What a productive feeling to have gone to church, eaten lunch, AND gone to the store—all by 1:00 pm.  NICE.  I love Sunday’s!  Here is just a snap shot of Tatum this morning on our way to church—she now poses for pictures!  Enjoy.

Categories: Thoughts
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It’s time to write a new post.  And I’m blank on what to say. Maybe because my day did not start as I had planned.  Chris and I both jumped out of bed at 7:20 am.  I am normally out the door by then.  Ooops.   So, I hate being late when I had specific things on my mind to accomplish before the rest of the office comes in the doors.  That threw me off pretty good.

Then I come to work, already a little frazzled, but wanted to spend some alone moments in my office before becoming social (aka get in a better mood).  I boot up my computer and noticed a few emails from random people in the office about random small things were answered, not by me, but by another individual in the office.  Long story short: I like my job. I struggle with feeling like I’m battling tasks with the former Lead Admin who was recently promoted.  She’s great and we get along.  However, I learn better when I can take ownership of a task and ask questions when needed….not 1) be told what to do instead of it being explained how and why and 2) being cc’ed on an email answering the question that I needed to answer for our employee.  It’s like I’m just this middle person–not the go to person.  This has happened for two weeks now, and again, I’m telling you, they are SMALL things, but enough to get under my skin and make me sit at my desk with feelings of insecurity, like I’m not capable or fast enough to respond appropriately.

Why do these little things bother me?  I’m not a naturally insecure person.  How can I approach her, calmly and collectively, without falling all over this awful insecurity that I’m not living up to the right standard?  I know learning 7 years worth of information will take a while, and I think that things are going really great.  I’ve been given good feedback.  But it’s little instances like this, responding when I should be responding, or taking over a situation before it’s directed to me to handle….aauugh.  I’m so frustrated today.  1 1/2 more hours.  Need to blow off steam. Maybe taking a while in 100 degree weather will help. Sorry, Tatum, you are going to have to sweat it out with me. 

Categories: Thoughts
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Early bird takes the worm. Early bird catches the worm. Early bird EATS the worm? Early bird gets the worm? What on earth is it and where did this lovely expression come from?  What does it mean? The first bird to get up in the morning has accessibility to all the worms?  Yuck.  So, I must have the accessibility to all the worms–but I don’t find that rewarding to myself.  I don’t want a worm. I want more sleep.

I designated myself the “early bird” this week arriving to work at 6:45 am (yes, even with a shower and clean hair).  It’s just two days, that’s not going to kill anybody (aka me).  But seeing my wonderful husband still sleeping and not catching a glimpse or a peep from Tatum before walking out the door makes it no fun!  But duty calls with big boss being in town for a meeting. Need to ensure all things are running smoothly before the meeting begins.

I’m in love with So You Think You Can Dance, thanks to Nicole.  My heart beats fast during the performances and I even started clapping after one last night, not realizing that I literally was alone in the living room and not at the live performance. 

An old friend is visiting Austin with her family this week and we get to meet up for dinner tonight!  Kendra Johnson-now Kimball.  I haven’t seen Kendra in YEARS!  Kendra and I became friends when I started working at Casa View Assembly in Garland, TX during my college years.  Kendra, to me, was cool! Had her own apartment (with a HUGE bed), own car, own REAL job with REAL money….and just an all around wonderful gal that I loved hanging out with.  She is now married, two boys, and I believe training for a marathon!? What is with all my friends getting fit? :) 

Categories: Thoughts
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After being bored out of my mind on Saturday, I made Chris solemnly swear that

I, Chris, will not play on the internet all day

I, Chris, will make sure we are not in the house all day

Well…you get the drift

I somehow managed to not leave the house on Saturday and that is a rare occurrence!

By 8:00 pm that night, I was literally pulling out my hair, sitting sideways on the couch starring at Chris, thinking he would automatically know how to entertain me!

My child was asleep, so we were STUCK! I hate being stuck.

So, Sunday was the day. The Day ‘O Fun. The day to breathe the fresh air, maybe get a little sun, and enjoy my family. We attended a cool church that morning and then headed home for Tatum to nap. Naps aren’t quick. Then after the nap, she has to eat. Eating isn’t quick either. So, its finally Day ‘O Fun time. 2:00 pm.

We pack up the car and head to the park. I had Uno, Dominos, Sonic Dr. Pepper, Tatum’s toys, lawn chairs, blankets…you name it. We were ready.

Havin’ Fun. Fun Fun Fun.

We lug our stuff to the lawn at the park, Tatum on my right hip with my drink, two bags, and sheet on my left hip. Chris had his hands full with the chairs and other blankets. We find a good spot. Lots of open space, not too far away from people to be isolated, but far enough that you can’t hear their conversations. Yes…this is going to be nice. Going to be good. Maybe we’ll start off the day at the park with playing a game.

Tatum’s enjoying the dominoes that I’m setting out, and BEHOLD, the sun appears. That darn sun, I had forgotten about that. I didn’t calculate that into my plan. The fun is becoming not so fun. It’s hot. It’s icky. It’s smoking my skin. Ouch. Sizzle. My pale white skin—Tatum’s pale white skin.

15 minutes. Maybe not even that long. We left. I forgot the sunscreen. And shade—where for the love of God is the shade!?

We come home, and I’m not happy. My Day ‘O Fun failed miserably. Now I’m back at the place I DO NOT want to be…the house.

Then I see Chris pulling out Tatum’s little pool and rigging up some kind of system outside. He tells me “go get your bathing suit on & Tatum ready.” Hey, at this point, I’m up for anything. So, we are suited up and head outside to the backyard.

Chris has put a HUGE sheet of plastic down, with large rocks at each corner to hold down the plastic. At the top is Tatum’s pool filled with water, and on the side of the plastic is our fancy pants water hose that is creating……..

A Slip ‘N Slide!

Miniature version of course. He’s a genius. Tatum is happy. I’m happy. And Chris is laying on his belly splashing water in Tatum’s face. What gets better than that on a Sunday.

Categories: Thoughts
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My Jennifer Ann Poskocil-Kailey just recently wrote a post about the 20 Things She’ll Never Do.  It was fun reading it, so here we go.

1) I’ll never eat Stuffed Crust Pizza from Pizza Hut ever again.  I could make this pizza for you, considering I have 4 years of experience of waitress, cook, and shift manager under my belt.  Yuck.

2) I’ll never forget the times that I made Jennifer Ann pee in her pants from laughing so hard.

3) I’ll never forget the feeling of when my mom dropped me off at College in Waxahachie, and then had to leave.  I was devastated and scared.  She wouldn’t be just an hour away….but six hours away.

4) I’ll never eat veggies. Ever.

5) I’ll never enjoy the experience of camping in the outdoors.  There must always be electrical outlets please.

6) I will never be the domestic wife of the 1950’s.  I don’t think any of us will.

7) I will never forget the days of the skating rink.  Oh, how marvelous those days were.

I will never forget the moment that Chris McCool stood at my mom’s duplex door to pick me up for dinner Christmas 2002.

9) I will never forget when a friend in college told me that I should speak up more…that I have good things to say.  I was very shy then.  I became a more confident and changed person after that.

10) I will never forget the feeling of traveling Europe and speaking into the lives of students.  I was living part of my dream.

11) I will never wear my bangs in teased up waves again with RAVE hairspray.

12) I will never say “Kids aren’t for me” again. They are and I want more.

13) I will never buy a brand new car off the lot again.  I will always go for newly used.

14) I will never stop loving to win card games against my husband (or anyone else for that matter).

15) I will never cut my hair boy short.  I can’t imagine how awful that would look.

16) I will never try to pre-plan each day of my life.  It’s too much work and creates too much anxiety. I am learning the enjoyment of small daily moments while keeping large goals in front of me.

17) I will never turn my back on a friend. No matter our history or lack of history. 

18) I will never stop striving for God’s best for myself and my family. 

19) I will never not visit Sonic at least once a week.

20) I will never forget when I told Chris I thought I was pregnant. He made me take 3 tests, and then wanted me to wait a week and take it again. Ha. Yea right.  I went to the doctor.

Categories: Thoughts
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What has happened to me this past week?  Seriously!  I have gotten sick twice and have had cravings.  If I hadn’t FOR SURE known that being pregnant wasn’t an option this month, I’d think I was.  Maybe my emotions are coming out in different ways.  Examples:

(1) The day after Tatum’s party, I was literally sick and nauseated ALL day.  I was grumpy. Exhausted. Hungry, but everything made me want to vomit.  It wasn’t until that evening that I finally settled down.  Was it too much sangria?  Queso? Salsa? What?

(2)  Thursday night after book club, I had to literally FLEE out of Fish’s house unexpectedly because I knew I was about to let it all out.  And I did.  The moment I stepped foot in my house, I lost all my salsa. And was sick until 3:00 am.  What???

(3) Friday during work, I literally could TASTE no bake cookies at my desk.  I still had the craving that night while Chris and I sat outside on the porch reading our books.  So, I got up at 8:50 pm and made no bake cookies.  WHAT??????

This is freaking me out! HA.

Categories: Thoughts
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Categories: Thoughts
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Girls are like
apples on trees. The best
ones are at the top of the tree.
The boys don’t want to reach for
the good ones because they are afraid
of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they
just get the rotten apples from the ground
that aren’t as good, but easy. So the apples
at the top think something is wrong with
them, when in reality, they’re amazing.
They just have to wait for the right
boy to come along, the one
who’s brave enough
to climb
all the way
to the top
of the tree

Categories: Thoughts
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It’s a good start to my Friday before a 3 day weekend! Sitting here in my desk with my grande iced mocha (We visited the Connection Church in Kyle on Sunday and they sent us a $5 gift card to Starbucks!) and thankful that the week is over, has ended successfully, and my mind wanders to my little girl’s First Birthday.

Her FIRST Birthday. It’s been ONE YEAR. It was exactly one year ago today that I would check into the hospital in the evening to be prepped for induction….I remember everything. Chris had to work that day. I made sure all our stuff was packed (thank goodness I overpacked because we were there EXTRA WEEKS!), took Brodie to Fish’s house to play with his friends, and TRIED to relax. We ate dinner at the Chili’s off Lamar (gross, I don’t like Chili’s, why did we eat there?) and then headed to the hospital at 6:00 pm. Walking into the doors, I was waddling pretty bad b/c I was so large by this point….trying to look calm & under control (my normal Summer look when really I’m not so good on the inside), and the WEIRDEST male nurse jumped on the elevator with us and informed us that he would be working in the labor/delivery part of the hospital that evening and would try to be my nurse. I about had a panic attack. This was not only a male nurse (no offense guys, but I don’t want male nurses looking at certain parts of my body), but a FREAKO. I quickly informed Chris he better make sure that this guy is NOT my nurse and Chris is to NEVER EVER leave my sight, in case the guy returns. Thankfully, I had a nice little gal instead. I was given all my wires and needles and monitor on my belly with my beautiful new outfit (aka hospital gown). We tried to do some small talk, but all I really wanted to do was enjoying our last moments before being parents (and labor!) and then sleep. The nurses gave me an Ambion so that I could really rest, and I did. Until 5:30 am the next morning when they are knocking on my door, saying, ‘ok summer! it’s time, let’s induce you.’ I was so nervous, but really excited. It was happening. I honestly hadn’t ever imagined that day before, at one point in my life, I wasn’t so sold on having kids. Long story short, with lots of patosin (sp?) in my system, by 11:00 and dialated to a 5 cm, I asked for my drugs. I was having contractions every minute that were pretty rough, and I literally saw NO REASON to continue in this pain. The rest of the afternoon was a BREEZE. We watched TV, I napped, and by 4:00 pm, I was beginning to push! It was so exciting and such a great delivery. I had the BEST nurses that talked with me, we laughed and made jokes. Chris and the nurse had to hold my legs up to push, pushed for 10 seconds, and then talked in between contractions. We pushed for about an hour and a half, but really didn’t seem that long. Right when she started to crown, Dr. Oliver has me if I wanted a mirror. I looked at her like she was crazy. No thanks. Chris can watch, I don’t want to be grossed out or distracted. Let’s move on! When Tatum came, they placed her on my stomach, and I was like, our baby has DARK HAIR? Is this my kid? I was so happy and can hardly type right now thinking about it. The rest of the story I’ll leave for another time because I realize I’m writing too much, all probably more so for my satisfaction of loving my memories.

So, last night, as Chris and I prayed before going to sleep, I prayed for our sweet Tatum and the wonderful year that we’ve had. We both were very silent afterwards, and then when Chris felt wet, hot tears on his shoulder, he asked ‘are you crying?’ We both just wanted to go and pick up our little girl and hold her! What a great year.

Happy Birthday my sweet girl.

Categories: Thoughts
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Ok, so I’m trying to figure out how to show the family Tatum really truly walks by herself now….and I have no idea how to upload a video and Chris is still at work. So….here goes a try on youtube. Hope you can get to this link and watch.

I’ll warn you…its nothing fancy! For some reason, she doesn’t even talk in these 34 seconds, which is odd for her.  And its SIDEWAYS. Just turn your head sideways and enjoy. Ha.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkjDCJ6ZHww

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