My first born

I became a mommy for the first time on March 21, 2003. This little 5lbs3oz baby boy came out of my body and went straight into my heart. This is his story.
Girl meets boy, boy and girl fall in love, get married and have a baby right.. well we did things a bit out order. We had been dating for 1.5 years when, after 8 negative home pregnancy tests, a blood tests at the Drs office told us..WHOOPS, the pills didnt work and you are going to be parents. Well.. after we picked our jaws off the floor, we got busy planning. Our unexpected bundle of joy was due April 24, 2003. So, we moved the wedding up, got a bigger apartment and started preparing for our lives to change. It was, to say the least, an eventful pregnancy. In Dec the ultrasound showed "manly parts" and so our boy, Dylan Alexander, became even more real to us.
Jan of 2003, I faced my first obstacle. My grandma died unexpectedly 2 weeks after my wedding. I was devastated. And thats when the contractions started. At work on Feb 1, i kept having a sharp shooting pain going down from my hips to my legs, so after work, off I go to ER. They gave me an IV, made me eat, and sent me home with strict orders to see my Dr first thing in the morning. At this point I was 28 weeks preggo. THe next morning I go to my Dr, which was an hour away from where we were living. Sure enough, my cervix had begun to shorten and I was having contractions. So.. off I go to hospital bedrest. Never in my life had I been so scared, which the tour of the NICU and seeing what a 28 weeker looked like, made it 10x worse. Thank GOD I had an amazing Dr. After 7 weeks of strict hospital bedrest, at 35 weeks on March 21, 2003 at 3:40 pm, my little red headed miracle was born and I was instantly in love. He was whisked away to the NICU where he spent the first 2 weeks of his life. Seeing my tiny little baby hooked up to a breathing machine, IVs, and not being able to hold him, CRUSHED me. No parent should have to go through that. ESP a first timer. All I wanted was my baby home in my arms.
He was discharged in April. Id never been so happy. This amazing sweet baby was MINE. From day one, Dylan has been a laid back, easy going kid. As long as he can see you, he's fine. He never cried, laughed constantly and was a pure JOY. His aunt nicknamed him "Chillin Dylan" He was content. He doesnt stress or worry and he is just full of love and joy.
He is going to be 8 in about 3 weeks. 8. Where has the time gone? My 5lbs3oz baby boy has grown into this 48in 48lbs little man who still amazes me daily. He is in 2nd grade and LOVES school. He loves math and numbers and has a memory like no other his teachers have seen. He plays basketball and baseball, loves his Wii, his DS and most of the time, his sister .He talks about going to college and how he is taking the Wii with him. LOL He climbs on my lap and cuddles with me every day and I cherish those time, cause I know they are limited. He loves everyone, doesnt know a stranger and just wants to please his teachers and us. He truly believes everyone is his friend and sees nothing but good and positive in people.
SO this is for my baby. My Pickle who changed my life in way he will never be able to understand.

My husband

I decided Im going to dedicate one blog post to each of the 3 most important people in my life. The first is to my amazing husband. How lucky am I that I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend? We met in Nov 2000. I had just moved to A-ville and so had he. We worked together, as managers at BK. I had just moved to NC, after ending my relationship with my ex. He had moved to A-ville from Hickory to take the job at BK. He was also in the process of ending his 3 year marriage. Over the next couple months, he became my best friend. He was there for me, listened to me cry over my ex, or being homesick and missing my friends and most importantly, he talked me out of making the biggest mistake of my life. He never really talked about his marriage. I knew he was leaving her, he knew he could talk to me, just didnt want to. Then one night in Dec of 2000, we were both stuck at work till about 3am because of the hood cleaners. We talked, non-stop for HOURS. It was so much fun. I get home and realize my feelings were much deeper than friendship, but he had things to figure out, a marriage to deal with. I figured it was just a crush and it'd pass. After all.. I still had feelings for my ex.
Id go back home to visit my friends as often as I could( at least once a month) and found myself missing him more and more. Id make excuses to call him, just to hear his voice. I began to realize, I was in serious trouble. LOL A couple weeks later, he comes to work and tells me has left his wife. I asked him if he was ok, if he needed to talk and he said he was fine and thanks but there was nothing to discuss. It'd been over for a while, he was just saving money to leave. My heart, at this point, is pounding so hard I thought you could hear it a mile away. But I had no self-esteem. My ex had literally destroyed me. Made me feel worthless and that no one would ever love me. I thought, no way in hell this amazing guy would want me.
FF to Feb 2, 2001. Im at work, he comes in and says.. well well.. I had a nice visit to this town called Big Stone Gap, VA today(this is my hometown) I was like no way in hell you went there. And he began to describe the town. I was FLOORED. When I asked him WHY he had gone there he replied, just wanted see where you grew up and why you love it so much. The next he confesses his feelings for me and wants to go to BSG WITH me and meet my friends. Color me speechless. So we go. He meets everyone who matters to me the most, Amy, Erin, Brittany, Jen and Amber. We stop at McDs on the way out of town to grab something to eat. We are sitting in the car, he goes Look at me. I did. And he kissed me. I have NEVER felt like that before. I know I have found my forever.
We get married in Dec of 2002, our 1st child is born March 2003, 2nd child 2005.
I love him more than ever. He supports us, will do anything for his family, is the best daddy i could have asked for and after 10 years... the man still gives me butterflies and I miss him like crazy when he's not home.
If you would have told me in Nov of 2000, what this man was going to be to me, that I couldnt live without him, Id have laughed in your face.
This is for you babe. For all you are and all you do. I cant begin to thank you enough and you will never truly know how much I love you.

Failure

This is hard to write.. even harder to admit. But Im a failure. As a mother as a wife, as a person. I love my babies more than life itself. But right now, as of this second, I cant stand to be around them. They have turned into defiant, back-talking, non listening, whining spoiled brats. MiMi has turned into the world's biggest tattle tale, Pickle, who BTW skipped the terrible 2s, has now entered the terrible 7s. He will throw himself on the ground, stomp his feet, kick and scream if he gets in trouble or doesnt get his way. Im at a loss. Ive taken the Wii, the DS, the TV, the toys, resorted to spanking and neither one of them really cares.
Kevin is working 6 days a week, about 80 hours a week now. So Im home alone with the kids most of the time. I miss my husband, I miss having him by my side, helping. I hate going to bed alone. I MISS working. You know its bad when I say that right! I miss it. I miss my friends, adult interaction, even shitty ass rude customers that we make fun of once they leave. Right now, I just want a good book, a hot bubble bath and a tall STRONG adult beverage.
Rationally, I know its the fact that, once again, we got hit with a major snowstorm and I have been cooped up in this house(alone cause Kevin was out of town) for a week straight with both kids. Pickle hasnt been to school in a week. MiMi is feeding off his attitude and defiance and well.. she's a 5 year old girl. She's ALREADY full of divatude. I havent had time with Kevin in god knows how long and I havent even had time to myself, which I so desparatley need right now. I want my life back, I want our routine back and things to just get back to normal.
Spring oh spring... where are you. Ironically... the first day of spring is Pickles 8th birthday

See ya later 2010!

Its new years Eve. And once again, its just me and the kids. I cant remember the last tim I spent New years with my husband. The man works so hard and its just how our life is. So, how was your 2010? Mine.. it was not bad. Pickle started 2nd grade, MiMi turned 5(holy crap) I got into my first argument with my MIL(not to bad, considering we have been married 8 years and together nearly 10) and didnt work very much(always a plus)
In 2011.. I plan to blog more, get serious about getting healthier, go back to school, and plan to send my baby off to kindergarten. The latter of which Im totally unprepared for. i dont want her to go. i want her home with me, my little girl forever. She is so excited to go, and I love seeing the excitment in her face, but Im totally not ready to send my baby, my last child, off to big kid school.
I also get to quit my job at some point this year. I TOTALLY cant wait for that. :)

So, happy new year everyone and make your 2011 be blessed! Much love

Homework

I have a 2nd grader, Pickle. He's a pretty smart kid who does well in school. Well apparantly in 2nd grade, playtime is over and it gets serious. The kid has about an hour or mroe of homework a night. HES.IN.SECOND.GRADE. Im already confused and Im thinking that by the end of the year, Im not gonna know how to help him. Between his homework, doing preschool with MiMi, work, trying to find 5 min in the day to squeeze a convo with my husband in, and housework.. IM exhausted
Speaking of work.. Im so fed up. I feel like Im there to do nothing but bitch work. Getting up at 3:30am SUCKS. Just trying to make it till Aug when I quit to go back to school. I think I can I think I can...

car seat freak!!

Yes, I know I am. Im obsessed with car seats and keeping kids safe. I believe you should RF your child to the limits of your seat, harness them till at least age 6 and 40lbs and keep them in a booster till they pass the 5 step test. Car accidents are the NUMBER ONE killer of children in this country from ages 1-14, so why not protect your child to the best of your ability. I have 2 kids. Pickle is 7 and MiMi is 4.5 Pickle was harnessed in a 5pt harness car seat, the Britax Regent(or lovingly known as the beast) up until last week. He is now boostered in the Recaro ProBooster. He weighs 47lbs and is 47in. MiMi was rear facing, yes rear facing, up until about a month and half ago when she hit the rear facing weight limit on her seat. So she rear faced until 4years7months of age. She is now forward facing in a 5pt harness, where she will remain for YEARS to come(she is tiny)
Did you know that 90% of car seat are installed and used incorrectly? That a RF child is 5x safer than a FF child? That it is ILLEGAL to FF your child until they are 1 year old and weigh 20lbs? That a 2-3 year old child has absolutley NO business in a booster seat? That child passenger laws in this country are severly lacking.
This being said, there is an awesome giveaway going on. Its for one of the BEST car seats there is. The Briatx Frontier85. It harnesses to 85, boosters to 120. Its a LATCHable booster and also makes on of the best boosters there is. I LOVE this seat. Visit this awesome blog
http://simplybeingmommy.com/2010/09/27/britax-frontier-85-car-seat-review-and-giveaway/
and follow the instructions.

The required intro post

So, when you hear the term HillBilly, what comes to mind? Married cousins, one rotted tooth, livin in a trailer with a a couple cars up on blocks, a toliet being used as a plantar? Well... in some cases that may be true. But really, Im just a small town country girl. Born and raised in a VERY small mining town in southwest virginia. population about 1000. Fast forward 31 years, Im in a bigger town in the mountains of western north carolina, population about 68,000.
I met the love of my life here and we have settled down and had 2 awesome kids. He is an amazing hard working guy and Im so lucky to have him. The kids are 7 and 4.
yes, i live in a trailer, but its a doublewide and Im proud of it, I work hard to make it nice for us.
I have an awesome group of friends, both here and online. My online moms are my sanity, no matter what happens, they are a click, phone call, text away and I dont know what Id do without them. I may not have met very many of them, but they are family and I love each of them.
So this is me in a nutshell..Im car seat obsessed, loyal, tired, and just looking to survive the challenge of motherhood. So sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.