Happy New Year

I can't believe it's been months since I last blogged. I've thought about it like every other day probably, but I just didn't want to do it. I have all kinds of blog-thoughts, but I was on edge for a while, and I'm still not totally comfortable letting my guard down for the world to see...since the world does in fact read my blog :]

I know, I know - that's how we all learn and grow and relate to each other - with and because of our vulnerabilities; however, there is a time for everything, and the time had not yet come.

What better time than the New Year to start fresh?! Lots has happened since my last blog - Xander turned 1 (!!), we finally got back to Texas permanently - Rowlett to be exact, Thanksgiving, Christmas...and more. I'll share about it all soon enough.

For now I'll leave with this - what are you expecting this year? I know, I know - it's every preacher's question to his congregation each and every year, "what are you expecting from God?" But I want to approach it a little differently in my life - what will I do differently? How will I love more and better? What can I do to serve Jesus by serving and loving those around me? That's the only way my expectations can change - that is if I change. If I choose to love and serve more. Seems simple enough...

So here's to a Happy New Year and new expectations, beginnings, and opportunities.

UnSocial and the 4th

I am well aware that the word anti-social should've been used at the bottom of my last blog...or so according to others; HOWEVER, I associate the word anti-social with being against socializing, and that's not what I was referring to. It's one thing to be against it and another to not do it because...because. *roll eyes*

So we hadn't really planned to watch fireworks anywhere because from where the camper is located, you can see fireworks displays in just about every direction. Ah, that's one cool thing about Kansas - fireworks are allowed within city limits, unlike anyplace in Texas I've ever lived. So people go crazy with them. Kinda nice out in the country, but I'm sure if I lived in any city here, I'd be calling the cops on all the drunk people setting fires in the streets. Anyway, I was kinda in the dumps because it had (and still has) been raining almost completely non-stop since we got here on Friday...which means being stuck inside most of the time...which makes for a fussy Xander. Kids love the outdoors. Kids NEED the outdoors even at this age.

So I'd given the kid his bath after a late nap and mentioned to Nathan I really wanted to have a white people 4th just one year complete with fireworks. Well, it was too late for the other stuff, but he grabbed his wallet and within 27 seconds we were on our way to a local fireworks show. It was past 930...way past Xander's bedtime, especially cinsidering he had stayed up the night before as we did our own fireworks stuff AND the kid can't sleep past 630 a.m. because the camper let's in SOOOOO much light in the mornings. I didn't care. There was a break in the clouds, and I was so going to take advantage.

I'm glad we did. It was so nice to be out that late (lol - wow, how things change with baybays) with both my Nathan and my son even though we caught only the last 15 minutes or so of the whole thing. It was a nice break from all the traveling, from the rain, and from all our movement. I was sad that my mom couldn't be with us, but next year...yes, I think next year I will change how we do some stuff.

Thanks, husband, for driving like a maniac on those old, Kansas dirt roads to get me some fireworks. You're the best.

1. I need to check my emails. I can do it through my phone, and all day long I get these email notifications on it so I usually deal with them right then (or as close to right then as possible) so that I don't get behind. I tried to make myself feel more productive today so I ignored emails.

2. I polished my toe nails today for the first time in a long time. Years ago I threw away anything that had to do with nail polish because of the toxic junk in it all. In 2008 I bought some again just because and used it for a couple of months. Today I pulled it out, and Xander wanted to eat my toes.

3. That dumb sleep book only worked for like 2 nights. We're back to square 1. Well, maybe it's all this back and forth from Texas to Kansas. Either way, I like to blame everyone else for Xander's incessant night-waking, and I like to curse every living thing as well when he does it. It's not as bad actually. He still wakes, but with the help of said book, I'm feeling more refreshed.

4. My lappy is still broken, and therefore, I'm still blogging from my phone...which I will stop for tonight because it could be cause #65 for Xander's 19th waking.

Dorothy Left

Being in a place that is not my favorite, aka Kansas, tends to bring out some rotten attitudes out of me. And for all you people more spiritual than me - yes, I know, I know attitudes are choices blah blah blah. Whatever. I cave to those attitudes way more here just because we're out in the country. Without people. And it's colder than Texas. And when it warms up finally, there's tornado warnings all the time and stormy weather. And when it's not raining, it's SOOOOOOO windy. And when all that calms down, it's just hot. I don't feel any in-between weather. It went from 50 and 60 degree weather to 80something just like that.

There's also no WFM. Ok so there's a place called Whole Foods. NOT the WFM we're thinking about.

And the farmer's market just sucks.

And I'm sure I could go on and on. Yes, I could.

But I'm choosing to name 2 good things for every complaint I have because really...my complaints are junk compared to what things could be like. I'm a very blessed person. Complaining is for spoiled people.

So being out in the country - 1) lots and lots of pretty foliage that my MIL spends her time taking care of; 2) nothing like this kind of fresh air

The weather - 1) the rain brings about the pretty flowers and that awesome garden; 2) wind...the wind helps when it's super hot.

Food - 1) no WFM, but there's Green Acres, and they have almost all the stuff I would get at WFM...just on a smaller scale; 2) Dillon's Marketplace has an amazing section of Organic Foods, and they even carry sprouted bread. Amazing. I'll even add 3) no big farmer's market, but the one they have has the exact kind of vendors I was looking for.

Now if only they could build a Costco...

Sukah

That would be me. I'm such a sucker for advertisers. They know exactly when to play commercials to get to their target audience. They know how to get to me after 8:30 PM, when I usually finish cleaning the kitchen (which I'm skipping tonight. *jaw drop*), sit in front of the tube to watch Fox News as I stuff diapers and try to catch up on mail, bills, etc. And that's when they play all those chocolate commercials - the ones with molten lava cake and whatnot. And they totally interrupt my evening. They make me get up because I can't watch those lately and not eat something. I seriously need to work on some self control. Seriously.

I'm sipping some amazing Youthberry White Tea. Yummm. The stuff is supposed to be great as far as anti-oxidants are concerned. It's great warm, and I think I'll try some iced tomorrow.

I should go to bed. Xander is still waking up every 3 hours or so, and if he poops in the middle of the night during nursing, and if he has a blow-out (which happens all too often these days), and if that blow-out gets on everything, then it calls for being up extra long. The other night it was a good 2 hour nursing session. And he insists on his 7 a.m. wake up. His internal clock works too much like mine...or like mine used to.

But I wanted to post some pics for the family since I said I would.

When we had perfect weather sometime last week, we spent an afternoon just hanging at the park...a park in Richie Rich's neighborhood, where you see blond little girls and their Mexican nannies. Where 47-year old mothers tell you about how they're sending their daughters to elite universities and also send them $2000/month as an allowance. Lol. They're for real, yo.


Then Xander had a 'play-date' with Josiah.

I promise my son isn't stuck up. He just likes to push away sometimes.

And Xander likes to take off his socks and suck on his big toe. And I mean suck...like he thinks he'll get milky way out of it. This was on Nathan's bday at the zoo this week.


This, friends, is one of his favorite toys. The sonaja from his abuelito in Mexico. And his friend, Josiah, liked it too. He kept taking it from him. lol. I should learn to make these and sell 'em.