Bring On Fall!

This morning while I was cleaning house, my two favorite guys came trudging up the front steps with my big box of inside Fall decorations. Colby opens the front door and says, "Mom, will you turn our house into Fall?" Of course I can!

I spent the rest of the morning working on the inside and as I type this I feel so warm and cozy! Fall is my FAVORITE time of year and I love all the smells and colors that go with it.

Something I may have not shared with you yet is my year round "holiday" tree. I keep a pencil "Christmas" tree up in the living room year round and I decorate it for every holiday. In winder it is snowmen and snow flakes, hearts for Valentine's Day, eggs for Easter, flags for the 4th of July, and for fall it is covered in autumn leave garlands and scarecrows. I would love to have included a picture, but sadly my camera is on the fritz so I could not. :( Some people think that a year round tree is silly, but our family loves the lights and finds it comforting to have something festive always up in the living room.

Colby was so excited about decorating that I pulled a three foot tree out of the storage building and covered it with candy corn lights, spider webs, and plastic spiders. I have put it in his room by his bedside table and he is THRILLED. "Mom, this is the best night light ever!" he told me earlier.............and yes he does sleep in his bed now (he likes it and demands to sleep in there every night now which breaks my heart!)

I am doing well with the pregnancy. One day this week I could tell I did way too much at work. I had been on my feet all day long and by the time I got home I was drained and sore for the "pressure" you feel in your lower abdomen from all the growing going on. But other than that, all is GREAT! My blood pressure is low, I am having quite a bit of movement from my little "Karate Kid", I am getting used to the shots, and I am only getting sick about once a day! It is less than two weeks until we get to try and find out what the baby is ........ again! Maybe it will cooperate this time!

Hope you all are doing great! Maybe the weather will cooperate this week and give me some cool "Fall like" temperatures soon! Come on Fall!

For Your Entertainment

While flipping through a pregnancy magazine at Dr. Kelly's office yesterday, Jeremy and I stumbled upon several products for new Mommies that really made us chuckle. I just had to share one of our favorites with you!

Introducing Milk Screen!


In just two minutes, Milk Screen quickly and accurately analyzes breast milk for alcohol level. According to the advertisement, this product keeps mothers from having to pump and dump because some of that hangover milk may still be good!

Now, as silly as this product seems, there are a couple of scenarios in which I can see this being helpful.

1. In a sleep deprived state, when opening the refrigerator to get a drink of juice, Mommy accidentally grabs some booze instead. Never fear...........Milk Screen!

2. Your mother in law decides that she is going to offer her services and stay with you to help you adjust to new baby............the only way to get through this is to get on a good drunk now and again. Never fear...........Milk Screen!

3. Your wild and not a good Mommy and you rip and romp and live life on the wild side. Never fear..........Milk Screen! Maybe they will pass out free samples of Milk Screen in the health department bathroom!

So, what do you think of this AMAZING new product??

Why I Don't

I am sure that every other expectant mother on the planet who has a son hears the comment, "Oh, I bet you are hoping for a girl." I have heard this statement uttered dozens of times in the past couple of months and my answer is always a resounding "NO!"

There are several reasons why I don't want a girl. A few of them are..........

- I do good to fix my own hair and if I have a girl I am afraid she will be a mess!
- Colby is convinced he will die if it is a girl and I can't have that!
- I am a girl. I know how I acted. God help me if I have a child that acts like me!
- My mother.

Now in all seriousness, the main reason is my mother. She had a terrible relationship with her mother and we do not have a very good relationship either. I would hate to tempt fate and pass on that mother/daughter feud to another generation of women. There is no real reason we don't get along that I can pin point, but she just fusses at me (yelling like she did when I was a teenager) still and I can't talk to her about anything. My sister even over heard her tell someone at church that she "wasn't acknowledging this pregnancy until it was over with since Brooke is such a terrible pregnancy case." Yes I could have died over this comment.

So now you know some of my dirty family laundry, but you also know why I am so hopeful for another boy. September the 10th will tell if baby Vincent decides to cooperate this time. So, I know it is out of our hands and the gender is already decided, but could you say a prayer for me?

Admiting Is The First Step

My name is Brooke and I have a problem. I am a terrible mother. Until last night, I have NEVER had my son lay down and go to sleep by himself. In fact, last night was the first night he has not slept with me!

Go ahead. Bring on the "shame on you's". I know I deserve them.

As a baby I found it so much easier to just slide him in bed with me than to worry about him in another room. As a toddler it was so sweet to snuggle and love on him all night long. As a preschooler I had him in bed for my comfort because Jeremy was working nights and he would play with my hair all night and it was so soothing.

Now that baby number two is forthcoming and he and I are both bigger and much wilder sleepers, the time has come to put him in his bed. It absolutely breaks my heart. I lay in bed last night and worried that he felt rejected because Mommy didn't want him in there or that he would be lonely and scared. The hormones took over and I nearly cried. If I could have picked him up I would have went and gotten him and brought him to bed!

Someone tell me I am not alone in this one please! Any other constant bed bugs out there? Any tips on making the transition easier for me and little man?

Email From a Reader

This week I got an email from a reader. I just had to share:

"Brooke,

You don't know me, but I read your blog on a regular basis. Whenever I start to feel bad about myself I go to your blog and realize my life is okay. Thanks!

From,
A Reader In Tennessee"

Hmm............I'm not quite sure exactly how that should make me feel. Is my life in such disarray that it makes others thank God they are not in my shoes? How do YOU translate this email??

Thanks for reading "Tennessee"!

The Morning Schedule

It is not a good sign when you are totally pissed off within minutes of your feet hitting the ground, however this is a feeling that overtakes me nearly every morning of my existence now that I am the Mommy of a child in school. Here is a rundown of our morning beating schedule, umm, I mean morning schedule.

5:45 - I get up, plug in my rollers, put on make up, roll hair.
6:00 - First wake up call for Colby. Lamp by bed is turned on and a sweet "Time to get up Baby Boy," is whispered.
6:05 - I shake Colby and say louder, "Time to get up."
6:07 - The over head light goes on and I announce loudly, "Colby you have to get up and go to school now."
6:09 - I shake Colby a little harder and begin barking my orders of how he needs to get his butt out of bed.
6:11 - I meanly take his cover and pillows away from him and he starts crying that he "hates" school and wants to go back to sleep.
6:12 - I pick up the phone and make a "pretend" call to his teacher to tell her once again Colby had declared he hates school and isn't coming in.
6:13 - Colby flings himself from the bed crying and screaming that I "CAN NOT" tell his teacher that. He then settles back down and tries to sleep on the floor.
6:15 - I tell Jeremy to help before I kill them both.
6:16 - Jeremy whines and cries and groans.
6:17 - Jeremy is threatened with things he wouldn't dream of going without and he gets up and yells at Colby to "listen to your Momma boy and get up."
6:20 - Colby is crying, Jeremy is still half asleep, and the wrinkle in the middle of my forehead is getting deeper as I scowl at my "wonderful" family around the breakfast table.
6:21 - Arguments about what we can and can't have for breakfast begin (while I take my medicine and my shot secretly wishing I was shooting up with something besides blood thinner to make my morning feel better!)
6:25 - Breakfast of some sort is on the table and Colby lays his head on the table and declares he isn't eating. I walk to the counter and get the wooden spoon.
6:27 - After two bites Colby says he is done and if he eats anymore he will die. I hit the table with the wooden spoon.
6:29 - Colby is finished again and I only have to act like I am going to pick the wooden spoon up.
6:35 - Colby and I head to the bathroom to brush teeth, fix our hair (mine really because he has 47 cowlicks and has to keep a buzz cut) and to wash his face.
6:45 - We go to the living room and I hand Jeremy Colby's clothes for the day. I head off to get dressed and curse my closet because nothing will fit.
6:55 - I come in to the living room fully dressed and ready to roll. Colby is still in his underwear and his Daddy is an idiot. I snatch up Colby's clothes and dress him myself.
7:05 - Everyone is now dressed and I send Colby to use the bathroom. I check to make sure we all have everything we need for the day.
7:10 - We head out the door.

Anyone else have a crazy morning schedule??

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Colby has been so full of it this weekend. We have had MANY funny conversations and I just wanted to share a few.

On Thursday when we had our ultrasound we were able to come home with a picture of the baby. It was not a good picture because the baby was stubborn and moved each time the tech thought she was at an angle to get a picture for us.

I handed Colby the picture and he looked at it for a minute and says, "Mom, I know two things."

"What's that dear?"

"Well, this baby is a boy becuase it doesn't have any hair."

"That's interesting," I say, "but it could still be a girl."

Colby considers this for two seconds and then says, "Well, whatever it is, it's the ugliest thing I have ever seen in my life. You don't need to show that picture to nobody!"

Thanks dear!

On Sunday we were all getting ready to head over to Papaw Larry's for a visit. Colby came in mine and Jeremy's bedroom while we were getting dressed. He came up, rubbed my stomach, and announced, "Man mom, your stomach is getting big......well bigger."

"Yeah buddy, I know. It's because the baby is growing in there." I say.

He goes over and pats Jeremy on the stomach and with complete innocence looks up at Jeremy and says, "Dad, you're not growing a baby in your tummy are you?"

While I try to stiffle the laughter I say as calmly as my voice will allow me, "Honey, boys can't have babies, you know that."

"Well Mom," Colby says, "I guess Dad's got a problem then."

Oh out of the mouths of babes!!

Have a great week everyone!