peek-a-boo

instead of exercising...

I have chosen to update my blog.  One thing I have learned about being a working mom is that I am very lucky if I exercise 2 days a week.  You heard me, my current goal is to do 2 days a week...and, I am failing?!?  The girl who used to run hours in a day, is not even running an hour a week.  Oh well, I'll chose this life over that one any day.  

Not too much going on in our lives.  We are trying to get new carpet put down, however Lowe's is making it hard on us.  Who knew that when they said in 5 business days that they actually meant 22.  Silly me!?!  Of course, Todd wants me to cancel the order and take our business elsewhere...but, that means I would have to load up the child on Saturday and spend my free time picking out carpet...again!  After the 3 trips and 4 hours I spent in Lowe's surveying everyone that went by on which one they thought would look the best, AND be good for a 1 year old and a dog, I finally made a decision.  I do not want to do that again...so, I'll just wait my 22 days.  

I made an impromptu trip "home" (aka the delta) last weekend.  Bert and fam decided to go see our granddad in Cleveland, so I hated to pass up the opportunity to see them.  It was a nice day trip.  Todd is happy because my last 2 trips, I haven't come back begging to move.  Yes, ever since Presley was born, I just wanted to move home.  Todd did not agree.  But, he just listened to me whine and cry after every trip.  But, now, I have changed my mind.  It's nice and all, and I wouldn't mind the move, but I'm feeling a bit more content here so I think I'll stay put...for now.

We are planning our first summer vacation in 2 years.  We are headed to Destin the week of Labor Day.  We are still debating over taking Presley or not.  Here are my thoughts.  A couple that lives down the street and has a baby girl (just a few months) are going to be there, too.  So, we could take Presley and trade nights in and out, one couple keeping the babies, then maybe girls out one night, boys, etc.  I know she would like the beach...but, she'd like anywhere, for that matter.  I just can't decide?!?  I know I will miss her like crazy, but it also won't be a total "vacation" with her.  We obviously won't take her skiing this winter, so in that respect, I want to take her on this trip.  AARRGGHH!  You see where my head is.  I just can't make a decision.  Any recommendations are welcome!

I guess I'll wrap things up and go tidy up before bed.  Here are some pics.

home today with a semi-sick child

Well, I'm home today!  Presley was sent home from day care yesterday with a fever, so she can't come in today.  I'm about 99% sure she is teething, and that is the culprit, but we're going to go into the walk-in clinic this morning just to make sure.  To be honest, having a little time off is nice.  I had a super busy weekend traveling to Murphreesboro for my friend Kim's wedding.  It was really nice and everything went well, but it wore me out.  I needed to be there @ 1130 on Friday morning...so, I had to leave the house at about 6:45 that morning in order to swing Presley by Holly Springs to drop her off with the Putnams (they met me half way, thank goodness).  I got home about 1230 on Sunday, but Todd didn't get home until 215 ish, since he had to pick her back up on the way home.  Anyway, we were beat!  But, I am glad Presley is finally showing some signs of teeth.  She got her first 6 right around when she was supposed to, but then they just stopped.  I think she is supposed to have 4 on the bottom and her 1st set of molars right now?!?  She never really teethed before, they just showed up.  So, maybe they are all coming in at one time and it's causing her some pain...I'm new to this, so I don't really know.  Well here are some pics.  

busy, busy, busy!!!

Sorry I've been neglecting my page...this working-mom stuff is hard!  I don't really have much new stuff to report.  Presley is into EVERYTHING...but, what's new?  Her vocabulary is finally expanding a bit...ball, bottle (for her baby doll), and hey (to everyone she passes by).  PopPop, MeMaw, Clete, Ashley, Thomas, Lily, and Emma Grace all came this weekend.  We had a big time and got some cute pics.

a day at the zoo

As some of you may know, this is my last week at home.  This has been a great year, but it's time to go make some money.  I will be heading back to the VA next Monday and Presley will be headed back to school full time.  I'm sure it will be hard, but I'm actually looking forward to getting back into a schedule.  So, this week I made a list of things to do...and I've done everything with a day to spare!  Todd called it my "list of frivolous thing to do."  I have gotten a pedicure, gone to see Sex and The City movie, updated my photo album, gone to the mall to take back some of Prelsey's clothes that didn't fit, gotten my oil changed (see, all things weren't frivolous!), and finally...today, we went to the zoo!

My friend, Meg, her 9 1/2 month old son, Jackson, Presley, and I met at the zoo @ 10.  This was not Presley's first visit, because for some reason Todd and I took her when she was 6 weeks old...I'm sure she has fond memories of it.  Anyway, this was the first visit where both of them could at least see moving creatures in front of them.  Of course, Presley called almost everything a dog.  She is big into pointing right now, so that's really all we did.  I'd pick her up out of her stroller, she'd point at it, maybe say "dog", then I'd put her right back in the stroller, and we were on our way.  The best part was the polar bears.  I'd seen them before, but they were just sitting there.  But, this time they were having a big time.  They were wrestling with each other, diving off the rock, and playing with the ball.  It was a lot of fun, I could have watched them for an hour!  However, that was the time that Presley decided she wanted to take her nap...figures.  All and all, we had a great day...we ended up staying until after 2!  And, we got some cute pics of the kids...especially since Meg and Jackson are moving in 1 month :(

family reunion and a sick baby

Last weekend, we headed down to Batesville for the Putnam family reunion.  It was perfect weather, so the kids spent most of the time in their swimsuits playing water games.  Emma Grace is getting so big...I think she'll be walking in the next month or 2, and she has quite a little personality...so, I predict she is going to be trouble.  I kidded with Ashley and Clete that she was going to corrupt my sweet Presley.  No, really, I'm so glad they are so close in age...they are going to have a lot of fun together.  

Then, this past weekend, Presley had a stomach bug...which lead to a horrible case of diaper rash.  You know, the best thing for diaper rash is fresh air...yet, that is hard to do when your child has diarrhea...but, last night, we let her run free in the yard for a couple of hours and it REALLY helped.  Her little bum looks so much better today!  I know that is probably more information that most would like to hear...but, I needed to explain the pics...and, I would assume most parents totally understand.  

Enjoy the pics!

Oh my....

I survived this weekend!  It was very hectic...and I finally got my first good night's sleep last night, so figured I'd update my blog.  

For starters, Presley had been very sick with a sinus infection.  But, Friday she woke up and could actually open both eyes, so we decided to head to the delta for Trevor's class day.  It was a lot of fun...wills, slide shows, etc.  Presley was squirmy as usual, so we spent most of our time in the corner of the gym playing.  But, when the lights went off and music started for the slide show, Presley went fast asleep...it was so sweet!  

After getting back to Memphis, Todd said he'd keep Presley and let me mosey down to BBQ fest for a bit...which ended up being a late night.  Todd worked on Saturday and Presley woke up bright and early (as expected)...So, that was night 1 of little sleep.  

Saturday morning, I had to bake the 2 layers of Presley's cake.  The first layer messed up, so it was trashed.  But, thank goodness, the next 2 tries were successful.  Then, while the cakes were cooling, Presley and I headed to a friends Crawfish Party.  I only planned on staying a little while, but it was so much fun we stayed for 3 hours!  There were a lot of other children and toys and Presley had a big time!  

So, back to the house about 6:30...time to finish that darn cake.  I had to make the fresh strawberry filling, make the icing, put it together, ice and decorate it.  That was all finished around 11.  So, I headed to bed.  Around 1:30 I woke up, totally awake.  I think it was a combination of being anxious about Presley's party the next day and the fact that I drank 3 sodas on Saturday (I rarely have caffeinated drinks, let alone 3 in one day?!?).  I laid there until about 3, then decided this was crazy...I was awake, I might as well get up and get ready for the party.  So...that's what I did.  I blew up balloons, cleaned up, got out my serving dishes and arranged them, etc.  Around 5am I realized there wasn't too much more I could do at the time, so I tried to go back to sleep.  I think I got another 30 minutes to an hour, and just got up again.  Cleaned some more, started cooking,  thawed the punch, etc, etc, etc....

So, before I knew it, folks were showing up at  my door.  We had such a good turn out and everything was great!  Presley was in a pretty good mood, all food was good, cake got rave reviews, she got some great gifts, and she had such a great time!  Aimee, Bert, Harper, Annellise, Raanne, Philene, Grandaddy Bell, PopPop, and Memaw were all here.  Plus, the majority of our Memphis friends showed up.  So, I'm thinking we had around 40-50 people!  After everyone filtered out, I cleaned up for a while (yet, somehow the house is still messy?!?), then just relaxed.  Todd told me to take a nap, but I declined because I didn't want to mess up the perfect night of sleep I was going to get.  I started watching Desperate Housewives, thinking it would end at 9 and I would head to bed...then I realized it was the season finally and it went until 10.  I struggled through it and my head hit the pillow at 10:01 thinking I was about to get the best sleep of my life.  Silly me.  At 11:30, I woke and knew I was about to be sick.  Todd was upstairs playing the play station.  I managed to make it up there to tell him...which I try to do since I have this crazy fainting problem (I didn't faint, thank goodness).  2 hours later and 10 pounds lighter, I made it to bed.  So, I got about 5 hours of sleep that night.

Needless to say, I had a very lazy Monday.  Presley had to go to school at 10 because she is moving to another class and needed to do her visit.  She visits for an increasing amount of time everyday for 2 weeks, then officially moves to the 'walkers' class.  So, I had the day to myself.  Todd and I grabbed lunch at Mrs. Cordelia's, then I headed to the pool with Maggie (my friend that is about to pop...she is definitely having that baby this week!).  Why I only put sun screen on my face, I do not know, because now I have a white face and bright red body...only on the front that is.  It's very attractive.  

I went to get Presley from daycare, for her 4:00 appt for her 1 year check-up.  Everything was fine.  She is meeting or exceeding all of her milestones.  She was 22.9 lbs (75th percentile) and I can't remember the length (but I know it was right above the 50th percentile).  She got her 3 shots like a champ....cried for a second, then is totally over it.  She's a tough kid!  So, we headed home and had a lazy afternoon.  And, finally, I got my good night's sleep last night 8 and 1/2 hours!!!  Whoo Hoo!!!  

Here are some weekend pics...