Rambling Life Update Post

When I started this blog 5 years ago, I promised I'd never start a post with "It's been a while." So hello. I am here. Sometimes. Let's get on with it.

:: This little one turned 4 months old half a month ago. She finally got to see the doc last week, and she is 14lbs, 11oz. She has rolled belly to back once (maybe twice), but now consistently rolls back to belly and basically hangs out like this during all waking hours:

Then she cries when she gets tired of it because she can't remember how to roll out of it. Sigh.

:: B has re-started school, and Cora has re-started daycare/preschool. She was wayyy more excited than this picture shows. (And I was trying to hold Audrey, who was spitting up as I was taking this pic with my other hand. Always an adventure.)

Cora is now in the Pioneers class. She has now asked both me and B what classes we are in. B is in the "Engineers" and I'm in the "Brokers." Whatever works, right?

:: Since Cora's daycare is for 18mo+, that means we had to figure out what to do with Audrey. Someone I met through online Catholic blogging circles stepped up. She's a homeschooling mom of 4, her husband is an attorney (and helped us write up a Childcare Agreement), she's crunchy enough to be willing to use cloth diapers for us, and her sister is a Sister.

Maybe you figured it out? Audrey is now in the care of Amelia at One Catholic Mama for 4 days a week! I think she likes it.

:: Our church directory pic came in. No apologies for this being a picture of a picture.

Yes, Audrey slept through the whole thing.


:: I got my hair cut super short and everyone likes it but me. We got headshots done at work last week, and I wish I'd just left it long. Sigh. But new LinkedIn pic will be coming anyway because my current one has been photo-shopped (by me) to death.

Okay but really.

This was a GOOD hair day. It's gone downhill since.

:: I made an ad for a charity event/auction's program. I'm pretty impressed with myself. My company has contracted most of our big ads out with an agency, but occasionally these little dinky things come along and usually have a quick turnaround time (I had one day's notice on this). It's exciting to me, though!

(I swear it had a top line in the high res version.)

:: Frugal win: I downloaded the McDonald's app and I'm getting a free sandwich. See for yourself.

I'll leave you with a another cute kid pic.

12 in 2014

Already did my resolution/to-do list recap, so how about a yearly photo recap to top it off?

So much goodness at House Unseen.

Some older recaps:
13 pics in 2013
12 in 2012 (this and 2011 are more question-based)
11 in 2011

JANUARY

This little munchkin turned the big 0-2!

FEBRUARY

I could cry and whine reminiscing about the winter-to-end-all-winters, but instead here is a picture of me sledding for the first time ever. Cora and I both had a blast with this new experience.

MARCH

We went to Louisville and saw the HOT sign on at Krispy Kreme.

We also decided that jockey fashion is rather becoming on us.

APRIL

Easter, pinkeye, and somebody's first trip to the dentist.

MAY

So much goodness in May--husband's birthday, a 5K PR (and I won a gift card!), and the SOTG cocktail I made that I'm still drooling over.

JUNE

I turned 30!  B left for his 2-week AT in Italy. We hosted some visiting friends during his absence. I drove on my own [plus tot] to Georgia and celebrated the twin nieces' baptism. Cora got up-close-and-personal with Bill the Lion.

JULY

B and I climbed Stone Mountain, then celebrated my long-time friend's wedding in GA. We spent a lot of time at a lake in Michigan, I started weight-lifting, found out I was pregnant, then went to my first NASCAR race.

AUGUST

I got a job! We had lots of 'little moments,' including various types of flying discs. B played Ultimate on a summer league and we had a family disc golf outing.

SEPTEMBER

I officially started work, and Cora took to daycare/preschool like a fish to water. We got good news of a heartbeat at baby #2's first appointment.

OCTOBER

I designed an ad that ran in the local paper, Cora refused to wear her hand-me-down Halloween costume to the point where we ended up at Wal-Mart on the day before to pick a new one (Minnie Mouse). We celebrated 5 years of marriage with a date to a local dinner theatre production.

NOVEMBER

We found out the sex of the baby and had a Thanksgiving gender reveal. My parents came to town, and we got one of the few halfway-decent family pics of the year.

DECEMBER

I passed my licensing exam to become a bona fide real estate broker, Christmas happened, and I got a fancy camera that I'm still learning how to use.

And that was 2014 in a nutshell of a blog post.

7 Quick Takes: 16 months

Every month since my baby was 2 months old, I have attempted to take her picture in the glider with her elephant (as seen here). This is getting increasingly difficult now at 16 months, as you can see. Enjoy an all-photo 7QT.

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Finally, a winner.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Momma, Mops, Mopster, Mom

I've had a handful of names for my own mom that has changed over the years. I generally call her "Mops" now. And as I have settled into motherhood myself, my child doesn't exactly say my name a lot (yet). She went through a 3-month-long hiatus of not even babbling "mamamama" and instead resorting to "dada" for almost any word she recognized. But yesterday, "mamama" came back. Just in time.

B will be gone for his Reserve commitment this weekend, so there won't be any sleeping in or breakfast in bed or flowers waiting for me. But that's okay. I bought myself a chocolate orange that was on sale at the Dollar Tree and plan to indulge. Cora will get to see her grandmother and great grandmother and entertain them with her antics.

This post is actually way too calm and sweet for the type of mom I actually am.

We are goofballs. We like to sing loudly, do flips, and make funny faces.

I wonder where that came from?

I think I know.


Linking up with Theme Thursday at Clan Donaldson

7 Quick Takes: Easter Trip Photo Dump

Our trip back to my home state of Georgia, told mostly in pictures.

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A total trooper on her first plane ride!

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Enjoying the company of flowers, friends, and family.

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A baptism. (Full immersion, baby!)

A confirmation.

And a really long and beautiful Easter Vigil.

It started at 8pm. 3 hours and 5 minutes later, it's time for the reception!

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Easter morning.

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Easter Sunday down in West Point, GA (on the Alabama border).

Cousins!

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Can't forget the kibbeh. (It's an Easter tradition!)

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The best photo of me EVER.

And a 19-year-old 3-legged cat.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Cora's First Year

Today is my baby's first birthday!

We're having a fun party later today, and it's all adults (except the cake-smashing guest of honor), so the wine will be a-flowing. Oh, and my mommy even flew in for the occasion! (That's quite the sacrifice since she left the warm bosom of Georgia to come freeze her butt off up here in the snow. Maybe next year we can bring the party down South.)

So how about looking at all of our monthly pics from the past year? The great thing about having a baby in January is that the timeline of their first year almost coincides with the calendar.

January
Cora's first picture, taken less than 20 minutes after she was born

February
The day she got her elephant

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

(It's obvious I'm no professional photographer, as the lighting is ridiculously different in each of those pictures. And can you tell what month we moved?)

And of course I have to add in her 12-month picture. From this morning:

So there ya go, a year in the life, 13 pictures, and one happy one-year-old!
Even though there's an extra picture, I'm linking this up with House Unseen's 12 in '12 link-up!

If you're in the mood for more on Cora, check out her birth story here.