Kentucky

Last month William and I took a little trip with my parents to Kentucky.  Kinda random, right?!  The  national APHON conference was held in Louisville, Kentucky this year so we headed north. 
Gordon has been traveling once a week for work so he wouldn't have been able to take baby boy to school and pick him up while I was gone....so, baby boy came!  My parents were sweet and offered to come along to watch William for me. 
The night before we left town my parents babysat William so Gordon and I could celebrate our 3 year anniversary.  The next afternoon we headed to Kentucky.  The trip there was pretty rough.  To be honest, it was actually awful.  William has flown 10+ times and done GREAT.  For whatever reason this flight hurt his poor little ears.  He screamed for 25 minutes straight.  stressful and sad.  By the time we got off our first flight (in St. Louis to change planes) we were worn out and I was terrified of how the next flight would go.  I'll have to do a post on flying with baby tips!  Long story short, we never got on the next flight.  Southwest delayed the flight to 12:40am.  Nope.  Not doing that!  So, we rented a car and my sweet daddy drove us to Louisville!  We finally crawled into a bed at 3am.

BYE Houston!

The APHON conference was great.  I love being around other nurses that do what I've been doing for 9 years.  It's a tough profession.  It's sad.  Getting to hear others stories and just be with people that understand is nice.  They get it when most people don't.  Being the emotional basket case that I am lately I cried a few time .  But, I learned a lot and I had a great time with my family and W.
Kentucky was beautiful.  To be honest, I'm ready to move there!  The weather was great and the homes were beautiful (and reasonably priced....yep, I checked it out).  I have no idea what people do for jobs up there?!?!  I do know that I was a tad jealous. 

So, what did we do when I wasn't in meetings?  Well, The Ohio river separates Kentucky from Indiana so they have lots of beautiful scenery.  We had dinner on the water one night and did a lunch boat cruise one day while I had a long break. 

These pictures describe William perfectly:

• oooooohhhhhhh!
• Always pointing and looking at you in amazement
• Rubbing those eyes when he's sleepy (Papa had someone draw W!)
• Walking with Papa looking at the ducks, bridges, cars, water....

 On our last night we ate at Hard Rock Café.  My meeting was held in the downtown area so we stayed down there and went to an area called Forth Street Live!  There were a ton of restaurants that looked fabulous.  Baby boy loved the Mac 'n Cheese and the music.  He danced the entire time we were there!

Being a mommy and wife will always be my first priority.  But staying educated is also important to me.  I want to continue to grow and learn.  I want to be a good nurse to the sweet patients and families I care for.  Knowledge is power.  For me, being well rounded in all areas of my life makes me the happiest.  I've always liked the saying "don't put all your eggs in one basket".   Most of mine are in the family basket but I keep a few reserved for my friends, work, my brain and body. 
So, thanks TCH for allowing me to attend this years conference!

No Such Thing As Super Mom

I just got done reading a blog post from So Wonderful So Marvelous and let me just say she hit the nail on the head!  Everyone should read this post.  Mom or not.   This momma talks about not being super mom and says, "We all are making the best of our collective situations, but it doesn’t mean we have to be assholes to each other."  HOW TRUE IS THIS!  Each of us has our own story.  It's good to be different.  I think it's what makes the world go around.  Here's another great blog post about mom vs. mom.  The blogger from Loving My Lot says many of the same things about mothers judging other mothers. 
Here are a few of my thoughts on the situation.
I work full time.  At this very moment it's the only option for my family.  And guess what, I'm happy with this.  I choose to feed William organically when possible.  If you don't want to do the same that's okay!  I was lucky enough to be able to produce milk for William and I did it for 16 months.  Yep, that's right.  This past weekend was the last time I nursed my baby forever.   Unfortunately, I feel like people judge me for this.  I have friends that had a hard time producing milk and they felt judged for not breast feeding their baby.  Come on people....let's be nice to each other.  We are all doing the best we can.  The thing is....you just never know what someone is going through.  So, be careful before you judge.  I have no idea what anyone things of me.  Nor do I really care.  Years ago I probably would have cared but now I just have to do what's best for my family.  William is 100% dependent on us so a lot of what I do is for him.  I also try to take care of myself/my body, raise our child going to church and believing in God (as G and I were) and I try to keep a good healthy marriage.  No area gets 100%.  It's just not physically possible.  All I can do is try my best.  As long as William, Gordon and I are happy that's all that matters.

Here's a video that everyone should watch.   You can also go to You Tube and Search for "If We Could See Inside Others Hearts by the Cleveland Clinic"  It's AMAZING.  Being an oncology nurse I realize, maybe a little more than others, that everyone has "a story" (and a lot of them are very sad).  Gordon and I have had our own scary times.  I didn't have an "normal" pregnancy.  I left a lot of my doctors appointments in tears because our baby wasn't growing and they didn't know if he was getting everything he needed inside of me.  After he was born I had to leave the hospital without my baby.  I've gone into surgery not knowing what the outcome would be.  BUT, I'm grateful because I know there is someone out there with a story much worse than mine.  I wish I could hug them.  At least we have William.  He is our little miracle.  I've seen family and friends go through infertility and it's heartbreaking.  In This Wonderful Life  is another great blog that tells the story of a family that's been through much more heartache than I can fathom.  All I can do is count my blessings and pray!

If you could stand in someone else's shoes....

Hear what they hear.

See what they see.

Feel what they feel.

Would you treat them differently?

 

Don't worry if you're not super mom.  Nobody is.  Just be the best that you can be.  Do what's right for you and your family.  Be kind.  We are all fighting our own battle.  Hug your babies and your fellow mommies! 

 

Some of our scariest days

 

Sweet Baby Boy

 

 



TGIF

Well folks, I can not say enough how very glad I am that it's FRIDAY!!  This was a big week for me....it was my first week to not pump at work (I'm sure all my co-workers were secretly rejoicing) AND I worked overtime for the first time since being put on bed rest.  I had actually just worked an overtime shift with Texas Children's VAT (vascular access team) two days before being put on bed rest.  I knew I'd never want to once baby boy was born.  So, 17 months later I took the plunge.  I would normally not give up my day off with William to work but the timing was perfect since I'd gotten 8 days with him and G the week before (during our fabulous trip to Rosemary Beach!).  I'm proud to say I made it....more importantly we all survived.  My sweet husband was so much help this week.  I helped do some staff education so two out of the five days I worked this week were 12 hour shifts.  That meant Gordon was on daddy duty until 8pm!  This week definitely made me appreciate not working those long shifts anymore and my wonderful Wednesday off work.  :)

Momma's Boy

Yep, he's trouble.

Eating a yummy turkey burger!

I can hardly wait to play with this little guy over the next two days!  Tomorrow we are having friends over for a small "sprinkle" shower for baby Perry.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Working Mom = Daycare Fun

Well, I've been back to work for a year since baby boy was born.  Yep, my maternity leave ended exactly one year ago!  I'm still shocked at how fast time as flown by.  It really does seem like just yesterday I was bawling my eyes out while I drove to work.  The first few months were the hardest.  I cried every Monday.  Eventhough I was sad and saying goodbye to William in the morning broke my heart, going back to work was good for me...and him!  For me, having a meaningful career is important and very fulfilling.  Working full time helps me appreciate my time with William even more and while I'm working he's having a blast at daycare.  Even if Gordon and I had 10 billion dollars....I'd still work..  Not only do I feel like I'm making a difference in the children's life's that I care for every day but that William is benefiting from his time at school.  I know for a fact that I'd never be able to teach and do everything with William that they do at school.  The social skills he's gaining are priceless.  He's learning to be around other children his age, older and younger (without me around).  He's learning to share, take turns and he has to be patient at daycare since there is one teacher and four kids (at home he gets all the attention!).  William goes exploring outside while he's at school, they have splash day when it's warm, they read books, paint, color, go on walks, and do lots of art projects.  I love that there isn't a TV in sight.  AND, most importantly, William loves his teacher, Ms. Melissa.  It makes Gordon and me feel so happy that he loves her so much.  She even comes over on the weekend to babysit!  This definitely makes our days away from him easier/happier.  Knowing that he is happy and safe puts us both at ease.  I also love that he has formed bonds with other people besides his immediate family. 
So, as nervous as I was to go back to work and leave our sweet baby boy, I can honestly say we are all very happy.  It makes my heart happy to see him learn so much and to enjoy his friends (he even has a little girlfriend named Elle).  Being able to work and help provide things for our family and to be able to save for our future is a great feeling.  Only working 4 days a week is a huge blessing as well.  That one extra day at home with William is priceless.  I'm able to get lots of quality time with William, we see Gordon for lunch and I get lots of chores done at home which makes our weekends as a family more fun! 
 A year ago I felt scared and sad to head back to work.  Now, 365 days later, I feel like we have a nice routine.  I feel productive and happy and William is growing, learning and experiencing all kinds of new things every day.  So, if you're a new mom about to head back to work please know that it gets easier.  Every family is unique and has different needs.  At the end of the day we all have to do what's best for our family.  For some that means being a stay at home mom and for others it means working and finding child care for your little one.  I'm so thankful and glad that Gordon, William and I have found a healthy work-life balance. 

• Painting!
• Eating his first Popsicle at the 4th of July parade.
• Getting into trouble with Britton.
• Little stinker trying to get up on the table.
• Snack time (he's obsessed with puffs)!
• Group coloring....as you can see they're all future artists!
• William's sign above his crib.
• Art project by the most talented one year old around :)