Happy Memorial Day!!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are enjoying your day off today. 

A Movin' & a Shakin

Gianna started crawling/scooting last night. It really happened out of nowhere. Two days ago she was on her knees and crawling a few inches to get to her toys and then BAM! She was doing this:





It reminds me of Mission Impossible. All she needs are the lazer beams. Now I cannot get the theme song out of my head. Da da daaaa da da daaaa dada!

Week One: Completed

Week one apart from Hubs has been completed and we are working on week two.  So far its not been too bad.... for me.  I have been keeping so busy with my family and its been amazing in that aspect.  Everyday I have something to do and someone to see.  Such a nice change of pace for me.  There were times when I lived in Hill Country that I felt so incredibly lonely from not knowing too many people.  You can only go to the grocery store or mall so many times during the week.  Here I have family and friends all over the place and its keeping my busy.  Now before you think I am a heartless woman.  I promise I am not 100% evil.  I swear.  I do miss my husband but its at night when Gianna is in bed and its quite in the house.  Its then that I miss having him next to me and when I just want to cuddle with him and talk about our days.

The Hubs on the other hand is having a much harder time with this separation than I am.  He is working long ass days and coming home to a empty hotel room and eating out every night.  It gets real old real fast. He misses his daughter.  He says that she changes every single day and he hates that he is not a part of it.  He has been looking at finding a place to live but being that its a very small town in the middle of nowhere there really is not a ton available.  In the meantime he is going to keep doing the 8 hour commute home every weekend to see his family.  ::SIGH::  It sucks.  Big time.

So I tell him, and myself, to take it week by week.  On Sundays when he gives me a slap on the ass and a long kiss goodbye I tell him that its only five days til we see each other again.  Five days is really not too long.  In the meantime we have been chatting via skype.  BEST INVENTION EVER!  Its like he is right here with us when in reality he is states away.  Gianna seems to love it too.  She smiles, talks and laughs at her dad while skyping with him.  Hubs sings her songs and makes silly faces.  Although their Daddy/Daughter rituals have changed it has not changed their relationship.  Gianna is still daddy's little girl.

7 Months

Pretty girl is 7 months today.  She is closer to a one year old than a newborn.  I know I have said this with each passing month but time is just flying by.

Hubs came home from Corn Country last night so today we ran errands and walked around the outdoor mall by our place.  The inner ballerina in me was in love with Gianna's outfit so I took a million and a half pictures.  Here are some fun pictures of our day.

Here are some of Gianna's stats:

She goes to bed at 7 pm and sleep through the night until 7:00 am.

She take between two to three naps ranging from 1 hour to 2.

She eats three soilds a day. Fruit in the am and veggies in the afternoon and evening.

She is in 12 month clothing and size two shoes.

She wears size four diapers.

She rolls around like a mad woman and has started to crawl/scoot around.  

She takes a bottle/breast feeds every 3 to 3.5 hours. (Five feedings a day.)

She says Dada and Mama. 

She can hold her bottle/sippy and has a few times but prefers if someone else holds it for her. So we do.  Can we say spoiled?

She has two teeth and I can see a few more on the way.  

Aaaaaaannnnnnd.... We finally have enough hair for bows!!!!!!

The Bitch is Back.

If you are of the male sex and happen to stumble upon this blog post I suggest you stumble right back out.  Are you gone yet?  Well, if not then remember I warned you.

The Bitch with a capital B is back.  After a year and a half of her absence she showed her ugly face this morning.  Yup, you guessed that right.  I am talking about my period.  I have been majorly bloated the past few days, weepy over sappy comericals, and having mad cravings so I should have known that she would be making an appearance soon but I was in major denial. I even mocked my friend Amanda when she said she was starting her first post pregnancy period.  Yeah, Karma is a bitch too. 

How can someone who has had her period since the third grade not immediately know that the symptoms she is feeling is her period? I do not know.  Instead for a quick second I thought that I could be pregnant. When I went to the bathroom last night I saw a tinge of pink and I immediately thought implantation bleeding, and then tried calculating the last time I had maritals with The Hubs. Since we practice the all too reliable pull and pray method of birth control I figured pregnancy can be all too likely.  What are the odds in Russian Roulette?? To add to my paranoia, seems like every one around me is expecting again, talking about babies or trying to make babies.  Instantly I thought my card was up.  A million “Oh, Shits” and “Nah. Couldn’t be’s” passed through my brain and I consoled myself by deciding if I was still concerned I would test in two weeks.  Well, there was no need for further concern when I woke up and went to the bathroom the following morning.  I got my stupid ass period. After a year and a half absence it was time to pull out the trusty old black period underwear.  Tampex and I are Bff’s again.  Where there is Tampex there is always her sidekick, Motrin. 

I am going to try to look on the bright side of this all.  I no longer have to purchase pregnancy tests once a month.  I am like clockwork regular so if I am a day past 28 I know something is up.  (Although peeing on a stick can be fun…)

For those who do not come here to read about me bitching and moaning but instead come here to see a ridiculously cute kid, here you go. 

New Beginnings.

Our little place among the hills.

Well, tomorrow is my last day at our place in Hill Country.  It feels all very bitter sweet.  This is the place where Hubs and I became a little family of two to three point five.  This is the only home Zoey and Gianna have ever really known.  Can't believe that we spent over a year and a half here.  It all went by so quickly.  We have been here longer than we planned but we have enjoyed our time in Hill Country.  Among many of our other memorable firsts it's the place where we potty trained our puppy, hosted our first holiday dinner with family, the home where we brought Gianna to from the hospital, and the place  where we documented her first smile.  Do not get me wrong, The Hubs and I constantly bitched about it just like I think anyone renting a place would.  It's not entirely yours so you cannot do as you please with it, but I am going to miss it.  It will always hold a special place in my heart for all the sentimental reasons and the memories that we made here.  Although if am I am going to be 100%  honest I am going to be glad to not live among these any more....

We have too much CRAP!  (Another pic taken from my phone cuz I am w/o a camera... AGAIN)

As corny as this is going to sound, I feel like our little family is closing a chapter in our book and beginning a new one.  It may not be the easiest road but what good book has easy simple plots with no challenges?  None that I enjoy reading.  Little by little we will figure it out and in the end do what's best for our family.  I know this chapter will bring us new challenges and new adventures, but my little family is up for it.  We will make it work. 

The Verdict Is In.

We are moving to Corn Country, Indiana.  It was confirmed to The Hubs yesterday afternoon.  They would like him there as quickly as next week.  If you have followed my story you may be wondering why the change?  Well, last week Monday we were to hear the final word on if we were moving to Chicago when someone in Corn Country put in his two weeks notice.  This job in Corn Country is a pretty important job for The Hubs company.  If they do well on this job and please the owners it could lead to further jobs and more massive amounts of money for the company.   This meant that once they heard that this employee was no longer going to be with them on the Corn Country job that they needed someone to fill that spot a.s.a.p.  So instead of hearing that we will be moving to Chicago last Monday we were hearing that there were emergency meeting in the corporate office to figure out who would be the best candidate to fill this dudes spot.  Of course The Hubs name came up and that is when our fate change from fun in the city to well, Corn Country.

We are now in hyper active fast forward speed mode... which I knew would end up happening no matter how much I tried to plan ahead, hence some of my anxiety.  We have a game plan, although it's not the most ideal it's a plan and the best we can do right now.  We are going to pack up a months worth of clothes and necessities for Gianna and I and this weekend we are going to move back to our place in Hometown.  We will stay there for at least two weeks to a month.  Meanwhile The Hubs will be in Corn Country living in a hotel scouring the small town for a place to live and evaluating if its safe enough city to raise our daughter in.  Once he finds a place in Corn Country he will have movers move all of our crap from Hill Country to Corn Country.  If all goes well we will be joining him in a month or so.  If not then G and I may live in Hometown throughout The Hubs stint in Corn Country which at this point is one year and he will fly home every weekend.  Confusing and hectic, right?

There are issues with living in Corn Country other than being in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to do, and dying from boredom.  It is a small small town.  Housing is few and far in between, let alone housing that are pet friendly, have a washer/dryer, or even have two bedrooms.  We have Zozo.  We have a baby. We have loads and loads of laundry.  This may pose a problem.

My other issue with Corn Country is that its far away from EVERYTHING!  Airport is two hours away, Hometown is 8 hour drive, nearest city where there is a population over 120,000 is over an hour away. No major stores and not a whole lot going on.  I have been spoiled at this point.  I get to go home to Hometown very often.  My parents, sisters and in-laws get to see my daughter, not as often as I would like but they get to see her.  She knows who they are and they have to this point to watched her grow.  I know that if or when I move to Corn Country the visits from family will be slim to none not because they do not care but because to get to this little town in the middle of no where is sooo difficult.  Our trips back home with a little one and a dog are going to be just as difficult and will rarely happen.  We will be stuck there in a small town with nothing to do and no loved ones near us.

Our last issue and biggest worry is that from what we heard from The Hubs coworker's who already live there is that Corn Country has some pretty shady areas.  It's a well known fact in that area that some of the locals use the fertilizers from their neighborhood farmers to make meth in their homes.  I guess this tiny city in the middle of nowhere is a high meth trafficking area.  Just wonderful.  Above all the other issues we want to make sure that we are raising our daughter in an area where we do not have to worry about taking her to the park, playing in our front yard, or going for a walk on a nice evening night.

I am trying to be brave about it all.  It's only a year.  My marriage is strong our love for our child is even stronger.  We will do what's best for our family even if all of the options are not ideal.  We will make this work.  This job is an amazing opportunity for The Hubs.  I have to have faith that someone up there knows what He is doing.  Its only a year...

Mothers Day

My mothers day was just what the doctor ordered.  We didn't do a whole lot and that was A OK with me.  I spent most of my day on the floor rolling around and cuddling with Gianna and The Hubs.  It was nice not to be in a car all day long for once on a Sunday.  Usually on Sunday we are driving back to Hill Country from Hometown, a five hour drive.  It was hard and sad to not be spending this holiday with our own momma's but it was so nice to be just us with no pressure of the clock.  Usually when we are in Hometown we are driving back and forth btw the two families and then if time allots it, friends.  This weekend we said no traveling back and forth.  Its just going to be the three of us spending quality time together.  I think we all needed it.

I have been stressed out lately.  A ball of anxiety describes it a lot better.  My heart starts racing and I can feel the heat quickly shoot up to my face.   I can feel my eyes start to tear up and the lump grown in my throat.  Many times this anxiety begins when Gianna starts to fuss, and that is not all too often. Sometimes its when I feel pressured by the clock.  Need to get ready to be here or there by such and such time. Oh crap, Gianna just took a massive dump. Have to pack this up, make sure to bring an extra this or that.  Lately, its been happening more and more often for no reason.  I have to stop what I am doing, close my eyes and start taking deep breaths.

I am sure that most of these feelings are coming from the fact that our lease is up here in Hill Country at the end of this month and we still do not know where we are going to be moving to.  Plans may have changed and there is a high possibility that we are no longer moving to Chicago.  There is pull from management to have The Hubs move to a less than pleasant and semi dangerous area far far away from Hometown, an airport, or any semi major city.  This town is in the middle of corn fields.  I will not go into the gory details as to why I do not move there.  Its not necessary until we know for sure if this is what our future holds.  I am trying to not think about it or get worked up about it but I am failing miserably.  If this move occurs there will be a ton of tough decisions for my husband and I.  We keep telling each other that what is meant to be will happen and that God will do what's best for us.

So for my mothers day I spent time with the two people who matter the most to me.  My loving and supportive husband and the little girl who puts a smile on my face and amazes me every day.  We stayed in our pajamas well into the afternoon, ordered in dinner, and cuddled all day long.  Its a day that I will alway hold dear to my heart.

Amazing weekend..

and its only half way over.  The Hubs declared this weekend Mothers Day weekend.  He insisted that this weekend be all about me and with the intention of doing everything that I want.  He came up with this plan all on his own.  He started the weekend off with a bang when he told me that I was not cooking on Friday and that he was taking the family out to dinner, restaurant of my choice.    I have to say, I am one lucky bitch.  Although I lost the ability to be able to make a single decision on my own since the birth of my daughter I was up for the challenge.  The weather was amazing Friday night here in Hill Country so I picked a restaurant where we could sit outside and eat.  It was perfect.


Today has been awesome right from the beginning After feeding Gianna in bed this morning and a having a nice little morning snuggle The Hubs brought her downstairs to let me sleep in a little bit.  I love my sleep and am the type that if I do not get a solid eight hours I do not function properly for the remainder of the day.  Needless to say, I have not been fully functioning for the past six months but that is neither here or there.  When I woke up an hour later we quickly got ready and went to the mall.  The Hubs told me that I am in desperate need of clothing and that he is going to take care of Gianna at the mall while I buy some clothes.  I was not allowed to come home empty handed.  Did I mention that I am one lucky bitch?


He kept to his word.  He knew that I have been meaning to go shopping to buy myself some pants that fit.  It has yet to happen because it seems that every time I go out with my daughter to go jean shopping and we enter the changing room she gets antsy, cranky and fusses up a storm.  My generally happy easy going baby does not like changing rooms.  In return I get all anxious, I look at my pile of jeans and shorts, quickly try on two of my favorite pairs, hate them and then go home.  The Hubs occupied Gianna the whole day and made sure she was content while I went into my favorite stores and sorted through every.single.rack.   He proudly walked her around the mall in the stroller and if she made the slightest peep in protest he attended to her needs.  It was glorious.  In addition to some cute tops, I was able to find the perfect fitting jeans and capris.  I will no longer be walking around like I have a big load in my pants!!! My man is amazing and I am one lucky bitch.


Afterward he went to Jarred while Gianna and I stayed in the car. You know, the "He went to Jarred" jewelry store.  My sister bought me a pandora bracelet and little by little he has been adding beads to it.  He just surprised me with this.

Cute, no?

It doesn't stop there.  Once we got home I played with Gianna in the family room while me made us dinner.  He cooked, ya'll!  The Hubs is many things but one thing he is not is a cooker. He is a griller/ clean up the dishes kind of man but if it doesn't involve a George Forman he can't do it.  He made ground turkey tacos. It may not seem like much but he did it all by himself, including chopping all the veggies.  Then he insisted that he clean up the dishes.  

The plan for the remaining of the night is to crack open a few beers and watch a movie, of my choice of course.  Yes, I am one lucky lucky bitch.  

6 Month Professional Pics

Over the weekend we got Gianna's professional pics taken.  This is something we try to do once every 3 months.  I am not 100% in love with the quality of the photos.  She is not looking into the camera in many of the pics and the lighting is a bit off in some.  I cannot complain too much because the price was amazing, had over 90 poses, CD rights, and a million print outs to pass to all of our family members and friends.  Even if I do not love the quality my kid is a doll in them all so to me they are perfect. :)  

Below are some of my favorites. Enjoy!

I also discovered how to make collages with picnik!  Took me forever to figure it out but I did it!!

The momma in my life

With mothers day just around the corner I have been thinking a lot about all the mommas in my life. I am seeing mothers day in a whole new light. Now that I have entered the world of motherhood I have a better understanding what is means to be a mother, and with that my appreciation for all the other mommas in my life has grown. I understand the scarifies they have made, the things they have accomplished, and the amount of hard work it is.

Not only is she super mom, but she's beautiful too.  

Especially my momma.  She raised three intelligent, strong, independent, loving, family orientated daughters.  Meanwhile always being a lady with such class. The crazy thing about it is that she did it mostly on her own. She had no help from her own mother who was too busy raising her own young daughter, her inlaws all lived in another country, and my dad was working afternoons and weekends to bring income into the home. She was a work at home mom and she worked her butt off making sure she could provide for the extras for us. Family vacations, designer jeans, piano lessons, and ballet lessons were all paid for by momma. Homemade Italian dinner was always on the kitchen table and the house was immaculate. Still somehow keeping a loving relationship with my father and maintaining all of her friendships.

Not only was she a mother figure to my sisters and I she was our also our confidant, our best friend. I remember the times she would sit in bed with me as I cried over this or that boy who broke my heart, the time I did not make the cheer team, or when the nasty kids were just being plain old nasty. She would hold me tight, me brush my hair off my face, and give me the encouragement and advice that I needed. Sometimes she would cry along with me. She would say that my pain brought her pain. She attended every piano competition, dance team event/game, and ballet recital no matter how busy she was. She tucked us into bed every night and made sure we said our prayers. She was the person I went to when I decided I wanted to go on BCPs because I was thinking of finally doing "it" with my college sweetheart. She was first person I told when I finally did loose my virginity. Yes, you read that right. That is how awesome my momma is. I could and still can count on her for anything.

I marvel at how she was and is able to juggle it all. A successful marriage, happy, healthy, and well behaved children, a thriving career, and be a loyal friend to many. I can only hope I can be half the mother to Gianna as my mother is to me, wife to my husband, and friend to all my besties.


To me this mothers day is not a celebration of me as a new mom but to my mother whom I love so dearly and am so thankful for.