Mobility is not a mom's best friend

Well, Olivia is mobile. She is crawling. I am tired.

Here's my definition of mobility coming from a mother's perspective:

Mobility means EXHAUSTION...plain and simple. This new milestone that my daughter has achieved is moving us into a whole new level of parenting...and she's not even very good at it yet. The days of sitting back watching her play are OVER.

As proud as I am to know that my child is healthy and happy and able to crawl around...I miss the old days sometimes. The days where I could place a pallet down on the floor and she would stay on it. The days that I could walk out of the room for a moment and come back to find her sitting sweetly in the spot I left her...not under the coffee table or pushing buttons on the TV.

I used to wonder why people would put their kids in a play pen or a gated area. I thought it was weird and mean. I now know why and am contemplating on investing in one of these contraptions for the sake of a semi-clean house and a child with minimal injuries. I've gotten so comfortable with my parenting habits and now I am being forced to change them thanks to the mobile baby.

Here's what I miss most of the pre-crawling days:

1. Sitting
2. Bathroom breaks
3. Eating
4. Completing tasks
5. My clean house

Here's what I've exchanged those things for:

1. Squatting, crawling, kneeling, bending, holding.
2. An impressive bladder capacity
3. Meals of mixed nuts and Zone bars
4. Laundry that's clean, but not put up.
5. Dust bunnies and dirty dishes

I have also finally become aware of how new mother's are sometimes so much skinnier than they were pre-baby. Basically, it's a constant state of calorie burn and the inability to complete a meal. I guess this will be my new weight loss plan. I'll let you know how it works.

Again, even though I may seem to be complaining about certain things...I am very thankful and blessed to have such a child to complain about. There are many parents that would be happy to be exhausted because of chasing around a baby. I am aware of this...thanks to my job. It has taught me to cherish the moments of exhaustion and replace the frustration with thankfulness.

I love you Olivia Kate...now please take a nap so I can shower.

Sincerely,
The Soon-to-be-Skinny Mom

A vist from a very special lady

Most of us have a certain person in our family that has always brought joy to our lives. A kind of person that no matter what they do...they make you smile and always seem to have happiness all around. A person that so many of our greatest memories of our childhood are revolved around.

That person for me is my Aunt Dazie (aka "Boo").

Aunt Dazie is my grandmother's sister-in-law. She was married to my Uncle Jim and lived in Marion, AR right outside of West Memphis. After my mom and I moved away from Memphis, we would often go back to visit my Grandmother and stop to see them on the way.

I remember their house so vividly...but mostly the screened in porch. They lived on a lake and had a dock where we could fish. There were lots of ducks and it seemed like Aunt Dazie always had a loaf of bread just for me to use to feed the ducks. It was white bread and I remember rolling a little piece into a ball and eating it myself. I LOVED that and looked forward to it every trip. I remember them having a big refrigerator outside that Uncle Jim kept grubs worms in for fishing. I'm pretty sure I caught my first fish off that dock.

If we didn't make it to their house, we would always be sure to stop by the liquor store they ran in West Memphis, right off I-40. I think my fondest memory of Uncle Jim is from these stops. He ALWAYS gave me a pack of plain M&M's every time. I remember walking around that store looking at all the bottles of wine and all the "weird" drinks in the cooler. Sometimes, they would have a customer or two stop in while we were there. I bet those people were wondering what in the world that skinny little blonde was doing in a liquor store! I was clueless and thought nothing of it!

My Aunt Dazie is 86 years old and sharp as a tack! I'm pretty sure that she is better with the computer than I am. I mean she has a facebook account if that tells you anything! She is always laughing, telling stories, and making people smile. She has an identical twin sister, Mazie (aka "Tiny"), who she lives with in Alabama.

Aunt Dazie is so special to a lot of people. All of the family just adores her. I hope that when I'm 86 someone is telling stories like this about me. I have a lot of work to do.

Sincerely,
Christie