MC's 6 month pics

I know, I know, its taken a while, but here are a few pics from MC's 6 month photo shoot we had last weekend. Such a sweetie pie! :)

Redneck Enough?

We had a yard sale. Redneck enough? Nope. Adam had to kick it up by sitting in a lawn chair beside his yard sale drinking a beer! The REALLY redneck part? It was 8:00 in the friggin' morning!

Redneck enough? Nope. Adam decided the lawn chair was no good and instead went for drinking his morning yardsale beer from the riding lawnmower.

Redneck enough? Nope. Merely sitting on the lawnmower drinking the beer would not suffice in this competative world of redneck-ing. Adam took it a step further and decided he should actually RIDE the lawnmower while drinking his beer.

Redneck enough? Nope. He went the distance, literally. He rode it all the way down the street and actually popped a wheelie on the darn thing.

Redneck enough? YUP!

No Rest For The Weary

Yet again, its been a long weekend. It seems as though we go out of town every single weekend. I. hate. the. car. I am so sick of driving and riding its ridiculous. I know MC is too... poor baby always gets dragged somewhere. Well, thats the price you pay when you live hours away from both sets of grandparents!

So, anyway, we went to Florence this past weekend for MC's 6 month photos. I am SOOO excited to see them!!! (And, yes, you know I'll be posting them as soon as I do get them!) I hope they turned out well because she was sick when we had them done. I thought about rescheduling, but we are having a yard sale next weekend and after that she won't be six months anymore! She's doing much better now, I took her to the doctor because I had a feeling it was allergies. She seems to get the coughing, runny/stuffy nose, watery/itchy eye thing at least once a month. It got so bad Sunday that she started coughing so much it made her choke and vomit. Super scary. It was mostly mucus which also scared me. Anyway, the doctor said it probably was allergies, but it might have been a cold. I will stick to my allergy theory due to the sheer number of times it seems to occur. She gave us a prescription so we'll see if it helps... I hate seeing MC not feeling well and not being able to do anything to help her! :(

Good news from this weekend too - although kinda sad for daddy. MC said mama for the first time!!!! I walked in the room and she popped her little head up and said "ma ma". She then proceeded to say it ALL DAY LONG - over and over again. I was loving it, however, if you remember, Sunday was FATHER'S DAY! :( Not exactly the best gift for daddy! haha. He took it very well though and was excited and encouraged her to continue saying it throughout the day.

In other MC news, the constipation issue is SOOOO much better!!!! I am so excited because it too gave me a lot of stress. Again, seeing her in pain and not being able to do anything is the worst feeling ever. I stopped giving her rice in her bottle about a month ago and limited the amount of banana and apple baby food (I only give it to her maybe once or twice a week). I also increased the amount of "p" foods as I had mentioned earlier. Anyway, whatever it was, it seems to be helping thank goodness.

Now I've got a question for all the mommies out there. What in the world do you do with your child to contain them??!! haha. MC is crawling now - (can't remember if I had mentioned that or not. I hope to get video on here soon, but I can't right now because our internet is too slow. When we canceled our cable we increased our internet speed so hopefully when they finally get around to changing everything it will be fast enough for me to load the videos!) I've seen the play yeards, but I worry about them being made of a hard material...she rolls all over the place and I'm scared she'll roll and hit her head on the side and hurt herself. I have yet to see any that come with soft sides. I know I could put her in the pack and play, but I want her to have a lot of space to move around. I don't want to keep her in a tiny little play pen where she can't crawl and move around. Suggestions? Now, in addition to her being very mobile, our house has no carpet. Its all hardwood and tile (aka nothing cushy in the whole house). We have a rug in the living room, but the coffee table takes up most of the space and its way too heavy to move back and forth. I think I might have come up with a solution to this though - I thought about getting one of those egg crates from Wal-Mart (the kind you put on a matress) and just putting a fitted sheet over it so I could take it off and wash it. Then, we can just roll it up and put it in a closet when she isn't using it. Thoughts?

I've got a super funny story to tell about our drive to Florence, but I need to feed MC right now. I'll be sure to post about it later! Happy Tuesday readers!

Well Dave Says...

As I have mentioned, Adam and I are now taking part in "Financial Peace University" - the Dave Ramsey financial planning thingy. In his DVD's he made a joke about how couples fight about finances and how everyone hates him because one spouse will alway say "well, Dave Ramsey says..." (Maybe you have to see the DVD to get the full effect of this humor) Anyway, I caught myself actually saying it to someone this morning and so I just had to write about how this whole experience is going.

Dave's motto is "live like no one else so that later you can life like no one else". Yeah, sounds a lot better than what he is REALLY saying "live like no one else a bag lady/hobo during the prime time of your life so that later you can live like no one else be rich when you're old and can't do anything with the money anyway. No, I joke about Dave but he is really onto something here. He really gets Adam and I fired up about this whole process and we have been sticking to it so far this month.

The premise is this - budget for every single dollar you make. Make a cash flow plan showing where every dime of your money is going each month and don't vere from the budget! You even have to put certain categories' money into envelopes so that you are SURE not to spend more than you alloted. Now, do I like going to the grocery store and getting out my white envelope labeled "groceries"? Hell no. Do I like shoving the pennies and dimes into the Kroger self check out machine while people glance at me with pity filled eyes? Not at all. But, I'm hoping in the long run it we will be rewarded.

So you're probably wondering "that all sounds well and good, but what happens if you go to the store and you forget your envelope?" Easy. You leave the store and go back home and get it. I kid you not. Dave says to. When you think about it, it makes sense. If I am out running errands and happen to make my way into a clothing store and find an amazingly super cute top but don't have my "clothing" envelope, I can't buy it. And unless its the most amazing top that has ever been constructed, I am not going to go all the way home, get my envelope, and come back to the store. Genius idea really.

So basically the whole plan is going well. We really enjoy watching the DVD's (the guy is actually REALLY funny and entertaining) and they are SOOOO informative. I never knew a lot about financial matters (aka investments, insurance, ect.) and he fills you in on all that. I would definately reccomend it to anyone who likes the idea of being wealthy. Yeah. That should just about cover everyone.

A brief warning though....you will want to kill your spouse. My blogging friend Brittany said that Home Depot should pass out free marriage counseling with each paint sample - I will say the same for this program. I think it should come with a coupon book for everything from marriage counseling to 50% off garbage bags, rope, and shovels. I mean when Adam and I had our first budget meeting, I was scared one of us wasn't coming out alive. However, we got through it and if it's not for the best in the long run, I am going to go hunt down Dave Ramsey and kick him in the balls ever so politely explain that his program is crap and now I'm divorced with a lazy eye because the computer we were throwing at each other hit me in the face.

Anyway, I'll keep you updated as to who dies first how its going. Happy hump day everyone!

Ambulance Please

I seriously think I am having my first heart attack. I kid you not. I could kill over at any moment while typing this. I just dropped MC off at daycare for the first time and it's either a heart attack or panic attack I am now experiencing. I mean, I am leaving my only sweet, precious, innocent, and helpless baby girl with a complete stranger!!!!

I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but Adam and I have been searching for someone to care for MC when I do finally get a job. I wanted to have all that arranged so that when McDonald's the fortune 500 company begged me to come work for them, I could say yes because I already had arrangements made for childcare. Anyway, I asked on facebook (of course) and got a reference from someone for this woman I'll call Mrs. M. Now, Mrs. M and Adam talked while we were still living in Madison and he seemed very impressed with her. We told her when we would be moving to Starkville and that we would be in touch. I spoke to her shortly after we moved in to arrange a time for us to meet. She told me her address and I couldn't believe it - the woman lives about 5 houses up the street! Fate, right? Let's hope so!!! She charges an EXTREMELY great price and takes care of 2 other children full time and one other child part-time. The other kids are one and a half, 2, and almost 2. Of course this makes me nervous as well. What if these kids (unintentionally of course) hurt MC???!!! What if they try to pick her up, or throw things at her, or poke her???

These kids are not the only things I am worried about by any means. I am worried about EVERYTHING that could possibly go wrong. Every single insane scenario that could ever play out is now flashing over and over in my mind. What if she doesnt nap? What if she doesn't eat? What if the world is attacked by zombies and I'm not there to protect her? Again, EVERY SINGLE thing that could (and I suppose things that couldn't) ever happen are majorly freaking me out!!!

We are starting her part-time to see how it goes. She will be there from 8-12 Monday-Thursday. No, I don't have a job yet, but at least I will have a few hours to actually go look for one now. Maybe something will work out soon....

PLEASE keep us in your prayers right now!!! I really need some serenity to deal with this and I'll take all prayers I can get for MC's safety! (Asking God to help me out with the job thing wouldn't hurt either if you happen to think about it....) Thanks readers! Happy Monday! (Oh, and Happy Anniversary Adam! I'm sure you won't read this but just in case...)

The Story Of Us

I might have mentioned this before, but Monday is mine and Adam's 2 year anniversary. This year is really special because we will actually get to be TOGETHER for it! Last year he left for Iraq the day before our anniversary. I spent our one year balled up on the bed crying my eyes out. Not fun. So this year is a big improvement. I might have also mentioned that we are broke. I mean we literally have no income. We are living off savings which is a huge bummer. We saved and saved while Adam was deployed and built up a nice little nest egg - now its all disappearing. (On a side note, we are now watching Dave Ramsey's dont spend any money 101 Financial Peace University. Don't laugh. This guy is UH-MAZING.) My point is, we are not going anywhere or buying each other anything. Its easy to get caught up in the materialism of the occassion, but after what we went through last year, I'm glad just to have him home with me and spend time with him.

Anniversaries really make you think back to when you were dating and how this whole thing started. (At least it does for me) So I have decided to bore induldge you with how we became "Jess and Adam"...

Once upon a time there was a beautiful young maiden (yes, thats me) who had had her heart broken repeatedly by the biggest tools in all the kingdom. She had forever given up hope of ever becoming wed so she decided to just have fun an enjoy whatever tool bags hadn't screwed her over yet deal with the pain. One day this fair maiden's roommate introduced her to a noble young man named Jacob. The single maiden asked the noble young man if he had any noble young friends he might be willing to introduce her to. He said he knew just the man and told her he would arrange a meeting. The maiden was beside herself with excitement and waited anxiously for the day she might meet her prince charming.

The maiden waited and waited and had almost given up hope when one day she went to a friend's birthday ball. While at the ball she spoke to Jacob and he said he was going to call his noble young friend to see if he would also like to attend the ball. The maiden became quite anxious and had to throw back repeated Jell-O shots take several deep breaths to calm her nerves.

Then, out of nowhere she saw her prince's charming form as he walked rode his stallion up the street to the ball. And, what was this? A royal black puppy accompanied him! Oh the joy the young maiden felt in her heart! The rest of the ball was spent conversing and entertaining the royal puppy. What a wonderful night!

The next day the maiden could hardly wait to receive a facebook message phone call letter from the prince asking for another secret rendezvous (it had to remain secret for the maiden knew her kind mother would interrogate politely ask when the two would be wed - and we know the maiden was not looking for a husband) The maiden, who was still slightly drunk on cloud nine from the previous night decided to be forward and facebook stalk write the young prince. The young prince quickly responded and the two arranged a meeting for the following night.

The young prince arrive at the maiden's door that evening dressed in a Polo and jeans his finest attire and took the maiden to an establishment in which all the cool people of the kingdom went to. The two enjoyed their time together, however the maiden didn't think this charming young prince was her one true love. For the maiden had a picture in her mind of HER prince and, while this was a truly noble young man, he was not the picture.

The maiden still enjoyed the company of the young prince and the two were together almost everyday. They took the royal puppy for walks and swims and went to all the bars in the kingdom. They became quite good friends until one day the prince approached the maiden at the Royal Quizno's....

"My fair maiden... it pains me to say this but we can no longer be friends with benefits friends. For I have fallen madly in love with you and it feels as though a dagger is being pushed into my heart when we are together. I know you have been shit on hurt by village douches, but I would never hurt you as they did. I love you and I cannot be around you if you are not mine." The maiden was stunned and didn't know what to say. She knew that she enjoyed spending time with the prince, but did not feel he was the one for her. She sadly told the prince she understood and would miss him. The heartbroken prince left with tears in his eyes and a heavy heart.

As the maiden drove back to her crappy apartment palace, she thought long and hard about the prince's words and what they meant. The maiden didn't know what to do so she called upon her wise and noble father for advice. Her father asked her one simple question which changed the maiden's life forever... "my dear daughter, how would you feel if you saw the prince out with another maiden?" She pictured the prince at the bar with another slutty ho village woman, and her heart began to hurt. For this maiden soon realized that she had put a suit of armor around her heart to protect it long ago. For her tender heart had been cut, pierced, smashed, and walked on far too many times and the maiden wanted to save what little was left. The armor went up and she was determined that no one would ever be able to remove it. Until now...

With love in her now free heart, the maiden immediately ran to the even crappier house than hers royal palace to tell the prince she was in love with him! (In her haste she did not even notice that she was in her night clothing with no make-up...) Low and behold when she knocked upon the door the prince did not answer! The royal roommate opened the door and told the young maiden the prince had gone out to the nicest restaurant/bar in the kingdom with princes' from other neighboring lands. What little was left of the maiden's fragile heart was now breaking for she feared the prince was not out with friends, but with another slutty bitch maiden! She went straight to the nice restaurant (still in her night clothes and without make-up) to break up the pre-sex drinking date, and profess her love for the prince. As she rushed into the restaurant the hostess looked at her as if she had lepracy, and the maiden soon realized she had entered the nicest restaurant in the kingdom in her night clothes! She didn't even care - she knew she MUST find the prince! The hostess led her to the table and there was the prince! (Not with another maiden, but with other neighboring princes' as the royal roommate had said...) She grabbed the drunk heartbroken prince and led him outside. She proceeded to tell the prince she was so sorry and that it was him she loved. For he alone had broken the armor that surrounded her heart and it was now free to love! The prince cried joyfully, as did the maiden, and the two lived happily ever after...

Some story, huh? Happy Friday everyone!!! :)

Well Hello New Friend!

Is it sad I just spent 30 minutes talking to the plumber? No, not about plumbing issues - about life. Even sadder? I told him to come back and visit anytime. I'm serious. My name is Jessica and my best friend is a plumber. Wow.

Keepin' It Real

So apparently part of the appeal is that I keep it real. (Wow. Totally didn't mean to Dr. Seuss that) With that being said, let me just have "real" slap you in the face if thats the case (are you kidding me? I didn't mean to do that one either)

So let me tell you what I hate - moms who talk about how wonderful and perfect their life is staying home with their child. It makes me feel like a failure. Now don't get me wrong, I LOOOOVE my baby more than life itself. However, my daily routine these last few months with no job is about to kill me. Its like "Hello, adult conversation. I miss you. xoxo - Jess" Their life seems to resemble this...

That is not my life. My life looks more like this... (well, minus the cat... and the nursing.. and the blonde hair... well, geez, you get the idea)

A little background here... I LOVE to talk (I tend to get shy around new people but thats only because I get intimidated very easily - not because I'm snobby) and I LOVE to change things up everyday. Now, being at home I rarely get to talk and its the same thing day in and day out. This is our routine everyday:

- wake up/feed MC

- MC plays on mat and I eat breakfast/check email

- MC plays in walker (I usually dance and sing to her at this point)

- feed MC baby food

- put MC down for a nap

- while she's asleep I take a shower, make the bed, clean our room, and do the dishes

- get her up/feed her

- she watches baby einstein while I eat lunch

- we play together for a while then she goes down for a nap

- I do more cleaning or laundry and check email again

- she wakes up and we play/go for a walk

- she goes down for a nap and I get dinner ready

While she's asleep Adam usually comes home. I then proceede to talk nonstop about absolutely nothing because he can respond with more than "aaaahhhh" and "eeeiiioooo".

For those of you that work, you are hating me right now. You are thinking to yourselves - ugh, I wish I had time to do laundry and clean my house and sleep in late! This is true (I mean I don't know if I would consider 6:45 late, but its late for me compared to getting up at 4:15 when I used to teach). However, you have to weigh the pros and cons of the situation. WE HAVE NO MONEY. Big drawback. Another draw back is that I spend my ENTIRE day in silence! I mean, yes, I talk to Maggie Claire. A Lot actually. But, its just not as fulfilling when the person you are talking to looks at you like you're crazy and doesn't respond. Also, its completely monotonous. Same thing day in and day out. Feed the baby, change the baby, clean the house, feed the baby, change the baby, clean the house. You get the idea.

There. I kept it real. I really hate to complain because I do cherish the time I get to spend with MC and I know most moms would kill for the luxury - but it takes its toll. Thats all I'm sayin'.

Poll

Most of you who read this probably blog yourselves. As a blogger, I'm sure you're like me in that you are interested to know who is reading your daily posts. Who exactly is your audience?

My husband is in school right now finishing up his degree in landscape architecture and contracting (sadly the 4 deployments he has been on have interrupted school) and currently he's taking summer classes. He's hoping to finish up in one year and, in order to do that, he's gotta bust his butt taking A LOT of hours. Anyway, he's taking a marketing class this summer and as he was ranting about it last night it got me thinking about the "target audience". I remember hearing about this in various classes in school and how you need to adapt whatever it might be to suit your particular audience. Well, since my current job is apparently blogging, I am interested to know about my audience. I am also curious as to what you like reading about. (I know the first thing that probably popped into your mind is not what you like reading so much as seeing - pics of Maggie Claire. Yeah, yeah, I probably sound conceited, but I am going to say it anyway. I think my baby is stinkin' adorable. I am thinking/hoping you like seeing those precious pictures I often post)

So, here is what I would love from you - tell me about yourself and what you enjoy reading! I am completely blank this morning so any topics are welcome! This is quite cheesy but I've just gotta know who find this stuff entertaining enough to read. :)

Revising 101

Wow. Anyone read my last post??? You were probably wondering if I typed it in my sleep or something - my goodness at the typos! I guess I've got baby brain (I can still blame it on that right?) Next time this horrendous embarrassment occurs, please don't hesitate to comment. It really won't hurt my feelings. "Um, Jessica, as a fellow OCD'er, I just wanted to bring to your attention the high degree of typos present in your recent blog post. I respect that you wish to share your various rants about life, however, if you could do so in an educated manner it would be greatly appreciated." Something along those lines would be sufficient :)

6 Month Check Up

My sweet baby girl is now six months old. I seriously cannot believe it. It's so cliche but it really feels like I just brought her home from the hospital. Well, given that MC is six months, she had her last round of vaccinations at the doctor yesterday. As I've probably said before, nothing is worse than watching your baby get shots. However, I have to fill you in on the whole story. (I'm waaaaay too much of a talker, well typer, to only have one sentence about MC's experience.

So we get to the doctor's office and MC is doing great. She's perfectly content just sitting in the waiting room watching everyone. Then, the nurse called us back and we got MC's weight and length. If you can't tell from the pictures, MC is, um, healthy. She weighed 18lbs 6.4oz which put her in the 95th percentile (if you don't have kids, that means that out of 100 babies her age, she would weigh more than 95 of them.) Wow. Then they measured her and she was 26 1/4 inches long. That put her in the 75th percentile. Not too bad. The nurse noticed MC loved the measuring tape she was using so she just let her have it (it was new and clean). She was knawing on it like it was candy or something. Anyway, the nurse then proceeded to sit MC up on the exam table and slowly took her hands away. I wanted to shout out "um, mam, my baby is not sitting up unassisted yet!", however MC proved me wrong! As the nurse let go, MC sat there! Like, seriously sat up on her own like it was no thing. Granted, she has been attempting this little trick for a week or two, but she never sat up like that for an extended period of time. At home we had been working up to several seconds, now the kid was sitting there for several minutes! It was amazing! I was so proud! Little MC just looked up at me with that measuring tape hanging out of her mouth like "geez mom, what's the big deal? You didn't know I could do this?" It was a truly glorious moment as a mommy.

Well, then things went downhill. After seeing the doctor (who assured me he was not concerned about her weight and that this is no indication of childhood obesity or a reflection of her weight later in life) the nurse returned. Now MC loves this nurse. She is truly wonderful. However, today this truly wonderful nurse had to stick my baby with 3 very shard needles. Yeah. MC wasn't too thrilled. The gave the first shot and MC didn't react for several seconds. Then, the water works began. She quickly gave the other two and I could barely wait to snatch her up and give her some love. After a few minutes of screaming she finally calmed down and seemed to have forgotten the entire ordeal. Or so I thought...

As we were leaving, we passed by the nurse in the hallway. She was anxious to go to MC bye so she came over to us. I kid you not - as soon as she walked up to Maggie Claire the bottom lip went out and she started BAWLING! It was as if she wanted to say "You!!! I remember you!! You poked me with those sharp thing!!!! I don't like you!!!" I couldn't help but laugh hysterically. The poor nurse really got her feelings hurt and said she hated that part of her job. Maybe next time MC will act excited to see her and make her feel better!

Well you can bet that as soon as we got home I had to see if MC's trick was a fluke. I sat her down on the floor, slowly let go, and what do you think happened? My baby sat there again like it was no big deal. I picked her up, kissed her all over and repeatedly told her what a big girl she was and how proud mommy was. Then of course I got the camera. Look at my adorable little angel being such a big girl!!!!

"And Tonight's $20,000 Winner Is...."

I'm sure most of you have seen the show America's funniest home videos. Who hasn't? There is nothing funnier than dogs saying "mama", or cats licking a pet bird, or a dad getting hit in the you-know-what by his son's baseball. Lets face it, people crashing/hitting/running into things is funny. I'm not alone on this. I mean, they created a show called Wipeout for this sole purpose. Anyway, I digress. My point is, if someone had been filming my husband and I on our porch last night, we could've easily won $20,000.

So our friend Oliver had just left. We had a nice dinner and as he was pulling out of the driveway I say to Adam "aw, honey, lets sit on the swing and be all old and romantic..." He wasn't too keen on the idea, but being that he loves me dearly he agreed. We both sat on our nice little porch swing enjoying the exceptionally mild Mississippi summer night. I had my fresh cup of coffee and was captivated by how simple and happy life was at this point - my baby sleeping, my husband sharing a great conversation with me on our new little porch. Life is good. Adam was in the process of explaing to me how he had adjusted the swing so that it wouldn't bang into the bricks under the window and was midsentence when....CRRRRAAACCK, BAAAAAAM!

It was all a blur. You know how people say that in a near death experience things are suddenly in slow motion? Well, yes, this was not a near death experience, and things weren't in slow motion. I remember Adam talking, then I remember coffee flying, then I remember sitting sideways with half my body on the swing and half my body on Adam - who was now on the porch. That's right people. The hook that holds up the swing came out of the ceiling and the whole side of our swing went crashing down. It was madness. Coffee went flying, mug went flying, and my husband went flying. As I stared at my husband (covered in coffe) lying on the porch, and looked at myself (also covered in coffee) and lying on my husband, I realized what had happened. I laughed. I laughed hard. I mean, seriously? Did this really just happen? Were we really THOSE people who sit on the swing and the darn thing breaks and they all go toppling down? I guess so. I then laughed even harder. Thankfully after assessing his scratches and the bump on his head, Adam ,too, found it amussing. Please take joy in the entertainment that is our unrecorded, $20,000 experience... (I hate the pic of Adam is blurry -maybe the "this-isn't-so-funny" expression still comes across)

My Mommy

Hi everyone... this is Maggie Claire Martin. My mommy writes a blog and I love her very much so I decided to help her out. See, my mommy is looking for a job. She talks about it a lot. She sings songs to me about it. She used to sing things about monkey's jumping on the bed and little speckled frogs... now she sings things like "mommy needs a job, yes she does, yes she does". I don't like those songs. They are boring. So, if any of you know of jobs close to Starkville I would really appreciate it. I hear mommy say to daddy "yeah, hopefully out next move won't be into a cardboard box on highway 12". I don't want to live in a box. I mean, don't get me wrong, boxes are way fun, but I don't think I'd want to live in one. I am too cute to live in a box. I will leave you with a few pictures of my precious self to remind you of that. Thank you.