cliches.

Tonight I was making dinner in our hot kitchen, listening to Delia play in the living room and then later washing all the dishes by hand (because we don't have a dishwasher) and it occurred to me that I was quite literally "barefoot and pregnant".  The funny thing is, as I thought about it I realized I was perfectly happy as well.  There are so many ways that my life could be better by the worlds standards, but I am content right now, today, and in this moment.  I have so much to be thankful for. 

pausing for a moment.

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.  She never existed before.  The woman existed, but the mother, never.  A mother is something absolutely new."  - Rajneesh

There are many times when I think on my time spent being a mother thus far and the many years I have ahead of me.  So many words come to mind to describe what it's like, but in reality, you can't explain it to another person fully.  They have to experience it for themselves.  I feel that it's quite obvious through my life how much I love being a mom and I can only hope and pray that my children will always feel that and see it reflected in my eyes. 

Happy Mothers Day.

she knows who i am.

So, of course Delia knows who I am.  I carried her for 9 months, gave birth to her, nursed her, rocked her in the middle of the night, etc.  But now, after trying for quite some time, she finally addresses me as "mama".  Not only that, but she yells it when she's hungry or mad or upset.  Funny.  It seems like so long I waited for her to say it, and now I'm afraid it's all I'll hear.  Still brings a smile to my face.  :)

new baby.

Well, the news is officially out.  Yes, we are expecting again!  Instead of turning this blog into all things baby, I have decided to create and dedicate a new blog to that.  So if you are interested in reading about my pregnancy you will find it here:

http://turkeyontheway.blogspot.com/

:)

a happy birthday.

On Saturday was my husband's 30th birthday.  One pro to being married to an "older man" is that he will hit the milestones before me.  :)  For those of you who don't know Seth very well, he's not big on celebrations.  He doesn't like to be the center of attention and he definitely doesn't like to make a big deal about his own birthday.  I asked him a few times if he wanted something this year since it was his 30th and he told me no every time.  Sooo, I listened.  He spent most of the day doing one of his favorite things:  fishing (with no complaining or nagging about it from me).  At night we went out to dinner at The Texas Roadhouse (also a plus for me since it's one of my favorite restaurants too).  At this point I veered from his request slightly.  I had arranged for his family and part of mine to gather at our house while we were out.  His *surprise* was ice cream cake with them when we got back.  Nothing major but still a small celebration of this man and what he means to all of us.  I'm not one to get publicly mushy about him, and I don't plan on doing that now, but I will say a few things about him and us. 

We sort of have this joke between us that "we got married in a fever...."  Seth and I met in May 2005, were basically inseparable after a date or two, engaged by January 2006 and married in August of that same year.  We both knew pretty instantly that we wanted to be together and we didn't see any point in waiting to be married.  Our years together have been up and down as relationships typically are but mostly filled with good.  Seth is a lot of things that I'm not.  He's calm, patient and tends to be more reserved.  He has a knack for making me laugh even if I'm mad at him.  He doesn't take life too seriously.  He is a great provider, partner, friend and confidante.  I have never for a second regretted my decision to live life with him.  And now for some mush...I know I don't say it often enough but Seth, I love you and I love our life together.  Happy 30th Birthday (a few days late).  I look forward to many more milestones together. 

in loving memory.

Almost a year into our marriage, Seth and I decided we would like to get a dog.  He always had one growing up and with him being away a lot for work, I wanted the sense of security that comes from owning a large breed dog.  We both readily agreed on a black lab and after a little debate, named him Tucker.  We had no clue what we were getting ourselves into and somehow ended up with a very health challenged, high maintenance animal.  Oh he had the usual puppy stages that they all go through (and somehow managed to survive without losing too many shoes and socks) but he also had chronic diarrhea, colitis, allergies and skin sensitivity and eventually seizures.  He was diagnosed as epileptic and we were told nothing could be done to stop his seizures but we could try to control them.  Hence the beginning of about 4 years of blood tests, medications and seizures.  It's a terrible thing to see your pet go through these things.  The first few before he was on any kind of med were the worst.  They lasted long, created a huge mess at whatever part of the house he was in and he would bark and growl at us afterwards, not recognizing who we were.  These symptoms did improve after he was on a therapeutic level of drugs but no matter how much it was increased, his seizures still increased.  By this past year, he was beginning to have clusters of about 5-6 seizures in a 30 hour period followed by a week of abnormal activity.  By abnormal I mean that he was in his own little twilight zone....bad balance, blank stare, etc.  Our vet kept assuring us his quality of life was "good" but we never felt comfortable with that analysis.  We could see what it was doing to him.  Physically he was aging drastically (despite his young years), he never wanted to do much anymore and his body was being wracked by these seizures every 3-4 weeks.  With a week of recovery, that only gave him 2 weeks at most with no problems.  It was a terrible decision to make and it took us awhile to make it, but we feel confident that it was the right choice.

This is in loving memory of our dear beloved Tucker.  He was a loyal, sweet, smart and friendly dog.  He loved us and he loved Delia.  We are very sad to see him go, but we will remember him as a part of our family always.

Playing Catch Up

I have failed miserably at keeping this blog up to date.  I know it's been at least 4 weeks since I last posted.  I kept thinking, must write about Delia's first birthday, but then it came and went and I just got caught up in the busyness of life.  Let's see if I can just give a brief catch up with some the highlights. 

1.  Delia is one!  We had a great celebration with family on the day of her birthday since it fell on a Sunday.  I had a Minnie Mouse themed party for her.  She loved her cake, was spoiled rotten by everyone and overall, had as much fun as a one year old can, I think.  No tears were shed by mom, but it did cause me to remember in vivid detail the moments surrounding her birth.  I can't believe how quickly the year went and that she is getting so big.

2.  Valentine's Day.  It's never a big deal for Seth and I.  This year we made a delicious steak dinner at home.  We exchanged cards and small gifts (flowers for me and a Phillies freezer mug and new coasters for him).

3.  My birthday.  I am now 28....sounds old in my head.  My birthday fell on a Saturday so we spent the day together as a family.  We had to make a trip to super Walmart so on the way we drove around Lancaster county looking for snow geese.  I also admired the farms and homes that I someday would like to own.  Just a dream...  That night my inlaws watched Delia so Seth and I could have a date night.  We went to Red Lobster, always my restaurant of choice for a birthday meal.  It was delicious and very much enjoyed.  Oh, and Seth bought me the Kindle Touch which I was so excited about!

4.  I finished The Hunger Games series.  Some of you may be wondering why this deserves a highlight and I assume it is those of you who haven't read the books.  Seriously, READ THEM.  They are fantastic.  I can't wait to see the first movie later this month.

5.  Babysitting.  While I'm not working outside the home, I've been doing a little bit of babysitting.  On Thursdays I watch my two nephews for a few hours and on Fridays I watch my friend's little girl.  Her and Delia are only 6 weeks apart in age so they have fun together.

And honestly, that's all I can think of right now.  We've had some really nice weather in the past few weeks so I will try to get out for a walk if that's the case.  It makes me ready for Spring though.  We haven't had much snow at all this past Winter, but I'm ready for some steadily warmer temperatures.  Hopefully they are in the not so distant future!