Identity Crisis...

Yep, I did it...I changed it again!....My layout that is...lol...I keep wrestling with the idea of paying someone to design something for me because I'm so jealous when I visit all these other blogs with their cute layouts...I never knew in all my life I would actually want an animated version of myself...Is that vain?...lol...I was so excited when I finally tweeked the last black & red layout to my liking...Then, as I was browsing random blogs, as I often do...Guess what I come across?...The. Same. Damn. Layout....

I don't know why I was shocked...It's a free template online...Anyone can download it just as I did...duh....lol...Want to know the worst part?...It was a good blog...I wanted to follow her, but hello...I couldn't follow a blog that looked almost exactly like mine...I know, That's Stupid...lol...Anyway, I'm really liking this new one...Please bear with me until I find my blogs identity...Who knows what it'll look like the next time you visit!...lol..

I Miss My Family....

I moved from New Orleans, Louisiana to Lake Charles, Lousiana almost 12 years ago...I was 17...ready for my independence...Ready to establish a life as Katie...not as Brian's (Kentucky's <---My brother's nickname) little sisiter or Sarah's big sister...I wanted to be Katie....I was moving roughly 230 miles away from the only home I have real memories 0f...but instead of being scared, I was so excited...So excited to start my life on my own...As a mother now, I can't imagine the emotion my parents felt leaving me that day...I'm sure one day, I'll understand it when Brodie decides he's ready to start his own life as well...(PS...I don't look forward to that day)....I do have to say that I am very greatful for my parents trusting me enough to let me go, because it was not only the biggest decision I'd made up to that point, but the best one I'd made...

One of the reasons I chose the school I did was because I felt like it was the perfect distance from home....Close enough that if I ever needed/wanted to be home, it was doable...Second, it was far enough away that my parents couldn't just pop in...My parents were great...I didn't get guilt trips about not coming home often enough...I think they were happy for me that I had established my own life here...There were times though that I wanted nothing more than to be home....To be with my parents and my brother and sister...well, and to do laundry for free...lol

During the college phase of my life, my parents didn't visit me....I visited them...I had no problem with that...of course...lol...But, I do have to admit...After I had Brodie, I really thought my parents would put more of an effort to make trips here to visit so that we wouldn't be the only ones traveling...with a baby no less...Since I was pregnant, my parents have been here 4 times....I can't even tell you the amount of times we've made the trip to New Orleans...and I only say this so you can understand the point of view of my husband...He's bitter that they don't make more of an effort...among other things...but I'm not getting into all that....but, the result of this has been that our trips to New Orleans have come to a screeching halt...My husband and I have made trips to New Orleans for cruises, but the last time we brought Brodie was in August...

This really makes me sad...and jealous if I'm being honest...My brother has a 4 year old son and my sister has a 22 month old son and a 9 month old daughter....My brother and sister still live with my parents...So, anytime my brother has my nephew, my parents get to spend time with him too...and my sister and her kids are there on a daily basis...The jealousy comes because they have these in depth relationships with my nephews and neice, and to be honest, they don't really know Brodie...And I'm not being dramatic...my dad has actually apologized because they don't 'know' Brodie like they know the other kids...

Aside from the whole grandchildren thing...there are just times in my life, and this has happened since I was 17 and moved away from home, that I just want to be with my family...even if there's nothing exciting going on...I just want to be around them....talk with my mom and dad...In person conversation is always better...I'm not really a phone person....hang out with my brother and sister and hear about what's going on in their lives....Now that there are children involved, it adds a whole new layer, because I want to see my neice and nephews and get to know them....So, that's where I'm at today...well, I've actually been here for a couple weeks now to be honest...I just miss them...and days like yesterday make me miss them even more....

We had an incredible day yesterday...My husband's aunt invited all of the family over for a crawfish boil...She has an inground swimming pool...a lot of grass to run around in...toys for the kids....it was really a lot of fun...exausting for me because Brodie around a swimming pool scares the hell out of me, because he doesn't understand if he falls in he could drown...But we swam most of the day and he got to ride bikes and play and run...My husband has a great extended family on both sides...they are all so gracious and nice...I really enjoy getting together with them whenever we do...it just makes me wish for those kind of days with my own family....If that makes any sense....

I hope everyone is having an amazing weekend!

Friday's Just Sayin'

Well, hello there...It's been a pretty busy week...no blogging fun for me...I need to play catch up this weekend for sure :)  Just a warning...I didn't brainstorm this edition of Friday's Just Sayin'...so, it could suck....Just Sayin'....lol

1.  This edition of Friday's Just Sayin' is being brought to you from the comfort of my home!...That's right...No work today :)  There's nothing better than a 3 day weekend huh?...Yes there is!...A 4 day weekend!....Just Sayin'

Happy Dance

2.  I just told my 3 year old son that the living room was a mess...His toys are spread from one end of my living room to the other....To my surprise, the kid started cleaning it up...This is not a figment of my imagination...This shit really happened...lol...He's amazes me everyday....Just Sayin'

3.  Brodie took Spring Pictures a couple weeks ago at school...These pictures usually don't come out well...I can't imagine taking that many pictures of that many kids in a morning...I would probably need a happy pill afterward...lol...Yesterday when I picked him up from school, the proofs were there...His pictures are precious!...And not just 'That's my kid, every picture is precious'...these are actually good pictures of him...I'm so excited to order these...I may even end up sending them out to family like I'm supposed to....Just Sayin'

4.  We wear uniform shirts at work...I wear mine with black or khaki pants...Over the past year in a half I have finally lost 'the baby weight' which has totalled to over 50 pounds....It's about frickin time, seeing as how Brodie is 3...lol...Anyway, my work clothes are not fitted...It seems that anytime I wear regular clothes to work...clothes that fit me....The weight loss is noticed more...Yesterday, I was told to go eat a biscuit...Really?...Maybe I should get work clothes that fit better so I don't feel like such a freak show when I wear regular clothes...Just Sayin'



5.  It's frickin hard to find stick figure pictures to correspond to my Just Sayin' topics...So Doug, your ass better be reading this post....Just Sayin'

And there you have it folks!...Another edition under my belt...Hope everyone enjoys their weekend...We get to go to a Crawfish Boil tomorrow, which I am super excited about...The Easter Bunny will be dropping off some cool stuff for Brodie...So, I'm guessing it should be a pretty good one for us :)

Still a Rookie

So, I'm trying to not come off as such a rookie here in the blogosphere...Yesterday I spent the better part of my day looking for a different template that I loved...because what screams Rookie more than the standard Blogger template....I did find one that I think is pretty awesome...but of course once I loaded it, I felt like I needed to tweak a few things...Let's be clear here...Even though I did major in Computer Science for one semester in college....and even though I do understand the concept of HTML coding...I'm not very good at it...which is why I only majored in Computer Science one semester...Trust me, if I had been good at it, I would have loved to have been a computer geek...

One of my philosophies in life is, if you don't know something, Google it...It usually works for me....whether I need directions somewhere, or to learn how to cook something...well yesterday, I was trying to use Google to teach me what I didn't remember from my computer science classes...Apparently, I have more patience than I give myself credit for because, when I looked at the clock, it was almost 4:30pm....

I wasn't completely satisfied with it...Imagine that...At this point, I can't figure out how to add buttons to my sidebar...(Thundercat listed me as one of her Feature Bloggers and there's a button and everything!...I just can't figure out how to get that b@#!% on my page...I also was introduced to SITS by Making it Work Mom and want to add that button too)....I turned to my trusty teacher Google this morning for some education, but it seems that people only wanted to know how to do this before Blogger changed the Design options...There's no option for me to add a page element...WTF...

For the most part, I do like the new look :)  What do ya'll think?  OOOOOHHHHHH!!  I almost forgot to share this...

For my loyal readers (you think I have those?...lol) If you read I Think He's Part Woman you will appreciate this...This morning my husband was pouting because there was no hanky panky last night...He was being a DB...I wasn't down...So anyway, while I was telling him it wasn't my fault he said..."I know...I'm like a woman, you just have to deal with it" ....I literally cracked up laughing and said..."I'm dealing, trust me..." LMAO...just a side note, he doesn't read this blog....which makes the comment even greater!!

I hope everyone has a Fabulous Day!...BTW...We were supposed to be out of town today for a birthday party, but it got cancelled last minute last night because the birthday boy and his daddy were throwing up with fever....I was bummed and all because I was going to get to see a friend of mine that I haven't seen in probably 8 or 9 years....But, there is good in everything...Because I was planning (yes, you all know I'm neurotic) to be gone today, I switched laundry day to yesterday!....Know what that means???...NO LAUNDRY FOR ME TODAY!!! :D



Friday's Just Sayin'

Well, look who's not being a quitter...That would be me!....Right here!!....I know I warned you last week that the 1st installment of Friday's Just Sayin could possibly be the last, but I'm not good at failing...So, I was determined to try again....In preparation, I thought of different topics throughout the week...So, here goes nothing!

1.  Last weekend was a lot of fun...I know I mentioned that I wanted to skip my birthday party & baseball game obligations to park it on the couch to eat trash and watch trash on TV, but I did not :) My husband was busy working on the house we he (let's be honest, I don't do manual labor) is renovating, so Brodie and I got to hang out...We went to the birthday party...He only had 1 minor meltdown (he's having a really hard time understanding that everything in the world does not belong to him...I'm really working hard on this...I do not want my kid to be a brat)...After the birthday party, we went to have lunch at Burger King, which is not a normal thing because my husband worries about him eating fried food...I think in moderation, it's not that big of a deal...He hugged me about 5 times while we were in the booth and said "I happy." :)  After lunch, we made our way to the baseball game...A great day...As a result of spending the day outside, I got my first sunburn of the season...Just on my shoulders, chest, & top of back (tank top sunburn)....Now, I itch like crazy because I didn't moisturize...I can't stop scratching...I probably look like I have fleas or something...lol...I don't have fleas...Just Sayin'

2.  I haven't fix my hair all week...I mean, it's clean and brushed and all, but it's been tied in a knot on top of my head all week...No straightening, no curling, nothing....It's a process to fix my hair...It's long, thick, and has a natural curl to it that makes it frizzy...The weather here has been Bipolar...One day would be a good day for straight hair...the next would be a good day for curly hair...So, to simplify my life, I've been choosing the bun...Good for all days....Yes, I'm lazy...Just Sayin'

3.  When I wake up in the morning, I am grumpy...I have always been this way...I need some time to adjust to the fact that I'm not sleeping anymore...99.9% of the time I feel like I haven't gotten enough sleep and I want to go back to sleep, which makes me even grumpier...My husband, on the other hand, opens his eyes and is ready to start the day...I don't understand how someone can be peppy 5.2 seconds after they wake up...He's in denial about my grumpiness in the morning...Anytime I've made the comment that I'm grumpy in the morning and just want to be left alone, he says "No you're not." **sigh**  Yes. I. Am.  Just Sayin'

4.  I am surprised to realize how judgemental people are...Yes, my child goes to daycare...He's been in daycare since he was 7 weeks old...I work full-time...My husband is self employed....I don't work so I can shop at my leisure, I work to contribute to my family...I admire women who stay home with their children...It just pisses me off when people feel the need to say that my son is being raised at daycare...The last time I checked, I was his mother and my husband was his father, and we are raising him...Are the school teachers in elementary, middle, and high school raising your kids?  I didn't think so...Just Sayin'

5.  Thanks to Thundercat's blog Tuesday...I can't get this frickin image out of my head....Her blog is beyond hilarious...Just a warning though, she has no shame and no filter....lol...Just Sayin'

Yay!!!  I did it!  Hope you enjoyed this week's installment of Friday's Just Sayin'...Until next time...

Did I Sign Up For This?

Ha Ha!...You thought I was gonna be bitchin again didn't you??  Nahhhhh :)  I apologize to anyone who was subjected to my minor meltdown last night.  After some very wise words from Asha , my blogging mentor, and a reminder to breath, I'm feeling much better now...Not to mention, she called me 'grasshopper'...I'm down with being a grasshopper...Only, I need to be a cute, non-scary looking grasshopper, not one that looks like some dragon spawn...

Yesterday, I was going through my list of blogs that I follow, reading what caught my attention...I came across a blog written by a new favorite of mine, Making It Work Mom...This particular blog was about her tween daughter wanting to shave her legs...I can vividly remember being 13, begging my mom to let me shave my legs...I'm not sure why we rush this particular right of passage along, because I would be delighted to never. shave. again.  Anyway, I loved the story she told...As a new mother, and I say new because my son is only 3 and I know I have A LOT to learn, I have a new respect for my mom...I would have loved to share the experience of shaving with her like Making It Work Mom ended up doing, but at that point, I was more interested in my best friend coming over to share the experience with me...lol...My sister and I both robbed my mom of that bonding moment...I chose to share it with my best friend and my sister secretly started shaving her legs probably before she was ten, because I did it, so she thought she should be able to do it too...Since Brodie will most likely be an only child, yes I said it, it looks like I won't have that moment either...I think I'm OK with that

I do have a point, really...lol...At the end of the blog, Making It Work Mom asked, "How has your vision of motherhood changed since you had children?"  In all honesty, before I had Brodie, I was so wrapped up in being pregnant, I didn't think a lot about how it would be when he was actually born...In my defense, I got pregnant about a year before and miscarried, so being pregnant, and staying pregnant was the most important thing to me...I can't even tell you how many books I read on pregnancy...I signed up for weekly newsletters...I even rented a Doppler to have at home to hear his heartbeat anytime I wanted...I work for my OBGYN, so if I ever was nervous and wanted to hear his heartbeat then, I just walked to the back and could have my nerves eased...I was absolutely, crazy, nervous being pregnant...My husband has adopted that out of control nervousness for parenting...lol...(That's a whole other blog topic...)  Don't misunderstand, I absolutely loved being pregnant, and I knew I loved 'the baby', but the feeling I got when I finally saw Brodie, after he was born, I will never be able to describe to anyone...The switch flipped...He was (is) my absolute 1st priority...I love him more than I love anyone in this world...How could I not fall in love him?

My overall view of motherhood at that point consisted of feeding, changing diapers, giving baths, changing outfits, taking pictures, waking up at night, all the while adoring my new little baby...Everyone told me to enjoy those days because they 'go so fast'...I was like, yeah sure, I've slept 4 hours in 2 days, this week is dragging...Well, I'm here to tell you I was wrong...Yep, I said that too...They were right...Those days were gone before I knew it...When Brodie was a baby, I was so excited to see the next stage, I wasn't fully experiencing and enjoying the present stage...Before I knew it, he was a year old...

My views of motherhood at that point were about the same, except I wasn't waking up at night because I was blessed with a good sleeper...We went through a lot of ear infections and cases of pneumonia that year, so I felt like I lived at the doctor's office...Everyone told me that the sicknesses would stop after he turned 2...So, you know what I was looking forward to...And before I knew it, he was 2...

They were right again...We spent a fraction of the time at the doctor's office that year...Throughout that year, he started showing his personality more, he was talking a lot...granted, a lot of it I didn't understand...lol...I finally started to realize that I needed to slow down...I needed to enjoy my son...

His 3rd birthday was really hard for me...it seemed like everything was changing...all the baby stuff is gone or going away...no bottles, no baby food, no little bathtub, no pacifier, no diapers, no baby bed...WTF...what happened to my baby?...(Don't be fooled though, my son still sleeps in his baby bed...he doesn't try to escape and he still fits...AND we are still potty training...don't  judge me...lol) I think I cried like 10 times on his 3rd birthday...I was sad because I will never have those baby experiences with him again, but happy because he's at a fun age (minus the meltdowns) and we actually are able to communicate with each other...My view of motherhood now is very basic...It's accepting that things change in an instant with a 3 year old...It's loving the hell out of that little boy...And it's hoping that I don't rush the time by anymore...I expect and welcome that view to change over time...Just as I know he will...

Here he is this morning...My heart...

I think HE'S part WOMAN....

I really hope I'm not the only one here....I really feel like my husband can act like more of a woman that I do sometimes!....I am very independent by nature....I was ready to get a job right when I turned 16 to make my own money, so I didn't have to ask my parents for money....I would even go to Walmart and buy my own shampoo and conditioner, makeup, razors....You get the point....I moved out of my parents house at 17 to go to college...I was able to graduate a semester early from high school, so I spent that semester working and saving money for the move, because I didn't plan to work when I started college....I wanted nothing more than to be on my own, taking care of my own shit....

Now, let's be clear here....there were times that I did have to call Mom & Dad because I needed help, but for the most part (and I think they'd tell you)...I took care of my stuff...And I loved it!....I don't have a history of a lot of boyfriends....In fact, the only other real boyfriend I ever had before my husband was the only other boyfriend I ever had...I dated around here and there, but I was more concerned with having fun and not tying myself down so young...When my husband and I first got together, he took a very manly role in our relationship....He wanted to make sure I was taken care of....in all aspects....very different than my ex boyfriend....He was the perfect combination of considerate, romantic, masculine, etc....I didn't  mind allowing him to take care of me :)

I really feel like since Brodie was born (over 3 years ago)...He's changed a lot...He's become, for a lack of better words, needy....and at times....it seems like he's insecure....It drives me INSANE....I know that people say new Daddy's go through an adjustment period because their wives are now focusing all of their attention on the new baby....I get this....but come the hell on....Brodie is 3....It's not like I ignore my husband...But sometimes I feel like he acts like a baby just for attention....This evening when he called me while I was on my way home from work, I was informed of a cut on his finger from hanging a metal sign....You wanna know that bad part?....Instead of feeling bad for his metal-cut (which is equivalent to a paper cut)....All I could think about was how much I didn't feel like listening to him bitch and moan about it....I'm Horrible, I know...This did come after and incident at lunch....I went to the nail shop on my lunch break to get my nails refilled and to get my uni brow waxed...(It had really been tooooo long....)  Anyway, I get back to my truck, where I accidentally left my phone...I have 2 missed calls from him and a text message that says "Fine, I didn't want to eat lunch with you either."  Really?!? 

I kindly called him....which he did not answer...then texted him back...Immediately after I sent the text, he called to tell me he was 'just joking'....he wasn't mad....Yeah. Frickin. Right.  I was not born yesterday....

I think it's now time for me to escape to the tub....Thank you for allowing me to rant :)  I feel better already....Well, kinda....lol



Friday's Just Sayin'

I'm stealing the concept of what I'm calling Friday's Just Sayin from my Blogging Mentor (Yes, you are my mentor...lol)...She does a Fantastic Friday Five each week...I feel better about stealing the idea if I call it something different...Check her blog out though, it's really honest and funny...What's better than that?  So here we go...


1.  I don't mind my schedule (life) revolving around Brodie, but when something comes up, whether it's for work or play and I need someone to pick up my slack, YES HUSBAND, I expect you step up...When you don't, I will be pissed....Just Sayin...

2.  WTF is up with gas prices...I travel 90 miles a day for work (if not more)...If this continues, I will be working just to pay for gas....Just Sayin...

3.  My son is in desperate need of a haircut...He's starting to look like the raggedy kid at school...I will convince him this weekend to let me cut his hair...Yep, my 3 year old needs convincing...Just Sayin...

4.  I love trash reality TV (don't judge me)...If I had my choice, instead of birthday parties, baseball games, and weekend housework and cooking, I'd spend my weekend eating, laying on the couch, and catching up on or re watching my favorite reality shows...Just Sayin...

5.  This was way harder than I thought it would be...I'm not sure you'll experience the greatness of my Friday's Just Sayin' next week...Just Sayin...

Hope everyone has a great weekend and sorry if this bored you to tears....lol