my perfect birthday

Before today, if somebody would have asked me what my perfect birthday would consist of, I would probably say something like this:

Wake up in the morning to cinnamon rolls, bacon and orange juice delivered to me in bed (after sleeping in) by Kai and Cory (who has already been fed breakfast). After that, I would like to enjoy the following festivities in no particular order: make some cards, watch The Office, go to Target and maybe take a nap. I would end the day by having an indoor pizza picnic while watching a good movie.

Basically, I think birthdays are a big deal, and I believe that it should be a whole day filled with the birthday boy or girl's favorite things.

I was apprehensive about my birthday this year because Kai and I were both very busy all day with work and school, so I planned for tomorrow to be my actual birthday celebration that consisted of the events described above. However, after today, I have to say that I absolutely did not give Kai enough credit. He has told me "Happy Birthday" about 42 times today (which is enough to make me smile) and he started the day by giving me a homemade card. Yes, that's right, he MADE me a card, WITH Cory's handprint inside! (too sweet) Half-way through the day he came home from school with an Ingrid Michaelson CD, Valentine's Day on DVD and the most comfortable pajama pants. Tonight, after watching The Office, we decided to make a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing (my favorite) and while I was pouring the cake batter into the pan, Kai realized that I had accidentally bought icing that was manufactured with nuts. Don't worry, I'm just as shocked as all of you are that I could be so careless! LUCKILY, he caught it before I ate any. I could have spent my birthday in the ER (not great). After I had come to the realization that I would not be getting birthday cake, Kai informed me that he would gladly make a trip to the store to buy more icing (seriously? he's awesome!) 15 minutes later he comes home with icing....AND FLOWERS!! In addition to all the wonderful things that Kai has done for me all day, I have had ridiculous amounts of calls, texts, facebook posts and messages, texts and e-mail birthday messages. Let me just say, I love getting birthday messages and calls throughout the day, and after 5 birthdays on facebook, it does not get old to get on throughout the day and see all the numerous posts from your friends. Nothing can make a day brighter than that!

All this to say, I have had a pretty stellar birthday. I did not need to go and plan a separate day because I thought my real day wouldn't be sufficient. It's been great! I could not feel more loved and appreciated than I do right now. To all my friends and family: Thank you for making my birthday so special...I love you all!!

now that i'm a mom

How often do new parents hear the phrase, “a baby changes everything”? Well, I will definitely say that becoming a mom has changed me in many ways. Here is a list of just a few…

Now that I’m a mom…

…I plan my day according to nap-time and awake-time

…I look forward to going to the pediatrician’s office for check-ups

…I have a reason to get healthy

…my laundry piles are astronomical

…the word “grandma” has a whole new meaning

…a trip to Target alone feels like a vacation

…I now know what having a “goal weight” means

…I understand the love God has for us in a whole new way

…I will drag my full cart into the family bathroom at Target with no shame (when you gotta go, you gotta go)

…I can pack for a trip and make sure everyone else has what they need while forgetting my own coat

…I love my husband even more than I did before

…it takes me 20 minutes just to leave the house

…my living room is now overcome with primary colors

…I LOVE COUPONS

…I am thankful for date night (if ever and whenever it happens)

…I know what real love is

…I wish every store had a drive-thru

…I don’t love my dog anymore (but I don’t hate her either)

…I will spend my gift-cards on baby clothes instead of my own clothes

…I have to be brave

…I have a new respect for my mom

…I can leave dirty dishes in the sink

…I wish I could cook

…I don’t have time to myself

…I try to soak up every minute with my son

prisoner in my own home

I absolutely loathe spiders. I can honestly use that word without any second thought as to whether or not it is too strong. This is legit. Every time I see a spider, (mostly when it's inside) every fiber of my body freezes and I try to decide if it is rational to just flee the building and leave whatever I was doing. Seeing as that is not typically the most rational response, I have someone dispose of it quickly. If nobody is around, I decide if I can truly muster up the strength to kill it or if I just wait for someone to arrive and hope that it is still there.

I recently had a very close encounter with a VERY large spider. It was about 6 inches away from Cory's face, and about a foot away from mine...TOO, TOO CLOSE! I grabbed Cory, ran downstairs, and waited two hours for Kai to get home. I just prayed that the spider would still be visible, so that I could rest assured it was dead. Unfortunately, Kai got home and we searched and searched for this big thing and it was nowhere to be found. Darn spider. Lucky day for him, but a very unlucky day for me.

Whenever there is a spider unaccounted for lurking in my home, I absolutely cannot focus on anything. I don't want to sit down because I'm afraid it will crawl on me. I'm constantly scanning the room to see if I can spot anything out of the ordinary. It absolutely takes over my life. It makes me feel like a prisoner in my own home. Now, imagine if you will, a week of this. It has been miserable looking for that spider. I knew that it was still in the house. I just knew he hadn't gone anywhere. He was just waiting to show himself again and scare me to absolute death. Well, we got home from Chicago tonight, and he made his appearance. Right in the middle of the door in the hallway. There he lie as I almost walked right past it. I was beyond grateful that Kai was home this time. I do not know what I would have done if I let this guy roam free twice. He was honestly huge. We're talking golfball size.

Now that he's dead and gone, I still can't help but think he had invited friends over with him. I still have that paranoid feeling that there are more lurking somewhere. It makes going to sleep very difficult. I have heard horror stories of spiders biting people or laying eggs in their eye while their sleeping. Seriously? That would be the worst thing ever! I'm very glad that vengeance was had on the spider, and I just hope that no more make themselves known here in this house. They'll be sorry.

starting fresh

Well, here I am again: venturing into the world of blogging. I cannot count how many times I have tried to do this, but I think this time might be a success for me. I have been "blogging" for the past year on a site intended to keep track of your children and their development. However, I didn't feel like it was a place that I could write about anything other than my son. I feel as though I have many thoughts to, not necessarily share, but write down somewhere. Blogging seems like the right platform just in case there is anyone who is curious of what goes on in this head of mine. I do not intend for this blog to be followed by thousands, or hundreds, or even by one person. I only intend this blog to be a place for me to organize my own thoughts and to have a place to vent, share or encourage.

I guess I can explain the blog title. First off, it's a line from one of my favorite songs, "You and I" by Ingrid Michaelson. Also, it pretty much sums up my life right now. My husband, Kai and I are both working part time jobs while going to school full time and raising a very active almost one year old boy. Needless to say, this is not the most financially stable time in our lives. However, in the midst of it all, we have our love and laughter to keep us going strong.