Playing Catch Up

Time just flies by. I can't keep up with what day it is or what I need to do. I totally spaced on Bible study last night, and didn't make it at all. And that was after I spent an hour crashing to finish my study that I hadn't kept up with all week.

Why am I so busy??

Well, because I went from being a stay at home mom to a mom with 2 part time jobs (where one is full time if I want it)...and I have a one year old running all over the place, too. And I want to go to the zoo and to the gym and out for coffee with the girls and I have a pair of pants in my car that need to be exchanged at the mall, but I can't seem to make it to the mall EVER. And my house is a disaster and my fully stocked pantry is starting to dwindle and it's GORGEOUS outside, but I haven't much noticed.

Oh, and the kicker?? My Bible study is all about how to make sure your priorities are right...guess I shouldn't have skipped out last night. =)

So, what are my jobs? I went through training recently to become an aerobics instructor, and at the end of that training, I heard about a job opening at the downtown YMCA as the group exercise coordinator. It's a position that I always thought sounded fun, but it came up at the perfect time. It requires organization and management and passion - all things that I definitely have. It pays crap, it's at the only branch in town that doesn't have child care, and it's a 20 minute drive from town, and it's definitely challenging...but I think it's going to be fun. It's supposed to be 10 hours/week, but with phone calls and emails from home, it's a lot more than that.

The second job is a top secret government agent. =) That's partly true, actually. I'm working for the census bureau to prepare for next year's census. Mom and I are both doing it. It's a temporary job for 8 weeks, and then we may be rehired for further assignments in a few months. You can work up to 40 hours/week, but they want you to work at least 30. I'm struggling to get in 20 hours. I'm wondering why I thought I could do both of these. Poor Lil Major is spending lots of time in his stroller walking around neighborhoods with me. He likes it for the most part b/c the weather has been so nice.

So, I'm working and working and working some more. I'm NOT getting to the zoo or to the swings at the park or to the mall to return my pants or to my bathroom to scrub the scum away. And the thought has passed through my mind that if I was still working as an engineer, I'd be working 40 hours/week and making about 4 times as much. Of course, my schedule is completely my own and I make it up as I go. I suppose it's only temporary.

As a reward for listening to me rant and rave, here are some pictures of my super cute boy. First up is Lil Major in his (or at least Mommy's) favorite shirt that his little friend gave him. Thanks Shell and Baby!!


We LOVE the "Cow" Poly socks!

This smile is for you, Baby!

We had a nice Easter, although it was freezing cold and raining. There were no egg hunts or big Easter baskets. Just some candy and strawberry shortcake. The Colonel bbq'd chicken for us in the cold and rain, and we just hung out. But, I did get some cute pictures of my boy...



My child has curly hair like his daddy. But it only shows up when his hair is wet, so i had to document...after I ruffled it up to stand straight up!



Now that spring is here (FINALLY!), The Colonel has been forced to break out the lawnmower again. So, the other day we introduced Lil Major to it...







After all that work, it was time for a relaxing swing...


We're enjoying any time we get to play, and I'm so enjoying watching my little man grow and change and learn. I'm so thankful for my time with him!

Celebrating Turning One

Last Sunday, on Palm Sunday, Lil Major turned ONE whole year old. Somehow the last year has flown by. It's gone by so fast that I have to look at pictures to remind myself how little he used to be. In some ways, he still looks exactly like he did as a newborn, I think. Some of his facial expressions are the same, and there are a whole slew of new ones.

We had a small family party on Sunday afternoon. In all my good-mama-wisdom, I chose to have the party start at 3pm. I figured we'd get a good nap in before all the festivities. Well, when the boy didn't sleep well, and the in-laws were late...well, things didn't go exactly as planned.

We started out by watching the LONG video I made. I could watch it every day. It's so fun to see how much he's changed over the last year. Anyway, there's a link to it on my FB in one of my notes if you want to see it.

Then we let the boy have a go at his cake. My mom and I (well, mostly my mom) made a super cute giraffe cake for us to eat.


Rerun thought the cake was for him...don't worry, there were no more traces of dog drool by the time we were done...

See the picture of our inspiration cake? Mom did AWESOME!!

I tried out this girl I found on craigslist to make a small cake just for Lil Major. She sent me a bunch of really cute photos of cakes she'd made. I guess it turned out ok, but my perfectionist self thought it could have been a bit better for just a round cake. Oh well. It didn't turn out to matter much b/c the boy was starting to melt down by then (we hadn't even done presents yet!), and he didn't eat much of it. A little anti-climatic if you ask me!



We rushed on to presents while my mom cut the big cake to serve. The kiddo got some great stuff! Puzzles and a towel and toys and blocks and a mini bench and a zoo membership and SUPER COOL Cal Poly clothes (thanks Shell!!) and the cutest polo shirt ever (thanks Agnes!) and a huge stuffed alligator.





We had a fun day, although it didn't seem quite real to me. How is it possible that I have a one year old? A toddler? A little boy with a wonderful personality, whose eyes light up when Mommy or Daddy walk into the room...God is so good, and I'm so thankful for my little man. I'm so excited to see what this next year brings.

After all of the excitement, Lil Major decided it was time for night night and marched himself back to the bathroom for his bath and snuggle time with Mommy. night night!

One Year Later

I've been a bad blogger. I didn't intend to, but most of my readers (except for you Jillian) are my FB friends now, and it just seems so much easier to update FB than my blog. Poor blog.

But, this week my blog deserves some updates. It was one year ago today that the journey to Lil Major's birth jumped into high gear. I'd been home from my trip to CA for about a week or so, and my body decided that it was DONE being pregnant. I headed to the hospital for a blood pressure check, and I didn't leave for FIVE WHOLE DAYS, and when I left, I had a HUGE part of my heart in my arms...in the form of my adorable son, Lil Major.

Wow! So much can happen in a year, and it goes by so fast. I've been working on a video of the boy's first year. When Jenn told me Julianne's video was 13 minutes, I was SURE that mine would be much shorter. I didn't have THAT much to show. Well, Jenn, I got ya beat...16 freakin' minutes!! And that was cutting it down!! I don't think I'll post it on my blog, but I'll put it on my FB (Jillian - I'll email you a link to it), and if you want to gush and goo over my cute boy for 16 minutes, have at it. I won't be (too) offended if you choose not to spend your 16 minutes that way. But, I can tell you...I'll be watching it over and over and over again from now to eternity!

I will be the mom of a one year old, an official toddler I guess, in just 2 more days. We've got the party planed (just some family), we'll make the cake tomorrow, I've got gifts to wrap. All that stuff is fine...but it hasn't hit me yet. That he's going be a whole year old. That he's walking around and talking and recognizing words and GROWING UP.

I never imagined I could love him so much, or that having him would make me love his Daddy more. People try to tell you about it, but you just don't get it until it's YOU going through it. Oh how my life is different, and I love (almost) every bit of the change. Ok, so getting woken up multiple times in the night isn't so fun, but I still love to cuddle with the monster.

Our weekend will be full, and I may shed a few tears, but I think I'll spend most of my time celebrating my little boy!