Catch-up

Hey!  I've been so busy these last 2 weeks and have not had the chance to write.  Between finishing up school work and other daily trials and tribulations, I've been stressed to the max.  So the latest....

School-  My final exam for my summer class was Friday August 27, 2012.  I passed it and the class as well.  We are now on summer break and classes will resume August 15, 2012.  Am I excited?  NO!  Brandon and I have both decided to take on 4 classes this semester...not really sure what we were thinking but just say a prayer.  I am taking Business Math, Spreadsheet, Internet Basics, and Intro to Computers.  It all sounds very easy so I am hoping it will be easy.  Math is not my strongest subject so I am praying it will be nice to me this semester. 


Work-  Work is going great...something different every day.  We seem to have a black cloud over our heads right now with death, illnesses, surgeries, etc.  Kelly's granny passed away unexpectedly early Wednesday morning.  She was very close to Kelly so it's hard to see a friend hurt the way she is hurting because there is absolutely nothing you can do to help.  Jesse's mother in law fell Monday morning and broke her hip.  She had surgery Tuesday afternoon and is doing well now.  They put a rod from her hip socket down to her knee.  She will be at the hospital for a while so pray for her as well.  Ms. Vickie's husband had a stroke a week or so ago and is not doing well from that.  It seems like he takes one step forward and two steps back.  Ms. Pam, who I work closely with was on the verge of having a heart attack last night.  Her blood pressure shot up real high and they took her to Wayne Memorial Hospital and then this morning, they decided to go ahead and send her to Wake Med.  Pray very hard for all of these people, for as they are very close to me in some way.


Brayleigh-  I just want to repeat what I have said before....You never really experience love until you have had a child.  Every single day she makes me love her even more.  It could be the smallest thing that she does, my heart still melts.  Her new favorite thing to do is touch a body part and say "owww" like its hurting her.  She is a drama queen (like her mama ofcourse :))) ) and she is hilarious!  We are debating on putting her in dance this year.  Is 18 months old too young???  I think it is but I havent made my mind up yet.  Her vocabulary has once again blossomed....she says no, no, no...and loves to make animal noises now.  I am currently trying to teach her the primary colors like red, blue, green, yellow, orange.  It's a slow process!!
She had the worst diaper in her entire life last night.  It was so bad, it made her daddy sick.  I almost had to throw away the outfit she was wearing but I sucked it up and washed it in the sink.  YUCK!  It was in her hair and in between her toes.  YUCK YUCK YUCK!   Brayleigh is getting some indoor pictures this Saturday with Polka-Dotted Paisley Photography!  I cannot wait to show them to everyone!!!!


I started selling a product called Initials-Inc.  So far, I have got about 3 parties booked so I hope it will boom for me and I can make some extra cash.  I would love to get my money back that I spent on the kit and the only way to do it is turn in 4 parties by Sept 30.  Please pray that I will succeed in this small business of mine so we can move into a bigger house.  THANKS!

Happy 16 months to my sweet princess!

My dearest Brayleigh,

You are 16 months old!  My goodness, I feel like I blinked and you got this old...It is bittersweet.  Bitter part: You are not a baby anymore and you are very independent.  Sweet part: you are becoming your own person at such a young age and watching you develop is so amazing.  You are SO funny!  That's probably the thing I like about you most.  You are a comedian to no end.  I think you realize it too.  Your daddy and I are constantly laughing at you over the smallest things.  Grammy loves it too and is telling everyone about you and how funny you are. 

Some of the things you love to do......You love to eat ice with your PaPa.  You will climb on his lap and point to his styrofoam cup and say "iceeee."  It is yalls thing to do.  You dont really care for ice unless it comes from him and his cup.  You are a dancer!  Daddy will play music for you whether it be country, rock, or that ghetto rap...and you start breaking it down.  I have you on video on several different occasions and I cannot wait to show them to you when you get older.  It's the cutest thing!  You got a "ki-ki" which you love so much.  By the way, "ki-ki" is kitty kitty.  All you talk about when you get home from daycare or wake up from a nap, is kitty kitty!  Yall are so sweet together and he is very patient with you.  He will let you lay on him and rub him.  Some days he does run from you and it makes you very sad. 

The food you like to eat....GREEN BEANS!  Really?  What normal child loves green beans?  No one.  But I am so thankful you do baby.  It is the cutest thing when you eat one bean at a time out of the can.  You love chicken, hotdogs, salad, fruit, bananas, cheerios, cereal bars, grits, and mostly any vegetable. 

The food you hate to eat....pizza sauce, anything italian, mashed potatoes, and sometimes french fries.


YOU LOVE RANCH DRESSING!  You are def. your mama's child, that's for sure! 


You weigh close to 28lbs and you are 34inches tall.  You are wearing majority 18-24month clothes and some 2Ts.  Your cute fat foot has grown into a size 5 for sandals and crocs and size 6 for tenna shoes.   Your hair is a light brown and very curly.  I guess you got that from your grandparents on both sides because your dad and I have stick straight hair.  Your eyes are a light hazel and green and so sweet.  You have a mouth full of SHARP teeth that you love to brush everynight after your bath.  I have to hold you down to brush them in the morning...not sure what the difference is?? 


Brayleigh, you are such a sweet joy to everyone you come in contact with.  Thank you for all you do for us and most importantly, thank you for being you.  I love you with everything I have in me to love you and so does your daddy.  You are the apple of his eye!  (mine too, ofcourse)  I love you baby girl, more than yesterday and not as much as tomorrow!

Love,
Mommy
 

You eating ranch dressing at East Coast Wings

Your dad has taught you to lick things off the plate, cute but not something to do later on in life...like when you are on a date with your boyfriend when you are 30.

Your crazy but lovable and sweet self!

You and your "ki-ki" looking out the window on a day it was raining

NO A/C

Yep, our AC went out sometime yesterday.  Im not sure if it was because of all the crazy storms we have been having or if it had just had it, but it died completely.  The only good thing about the AC going out yesterday was that the bad weather we got, cool everything off tremendously.  Between the air that was coming out of the vents and the wind outside, it was not too bad.  Don't get me wrong though, it was not good either.  A lot of sweating was going on and we had an ill and cranky toddler.  The temperature in the house was only 78degrees but we are AC spoiled and keep ours around 69/70degrees. 

I got a text from Brandon this morning telling me that the AC was fixed, so HALLELUJAH!

Who knew a thyroid could be such a nuisance???

I have never wanted to have surgery more....let's put it that way.  I want my thyroid OUT!  About 15 months ago, at my 6 week post partum check-up, my thyroid was enlarged.  I was having trouble forming sentences, swallowing, had a lot of fatigue, and other symptoms of an enlarged thyroid.  Lisa, my midwife, was concerned but we checked my thyroid levels and everything was normal so we let it go for a year.  May 7th of this year, I went back to my midwife for my annual physical and once again, my thyroid was severely enlarged.  This time, she did not let it go.  I was referred to a specialist within a few days.  His name was Dr. Mark Warren in the endocrinology department at Physician's East in Greenville, NC.  Dr. Warren was very nice and checked everything out.  He was initially concerned by how big my thyroid felt during my swallow test so he did a quick ultrasound on me to see if there were any nodules growing.  Thank goodness there were no nodules, just a big fat thyroid.  I was put on Synthroid 50 mcg for 4 weeks and move up to 75 mcg after wards and have been on 75 mcg ever since. 

Okay, let's fast forward.....


Early last week, my throat started swelling again.  I went almost 2 whole months with no swelling and everything was good.  I have been having trouble swallowing and difficulty breathing so I knew something was wrong.  I called the nurse last Wednesday and asked her what I needed to do and she told me to come in there immediately and get lab work done so I came Thursday morning first thing and had some blood drawn.  My TSH levels dropped from 1.35 to .03 which put me into hyperactive functions.  Was that the reason why my thyroid swelled??  Not sure but we adjusted the medicine back down to 50mcg.  The weekend passes by and Monday morning, the left side of my throat is swelling even bigger so I call the Dr again.  This time, everyone including myself is concerned because it's a rapid swell and the swallowing is a bigger issue now.  He is completely booked up so he sends me over to urgent care where they can see me quicker and Dr. Warren can still look at all the notes and what not since it's in the same network.  Physician's East is huge might I add.....so if you are ever looking for a doctor to go to, start out with a Physician's East doctor because in the end, you will be covered by all corners.  The urgent care Dr did not like what he felt in my neck immediately and wanted to rule out all possible harmful things so he sent me to the Radiology department and I had a CT done.  Nothing new was growing in my neck, just a big fat thyroid.  Ugh!  Im sick of this big fat thyroid by the way....if I havent told you that before.   So I have to continue on my medicine and check back with my Dr if nothing changes in a few weeks.

Here is a comparison of a normal thyroid and an enlarged....mine may actually be bigger than what it looks like in this picture.

Here's a funny story about what my daughter did to me last night..........


Last night around 9pm, I put Brayleigh to bed like I normally do.  We are on the same routine and a very strict schedule so nothing was out of the ordinary.  About 20 mins later, I heard a crunching sound and shortly after a choking sound over the monitor.  I immediately got up out of bed and ran to her room to check on her.  She was lying still with her eyes closed so I assumed she was sound asleep.  I stayed there for probably another few seconds watching her and she started moving some.  I leaned over in her crib and got near her face to see her better because it was dark, and low and behold that strumpet's eyes opened at the same time and started grinning from ear to ear.  SHE PUNKED ME!  How does a 16 month old punk their parents??  Brayleigh somehow snuck her cheerio cup into her crib and had a late night snack without my permission.  I am not sure when she put the cheerios in the crib but I never saw them.  I am still laughing at her today.....I think I have my hands full!!!!

Kara and Tyler's Wedding!

So a few weeks ago, my best friend from high school got married at the beach and we had such a good time.  The wedding was held at her mom and stepdad's house and the scenery couldn't have been more beautiful.  Despite the 110 degree temperature's we were facing, everything ran smoothly and no one fell out because of the heat.  Kara and Tyler have been dating for 3 plus years and they have a handsome little boy named Harrison.  He is probably the cutest red head I've ever seen!  Kara's bridesmaids wore a very pretty blue and her honorary bridesmaids wore canary yellow.  I felt honored to be one of her honorary bridesmaids :)   Kara looked so pretty and she was probably one of the most laid back bride I have ever come across.  I kept laughing the whole time telling her "how in the world are you this calm?"  Bridezilla was not her name that day.  If all brides could be like her, I would attend more weddings!  ;) 

Here is a picture of me and the bride...

Recap from the weekend

I promised to do better with my blogging so Im back to recap the weekend.  Why do weekends go by SO fast and a work week drags SO slow!?!?!?  Overall, this weekend has been good.  It was an "on the go" type of weekend that's for sure.  I decided to take off early Friday afternoon and we went out to eat at San Juan for supper.  It's a local mexican restaurant and it muy delicioso!  Haha, sorry had to use some of my spanish skills.  We have 3 mexican restaurants in town and it's by far that best in my opinion.  So, Brandon took his two girls out for the night....ran into a few people we knew including some of his coworkers and my ex coworker Tammy!  Sure do miss that gal!!  Brayleigh did very well and ate her whole plate of chicken tenders.  Big girl!   My dad came up Saturday to visit.  He lives in South Carolina so I do not see him much.  We had a good time together as usual and Brayleigh loved seeing her granddaddy.  My dad took us out to eat at Applebee's...once again, very tasty!  It was a short time seeing him but very glad he came up!   Brayleigh got a cat by the way.  I will post pictures later.  This guy is not your ordinary cat, it's like a mountain lion or something.  Im pretty sure he weighs close to 30lbs and he is very fluffy!  His previous owner called him Puff.  I can see why, haha.  Brayleigh loves to chase him around the house and says "kitty kitty".  I love it, they are so sweet!  My very good friend Kayla who is from Wilmington also came to town this weekend.  She is in nursing school at UNC-Wilmington and works as a nursing assistant at New Hanover Hospital.  Im so proud of her and love that girl some kinda good! 

Big Brother is on so I have to go!!!!  PS. it's my favorite tv show.  Will blog more later!

Pictures from L-R:  My dad and Miss Brayleigh Layne.  Kayla and Brayleigh.   New kitty kitty named Puff.   Brayleigh in her pink water! 

Brayleigh's first trip to the aquarium and beach!

Let's start with the pictures....



It looks like these girls were perfect and sweet, minded their moms, walked slowly, never screamed or threw tantrums huh?  Well, let's just say that these pictures portray something totally different.  The little girl in the pictures with Brayleigh is Paisley Howard.  My very good friend Brittany and I decided to take our daughters on their first beach and aquarium trip.  Paisley is 20 months old, so she is alot more calm than Brayleigh due to the 5 month difference between them.  I didnt see Brittany leaning over scooping up her child before everyone else in the aquarium trampled over her as much as I had too.  Brayleigh hates being confined in anything so the stroller was out of the picture for the most part.  She wanted to run through the whole place by herself.  I did more running, falling and laughing than anything else...and by the end of the trip, I was drenched with sweat!!  I always said that I would NEVER get one of those leashes that you see parents pulling their child with, but after that experience...I will not attempt anything like that again WITHOUT some kind of restraint for my wild and crazy child.  Now, onto the beach trip........

Bottom line, Brayleigh is not scared of water.  She loves any type of water whether it's the bathtub, river, pool, ocean, sink faucet...she absolutely loves water.  Maybe part fish, not sure???  As soon as she saw the ocean, she went nuts and started running to the water.  Not the body of water I wanted her to love the most considering it's the most dangerous of them all.  She kept trying to go in by herself and I would end up pulling her arms pure out of socket so needless to say, it was a DISASTER!  Oh, not to mention....she ate so much sand that it tore her belly up.  How do you keep a child from eating sand especially when your surrounded by it?  I'll answer that for you...YOU CANT!    So, by the end of the day...we had tired babies and we were tired mommies!   Will we do that again?  Nope, not until they are older and can help carry stuff.  My mom always said "you pack up your life to go to the beach only to stay for 1 hour"...................Let's just say, Mothers always know best!

I promise to do better......

Once again, time has gotten the best of me and I forgot ALL about this blog of mine. So very sorry blog world!


Everything is wonderful on the homefront.  Job is great, this semester is slowly coming to an end, and the family is doing excellent.  I should have about 3 more semesters to go and then I will have an Associate's Degree in Office Administration.  Hallelujah!  Yes, it has only taken me 5 years to get a measley ol' 2 year degree.  Ahhhh!

An update on the baby diva....Miss Brayleigh is 15 1/2 months old.  She is SO MUCH fun right now and has so much spunk in her.  We took her to her LAST well check appt until she goes to Kindegarden!  Yayy!  No more shots for the baby.  I'm sure she will be excited about that.  Brayleigh weighed 26.5lbs and was 32.5in long.  She is growing perfectly normal and way too fast for Mommy!

 

This child is part fish, as you can see.  She loves the water so much and would stay outside in it all day long if you let her.  Worst part about it though, she has no fear of it.  Yes, you probably think that is a good thing but right now, it is not!  She wants to swim and do everything on her own.  She doesn't get that she can easily drown by not being able to swim.  Most of our pool visits end with lots of tears because I wont let go of her and she hates when I hold on to her. 



Brayleigh's vocabulary has boomed tremendously!  I love it....just ready for her to have a conversation with me. 


Her words:  Baby, Bubbles, Bobby, Daddy, Mommy, Beans, Ball, Dog, Book, Nana (banana), Fish, Peas, and more.


Will blog about her aquarium and first beach trip next!!

Have I ever mentioned how exhausted I am and how I wish there was like 5-6 more hours in each day to get everything I need to get done??  Well if I havent, I DO!!!  I feel like I can't accomplish anything these days. 

My daily schedule consists of this:

Work 8-5
Lunch break 12-1 (which I try and run errands if at all possible)
Rush to get the baby before the day care closes
Come home to cook,clean,etc. (no, i dont do much cooking)
Play time, bath time, and bed time for Brayleigh all before 8:00
MOMMY TIME after 8 normally.

What does MOMMY TIME consists of?...School work majority of the time.  
I have such a tight schedule that if I slip up some where, I fail in something.  SO STRESSFUL right?
I try and live through a calendar along with thousands of sticky notes and yes, I plan to make plans.  I get picked on so bad for doing that...but it just comes natural.  My mom did it, her mom did it, her mom's mom did it.  Yeah you get it haha



Update on the homefront since I havent blogged in FOREVER.
Brayleigh is almost 13months old.  We had her birthday party last month and it was a huge blowout.  So many people came to celebrate her first birthday and it was so sweet!  WE MADE IT.  We made it one whole year.  I've always heard the first year was the hardest...so if that is true, whewww glad that's over.   I do not miss Brayleigh being a very small baby but I am sad that she is growing up so fast.  Here are some pictures of her party!

Paisley, Brayleigh, and Thomas

Brayleigh smashing her cake 

Our birthday princess! 

Bestfriends forever! Brayleigh and Paisley :) 

Bray opening up some presents!

Needless to say, she had a great time and got lots of presents!  She got dvd's, books, clothes, toys, and a few sentimental items.  Spoiled rotten little girl!



New blog!!

Hey everyone!

Im starting this blog over but keeping my old posts.  I finally found a cute template and Im learning how to make my blog unique and adorable!  Hope you all love the name :)  I found it pretty fitting.  My life revolves around my baby girl but every now and then, a woman needs time to herself and during that time...it's always good to have a drink to unwind and RELAX!