over to steve and megs house with dave cassie mark becky and ryan. We played an AWESOME game of catch phrase. Here are some of the highlights from that game:



** SOB: I thought that was S.O.B so my drescription consisted of "last word is a female dog" although sadly it shoulda been "another word for crying very hard" woops!



**Bat Boy: Most would think of the boy who gets the baseball bats at a baseball game. Nope, not ryan. His description was "its a mythological creature". This is what he was thinking:



LOL it was pretty funny cause Alfie actually got it.
**Enema: My description was "its when they shoot water up your butt to flush you out"... Dave got it!! We then had a discussion about whether or not the actually "shoot" stuff up there or just insert it and it dissolves.

But the hands down best was the description for MOBY DICK, done by Cassie (i love that girl!)
It went a bit like this:

"Ok, i think its an author"
"second word is a part guys have, (motioning around the genital area)"

"Ok when they get excited and this happens (makes a boner motion with her arm)"

Needless to say none of us girls guessed Moby Dick, and we all had a great laugh as we explained what in fact Moby Dick was.

Overall it was a good time. We even got to do a little kareoke too, and learned a hilarious song called "Jesus is my friend"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-NOZU2iPA8&feature=related

Nothing like an old school song to make you laugh.