Monday Blues

I probably wouldn't be so depressed about today being Monday if this weekend hadn't been even better than I had planned.

Thursday night was terrible. My friend, Nadia and her fiance were not going to be able to make it down until Monday. Long story short, She was coming down for court, and had planned to stay with us the weekend. Court was scheduled for early Monday morning, to clear up her very last charge. Exciting? Well it would be if she wasn't having to do 30 days (at worst) or 7 days (at best) in jail. I'm sure its stressful beyond belief because she is 10 weeks pregnant. No one wants to be in jail during the most important time of their child's life. But, you have to do what you have to do. She was going to get a bus here Monday morning. So I went to bed pretty disappointed on Thursday night.

Friday night rolled around and Dane and I were cleaning up the house, awaiting the arrival of my friends Megan and Erica who we had planned on doing a cookout with. Nadia called and told me she was on her way! I was so surprised and really, really excited. They got here around 6:30 PM on Friday and we started grilling out steak, chicken, and shrimp kabobs with veggies in between. I made Nadia a virgin "kiley temple" (long story) and we just sat outside on my screened in porch and chatted about all the things that have been going on in our lives. It's amazing how close you get to someone when you live with them and spend every second together for an entire year.


That bond definitely doesn't break even when you live 100 miles away from each other.

Megan and Erica finally made their entrance around 9pm and we just had a great time talking, enjoying our drinks, & spending time together!

Sunday morning we planned to go to church together, but Slade had gotten up at 5am and Dane and I were pretty exhausted so we decided not to go. Instead Dane made everyone eggs & bacon and we sat around and watched Slade's favorite show Miss Spiders Sunny Patch Friends. Around 1pm we decided we were going to the pool in our neighborhood and had a fiasco trying to find out pool pass, it was a nightmare! We finally got to the pool, found the pass thanks to the lifeguards & sat down just for it to start thundering and lightning. It was pretty depressing! We went to the store to pick up more things to grill (I guess the boys were excited to "man the grill") and get a redbox. I guess we didn't stop and realize we were all in our bathing suits because it was super awkward! A little girl ran by and said "Mommy! They have bathing suits!". Nadia and I busted out laughing. While we were inside the sky opened up and it literally started pouring down rain. Dane went to get the car and Slade was gripping me, I think it freaked him out a little.

comb over, after getting soaked by the pouring rain!!!

When we got home, my friend Kaci was here and we ordered a pizza and wings (which SUCKED by the way, thanks for nothing Dominos). We watched I Survived one of our favorite shows. Slade went down for a nap and the sun began to peek around the clouds! We decided to have one more go at the pool. It was fun! Slade floated around, the ice cream man came, we jumped in the deep end, (which Nadia swore smelled like cocoa butter) and got our tan on.

We were all exausted when we got home, but Slade got a bath and the boys cooked burgers and brot dogs. Yum! (needless to say I didn't follow my healthy food kick this weekend...) We were all pretty much beat after that and went to bed around 10pm.

This morning was really sad because I knew it'd be awhile before I saw Nadia again. I'm just praying that they are easy on her!!! Best case senario she won't have to do any time, but it's unlikely.

It gets lonely during the week (especially having company here) and i'm anxiously waiting for dane to get off work, even though he only left an hour ago! I guess what's helping me make it through is I know on Friday my best friend, Emi (who I haven't hung out with in a year, that's another story) comes home from Australia. Next Monday Dane is off work for the 4th, so that's super exciting too!!

ready for the weekend!

I have been daydreaming about this weekend, and it's finally almost here!

One of my best friends in coming into town Saturday! She and her fiance are staying with us and I'm really excited because she just found out they are expecting a baby in January! It will be amazing to see her and just spend some much needed girl time together. She lives in Raleigh and we barely ever get to see each other, although we talk on the phone daily.

Saturday we are planning a beach trip with friends. Waking up early to go is pretty much the only way to get there and find a parking spot. Hopefully we will be packing coolers and spending most of the day on the beach, I really hope Slade is in a good mood!

That is if I even go at all. The past few days I have been hearing about "The Diamond Dash" -- it really sparked my curiosity, not that I really care about diamonds or anything but you have the chance to win an $11,000 diamond ring. Basically you go downtown and answer riddles via smart phone and I guess it leads you on a scavenger hunt. I guess whoever gets to the hidden ring first wins. You have to APPLY which I thought is kind of nuts, but if they don't send me an email by tomorrow, I'm going to the beach instead! It's weird but I just felt like I should enter, I had some sort of feeling that I would win it. I always win weird stuff like that. One time I went to a bridal expo with Dane's step mother and sister (way before we were ever engaged) and his sister made me wear the "bride" sticker, I guess she didn't want to attention. Well, someone made me fill out some Mary Kay free prize thing...and a few weeks later I got a phone call saying I won a free makeover for me and my bridesmaids. Needless to say the joke was on them, but my roommates and I got free makeovers!

Whether or not I go to the beach (which i'd much rather do than run around downtown in the heat with a baby and dane trying to find a needle in a haystack...but hey, i'd NEVER forgive myself if I didn't at least try to win) I'm just really excited to spend time with my family and friends :)

It's gonna be a good one!!!

Now, if the fire in Pender County can just quit burning tonight so the skys will be clear instead of smoky....

follow my journey

I've never tried to hide the fact that I gained 62 lbs during my pregnancy. I was really, really hungry. I ate a lot, of bad AND good things. I didn't exercise but a handful of times (when Dane forced me too, ha ha.) I got a prenatal yoga DVD I didn't even get through the whole thing before I gave up.

I guess you could say I was "naturally thin" before pregnancy. Being a poor college student was probably a huge factor into that too. So I guess I was pretty excited to finally be able to eat a ton, and not feel bad. And I did. :)

the death of (skinny) me

Once pregnancy was over I wanted to immediately jump back into my comfy, expensive, stretchy, sexy denim. Bad idea. All I got was a huge smack in the face. Not only did my face, arms, legs, tummy, etc. gain weight, but I GOT BROADER? If it's humanly possible, I did it. I never knew my shoulders were so wide. I got stuck in an old dress I have this past month, Dane thought it was hilarious, while I freaked out screaming in pain (sunburn+starchy strappy dress=lotsO'pain).
Obviously not all of my old aka: pre pregnancy gear, fits yet. Every few weeks I pull out the long plastic clothes bins under our bed and rummage through it to see what i'm able to wear. Sometimes I get lucky and I fit into some jeans (that still don't button) or a cute summer top my boobs finally fit into again. It's getting kind of old after 5 months...I'm just wondering world, when will I get my body back?

I've been on a strict diet of Special K, or oatmeal, or peanut butter toast, and salads for lunch. or Totinos pizza rolls....or a cookie....or some icecream....or some sorbet (wait that's so much better for you than icecream, I swear!) I spend so much time watching what I eat that all I ever think about is food. I'm also still the excersise enthusiast I was before.

I however, am determined to lose the rest of this baby weight which totals 22lbs total. I honestly don't care about how much I weigh. I just want to look and feel good and I know that depends on how the scale reads. I will be happy getting to 120, a little more than I weighed before, but it seems within reach and i'm pretty sure I can squeeze into a 3/4 then?

15 lbs, melt away!!!

So I'm inviting you to follow me on my journey back to skinnyville. I have a food journal you are welcome to look and grab ideas if you are trying to lose weight too! Sometimes I don't always pick the best stuff so you can also see me fail and pick myself back up! I'll be updating my progress on my blog...my goal is to be at 120 by my 21st birthday, September 26, 2011! Here's to hoping...



January 2009

January 2010

January 2011

i need some balance!

This weekend Dane's sister has been in town. We asked her to babysit for us last night (Saturday) and of course she willingly agreed. I was excited!

It's rare for us to go out and do anything for ourselves. We are always on the 8-5 daily grind, which can really wear you out. I think since Slade has been born, we have been out alone a total of 5 times including last night. It's usually been at a 2 hour length of time because of Slade's feeding schedule. Just recently we have been able to stay out a little longer because Slade has started sleeping until 5 or 6am. We usually put him to bed in hopes that he will sleep until we come back home.

Even once I am out though, it's really hard for me to unwind and have a good time. I'm so used to worrying and wondering at all times about Slade's needs, it's weird to start thinking about my own again. It's hard to find a balance between singledom and parenthood. Once you become a parent, there obviously is no going back and it's hard to shut the voice up in your head that says "You are a mother, you shouldn't be out at 11pm with friends while someone else is caring for your child!" Which is a hateful little voice.

I had a great time on Saturday night, but coming home and seeing his precious face made me even happier. It's definitely important to have a time to yourself though because it makes you able to be a better parent, and makes you cherish the time you spend with your child even more! Sometimes going out once in a while is just what I need to remember why I am so thankful to have Slade.

I still get anxious leaving him with someone else (more for their sake, I get nervous he's going to be a nightmare!) and I also feel guilty for going out without him. I guess achieving balance between 'kiley' and 'mommy' is something that is going to take time!

almost half a year...

                                This past saturday my sonshine turned 5 months old.

It is seriously scary how fast he is growing up. I know the first year is going to be like a blink of an eye looking back on it. I try to soak up as much of this time as I can. I am lucky Dane and I have been able to make it work without me having to also maintain a job. Neither of us are too keen on daycare- too many sick kids and not enough attention for everyone. I thought I would want to go back to school in March, but it turns out I would be dying right now if I had gone back. I would have missed so much bonding time. I feel so connected and loved by Slade it's ridiculous, and it's probably due to the fact we are around eachother 24/7. Sometimes that gets really hard, I mean there is only SO much you can do with someone who doesn't talk (real words) or walk. With that said, it's totally worth it and I wouldn't change it.

Slade is definatley a water baby. Since summer began he's been to the pool 3 or 4 times and the beach too. He just loves it, and I'm not surprised because his daddy and I are total fishes. I can't wait until he is old enough to be pushed on a surf board, I will be one proud mama.

like father, like son

He has also started saying words without knowing it. We caught him saying "da da da da da" in the car on the way to Winston-Salem this weekend. I said to Dane; "Did you hear that?!" and then Slade said "da da da da" again and we were like "Oh my God!!!" It was super exciting, even though he didn't know what he was saying, we did!

He also has figured out how to really touch things. He really feels everything. He likes to grab hair a lot which is not so nice, but pretty much anything you give him, or anything around him he will pick up and play with (or just put in his mouth). Even it is something like car keys (ew). He is working on sitting up on his own without being propped by something which is going to be really exciting when he really does it!


                                                      In other news:
The saturday before last, we had my friend Trang babysit (she is an angel!) and I think we somehow swapped germs because that Sunday night Slade was up all night sick. The next day he was up again, and again the next night! On Wednesday, I had my friend Megan over for dinner and by the time we actually ate I was feeling terrible. I had a migraine and a terrible sore throat. I didn't fall asleep until 1am, because I literally couldn't swallow. The next day though I felt a lot better and decided not to see a doctor, big mistake. I decided we would go ahead and go our our weekend trip to Winston-Salem (my hometown). That Sunday morning I felt HORRIBLE and went to the doctor to find out I had strep for the first time in my life! I was shocked because my older sister, Kelsie, used to get strep all the time and I never caught the contagious illness. I thought I was immune. Wrong! I still don't feel good today, I'm coughing a lot and it's really miserable but my throat isn't sore anymore.

We had a great time in Winston, but it's always really sad to leave. Even though I love our home, and I love being in Wilmington, not having my family around to see every little second of Slade's life is heartbreaking. Sometimes life is just like that though and it makes our time together even more special!

great grandma peggy

uncle todd, slade, & papa thor



great grandpa lucky