I decided to start writing in my blog again for a couple reasons. First and foremost for my son Max.
Max, my sweet boy, I want you to know that when someone figures out what you want, you "heh-heh-heh" just like goat. Exactly like a goat. Your Grandma Mortimer has been begging me to get this on video, but until I get around to that, I figured I better put it down in writing. It is one of my favourite things about you.
The second reason I decided to start writing again is because I have a faulty memory. I don't remember what I ate 3 hours ago, let alone what I did 3 years ago. My best friend since childhood has always kept my memories safe in that limitless head of hers, however, since she (sadly) can't be by my side 24/7, I miss out on the funny, amazing, stressful, and frustrating parts of my everyday life. I'd like to remember those things.
Right now, however, it's late and I don't have the brain power to think of anything worthwhile to share, so until next time, farewell.
As a baby, Sam was every mother's dream come true when it came to eating. He was my kale baby! He ate every vegetable (and more!) you could put in front of him and he ate A LOT. Like, wayyyyy more than any other kid I knew.
I was so proud.
Shortly after we started him on solids, he began the
"put-everything-in-your-mouth" stage.
We thought it would end at some point. Surely he wouldn't continue to put everything in his mouth forever, right?
Right?
Wrong.
What started as typical phase in every child's life has quickly spun out of control. At 22 months old, my sweet Sammy appears to have developed Pica.
His favourite item? Books.
What used to be his favourite activity (reading) has now become his favourite activity for another reason (eating).
Some of you might be laughing thinking, "Oh, Courtney. How you must be exaggerating. All children eat non-food things now and again. Such an amateur..."
I would then chuckle at your comment and invite you into my library. There you would find DOZENS of books with missing pages, covers, and spines. All eaten by my little boy. Some suggest only letting him read board books.
No good. He already ate them all.
The good news is that I'm not alone. Google told me that lots of parents have dealt with this problem.
The bad news is there is no real solution.
Any of you dealt with this? Let me know your thoughts.
from the moment i laid eyes on that humongous desktop computer my parents bought back in 1994, i fell in love with technology.
i never "wrote" letters, i typed them. i spent my lunch break in the library reading junk e-mail just because the idea of having any e-mail was wonderful. i was 19 years old when i happily signed the next two years of my life away for that beautiful nokia cell phone.
technology was amazing.
and with each year, something more incredible was introduced! things became faster, smarter, sleeker, shinier, smaller, bigger, and prettier. and then came social media: MySpace, Tumblr, Flickr, Vine, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, Instagram, Reddit, Google+, Pinterest, etc.
it was a technology lovers dream come true!
well, at first.
it seemed the thing i once loved no longer held the same value. with each hour i spent on Facebook, one less hour was spent reading a book. with each hour i spent playing Words with Friends, one less hour was spent playing Ring-Around-The-Rosie with Sam. with each hour i spent watching YouTube videos, one less hour was spent playing a board game with my husband.
i was examining my bucket list one night and dreaming of all the things i wanted to accomplish before i died: milk a cow (done!), learn Portuguese, knit a scarf, plant a garden, etc. I then realized that all the hours i spent online, on my phone, watching TV, were replacing moments i could be having with my family, creating memories, or learning new skills.
i no longer held technology to the same esteem.
this isn't to say that technology is bad. it isn't. i still love typing letters. i love taking pictures and sharing them online with friends. i love being able to Skype with my friend in Germany. i just want to use technology in a better way.
where is this bringing me? well, sometimes the best way to break a bad habit is to remove it from your life. for me, it's saying goodbye to Facebook. yes, that first week will be hard, but in the end i know that i will benefit greatly from it.
that being said, i would LOVE to keep in contact with all my wonderful friends and family, however on a greater level (writing letters, Skype, TALKING on the phone are all great ways).
luckily, because i am obsessed with taking pictures of my children, sharing funny articles, and writing long journal entries about nothing, you can still find me on instagram, twitter, and my awesome blog. haha, no way could i eliminate myself entirely from the great world wide web. :)
i am a list person. i could make a list for everything in life. a list of how many concerts i've been to (check). a list of names i would like to call my children (check). a list of things i wish i had the money to buy at CVS (check). a list of foods that have too many pesticides that i will probably still buy anyway because i'm forgetful and sometimes too cheap to buy organic (check).
my newest list system is pretty legit. i love it. i made a list of all the things i'd like to get done EVERYDAY: prayers, scriptures, shower, dinner, etc.
i even made it in an excel spreadsheet, printed it out, and hung it on my bedroom wall. sometimes i even get excited to wake up in the morning so i can hurry and floss and check something off my list.
what is it about checking something off your list? i think i'd have to say the best ones on the list are scriptures, making my bed, and making dinner. don't you just feel like your life is AMAZING if your bed is made and dinner is something the author of "our best bites" would be happy to serve? i do.
have you ever been so tired that it hurts to simply lift your head? or blink an eye?
have you ever been so tired that when you fall to the floor to play with your child, your husband has to help you up because you can't lift yourself?
have you ever been so tired that you thank your lucky stars you have to nurse at church and can nap in those comfy chairs in the mother's lounge?
yes.
i am THAT tired.
my sweet little man is teething... i think... and has made my nights almost entirely sleepless. when i do manage to catch some shut eye, i'm rarely fortunate enough to have the blessed REM sleep that i so desperately desire.
i feel like i might be driving my friends on Facebook crazy. call it "new mom syndrome," but i post a LOT of pictures/videos of my little buddy and i'm sure it's getting old. the problem is that i am so in love with him, i just can't stop.
yesterday i was at my mum's house for mother's day and i was just staring at sam thinking, "oh my gosh. i am the LUCKIEST person in the UNIVERSE!!! i have YOU as my son." and suddenly i got into "protective mother bear" mode thinking of all the things that could happen to him in his lifetime and how i would do ANYTHING in the world to protect my little boy.
it's funny how he and i have only been best buds for a little over 3 months and already we are inseparable and have a love for each other that is infinite. well, i imagine he loves me. i feed him at 3 am, dance around the house in my pajamas singing to him, and laugh when he poops on me. how could he not love me? :)
1. it (almost) perfectly sums up my life since my last post (scratch bob, insert blake)
2. it is exactly how i intend to update this blog since my last post (i.e. short and to the point)
how else would i be able to sum up the last 129 days?
so here are the highlights
1. new years eve was BORING. my prime rib was overcooked and we watched a movie. what's worse is we didn't even realize it was midnight when midnight came and passed.
(look at that ginormous belly...)
2. i subbed for the LAST time in my entire life!!!!! halle-freakin-lujah! i mean... oh sad, i'm gonna miss those sweet children... yeah... no.
3. i had a baby. no biggie.
um, i had a BABY!!!!! yeah, i know. most of you that read this are friends with me on FB, so i imagine that you are already aware of this fact. but in case you feel like reading the lovely birth story (i'll try to shorten it as much as possible), read on. if not skip to #4...
so, there i was. at my doctor's appointment on my due date (feb 7), praying that i'd go into labour right that second so she could just pull him out of me in the middle of the office. nope. i was kinda concerned cos i hadn't felt my little man move very much. not sure if it was cos i was so used to him moving that i didn't notice it anymore or if there was actually a problem. before i could even finish my sentence, my doctor was like, go straight to the hospital. i'm not taking any chances.
well, alright then. you don't have to tell me twice.
so, i get to the hospital around 2 pm for a non-stress test where they just monitor the baby to make sure he is alive and well. luckily, he was. all it took was a gallon of cranberry juice for him to start moving around like crazy. already, we have something in common. we love juice. before they let me go, however, they wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure EVERYTHING was okay. well... turns out there wasn't much amniotic fluid around him and my doctor said, sorry dearest, you aren't going home. we're inducing you. to be honest, i was ELATED. only about 1% of me was disappointed since i really wanted him to come "naturally" where i had time to spend at home, breathing, eating snacks, pretending i had the stamina to stick it out drug-free for hours and hours, etc.
but... this was kind of better. i know. courtney, the girl who loves all things natural (well, most things...) and practiced hypnobirthing was now admitted to the hospital (4 pm) under different circumstances.
(this is getting long isn't it? sorry... just trying to give you a visual... well, not too visual)
so, they plop me in a bed, naked, with a gown 10 times too big hooked up to machines and IVs. that part kind of sucked. blake and i were just hanging out eating pizza watching the monitor tell us that i was having contractions (7 pm)... but i didn't feel anything! it was amazing! until it wasn't anymore (here i thought i was the lucky one)...
contractions... are not what i thought they would be. i thought they would be like sharp pains in my pelvic region. instead it's like having stomach flu pains that get worse and worse and WORSE. and then they happen for a minute... every 60-90 seconds... and you have to pee, but don't have the energy to sprint to the bathroom in between a contraction so you just hold it... and die.
so............... i took the drugs.
yep.
i did.
first i just took the mild ones around 4 am. i thought, i'm tough (okay, no i'm not), this is all i need to get me through this whole ordeal.
yeah... those didn't help for very long. i thought, you know what? who am i kidding? i love drugs. i do. don't worry, not the kind you buy behind alleys, just the kind that you buy at CVS that make you feel really good.
so, i said, BRING ME THE EPIDURAL. blake was like, are you sure? you really wanted to try your best to go natural. nope. not anymore, dearest. this sick-to-my-stomach feeling is making me want to die. i really wish i could help those of you who haven't given birth understand what it feels like. cos i sound like a pansy taking hard core numbing drugs for a "stomach ache." just trust me.
after only a couple minutes, my new BFF (the anesthesiologist) came in with the miracle solution.
and it was TRULY a miracle.
finally, around 9 am, my doctor arrived and was like, you look great. you're a 10. you're ready to push.
wait, what? push? that's it? i'm almost DONE!?!?!? like, i'm gonna meet my kid any minute now?
yep.
well, more like 38 minutes from now.
and that's how it happened. 38 minutes of easy-peasy (seriously, easiest thing ever) pushing and out popped my gorgeous babe. white hair, no slime, covered in about a million tears from his mum and dad.
i didn't think i would cry, but seeing that little guy for the first time, plopped on my chest, was the most AMAZING EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE.
there. i'm done boring you with all the details. i'm sure most of you skipped to #4 after you saw how long my "short" version of sam's birth story was. i don't blame you.
4. i have a newborn... we hang out all day... the end.
5. probably the second best highlight of february (besides sam) was having my AMAZING family and AWESOME friend, jenjamin, come visit.
seriously, the best 3 weeks ever.
jen, my dearest friend of 10 years (i can't believe it's been that long) flew down from portland simply to be my maid servant for the week. she cooked, cleaned, watched my baby so i could go on a date, took care of him so i could sleep for more than an hour, made food for after she left, bought me TONS of baby stuff, and gave me the BEST FACIAL EVER. um, no, you can't have her. she's my friend.
then, after she left, my ENTIRE family (minus braden, but he's exempt since he's serving a mission) came to visit and be a part of sam's baby blessing. best moment ever. i LOVED having every one of my family members in town to be there at one of the most special times in my life. blake gave an amazing priesthood blessing, full of wonderful promises and council. it was so neat to see all the men in my life (that sounds funny, but you know what i mean) stand around sam in a circle and be a part of this moment in his life.
we had SO MUCH FUN just hanging out, playing games, watching movies, eating food, taking walks, holding sam, playing with my FAVOURITE niece maddi, etc.
i stinkin' love my family!!!!!
6. i totally failed in picking this year's NCAA basketball winner. i blame the post pregnancy hormones. they fog up the brain.
(how long can i use that excuse?)
7. celebrated my two year anniversary! feels like i've been married for 10 years. thoughts about being married for two years...
-year two is WAYYYYY better than year one.
-my husband can dance like you wouldn't believe (just thought i'd throw that in)
-we can now read each other's thoughts (blake... what am i thinking RIGHT NOW?)
-we made a kid. and he's really cool.
-we love looking at houses.
should i have written something really mushy? these are just the first things that popped into my head. haha!
blake surprised me with a trip to alcatraz and a fancy shmancy dinner. i ate seviche and it was so tasty.
i love my hubbie.
8. saw florence + the machine with lauren, courtney G., and michelle.
i wish there were words to describe the greatness of this lady. in a word, she is PERFECT. from head to toe. her voice makes me cry and seeing her in concert with 3 of my lovely friends was one of the best nights of my life.
9. i spent 3 full days reading all the hunger games books. it took over my life. it still haunts me. even today i kept wondering how peeta and katniss were doing. i kind of love them and am really hoping that there are 3 more books coming out. maybe i'll just go read them again... right now.
10. blake and i saw coldplay. um... by far, their VERY BEST PERFORMACE EVER!!!!! no joke, i was in the top row of the venue (19,000 people) and even though they looked like specks of dust from that view, it was BRILLIANT!!! even blake was dancing and singing along. many thanks to heather and jake for watching our babe so we could get our ears blown out to "yellow."
11. last, but not least, blake and i (and sam) got to fly out to michigan to visit my dad and grandma. SO. MUCH. FUN!!! it had been forever since we last saw each other, and sam was dying to meet his grandpa, so we flew out there for a bit of R&R.
highlights? lusting over the $200K mansions (stinkin' midwest), stepping foot in canada (only the punk at the border wouldn't give me a stamp in my passport), enjoying lake huron (more like ocean huron), buying ornaments at the world's largest christmas store (i kid you not- it's the size of 5 football fields... really), seeing a christmas tree covered in peace signs and pizza (are you kidding me?!), and of course, spending time with my dad and grandma! they are so amazing and i'm so glad they got to spend time with sam.
wow. that whole disclaimer at the top about this being a short post? FAIL. my sincere apologies. i promise i am going to keep this up more often now that i sleep on a semi-regular basis, thus my posts will be much shorter.
