Abbie's First Day at The Zoo!!! :) :)

Today was Abbie's FIRST EVER TRIP TO THE ZOO!!! Can you tell that I'm a little bit excited? Lol. Yes, it has taken us awhile to "get around" to taking her just because Jeremy and I work such opposite and crazy hours. But I am so glad we did- and I'm SO glad we were the first ones to take her. Abbie goes to in home daycare, and her DC provider was actually going to take them on 2 occasions over the last year. But because of weather (both times, I think!), they did not go. I was SO relieved. I remember wanting to get out of school commitments the first time because I did NOT want her to go the first time without me! Silly, I know, but it's one of those things where I really wanted to be there to see the looks on her face for the first time.
Anyway, we had SO much fun. Our favorite part was defintely the monkeys, a specific little family in fact. I cannot remember their names right now- bongos?- but I have to say their behinds were HUGE! (Well, at least ONE of their behinds-the other 2 were not so large). I could not get over it! It was like she had the world's biggest hemmroids! Lol. That may be TMI, but if you've been to the FW Zoo lately, you've got to know the one(s) I'm talking about!
Anyway, we went inside to the area where you can view the monkeys up close and personal through the glass. And here is this family- A mama, a daddy, and a baby. I told Jeremy you could tell which one was which. The monkey with the biggest hemmroid hiney and sagging breasts was obviously the mommy. (She was chasing baby, too). The baby was the little one that was jumping off the walls! Seriously, he was swinging from the grates in the ceiling and doing all kinds of tricks! It was hilarious! And of course, daddy was obviously the big one in the corner just eating lunch and keeping to himself.
At one point, the baby actually swung down the little rope and flung himself RIGHT into the glass where Abbie was standing! She freaked out a little bit, but recovered quickly after we told her that the monkey couldn't get to her. It was defintely the highlight of my day. We saw most everything, except for the final exhibits of crocodiles and alligators I think. By that time, it was way past naptime and very hot outside. We topped it off with some Bluebell ice cream and called it a day. We avoided major meltdowns and had a great time as a family. All in all, it was a great success.
I will post pictures later!

Almost 13 months later..

I am having one of those nights. I don't have them often, but I need them every now and then. One of those nights where I need to listen to sad songs and go through old pictures. I look at the pictures of the first year of my daughter's life, and all I can think of is that my little brother was here then. I search through pictures, trying to find a glimpse of his shoe or his hand in them. He didn't like having his picture taken, so there are very few of him. But I try to find him, knowing that he might have been there, even if in the background. It's my way of catching parts of his day to day life and remembering different things he used to do.
The minute my brother passed away, a defense mechanism kicked in in my body that made it feel like he'd been gone for ages. So I have to have these nights to remember what it was like to have him here. If I remembered every day, I couldn't function. I couldn't be a mother to my daughter. So I push the memories of what it was like to grow up with such an amazing human being aside until I can be alone to deal with them.
If I thought it would make a difference, I'd rip up the dirt over his casket... just to hug him or touch him one more time. But he's not there. He lives in my heart and my memories. What's sad is that it's only been 13 months and already it's so hard to find him in those places.

Abbie's First Night Away From Home

Tonight is a milestone for our family. It is Abbie's first night away from home. She is staying with my Mother-in-law, Sister-in-law, and her baby cousin. I have to say, I think I am doing pretty good (although I having to remind myself that she is not asleep in her room upstairs). I thought I was going to feel WAY out of my element, considering Abbie is 2 years old and we have only ever spent 4 nights apart from each other. But she has still always been at home. This is the first time she has ever slept away from home without Jeremy or I. One time, when she was a newborn, we did stay at his grandparents' house overnight. And she slept in the bed with us. But other than that, she's never stayed the night anywhere but her own bed. However, she adapts very easy. And from what I can tell, she doesn't even miss me. Lol. It might be nice to get up in the morning and actually get some things done. But I'm sure it will be weird too...

Ah, the joys of motherhood...

So I blogged (well, wrote in Microsoft Word) last night about our day before I actually created my blog (today). Firs of all, I am SO excited that I get to spend 4 whole days out of the week with Abbie! This is huge for us since I am always in class or working. She is usually in daycare 5 long days a week. But for this summer, it's just the two of us Saturday-Tuesday. Then she goes to daycare so I can work and get things done Wed-Fri. This was our first week at home and we had SO much fun. Here is a recap of yesterday for your amusement:

· Abbie peed in the floor- again. But this time she did not tell me about it like she usually does. Instead, grand mommy stepped in it.
· Abbie put on training pants for the first time ever. It did not bother her when they were “cool”. So she just wet them like she usually would and did not tell me they were wet. And she called them diapers, even though I kept telling her they were big girl underpants.
· Abbie and I went outside to play with the dogs. Abbie tried to chew on their nasty, muddy chew toys.
· Abbie and I went to the store and she stayed buckled in the big girl cart the WHOLE time. Yes, she wiggled her arms out and screamed half the time. But she stayed and without too much incident. In fact, it was a really good trip for us.
· Abbie pulled my hand (A LOT) and told me “ets-go, mama”. This is her new favorite thing to do. It is not my new favorite thing for her to do, especially since it always come JUST as I sit down. “No mama, get up. Get up couch, mama. No sit down. No rock, mama. Get up. Ets-go, mama” Sigh.
· We had a great day. Yesterday we had a wonderful day with daddy. We went to the park and played all morning. We visited the library and got Abbie some great books. I can’t wait to go back now that we have memberships (Jeremy’s idea, thank you very much!). Today was much calmer, but still good. Tonight, we danced a little bit (or rather I spun Abbie around and she giggled then said “ ‘Gin, mama’). We had chef Boyardee and turkey hot dogs for dinner, so I didn’t have to cook. (I did put green beans in her ravioli, in my defense!) So that was our day, in a nutshell.

This is Us...

So I am super excited to have my own blog! I love to write, talk about the craziness that is my life, and keep in contact with friends and family. So this is long over due. The purpose of this blog will be to keep others updated on what's going on in our lives. A little background on me and my family: I am married to the man of my dreams, Jeremy. We have a two year old little girl, Abbie. Though my husband and I have brown and blonde hair, respectively, our little girl has turned out with BRIGHT red hair and we absolutely LOVE it! She looks just like my little brother, Josh, whom we lost April 29th of 2008. So the fact that she is carrying on the tradition of his red hair is really special, especially since no one else in our family has this hair (with the exception of our newest addition, my nephew, Darian). Before he got here 5 months ago, it was just my daughter and brother. When Josh used to go out with her, everyone would tell him they could tell he was her father because of how much they looked alike. He would have to explain to them that he was just her uncle. So it is really amazing that we get to see so much of him live on through her.
As for me, I am a full time student/entrepenuer/wife/mother. My husband works difficult hours in the restuarant industry, and I am left to make my schedule around our daughter's, which is less than easy. But we make it work. I am going to school to be an elementary school teacher and I could not be more excited! I have a passion for working with young children and helping them develop a love for knowledge. I can't wait to finish my degree next year and get in the classroom. When I am not in school, I run 2 businesses, including a Mary Kay business. I tutor children and work outside of the home as well. So there's a lot going on in my world, as well as my family's. And I plan to use this blog to tell all about it ... the good, the bad, and the ugly. :)