Day 3- LOL

Claire didn't really laugh until she was about 4 months old. Today, we had laugh out loud time! We danced- she laughed, we played with pookie bear- she laughed histerically, and we tickled her sides- thought she was going to pass out she was laughing so hard! Then I took one moment to just look at her (I mean REALLY look at her) and I thought, "I have the most beautiful and wonderful baby and I'm so thankful that God gave her to me!"

Speaking of laughing out loud, I'm finding lately that the only way I can get through some really tough times is to just luagh! The women are work are so wonderful and we are constantly laughing, my fantastic friends make me laugh, and my husband and baby make me laugh so hard I can barely breathe!

What makes you laugh?

Day 2

My friend Meredith and I went to get a pedicure today and she asked me a question. "Does the exhaustion go away or do we just become immune to it?" Great question Meredith! I'm 7 months into this mommy thing and people say it will get easier, but I'm starting to believe that they are just saying things to make me feel better! I'm still so exhausted! And even if I happen to get 7+ hours of sleep, I feel great for the first 4 hours, then I have huge bags under my eyes. Sometimes I get so sleepy that I forget to talk or even worse- forget to do something (like driving!). But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how tired I am, it just matters that I get to be with Claire. I'd take all the tired in the world just for a sweet smile and QT with her!
Being a mother has taught me that life isn't fair, my house will never be clean, and I might always look crazy, but I have to put my big girl panties on and deal with things so that my daughter and husband are happy and taken care of. That was such a run on sentance! I've got to do what needs to be done and the motto on my desk is, "After all is said and done, more is said than done!" It's so true!

30 Day Challenge

Here's my challenge folks... I'm going to blog every day for 30 days straight. I guess today would be day one so here goes.

Ten things I've learned through working at a school:
1. Once you meet a parent, you can automatically see why their kid turned out the way they did (good or bad). Very rarely do parent/kid pairs suprise me.
2. Yelling at me doesn't get you what you want. In fact, you should never yell at the person doing your college recs!
3. No, I'm not going to change your schedule because you "can't sweat in the morning." Get over it, I have nothing else to put you in other than a freshman computer class and you've already complained about that!
4. Just because our office is called "Guidance" doesn't mean that we know everything. Sometimes people contact us for locker combinations or ask us when the Varsity baseball game is. We're smart, we just don't know all of the answers.
5. Yes, counselors need counseling sometimes too.
6. You can always tell the teacher who had a horrible time in high school. They're always out to get the "popular" kids and they want to save the others.
7. No, you probably won't get into UGA. Yes, it's because you have a 2.9 and no AP classes. Don't waste your money, apply somewhere else.
8. Always make the secretaries, lunch ladies, and custodians your friend. You never know when you will need their help!
9. If you don't like kids, then don't teach. Summers off are nice, but let's try not to screw up every kid in your class please!
10. No matter how crazy, frustrating, or hectic life at a school can be, it's the times when you know you actually helped a kid that keeps you going. It makes all the crazy things disappear for that one moment.

This week has been 11th grade advisement at our school and I've seen kids and parents every thirty minutes apart. The parents are so eager for their kids to figure out what they want to do in college. It's amazing how many kids and parents aren't on the same page about college, classes, and life. Sometimes what we want for others isn't always right. May favorite thing is when parents say. "Well when I was in high school, they didn't do it this way." Funny you should say that because what we do this year is completely different from what we did last year. Nothing stays the same- can be good or bad. I'm learning through others how I want to parent my kids.

So here's the moral of my story- Be a parent. Put some boundaries in place. Say no. Check up on your kids. Don't be a cool friend, be a lame mom. And most of all, say "I love you."

Has Spring Sprung?

I wake up and I can hear the birds chirping. I look outside and the sun is rising earlier. Then I walk outside and I turn into an ice cube and I'm ready to run back to my warm bed.
Are you there spring? It's me, Viola.
In case the earth forgot, we live in the South and it's supposed to be warm here. So I'm going to need that to happen ASAP please!

7 Months

I can't believe it's been 7 months! She is now 17 lbs. 3 oz. and rolling every where! She can pretty much sit up on her own, she can roll, shimmy, and scoot to where she wants to be. A shiny top tooth is coming in and we can hear her grind her teeth (gross!). She is eating the graduate puffs and we are now on 2 foods. I feel like as soon as I get the hang of one thing, we have to learn something new! I absolutely love her and she has the sweetest, most curious personality! She is also a great jumper and I can't wait to put her in a tumbling class!

In other news, our house is about to appraised and we are going to try and put it on the market. I really want to move to Legacy Park, just for a few years, and then back out here in Pope, Walton, or Lassiter district. This whole moving thing isn't as fun as I thought it was going to be. I'm so nervous about my house because I'm afriad someone won't like it! It's almost like when you make fun of your friend it's okay, but the second someone else makes fun of your friend, it's on! So keep your fingers crossed that someone will love our home enough to give us lots of monies for it! :o)

Valentines

Hello Blog Friends!

I swore I wouldn't neglect you all, but I did it again! So now I'm going to recap EVERYTHING that has happened since I last wrote.

1. Basketball season- So I just kept thinking to myself that after last week, basketball would be over. We were snowed out on Friday night, so the region games were pushed back to this week. Wednesday night was the girls game and tonight is the boys region game. Should they lose, then basketball is really over. Just when I think it's all said and done, tryouts are coming around the corner. Tryouts are March 15-17 and then it's a whole lot of cheering after that! I think I just have to come to terms with the fact that I just won't get a break!

2. Claire Bear- She is Little Miss Personality now! I love that she doesn't say much, but when she decides to squeal, it is so stinking cute! She rolls over back to front and front to back like a champ! We really have to keep our eye on her so that she won't roll away! She great about wiggling and rolling to where ever she wants to go! Great for her, not so great for the parents (us) who haven't child proofed their house yet! She can sit in a booster seat at restaurants and she is so smiley! Love her!

3. New Address?- So, Jeff and I have been thinking about moving. I really want to move to Legacy Park because there are so many little kids and fun things for everyone to do! The cons to moving are that Jeff would have a longer commute and we are also currently in a great school district. We're still talking about it and preparing our house for the crummy market, but I'm hoping that we will figure something out soon! I've never looked for a house, but it's stressful and fun at the same time.

4. Valentines- So we didn't do much for valentine's day (I'm okay with that because I'm not much for valentines), but we did go to my friend Emily's wedding. This was the first night we ever spent away from Claire. I'd like to say I was worried, but my mom is great with Claire and I knew that she was in great hands. We slipped and slid our way to a beautiful church, Christ the King Cathedral in Buckhead. Afterwards, we went to the Marriott in Duluth for a beautiful reception! The drinks were great, the friends were wonderful, and I loved the food! But, being an old person, I did turn in at around 10:00 that night. The next day, we raced to my mom's house to find a happy little girl!

5. Valentines night- We went with Mimi and Grandpa (Marci and Rich) to see the Circus. I was so nervous that Claire would have a meltdown because the show didn't start until 7 and her bed time was at 7:30. I tried to get her to go to sleep, but she watched the show and was so excited to see all the lights and the animals! She was jumping up and down!! She did pass out half way through and then went back to sleep in the car. She went straight to bed when we got home and didn't wake up until 7 the next morning! What a fun experience!!!

6. Lent- My favorite time of year, but also a trying time. This year, I've decided to stick to my diet for 40 days. This is difficult as I've never made it past 4 days, but I figure he died for me, the least I can do is give up some sweets and bad foods. So if you see me around and I'm super grumpy, then you'll know why.

I've got the itch to decorate!

I'm itching to decorate! I once heard that you should start redecorating rooms that you live in the most. I've already done that to one room, but the room I really want to tackle is my "formal living room." I hate formal living rooms. The idea that there is a room with really expensive furniture (don't forget the cheesy plastic covering) that no one is ever allowed to sit on- is such a bad idea! So instead, I got a beautiful craft table for Christmas and my formal living room is going to be magically transformed into a craft room/ reading room. Here's what I'm thinking:

Keep it light and airy! I want the walls to be a pale grey/blue with white window treatments and bright reading chairs. I have my swatches of fabric already picked out and I've scouted some contemporary chairs. All I need is the moo-lah to put in hardwood floors (dreaming) and buy expensive furniture (another dream). So since most of my money goes towards taxes and now we might have another pay cut, I've got to design this room on not a dime, but a penny! How do you ask? Well, I could bargain with furniture stores, look for great used pieces, sew slip covers (never tried this before), or I could just imagine chairs. Needless to say, I'm going to be doing something to it soon! Here are my inspiration pictures from my FAVORITE designer, Sarah Richardson!

I will be taking some silver IKEA frames and doing this above my two reading chairs. What a cute idea!

Love the blue and cream colors from this living room.

Love this "light and airy" look. I love how crisp and contemporary the furnishings are, but they seem to have a hint of traditional inspiration.

I heart decorating!!!!