twilight zone

Yesterday was quite unsettling.  Tornadoes don't happen here.  At least not large tornadoes.

The wind, the sirens, and the sound of branches flying around were just too much for my anxiety ridden self last night.  I can't imagine what it would have been like to actually live through those humongous tornadoes.

I feel such a mix of emotions today--

Lofton and I feel quite blessed that his grandparents {at Lake Martin and in Goodwater} were spared the horrific damage seen in Tuscaloosa and other parts of the state.  It was close.  My sweet friend Morgan was spared as well.  She lives with her husband and son near downtown Birmingham, and as I watched live news coverage of that beast spiraling toward her neighborhood I literally could.not.breathe.

My heart breaks, though, for those people who lost their houses, their churches, their neighborhoods, and their friends.

Reese and I said a special prayer tonight for all of those affected, and I hope you will too.  They certainly need it.  

easter 2011

Home.

It's pretty much my favorite place to be.  We are headed back to reality tomorrow.  Until then, enjoy a photo recap of our time in Pensacola--

A little doughnut eating post Krispy Kreme field trip with Buck.

Some egg dying....

Love him.

Sunrise Easter egg hunting.  Good thing Emo the Easter bunny woke up extra-early to hide eggs.

And the best part of the day?  Playing with our super-cool fire hydrant sprinkler...

That's Buck... he has knee issues but felt confident in his ability to hurdle the hydrant.

Hope your Easter was egg-stra delightful!

balance

As I write Reese is screaming from his bed.  Once again I'd like to say, this sucks.  He alternates between yelling for me and yelling for Lofton.  And sometimes he throws in a good, "Come get me right now!"  


Yes, he is dramatic.  And clearly he is also full into the throws of toddler-dom.  Why does it have to be so hard?  I mean the pressure of parenting a toddler is almost too much to handle.  Thinking that the choices we make as parents now will affect who Reese becomes later is overwhelming to say the least.  


Moving on-- 


I wrote this blog post before our hospital stay in late March.  It got shuffled to the back of the pack, but is even more applicable now than it was then.  
---------------------------

I’ve written before about my need to find balance.  A nice mix of husband, child, work, home and me.  It’s hard when there is always something to be done, somewhere to go, and someone wanting us to be somewhere at some time.

But 2011 was the year I committed to find more time for me, because truthfully me time makes for a better, happier wife and a more patient mama. 

Enter Pure Barre.  My new addiction.  It is a combination of palates, yoga, and ballet.  None of which I’ve ever done before.  Let’s not kid, I’ve never done anything before.  Except for when I ran track.  In middle school.  For one year. 

But Pure Barre is amazing.  It’s a great calorie burner, I can feel my muscles getting stronger & leaner, and it’s challenging—in an non-intimidating way.  Kelly, my sweet friend who owns the studio with her equally sweet sister, Courtney, assured me that I was capable when I first inquired about trying it.  I laid it all out for her:  I’m lazy, totally non-athletic, and have zero flexibility.  I won’t lie—it hurt like heck the first few times I did it.  After 28 years of inactivity my muscles weren’t used to moving.  But now, not so much.  Now it’s just a good workout. 

It’s an investment, but as Lofton so sweetly said, I’m worth the money.  Truthfully, I think he’s just buttering me up because it’s turkey season {he’s also been extra complimentary of my appearance and bringing me coffee in the mornings when I get out of the shower}.  Oh husband, you are so transparent.  But I do adore you. 

So that is what I’ve been up to.  Stretching, toning, and breathing my way to a mama-appropriate bikini body.  I heart Pure Barre.

parenting is not always fun

Let me start by saying that I totally realize ALL of the problems I'm about to vent about were caused by Lofton & I.  Yep, we created a monster.  And now we're trying to right our wrongs and it is oh-so-hard.

Bedtime.  I loathe you.  I dread you all day long.  You are the reason for the deep purple bags under my eyes.  The reason I pay twice as much for concealer as I do the rest of my makeup combined.  Bedtime, you suck. Here's why:

In January, we kidnapped Reese from the comfort and security of his crib.  We threw him into his big, scary full-sized bed.  And we thought {although it was a tad more Lofton than me} since the bed was so new and different we should help him adjust.  So Lofton started snuggling with Reese until he fell asleep.  Not a big deal at first.  But January turned to February, February to March, and here we are in April.

Truthfully, we probably wouldn't have put the brakes on snuggle time EXCEPT snuggle time has bled into nap time which has totally disrupted Reese's school naps.  Evidently he decided he could ONLY sleep with Daddy-O or Mama and so he started refusing to nap.  Shoot. And there was also the issue of him waking up at all hours of the night and then for the day at around 5:00 a.m..

When we went for a check-up last week I tried asking Dr. Glaze {in a round about, accept no responsibility for creating this situation, hypothetically speaking way} for some suggestions on how we could get Reese to nap at school.  Long story short he called me out on our bad sleep habits at home.

He basically said what I had been thinking-- In little man's toddler brain he thought that when he fell asleep with us next to him, it meant we would stay next to him all night.  Translation-- he couldn't sleep without us. Ever.

Enter:  Bedtime boot camp.  The first night {Wednesday} was horrible, Thursday night was lots better, but obviously a fluke. Friday night sucked again and so have the past two nights.  Reese literally screams our names at the top of his lungs until either he exhausts himself and falls asleep OR we succumb to guilt and go in to pat his back.

I will say, that despite the nighttime trauma, he is no longer waking up during the night and he seems much more rested when he wakes up in the morning.  He slept past 6:30 both mornings this weekend which hasn't happened since January.

And so, that is our real life.  The not fun part of parenting that I've come to despise.  Why must this be so hard?

easy like sunday morning

Two-thirds of the Time Well Wasted household slept in this morning... til like 6:45.  It's quite the accomplishment for our early-rising selves.  Mimi and Big Daddy came to play last night and it wore us out.

While my favorite boys watched Finding Nemo in bed, I whipped up breakfast.

Nothing like scrambled eggs and toast to start your Sunday on the right foot.

With a side of grape jelly.

pest control

Our house is infested with bears.  As is, apparently, my parent's house, the roads from here to daycare, and the entire Tiger Town shopping center.  Yep, we are inundated with them.

And-- they must be shot.  By either myself or Daddy-O.  And we MUST be carrying our toddler accomplice with us.

There is no walking down the hall alone, running to his room to grab a toy, or stepping into the bathroom to get his toothbrush ready for action.  Nope.  The bears will get him.

Deep breaths and lots of prayers requested as this toddler's active imagination is testing my patience.

Sidenote:  The pictures in this post are from Reese's teacher, Reva.  We love her and I love these pictures.  Umm... do you think he's having fun in the bouncy house?

evidence

Photographic evidence of our existence was requested.  Without further ado:

when watching finding nemo, fish face is mandatory

quick reese stick out your tongue...

love me some kisses

booties, bears & the beach

First things first-- Reese would like everyone in blog world to know he is NOT interested in going to the potty like a big boy.  This morning, when I was changing his diaper, he told me, "Mama, you no touch my booty no more."  To which I replied, "Well, then you'll have to be a big boy and wear underwear and go potty on the big boy potty."  His response?  Whatever Mama.  I stay baby and wear diapers. 


Moving on...

We have safely returned from the beach; sunburned and more aware than ever of our increasing age.  Lofton and I are NOT as young as we used to be.  Late nights {like past ten}, multiple glasses of wine, and  lots of laughs were had.

As I mentioned previously, Doodle was treated to a weekend of toddler luxury.  Krispy Kreme touring, zoo trips, and oodles of kit kats.  Yes, he never wanted to leave.  Even more hurtful, when I called {just a few times} he would not even talk to me.  He missed us not one teeny iota.

I 100% promise to snap some pictures of our adorable toddler soon.  Like this weekend soon.  Promise.  I know you are missing him...

off the wagon...

No worries.  We have not fallen off the face of the blogging Earth.  Thankfully, we've just haven't had much to say.  We are all healthy, happy, and doing well.  Yay for that!

cutest patient ever

The spunky toddler is 100% back to his sassy self.  In fact, Wednesday night when I went to put him to bed he told his Daddy-O, "Night pimpin!" The proceeded to laugh hysterically.  As usual, I looked at Lofton and said, "Why do we have the funniest toddler on the planet?"

funny and he does yard work

Back to the present:  This morning we woke up in Pensacola, ready to spend a relaxing weekend at the beach with friends.  Well, at least two-thirds of this equation will be... the pint size part of our threesome will be hanging here with Emo & Buck.

buck is teaching him to whistle...

So far, he doesn't seem to mind being left.  He got to start his morning watching the doughnuts being made a Krispy Kreme, then he ate TWO for breakfast.  And Emo made sure to tell him if he'd nap without protest {something he has been refusing to do at school} she'd reward him with kit kats.

Yes, I'd say he likes grandparent life just fine.