Thoughts on Motherhood

Recently, a lot of bloggers have announced the birth of their children or their pregnancy. This baby boom has got me thinking about our future children.

I LOVE children. As a matter of fact, I have 12 nieces and nephews -- 6 nieces and 6 nephews. Being the youngest of 7, I sort of have to love kids. I was an aunt from the time that I was 15. With that being said, I love most kids -- my nieces and nephews and the two cute little boys I call my nephews -- my best friends' children.

Back to my point - the recent baby boom has got me thinking about being a parent myself? I have a few questions for all of the recent moms out there:

• How did you know you were ready to start your family?
• How long did you try to conceive before you were successful?
• How bad was the labor process?
• Did you feel you were prepared for labor and being a parent?
• Is there any advice that you wished you had know before your little one arrived?

I ask because I think maybe I am ready to try my hand at this parenting thing but since I can't return the kids if it doesn't work out, I am trying to prepare myself.

Feel free to share any websites, blogs or books that you found helpful

It is already Thanksgiving?!?

Where in the world has the time gone?! I think last time I posted was way back in the middle of October.

My apologies! Live has been busy - work, travel, Smooches and family. Nothing new has happened and I don't have the exciting news that I wanted to share! Sometimes life just doesn't work out the way we want it to. I just have to remember that God does have a plan for me.

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

Over the next week, I will be sharing some of the recipes I will be making for my family. I don't have photos, just really good recipes. Let me know if you make any of these for your family this year. I would love to have your thoughts.

I have the privilege of making Thanksgiving dinner for 20 of my family members! In some strange way, I am SO excited about. My sister keeps calling me Martha and I am getting used to it!

Stay tuned for those recipes!

Where have I been..

Oh my goodness..

So I just realized that it has been about 6 weeks since I have updated my blog.... I am sure you have been wondering what I have been up to!

Well here is a very brief recap:

• My Mom has been in the hospital three times in the last six weeks. That alone has caused me to not have time to update the blog!
• Lots of trips down south to visit with Mom to make sure she is doing well because of the hospital stays.
• Lots of updates on the personal front-- and before anyone asks -- NO, I am not pregnant. (Even though, I SO want to be!!!) Once everything clears over, I promise I will give a detailed post about all of this business.
• House Hunting has begun again. This goes along with the personal life stuff, that I can't get into right now.

I have had zero time to do any updating to my blog. I apologize and will try to do better!

Now that I have an evening to sit down at my computer, I will be scheduling a few posts just to make sure that another six weeks don't pass before I post again!

Well Deserved Time Off

I hate Mondays.  

Really, hate Mondays.  

So, today, I look the day off to spend with Momma.  She was having some oral surgery today and I wanted to be there with her. 

I head home on Saturday morning and spent some time with my Mom and Dad, aunts, uncles and cousins.  I am so thankful that I have such a large, caring family.  Its days like today that I regret being so far from my family.  

My poor Momma was in such pain and was so swollen.  Bless her heart, she just wanted to sleep it off.  I hated that I had to come back to the city and leave her to recover, on her own. Luckily, she will get better care in the nursing home than I could give her.  I just hate that she was there alone.  

Please pray that she recovers fully and rather soon.  I just can't imagine my Mom having some complications from having some teeth pulled.  I don't know how she (and we) would manage.  

I guess that tomorrow reality will set in.  Back to work and the real world... 

Puttin' on my big girl panties

My Mom has always told me, since I was a little girl, that there come times in your life when you have to put on the girl panties and deal with things. Well, I have had a week from hell and there is only what thing for me to do. My Mom doesn't even need to tell me what to do -- I already know.

About a year ago, my Mom suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). She is still alive and recovery is a long, slow road for her and our family. It is exhausting, frustrating and such an emotional roller coaster that words can not describe. Other than the physical handicaps of her being unable to walk because her brain does not remember to be safe and her lack of a memory bank, you might think my Mom was fully healthy.

Most days, I think and know that my Mom has come such a long way from where she started. Such a distance from the five sleepless weeks we spent in the ICU of a brain injury floor of a hospital immediately following the TBI. Most days. This week has been a week that I realize that my Mom is such a long way from a full recovery. It is a week like this past one, when a girl needs to talk to her mother to determine what she is supposed to do with her live and what difference she is supposed to make.

This week was a week so terrible that only a manicure and pedicure, with my Mom could solve. Maybe even a to the grocery store to get the ingredients to make one big, yummy cake that we would have with a glass of sweet tea. Those are the things my Mom and I would do together to help me solve the world's problem. Only now, I find myself having to do them alone-- without Mom and more importantly, without my Mom's advice and guidance.

As I sit here and reflect on how my life has changed over the past year since my Mom's injury, I find myself jealous and bitter to those whose parents are fully healthy. I wonder 'why me' and 'why my mom' everyday. I still don't understand God's plan for my Mom and our family. And it frustrates me.

On days like today, I have to take a good friends advice and realize that I am only one person and I can only do so much. I need to start taking one day at a time and stop worrying about all of the what-ifs and life and take it one day at a time.

I have to put my big girl panties on and deal with it.