trip home

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Another post to come.

crawling

Got him to crawl a bit. Still doesn't go too far. He seems to love being naked. Love you all!!

Travel Delay

Well.. This is not how today was supposed to go, however we are safe at home and I am thankful for that. Right now I am supposed to be on a plane headed to Chicago but the whole city of Dallas is shut down because of a winter storm. I was pretty nervous last night when I found out schools were closing because of the dangerous road conditions. We were going to leave around 6:45 a.m. and that was probably the worst time on the roads. Southwest was good about canceling and I called and am scheduled to leave tomorrow around 1 p.m. I am losing a whole day and a half, but it's all in God's plan.

I am all packed up and ready to go and now I get to calm down and chill out for one more day. I remember why I don't like traveling in the winter time. This will probably be the last time I try to fly anywhere from December through February.

I do have a short, cute little video to show you of Micah watching his favorite show. He really only likes the beginning of the show because of the song...but it's still cute how excited he gets when it comes on.

In my last blog I wrote about M still not crawling...and the SAME day of course he got up on all fours and crawled!!! We are still trying to capture it on video. It seems like every time I get out the video he stops or decides he doesn't want to move.

Also, his new word these days is "Nana" maybe he knows he's going to see her :) I think it's also just was to say. Craig and I say he talks Chinese right now because every thing is short like:doh, cho, ma, da. It sounds like he knows a different language.

Still keep us in your prayers for our flight tomorrow.

Love you all
STAY WARM

Lots 2 Do

Hey all.

So Wednesday went great! Two little ones and no complaints here! I think God is trying to tell me something. hmm? Everything went good and I even got little Ben to fall asleep and strapped him in his car seat right before his dad picked him up. He came in and was like, "He's sleeping???" haha and  I felt very proud of myself and said, "Oh yeah, He's out." I think he was amazed. I know this one day does not mean every time I watch him will be like this, but it's a great start and hope for future days together.

Yesterday my friend Lobelia and I went to the Dallas zoo. Here are some picture from yesterday. It was a bit chilly... (considering it's Texas) but we still had fun.

 He is in some sort of nest ... it was at the petting zoo play area. Not sure what it was for but M liked it until he fell over. OOPS

I have a lot of stuff to do today. But it's hard to focus.  I need to pack(which is super hard with a baby since I can't do most of it till the day before) and clean my house (since i'm having guests over tomorrow) get Lotte food(bc she is staying with a friend while I'm gone) prepare to take my friends to the airport. Sheesh. We ran out to Wal-Mart this morning to grab Craig some stuff for next week. Mostly frozen meals and easy things for him to do. 

Guess who ALMOST crawled?? He moved like one or two inches by crawling and then plopped down on his belly and started rolling. Goodness. He just doesn't want to do anything he's not used too. 

I'm already having dreams about "Annie." Weird stuff... like I forget about the reception and missed it. Also that they changed the whole script and it was all different and I was so disappointed. LOL I seriously still have nightmares that I'm on stage and forgot some of the songs. HAHA 10 years.. and I'm still dreaming of that stuff. WOW

I guess I need to get back on stage... maybe soon!! I'm hoping to get in to the production side of Chase Oaks church and dig my way in again like I did last time. We'll see. I talked to the production guy, but I think they might outsource their videos to a freelancer. 

Not sure if I will post again before I leave for Chicago on Monday. Pray for us. We need some prayer. M is getting so big and I am staying the same size. I need to grow with him. He's so heavy and ready to jump out of my arms. I really hope this flight goes well because we got a lot of flying to do this summer!!

Love you all so much.

Babies

Ok. Don't worry. This is not Micah. Hah this is Benjamin and he is hanging with us today. 2 babies is going pretty good so far and it's almost 2 pm. It helps that m is a great little man. He has had his little jealous moments but overall loves looking at Ben giving him tons of smiles. Can you believe I'm writing this? Both boys are asleep. M is in his bed and Ben is a sleeping on me.
It brings me so much joy to help out a family and take care of a wee little one again.
Yes and it's crazy to compare my big football player to this tall, lean light baby. Lol

Anyways...I'm so excited to come home next week. Hoping for a safe and blizzard free trip. I haven't even looked at the weather in Chicago bc I'd rather not know. Hah

Love you all💕❤👶🙋

Can't handle this cuteness!!!

I'm no longer a Stay At Home MOM (SAHM)

Hello all.

There's been something on my mind lately and I would like to address it, because why else would I have a blog if I didn't write what was on my mind? So here I am with an almost 9 month old baby and when people ask me what I do I usually (timidly) say, "Stay at home MOM." I don't know why but it bothers me a little bit to say it. I know our jobs have become widely known as one of the toughest jobs out there.. but why was I still feeling inadequate saying it? I can't explain how much joy being with my son everyday brings me. I was blessed with a wonderful little man who loves to be out and about. The other day it struck me. I no longer will tell people I'm a stay at home mom because I'm not. I am an Out and About Mom (OAAM). There are very few days in a month where I actually stay home all day. Micah and I love to get out and socialize whether its at a friends house, a park, the zoo, the mall, or just driving to get lunch, or (of course) Target!!

I feel like I am a different brand of mom. I don't like to clean. Cooking is OK somedays (I've been getting better). I can leave my house a mess. The kitchen will NEVER be clean and I'm ok with that. As one friend put it...your kids won't remember how organized the sock drawer was, just the time you spent with them. I want to speak out for all the moms out there who get out and socialize their children with the world and the people in it.  Getting Micah up and dressed is as important as getting myself dressed. It's something I appreciate. I love putting together an outfit (that's why I need a girl one day) and trying to look cute. It's just in my blood. If I were to stay at home all day...I think I would go nutso. I do have a schedule but I'm very flexible. I believe in the eat, play, sleep routine but if we mess up we just hop right back on the wagon later.

Let me just say for all the moms who do love staying at home all day, I do envy you. You are content with staying in and being with your little one. You probably have a cleaner house than me (that's why I'm coming over later), eat better than me, make your own baby food and have every type of toy possible. Honestly, I see nothing wrong with this. I just am not that type of mom.

So here I am, an out and about mom giving me freedom to feel good about it. I don't think the term "stay at home" is bad.. but it feels bad when it doesn't define me or my job. However, I still get all the stay at home job requirements done through out the day. The laundry, dishes, cooking, feedings, taking care of my sweet pup and cleaning. At the same time I am still able to free myself up for using my gifts outside the home.

For example. Recently I was able to help out a friend and sing at several different women bible studies in the morning. Micah came with each time and loved it. Being flexible and able to get out has made it easier for me to be a blessing to others. I offer babysitting services for my friend who has a one and a half year old and go to her house so she can get out. Also I start babysitting a two month old next week.

Now every baby is different. I can't speak for everyone, but for my son I think he has done better getting out earlier in life. He was 2 weeks old when I started to bring him places. Of course he stayed in his carseat most of the time, but we still went out for 2-3 hours a day. As he got older leaving him in the nursery or with a babysitter never seemed like a big deal to him. He loves everybody and wants everybody to love him. He loves attention (I'm sure he takes after his parents in this way too). I don't know if taking him out all the time has helped but he seems to do great. He no longer sleeps in the stroller when we got out, but does take a nap in the car. I hope he will do this for a while still. I know some kids have attachment issues, but Micah never did.

I can't speak for moms that have more than one child. I hope I can still call myself an out and about mom with three kids, but I can't promise anything.

So cheers to all those moms like me still going shopping and getting your latte while making funny faces at your baby to make them laugh.  Just because I'm a mom doesn't mean I'm a good cook, or that I have a clean house. An out and about mom is a different kind of breed and I know there's a lot of you out there.

I hope some of you can start using this term from now on and help spread the word. I love it and it makes me feel good.

I will see you at the mall OAAM's :)