Thursday Thoughts: Ready for Another Baby?

I hold the fevered toddler in my arms, feeling her warm body curling into mine, her soft breathe blowing against my neck, closing my eyes I remember when this toddler was a tiny infant who loved to nap on my chest with her tiny head tucked under my chin. As I reminisce, I feel the faintest sting of longing.

I turn to M and say “ I want to have more babies with you”.

He smiles and says “Now…?”

“Yes” is my reply.

Fast forward a few days, and the toddler is healthy, whole, and running wild thru the house. M is on the tractor, mowing the weeds that are threatening to overtake our blueberry fields, and so I am left alone to cook supper, bath Joycie, fold a load of laundry, and prepare for the next day.

As the sun is setting, M comes home. Joycie has just sput out her a half chewed piece of chicken and is rubbing it into her freshly washed hair. Frazzled, I glance and M and vow “We are not having another child anytime soon.”

And so it goes, a constant back and forth of wanting to expand our family and desiring to keep it in its present form. I know in the deepest parts of my heart that our family is not complete - there is an empty chair at our kitchen table that I hope will one hold a rowdy little boy with his father’s green eyes and strong chin. Or perhaps it is where our 2nd daughter will sit, giggling with her sister over shared secrets and Daddy’s jokes.

But something is holding me back. I often wonder if it is fear – fear of another pregnancy, fear of how our family dynamic will change, or is it selfishness. It takes careful coordination for M and I to do the things we do with just 1 child, how much more effort would 2 require. Moreover, I am in the best shape of my life, and I am not ready to allow my body to be changed by pregnancy. And then there is Joycie – the apple of our eyes, the center of our world – who is day by day developing more personality, more spunk. I worry that another child would somehow shortchange her.

So we wait…..and pray….. for guidance to know when the right time will be, for the child that is yet to come, and for the sleeping toddler who is a blessing to us daily

What I Wore: Basic Pieces

 

This is not the first outfit that I put on this morning. I woke up with intentions of wearing an different top, pants, and cardigan. However, after dressing and living in the look I started to notice things that were wrong.  The top had stray threads from where the collar was unraveling, the cardi had a stain, and the pants are just too big.  So I put the items in a repair bin, a laundry basket, the donation pile and went to work finding something else to wear.

This outfit is pretty basic. It is just a simple sweater and dress slacks. To add a little oomph, I belted the sweater at the waist.  This look proves that you can take basic pieces and use them in new ways.

What I Wore: More Shades of Purple

 

I love suits as evidenced by what I wore yesterday. However, with a tiny upper body and a pear shaped lower body, it is often difficult to find suits straight off the rack that fit well.  Therefore, I often turn to seperates to create a “suit” look. This is the case with today’s look.

Jacket:  Worthington at JC Penney - $30

Lilac Tank: Worthington at JC Penney - $10

Pants: New York and Company - $40

Look at this picture, I notice that the pants are feathering at the hip area which normally indicates that they are too tight. However, this pair of pants fits me perfectly in the waist and hip area.

Do any of you readers have an idea on what could be causing the feathering?

What I Wore: Purple Power Suit

Tank: Bass Outlet - $3.00

Jacket: JC Penney - $6.97

Black Dress Pants: New York and Company $30.00

Dress Like a Girl {September Challenge}

I have an entire dresser drawer devoted to pajamas. When M and I first married, this drawer was home to silk gowns, lacey nighties, and a few items that were gifted to me at a lingerie shower.

Over the last 3 years, this drawer has come to house M’s oversize flannel pajama bottoms, his old ratty t-shirts, and a few of his worn out tank tops. I would like to tell you that M had invaded my drawer. However, the truth is that I am using his old clothing as my pajamas.

I tell myself it is because it’s more comfortable. After 8 to 10 hours in high heeled shoes, button down shirts, and power suits, I long for comfortable. But in all honesty, I have just grown complacent. I know that M loves me,finds me beautiful in anything I where, so I see no need to put forth any extra effort.

And that bothers me. And since Melissa agrees with me, we’ve decied to make the September Dress Like a Girl Challenge about ditching our husband’s cast offs and finding our own cute (and comfy) pj’s.

If you’d like to join us, then dig around in your dresser drawers, search thru your closets, and find a lacey nightgown from years gone by, or maybe swap out your usual pj’s for something cute and girlie. Melissa and I will be sharing ideas next week for cute, girlie, and inexpensive pajamas.

Weekend Recap: Football Season Begins

 

September means the end of summer and the start of college football season. While some will miss the hot sunny days of summer, I am excited about cool fall days spent tailgating and crisp fall nights spent in the stadium watching my beloved Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Tech kicked off their season on Thursday night – and M, Joycie and I joined my parents to enjoy the pageantry, excitement, and spectacle that is college football. I was even more eager to see how Joycie would react to football.  While we had taken her to the games last season, she was too young to do much but nap thru the games.

I had the camera ready and snapped this picture as soon as we walked into the stadium.  She was bit unsure of the noise, the lights, and the people.

  But she soon grew comfortable enough to prop up and wave at everyone who walked by our seats.

When the band took the field for the pre-game show, she stood stock still and then broke into a dances.

At the end of the first quarter, we made a concession stand run and Joycie enjoyed a bag of M & M’s all by herself.

At the end of the night, we danced in the stands as the band played our fight song.

  I will admit that Joycie did spend a good deal of time running up and down our aisle, climbing over the bleachers,  and trying to escape to climb the stairs – but all in all I think she did great. I am looking forward to seeing what she does at the next game.

Doing More than “Just Enough”

 

Volunteering to co-host the “Dress Like a Girl Challenge” with Melissa has prompted me to give serious consideration to how I present myself to the world.  I work in an office that is home to both high level executives and hourly employees – I am somewhere in between, with work attire ranging from scrubs (it’s a health care company) to suits.  I often feel as though I am not pulled together, polished, or something is just off with how I am dressing.

Then it hit me this morning as I was fiddling with the outfit that I had quickly thrown on before making my husband’s coffee, switching a load of laundry, and replying to e-mails.  I am not devoting any true time to getting ready for my day.  Yes, I put on business casual clothing, swipe on a bit of powder and lipstick, and check to make sure that my hair is not resembling a bird’s nest.  But I never go beyond that.  I am doing just enough…..and that is no longer good enough.

So today, I let the dishes sit in the sink, and went back to my closet to give serious consideration to what I was going to wear.  Here is what I came up with (Please excuse the weird head tilt--- posing is not my strong suit)

 

While I don’t want this to turn into a fashion blog, I will be posting my daily outfits for awhile, just to give me some accountability.   Do any of you have tips/tricks/suggestions for dressing better?