One of Those Mornings

Do you ever have a stressful, frustrating, maddening, no-good, rotten kind of morning and think, "how the heck will I ever salvage the rest of my day?" That was me this morning. I was running late, almost got hit on the interstate (You have to LOOK before you change lanes, Mr. Bad Driver!), and then I got lost on the way to two of my three morning appointments. (The directions I was given were basically incomprehensible and, wouldn't you know it, I couldn't get my Garmin to work.)

However, I believe life is what you make it, so I'm determined to make the rest of the day as pleasant as possible. Right now I'm sitting in my comfortable glider with my fuzzy slippers on typing peacefully as sunlight filters through the window on my left. My sweet son is snoring softly in his carrier in front of me, and the only other sound I hear is warm air flowing through the vents in the floor. All is right with the world again. [Contented sigh.]

Goodnight Moon

Clay's 8 Week Checkup

Last Monday, Clay had his 8 week appointment at the pediatrician's office. He now weighs 10 lbs., 12 oz. and he is 22.5 inches long. Naturally, he received his first round of vaccinations and I think I handled them pretty well. Oh, and Clay did too. He was a trooper. When he received his first injection, he didn't even flinch. As I was marveling at my little superhero, the nurse stuck him with the other needle. His face instantly went crimson and the walls shook with his screaming. I was desperately trying to hold it together myself and I got him dressed relatively quickly considering his legs and arms were flailing about as if they were on puppet strings. However, when I was placing him in his carseat, I bumped his head on the carrying handle. Oops. Needless to say, that did not help matters and the crying continued until we got home. Mama is so sorry, Clay.

My Shout Out

To my parents and in-laws, I just want to say "THANK YOU" for all your love, support, friendship and generosity. It would take years to list everything you have done to make my life easier and better. I hope you all know how much it means and please know if you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask! We love you all very much!

My Parents (Wayne & Angela)

Rob's Mom (Barbara) and Peter

Rob's Dad (Richard) and Mandy

Some of Clay's Favorite Things

If you're happy and you know it, wave your hands!

His bumblebee mobile, "Ollie" the owl, and the ceiling fan in our family room. It's the little things in life, you know?

Taking a Deep Breath

Over the past few weeks as I have desperately tried to balance being a mom and a normal human being, I have frequently found myself rushing around from one task to another. While trying to accomplish one thing so it can be checked off my "to-do" list, I will be mentally compiling additional items that need to be done. "Okay, if I can just finish washing these dishes, then I can get to the ironing. Once I'm done with ironing - if I hurry - I can organize the books and magazines I need to read. Oh, shoot, I still have thank-you notes to write. I better do those first...wait, I still need to finish washing dishes!" And so on, and so on. I'm sure most parents can relate to this mental speed race.

Some days I just wear myself out trying to get everything done. Then, I stop and think, "In the whole scheme of my life does it really matter if my stovetop does not get sparkling clean for one night?" NO, it does not! I won't remember whether I cleaned the stove on Sunday in two days - much less a year. So, in light of the New Year/Fresh Start feeling of January, I'm telling myself to STOP, take a deep breath, put down the pile of clothes that need to be washed, and just enjoy this small window of time that I have with my baby. Right now he lets me hold him as long as I want to. 99.9% of the time I can fix any of his angst (when he's not hungry and wearing a wet diaper) by sitting and holding him for ten minutes. Does life get any better than that? Not only do I have the privilege of holding a precious baby and looking into his sweet little face, but I also get to stop the chaos in my mind and be "held" by him. Suddenly everything else doesn't seem quite as important!

Happy New Year

Welcome 2009!

Clay's First Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas with family! Clay met lots of family members, saw some new places and he received lots of fabulous gifts. As I type this post, I am holding him in an attempt to help him fall asleep. My days go by so quickly and finding time to update the blog (or do anything else on the computer!) gets tricky sometimes. Hope everyone had a great holiday season too!