Monday, April 28, 2008

Hormones are better :)

So, my hormones were at a peak last week. They've faded now a bit. I can still be a tad bit over emotional over things (::cough, cough:: Sady) But I'm much better. The unknown baby in my belly has been making himself/herself known. I don't think I've had a 10 minute period since Friday where I haven't felt a kick, somersault, or some other movement. This kid is fighting for my attention :) Makes me proud. At first I kinda figured maybe this kid would be really laid back (maybe I'm thinking he/she'd be like lily more since I see taylor as more like will.) I thought since taylor was so active in my belly, this kid would be lazy. But OH NO! This little one is making his/her presence known. He/She doesn't want to be forgotten. And I can't wait til we find out what it is and I can quit typing both sex everytime I talk about him/her. But back to the topic, This little baby knows that mommy needs to get to know that little personality as much as I can right now. So he/she is showing off. Anyways.

Last week we went to Chuck E. Cheese for Will's 2nd birthday! It was fun. I was afraid a bit that me and chris would have more fun than Taylor, but this wasn't the case. Taylor had a blast (as the pictures below will show.) Me and chris did too. I thought it was funny though, that chris bought the tokens, and then divided them in half for me and him. "What about taylor?" "We can each give her 2, I guess." LOL. He was so excited to go play :) I was too though. But I was also crazy excited to see Taylor ride all the fun stuff there. We'll have to go back soon. I think we may go out for pizza at the Family Fun Center for Taylor's birthday on the 16th of May... they have a few little rides there, and more fun stuff for older "kids" as well :) But it won't be her party, just something to do since her REAL party won't be for like 2 weeks after her birthday. It will probably just be me and chris... maybe chelsea and kyle too. I'm so excited about her party. I can't wait to start sending out invites and getting stuff ready for it. So here are those pics:




Taylor got SO upset when we took her out of the rides. :( She loved them so much.

I also last week made will a blanket/car mat for his birthday. I meant to take a picture of it to put on here, but I forgot. It is a Cars Movie print on the back, with buttons (kinda like a tie quilt) to keep the fabric from shifting. THen just plain white cotton on the front. Then I used puff paints to do a little town on it. It had a Gas Station, School, Barber Shop, Fire Department, Police Department, Lily's market, A church, and Old McDonald's farm. Then it has a few houses, one for Mayor Will, One for Grandma and Grandpa Neely, and One for Grandma and Grandpa Townsend. I was kinda nervous about how it would turn out but I think it did okay. I'm going to make a few more I think (It was easier than I thought it would be,) Maybe one for lily, taylor, and Isaac. Anyways. That's all I got for now, and sady and taylor need breakfast! I'll write more later!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Indifference?

So, I've been fighting with myself lately on being indifferent to this new baby. It makes me sad that I don't care as much about what's going on this time as I did with taylor. I know that Taylor was my first, and so I know alot more this time around, but I want this baby to feel the same love and excitement that I felt with Taylor but I just can't make that happen. Has anyone else gone through this? I'm not having thoughts like "I can't possibly love this baby as much as I love Taylor." Or maybe I am. I don't know. I am just not into this kid. I don't feel any special connection to the little spirit growing inside me. It's not that I don't love Him/Her. I do. I really do. And I don't want anything bad to happen to him, but it's almost like how I feel for the little african children I see on tv with the flies all over the place. Is that just horribly wrong? Am I evil? Sometimes I almost wonder if I'm going to hold a grudge to this kid for taking away my time with taylor. Please tell me these are just crazy pregnancy thoughts. I really feel bad for even saying these things out loud.

I know that I will love and cherish this baby just as much as I do Taylor, and every child I have after... but when will those thoughts and feelings kick in? When I find out what I'm having? When I start shopping for this little one? When I finally have it? A week after it's born? A month after? When will I feel for this little guy/girl like I feel for my taylor? I want those feelings, but I can't make them come. And I feel guilty for it. I almost feel like I would have been fine with having Taylor and only Taylor! I know we're meant to have a bigger family though. I guess for right now, I just need to remember that Heavenly Father sent this child to us for a reason, and I'll fall madly in love with this baby just like I did with Taylor, or else it wouldn't have come to me. It's just hard for me to not put myself down for these feelings I don't feel. Sorry, This is all hormone fueled. I'm sure I'll be over it in 10 minutes or so.

Pregnancy Pain

So this will be one big complaint! Sorry... Just need to vent.

I am in alot of pain right now and since I'm pregnant, I can't take any of the wonderful drugs God gave us to rid us of pain. :( First, my belly is growing and getting to that really uncomfortable stage where I have to shove my belly over to roll over to the other side of my bed at night. I hate when I get that big. How are you supposed to feel good about yourself when you're like that? Then, I've got Kidney Stones... they are hurting bad right now. Not bad enough to do anything about, but bad enough to make me mad. And I've got Kid Knees all over my belly... Thank you taylor and baby number 2! I get hit and kicked on the outside and the inside now! Oh, and there's a pinched nerve in my butt. It's right behind my right hip, just a bit lower... and chris won't rub it for me... He has no problem with my butt any other time :) I'm just teasing... but it hurts... my whole hip hurts and when I walk it shoots pain down my right leg. Maybe I should go to Dr. FeelGood (Brother Thompson) and get it fixed... but I don't have time right now. He is my home teacher though, maybe he'd make a house call. Anyways. I've also got an upset stomach from who knows what (any one of the numerous things about could be causing it, or it could be a whole new issue like a cold or stomach bug.) I've got a headache from thinking about all the stuff I've got to do... and can't motivate myself to get up and do anything cause I feel so bad. Oh well... I do try to avoid caffeine when I'm pregnant (don't always succeed) so I might go get me a Dr. Pepper and see if that could help motivate me to get some stuff done. Sorry to be complaining so much. I'm not sad or unhappy right now... Just hurting a little... But there are great things to be excited about also.

Taylor took her VERY first steps on Sunday over at chris's parents house (two tiny steps) and then last night she kept taking like 3-4 steps in between me and chris. :) My baby will be walking soon, and I won't have to carry her as much which is great because it's getting harder to do with my belly growing. So we're very excited... and I think we may go to chuckie cheese tonight with matt and candace and john and krystin (if they go) and I'm excited to see what taylor does and if she likes it. She isn't too young is she? Oh well. So anyways... I'm excited, like I said. And we find out what we're having two weeks from thursday so as soon as I get those pics, I'll post them up. And taylor's birthday is coming up soon (dang, I've got to do invitations) so anyways. Fun stuff. Hope that ya'll have fun stuff even if there's bad too!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Comment from Randy Pausch Last Lecture

If you haven't seen this yet, or even heard about it... You need to watch this guy and listen to what he has to say... I saw an interview on TV with him last week and heard a comment that I haven't been able to get out of my head and I hope I remember it when I will need it.

Randy Pausch was talking about his daughter (his youngest of 3, and only girl) and was saying that his main advice to her on men... and life in general I guess... Is to ignore what people say, and focus on what they do. If someone had sat me down and told me this before I was a teenager, it would have saved me alot of grief! Too many people will simply tell you what you want to hear (girls and guys alike) and you need to forget all the pretty words, and watch what they do, how they treat you, those around them, themselves... I hope I'm able to teach this to taylor one day. Maybe it'll save her some grief when it comes to dating and people in general.

There are so many other things I wish I could remember from this interview, but this was the main one I couldn't forget.

This guy now has a book (which I want... hint hint chris!) but you can watch his interview all over the internet! He was on Oprah and gave his lecture there. Anyways... You've got to watch this. It really makes you think.

Here is his personal Homepage
http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/

Here is his "last lecture" on oprah
http://www.oprah.com/videochannel/videochannel_player.jhtml?video=1178&category=31

Monday, April 14, 2008

Mommy Websites

So... I just wanted to share some new knowledge with my friends.

I found this website called parentworld.com. It has alot of good info and stuff on there. Plus it goes along with the Nashville parent magazine (and williamson and rutherford counties) and has all the "going on's" around town. Here are some I want to go to, I think. Anyone want to join me?

4/12 - FREE Artsy Mamas Writing Workshop Please see Edmonson Branch Library in the “Parent Planner” on page 102. - So I know this happened on like Saturday... but I figured they'd do one again sometime in the future... and it made me think of you candace. Wanna come with?

4/15 (tomorrow) FREE Honk! The Story of a Prima SwanerinaNashville Ballet presents a comic tale about a swan who falls in love with ballet. Hadley Park Library, 1039 28th Ave. N., Nashville; 10:30 a.m.; 862-5865 or nashvilleballet.com. They're doing a few of these around town. This one made me think of you too candace. Wanna go see the ballet with me? There is also one wednesday and two showing on Saturday, but at different places.

4/17-? The nashville film festival starts this week. they said there are going to be kids shows this saturday and sunday... sunday is out, but maybe on saturday? I dunno. I've always thought it would be fun to go to one of these. I'm sure tickets are expensive though.

4/? The Nashville Sounds season has started, we went to a game last year for matt's birthday and I thought it was way fun... when it gets warm again does anyone wanna set up a day and go?

4/18 FREE Week of the Young Child CelebrationKids of all ages can enjoy activities, games and more. Discovery Center at Murfree Spring, 502 S.E. Broad St., Murfreesboro; 5 - 7:30 p.m.; 890-2300 or discoverycenteronline.org. - I probably won't go to this, since I'm house sitting this week... but it seemed like fun.

4/19 FREE Honk! The Story of a Prima SwanerinaNashville Ballet presents a comic tale about a swan who falls in love with ballet. After the story, kids can meet a real ballerina and try dance movements. Davis-Kidd Booksellers, 2121 Green Hills Village Drive, Nashville; 10 a.m.; 385-2645. Edmondson Branch Library, 5501 Edmondson Pike, Nashville; 2 p.m.; 880-3957 or nashvilleballet.com. Here are the times for HONK! On saturday!

4/19 FREE Musical Petting Zoo All ages can try their hands on instruments. Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, 222 Fifth Ave. S., Nashville; 1 p.m.; 416-2001 or countrymusichalloffame.com. This sounded so much fun too... But there's so many things going on... what to choose....

4/19 BAPTIST BABY FAIR! THIS ONE I"M GOING TOO... it lasts from 10 - 3 on saturday at baptist hospital off of church and 21st ave I think. I went last year and came home with like 3 bags full of freebies. It's not only for babies. They'll have face painting and junk for older kids, classes for new parents and over 10,000 in giveaways... last year they had a bunch of fun games that you win GREAT prizes for... I mean like cribs, bedding, swings, bouncy seats... Real nice stuff. I'm for sure going and hopefully dragging chris with me (and I mean dragging literally.) It should be good.

4/19 Earth Day Festival Saturday, April 19 All ages can celebrate Mother Earth with live music, food, an interactive children’s area and presentation booths from environmental organizations. Centennial Park, 2500 West End Ave., Nashville; 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.; free admission; 423-5824 or nashville.gov/earthday.

4/26 FREE Southern Tennessee Family ExpoEnjoy a day filled with children’s activities and entertainers, service vendor booths, family products, giveaways and more. Columbia Mall, 800 S. James Campbell Blvd.; 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.; 931-490-7136.

4/26 FREE Sumner County SquarefestEnjoy a day of crafts, food, live music and a children’s activities area. Downtown Square in Gallatin; 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; 452-5692.

4/28 FREE Honk! The Story of a Prima Swanerina Nashville Ballet presents a comic tale about a swan who falls in love with ballet. After the story, kids can meet a real ballerina and try dance movements. North Branch Library, 1001 Monroe St., Nashville; 10:30 a.m.; 862-5858 or nashvilleballet.com. So another showing...


so, email me or send me a comment and let me know if you wanna hang out... THanks

Monday, April 7, 2008

Pop

So... I don't hit my daughter, I promise, but every once in a while, I'll tap her hand to get her attention. I call it popping, but I really don't smack her hand... I promise. :) Anyways... today she was throwing her lunch on the floor, or just straight up feeding it to the dog. I told her to quit like 20 times. She understands... believe me... Cause when I tell her to quit feeding sady, she jumps and puts her hand up to her mouth like "I don't know what you're talking about... I"m eating my food!" So anyways... I finally told her to stop or I"d pop her hand! She looked right at me and smiled all big and said, plain as day, "POP,POP,POP,POP,POP,POP!" I've never in my life heard her say POP. She's been talking so much lately... just learned to say ByeBye this weekend. But I still can't believe it when she says something I can understand! So... as aggravated I was at her not eating, and feeding what she didn't want to the dog, I couldn't help but smile and be as proud as can be that my baby is learning and growing. Now the pregnancy hormones are kicking in and i want to cry... My little baby isn't such a little baby anymore.

Thank Heavenly Father For Sleep.

OMG... taylor slept in til 9 this morning. I woke up at 8:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. But I'm so excited she slept in. She hasn't slept in this late for months! And she didn't nap well or sleep well all weekend. So I'm in a good mood, and she's in a good mood. I think this might be a good week!

Friday, April 4, 2008

Long winded

This blog will be short. I just wanted to say thanks to my friends who read my long winded junk that I type on here cause I'm bored to death. You make me feel special. I hope I do the same to you! Ya'll are very special! And I love reading all that you write!

Library Card

I have been wanting for a long time to have a library card. Is that silly? I guess it's from candace and kyrstin. The reading freaks are rubbing off on me :) Just teasing guys. Anyways... i finally went last night to the H'ville Library and got me a card. You can only check out one book the first time you go.. so I asked the lady if she had any recommendations. I told her I had just got done reading the twilight series and loved them and would like something similar. She told me about a few authors, the one she really recommended though wasn't there. It made me feel a bit better about being such a twilight fan though cause this woman was like 40 and was a much bigger fan :) Almost as bad as candace :)

Anyways, i checked out this one book by a lady named Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. She has a vampire series. The first book is only like 150 pages though. I read it today while taylor took a nap. I have to say I'm a bit disappointed. It's not that it's a bad book. It just isn't Twilight. Maybe the other one that was recommended will be better. But I don't think I'm going to finish this series, though I could probably finish it in a week. There just isn't the detail, the drama, the love story that Twilight has. Maybe my expectations were too high.

I remembered that Anne Rice writes Vampire books... not that I'm really looking specifically for VAMPIRE books... but thought maybe they could be a bit like twilight... I had my little brother check out one of her books for me. I haven't started on it, but I'm thinking it will be alot more ADULT... not like porno adult, but just not the good teen book Twilight was. But I'm going to give it a try. I know she has a huge fan base and has had a few books turned into movies (Interview with a vampire, Queen of the damned) so maybe they're good. I dunno. If it sucks... I'll take it back. But anywho.

I still have the jane Austen book (Persuasion) I bought a few weeks ago that I haven't really started... I read a few chapters, but stopped. I think with that one, I just need to start it and not stop til I'm finished. And I don't have the time for that right now so I don't want to really start it. I've also been trying to be the good little Latter-Day Saint I know I should be and have been carrying around the Ensign with me in my diaper bag, promising to read it... and I have read a few articles... but nothing like what I want to do. And I wish I could get into my scriptures like I can a book. I've thought about getting them on CD so I can listen to them in the car, but I know I would just tune them out... so I haven't done that. Hmm... The road to hell is paved in good intentions.

Anyways. I'm excited about my library card. They have a Story time twice a week (Tues & Wed @ 10:30) and they do the same story both days, so if I miss one day I can make it the next. I'm excited about this and hope it's as good as the one Krystin goes to. I hear Isaac likes it alot and hope taylor gets into it too. If not, maybe I'll drive out to Mt. Juliet once in a while and go with Krystin to hers. that's a bit of a drive for 30 minutes of story time though... but me and krystin could hang out afterwards... Maybe Candace could make it out too... It's an excuse to get showered, dressed, and out of the house after all! :) What do you guys think? You up for it? Wait, I forgot Krystin moved... Maybe we can find another one somewhere closer to them we could all attend. I hope I keep up with this reading streak. It makes me feel more intelligent after watching sesame street and barney and little einstein and backyardigans all day. Wish me luck!

Baby Food

So, there are these women that I look up to so much. The ones who are the health nuts, who don't let their children eat any preservatives, no fast food, no sugar, no chicken nuggets, no dirt, no dog food, :). These women's kids usually talk in full sentences by like a year old, can count to 100 by two, are geniuses by 3... The ones who give their fully undivided attention to their children. I look up to you... but I could never be you. I'm not saying taylor doesn't get my attention... well, as I'm typing this she's pulling every dvd we own off the shelves... but she's not harming anything and I'm busy typing, so I'm letting her (I pick my battles.)

Anywho, a dear friend of mine is always telling me how easy it is to make your own baby food and such, but I don't think I have time to do this. I know it'd probably be healthier, and I do look up to her for being able to do this, but I just haven't done this. I don't feel guilty for not doing this, cause taylor was getting plenty of nutrition from gerber... but anywho.

Recently, taylor has refused baby food. She wouldn't eat the number threes very well, and would refuse the number twos. So for like a week or two, I felt like all she ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was cheerios, or crackers, or gold fish... The only actual form of fruit or vegetable she got for that whole time period was applesauce I think. It was kinda worrying me.

Taylor hasn't gotten teeth yet, NONE. And I was thinking, she can't real food without teeth, but she refuses baby food... What the heck can I do? And so I thought of my friend... who makes her own food... Could I do that? So I got online and looked up some websites. They were a little more extreme than I'm willing to go as far as being a health nut. But they gave me some great Ideas...

So loaded with my new ideas, I went off to the store with Taylor. We bought a bunch of fruit and vegetables, a couple other things (yes, I got more cheerios, crackers, and gold fish for backup.) When we got home I started cutting and cooking. We cut up mango, cantaloup, kiwi, squash, zuchini, and a sweet potato. I put them in the individual cup things you can buy in the baby isles. I froze some and put the others in the fridge. And they have been wonderful! Taylor loves them, and has no problem eating them without teeth. I did bake the squash, zuchini, and potatoe (at 350 for like 10-12 minutes.) They are the perfect finger food and I am no longer worried about taylor's fruit/veggie intake.

Just a side note also... I was afraid that this would be way more expensive than baby food, since real fruits and veggies can tend to be kinda pricey... but you would not believe how much I was able to get, and how long they are lasting. It is way cheaper than buying those dollar gerber meals all the time, though I did get some of those... but still... I'm very impressed with how much I was able to get out of what I bought.

I also read she can eat a few other things. I know my SIL Krystin was having some ???'s about Isaac's eating... So I thought maybe my new found finger foods could help some other people. Maybe in a year I'll have forgotten this stuff and need to look back on it. Anyways... Here's some good food ideas I found/came up with for baby's/toddlers... teeth or no teeth!

Eggs (yolks only til 1 year)
Chopped Fruit (mango, melons, kiwi, apples, pears, peaches, plums, grape halves, bananas, blue berries, papaya)
Cereal (the trusted cheerios! A lifesaver)
Toast with Jelly or cream cheese
English muffin with Jelly or cream cheese
Yogurt (some websites have recipes for homemade... I'm not that good though.)
Quesadillas (with shredded cheese and beans)
Green beans
Black beans
Black Eyed Peas
Kidney Beans
Navy Beans... taylor loves beans and it's almost all the protein she gets.
Peas
Carrots (I did read something about how in some areas fresh carrots contain too much nitrate and the longer they sit in a fridge, the more nitrate they contain... so I bought canned... )
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Cubes of Cheese (small... not big enough to choke on)
String Cheese
Chopped Sweet Potato
Chopped Zucchini
Chopped Squash
Chopped Potato (Taylor won't eat mashed potatoes... I guess it's the texture)
Cottage Cheese and Fruit or crackers
Macaroni and Cheese (Taylor loves this one... )
Waffles
Pancakes (she ate a whole one the other night for dinner with chopped mango on it. I was so proud!)
Ravioli
Rice
Beets
Broccoli
Asparagus
Avocado
Cauliflower
Cherry Tomatoes (chopped up)
Breakfast Burrito

I'm not all health nutty now. Taylor still eats french fries when I get them... and sometimes she's just not into eating her veggies or beans, and so i give her some crackers or cheerios... but atleast she's eating better than she was.

Now... as far as meat and protein goes... I'm still a little nervous about her not being able to chew tough meats up... So I don't usually give them to her yet. But, i'm gonna try some out this week.
Like ground beef in with her chopped veggies... or small bites of chicken nuggets (since they're not real tough meat) and the egg yolks.

I'm not nearly as healthy as I'm making my daughter... Maybe next I need to worry about me. But atleast I've got my vitamins right now. I hope maybe if you're in the same situation as me, i've given you some ideas to help out with the baby food stuff. I'm glad to have written all these ideas down too, so that when I'm having a brain fart and can't figure out what to make, I can look on here and come up with something. I'm proud of myself for being just a tiny bit more like all the super mom's out there I look up to so much. Anywho... Just wanted to add this on here. :)

Thursday, April 3, 2008

My Hubby Tag

So...whitney's already done this one... oops... I guess I'm tagging Margarite! Have fun!!!

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Tagged about my hubby

So... I got tagged! Thanx candace.

MY HUBBY

What's his name? Christopher Blair Neely

How long have you been married? It will be 4 years in may... which I just realized the other day is how long it takes to go through high school... doesn't seem like we've been married as long as it took me to get through high school... anyways.

How long did you date? it was 4 months to the day til he proposed, and another 5 months til we were married... so I guess 9 months... just enough to have a kid... but we didn't!

How old is he? My OLD MAN is 26!

Who said 'I love you' first? Well, chris said "Je t'aime" in a note, which is french for I love you. So I asked if that meant he loved me... and he said yeah. :) It was the first time he'd ever told a girl that he loved her.

Who kissed who first? Chris asked me on our first date if he could kiss me and I said yeah, so he kissed me! it was funny... he was so nervous.

Who asked who out first? I asked chris to dance at a church dance. And then I invited him to come to a party. Then a few days later he asked me out on our first real date!

Who proposed? He did. It was sweet.

Who eats more? right now... probably me. But... I think usually, it might still be me. That's sad.

Who is taller? chris... by a good foot and some inches.

Who is smarter? Well, it's been so long since I was in school, I think he's more book smart at the moment. But when it comes to household things... I think I'm smarter. Especially when it comes to Taylor, but that's the way it's supposed to be, right?

Who does laundry? Chris does his own, and I do mine and Taylor's

Who does the dishes? We both do them.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? if you're looking at it or laying in it? If you're looking at it, it's me, if you're laying in it, it's him, but the second he gets up for work in the morning, I usually roll over to his side. It just feels better for some reason.

Who pays the bills? He handles that right now, for the most part.

Who mows the lawn? No one right now... the mower's battery is dead and the tire is flat.

Who cooks dinner? when it's just the two of us, it's me.

Who drives when you are together? Chris, unless it's real late and he's too tired, then I drive.

Who is more stubborn? I think we're pretty equal there. I'm very stubborn with some things, and he is with others.

Who has more siblings? We're tied. 6 and 6... he has more sisters and I have more brothers.

Who wears the pants in the family? Depends on which pants they are. I think we're pretty equal here too. Sometimes I give in to him, sometimes he gives in to me. Depends on the situation.

Whose parents do you see more often? When we lived in antioch, we saw his more, but now we're living with mine, so definately see mine more.

Who has more friends? Right now... I think it's kinda equal. I've made a lot of friends at church. And he has alot of the guys at work and softball... so yeah. I think we're equal.

So... I guess I"m tagging you Whitney! Sorry.