The Texas Mama

Last night I gave Hali her very first hair cut.  There is that whole “I-don’t-wanna-be-responsible-for-this-if-it-turns-ugly-and-she-
looks-laughable-and-is-scarred-for-life” element to the at home hair cut, but honestly, I didn’t think she would go for anyone else doing it.  That is, until I rediscovered the magic elixor. Chocolate.  Suddenly, it was happy, excited Hali, ready for mama to hack at her hair, as long as she got some M&Ms to munch on while I did so.

So I cut off an inch and a half or so at the sides of the back, which evened the back out. For some reason, either side of the back part of her hair were longer than the middle.  So now, it is all one length.  Not fancy, as it actually did only take me one snip with the scissors to cut the entire “long” part of her hair.  I took all her little baby hair whispies up front that keep pretending to be bangs, and evened them out to one length, resulting in the hilarious “my mom cut my bangs too short look” that looks too cute on all little girls.  With the back all naturally flipped out, I love it.

Unfortunately, my baby girl, who just a year ago had these amazing natural ringlets all over her head, is now a BIG GIRL! And nearly all the natural curl is gone.  As she is from our bed.  Also unfortunate is the fact that I too am no longer present in our bed.  I have spent the last three and a half weeks on an air mattress.  Ouch. My. Poor. Aching. Back. And. Hips. But I plan on re-admitting myself into The Adult Bed this weekend, when I buy another baby moniter.  I plan on enforcing a “couples only” rule on our bed hence forth.

So maybe it’s unlady like of me to mention this, but I think none of you are really fooled into believing that I am one anymore anyways.  Today was my birthday.  And because I like to rub it in people’s faces hate to lie, I will tell you that I am 24 today. It feels odd to type that in. 

Every year that gets added to my age feels like I just maybe am getting closer to being “a real adult”.  Not that I don’t feel like one- I do.  Married for over five years, mom to a three year old daughter, my husband and I have owned a few businesses, I have gone through two cancers, and all these things that have AGED me.  But I know there are older adults out there who still look at me as being “just a baby” or still a kid.  I guess compared to, say an 89 year old great-grandma (mine is!!! she is soooo awesome- the greatest woman in THE world), I am still a youngster.  I guess I don’t feel 24.  That’s what it is.  I really feel like I have lived a lot in my short years.  There are few other 24 year olds that I feel I am really able to relate to- be on the same level with. Most of my friends are several years older than me, but I don’t really look at them that way.

So today, on the day celebrating my birth, I won’t post pics of my adorable goofy face cheesing it up for the camera as drool runs down my chin. I won’t even post any baby pictures. Oh, wait. Ha.  But I will thank my fabulous mother for bringing me into the world.  I was super young when I became a mother, but I am still in awe of her having me even younger.  And I turned out DARN good, if I do say so myself!  She did such a good job with me and all my FIVE siblings.  And I really don’t think she had a clue- just figured it out as she went(not that we don’t ALL do that, but we have “authorities” on babies now).  I don’t think that there were a lot of books back then to help you out, either.  I think you just asked your mom or grandma. She is the type of woman that much of it comes naturally to.  She really thinks hard about all her parenting decisions.  I think that she has a good grasp of how to balance strictness with freedoms for her children. 

I think a good sign of a good parent is how the grown child(ren) feels about them.  Plus, it’s a good sign of maturity in that child.  Next to my husband, my mom is my best friend.  Perioid.  She is a role model, a “classy lady”, smarter than she knows, hands down the best cook/baker ever, unselfish, kind, fun to be around, scarily competitive, and HOT to boot.  Seriously, folks.  Put my mom and I next to each other, and tell a guy to pick one- he’ll pick her.  And as self depricating as she is, she will never ever agree with me on that. If more moms were like her, we would be set. So thanks, Mom, for all your hard work on my behalf. Thanks for not killing me when you really wanted to so that I could live to celebrate my 24th birthday.  Really, it’s YOU we should be celebrating today.  All I did was follow the light at the end of the tunnel 24 years ago.

Today was great. I didnt’ do much but read.  I was woken with a kiss and a bottle for Hali by my WONDERFUL husband.  He wished me a happy birthday and then went off to earn some money for mama.  Gotta love him.  I let Hali watch Dora for hours.  She was thrilled. I felt only slightly guilty, but the excuse that “its my birthday and I only get one a year, so I can do what I want” seemed to ease my consious somewhat. Don’t get me wrong- we played and cuddled and tickled and rocked and danced and practiced our phonics.  We just didn’t do as much as we usually do.  I relaxed.  A lot. I made a fire and curled up by it with a cheap romance novel. Yum.

Then I dolled myself up and waited for my hubby to take me out.  We dropped off The Boss at the in-laws(read: snuck out the door while she was upstairs) and headed to the closest resturant.  Applebee’s. I know, I know, not exactly anything to brag about, but we have not been on a date in almost exactly one year, people! The last time we went out was the end of last February, before we moved back to Texas. Yep. So you see, Taco Bell would have made me happy.  The added benefit of eatting at Applebee’s was that Kirkland’s  is right next to it! Yay! I LOVE Kirkland’s, people! I got a huge clock.  I even got them to knock off 25% because both of the two that were left were slightly scratched!  You know I will be posting a pic as soon as my husband hangs it for me, which will require a latter.

We went back to get Hali from the in-laws (Jeremy’s sister babysat for us) and had some birthday cake.  And now I have half a birthday cake, and I just know it will be calling my name all day tomorrow and the next day and the next day.  I just may have to have another peice, but after that, NO MORE!

By the time Hali was in bed it was late.  But not too late….

I have found THE swimsuit! I only wish I could try it one first! I found it online, at retrodress.com and it is so cute! Not to mention sexy in a very 1950’s kind of way. I have been wanting a “retro” suit for a few years- ever since this post-baby bulge came along and refused to leave. 

I think this swimsuit will adequately cover my fat rolls and secure the girls at the same time.  Seeing as a capri-length suit is impractical here in Texas, I have no choice but to offend onlooker’s senses by my plentiful fat, cellulite, stretch marks, and loose stomach skin.

At least I have the good taste to cover it up- they should NOT make bikini’s in my size- PERIOD!  No good can come of a woman of my size showing her stomach. Or upper thighs.  But this doesn’t mean we have to resort to the dreaded “Grandma” suit, either! I believe I have found the perfect solution in this swimsuit.

Other than the whole not being able to try it on a head of time problem, it is more than I generally pay for a bathing suit.  Not that it is outrageous- it is $65.00, plus shipping and all that.  Not bad.  And I only get myself a new suit every other year, so that makes it a little better, right?

I’m sure you are thinking (as you sit there freezing your butt off) that it’s a little early for bathing suit shopping.  Nope. Not in Texas, anyways.  If you add in the couple of weeks I will need to decide for sure, and convince Jeremy that I would be a Sexy Goddess in said suit, plus shipping time, and it will be spring break and the beginning of warm weather.  By the end of April, the pools here will be pleasantly cool in comparison to the down right hot temperatures we reach by then. 

If you browse through the other suits, I am drawn to the polka-dot ones, but I like the brown best- I don’t want to draw any attention to myself in a bathing suit. Plus the brown has those little folds of fabric that can hide sooo much!

And, yes, you have actually just read an entire entry about a swim suit.  How boring, I know, but it really is the little things that get me excited…. well, in most cases…

- Since I can remember, I have read for pleasure.  I didn’t just read because I had to for school. I spent my summers reading.  I must have been one of the only kids my age in high school who actually looked forward to reading “the classics” and other interesting books that we covered my senior year in english.  I read all the series as a girl: Little House on the Prairie, The Babysitters Club, Nancy Drew, Little Women, The Boxcar Children (or is it Kids?), all those “scary” series that were popular. You name it- I read it.  At 17 I discovered Harry Potter.  I had to be the only 17 year old in my high school who read the series, let alone was as into it as I was.  And now, now I read EVERYTHING!  I particularly love historical novels and non-fiction.

- I watched Saved By The Bell.  That’s right!  I admit it! I watched those reruns all through my preteen years.

- Remember ABCs TGIF line up?  I do.  I didn’t have anything else better to do, so as a child and preteen, I faithfully watched it every Friday night. 

- When VH1 first started doing their “I Love the 80s” I couldn’t get enough of it.  I was just stuck in nostalgia and heading down memory lane was so nice…

- I had never heard the term cunnilingus until a few weeks ago.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I am familiar with what it means, I had just never heard that particular term for it.

- New candles and plug ins get me very excited.  I feel wealthy.

- The same applies to hangers- I have this thing where I like all white hangers in our closet so it looks neat.

- My husband says I am feisty.  I don’t think I really care for it- I think I am too boring to be feisty, but there you have it.

- I feel that I look smarter when I wear my glasses. Probably my head just looks fatter, but it’s how I feel that counts, right? Again, Jeremy says that they are sexy glasses, but I doubt such a thing exists. Unless they are pornographic glasses.  That could be hot. 

- I get giddy at the thought of the last Harry Potter book coming out.  They just announced the title a few weeks ago- Harry Potter and The Freaky Cunnilingus… HAH! Kidding- I just wanted to use that word again. It’s actually Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. Not to mention the release of the 5th movie this summer!!!

*** Upon spell checking this entry, I found that I had misspelled the word cunnilingus.  Or maybe I just wanted to use it again- you’ll never know. Not really. I also misspelled misspell, faithfully, term, and nostalgia. Don’t want to think about what that says about me- other than that I really AM a nerd, that is.

Every year for the past uh, one or two years, I send out Christmas cards as does everyone else and their brother’s neighbor’s sister’s plumber.  Although, I must admit, it does seem to be a dying thing.  I know I am antisocial, but seriously! We got a card from my husband’s grandfather, and my mom.  That’s it.  I do have lots of relatives and some friends (that I don’t even keep in contact with anymore, but STILL!).  I remember getting a lot  more in the past.  Sort of like other things…

So I decided to get all crafty.  Hali and I make our own cards this year.  They definately look it.  I wanted to get a cute picture of all of us.  That didn’t happen- opening a new business takes a lot of time.  So I thought I would get a great shot of Hali and put it in with the cards.  So I shoved the Santa hat on her, and snapped away.  She did NOT want to wear the hat.  At all.  Can you tell?

Then, because it is made for a gigantic headed person ( like this guy I once dated… a guy I dated before that guy refered to him as “Head” it was so big) it kept falling off.  With a little help of course.  She was still not pleased.

So she jumped at the opportunity to throw it off her head.  With much enthusiasm.

Finally, after much begging, bribing, and cajoling, I was able to get a decent shot.
 

However, once I put it on the computer to upload it to Walgreens, I realized that (1) her face had food ALL over it, (2) she looks like she has a freakishly skinny neck (which most toddlers do) and people might assume that I don’t feed her, (3) her head looks huge (most toddlers are, proportionally speaking), and (4) it just really doesn’t look like my Hali.  So, I opted for this one instead, that I had taken a few weeks ago in the back yard.

So that is the back of the card. Here is the front that Hali helped me glue all the pieces onto and spray glitter on:

We (ok, I- I am really) are addicted to the spray glitter.  It went onto a lot of Christmas crafts this year. Can’t wait for Valentines- more crafts with glitter!!!

Sex. After kids.  Not two things that go together really well.  It’s not that my libido has dramatically decreased after having one, its not even that I have even less energy for it.  It’s that it is much more difficult to have what my husband and I fondly refer to as ”nookie”.  In your own bed, that is.

Last year, we even upgraded to a king size.  Alas, many a time has found Hali fast asleep in her our enormous bed all alone as we attempt to find a more private area to partake in some nookie.  I realize that the fault lies mainly with me- I should have gotten her out of our bed long ago.  That doesn’t mean I can’t complain.

In our pursuit of a place to be alone, we have been minimally adventurous.  The futon, the couch, the floor in an empty room, the floor of the basement (yes, it does involve a little rug burn), but mainly Hali’s little twin size bed (poor girl- we really shouldn’t be doing the dirty on her pink Dora/Princess bedecked bed).  Yes, we have seen the irony in this- that we, two large adults ( Jeremy is 6′0, I am 5′7) cram ourselves into her minuscule bed while she stretches out luxuriously in our king size.

While these places don’t seem nearly as adventurous as we once were as newly weds, (*cough* the bathroom at his work, the back of our Explorer in the middle of no where…) we definitely find it to be a bit of an annoyance, and find as we are getting on in years- you know, now that Jeremy is the ripe old age of 27, we wish more and more for the roomy comfort and privacy of our own bed for our uh, horizontal dancing. I believe that is the only kind of dancing we have done for several years now…

While I don’t consider myself a “screamer” I have been known to get a little loud.  When you are in no hurry to wake your three year old up at eleven o’clock at night, this becomes a problem.  Quiet sex just isn’t all that great.  You have to whisper everything. 

So what ends up happening, is you have to be sneaky.  You have to hide and be quiet.  Like you’re doing something wrong.  While this does have the possibility to be a big turn on, it is most definitely not.  Really, we are just too lazy and enjoy our comforts too much for it to be so. 

Which is why I have been working hard to get Hali to sleep in her own bed.  This is going fairly well.  Unfortunately, this involves her bed being at the foot of our bed for a little while longer until she is sleeping a little more peacefully through the night.  So we are sleeping in our bed together.  But we are only doing just that- sleeping in our bed together.  Anything else involves dragging a blanket or two around the house.

So while none of this has been very “sexy” for the two of you that read it, I think it is something that most parents can find themselves relating to in some degree.  Also, if you live in my neighborhood, I apologize.  We try and keep everything covered up as we trapeze about the house, but if you are driving by, don’t look in any windows.  At all costs.  Avert your eyes.  Again- very sorry.

                                 
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The couple weeks before Christmas, I decided to get crafty with Hali.  We made many things of that good ol’ standby, construction paper. I will eventually post them.  But first, I wanted to post the craft that Jeremy did with Hali. 

Originally, I figured on them making one cute little reindeer for
Hali, from her foot.  However, Jeremy, great father that he is, took it
one step further.  He made a reindeer family.  I believe who’s who is
pretty self explanatory.

Jeremy helped Hali draw the face on hers.  He uh, creatively did his own face. Although, I think it’s a close one between what I like best- his accurate portrail of his goatee and stubble, or Hali’s mischievioius grin. And I had used up all my creativity on an earlier project, and had none left. 

That project was for Hali’s room. I had these frames sitting around since before she was born! I just kept meaning to do something with them and never did, until a couple weeks ago that is.  I used some white matting, some watercolors that Hali did and some foam cut outs.  It goes well with her room- very pink, girly, and princessy (I know, not a word). The only thing that’s missing is Dora.  But I was really glad to have come up with something using her own art work. And I just realized you can’t really see what I am talking about because of the glare from the flash. Ooopps.

Yes, I know.  It’s all true. I suck.  A lot. I have not been posting nearly as much as I would like, but it has been so hectic and DRAINING lately!  It’s the holidays.  Fun, but lots of it, lots of everything! We have done so much the past couple weeks, and I will be sharing, complete with pictures! But not tonight, because I am going to bed before one or two in the morning! 

So. Coming up in the next few days, we have crafts, Christmas morning, Christmas presents, our fifth anniversary, Hali’s Birthday, New Year’s, and odds and ends.  Starting tomorrow, we are getting back on schedule, and back on track.  We tend to slack off a lot around the holidays- sleeping in, no “lessons”, eating junk, and apparently practically non-existent blogging!

Happy New Years, everyone!  May everything you dream for yourself and your family happen this year, and then some!!!

YAY 2007!!!! Dang, 2007!  That sounds like we should have hoover crafts and crazy tubed clothing and all kinds of crazy stuff by now! Huh.