Thursday, July 29, 2010

WTF

Parden my profanity, but seriously, WTF??!!

I know, I know. Cursing is classless, distasteful, and unattractive, but sometimes you just have to get it out.

Earlier this week I told you that Madelyn had a fever that I thought was teething related. Wrong. We spent the whole day yesterday at home cuddling away the virus that's apparently been happily running rampant around her daycare. One trip to the doctor, one sleepless night, and a whole lot of tissues and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse later, she's back at school and a happy camper.

I wish I could say the same for me.

I have a rash.

And not just a small rash somewhere like my upper thigh where no one would ever see it.

It's large, it's puffy, it's red and IT'S ON MY FACE!!

I have a FUNGUS on my FACE.

I've stumped the doctors and myself trying to figure out where it came from. All I know is that it is gross and I find it very rude that it showed up three days before Matt's brother's wedding.

I woke up with it yesterday morning, thought it was hives (I have a lot of allergies), took a zyrtec and went to bed last night thinking for sure it would be gone this morning but instead, it had grown overnight prompting an immediate doctor visit amidst the stares of others in the waiting room wondering what the heck was wrong with my face.

Let's recap the past 2.5 months, shall we?

- Air conditioning unit blows- has to be replaced
- My car goes into the shop for an expensive repair
- We have to remove bats from our attic
- Matt leaves town, our refinance blows up in our face, Madelyn gets sick, I get strep throat
- My car goes back into the shop for a much more expensive repair (long story....long, expensive, story...), Matt comes home (yay!)
- Matt leaves again, Madelyn gets sick, and I get a fungus all over the left side of my face

I'm starting to think God is playing a joke on me. And I think he's probably laughing himself silly.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Weekend with GiGi


Last weekend my mom came into town for some quality time with her babies- me and Madelyn :)

I love when my mom comes to town. She is the easiest house guest ever. We just sit around and play with Madelyn, eat at our favorite restaurants, stare at Madelyn, drink wine and have long talks, shop, talk about Madelyn. You get the point.

We did go visit the Southern Living 2010 idea house in nearby Senoia which was O-M-G Gorgeous. They used all of my favorite colors like it was meant for me. I don't know how they knew, but they got it spot on. At just a mere (unfurnished) asking price of $1.2million I think it will have to wait for now, but a girl can dream can't she?

We also took Madelyn to her 15 month doctor appointment where she had to get THREE shots. She didn't take it well, and neither did I. In fact the sound of her screams are still haunting me. It was bad. We did find out that she's now average height and weight- not super tall like before. Apparently all of the other kids caught up :)

We taught her lots of new things while GiGi was here: where her belly is, how to say and point at her toes, how to say car, thank you, and some other words that due to my recent sleep deprivation I can't remember. She also started to (I think) sprout a molar and has been up a few times the past few nights which is extremely unusual, accompanied by a 101 fever. At least I'm hoping it's just a tooth...

This week Matt heads back to training in Connecticut, but is flying back for the weekend because his brother (and my sweet brother in law) is getting married!! If anyone has advice on how to control a 1 year old in a quiet dignified chapel wedding please let me know. All suggestions greatly appreciated.

In other news, Jenny had her baby girl Charlotte this evening! I'm planning to go see them tomorrow and am just bursting with excitement! Another sweet baby for our "family" and future BFF for Madelyn . What could be better? !

Monday, July 19, 2010

Weekends are for sleeping

I think it is safe to say we have officially caught up on lost sleep this weekend. Praise the Lord!

Yesterday Madelyn blessed us by taking a 2.5 hour nap. This is like seriously long for her considering most days she only naps for an hour. How did we commemorate the occasion? By napping ourselves. Matt insisted upon watching golf and in my opinion the only way to really "watch" golf is to nap through it.

Then, she went to bed promptly at 8 p.m. and slept until 7:45. Usually when I work from home I get up at 6:30 and get online to get a bit of work in before she rises but not today. I slept right up until her cries required me getting out of bed. I felt lazy and unproductive, but it was worth it. I had my one cup of coffee (which lately had evolved into two) and started work feeling rested and happy :)

Oh and did I mention while we took said nap yesterday that it was raining outside? I love rainy nappy days. Bliss.

We really had a great weekend. We went out with Matt's family to celebrate his brother's birthday, went to church, taught Madelyn how to "naaayyy" like a horse and "meow" like a cat (roughly), took a nice long walk/jog yesterday, cleaned, and played.

We also made a major life decision a few weeks ago I hadn't yet shared with you, but we've decided we're going to list the house again and move closer into town!! (cue the angels, harps, and sound of "hallelujah" playing softly in the background). We have a plan to save up a lot of money, list the house March 1st, and buy a new house closer to our friends/family/and my job. I'm elated. It will be a huge change for Matt as he's lived in this house since he was 11, and I'm just praying everything works out the way we'd like, but as we learned in church yesterday, "God's plan for us is always far better than our plans for us" so I have to keep reminding myself of that. But honestly, how could God Not want me to live closer to Kristin and Jenny? I think it's a smart decision considering we'll be much closer to Matt's family as well, and hopefully just a few miles from my job (as opposed to 45 minutes now). Keep your fingers crossed for us!!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Why I don't buy my child toys

Please see evidenced below Madelyn's new favorite activity: climbing into my bathroom cabinets, pulling everything out, then stuffing it all back in. She especially loves the box of tampons and pantiliners left over from after I gave birth. Go figure.

While our friends spend reckless amounts of money on talking Elmo dolls and four (four!) speed mini jeep wranglers, we sit in the bathroom and play with mommy's personal care products.
(Please disreguard the wretched bathroom cabinets. Have I mentioned the cabinetry in our house is absolute crap? It is. Thank you 1982 for the shoddy construction and lacking aesthetics. )
While I know there are probably a lot of Barbie dream houses and Dora the Explorer action figures in our future, I'm loving the sheer joy and entertainment Madelyn gets from my hair products and tupperware.
Oh, and one more thing. I couldn't leave you without the money shot- a bonafide curly mullet growing right before our very eyes. It's quite a site to see.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Jennifer 2.0


Lately I've been lucky enough to have two of my dearest non-child-bearing (yet!) friends visit and both of them asked me if I feel different being a mom, and how I think it's changed me. This got me thinking because it's kind of a weird question to answer. Your first reaction is to say no, I feel like the same person, but when you stop and examine your life post- the addition of a baby, you realize Everything has changed.

I think my personality is the same, and there is no question that my most endearing qualities just shine when I'm around these friends. I'm pretty lucky to have friends that really bring out the best version of me. But I also have Madelyn who without a doubt brings out a version of me I didn't even know existed. I feel like I'm such a better person after only having her in my life for 14 months. I have better perspective, I'm more giving, sympathetic, and definitely less selfish (not that I had a choice on this last one- hah).

I used to put myself first and now my default setting is to put myself last, which I think many moms would sympathize with. I used to be consumed in to-do lists and errands and I now force myself to stop and just enjoy the moments with my friends and family. I used to eat three square meals a day, and while I'm definitely getting back to that, it's not uncommon for me to skip dinner 3 or 4 nights a week. Or haphazardly stuff some cereal in my mouth once I get Madelyn down to bed.
I used to love going out for mexican food and margaritas, seeing movies, and laying by the pool. And if I said that I don't miss the freedom of being able to do whatever I want I'd be lying. But I'm perfectly content being at home every night reading Goodnight Moon and playing hide and seek.
I think at the core I'm the same person I always was, just with a few small stretch marks and a gulit complex that won't quit (this comes standard upon conception- just wait and see).
Having a child is like reading the sappiest Nicolas Sparks love story ever. On the nights Madelyn is generous with her hugs and kisses I go to bed thinking about all of those sweet moments, or I replay how she ran to me bursting with excitement when I picked her up from daycare. Or how she said "car" on the way home. Those are the small victories in my day, amidst the laundry, work, and seeming lack of a social life :)
Plus, we can make mexican and margaritas at home anytime we want :)

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Etsy Love


If you haven't jumped on the Etsy train just yet, you are seriously missing out. Etsy is an online marketplace, similar to eBay, but geared towards artisans and small home-based businesses. I have made several purchases lately that I'm really happy with, so I thought I'd share.

The first thing I ever purchased from Etsy was a milk glass compote dish for Kristin direct from Eddie Ross himself. His shop is amazing- he travels all over finding gorgeous antiques, cleans them up, and sells them direct from his "store" online. No surprise, the wrapping was just as cute as the actual dish.

Next I bought a really cute set of personalized note cards for Dai when she got married, along with a personalized return address stamp. She said they were the first things she'd received with her new last name on them which thrilled me to no end. The cards were from here and the stamp was from here. Paired together, they make such a cute gift!

As I mentioned before, I bought several personalized goodies for Madelyn's first birthday from this sweet site and they added such a nice touch to the party.

My newest purchases are some of my favorites. The first is a set of three reusable cloth packs to use for Madelyn's snacks. I got to pick my fabric and they can easily be thrown in the washer when they get dirty. We go through ziploc bags like water and these are so environmentaly-friendly I just couldn't resist. Find your own here.

And last but not least, an ADORABLE personalized door hanger for Madelyn's door. I'm such a sucker for a monogram.

And on my radar...

I'd love to get this adorable organic cotton towel for Madelyn. I just love Amy Butler fabrics- they're fun and use gorgeous colors.

Speaking of Amy Butler, I love this clutch. Precious.

These personalized necklaces made famous by various Bachelorettes. I loove this teal one. One of my friends has this with her little boy's initial on it and it's really cute.

Speaking of shopping- am I the only one starting to think about Christmas shopping? I love to start buying gifts early to spread the spending frenzy out a few months, and also just because I love to shop for people. I'm always looking for fun new budget-friendly ideas so if you have any send them to me!!

Friday, July 2, 2010

Like, woah

Well my dearest readers, consider yourself lucky. Last I checked you couldn't catch my super contagious strep throat through the computer. Lucky you.

One of my oldest friends Corry came to visit me from NYC on Wednesday and we spent the whole day in my bed eating saltines and watching daytime television, nursing my fever which held consistently at 102 until it jumped up to 103.8. Yesterday I went to the doctor and found out I had strep. Honestly, the doctor thinks most of the main things that were plaguing me (terrible body aches and a relentless migraine) were caused from the super high fever, not the sore throat. Now that the fever is gone I'm feeling much better. Still stuck on the couch lifeless, but definitely feeling an improvement.

In the midst of my strep, Madelyn has also been nursing a bad cold and learned how to climb onto the kitchen chairs. This doesn't sound like a big deal to most people, but to a mom this is like earth-shattering. I can no longer keep her contained to the ground. Now she's a little monkey climbing on everything and I chase after her making sure she doesn't fall off since she definitely hasn't mastered her dismount.

Matt gets home tonight from his two-weeks away but we found out this morning he has to leave on Tuesday to go to Alabama for a week and assess some hail damage from recent storms.

Woah. Mama needs a glass of wine, stat.

It's certainly not ideal that he'll be gone next week then come home for a short period and head up to Connecticut again, but hopefully little miss and I are getting all of our sickies out now so next week will be fun and easy.

The good news is, we'll be spending the weekend with all of our favorite friends, eating, drinking, discussing babies, jobs, and life in general. Life is good, strep or not (or is that the meds talking?)
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