Happy Turkey Day!

I have SO much to catch up on... this is going to take forever.

Whew. I'm exhausted. We just got back from running errands... not easy when you have to carry a huge diaper bag and a HUGE baby in his car seat... not to mention change 2 diapers, feed him 2 bottles all in the middle of already doing a tooon of things. We went to the pediatrician (his 3rd because I still haven't found one that I like, and I still didn't love this one. I had to tell the nurse to write down the shots she just gave him on the chart I already gave her, they just didn't seem as professional as I would like. The doctor was nice but ehh... I guess I'm just picky. We might be looking again. He weighed in at 17 lbs, (78th percentile... gained 2 lbs in 3 weeks) and 20 1/2 inches, and has a 19 1/2 head circumphrence (97th percentile!! that's a lotta brain! haha)

After the docs office, we went to the WIC office and filled out paperwork and such and got my WIC card! Finalllly. Free formula, baby foods, milk and other things. That saves me about $200 a month! Thank you Lord!!

Thanksgiving was this week, and my family could only get together on Sunday, (which I work) so I couldn't come! So Harland and I decided to have Thanksgiving dinner at our house, with his family. His sister got to meet Brodie for the first time, and his grandpa saw him for the 2nd time! His mom couldn't make it till the next day, it would have been the first time in over ten years that they were all together. We were really sad she couldn't make it.

Here's the Thanksgiving outfit we WANTED him to wear. Unfortunately it only stayed pee free for about 2 hours.

I made the turkey, stuffing, creamed corn, and green bean cassarole. My mom brought the salad and another stuffing. Harland made the mashed potatoes and helped with the turkey.

I made the gravy, and I must say, it was DELISH.

I also made Brodie's Thanksgiving meal: Butternut Squash!

I made Pumpkin struedel cheesecake and pumpkin/chocolate pie.

Passed out from his meal

Harlands dad, he's so good with Brodie!

His Mom got to meet him for the first time!

That night I went all the way to Keller to meet up with Sonia and her family and we did some Black Friday shopping. (My first experience) So I had gotten up at 7am Thanksgiving morning, then stayed up till 7am the next day. I waited in line for Harlands bday present for 6 hours!! I got him a 32" flat screen TV... it was $250 on sale from $500. It's our first flat screen! Don't say anything to him about it, he has no idea! (He better FREAKING LOVE ME.)

That next day his Mom came over and I was DEAD tired. I had about 3 hours of sleep, but I really wanted to visit with her. We showed her all the videos of Brodie that she had missed (and of corse the lottery haha).

Saturday was our engagement dinner! We had our own room at Abuelo's. It was awesome! We had a buffet style dinner, it was just $20 for each person, I definitely recommend it for anyone who wants to have a dinner with lot's of people. We had a Bride's side and a Groom's side. A lot of people showed up, but unfortunately only ONE of my bridesmaids showed up! But she was the main one I wanted to be there bc I had been planning on asking her to be my Matron of Honor for a while! So I stood up in front of everyone and asked her. (I kind of felt like I was proposing! haha) She almost started crying, it was really sweet. I've known her less than all of my bridesmaids (except Megan) but we've gotten so close in the last 2 years and she has just shown me how it feels to have a truely great friend. I've had a lot of good friends but when it comes down to it, I've never really had someone who has NEVER let me down. I know I can always count on her and that's a really great feeling. I love you Sonia! My sister is my Maid of Honor (it's my wedding, I can have two if I want to! hah)

Anyways, my sister, Megan, and Amber couldn't make it but I'm not gonna lie I was pretty upset that the other 3 girls didn't even let me know they weren't coming. Why should I have them as bridesmaids when I have great friends who have been there a lot more and really want to be my bridesmaids? Doesn't make sense to me. I was suppose to go to Austin to be in a parade that Chuy's puts on every year, and then wanted to go to 6th to celebrate my bday but I changed it to that date so that a certain person would be able to come, and she didn't. Maybe I shouldn't be writting all this out, I'm just reaaaally sick and tired of depending on my friends and them not coming through. I am ALWAYS there for my friends when they invite me to ANYTHING. I like my friends to know they can count on me. Ok, enough venting.

Here are my AMAZING friends that came

And Harland's

All the girls except ERINN

Hubby & Maid of Honor to be

After dinner, Harlands bro gave us coupons for free entry and free drinks and Pete's Piano Bar! We had enough for everyone-- it was a BLAST. Then the girls paid for Harland and I to get on stage and we had a spotlight dance it was really fun. Thanks girls for doing that!

Brodie has grown up so much in the past few weeks. My sister went out of town and when she came back she said, "I knew I would miss everything!" She missed a ton! He is starting to eat solids! The doctor said as long as he's 4 months, holding his head up, and has doubled his birth weight then he is more than ready! He's had an insane growth spurt, he's up to 8 oz with or without rice cereal and eats solids for lunch, as well as 5 oz. I puree his own food, I've made carrots, butternut squash, and bananas. I'm using a baby cook book and it tells you when to do each thing. I regret the bananas though. He pooped FOUR times after that and when he spent the night at my moms, he kept her up all night bc he was in pain from his gas. Poor little man. We'll definitely hold off on the naners. Next were gonna try apples.

He's also already sitting up by himself! At four months! He can for up to about 5 minutes.

He is talking like CRAZY. I mean constantly. He really likes the sound of his own voice. And we're still working on him rolling over. Kinda wierd he can sit before he can roll over haha.

And here's the cute pictures of the week:

"Mom, please I just woke up!"

"What'd I say Mom? No more pictures!"

"Ok, now I'm angry!"

His new toy!

Already taking my money

His future wife

Turning his body so he can watch the TV!

I had to leave for work and he was sleeping so I said "Brodie I love you!"... and got this:

I pretty much starting crying.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

I am never cooking again!

Happy Birthday Erica!

So I wrote on facebook that I did something that will change my life... and here it is. I officially enrolled in medical school! Sanford Brown in Dallas. Harland, Brodie, and I went up to the school to ask my last questions and figured out that the best route for me to go was to do a year of Medical Assisting. I'll get a job in that field, then return to school to do what I really wanted to: Sonography. (For all that don't know, that is the person who gives sonograms, usually to pregnant woman.) With my medical assisting background, I will have a higher chance of getting a job bc I will be able to give shots, do blood work and so forth, as well as do ultrasounds. The average first year sonographer makes $65,000 a year, so hopefully I'll be rackin it up after my 2 1/2 years of school and 5 month externship. Sounds great right?

Downsides:

My schedule is from 8am-1pm M-T, then I work Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. That means 2 days out of the week, I can only see Brodie for a few hours, and that's while I'm doing homework! To add more craziness, Harland wants to start going to school to become an electrical engineer. I love that he wants to learn and provide more for his family, as do I, it's just going to be hard when we're doing it at the same time... and with a baby. I think the sooner we do it, the better, bc it's best to go while I only have one child, bc we want lot's more!.. and this way I'll be able to make money sooner.

Another Downside:

The MONEY. It's $52,000 ($42,000 after grants) in student loans, and I already have $30,000 in SL already! (big sigh.) But you know, when you have to pay for everything including your wedding (biiiig sigh) what do you expect? You have to get the money from somewhere, and it's either that or just not go to school and get stuck being a server the rest of my life. So my plan, as crazy as it is, is to work two jobs (basically just adding serving on the weekends so I can have nights with the family) and put everything I make from serving towards student loans, so that I can pay it off in 5-6 years, and it won't be heavy on my sholders the rest of my life.

So... I'll be out of school in 3 years, and after I start my career, after about a year, we can get pregnant again. Brodie will be starting kindergarden, it will be great timing. (Isn't that crazy to think of Brodie starting kindergarden!?)

Things will be crazy hectic, and I will be exhausted, but this is what happens when you have babies before you finish college. I HATE that I wont be able to spend as much time with Brodie as I would like, but I want to make a better life for him, and in the end I think he will be really happy. At least I hope so. He doesn't wake up till ten, so it's only a few hours less that I will see him M-T so that put my mind a little more at ease. Sonia & Nick offered to watch Brodie twice during the week which is HUGE, I seriously want to cry it makes me so happy that we have such amazing friends. (Thank yall SOO MUCH!) My Nanny also offered to watch him once a week, so I just have to find someone to watch him one day from 7-1:30. He's the happiest in the morning, he sleeps till ten and is all smiles until his nap again at one. If anyone is interested PLEASE let me know! Or if anyone can do once a month, anything is helpful... we can't really afford a sitter, and he is way too young for day care.

Here's some updates on Brodie:

-He got to meet his grandma (Harlands Mom) for the first time last week! It was only for a minute, but we are going to visit her on Thanksgiving. It'll be the first holiday we're spending with his family since we've been together.

-He is reeeally trying to roll over. Harland said he rolled over in his bouncy chair while I was at work (damnit) but I haven't seen it since.

-He can scoot his body up. He arches his back and kicks. In the middle of the night I looked over at the monitor and his head was touching the side of the crib! He scooted his body more than a foot!

-He's doing this wierd thing where he chews his tongue? He put's his tongue to the side and CHEWS it. Anyone know anything about that?

-He said his first word. (haha) Lindsay said hi! And he said hi right back! Harland, Linds, and I all looked at each other in shock, it was really funny.

**Update with his diapers:

EVERYONE SHOULD GET THESE!! No joke, I LOVE them. I was in the grocery store, in the diaper isle doing math yesterday, and I figured out that I'm saving a good $75-100 a month ($1,800-$2,400 by the time he's potty trained (if that happens when he turns 2) It's not just about the money, you never have to worry about running out and having to stop and run to the store when you realize you're out. Also, they stay in such perfect condition, people use them with mulitple children. That's minimum $2,000 a kid! I asked for them at my baby shower so I've never had to pay for any diapers! They are expensive, $10 a diaper, but when people are buying you diapers for your babyshower anyways, I just asked for these! Harland installed a sink in the garage, so when he has a "bad" diaper, I toss the liner in the toilet which has all the nastiness, then theres sometimes a LITTLE on the side, so I have stain remover and a scrub brush and I just run it under the water for a sec and it's gone. Then I toss that diaper in the pail with all the other diapers (pee diapers are just as easy as disposables... instead of tossing it in the trash I just toss it in the water bucket.) I have 25 diapers and I go through about 6-7 a day, so they stay in the bucket with water and a tiny bit of soap until the end of the 3rd day and then I do a load of diapers. The only inconvenience is doing an extra load of laundry, but how long does that actually take? 1 minute tops. They are also as easy to put on as disposables. If Harland can do it, anyone can. Oh and I also don't have to worry about a stinky trashcan.

Ok that's enough about diapers. Onto my new AMAZING phone.. the Droid!

They call it the "Iphone Killer." It has EVERYTHING the Iphone has, but the internet is INSTANT. The aps on it are insane. I have one that even if your phone is on silent and you can't find it, you txt it where r u from any phone and it beeps loudly for 5 minutes till you find it! I love it. It's been almost THREE months without a phone! I have the same number, so please txt me your name so I can try to get my contact list back! Everyone have a great rest of the week... and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of my bridesmaids, Erica! Love you girl!!

Save the drama for yo mama!!

I'm so frusterated with... people. Do you people LIKE to be involved in drama?! Don't create it if you don't want to be in it!

I would love more than anything to get Brodie and Harland and just GO AWAY. Just get away from any and everything.

Okay, I'm making it sound worse than it really is... I just HATE drama. And I HATE being a girl. If I had the choice at birth I would have said... hmm. Cramps, periods, childbirth, breastfeeding, and sooo much more... vs. JUST HAVING TO SHAVE MY FACE? I'll take the razor burn. My doctor told me I wouldn't be on my period for a while with Mirena, but guess who already started.. after being on it for a month STRAIGHT. Plus.. really doc? You say no blood clots? How strange.

Yes. I am PMSing. And maybe I'm mega PMSing bc I haven't in almost a year. The only perk in being a woman is getting to spend most of my time with my little man.

Also found out today that only a certain number of people will be 'accepted' into the Sonography program at Sanford Brown and that I have to take an admissions exam, plus be eligable for $36,000 of grants or student loans, AND I have to take about 13 more hours of classes to get in. Just when I thought I was getting things figured out. Harland and I are going up to both of our schools tomorrow (that's right, Harland decided to go to school the same time I am.. who's watching Brodie? Exactly. No idea). We have to talk to them about FASFA and figure out if we're going to be able to go to school. STRESS.

So now that you see how much I have on my plate.. plus everything from my last blog plus having no money to do jack crap including GETTING MARRIED... please don't add DRAMA to my life. Thank you and have a GREAT friggin day.

TO DO List

I was in the middle of laundry, thinking about my hectic life and how I wish I could put everything I need to into order... so I thought I would get everything out and blog about it.

The past week I have been on some sort of cooking craze... and I usually cook mmm... about once every three months (not including hamber helper and all the eazy schmeezy meals). I never had any interest cooking until I got to college, and unless my roomate Jess was cooking, I wasn't going to get any home cooked meals, so I had to do it myself. Once I learned how, I loved it. Scot and Chris (my old friends from hs) moved in with me and we cooked for each other all the time. That all changed when I met Harland. When he showed me his cooking skills I basically was like, "what's the point?" He put me to shame. He makes the worlds BEST: steaks (ask any of our close friends), burgers (ask anyone who's been to our cookouts), and tacos (ask Brandi & Sean). He turns the simplist things into my favorite things. If I was on death row and could have one last meal, it would be his steak, mashed potatoes (another worlds' best) and grilled corn on the cob.
Anyways, back to why I started cooking. Since Brodie was born, there hasn't been a lot of time to do things like cook... or anything that doesn't take longer than a few minutes. The only 'me' time I get, is when I'm writting these blogs... I use to love watching my shows or take baths and read a chapter of whatever book I was reading.. now I let my shows run while I run around the house cleaning or tending to Brodie, and well, I just don't take baths anymore. Or read. (I do watch Desperate Housewives with my sister on Sunday nights, after Brodie's in bed.)
So there has been a lot of frozen dinners and sandwiches... quick things. Harland and I have been so sick of eating the same thing over and over again, I decided what's one more thing to take on... making dinner. I looked online for 7 recipes, then Hailee and our boys went grocery shopping. I have made 5 dinners in a row (which has been more than I've made all year).
All these dinners I had never made before:
Friday: meatloaf (tasted just like my moms!)
Saturday: roasted honey barbeque chicken
Sunday: pot roast (the sauce was my fave part, it was like heaven)
Monday: chicken pizza.. on creasant dough.. it was soo yummy
Tuesday: baked maccaroni and cheese (my sister came home sick and wanted mac&chz and we didn't have any so I made it from scratch! It ended up being one of my faves!)

Harland will have to fend for himself tonight (which means roman noodle) bc it's Chuy's in Plano's first year anniversary (which hopefully means $$$... which reminds me, I made $100 tip on $113 tab the other day... cheeya!). There will be a TON going on, facepainters, Elvis, happy hour all day and more.

So here's the main reason I'm writting this: I need to get my thoughts in order.

TO DO:

Harlands 'legal' situation:
-talk to a lawyer
-save about $2,500 (so far we have about $1,000) for his fees
-save up even more to get Harland a car bc his is basically the worst car ever.

THEN we can save for a wedding. :(

-make an apt for WIC to get formula, then go up there... (an all day event)
-get my oil changed
-finish building the sink in the garage for Brodie's cloth diapers
-go grocery shopping... AGAIN
-pay bills
-finishing cleaning the house that never stays clean
-have H fix disposal
-get the cat a catbox with a LID
-take Deuce to get his nails clipped

and I have to do all this plus work and take care of Brodie by tomorrow. welcome to motherhood.


ps. this morning Harland asked, "do I not have any clean jeans?" I replied, "I dont know, did you wash any?" (ha.) I have only been washing mine and Brodie's clothes for the last week... bc he's a big boy, and I have enough on my plate right now. He goes to work, yes, but so do I. And when I go to work he just relaxes with Brodie on the couch. I am constantly up doing something. Always. I will be leaving a "honey do" list today... including do your own laundry. :)

Aces!

A few months ago, I wrote that I love Brodie more and more everyday, and I don't know how it's possible, but it still continues to grow. His smile absolutely melts my heart. The thing I use to dread was having to wake up early in the morning, after waking up at whatever time I wanted to(noon) while I was pregnant. But now that he's sleeping through the night and the first thing I see when I wake up is his smile, I really don't mind it. (Actually, it's really not early.. we wake up around 9:30.)

So we had a very busy week this week (not that every week hasn't been extremely busy since he was born). Jess & Parker came over, so the boys had a play date. It's so wierd to be around a baby the same age, and see how they are progressing. We had sitting contests (haha) and the boys cooed at each other for hours.


This weekend I had a girls night with Erinn, Lyns, & Kelsy. Jordan and Krysten were suppose to come... still not sure what happened to them...??? Anyways, I absolutely love when we all get together. Sitting at dinner that night it was just like middle school, sitting in the cafeteria together. haha. We catch up and tell stories from years ago over cocktails. After dinner, we bar hopped in Addison. None of us were really in the drinking mood, so we went back to my house and watched movies and then the girls spent the night.
The next day, Harland, Brodie, and I went to my gma's cabin in Honey Grove so he could do some electrical work around the house. It was my first time there... I couldn't believe what a great job she did on the house, it was beautiful! Me and Brodster went on the trampoline while Harland went to work...

"Hey Ladies"

caught him mid-sneeze

As we were about to leave, we saw 3 kitties at the back door meowing to get some food, so, of corse, I instantly started, "aww babbbbe I reeeeally want a kitten!" And he, of corse, gave me that look like "why didn't we leave 5 minutes earlier." We had to get rid of our first kitten we got together bc the doctor said that the cat litter might have been the reason we lost our first baby. So when we found out we were pregnant again, he made me get rid of her. But look who's not pregnant anymore!! I didn't have to do much convincing, bc he knew how bad I have been wanting a cat... so... welcome Ace! Now we have a Deuce and an Ace! He is such a sweet cat, unlike our first. I didn't want him in the house until the next day when I could clean him up and get cat litter, so I put him outside and he hung out in our tree all night.

Where's waldo.

He's gorgeous! He's been in our spare bathroom, getting use to the house and has been doing great. I bathed him and he didn't mind at all! Brodie's falling asleep in my lap right now so I'm going to go read him a story and put him to bed! G'night all!

Brodie's First SHOTS!!

Well the day I've been dreading had to come some time... Brodie's first shots. I'm a month behind because only a few pediatricians take Parkland Medicaid... so I called to see who took would see him in Plano, and they said it would take 6 weeks!! Well I thought that was for first timers only, but after his visit they said they didn't have another apt till JANUARY! And he needs his next shots in a month! So I don't care where I have to drive to, he will be on time for his next shots and all the rest. So here's how it went down: he needed 4 shots, and I told her I'm not doing more than 3. My uncle died the day after he had his first shots so I have been scared to death of this day since he was born. SIDS is most common in first borns, males, and if it runs in the family. So I have 3 out of 3. He will catch up with that last shot his next apt... I just don't want to overwhelm him. The doctor said he is perfect, that he is in the 85% of his weight (at 15.3 lbs) and 75% of his height at 28 inches (he's grown more than 4 inches and 9 lbs in 3 months bc he went down to 6 lbs the day after he was born). She said he's already way ahead in his motor skills which was pretty obvious... holding his head up since he was a day old, and being able to push it up on his belly since he was a few weeks, smiling after a few days, cooing after 6 weeks, and holding his own bottle at 3 months!! She was amazed that he could already do that. She said he should start to try to roll over in a month or so and I told her he can already twist his whole body around, but can't fully roll all the way over... that'll be next!) Anyways, after the visit I was a nervous wreck. I had to go to work and I was miserable, calling and checking on him as often as I could. One time I called Nanny and he was screaming crying... which he really never does. I got home and let him fall asleep on my chest (which I never do, I always let him put himself to sleep in his crib) but I wan't to just make sure he was okay. After Jeff (my uncle) died, my Nanny had my mom and other uncle sleep next to her for two years... as I'm sure I would have. You're such a strong woman, Nanny. I'm so sorry you had to go through that.

Here's Nanny and Brodster feeding himself :)

Since he started holding his own bottle, I decided to see what else he could do! I am retarded for not putting him in his Bumbo earlier, I just thought he was too small... but I could barely put his chubby legs in there! He LOVES his bumbo... and I LOVE it while I'm in the kitchen. He's just right there next to me smiling while I do the dishes... I love my little buddy.

Trying to put the bottle back in his mouth. He was a little off.
haha I thought this was too funny


I broke out his first hat, too! Megan got him this shirt it says "I'm with the hottie pushing the stoller." haha too cute.

I broke this play mat out a month ago and it wasn't too exciting, but now it's his favorite thing!

The last thing I tried was his "big boy bath" which I'm not a fan of yet. He's big enough, but I had to hold him still and I was just nervous the whole time, so next time I'll be putting the hammock back in it. He seemed to enjoy it at first, but after a few minutes he didn't feel secure. I'm with ya buddy!

I'm going to end with the 2nd cutest little boy I've ever seen... this will seriously make your day! (Sry Brandi I had to steal it from you!)

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1610699488?bctid=31812464001