Clear Epic

The kid is a genius I tell you. We’ve been doing a bit of “no pressure potty training.” Just introducing her to the potty, telling her “Mama has to go potty” and then going to the restroom. When I’ve noticed Prayse straining I’ll ask her if she has to go potty and she’s to the point where she’ll run into the restroom. I’ll also ask if she would like to sit on the potty. Sometimes she does, sometimes she doesn’t and both options are fine in our house. Once she does sit on the potty sometimes something happens, sometimes nothing happens, sometimes nothing happens and then one minute later I’m changing a dirty diaper Again, all options are fine in our house. Oh and the best part is when we wave and say “Bye-Bye Potty!” I apparently blow my nose on the toilet a lot - because when Prayse is sitting on the potty she reaches over, grabs some TP and blows her nose! Oh the things they teach us about ourselves

Yesterday I was putting some clothes into the dryer and Prayse walked over and said, “Puppy! Puppy!” I smiled and asked her what the puppy said? She just kept shaking her head no and saying “Puppy! Puppy!” Again I asked her if the puppy said “woof! woof!” She finally just walked away. 30 seconds later - a dirty diaper. She was trying to say “Potty!!” Incredible! She picks up on things much more quickly than I would have ever thought.

That is what I feel like lately with this blog. There is so much in my life that I would absolutely love love love to write down, to write about. It is how I process everything that happens in my life, good or bad. I think through every situation much more clearly as I write it down. But I never seem to have the balls to pull the trigger, to push “Publish.”

I worry, way too much. I always worry that I’ll offend someone, that I’ll say something and somebody will get pissed. I want to write about family stuff sometimes but my family reads my blog which I love, but feel the need to keep my published thoughts generic on a lot of things. I want to write about work sometimes (not specifics, I’m not stupid enough to be fired) but there are individuals from work that read my blog and I wouldn’t want anyone to get upset that I’d write about it. There are times I want to write about Raymonn but worry he’ll be upset.

I sit down to write or think about what is going on and stop myself. For awhile it has made this blog seem more like a chore than what I really want it to be. I want it to be real. I want to show the real me, real things that I deal with and all of the crazy, random things that pop through my head. Maybe it makes me crazy, maybe it makes me normal. But when I feel like I can’t write one thing or another and the list just keeps getting longer and longer, I tend to just walk away.

My problem is that I care - maybe too much - about others’ reactions. Raymonn has so much self-confidence, I need some of it. He is who he is, and has no apologies for it. He realizes he’s not perfect but he is so confident in who he is that he doesn’t even think twice about the things that haunt my mind. Someone doesn’t return a call? He doesn’t even notice. Someone doesn’t return multiple calls or text messages? If he notices he just thinks, “They’ll get back to me if/when they want to.” If they don’t want to get back to him, their loss.  A friend cancels consistently, even on his Birthday… the most reaction is rolled eyes. I was more hurt over it than he was.

Me? I over-analyze it all. I think too much about it, I worry too much. Somehow though, I need to shift my view because if I don’t, well, then I’m not sure I’ll continue this blog, or blogging. Which would be a pity b/c no matter who reads or doesn’t read, no matter who comments or doesn’t comment, I like it. I like my blog. I LOVE sharing off my baby.  I need to find a way to be bolder, to share who I am and what I think and how I feel. And if you don’t like it? Well, this is me and I like who I am… go find another blog.

Yeah… now I need to just convince myself of that.

I don’t have much time but had to show you how cute of a mermaid Prayse is Also, a flashback to last year, amazing the difference!

2007 - My Lil Pumpkin

2008 - My little mermaid, a bit of a difference I think

And my new favorite picture of the most important people in my life…

I’ll share more later, Prayse had such a great time at her Halloween party. There was a pinata, cookie decorating, and glow sticks! It was too cute to watch her. She also had her first real sugar high I think as she kept sneaking sprinkles

All Princess Prayse, all the time. I was able to upload a couple of videos to Photobucket. I hope you enjoy!

The first is at a wedding we went to a couple of weeks ago. Prayse had a BLAST!! Can you tell that we have Dance Parties at our house??

This next one? It’s my absolute favorite. It is three minutes but the final two seconds are worth waiting for, trust me!! It’s proof of what I’ve been saying that Miss Thing is a definite Daddy’s Girl!

Just in case you haven’t read my Aunt Denise’s comment on my last post I had to share it with you all!

“Oh yes, on a different subject–that cousin of yours will start in the state championship soccer game (Class A) just 8 months and 4 days after losing his leg.  Pretty amazing.  God is good!!!!”

God is indeed good, and James? He’s a survivor, a work horse, and someone who doesn’t like anything get in the way. An inspiration, that is for sure!

Many of you sent up prayers, good thoughts, and well wishes when he was in the hospital and you didn’t even know him (THANK YOU!!). So I also wanted to share with you his successes.

Incredible. She is so mature it seems and so funny and such a little drama queen (Gets it from her Daddy I believe). Prayse’s vocabulary and personality expand more and more everyday. She catches onto things so quickly that both Raymonn and I have to stop and think through everything we say or do.

She is also becoming more of a Daddy’s Girl. I hear about 40 times just in the few hours until he gets home “Daddy?” “Daddy?” and then “Puppy!” I’m starting to wonder if the two are connected?? Hee hee, just kidding honey.

Prayse loves to help in the kitchen. If we push the chair up to the sink, actually SHE will push the chair up to the sink and crawl on up. I just give her some safe utensils and maybe a bowl of water and we’re good to go. She will “help” me unload groceries so that by the end I’m on my hands and knees to make sure nothing was “put away” under the table, hutch, under the fridge…

And she laughs, boy does she laugh. All the time, especially when she hears Mama say “No.” Yeah, real funny. The little thing knows how to work the system already.

Here are the official stats:

• Weight: 24 lbs 2 oz (75th percentile)
• Length: 32 1/2 inches (90th percentile)
• Head: 49 (100th percentile)

I went to get her one year fifteen month pictures taken (it is kind of like a year though considering I didn’t send out her birth announcements until she was 3 months old… so we’re sort of on track right?) I know they’ll be big and not zoomed in. I am just pulling them from the CD at Portrait Innovations. I’m not really into their “talented” photographers or their business - but I get cute pictures of my babe for cheaper so they’ve got me hooked There’s a lot of them but it’s just more for you to enjoy!

Uhhh… is that a mischievous look or what?

Guys, I’m too busy to just sit here!! There are leggos out there to play with!

Look at my belly button!!!

I’m so funny guys!!

I told you guys I didn’t want to SIT!! Let’s go!

We had to go grab the football when we see it because it is always about “Foooooo-baaaaw!!”

See that flower? Seriously lethal. When she got to swinging that stem around, I was ducking!

Say what??

She is simply the cutest.

You guys are just hilarious!!

I’ve also decided that this little sweetie? She is also a reason I love my hubs, he helped create her and I am so so thankful!!

Happy birthday babe! I focus so much on how fast Prayse is growing up, then I realize that WE are too! Well… maybe just you since you’re now 30 and all I was sitting down and thinking last night that when I first first saw you you were 21, but it doesn’t really count because I may or may not have been oogling from a far as I watched you warm up for a hurdle race. I also may or may not have still been in high school. So it doesn’t count. Then when I went to Doane and may or may not have been admiring you from a far and trying to make myself invisible when you stood next to me at lunch gathering up what you wanted to eat. I remember I had not taken the time to do anything that morning except throw on a pair of sweats. I remember just hoping to God you wouldn’t say anything to me. I just kept thinking, “Of all the days THIS is the one that he is right here???” Don’t worry, you didn’t talk to me that day much to my relief.

Working out with you during track season the next two years was so much fun. Part teammate, part coach, all friend.

We had a fun beginning and a crazy journey. Now look at us! We’re old married folks and parents to boot! I remember in track practice Amy teasing us about how big our kids’ lips would be if we ever ended up together and had babies - I’m not sure about the huge lips, I tend to think P’s are perfect. Along with yours.

I can’t wait to celebrate 30 with with you! I’m also looking forward to celebrating 50, 60, 70, 80, 90…

Have a great day sweets!!

(I couldn’t find the cords to hook my camera up and download new pics so I did a Google Image search of my babe: Check it out!) Sorry for the small size!

Look at you, being all footballey and not smiling for the camera. You go coach!

I found this article incredibly interesting. There was an 18% increase in food allergies reported in kids from last year to this year. I wonder if it truly is that parents are more educated or is it our diets in the U.S. or how we grow/prepare our food? I wish I could crack the code really. A couple of things that caught my eye:

“Nobody knows for sure what’s driving the increase. A doubling in peanut allergies — noted in earlier studies — is one factor, some experts said. Also, children seems to be taking longer to outgrow milk and egg allergies than they did in decades past.” - Note DOUBLING in peanut allergies!! That is crazy. And the fact that they are taking longer to outgrow milk and egg allergies… I just keep asking “why?”

“But also figuring into the equation are parents and doctors who are more likely to consider food as the trigger for symptoms like vomiting, skin rashes and breathing problems.” and “Children with food allergies also were more likely to have asthma, eczema and respiratory problems than kids without food allergies, the CDC study found, confirming previous research.”- I wish I had known this earlier. For example - P eating eggs = throwing up all the time. Looking back I don’t know why I never connected the two. Also her skin rashes/ezcema - I wish we could have cleared it up earlier had I known! I should have done more research.

Not that I am beating myself up over it or anything - I’m not doing that. But I find the article interesting obviously because we are living it to some extent. Next kid I’ll know I guess! Although they won’t be trying peanut butter probably ever if I can help it No peanut anything in our house!

Ok - gheesh how time so easily gets away. I didn’t post anything yesterday. I’ve been getting up at 5:30 every morning (or 5:40…) but you would never be able to tell except that I yawn a lot more and I buy coffee more often!

Day 7 - I love that he will randomly give me foot massages. Like last night for instance. I need to think more like that and do spontaneous things for him that I know he’ll like. I get razor focused on everything that I need to get done. Last night though I forgot about all those things and had a cuddle session with my hubby - it was fun!

Day 8 - I love how he ages gracefully! Hee hee! He’s turning the big 3-0 tomorrow!! I have a few surprises up my sleeve… can’t wait!