A little Mommy Encouragement

I don't know about anyone else but for me parenting can be overwhelming sometimes. Well in all honestly all of the time. I second guess everything from toys to food to whether he knows how much I love him on that said day. For some reason ever since Mikey was born I always come back to this amazing song by Reba and find clarity ever time so I figured why not share!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kLs4VdfFlQ

My Anthem

You Learn

 

After a while you learn the subtle difference 

Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,

And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning 

And company doesn't mean security. 

And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts 

And presents aren't promises, 

And you begin to accept your defeats 

With your head up and your eyes open 

With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child, 

And you learn to build all your roads on today 

Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans 

And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight. 

 

After a while you learn... 

That even sunshine burns if you get too much. 

So you plant your garden and decorate your own soul, 

Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn that you really can endure...

That you really are strong 

And you really do have worth... 

And you learn and learn... 

 

With every good-bye you learn.

Busy Bee

The last few days have been exciting to say the least. My marvelous little man is quite the problem solver and took it upon himself to learn how to open EVERYTHING! The fridge, the dishwasher, the cabinets, the lids on the things in the fridge, the lids in the cabinets, etc. have all been mastered by a very proud Mikey. I thought I had baby proofed when he started crawling... thought. Apparently there is a huge difference between baby proofing and Mikey proofing! I am proud to say that Mikey's problem solving skills are far beyond that of a normal ten month old! That is silver lining, right?

We have been keeping busy with Michael gone. I worked the last three days and might I say I am so lucky and thankful I do not work full time! Today was our full day together and we started on Mikey proofing the down stairs. Started and probably won't finish till he is in high school at this rate! About four we headed out to Black Eagle to trim horses and I took a bareback ride on a rather fussy Arab. Mikey enjoyed watching and of course playing in the dirt out there. They have a chicken coop and he loved watching them! We spent a good four plus hours out there and true to Mikey's reputation blew out his diaper right before we left. Now we were meeting friends for Mexican after so my baby went out in public with no pants! Which he prefers to be honest! When will I learn to restock the diaper bag?! Mikey enjoyed some chips but must learn to take smaller bites. He gets so excited to eat he tries to swallow it whole! Even if you cut it into baby chunks he just keeps shoving food in until no more fits. Yup, he is a boy at heart. I do think the highlight of his day was the shredded chicken he got to taste. Super delicious!

Gotta brag a little...

Whew! Gearing up for a crazy week of no sleep, places to be and people to see. Today I worked a ten hour shift at Big R and didn't get home till five thirty. I have spent the last six hours feeding, singing, talking, playing, and just holding Mikey. Those ten hours all I could focus on was the smiles I wasn't seeing, the laughs I wasn't hearing, the Cheerio breath I wasn't smelling... each minute was a minute I can't get back. I held him for hours after he fell asleep just listening to him breath and clinging to every detail of his face. Dreading work again tomorrow because once again I am missing out on so much!

Then Michael called...

And might I say I am a blessed wife and Mikey is one blessed kid. People always tell you about the "sacrifices" military make for their country. I didn't realize missing out on your kids was one of them. Michael has been gone for a month now and has not complained once. I was gone for a hour before every one at work had to hear about how deprived I was. Michael will be gone for two months so he can better our lives with his awesome new job. That my friends is providing for your family. That is selflessness. That is a husband a wife can be proud of. That is a daddy a boy can look up to. Everything in my life right now Michael built with me and I am thankful for how hard he worked and continues to work to provide for our family. I didn't realize how much he sacrifices for us until today... and quite honestly I am completely and totally blown away by the man I am so fortunate to have married.

Yup, Michael is a awesome guy.  Hands down one of the best.

Getting to old for this...

I have come to the following conclusion...
I am no longer eighteen. Or twenty. And having a baby really does change your body... a lot!

Lets go back a few years, I am getting ahead of myself.

I remember trimming four horses with only slight discomfort in maybe an hour or two. It was so exhilarating to watch the hoof transform into a perfect piece of art that I often obsessed over the smallest detail. Not only were my clients feet fabulous they were the embodiment of perfection...

And present day... well, not so much. I have a client with four horses who I trim when their farrier is unavailable and it is not nearly as pleasant as it was not so long ago. Two horses one day and two the next is my physical capability and quite frankly it is embarrassing to admit. Now I can make a lot of excuses like I am not trimming twenty horses on a regular basis anymore, Montana horses lack basic manners, or it is a lot hotter here and fatigue sets in faster. But in truth, I am older, not in shape like I was, and the rehabilitation after having your stomach cut open is slow.

 So how do people deal with getting older? I have always been one of those "try anything once, do everything twice" kind of people because lets be honest, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Essentially life experiences whether positive or negative only enrich your life. But today I caught myself saying no. NO! Horses and I said NO! That never has happened! My body said this isn't going to work no matter how hard you try and my mind said you have baby and can't afford to get a kick to the head. Crazy right! Growing up you hear the older barn ladies saying "oh I can't get bucked off" and you just roll your eyes and promise yourself that will never be you. Today my twelve year old self was very disappointed. Yup... I am growing up and falling apart!

On a brighter note my sweet boy loved being with the horses! It makes my heart so happy to see how much he enjoys the presence of animals and how sensitive he is to their actions. To be safe the horses were tied and he was on the other side of the fence in his stroller so he could play but still observe. Oh how he loved watching! My clients have three "corrals" which are basically a shed row divided into separate barns and runs. In the middle they have a flashy and opinionated blue roan that Mikey was obsessed with! He fed her Cheerios, stuck his fingers in her nose, and laughed at every move she made! She bucked and he laughed. She snorted and he giggled. She ran about with her tail up in the air and he chuckled. Cutest thing ever! Hopefully I have a equestrian in the making! Fingers crossed!

Other realization I had today... My son owns more Beaver clothing than Duck! Yup, you heard right! My house has two rooms devoted to the Oregon Ducks, Mikeys first shirt was a U of O jersey, all of our family pics are in U of O jerseys, our Christmas décor is green and yellow, and my husband can name any U of O football stat you can think of and yet, Mikey has no duck gear. He owns one Beaver shirt that he got as a gag gift from his Uncle Ted (Wade) but no duck gear because he outgrew it all... Uncle Ted will be proud but I am sure his dad will be mortified!

And so concludes this Fridays rambling... yup, rambling!

Happy Friday!

And here we go... Again!

Okay...
Here we go... Again!

I know I tried the whole blogging thing when I found out I was pregnant with every intention to keep up on it. But lets be honest, every other post would have been about how much being pregnant stinks and how clean my bathroom was because that was the only room I inhabited. Then the rest would have been about how magical it is to have life inside you. Whole blog... took me two sentences! However now that our sweet man is here and we prepare to take off on another military induced adventure it seems only right to begin...again. And I have always enjoyed writing, helps get your thoughts and feelings out there, organized, and ultimately in this form keeps those you care about "in the loop" and we all know communicating is not one of my strong points. But on that note the following is what you can expect to see...

-Plenty of Pictures of my favorite fat man.... er chubby baby
-Stories of Mikey's adventures! From teething to what he had for breakfast... did I mention I am obsessed with firsts?
-Stories of the fur babies adventures... believe me, they have some doozies!
-Throw back Thursday, though I am not sure where this originated nor its purpose, here we will use it as an excuse to get a little nostalgic!
-Rants and Ramblings on whatever happened to annoy me that day!

Well... welcome friends!