Have a Holly Jolly Christmas card

Oh the time has come to do something I have been thinking about doing since I found out I was pregnant. The Christmas photo card!!! I don't know why I am so excited abut this, but I am. Monday afternoon I met Jessica Wright at Samford to take Finley's pictures for our Christmas card. Jessica is great! She is so sweet and fun to work with. I cannot wait to see how they turned out. I have a feeling I will have a hard time deciding which one will grace the cover of our Christmas card this year. How fun! I love sending out and receiving Christmas cards. I love the ones with family pictures on them and I always put them on display in the house. I'm starting to get the Christmas spirit! I think because I realized this past weekend how holidays take on a whole new excitement when you have a child. Only 2 more months!!

Sometimes I can be a little witchy ;)

We went to Birmingham this weekend for Halloween. Yes, it was the 3rd time this month. No more trips til Thanksgiving, I just can't take it. The packing, unpacking, re-packing, ugh! Anyway, we went over to Joey's parents house Saturday night so Finley could trick or treat with her cousins. She had a great time. Joey and I took turns carrying her from house to house and we got lots of good candy! People probably thought it was a little strange, but hey we wanted candy too!! Her costume was so cute!! She was a witch and she didn't mind the pouffy tutu or the hat so it actually stayed on her. We took lots of pictures and I would say it was a successful first Halloween ;)We took her back to my mom's and put her to bed and we started getting ready for our Halloween party. We dressed up as Kanye West and Taylor Swift. People seemed to get a big kick out of it. My friend Carrie from Mobile has a sister who lives in Birmingham and she was nice enough to invite us to her Halloween party. There were some great costumes there! It was lots of fun! We left there and went down to Lakeview and it was insane!!!! People were everywhere and there was a long line to get in every place down there. We walked to the Barking Kudu because it had the shortest line, but once we got in it was so packed you couldn't even walk. We stayed for about 30 minutes then left and went home. We got home about 2am which is the latest we have been out in a really, really long time. Joey and I saw lots of old friends and just had a good time going out together. Of course, we both had a little too much to drink. I haven't had any alcohol in a really long time, so I could tell before I went to bed that 5am was going to come really early. Well, Miss Finley knew we went out and had a good time and drank too much. She got up at 4:30am and refused to go back to sleep. Absolutely refused. Oh, it was not fun! I finally woke Joey up about 6:30 or 7 and told him he had to get up and take her. He did and she finally went back to sleep. They just know...it's eerie.

The Mommy Job

Finley had a cookie today. I think she liked it ;)

As some of you may know, I've had a lot of different jobs over the years. I mean A LOT! I've always loved to work even though I may complain about it. I always had a job when I was in high school even though I didn't have too. I got my first job when I was 13 working at a church daycare in Montgomery. My most recent job was as the medical director's assistant at a community mental health center. It would take me a while to sit down and list all the jobs I've had in between. They've ranged from restaurants to retail to public relations, sales and marketing. BUT, being a mommy has been by far the hardest job I have ever had and the hardest job I can ever imagine having because it doesn't start at 8am and end at 5pm. It is 24/7. There are no sick days, vacations, lunch breaks or holidays. There is no leaving early because your boss is out of town and no coming in late because your boss is in a meeting;) There is no paycheck, health benefits, retirement, bonuses for working hard or overtime for putting in extra hours. There are no thank yous and no pats on the back. It is truly a thankless job (especially if your child can't talk) Your looks suffer, your style suffers and your interests and friends fall to the wayside because you simply don't have the time and/or energy for it all. As I sit here and type this, it's 5:30pm and I haven't had a shower since yesterday morning, I'm wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt and I have no make-up or jewelry on. My brown roots are showing and the paint is almost completely chipped off my toenails. Joey and I haven't been on an actual date since...I don't know. I don't even know what we used to talk about after work or at dinner before Finley arrived. What did we do on the weekends? I couldn't tell you. My shoulders are aching from carrying Finley around because she cries if I put her down and I'm so tired I feel like I could lay down and sleep for 3 days. Sound familiar?? Honestly though, I'm the happiest I have ever been! All this to say, writing this brings a smile to my face because you have to laugh about it. It's so...I don't know...ironic? This has been the greatest 6 months of my life and I wouldn't trade it or change it for anything. Honestly, I wouldn't! This is simply an observation and revelation about the past year and the changes it has brought. Good changes though!!!

We are headed to Birmingham tomorrow for Halloween! I'm so excited!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!

A Funny Story

Disclaimer: I don't think suicide is something to joke about. I think it is something to be taken very seriously. The following story was kinda funny though because it did not end in tragedy.

Today Finley has been...ummm...difficult. It's raining (surprise, surprise) so we ran a couple errands this morning, but have been confined to the house most of the day. As I explained in the previous post, Finley HATES to be stuck at home. I texted Joey earlier today asking if he could come home early because I needed a break. I had a few things to do that I cannot get done during the day because of my permanent sidekick ;) He texted back that no he couldn't come home early. I texted back to him that I was going to jump off the roof. Of course, I was joking, but I accidentally texted that message to my friend Courtney who immediately texted back asking if I was okay. I thought oh no!! she really thinks something is wrong. So I tried to call her, but got no answer. Then Joey called the house and I had to practically hang up on him because then Courtney started calling my cell phone and I had to answer to tell her I was fine. We talked for a few minutes and I explained that I sent it to Joey jokingly because I had had a long day. She has 2 boys so she totally understood and we got off the phone. I had to laugh afterwards at my 10 seconds of insanity worrying that my friends thought I was suicidal. Anyways, Joey is coming home soon to relieve me so I have to get dressed so we can do a handoff at the door. Yes, it's been that bad. I'm telling you, it is a nightmare when Finley has to stay home all day. I have tried bouncy seats, jumparoos, exersaucers, sitting in the floor with her and playing, carrying her around with me in a baby carrier, you name it, I've probably tried it. Taking her outside for a walk or going somewhere is my only relief. I thought when she learned to crawl it would help because she would be a little more independent, but that is not the case. Okay, enough complaining for now :)

The never-ending to do list...

I always thought as a stay at home mom I would have plenty of time to take care of the baby, household chores and errands with lots of free time left over, but for whatever reason my to do list is never ending. It seems like every time I complete a task I add a new one. I really don't know how working moms do it so my hat is off to you :) I usually break my list down into weeks. For instance, this week I HAVE to get all the laundry done so we can pack for Birmingham, finish all 3 of our Halloween costumes, get some storage boxes for various things, get my hair did and get my nails done. I got a lot of my list done yesterday. I got Christmas shopping done for my niece, my nephew and my sister. I returned a few things and I got all my holiday gift wrapping supplies. I think my problem is that I want everything done NOW. Even though I have weeks to frame Finley's Baptism invitation, make my casserole for the Junior League Christmas Jubilee and finish my Christmas shopping, I have the urge to get it all done in one day and so I continually set myself up for failure. I think I will try really hard from now on to take things as they come and do only what I have to do in a particular week. We'll see how that goes.
I also had lunch with my old co-workers yesterday and that was fun as always. I miss seeing them on a daily basis as they have become my best friends down here. Finley was so good as she always is when we are out. That child HATES to stay at home. I think she gets bored even though I have tried everything to entertain her. She is happiest when we are out and about or outside walking. Unfortunately we live in the rainiest city in America. Today it's raining so all outdoor activities have been suspended. She's napping now and I'm already thinking of what I can do with her when she gets up. These are the days when I really miss being near friends. So many of my friends have babies now and I would love to be able to call them up and say "Come over for a play date!" One day...

The picture above is just for fun! Clicking on it makes it bigger. I think that Finley is a good mix of us both. When she smiles I think she looks like Joey, but when she has a straight face I think she looks like me ;)

Dear Waistline, I really miss you. I'm sorry for what I put you through. Please come back soon. Sincerely, Elizabeth

Tomorrow I'm not eating anything. I'm going to find a jogging stroller and I'm meeting Joey after work to play tennis. That's all I have to say...

Christmas shopping update...

So after my tirade about how I was dreading Christmas shopping I decided to have a better attitude and do a little shopping each week and get it done by December 1st so I can enjoy the season. Today I kicked butt!! I got my dad, my step-dad, my father-in-law and my brother-in-law DONE!! Yea for me! I always do the guys first because they are the easiest. My mom is always the last one I buy for ;) I also got Finley some books, an outfit and pajamas for Christmas. I love books! I have always loved to read and I hope Finley will too. I could spend hours in the children's books section. There are so many good children's books. I had a hard time deciding, but I got her The Mitten. I remember that book from when I was young. I love going through and seeing the books I used to read. I also got her 3 Berenstein Bears books, a box set of Dora the Explorer board books, a Wonder Pets book and a Baby Einstein Touch and Feel book. I'm going to hit up the Robert Moore Christmas Village next week for her keepsake ornament. I may try to do my sister and step-mom tomorrow because I already know what to get them. I'm on a roll! Thank goodness Finley is a good shopper. As long as she's in her stroller and has something to look at or we're moving, she's perfectly happy! Here is her swag so far. I may take Lauren's suggestion for a Pottery Barn hybrid chair, but I might wait until her birthday. I know it will be here before we know it!