March Madness is in Full Swing!!!

Even though we had gorgeous weather this weekend, I have to admit I am glad it is Monday. This is a sign that March madness is in full swing. Between all of the men's NCAA games, the women's NCAA games, and the Kentucky's High School Sweet Sixteen Tournament I am ready for some calm in my house. My husband teaches at a Louisville area high school and their basketball team made it not only all the way to state, but to the semi-finals of the tournament. So we spent two nights at Rupp cheering on the squad. I had a great time chatting with friends as we watched the games. In the Men's NCAA Tournament it seems there were games on 24/7. Anyone who knows me knows I am a Kentucky Wildcats fan and a non-fan of the Louisville Cardinals. This weekend turned out to be a great weekend to be both as my Wildcats won two games and the Cards lost. Not only did Louisville lose, but they lost to another Kentucky team....Go Morehead State! Then the Lady Wildcats won as well in their opening round, although it was not a good showing for our team (at least we won). Hopefully we will come out stronger for the next round of games.

On another note I have been in spring cleaning mode over the past week. I have mopped floors, washed windows, and switched out my curtains for a lighter brighter look in the living room. Pictures to come soon.

Things keep disappearing?

Over the past couple of months Jason and I have noticed things have been slowly disappearing. Mostly Haley's smaller toys, such as her fridge farm magnets, balls to her ball thrower, and hair bows. In the beginning I always thought they had slid under the oven, or under the TV stand, or even the couch and chairs. Then I did a good cleaning in the house from top to bottom, room to room...I was on a mission to find some of these items with no luck. I didn't know if the dog could have been eating them or taking them outside. I have been keeping a close eye on our fridge farm pieces. We started out with ten animal pieces and at this time we are down to four! I had an idea of what was happening to these and had been keeping a close eye on Haley to confirm it. Well if confirmation was what I was looking for, then I got it this morning. Jason had taken the trash out this morning and like always forgot to put a new bag in. I had been cleaning and Haley was playing. She loves to be in the kitchen. We have one bottom cabinet that Haley is allowed in with kid safe items (plastic cups, bowls, etc.) Well, when I went to put something in the trash I noticed there was no bag, but I also noticed there was a fridge farm piece, a potato masher, and the plastic parts to Haley's food grinder were all in the bottom of the can. Haley had even been nice enough to move the entire canister of flour over by the trash can. I am sure this was next on her list but she couldn't quite figure out how to pick up the canister and open the lid to the trash can. Even as I was taking these items out of the trash trying to explain to my 15 month old this is not where these items go (Wasting my time I know) every time I put one of the items back in the cabinet she was running it back over to the trash. We are back to the days of training our dogs to stay out of the trash can. I have places a laundry basket on top of our trash can in hopes of keeping Haley out. There is no telling how many items from Haley's kitchen cabinet are missing, well not missing anymore, but been thrown away.

One Proud Momma!

There are very few things that I worry about as part of being a stay at home mother as far as Haley's development is concerned, and one of my main worries has been that she will not be social in a positive way with other children. As of now she does not get interaction with children on a regular basis except in the balcony of church on Sunday mornings. Well, this past Friday we were out and about in Louisville and decided to stop by the mall for a dinner and a little shopping. We ate at Red Robin and it was a wonderful experience. There was just enough going on inside that place to keep Haley busy so her mommy and daddy could enjoy their meals. As we were leaving we stopped in a children's clothing store in the mall. It was about an hour from closing time, so there was not much of a crowd at all. I actually think it was just us and then another group made of a little girl (about 5 or 6 years old), her mother, and grandmother. Sure enough the first thing Haley did when we walked in was walk straight over to the little girl, tapped her arm, and just smiled at her. I went straight into looking for some good deals leaving Jason in charge of following Haley around the store letting her stretch her legs some before the drive home. It hadn't been but just a few minutes and this is what I found....

Haley had made a new friend. They were talking, playing, and having a great time. I was so excited to see how good Haley was that I had to get a picture. They sat there for the remainder of our time there watching the TV while this young girl's mother and I talked about the joys of having little girls. I am always so proud to see just how social she is with other children. 

15 Months....Where have you gone?

Well today my baby girl is 15 months old. It just doesn't seem like it was that long ago that Jason and I were in the hospital having her and I was staying up all night just to stare at her. Or the first three months when she was in the bassinet right by my side of the bed and I probably only got 4 hours of sleep a night because I just couldn't stop staring at her. Man time goes by fast, I wish I could find a way to make it slow down. Even as a stay at home mother, I have spent nearly every minute with Haley and still feel like it isn't enough. My heart goes out to all the working mothers out there, but I am also a true believer that it isn't the quantity but the quality of time spent with your child.
So, today has been a beautiful day with the sun shining bright. Haley and I started out the day by picking up my grandmother and heading to Lexington. First stop was Haley's 15 month well check up visit. The doctor said she was in perfect health (which I didn't need to be told, up to this point we have not had a single sick visit to the doctor), but she did need to get three shots today. I was not real pleased with the nurse that came in today. usually the nurse will come in and get EVERYTHING ready, line up each shot already opened and ready to go, also lining up the bandages ready to go. So once the child is held down things go 1, 2, 3 and done. The nurse today decided to have me hold Haley down as she took her time opening each shot, administering it, and closing it before grabbing the next one. Next time I think I will request things be set up prior to me restraining my screaming child for five minutes like I did today. After the doctors appointment we did some shopping and to Panera Bread for lunch. Yumm! We had such a good time out and about.

Hello World.

OK, here I go. I have spent many hours over the past few months reading blogs of friends, acquaintances, and other moms from across the country. It wasn't until my husband finally made me realize that this is something I should do myself. So I am starting my own blog in hopes that someone out there will just happen to come across it and find my stories to be similar to their lives, and find peace in knowing they are not alone in an array of situations. Maybe even get a laugh out of it. I live a busy life with a wonderful husband who provides for our family in a way that allows me to stay home with our 15 month old daughter Haley....and our 6 year old black lab Molly. For more information about me, you may click on my name to the top right.