Thursday, March 27, 2014

38 weeks!!!

I washed my hair and put on makeup to help the situation b/c let's be honest: that belly is HUGE!!!!! And not pretty. So, you're welcome. I cannot believe I will only take one more belly photo before Tess arrives!!!





I am craving his cereal like no other!!! And I swear, Post knows what they're doing because they package this yummy goodness in the smallest box possible to get you to buy more and well--guilty as charged! I go through a box like every 3rd day, when this is all I eat. I do switch it up from time to time and eat a donut, bagel with PB, or a PB pop tart, but I sure love me some Cranberry Great Grains, which is completely random bc this cereal is quite healthy. Who knows?!? Pregnancy does some weird things to your body!!!!!



I'm feeling pretty good, just ready to meet her and see who she looks like.

Cheers,
Lindley

Progress!!!!

Brian and I have slept in same bed the last two nights!! Holy smokes!! My MIL suggested getting a humidifier and not to think that's the end all, be all, 'fixer' of my husband's snoring but he sure is doing better! I think it may be helping him breathe in this nasty dry and dirt-infested W. TX weather. Plus, it's noisy and that helps me sleep better so it's a win-win all around. I've tried downloading white noise apps onto my phone & using an actual white noise machine of Cameron's even, but none of those were cutting it, which makes me think even more that the humidifier may be helping Brian breathe. Who knows, but all I know is it sure was nice having my 6 foot, protective, & handsome bed partner back. I've enjoyed my 10 lb furbaby, but she's like a furnace and has to be RIGHT beside me at ALL TIMES! Brian is not a cuddler so I'm happy to have him back. Don't get me wrong, he still snored some last night but stopped immediately when I nudged him. Here's to this only getting better with time and permanently getting my hubby back in the sack! Ha! It's just so strange bc he hasn't always snored. This just started when I got pregnant last summer. ??? It's had me beyond perplexed, but we will get over this hump!!

As for Cam: she is doing much better!! Sleeping until 630-7, and being much sweeter. I really think this last ear infection was hurting her, plus I think we may have taken her out of pull ups a tad too soon so we are back in those and she's sleeping so much better. Praise The Lord!!!

Speaking of Cameron, I got this from her teacher a few minutes ago and just giggled. She is such a mess!

'As she's running away from the friend she stole the headband from..."look Allie! I made my hair pretty!"'





And speaking of her teacher, Allie: when you ask Cameron who her best friend is she says, 'Allie.' ;)

Today I'm 38 weeks along, pic coming soon. And, it's not pretty.


Cheers,
Lindley

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Amy Update

She had three doctors appts in Dallas yesterday and all checked out good! She still can't bend her knee but they all say it looks good, along with her other two incisions. Please keep praying for a smooth recovery and that once she's walking again, it's natural, comfortable, and all worth it! She goes back on 2 weeks for another round of appts.


Cheers,
Lindley

First teeth cleaning

My brilliant husband had this bright idea to let Cam watch Ian and London get their teeth cleaned before he attempted to try and get her in his chair and it worked perfectly!!! They both, and my sis, all had cleaning appointments yesterday so Brian asked Mel if she could just take his truck, run go get her from school, and bring her back to watch and she did great!!!!! My sis took these photos. Thanks sissy for capturing a pretty big 'first' on our house!
















She did NOT; however, like the toothpaste. Who does?!?!?!? ;)


Cheers,
Lindley

Sunday, March 23, 2014

A night and morning of firsts

We went over to the Coopers' house last night and just had a ball! We got over there around 515 and stayed until 845!! The kids were playing so well that we didn't wanna leave! Lindsay made a delicious avocado/corn dip for an app that was awesome, then decided our fajita dinner needed to be followed by the infamous sopapilla cheesecake! Oh my, I was in Heaven!!!!! She said there was no real reason for it other than she thought her real pregnant friend might appreciate it, and I sooo did!!! Thanks Lou!! You know me too well ;).

One of our firsts was that Cam roasted her first marshmallow ever! She didn't like the taste but sure liked the roasting part. They were having a ball!













Then, we had our first 3-man-bath. Lou bathed them all and everything. She's feeling very sorry for me ;)























After bath we headed home and Cam went to sleep at 9, which is super late for her but guess what time she slept until?!?!? 7:15!!! I walked into her room doing the happy dance as she was saying, 'it's yellow mommy, it's yellow!' She was so sweet and in the bes mood! She wet her sheets again though :(. She was doing so good there for a while. Oh well, pull-ups it is for a while until we are ready to try again. Honestly, I won't mind changing her sheets once I drop this belly! Haha!!! Speaking of belly.....

Here I am at 37.5 weeks. I've gained 25 lbs so far and am feeling pretty good. Back hurts from time to time and I feel like this baby weighs 45 lbs but overall I'm doing ok. I didn't make it to 37.5 weeks with Cam so I sure am glad Tess is still cooking!!!! Another first!!



I am so anxious to meet this little girl!!!!!

And my last, but certainly not least first of this morning was: I sat about 30 feet from Wes Welker this morning in church!!! He and his wife were 4 pews in fort of us for the baptism of his godson, Weston Michael Smith, who is the son of Mike and Emily Smith. Mike is TTU's defensive football coordinator so seeing him was pretty fun too. He also played pro ball and is a LOT bigger than Wes. Wes is so much smaller in person than on TV! Wow, didn't realize how little he was until today. And, man he's good looking. And his wife? Yeeeaaa......She's not gorgeous at all! Very pretty people, all around, at this baptism. See, it pays off to go to church! ;). Never know who you may see on a Sunday morning.....

That's all I got, hope everyone's had a nice weekend.


Cheers,
Lindley

Friday, March 21, 2014

Reactions and THE Tot Clock

So, I've received some texts and calls from friends and family since my last blog post and while I am so thankful for the concern, I didn't write that looking for sympathy. I'm a big girl and can take care of myself I just needed to vent. I swear, though, I seriously have the best mom, sis, and friends around. No doubt about it.

30 minutes hadn't gone by after I hit 'publish' on my blog yesterday that I had an email from Debra in my inbox asking if she needed to come stay with me so I could get some rest. Are you kidding me?!?! Deb, you amaze me with your kindness and selflessness. It's unlike anything Ive ever seen. Andrea, Mandie, and I group texted all night last night about my rant, then, Heather calls me bright and early this morning at 7 am asking if I'm ok. Folks, friends don't get any better than that. They just don't. I am so unbelievably blessed by my girlfriends that I sometimes find myself asking what I did to deserve them. Thank you all for loving me and caring as much as you do.

As for my family: My sister's timing could not have been more impeccable yesterday afternoon. She calls shortly after I posted asking if she could stop by for a second, that she had something for me. Well she shows up with a gift for Tess and a listening ear. And, of course my mom calls to check on me this morning bc she's an amazing mommy like that. ;)

And, wouldn't you know--last night and this morning were utter bliss. And, no--I am not kidding. Cam went down like a champ, but first--I've gotta give the hubs some major props really quick: the last two nights he's taken Cam to the park, bathed and put her to bed. Babe, you have no idea how nice it's been to have a little break these last couple nights. Thank you for the 'little things.' You may snore but you're damn good bird.

Anywho: back to Cam--she wasn't so nice at dinner but got better as the nigh went on. She walked in the door at 530 after playing at the park, very well-behaved BTW according to dad, asking for chips. Well, no child, you cannot have chips, we are eating dinner soon. She has NEVER asked for chips before dinner. Ever. So when I told her no, she threw a fit. Well that escalated and was real fun for a while but then it was bath time and she was like a different kid. She's so hot then cold it's not even funny. D.R.A.M.A.

Anyway, B put her to bed and she was perfect! We have this tot clock in her room that I bought online, thanks to Lindsay Hale's recommendation, and this was night 2 of using it. The blue means bedtime (you set the bedtime yourself) and the yellow means wake up time, which you also set. Well she woke up at 5 to go potty then back down so peacefully I almost thought someone kidnapped my toddler throughout the night!











Well, at 630 I hear this little voice say, 'its yellow mommy, can I get up now??' Melt.My.Heart.

She got up, was super sweet, cooperated, ate every single bite of her breakfast, and even asked for seconds. What the what??? There truly is no rhyme or reason to these creatures. None whatsoever.

Yay me. I'm having a great day seeing the light.

Cheers,
Lindley

Thursday, March 20, 2014

The bad, the bad, and the ugly

Notice there is no 'good' in that title. Well....There's a reason.

I am having a very hard time with things right now and whether my readers like it or not, I'm documenting these feelings because I'm hoping a good bitch sessi, .......I mean, therapeutic post, will help me see the light. Because quite frankly, something has to. My apologies friends, in advance, for the rant. It's been building for way too long and Ive got to do something or I may explode. Literally.

I feel like my blog is all good stuff that portrays my life as being pretty damn good with no problems, issues, hiccups, obstacles, etc and that is so far from the truth I can't even tell you.

Let's start with my husband. We haven't slept in the same bed in 6 months and I'll tell you: that will wear on ya. I feel single again. And I do not like it. He's been snoring and I simply cannot sleep with him beside me so I was moving to the couch but soon realized real quick that couches are NOT for pregnant people. So he started moving to the couch in the living room, then once that got old, he moved to Tess's room on the blowup, but now he's in the basement on the blowup bc Tess's room is all ready for Tess. Not Brian. I miss him. I miss the occasional touch from
him at 2 in the morning. I miss kissing him good night right before we turn the lights out. I miss waking up beside him each morning. I miss my husband.
And believe it or not: I miss arguing over who's going to tend to Cameron 'this time.' Right now, I tend to her 99% of the time because B is in the dungeon, hears nothing, and quite frankly, I'm tired. Very tired. Now that I've mentioned the C word, I'll Segway into part II of my 'funk.'

My beautiful, 2.5 year old, holy sass and major attitude daughter, Cameron Elizabeth Herring.

My gosh are you challenging right now. So challenging, I find myself crying when no one is around. Working from home certainly has it's perks but I do miss the 'office' from time to time. I miss bouncing ideas off people and that adult interaction everyone, especially parents, need so much.

I'm perplexed with my daughter's sleeping the most. She has other issues like tantrums, not eating, talking back, sassing, etc but this sleeping has straight up gotten me angry. She goes down like a champ every night at 745-8 no problem. Well, she has her nights where every single excuse under the sun comes out, but for the most part, she's a great bed-goer. Always has been. But, she wakes up, every morning, and I mean EVERY morning, at either 4 or 5. And it's hell getting her back to sleep. Utter hell. She throws fits, is NOT nice and sweet, & screams at the top of her lungs (I mean, who has the desire to scream like that at 5 AM when there's no reason for it?). I promise, she hadn't had a nightmare or been physically beaten but you would have thought all of the above and then some with the way she acts in the mornings. And it's pretty much every morning. It's completely nuts and I cannot figure it out???? She used to sleep great in her crib, and she may still be adjusting to her big girl bed, but we've had her in it for almost 3 solid months. I feel like she should be pretty well adjusted by now but maybe not. Hell, who am I to know???? I am at a loss, and running out of things to do or say to this child at 4:30 to get her to go back to bed. I feel like a failure. And there's no worse feeling. I did buy her this 'tot clock' online that supposedly parents swear by, but after night one, I'm not so sure I'm sold. However, we will keep trying. It's all about persistence and routine with children.

Due to this lack of sleeping I feel like her health has suffered tremendously. She's been sick more these last couple months than she's been in her entire life. Stomach bug twice followed by the diarrhea bug, then strep in both her eyes and throat, and now she currently has an ear infection. I just want it to stop. I want my Cameron and husband back. And I cannot wait to meet Tess. Tackling all of these obstacles pregnant is not easy.

I know I signed up for this by becoming a parent but wow. WOW! No one really prepares you for times like these.

I know, cry me a river right??? Poor pitiful Lindley. :(. Shame on me for acting like this bc my situation could be a whole lot worse. There are people out there with no family or spouse at all. There are women out there who aren't even able to have kids. There are people dying, suffering from incurable diseases. You have my MIL who hasn't walked in 7 months. Who am I to bitch? I have really no place but this is why I love blogging. It's so calming to me. It makes me stop, take several deep breaths, and reflect on how bad things really could be in my little world. This is a pretty private space I can go to and air my dirty laundry without taking my friends and family away from their lives to hear my problems. And I am feeling better already.

See? My life is not always rosy, happy, I have the cutest sweetest daughter ever, a blissful marriage, etc. It's definitely like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. But--as my mom has always said: 'this too shall pass.' And it will.

I love my daughter. I love my husband. I love my life. It's just challenging right now. I talk to God a lot and I know he'll take good care of us.

I would like to close with the fact that this crazy world we live in has received the blessing of new life this week, two of whom happen to be the babies of my friends. I picked Kayla up at the airport this morning as her brother Brad and wife, Kayla, had Kallie Mae on Tuesday and then Jeff and Ralna Bailey had Jentri Blayke yesterday. I got to see everyone this morning at Covenant Women's and Children's and everyone's doing well. Seeing my friends and those precious babies helped me know that everything is going to be ok.

I so needed that.

Cheers,
Lindley

Monday, March 17, 2014

Brian's turning 39 and a few other random things....

Tomorrow Brian turns 39 so last Saturday morning, we loaded up and went to Plainview to celebrate with my folks, sis, and niece. Justin and Ian were at the ranch. Brian and daddy played golf Saturday afternoon while mom, Cam, and I shopped for Tess a going home outfit and we succeeded! How cute is this little Kissy Kissy jumper??? I could die!!!! Tess will look adorable in this. Thanks mom!!!







London and Cam have become total BFF's and I love it!























Watching Frozen on Mommy's iPad. The DVD comes out tomorrow but we had to download from iTunes early to keep everyone's sanity! I don't think there's a single girl on this planet who didn't adore this movie. And, I'm going out on a small limb here, but I bet there aren't many boys and men who didn't like this movie either, its THAT good!!!!!!!!






Cameron signed her daddy's birthday card and I thought it was too good not to capture.





Random, but this piggy bank is Cams latest obsession, besides Frozen. Debra gave it to her when she was here a few weekends ago and she loves it. Unfortunately you've made a monster out of her Deb Deb. She constantly asks for money!!! ;). It's so cute though!!!





Brian made the world's best lasagna the other night and this stuff is legit! Oh.my.Lord!!!! If you google just that, this very easy and affordable recipe comes up on 'allrecipes.com' and it really is THAT good! We had leftovers for lunch today and it was even better this go 'round. He's made it one time before but I didn't snap a photo. Do yourself a favor and get to the store ASAP. You haven't lived until you've made and tried this stuff!!!






Have a good week all!

Cheers,
Lindley

Thursday, March 13, 2014

36 weeks, cravings, my Ian, and Francisco Lon

Here I am! In all my Belly Glory! Good Lord I'm huge!!!





This is the last pic I took while prego with Cam. I was 36 weeks here and she came 6 days later! Crazy!!!





This, my friends, is my latest craving. What the what????? This is getting ridiculous!!!! ;). Haha!!! They sure are good though!





I thought this pic of my 'all-grown-up' Ian was too cute. I can't believe he will be 10 in September!!!!!! My parents took him to see the Harlem Globetrotters here in LBB and he had a ball! She took this and sent to me and my sis. Love that sweet, ALL boy, face!!!





Tami had Francisco Lon Keating this morning a little unexpectedly! Her water broke at 2 AM but all went well and everyone's doing great! He weighed 7 lbs 12 oz and measured in at 19 3/4 inches long. She was scheduled to have him tomorrow morning via C Section but he was ready today and He's perfect!!!!! ;)







Cheers,
Lindley

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Amy goes home Saturday!!!!

And her pulled muscle is much better so good news all around! She feels good but is super tired. She will go back to Dallas and see all 3 docs on March 25th!

Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers. Keep them up, they're working!!!


Cheers,
Lindley

Monday, March 10, 2014

Amy Update

Last week my MIL got moved to Baylor Institute for rehabilitation, Room 135. The address is 2990 Legacy Dr. Frisco, TX. 75034. We are unsure how long she'll be there so if you live in the metroplex and have a free hour please go see her! ;) She loves visitors!!! Team Hale went this past Sunday and the picture below goes to show just how happy visitors make her.








She still needs prayers though. She is basically having to learn how to walk again so please continue to pray for strength and healing. She also pulled a muscle in her side the other day during therapy that she said is really sore.
Pray that heals quickly please.

Today she had an appt with Dr. Maale and he said the flap looks really good. He said she can start bending it up to 40 degrees when Dr Lemmons gives the go ahead. Dr. L is her plastic surgeon and she sees him Wednesday.

I'll continue to keep you all updated.


Cheers,
Lindley

Friday, March 7, 2014

35 weeks and worn the Horton out!!!!!




Here's the aftermath of a successful day in costume. She wore this all day and her teachers made her that flower since Horton always had it with him. Notice the hole in her tights on her knee ;). She wouldn't let me take it off her until bath time last night.



Cheers,
Lindley

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Horton Hears a Who

It's Dr. Seuss week at school and today is dress up day! Thank goodness for old costumes. She hated it two Halloweens ago but loved it today. Kids! You never know what you're gonna get! ;)

October 2012








March 2014








We even had to eat in this thing....














































I love her teachers. Allie is a doll.














And Michelle is amazing!!!







Cheers,
Lindley