long blog

Lately I have been totally scatter brained.

Sometimes I feel like I spend entirely too much time on the Internet and as Slade grows and grows, I get less and less time to myself. I enjoy blogging to let my family and friends get a little peek into my life but when I only have 30 minutes everyday to myself I'd rather spend it on something like...bathing, instead of blogging.

So I have been thinking of just discontinuing my blog. I highly doubt anyone even reads this so it's not like anyone would be missing it. I made a new poll for the whole FIVE readers I have, so you can vote to either keep or toss this boring blog of mine.

In other news:
As some of you may know; Dane, Slade and I live in Wilmington, NC. Approximately fifteen minutes from Wrightsville Beach. So when we heard hurricane Irene was going to be coming through the coast of NC we did what every beach bum does...headed to the beach!! I spent Thursday afternoon playing  in the sand with Slade while Dane caught a few choppy but fun waves. He was kind of disappointed in the onshore winds but regardless he got a little exercise and it's always fun to see Slade eat sand.

Friday was the day it hit land in NC and I spent the day packing, moving all important things off the floors onto high shelves (incase our flood prone house flooded) and praying that Dane's work would call them off early. Luckily, they did! He was allowed to go home at 1pm.

If it had just been us, we would have camped out at our house, lit some candles and played board games while watching the storm. It's not that easy with a baby. You can't explain why your house is 95 degrees and why there's not any lights on. Both of us have been through hurricanes and tropical storms before but this was different. We didn't want to put our child's life in danger- and our families were practically begging us to evacuate, so we did.

The wind blew us all the way to Raleigh, NC- along with everyone else, their mom, and their grand pappy. Traffic was insane, and It took literally 15 minutes to go 4 miles. We finally made it though, and settled into our hotel. It was kind of like a mini unplanned vacation. Slade thought the king sized bed was so much fun (and we didn't mind it either! FINALLY a bed where he wasn't kicking me in the ribs at all hours of the night).

But soon a migraine from hell set in, you know the kind where any sort of light or noise can make you cry? I sent Dane off to grab dinner and some extra strength Tylenol after Slade was put to bed.

We literally ate Wendy's in the bathroom (it was clean and the only place we could talk without waking the baby) which was hilarious. I took a hot bath and watched Keeping up with the Kardashians latest episode before bed.

At 4am Slade was woken by some obnoxious, noisy guys across the hall which in turn woke me up...I was two seconds from walking outside and having a few choice words with them. Instead I got a few more restless, hardly restful hours of sleep before our delicious continental breakfast.

Around 12 we checked out and went to meet my friend Nadia (the pregnant one) for Lunch at their local mall. It was awful and after complaining to a manager (which I've NEVER done, but it was that bad) we got our money back and went shopping. I got Slade the cutest things for this fall/winter.

I also bought myself a new pair of jeans...In a size I'm totally comfortable with. I've come to accept this is probably my new [insert adjective] body. Hardly improved, but I think if I lost anymore weight I may disappear when trying to keep up with my caloric needs for breastfeeding a 20lbs baby boy! I haven't even lost ONE pound working out which I guess is my body's way of telling me that this is where it's staying and there isn't a thing I can do about it! [sad face] I guess my next step will be starving myself after weening Slade (another thing we need to start working on, unless I'm going to be coming to his elementary school every two hours to feed him, HA HA...)
but seriously, I'm {kinda} kidding!


I Digress...
So after my horrible night of sleep, my best offered to let us stay in her cozy apartment in Cooper's room. It's pooh bear themed and totally adorable! We ordered pizza (and Dane didn't even count how many pieces I ate!) They are playing Call Of Duty [black ops] but I'm not a video game gal...so I'm blogging while I have the chance.

Tomorrow we are heading home and I'm glad because I'm sort of homesick and missing my kitties. Our power finally was cut back on at 4:30pm today. Hopefully we don't have any damage or flooding!

Please take the time to vote, or leave me a comment. It means a lot!
Hope everyone had a swell weekend!

wonderful wednesday

This morning has been exceptionally quite. Slade's been sleeping for two whole hours and he slept through the night last night which is very unusual. It could be the massive dose of Tylenol+orajel combo I gave him at 8pm along with his nightly feeding that knocked him out...

After months of wondering when those little teefers were going to show themselves finally, they've arrived. So has drooling, crying, fussing and all the other fun things that happen when babies cut teeth. I myself am cutting a tooth. A wisdom tooth- guess I've gotten some wisdom in the past 7 months of motherhood? So I know from experience it's painful and irritating and I feel awful for him.

Ice cold teethers+Tylenol(which Dane spilled last night on our clean table cloth)+orajel=babies bff.

I'm off on fun errand running, like picking up toilet paper and lighters (since they seem to just disappear) and also getting my hubs some lunch and meeting him at work.

Oh, I hear the little monster guess its time to go! Teeth pictures coming soon...

BABY UPDATE!!!!

On my way home from stroller strides my phone FINALLY rang!!! I picked it up and I heard "I'm having a ___." There was a beep in the middle of the most important word, probably the phone hanging up the previous conversation with my sister. So I said "uh, WHAT?! YOU'RE HAVING A WHAT?!!!?" and she repeated...

"It's a BOY!"

Cooper Daniel Benjaminson

then I screamed (even though Slade was sleeping in the back) "I TOTALLY CALLED IT!!!!!! AHH!"
I was sooo happy and I could tell she had been crying or was just about to jump out of her skin! I am SO excited to be able to share things with her and that Slade is going to have a best friend! Can't wait for you to arrive Cooper! Hurry up and bake already!! He's due Jan. 20th - a year and four days before Slade was due. Now it's on to planning the baby shower which is November 5th, 2011. I am about to go boy CrAzY! Penis' unite!

what's it gonna be?

slade wells, 18 wks gestation

On August 27th 2010 I found out I was going to be having a baby BOY! I was super excited and equally surprised since I thought it was going to be a girl. Now I wouldn't change it for the world! I love having a son!

baby b

Tomorrow, almost a year to the day-- my best friend and old roomie Nadia, is going to be finding out the sex of her baby, Peanut (as he/she is referred to). I am so excited, and I know she is beyond ready to find out what the sex is of this sweet being she's been carrying around inside of her for months!! It's an exciting time in anyone's life. It's especially exciting to me because it's my precious God-child!!

She's done every gender determining test she can, with a few boy results, and a couple girl results...so what do you think it's gonna be? Take my newest poll to vote!! I'll be posting the results tomorrow!

Happy 7 Months!

                                                   

Yesterday my son turned 7 months old!! I can't believe how fast time is flying by. Everyone says that but it's so true. It makes me sad that the baby stages are going so quickly but I'm happy that he is healthy and developing. One thing that I really love that Slade has developed? His personality. He's just so happy. Carefree, silly, curious, quick... Slade is probably one of the most laid back babies I've ever seen (and many other people have agreed). He's gotten over his social anxiety (mostly) and really likes to play and learn new things. He loves all animals, especially our cat sassy. She never fails to bring a smile to his face. He also is enjoying the water (beach, pool, and a bath in the big tub) and Baby Einstein DVDs. He's embarking new milestones like crawling, standing and pulling up onto things, and eating new foods. We recently introduced him to mangoes, which he loves. I'm so blessed, Happy 7 months Sladey Bear!



We spent the day at Carolina Beach with my cousins Mandy, Jamie, Chance and Carson. It was a lot of fun and Slade absolutely adores Carson which is pretty cute. We were really worn out when we got home which is why I didn't get to post this until today. Hope everyone has a splendid weekend!

Slade and his big cousin Carson

wait... did you notice that I changed my blog name/design? Still trying to figure out how to change the domain name. When I made this blog, it wasn't really specifically a "mom blog" or a "diet blog" or whatever, it was just, me. Whatever I was thinking or feeling...so I picked a random name. The new title I put some thought into because technically, it isn't just me anymore. And I like that! ;) Please be sure to vote on my new poll (below my picture and information) or leave a comment! Thanks!

Update on...everything!

I've had a lot going on the past week or so, which is consequently why I haven't written a blog. So here's an update of what's been happening all squished into one blog post!

Last weekend my cousins came into town (actually Carolina Beach, which is about a 25 minute drive for us) and we had dinner with them on Sunday. It was nice to see some familiar faces and hangout on the beach a little, since the previous weekend was spent in beach less Charlotte, NC.

Last Thursday I finally was able to join Stroller Strides for the month of August! I had an Achilles tendon injury (after a storm door scraped all the skin off) and wasn't able to participate after I had my initial free week of Stroller Strides. If you haven't heard about it, I encourage you to check it out. It's for moms and their kids - each location has a different director, and I guess it's a bit different for everyone. Here in Wilmington, we all meet at the park at 9AM and circle up to warm up, and get to know each other before heading off for our hour of walking OR running and resistance training at each station in between. I've participated three days this week and I'm really proud of myself!

Since we've started Slade has been going through a lot of changes! He will be seven months old tomorrow, and everyday he is doing something new. He used to nap 9-10am, 12-1pm, and 3-330pm everyday. Now he is napping for 20 minutes on the way home from Stroller Strides and having an hour long nap around 2pm. Another reason for my lack of consistency with this blog. It's time consuming chasing around a baby!

We've also been baby proofing since Slade is literally on the edge of crawling. He can make a few "steps" and then falls onto his belly, where he then scoots around. He's been rocking back and forth and after talking to a few moms at Stroller Strides I hear it's only going to be a matter of days. Maybe I'm a little OCD but I plan on wiping down all the baseboards and doing a thorough cleaning before the end of the week. I've already re arranged his room (more space for crawling) and DE junked our house. Needless to say, it's a LOT of work lately taking care of my home, child, and myself which leaves little room for blogging, facebooking, picture taking, tweeting, or anything else that doesn't involve a broom or sleeping.

So please bear with me while I organize my life.

I will be doing a post on Sept. 1st on the changes made to my body after one month of Stroller Strides, if any. If you remember, my goal was to get down to 120 by my birthday (September 26th) lets just say- I don't have very much to go and I'm excited to show the results!!!! I've been totally slacking on my food journal which is probably why I haven't seen more of a change yet- it's really important to hold yourself accountable for what you put in your body. So here's to hoping I will have some extra time today to get back into the swing of things!

Anniversary

Two years ago today Dane and I officially started dating.

This picture makes me laugh

We had known eachother since late July of 2009 but weren't a couple until today!

 Who knew that only two short years later we would be married and have a 6 month old? Not me! Although we are very happy, marriage is hard work! Sometimes while life's happening, you take for granted the people that you love. Last night without expecting it - Dane gave me a bunch of roses! I asked him if they were for our anniversary, and he said no, he just got them because he loved me.

All I could think was "Is this my life? Or is this scripted?" So, so sweet.

So, Happy Anniversary to my awesome hubby! Love you!

Family Trip to Charlotte

Friday afternoon, around 7PM we left for Charlotte, NC.

Dane's mom and older sister live there (not to mention it's only an hour away from my hometown, Winston-Salem, NC) and we wanted to spend some time with them. They especially wanted to spend some time with baby Slade!

We arrived late Friday night and Slade woke up to play with his gg and finally went back to bed with us around 1AM.

The next morning we woke up bright and early and had a lunch with my dad, sister, brother in law, mother in law, sister in law, and her fiance. Oh, and of course Slade! He was the center of attention the entire meal. We ate at a "dive" which was called Lupie's and it was DELICIOUS.

 Afterward I headed to the Salon that my sister in law manages- Modern Salon and Spa. It's beautiful and classy and everyone there was super friendly (maybe because their boss is my SIL!) haha. She had a lovely girl try and fix my horrid orange toned hair. Apparently it's not coming out, although it looks so much better and she fixed my uneven haircut. I am really thankful to have such a great SIL who would do that for me!

We left the salon and went to do m favorite activity ever, Shop!

The mall(s) in Charlotte are amazing compared to the one in Wilmington, or Winston. I bought entirely too many beautiful things and best of all, Slade bear got a Sophie (which for some reason I thought was spelled Sofie on the box...so sorry for my previous spelling error) She is precious and so cute and fun! I love the little squeaks she makes and Slade loves her! His bottom left tooth is practically right there, but still hasn't come in (which is FINE by me!!!).

Sunday we had lunch at a bar/grill type of restaurant called Thomas Street Tavern and boy was it DELICIOUS! It's one of those places you have to go to more than once because everything on the menu is so good. Afterward we checked out a bunch of vintage shops in the surrounding area. I got an amazing necklace that I love (for 6 bucks!!!).

It was really sad to say goodbye (like it always is) and Dane and I always talk about how we wish we could move...or that the beach could move with us. It's just not practical right now. I have another 6+ months of school to do and Dane has really great job here. Plus we are happy living minutes from the beach and I know Dane wants slade to grow up surfing like he did, which you can't do in the city. It's sad, but it makes the visits that much more special!

We had a great time!