Ok, here goes...

I'm irritated as shit lately by people who don't understand the concept of caller id. You call me, I see your number come up on caller id. If I feel like talking or am able to, I'll answer. If not, I don't answer. You have the option to leave a message or not. Either way, the id part is that it leaves your number on my phone so that I can see you called. There is no need to continue to call me every 20 minutes until I answer the phone. In fact, the more frequently you call, you're pretty much guaranteeing yourself that I won't answer at all. I don't like to talk on the phone. Everyone knows this. However, I understand some people just can't help it. No big deal. But don't call me incessantly to ask questions you already know the answer to or things that are pointless. And remember, you call me and I'm either busy, don't hear it or plain just don't wanna talk. You leave a message telling me what you want. When I get able or ready to, I'll call you back. No need to call me repeatedly. Doing so will result in no return call for you. Comprende?

Slacker

I can't seem to keep this thing updated for the life of me.
Things are going well for us all, trying to recuperate from the holidays. Abby was apparently very good this year. It's amazing the reindeer were able to pull the gift laden sleigh this far. We're now struggling with where to put all the loot. Doesn't help that we've just downgraded from a house to a trailer!!

Grant's still working with FedEx, just making an hour drive one way 5 days a week, including Saturdays. We aren't liking it one bit, but you gotta do what you gotta do. A local, M-F, 8-5 job with benefits equal to those of FedEx would be heavenly. He's enjoying being back in his hometown with ducks, golf and family close by and in that order!

Janna is still working from home for the time being, travelling back to Baton Rouge once a week to work. Also still trying to adjust to being in a town where she knows no one but family and used to being around SO much family all the time! I'm attempting to slowly unpack more boxes and find nooks and crannies to put our "stuff".

Abby is really enjoying being close to family and playing with her cousins all the time. She just started with a new "babysitter" today. The daycare she was in did not live up to our standards and we felt she was receiving no personal attention. She cried when we dropped her off and was crying when we picked her up. She's going to enjoy staying at Mrs. Rella's so much more and mommy's mind is at ease!! Can't put a price on peace of mind!

She's really become entertaining and fun. We spent the weekend with Pop Pop in Natchez and she had a blast. She's finally come to realize that he is Pop Pop. She followed him everywhere. When he would walk away, she would point and say Pop. You know he eats it up!! It's been so amazing to watch him with her. At the same time, it hurts my heart that my momma isn't here to see not only her, but to see dad with her.

Everything is going well for us, we're very blessed and couldn't ask for more!
Will post some pictures soon.

FINALLY!

After 17 1/2 months, much worry & anticipation (including a trip to the neurologist), Abby is FINALLY walking!!!!!!She's been walking on her knees for months and could get anywhere she wanted to, and fast! She started taking a few steps here and there about 2 weeks ago, but never many at a time. Thursday she walked more than she ever had, probably about 10 feet at a time. Yesterday we were in Target in Lafayette and she wanted out of the buggy, so Grant took her out, put her down and off she went!!! She hasn't stopped since. We're excited that she's finally walking, but this opens up so many more doors of trouble for her to find!! On another note, we are finally settled in our new home in Ville Platte and are enjoying life in the country once again. Having so much family (including babysitting nieces!) is great and something we've not experienced since having Abby. My mother in law says it is the cajun air that finally made her walk. Haha. She's doing well otherwise, very sassy and strongwilled (no clue where she gets that from!!!). She enjoys having her picture taken and will bring me the camera and give me a big cheesy grin until I take her picture. She's interested in putting things together and always grabs a screwdriver to help. One favorite pasttime is taking things out of bags, etc., i.e. mom's purse! She'll pull every item out, then put it back, entertaining herself for quite some time. She's talking up a storm, some we can interpret, some not. Her favorite words are bye, see ya and shoe. She'll still got her bright blue eyes and really blonde hair, which is now long enough to put in little pigtails!! :)

Things have been so hectic lately and I just don't have time to sit down and write. I hope that I soon will.
We are now living in Ville Platte. The movers arrived last Sunday and loaded everything up. Most things are still in boxes. Abby has been sick all week and Grant started his job in Alexandria, so things haven't slowed down at all.
I hope to catch up soon and give an update.

Random thoughts (to do list) re moving

Post office - since a home has previously been located at that address, can we just put up a mailbox and do a change of address form or is there more to it?

Dirt work - Lisa with S&S checking around to find dirt, backed up until next week, will call me back with an estimated price and day they can get to it, understands we are looking to have delivery of trailer next week

Tatman's - Let Chad know the day dirt work will be done so he can schedule delivery, hopefully next week

Schedule electrician and plumber (S&S) for the day after delivery

Have electrician run line to where storage building will be placed so we can have lights and outlets to plug freezer in

Have electrician install phone jacks

Internet - who is it going to go through? Would prefer not to have home phone, but it and DSL will probably be cheapest route

Cable vs. Internet - Who is cable company in VP? What would it cost to have cable run that far back off the road? Would satellite be cheaper? Wouldn't have local channels?

Insurance - call to get quotes

Check craigslist for free boxes

Start packing

Put things aside for a moving sale - probably to be scheduled for 11/15, even though it's a home football game, it's our last chance. Will have a lot of junk. If it hasn't been used recently, it's going in the sale pile. No room in the trailer.

Storage building - Necessity; check prices - Lowe's, Depot, etc.

Rental truck for moving? Worth hiring movers to load it? Check prices to have someone load, haul and unload - probably too pricy, but might would avoid everyone working their butts off and numerous tanks of gas.

Guest bedroom - Too small for a double bed - don't want to have to buy a single bed. Smaller computer desk?

Changes

Well, we're officially moving. Grant got a position in Alexandria with FedEx. He starts November 18. We haven't sold the house yet and have had NO prospects, so that would leave Abby & I here until the house sells. Grant could live with his parents. We think that's going to be too difficult though. So, Abby & I are going to move too. Everything is in motion for it to happen. We bought the lot earlier this year, but we aren't ready to build. Too much is going on, plus we need to make sure that's where we want to be. So, we're going to be buying a mobile home for the time being. It's going to be hard going from a house to a small trailer, but we'll make do. There's no telling how big of a storage room I'm going to have to rent!! Our goal is to have the trailer set up and us living there by November 30. I don't think there's any way I can have everything packed up and over there by then, but we'll get there. Anyway, our lives are pretty much turned upside down right now attempting to get everything done and continue to keep the house clean, work and be parents! Absolutely no packing has been done though! We're going to look at trailers Saturday and hopefully be able to pick something out. We're keeping our fingers crossed that someone will bite on the house soon. It's been on the market since the first week of July and there hasn't been much traffic to see it. Someone is coming tomorrow night. Hopefully they'll really like it and make an offer. Granted, I've said that about all 10 people who have looked at it. We're just keeping our fingers crossed that everything works out the way we want it to!

Grrrr

My child is entirely too strong-willed!!!! She decided today she wanted to start playing with oven knobs while I was cooking. No need to suggest oven knob covers - I've tried them and she just pulls them off. I tried just telling her no, which of course didn't work. I tried the distraction method of giving her something else to play with, which didn't work. I resorted to swatting her hand lightly, to which she laughed!!!! She continued to laugh despite me telling her it wasn't a game. Finally, she gave up.
Next was bathtime, which she decided she needed to do standing up! I knew she was going to slip and fall and kept telling her to please sit down, and physically making her sit down, only to have her stand right back up. Of course, she finally slipped. Landed on her knees and didn't hurt herself, but cried like I had beat her.

Patience is not a virtue I possess. I'm having a really hard time teaching her no and keeping my cool. I feel like I'm constantly telling her no and getting frustrated. I don't know where she could possibly be getting this strong-willed side of her personality from. Surely it can't be from me. Hehe :) If she's like this now, I can't even begin to imagine what she will be like in years to come!!!!! Pray for me! Haha

Amazing Experience

Today was Rosanne's induction day and I got to be a part of it. It was a completely different experience than giving birth myself. It was interesting how much of the labor that I had forgotten. But today wasn't about me, it was about Miss Molly!!! After 3 boys, Rosanne finally got proof that Jason is capable of making girls! :) I won't go into specific detail for her privacy's sake, but let me just tell you that she births babies fast!! Ok, one detail - she went from 6cm to 10cm in 5 minutes!!!! From the time the nurse said she was 6 to the time Molly was born was 20 minutes. I got teary eyed just watching the nurses buzz around setting up the room. Amazing is the only word I can use to describe watching Dr. Guidry hold up Molly and hearing the little cry she let out. I gasped when I heard it. Such a precious miracle. Watching Rosanne's face as she first held Molly warmed my heart. Molly had so much hair too. She is a beautiful little girl (2nd only to Abby!! Hehe) Long ago, I said I wouldn't hold her because I didn't want to catch baby fever. As Abby continues to grow I've gotten the itch but know that it's too soon for us to be able to handle another. Well, as soon as I walked into the L&D room that itch grew! Yes, I ended up holding Molly. She was just too precious not to!! :)
I am so thankful to Rosanne (and Jason) for allowing me to be a part of their special delivery. It was an experience of a lifetime that I otherwise wouldn't have gotten to witness and certainly will never forget. I've been giddy all day!

These are a list of question that you must answer w/ one word answers (from Randi's blog).It's harder than it sounds, trust me!

1. Where is your cell phone? Charging
2. Where is your significant other? Lounging
3. Your hair color? reddish
4. Your mother? Hero
5. Your Father? Hero
6. Your favorite thing? Sleep
7. Your dream last night? Unknown
8. Your dream/goal? Happiness
9. The room you're in? Living
10. Your hobby? Reading
11. Your fear? Failure
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you're not? Stress-free
15. One of your wish list items? Stress-free!
16. Where you grew up? Mississippi
17. The last thing you did? TV
18. What are you wearing? Pajamas
19. Your TV? Daily
20. Your pet? Fish
21. Your computer? Laptop
22. Your mood? Exhausted
23. Missing someone? Always
24. Your car? Dirty
25. Something your not wearing? Shoes
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? Hot
28. Love someone? Yes
29. Your favorite color? Pink
30. Last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Recently

LS Who?

Man, what happened to the Tigers Saturday night??? We were in Ville Platte for the weekend and the entire family was over, so there were lots of unhappy cajuns all in one place!! I didn't really watch the game, but didn't need to with Grant there. He was so upset (read: pissed!!) that I had to remind him to take his blood pressure medicine. I didn't expect to win, but to lose by 30 points is just unacceptable. There is no reason in the world we should've let them rack up 51 points. It's football, not basketball.

Abby's cousin Aliese, who's 2 months older, was there and Abby enjoyed spending time with her. She also enjoyed copying her! She learned how to climb all the way to the stairs and did so everytime our head was turned, thinking it was a game. Of course, she couldn't figure out how to climb down. She also learned to climb up on the hearth. Quite a shock to me when she did so!! Made me very nervous though. Of all the things she was copying, I don't know why she didn't get up and walk! We have an appointment with the pediatric neurologist on the 29th. Hope we'll get some answers then.

She also got to experience her first parade - the Cotton Festival parade. Wasn't much to it, but she enjoyed being outside.

Surprise Surprise

I already suck at this. I just never seem to make time to sit down and write out what's on my mind. Things have been hectic lately.
Last weekend we took Abby to Jackson, MS to the State Fair. The whole reason I wanted to go is to eat some roasted corn on the cob, only to remember that I can't eat it because of my braces! Boo!!! Anyway, we had a good trip. Abby didn't seem to have much of an opinion about it. She was pretty laid back the whole time we were at the fair. I think she rode about 4 rides total.
When trying to book a hotel room, I had a hard time finding something available. I just assumed it was b/c of the fair. Turns out Southern was playing at Jackson State the same night we were there. I was able to find us a room at the Edison Walthall, which sounds and looked super nice from the webiste. Looks certainly are deceiving!!! The room had a horrible musty smell, was super small and claustrophobic feeling. Grant went to give Abby a bath and the water came out brown!!!! Yuck!!! Won't be going back there anytime soon!

We were able to meet up with a mutual friend while there and eat dinner together which was nice. We ate at a place called Nick's on Lakeland just off I55. I strongly recommend it!! Pricier than what we were going for, but worth it.

We stopped in Hammond on the way back for Abby to pick a pumpkin out of the pumpkin patch. I thought the people really grew the pumpkins until I saw the cardboard bins full of them off to the side! They just throw them out in a field to make it look like a real patch. Oh well, still a pumpkin.

All in all, it was a good weekend. Nice little family outing.

Teething

What a day it's been!! Teething all around. My day started with getting my wires changed on my braces. I had lost a bracket so they put a new one on. While putting the wires in, another one broke in half. In order to get the other half off, she took this nice pair of pliers, twisted and popped the sucker off. To top it off she took some drill thing like you see at the nail place and used it to get the glue off. I had quite a few choice words for her!!!! She then informed me that was what they did to every single bracket when it was time to get the braces off. And I thought I was looking forward to that day......
Poor Abby has had diarrhea today and I attributed it to teething. Looks like I was right. She was a screaming bear all afternoon!!! She cried/screamed whether I was holding her or not. I gave her teething tablets, teething rings, nothing helped. I understood her pain though, as my teeth aren't feeling so spiffy either. If only I could scream and cry too!! :)
We loaded up and went to Target, which always cheers her up. She's a ham and loves getting attention and people in stores always come up to us and talk to her and play with her. She loves it. We ran in Lowe's for a bit, where the girl checking us out said "Girl, that baby be fine!" Couldn't help but laugh. She finally ate a good supper tonight - it's usually a battle. And went right to sleep with no problems. So, now mom gets to cook, clean and work for a while!! I bet I go right to sleep too!

What's Been Going On...

Early this year, Grant and I made the decision that we were ready to get the hell out of Baton Rouge and move somewhere near family and out of the big city. The day I left Natchez headed for college, I said I'd never move back, but Natchez was strongly considered. The only downfall is that the only family there is my dad. While I would love to be able to see him all the time, we decided it just wasn't the best move for Abby. We feel she would be better raised in Ville Platte (very small cajun town just off I-49 between Lafayette and Alexandria) where she will be around all of her cousins and other family. We bought a pretty lot for a pretty penny and plan to live in a mobile home at first. We need to make sure the move is the right decision. If all goes well, we will build in a couple of years.

Initially we decided to make the move right away. I went out on a limb and put in my notice at work. I had been doing some work on the side for someone. When I told him of our plans to move, he made me an offer I couldn't refuse, provided I commit to stay in BR until December.

So here we are, still living in the depths of hell. We put the house on the market in July and so far, are having ZERO luck at selling it. It seems as if one week things are falling into place for the move to happen and the next week, we feel like we'll be stuck here forever. Right now, we think Grant has landed a transfer to the FedEx station in Alexandria. We should know something this week. If he does get it, he'll be leaving BR in a month. What will Abby & I do then? We have GOT to get the house sold and soon!!!

On to Abby. Is she not just the cutest little thing you've ever seen??!! She'll be 16 months old next week. Where does the time go?! So far, she's still not walking. Her pediatrician said he likes kids to be walking by this age, but doesn't worry until 18 months. He suggested we go ahead and schedule an appointment with the pediatric neurologist in about a month just to have her evaluated. I think if she tried hard, she could do it. She walks on her knees all the time, and looks quite cute doing it. :) She walks around holding onto furniture and her push toys or even our fingers (must be both hands, don't you dare let go of one or she'll sit!). She'll come around in her own time. She's recently had a language explosion. Her vocabular consists of dada, mama, bye, bubbles, cat, moo, cow, hey, no, uh oh, cracker, ball, quack quack, and various other words that we've yet to decipher.
She weighs in at 28 pounds, is 31" tall and is wearing 2T and 3T clothes (have to have her pants altered they're so long). She has quite the personality and everywhere we go, people seem to flock to her. Her smile and laugh are contagious. She's an absolute joy to our lives. She's also growing up way too fast!

Geaux Tigers!!

Ignore her skinned up nose. She tried to make her Mickey Mouse ride-on toy fly. They ate concrete instead. Yes, mom cried too.

Pieces of Me

Inside my mind lies the world's largest jigsaw puzzle. I have oftentime tried to capture my thoughts in a blog or "diary" if you will, but the thoughts are so many in number and fly by so fast, it's impossible. I do believe that if anyone could sit in my mind like a fly on a wall, they would sign my papers and commit me right away. My dreams - unbelievable and definitely certifiable.
I also have a ton of memories I'd like to have written down somewhere before they're lost in the space that is old age. I'd also like to keep track of what all Abby is doing rather than storing them away in my memory bank, in the event it should bankrupt.
That being said, I'm officially a blogger. I hope I'm able to find the time to update often.