Super Sunday...Super Mom

First let me apologize for my absence. I have been in and out of town for the last two weeks and didn't take my computer with me. Part of that time I was at my parents and they have dial up internet. I was not trying to tackle that. LOL. Other than that I have been working on getting a colicky baby happier and tomorrow I will share how I did that!

On to Super Sunday

I want to celebrate a Super Mom today! My MOMMA.

I think most of us appreciate our mothers when we are little. We love when we can cuddle in their laps and when they read to us. We love when they bring us presents and reward us. We love when they cook our favorite meals. We love when they kiss our boo boos away.

I appreciate my momma for so much more. She truly was a Super Mom. She worked a full time plus job and still made us a priority. I can't remember my mom ever missing any of my or my brothers events. With 2 boys and 1 athletic girl there were a lot of events. Let's see...for Ike there was baseball and football, for Joey there was football, soccer, track, wrestling, chorus, show chorus, baseball and for me there was basketball, swimming, cheerleading, track, chorus, show chorus,. there were probably many more things that we were involved in that I am not thinking of right now.
She was always there to cheer us on. I can remember it pouring down rain while I was cheering and there were my mom and dad.

I know I gave her a very hard time during high school (don't all girls). I thought I hated her for awhile because she was always there. Always wanting to know exactly what I was doing and who it was with. I had chores and expectations. What teenager wants those? Now I have come to realize that those expectations were because she loved me so much! Becoming a mom teaches you so much about your own mom. Things you truly never understood before.

I can honestly say that my mom is one of my Best Friends now. I talk to her all the time. I always know I can call her anytime and tell her anything. She is still always there for me.

She is such a Super MOM!!!! Thans Momma, for everything!

Introducing: SUPER SUNDAY

This week I want to start something new on Sundays. I’m calling it SUPER SUNDAY!!!! I am going to take Sunday’s to share something that I deem super. It may be a blog that I’ve come across, a person in my life, a picture I’ve taken, a special event, it could even be a sale I have found. The only requirement is that it be super to me. I admit, you may not find the same things super, but I am willing to take the chance. It is my blog!

So, for my first SUPER SUNDAY…I want to share my Super Best Friend, Allison Wells. You can find her blog at www.afewsprinklesshort.blogspot.com. Allison and I met about 8 years ago at the church we both attended. We were at a marriage conference with our fiancés. The four of us (Allison, Marshall, Zach and I) stood out b/c we were the only non- married people at that conference. I would say we became acquaintances at that point. Then in 2004 we got to talking at the door of the church (she was a greeter) and we discovered that we were both trying to conceive and both failing. Over the next few years we became extremely good friends. We shared our struggles and found solace in each other’s pain.

Fortunately God chose to bless us both with children; we became pregnant 5 months apart of each other. Our daughters are now best friends, and not in the sense of the word that we force them together. They truly ask to see each other and love our times together. I cried with her when she got her son through foster placement. All the way through custody battles to the day he was finally adopted. She was there for me when I went through a miscarriage and again when I got pregnant and had my second daughter. We have lived just a few miles apart to over 200 miles apart. Thankfully, God brought us back close together.

Allison has laughed with me, cried with me, yelled with me. She is the most honest with me and truly loves me! I am so thankful for her. She is a truly SUPER person!!!!

Game Days...Oh How They've Changed

I am a HUGE Clemson fan. I didn't start my life that way but I am now. When I was little my parents were Gamecock fans and so was I. We lived not far from Columbia so I guess that's why. My oldest brother went to some kind of event at Clemson when he was in high school wearing a USC hat and when he came home he was in love with Clemson and wanted to go there. Thus, started my family's love for all things Orange.

When it was time for me to apply for college, I applied at one, Clemson! I loved the campus and couldn't imagine going anywhere else. So, in the fall of '99 I moved into Lever Dorm. I loved it! I couldn't wait to go to the games. That year I believe I went to every home game. I sat in the Campus Crusade block. We had so much fun. I was crowded in with no place to sit and I didn't care. The more the merrier. The louder the better. The next year was pretty much the same. In fact in 2000 I became a part of a group who spent a good amount of time getting painted up. They would paint my face like a tiger and as I walked around campus people who stop me to take my picture. I loved it. I lived for SHOUTING: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 C L E M S O N T I G E R S FIGHT TIGERS FIGHT TIGERS FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT (I know Allison is going to correct me that there should only be 2 fights but I am just putting what we yelled).

In (I believe but could be wrong) 2002 we got season tickets for the first time. We actually had our own seats and could sit down when we wanted. That was different. We would go out to the campus about 6 hours prior to the game and tailgate. We had so much fun. For the next several years we gathered more and more stuff to make our tailgating even more fun. We had 3 tents, a tv, a sallelite, a grill, chairs, etc. We did it right!!!!! That was the most fun we had.

In 2007 all that changed. Not only did the price of season tickets go up a large amount but we had the addition of a 4 month old! We discussed what we were going to do and since we didn't know how she would do we decided not to get season tickets and just buy for the games we wanted to attend. That way if both of us wanted to go, we could, or if Zach wanted to go with someone else and I wanted to stay home we could. I still went to almost every game. We would take Carly's pack n play and her exersaucer out there and tailgate just as long as we did before.

Now with the addition of another little one, things have changed. I am sure Carly would love to go to the game and cheer on the Tigers. She loves putting her cheerleading outfit on and screaming Go Tigers. However, mommy loves to sit at home in her comfy chair and watch the game. (In fact, I am blogging as I watch the game now.) I don't have to worry about the weather, whether I can comfortably nurse Alyssa, whether my children will hear things I'd rather them not, or the hoards of people (a lot of whom are quite drunk). I can dress how I want to dress, I can put my child down for "rest" time. I can go to the potty without walking up and down a million steps. I can adjust my thermostat according to how I feel. I can even change the channel if we don't show up.

I am still a HUGE CLEMSON FAN! I just love being home more since I have become a mommy!

Give Away Time

I have decided that if I get 25 followers I will give away a custom fall pillow case dress. You can tell me the age and measurement (shoulder to the length you want it to be) for the little girl you want it for. You can even tell me if you want if for Halloween/Pumpkin Picking/Thanksgiving or even Christmas. So tell all your friends!!!

The Hand Me Down Debate

So, I was driving in my swagger wagon Tuesday and I thought about the Carly's rain boots. It was a rainy day and she loves to wear her rain boots so she can jump in the puddles. She knows she is not allowed to if wearing her regular shoes. Well, when we put her boots on (which she hadn't worn for a few months due to the dry spell) we noticed they were getting slightly tight. Not to the hurting her foot stage but to the hard to get on and off stage. So, I realized that we needed to get her a new pair. Alas, the cute little yellow ones with flowers and birds will be put away in a box awaiting the day that Alyssa will have feet big enough to wear them.

That got me thinking about Alyssa's clothes. At this time she is able to wear only a small portion of Carly's clothes b/c their seasons are off. Carly was born in May and Alyssa in August. For some reason, the thought came into my mind, "when will Alyssa hate wearing hand me downs?" You see I was the only girl in my family (I have two older brothers) so I didn't have hand me downs. At what point do they act like the girl in the Tide commercial and want their "own" clothes. For that matter, most of Carly's clothes come from consignment stores and sales. So, it's not like she actually gets all new clothes. We do buy both of them a portion of new clothes to meet needs and my mom LOVES to buy them dresses. So they do get some new clothes.

Is it okay to let Alyssa just wear her big sister’s clothes or do I need to get her clothing of her own? I guess I could sell Carly’s clothing and use that money to pay for Alyssa’s. Of course, I have my favorite outfits of Carly’s that I love to put on Alyssa. It takes me back!

So I was just wondering, what’s your opinion? At what age does Alyssa get her own clothes?

Sharing a contest from a friends blog

Just wanted to share a contest. you could win a freezer cookbook and some supplies to get you started. It looks awesome! To tell you the truth I hope I WIN!!!

http://www.frugalmom.net/blog/2010/09/the-everything-freezer-meals-cookbook-giveaway-extravaganza/

Birth Control Issues

So I am stealing this topic from another blogger and fellow PAI member... www.wingerteam.blogspot.com. The funny thing is, she actually reposted from someoneelse's blog. I guess this topic just speaks to a lot of women. i am not going to repost her blog. I am just going to focus on my feelings and see what you think.

I have often had a hard time deciding wether, as a Christian, birth control was a necessary thing. I know that statement in itself has several of you yelling and telling me that "YES IT IS". You don't want more children now or maybe ever and you also don't want to have surgery. Well here is my question; if God is in control of everything and won't give me more than I can handle, do I need birth control. I am sure many of you have friends who have gotten pregnant while on birth control. I know a lot of people who have. Now I am a nurse so I know the medical reasons for it but I am not sure I can convince myself that I need it. If I leave it in God's hands, can't I trust that He will not give me more than I can handle?

I have always struggled with that issue and other issues like it. If I put my life in God's hands is that not enough? Will He not give me the family He wants me to have? Both my children are miracles! I was told I'd never have them without IVF. I've never had IVF and I have had 3 pregnancies.

Who are we to "control" what God wants for us? I don't know. I think we all have to figure out what God wants us to do and if He tells us to take meds...take meds, if He tells us not to...don't!