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.

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

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.

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

Hear the story, then pick the award.

Baby loves bath time. Baby plays plays plays during bath time.  Rubber Ducky, You’re the One…You make bath time so much fun….  Mommy likes to sing to baby during bath time.  Mommy steps out to check her email.  Hears baby play play play, splash splash splash like every night.  Mommy hears small thud, then small cry.  Mommy gets up….Baby has CRAWLED OUT OF TUB.  Baby is crying and getting on all fours to crawl.   Baby is ok, needs to be held, and then wants to play again.

Which award would you choose:

Award #1: SuperBaby Award!

Award #2: Loser Mommy Award.

“I’d like to accept the People’s Choice Award for Loser Mommy Award for May 2008…..” Quote from Summer McCool

Will she know that I’m not there when she goes to bed tomorrow night? Will it even phase her that MaMa isn’t there?

Tomorrow is the first official night away from Tatum.  ALL night, and the next day, and the NEXT night, and the next day after that. It’s time for this to happen, I think I’m ready for it, and perfect as we approach her 1st birthday.  I’ve had almost 1 full year, every night, me being there just in case she needed something.  She’s a big girl now, almost able to walk, and Mommy & Daddy also need to be Chris & Summer.  So it begins.

Chris and I leave tomorrow morning for a full week of church planting ‘boot camp’ as they call it.  Thank God it isn’t physically working out everyday because I would certainly fail.  This next week is strategically designed for others like Chris and I embarking on their journey to begin a new church.  We’ll sit through classes, have many break out sessions where we are able to wrestle through issues, mission, vision, values, raising money, raising & recruiting leaders. Almost everything.  I am excited that Chris and I are both able to go together, not just Chris by himself.  We’ve been able to discuss a lot of these topics, but having a full week with un-interrupted distractions is exactly what we need right now.  I pray that we come back to Austin with a prepared game plan and feel good about these next steps.

Please be praying for us.  Pray that my processed thoughts can come OUT of my brain, pray that conversations we have with a few people in Dallas about potentially being leaders with us will go well, and pray that Chris and I realize that we are not in this new adventure alone.

It’s 4:31 pm and I still have not showered. Awesome for a Monday (don’t worry everyone, I’m not at work smelling like this).  The ‘family’ had a sick day today. We all called out sick (even Tatum).  We are fine, no major virus or disease to spread around.  Just one of those days.

We ran one errand to mail off Chris’ first new phone (he is now on his second, and I think its a keeper).  Tatum loves to talk, especially while we ride in the car. Chris says she sounds like an Asian woman at a nail salon.  Dwell on that comment for a while.

I am about to start my 2nd movie of the day (the 1st being American Gangster).  Now on to Atonement.  Thank God for Netflix.

It is. The blessed Friday. The day that everyone looks forward to that works during the week.  Even if you love your job, you still love Friday more.  I have nothing to say today. Just felt the need to blog.  Chris’ mom is visiting town this weekend, so she’s soaking up Tatum love.  As I sit here at work, the rest of my family is headed to San Marcus to play. 

 I just ate a wonderful Weight Watchers lunch with a pickle, now reading about a tribute to a woman that worked at Weston Solutions (my company) for 22 years who just passed away because of breast cancer (so very sad), and twitching my feet very quickly, because I just can’t seem to sit still.

That’s all I have. Exciting, I know.