A round of applause

When you have a good man, take the time out every once in a while to appreciate it. My husband is not perfect, and neither am I. Actually, I'm probably the least perfect one of the two of us, but we don't have to get into all that right now. : )

Let me explain something before I get into the glorious details of how I have an awesome husband...     Living where we do (two and half miles from a beautiful beach) and being able to afford it, comes with one huge down fall.
-We have no washer and dryer. I thought coping would be easier than it is. This one little fact has made my life, at times, a living hell. Other times I find that hour and a half I spend at the laundr-o-mat to be the most peaceful time for me. I'm completely alone, and sometimes that's just what I need.

Sunday is usually laundry day for me. So, like clockwork, that's what I set off to do last week. When I got back, my husband had the best surprise waiting for me at home. I walk inside, and he's already set our crazy child up at the dinner table. Said crazy child is completely chowing down on his food. No complaints, no protest, and he was actually in a great mood. (SCORE!)

Our dinner was finishing up on the stove. (No, two separate meals were not cooked. Crazy Child ate his without the sauce) Oh man, it smelled heavenly. I strolled around the kitchen, seeing if he needed help. He says to me, "no, just sit and wait, I'll bring you your plate."
Awww yeaahhhhh!!

BUT WAIT! It doesn't stop there!!! After dinner, he cleared our plates. I had to put sheets on the kid's bed, so i started doing that straight after eating so that little man could get into bed. Finished up with that, and started prepping the little one for bed. When I hear the sound....yes, the sound of.... THE DISHES BEING WASHED!!
Oh em gee - dinner was ready, and the dishes get washed?! in-freaking-credible.

Oh, you know what else?

He took the trash out too.
YES! This blog needs to be published so that whenever I feel irritated with Mr. Amazing, I can look back and remember how I felt.

Life is ALL about the little things!!

Paid in full

My neighbor is such an outstanding lady. Really feel lucky to have finally settled in next to someone we like. You have NO idea what kind of people we've been dealing with when it comes to neighbors.
Anywho - She's this cute, very petite, Jamaican lady. She's very friendly and just has this way about her, it's hard to explain. Very welcoming...yet sort of mysterious, it's interesting. She also has a wonderfully green thumb. Her portion of our backyard (we live in a duplex) is full of all sorts of things...fresh herbs, spices, medicines, flowers, plants, a cactus tree. It's incredible and so beautiful. Thankfully she's a giving soul. I love it when she knocks on our door bearing gifts from the garden.

Another thing I've recently learned about this woman, is that she's an excellent baker. Either that or someone she knows is. Yesterday (Valentine's Day) around lunch time, I got a knock on our door.
I open it, and there she was, cute little cupcake in hand. She says to me, "here, I brought this for the little guy. Hope you guys have a great Valentine's Day!"
How sweet is that?! She brought my baby a cupcake...she didn't have to do that!

Unfortunately for him, he was a major pain in mommy's ass all day. So, I held on to the cupcake for the remainder of the day...debating on what to do with it. Should I eat it or give it to its rightful owner? I mean...after all, it was meant just for him, nobody else.

The day came and left, and now here it is, the 15th. Guess who was super cranky about two hours before nap time? Uh, yep...my crazy dude. He really, really, REALLY knows how to push your buttons. Or maybe just mine. Yeah, it's probably just mine.

Lunch time came with a fight. (Note to self: Stop giving him choices for lunch. You're only making things more complicated.) Seriously, it took him nearly an HOUR to eat a peanut butter sandwich and some graham cracker things. - an hour-
You know what the best part about lunch time is? Obviously it isn't the crappy peanut butter sandwich, it's what comes AFTER! Yep, you guessed it.... nap time!!! Did anyone else hear a choir of angels singing when that was announced?!

With a huge grin, and a feeling of accomplishment, I strolled into the kitchen after the monster was snoozing away. Wiped down the counters, put the dishes away, and then I spotted it. The cute little chocolate cupcake. hmmmm. What to do, what to do.
Know what I did?
I ate it.
Slowly. Might I add, I truly enjoyed every. single. bite. The huge glass of milk I had on stand-by was a nice addition.

No, I do not feel guilty. I mean....should i?
-naaaaah
I am a (pregnant) Mom.
This should be considered payment for the actions from the last day and a half.
At this point, my only problem with the whole situation is that there was only one cupcake.

Anyone have an extra grand?

When you have no money, you really start to question all of your previous monetary decisions. When I say NO money, I mean it. None, actually we have a fairly large negative amount. Wish I could simply turn that negative into a positive, we'd be golden then!

I can't remember being this broke in all my adult life.

Did I REALLY need that stupid purse from TJMAXX? Granted, it is adorable, and I love it...but I could sure use that thirty bucks right about now.  All those fabulous dinners, sushi platters, bottles of wine. Drinks at the beach, late night pizza, trips to the Keys just to explore.
 -sigh. We lived the good life.

Then came pregnancy. Of course we had no medical insurance, so I had to apply for Medicaid. Ohhhhhh whaddya know, we made SIX HUNDRED dollars TOO much a month to qualify. The case worker's suggestion, you ask? Quit my job. After too much time, and careful consideration, that's exactly what I did.

We sat down and planned it out, and figured we'd be okay, but it would be tight. A few bad decisions have left us in the hole. BIG TIME.
We will be fine. It's going to be tough, and I'm not exactly sure how we are going to get there, but we will. We always do. It's just stressful right now, and I needed a way to vent.

It's almost baby time!

We're nearing the end. 31 weeks pregnant! HOLY COW! A part of me feels like we just found out. The other part of me feels like I just may be pregnant for the rest of my life. That being said, our Jman was here at 35 weeks. So we COULD potentially have a baby within the next four weeks. (insert my freaked the eff out face here) I'm kind of hoping she decides to stay in until we are full term. The stress and worry of having a preemie is just not something I'd like to go and do again. Plus, my husband has informed me that we're done after this. Trying to come to terms that this will be my last pregnancy. It's bittersweet. Let's keep our fingers and toes crossed, pray, or just send us some good vibes for a nice, healthy, full term baby.

Going into this a second time gives me a sense of readiness that wasn't here before. I am NOT saying that I'm READY. Ha, you can never be ready. What I am saying is that I know to expect the unexpected. This little baby is the boss for at least the first nine months or so....if not longer. That's okay. My boobs will no longer belong to me, sleeping and showers will both become a luxury, and at points absolutely insanity will feel like home. Before I know it, my life will be full of spit up, colic, sleep training, soothing, nursing, and those sweet newborn snuggles. That's what I'm most looking forward to. Snuggling with a kid who is unable to protest. She will have no choice!! I'm ready and willing to face all the unexpected challenges that lie ahead.

The most important thing I will remember going into it this time, is to really soak it in. People use to tell me with my son that I should. They told me that the time would go by so fast. Looking at my teeny, tiny, precious little baby, I thought to myself, "yeah, no way...this moment will last forever".   No, it doesn't. These moments go by faster than anything else. You only have a baby for a short amount of time, and that time is SO precious.