1. I’m really sorry I deserted you all. I’ve managed to turn my world upside down, on it’s head, around in circles and crooked. These past few months have included a baby, a new job, sick father, ill mother-in-law, a 57 mile commute, A LOT of laundry and not nearly enough vodka. (Just sayin’). So even though I feel as though my excuses are valid, I’ve missed blogging. I miss having a little diary to reference and motivation to take photos. The iPhone is great, but it really shouldn’t be my only form of photography when it comes to the wee one.
2. Speaking of wee ones. I’ll just use this space to share a few photos so we can get this proud mama moment out-of-the-way…
Yep, that’s Drew! She’s rocking a slobbery hand and an adorable headband from her Aunt Mary. But you’ll notice that she’s not wearing a cute dress, or an adorable shirt… She’s decided that she prefers to be au natural.
I did coerce her into a pretty Christmas dress to meet Santa. And cute shiny silver shoes!
She truly has been the joy of our lives. I could never have dreamed that being a parent could be this rewarding. I love that little girl! She is learning so much so fast. She rolled over for the first time this weekend. She’s eating pureed fruits and veggies. She can pick up just about anything. She’ll be driving soon, so watch out!
3. I have no dogs. It makes me sad to even type those words. After Nigel passed away, Nash was so terribly lonely. We had a big decision to make – get another dog for Nash, or find him another home. It was a hard, tough decision for my husband because he adores Nash. But when a family with a horse farm, another blue heeler, and 6 goats mentioned that they would love to have Nash on their farm – it was like it was just meant to be. It’s weird not having a hair ball at our feet, and we say often that we miss our dogs. But given all of the “new” in our lives this year, I guess it worked out the way it was supposed to. I miss Nigel every single day. Literally every day.
4. I started a new job. A dear friend of mine contacted me when she had an opening in her department. It’s a great job with a really horrible commute. 57 miles in Atlanta, means 2 hours each way. I’ve spent 3-4 hours in the car regularly, and it is tough. I do work from home 2-3 days per week now, which is helping tremendously!!! But for the first couple of months I went in every day, tried daycare for Drew for exactly 2 days before she got ill and had to switch gears to find a nanny. Thank goodness for Nana and Aunt Pat as they helped me in my first days of work manage the transition with the baby. Our new nanny is so wonderful. She loves Drew and Drew loves her. She is so dependable and sweet, we got very very lucky! And the job is good for me, it feels good to use my brain again. I miss the baby when I’m away, but I am slowly learning how to deal with it all. Just don’t look in my laundry room because the piles of dirty linens, socks, bibs and night gowns might attack you!
5. I have become addicted to sugar over the holidays. I think I need a detox cleanse! Except my neighbor did a salt cleanse for real and was so sick that he swears he’ll never forgive his wife for making him do that. So now I’m afraid of cleanses!
6. We got a new mattress. It’s a memory foam bed, and I’m in love. I can sit on the bed, with the baby’s bottle next to me, and it won’t fall over! It’s amazing. I sleep so soundly, I don’t even remember going to sleep. Maybe it has some kind of narcotic in the foam, whatever it is I’m in love.
7. For Christmas we drove from Atlanta to Savannah, then to West Virginia… with a 6 month old. Let’s just say that on the last leg of the trip we finally learned to drive through the night so the baby would sleep. Miraculously, we shaved 3 hours off our trip! But I now know every gas station, rest area and fast food restaurant between here and the Mason Dixon. I changed diapers in parking lots, fed bottles to a baby in the middle of nowhere and rocked a screaming baby in a hotel room hoping that management wouldn’t ask us to leave.
8. I got a manicure/pedicure this week. Alone. And it was HEAVEN…
9. I am going on my first overnight trip for work this week. I’ll spend 1 night away from my family. I’m nervous, and hope the baby will sleep for my husband. And I’m excited to have one night without a single wake up to replace a paci or soothe a cry. But I’m mostly nervous.
10. I made killer chili for New Year’s Eve. A lady at WalMart (my favorite store you know) turned me onto the WalMart brand “Chili Ready Tomatoes”. I add my own seasonings of course, and a beer, but they really do have great flavor. I cooked it for several hours over low heat, and we all thought it was awesome. Like really gooooooood.
11. 2011 was a year full of new, full of exciting, full of scary, full of first, full of hope… It was a year that I learned what it feels like to truly witness a miracle when my daughter was saved. I learned what saying goodbye felt like when my dear aunt passed away suddenly. My mother-in-law has fought cancer all year, taking chemo like a true champion. She is determined to win this war. She spent Christmas day in the hospital, but still insisted that she wanted us to visit so she could hug her granddaughter. My dad has been battling against heart and lung issues, having surgery as recently as 2 weeks ago.
But he couldn’t wait to see his Baby Drew. I learned what support means as my family rallied together to get through all of it. I saw how supportive my husband can be in very hard times. And how bit*hy I can be when I get tired. (oops). 2011 was a fantastic year that gave me the one thing I’ve always dreamed of – a daughter.
12. 2012 will be the year I’ll hear my daughter’s first words, watch her walk for the first time, and celebrate her first birthday. We’re settling in to our new roles as parents, I’m finally balancing things well enough to even cook a few meals here and there. Maybe I’ll even get some of that laundry done. And I’m determined to find time to blog…
Happy New Year Y’all! We’ll talk again soon!
