Fair Warning
This post may seem scattered, and ranty. That is because it is.
START RANT
S. There is a young airman who comes home with my husband every night for dinner. That is every night of the week. Whether Rhapsody has cooperated and let me make dinner in peace, or if I had to babysit earlier and was running behind and had to moby wrap Rhaps to feed her whilst cooking dinner for three grown men. Now this young airman, shall we call him G, is kind of... well... arrogant. I know this about him. Today my husband says, "So G thinks that being a stay at home mom can't be considered a 'real' job." Me, "What?" Hubby, "Yeah, he says stay at home mom's don't do enough to be considered working." My response? "Let him come say that to my face and we'll see who doesn't get a nice home-cooked meal for the entirety of his tour in England..." I mean. FOR REAL!?!? I had 'heard' of such thoughts before, but I thought they were behind us in the 21st Century. I wouldn't say that ANY mom's job, be she stay at home, blue collar, or white collar, wasn't good enough! However, as much as I have tried to ignore it, the stay at home mom is still looked down upon. Especially as a military wife (you know, just living off of your husband's guaranteed paycheck!) I get it when I run into kids parent's that I used to work with. "So when are you going back to the Youth Center?" "Oh, I've decided to be a stay at home mom for now. I'm really enjoying being there for my child." Que long pause... "Well that's nice..." Yeah. You are right. IT IS nice. I love it! I'm going back to school, handling ALL household chores, paying bills, taking care of my child. It's not always amazing. I get tired. ALOT. And sometimes, I want to go back to work. To get a BREAK from my responsibilities as 24/7 'mom'. Not that going back to work would make life any easier. You see, here's the thing. Going back to work would be a completely different kind of busy and stress. I honestly don't think you can begin to compare the difference between the go to work mom, and the work at home mom. I think it is very wrong to compare them in fact. All comparing does is make the opposing person feel bad about themselves as a wife and parent. And we live in a society that already does enough to try and bring every woman down to the level of dirt. Us mom's, working and stay at home, need to support one another for our decision. Because here's the thing, no matter what our profession is, we are sacrificing ourselves for the sake of our children. Going to work you sacrifice the time you would spend with your child to provide for your family. Staying at home you sacrifice the extra income that could be had if you worked. These are just the two most obvious sacrifices as well! There are so many that we mom's make every day to make sure our children grow up with everything they need to be successful. So before you ridicule another woman for her decision, think first about her SACRIFICES. We can all only do the best that we can. No one should ever look down upon you for what is YOUR idea of best.
And next time a G tells you that you aren't good enough, or your husband, tell them, "NO FOOD FOR YOU!"
END RANT
Welcome to My Version of Life
Thursday, 17 January 2013
Thursday, 10 January 2013
The WORST!
I am the WORST at surprises! Not that I can't plan them perfectly, but more like I just get SO excited that I end up telling! Especially when it comes to Richard. I have been planning a surprise hike, well, walk. Not much of England could be considered hike worthy. Not the Appalachian mountains kind of hiking that is. Anyways, I've been planning this surprise walk about, and all I've wanted to do is tell Richard about it! It is Thursday and I have kept mum about it this far so I THINK I can handle two more days...
However, just in case I feel tempted, I figured I can tell you all about it!
If you know my husband you know he is a big fan of the outdoors. He loves nothing more than going hiking for days in the woods with a pack on his back full of everything he would need. He finds great joy in building a campfire from scratch, drinking hot kool-aid, and exploring the woods around him for rocks to throw at..things.. Since we moved to England two and a half years ago it has been difficult to have that experience Well, more like impossible. Wild camping (as they like to call Richard's way of the hike), doesn't happen here except in Scotland and some parts of Wales. ALL of England is owned by...somebody... And it is illegal to have an open campfire...anywhere... What people do instead is Walk. And no joke, people will walk trails (in the countryside, through farmers lands) from one pub to another. At at each pub they will stay the night (either in a tent in the beer garden or in a cheap room) and the next day move on in their walk. Richard and I REALLY want to do something like this before we move in September. This is not what I have planned for Saturday (it would've been awesome if it was!) I just wanted to give you some background on the...em...walking culture of England.
Anyways, I have planned a walk for Richard. It's in an area in Norfolk called Holkham. The place I really wanted to take him was 5 hours away. So this was second best. We will do a couple mile walks around the farmland, hopefully seeing some deer, and around the lake. Holkham is one of England's largest nature reserves, and is supposed to still be very beautiful in the British winter. Well, one can hope. We'll leave out for Holkham right after band practice on Saturday, have lunch on our walks, and head back by 3ish (it's completely dark by 4:00.) Saturday is supposed to be sunny in Holkham (yeah. right.) And hopefully it won't be terribly cold for one little princess who gets to tag along! Then, hopefully, babysitter permitting, I will get to take Richard to the local pub (directly down the street from our house) for a nice Guinness to celebrate a cold day of walking. All in all it should be a day Richard thoroughly enjoys.
And now when I get super excited and want to tell him ALL about it, I'll have to remind myself that I told you all, and maybe I can maintain the surprise until Saturday!!
Welcome to My Version of Life
However, just in case I feel tempted, I figured I can tell you all about it!
If you know my husband you know he is a big fan of the outdoors. He loves nothing more than going hiking for days in the woods with a pack on his back full of everything he would need. He finds great joy in building a campfire from scratch, drinking hot kool-aid, and exploring the woods around him for rocks to throw at..things.. Since we moved to England two and a half years ago it has been difficult to have that experience Well, more like impossible. Wild camping (as they like to call Richard's way of the hike), doesn't happen here except in Scotland and some parts of Wales. ALL of England is owned by...somebody... And it is illegal to have an open campfire...anywhere... What people do instead is Walk. And no joke, people will walk trails (in the countryside, through farmers lands) from one pub to another. At at each pub they will stay the night (either in a tent in the beer garden or in a cheap room) and the next day move on in their walk. Richard and I REALLY want to do something like this before we move in September. This is not what I have planned for Saturday (it would've been awesome if it was!) I just wanted to give you some background on the...em...walking culture of England.
Anyways, I have planned a walk for Richard. It's in an area in Norfolk called Holkham. The place I really wanted to take him was 5 hours away. So this was second best. We will do a couple mile walks around the farmland, hopefully seeing some deer, and around the lake. Holkham is one of England's largest nature reserves, and is supposed to still be very beautiful in the British winter. Well, one can hope. We'll leave out for Holkham right after band practice on Saturday, have lunch on our walks, and head back by 3ish (it's completely dark by 4:00.) Saturday is supposed to be sunny in Holkham (yeah. right.) And hopefully it won't be terribly cold for one little princess who gets to tag along! Then, hopefully, babysitter permitting, I will get to take Richard to the local pub (directly down the street from our house) for a nice Guinness to celebrate a cold day of walking. All in all it should be a day Richard thoroughly enjoys.
And now when I get super excited and want to tell him ALL about it, I'll have to remind myself that I told you all, and maybe I can maintain the surprise until Saturday!!
Please Note: I don't own this picture.
In fact, I technically stole it from the Holkham website...
Don't tell? Thanks!
Welcome to My Version of Life
Friday, 4 January 2013
New Year, Changing Baby!
You know, they (the ominous "they") ALWAYS say 'it goes by too fast,' they grow up too quick,' 'hold on while you can.' I get all that. Really I do. (Please don't repeat any of what I just said...) BUT these past few weeks have brought a couple of changes with Rhapsody and they are FANTASTIC! I get SO excited when Rhapsody shows signs of growing up! So let's start with the first change of the New Year. Rhapsody is now an extremely accomplished roller over. If she is laying down she is rolling. Hanging out on the couch... BAM near baby face plant... Changing a diaper... WHOA upside down baby with half a diaper on... On the floor... NO! Reaching for a plastic bag... Nali's nose... Athena's ears... Xbox power button... She rolls, pushes, and flips to everything she can! I see some baby proofing coming in our near future...
Our next big change happened a couple days ago... Since we started trying at about 5 weeks old, Rhapsody has refused bottles. She had nothing to do with them and would scream until she fell asleep if daddy tried to give her one. We have tried everything (I do mean EVERYTHING) apart from forcing her with it (i.e. bottle or nothing.) Then on Tuesday she ate nearly a whole bottle (3.5 oz) before nursing for 5 minutes to fall asleep!! Today she ate another 2 ounces from a bottle! I honestly can't believe it. She is nearly 6 months old and I have been feeding her every hour on the hour... Now, freedom is nearly in my sight!!! I mean normal freedom (not the crazy go out and act like I'm NOT a mom kind of freedom.) Having a date (gasp!) with my husband, or going to the gym (oh the horror!) without my daughter is potentially in my future! Although I love Rhapsody with all my heart, some time away would be... Ah-maz-ing!
All good things come in threes (at least that's my philosophy!) Rhapsody has always shown the desire to move forward since two weeks after she was born (no joke!) Now she is showing even more progress to crawling! She's been getting up on her hands and knees and rocking! I know, I know... Such a weird thing to be excited about, nevertheless, excited I am! Hence the post about it... So stay tuned for more (boring maybe?) updates on that crazy baby I call my own!
Also, here is the video of Rhapsody the Roller Overer!
Welcome to My Version of Life
Our next big change happened a couple days ago... Since we started trying at about 5 weeks old, Rhapsody has refused bottles. She had nothing to do with them and would scream until she fell asleep if daddy tried to give her one. We have tried everything (I do mean EVERYTHING) apart from forcing her with it (i.e. bottle or nothing.) Then on Tuesday she ate nearly a whole bottle (3.5 oz) before nursing for 5 minutes to fall asleep!! Today she ate another 2 ounces from a bottle! I honestly can't believe it. She is nearly 6 months old and I have been feeding her every hour on the hour... Now, freedom is nearly in my sight!!! I mean normal freedom (not the crazy go out and act like I'm NOT a mom kind of freedom.) Having a date (gasp!) with my husband, or going to the gym (oh the horror!) without my daughter is potentially in my future! Although I love Rhapsody with all my heart, some time away would be... Ah-maz-ing!
All good things come in threes (at least that's my philosophy!) Rhapsody has always shown the desire to move forward since two weeks after she was born (no joke!) Now she is showing even more progress to crawling! She's been getting up on her hands and knees and rocking! I know, I know... Such a weird thing to be excited about, nevertheless, excited I am! Hence the post about it... So stay tuned for more (boring maybe?) updates on that crazy baby I call my own!
Also, here is the video of Rhapsody the Roller Overer!
Monday, 31 December 2012
Bring in the New Year!
I'm currently sitting in a parking lot on the outskirts of central London waiting on our friends to join us. We will then catch a tube in, eat dinner, and wait for hours in the rain and cold to see one of the most fantastic firework shows of the New Year! I couldn't be more excited!
Some amazing things happened in 2012, and even more amazing things are to come for 2013!!
In the year two thousand and twelve we celebrated many birthdays! Richard turned 23, I turned 21, Nali turned 2, Athena turned 1, and Rhapsody was born. I learned how to play Bass. We visited France and Germany. We had loving family visit from America causing some amazing adventures. Richards parents met Rhapsody. We managed to move to a new home. Then my father, sister, step-mom and grandma(?) (step moms mom...) all came for a visit. We finally visited Whales! I quit my job to be a mommy. We got an assignment to Turkey for 2013. My best friend got pregnant! (Whoot!) We made new friends and lost some others. Richard and my marriage has grown and is getting better than ever. (Except on Sundays, when we argue about what capo Better Is One Day is supposed to be...) Richard got me playing Skyrim (oh snap! My geek just showed herself!)
The most memorable part of 2012 will forever be giving birth to my beautiful and amazing daughter. I had her in our small home in Brookville, in a little pool with Richard by my side, my friends around me and my mom Skyped in. I will always remember the first time I set eyes on her. My world instantly shifted, changed, became more complicated and more simple all in one moment. My Lord has given me the world by giving me Rhapsody. I have never felt a love as deep as what I have for her.
With the finale of 2012 comes all the hope and expectation of 2013! We will all gain another year of age. A new home. A new adventure is soon to come! I welcome 2013 with excitement and joy!
Welcome to My Version of Life
Some amazing things happened in 2012, and even more amazing things are to come for 2013!!
In the year two thousand and twelve we celebrated many birthdays! Richard turned 23, I turned 21, Nali turned 2, Athena turned 1, and Rhapsody was born. I learned how to play Bass. We visited France and Germany. We had loving family visit from America causing some amazing adventures. Richards parents met Rhapsody. We managed to move to a new home. Then my father, sister, step-mom and grandma(?) (step moms mom...) all came for a visit. We finally visited Whales! I quit my job to be a mommy. We got an assignment to Turkey for 2013. My best friend got pregnant! (Whoot!) We made new friends and lost some others. Richard and my marriage has grown and is getting better than ever. (Except on Sundays, when we argue about what capo Better Is One Day is supposed to be...) Richard got me playing Skyrim (oh snap! My geek just showed herself!)
The most memorable part of 2012 will forever be giving birth to my beautiful and amazing daughter. I had her in our small home in Brookville, in a little pool with Richard by my side, my friends around me and my mom Skyped in. I will always remember the first time I set eyes on her. My world instantly shifted, changed, became more complicated and more simple all in one moment. My Lord has given me the world by giving me Rhapsody. I have never felt a love as deep as what I have for her.
With the finale of 2012 comes all the hope and expectation of 2013! We will all gain another year of age. A new home. A new adventure is soon to come! I welcome 2013 with excitement and joy!
Welcome to My Version of Life
Wednesday, 26 December 2012
My Least Favourite Question...
"Isn't that awkward?"
Yeah. I hate that question. Or any variation of said question (i.e. Is that weird? Should you cover? Is this an okay place to do that?) You may be asking what "that" is. It's breast feeding. This topic comes up a lot for me as Rhapsody is still eating every hour during the day (however she sleeps all night long!) Which means that I have to feed her anywhere and everywhere. She's been like this since she was two months old, and doesn't really show signs of slowing down! I've tried to make her 'wait' longer before, but she is just starving an hour after being fed; and even crazier is that Rhaps won't take a bottle. So when I am in public and she cries, I feed her. And that's when the questions come out. For a society that lets women 'dress' themselves in practically nothing, people really freak over a breast feeding mom! I always cover when I am in food establishments out of respect for the people who have to be around me. But anywhere else I prefer to feed and walk; which means no cover. Rhapsody doesn't like the cover and will just move it around anyways, so if I can't pay attention to her completely, I won't cover. I never thought that this would ever be in issue. I didn't think people actually got upset or freaked out by a nursing mom (I never did). But they do. And it makes me sad. I'm never indecent, never revealed (not even a side boob is exposed). And I've absolutely mastered getting Rhapsody on without showing any of the dreaded nipple exposure, and I can't go a day without wearing a camisole to make sure that I am perfectly covered at all times. So where does this question come from? No it isn't awkward. I literally do this ALL the time. No I shouldn't cover. I am not 'exposed.' And, yes, this is an appropriate place to feed because my daughter is hungry and crying, and if she wants food I WILL give her food. Trust me. The alternative is not an option. I'm not sure if any of my other breast feeding moms feel the same, and I'm sorry for such a glum post, but JEEZE, I'd been asked about fifteen times to many and had to get it off my chest!
Welcome to My Version of Life
Yeah. I hate that question. Or any variation of said question (i.e. Is that weird? Should you cover? Is this an okay place to do that?) You may be asking what "that" is. It's breast feeding. This topic comes up a lot for me as Rhapsody is still eating every hour during the day (however she sleeps all night long!) Which means that I have to feed her anywhere and everywhere. She's been like this since she was two months old, and doesn't really show signs of slowing down! I've tried to make her 'wait' longer before, but she is just starving an hour after being fed; and even crazier is that Rhaps won't take a bottle. So when I am in public and she cries, I feed her. And that's when the questions come out. For a society that lets women 'dress' themselves in practically nothing, people really freak over a breast feeding mom! I always cover when I am in food establishments out of respect for the people who have to be around me. But anywhere else I prefer to feed and walk; which means no cover. Rhapsody doesn't like the cover and will just move it around anyways, so if I can't pay attention to her completely, I won't cover. I never thought that this would ever be in issue. I didn't think people actually got upset or freaked out by a nursing mom (I never did). But they do. And it makes me sad. I'm never indecent, never revealed (not even a side boob is exposed). And I've absolutely mastered getting Rhapsody on without showing any of the dreaded nipple exposure, and I can't go a day without wearing a camisole to make sure that I am perfectly covered at all times. So where does this question come from? No it isn't awkward. I literally do this ALL the time. No I shouldn't cover. I am not 'exposed.' And, yes, this is an appropriate place to feed because my daughter is hungry and crying, and if she wants food I WILL give her food. Trust me. The alternative is not an option. I'm not sure if any of my other breast feeding moms feel the same, and I'm sorry for such a glum post, but JEEZE, I'd been asked about fifteen times to many and had to get it off my chest!
Welcome to My Version of Life
Gettin' Crafty
Richard bought me a pair of black TOMS today and me being me decided to draw on them!! Here are the results!!
Start with plane jane black TOMS... oh yeah!
Then Trace the shoes on a piece of paper....
Next draw your design, I had alot of fun with this one! I always draw on paper first to get the idea and make sure what I want will look good on the shoes BEFORE i permanently alter them...
Then draw your design on the shoes! I had a silver sharpie, found in a random drawer in my bedroom. No idea how it got there...
AND VIOLA! Finished! Not EXACTLY what I drew on the paper thanks to my sharpie being thicker then the pencil used in the original drawing. Nevertheless, I am happy with the result!
Welcome to My Version of Life
Thursday, 20 December 2012
Oh no! Another thing!
So you probably aren't aware, our little family has had a serious run of bad luck! We drained our savings after Rhapsody was born, with family coming to town and having to pay for a move. Then our landlords (who made us move, by the way, I would never have left that house!) have decided they want to keep our entire deposit! They took so long to decide, now we can't use the company set in place to investigate false claims. Then a little over a week ago my car died, and I mean super dead (seriously, i wouldn't touch that thing with thirty nine and a half foot pole). And now yesterday our computer died too!! I know, craziness!
However, I am not writing this post for pity (no, really, I'm not!). I want to share that even with all of this "bad" stuff, Richard and my relationship has never been better or stronger! We are skipping Christmas, and normally that would have me seriously in the dumps (who doesn't like presents!) but this year I am finding that I am more than happy to simply enjoy the season and day with my adorable family and our amazing friends (more like family at this point). We are saving our money, paying off our bills, and selling my husbands baby (his car! Where did your mind go?) to buy a new family car before moving to Turkey. We have a plan and we are moving forward. More as one now than at any other time in our marriage. I lay full blame on God. Even with all of these troubles, which would normally have us in knots trying to fix, we have remained with a sense of calm. I think the joy that our daughter brings us has also helped to keep our minds on the bright side of life (if you just sang the song in your head then you, my sir or madam, are awesome.)
With all of THAT said, I will try and keep the blog going but until we can save enough moola to buy a new laptop I will be posting on my phone! So please excuse any weird spelling/grammar mistakes (autocorrect, ya know!) I will attempt to proofread, reread, and triple check...
Welcome to my version of life.
However, I am not writing this post for pity (no, really, I'm not!). I want to share that even with all of this "bad" stuff, Richard and my relationship has never been better or stronger! We are skipping Christmas, and normally that would have me seriously in the dumps (who doesn't like presents!) but this year I am finding that I am more than happy to simply enjoy the season and day with my adorable family and our amazing friends (more like family at this point). We are saving our money, paying off our bills, and selling my husbands baby (his car! Where did your mind go?) to buy a new family car before moving to Turkey. We have a plan and we are moving forward. More as one now than at any other time in our marriage. I lay full blame on God. Even with all of these troubles, which would normally have us in knots trying to fix, we have remained with a sense of calm. I think the joy that our daughter brings us has also helped to keep our minds on the bright side of life (if you just sang the song in your head then you, my sir or madam, are awesome.)
With all of THAT said, I will try and keep the blog going but until we can save enough moola to buy a new laptop I will be posting on my phone! So please excuse any weird spelling/grammar mistakes (autocorrect, ya know!) I will attempt to proofread, reread, and triple check...
Welcome to my version of life.
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