I missed you so much. I never knew how much you meant to me until you were gone. I felt so alone while you were away. Then when you returned I felt like my world was all in order. Oh how I missed you... Internet.
24 hours with no Internet?!? I don't know how I survived the day. I guess sitting in the corner, rocking back and forth, while periodically breaking in to hysterics helped. Okay so that might me a little exaggeration, but man I sure am thankful to have crack facebook back. I feel like I miss out on what everyone is doing. I must say I was disappointed in the status updates... I figured something fantastic had gone on while I was living in cave man times, but no just normal updates. Oh well.
So sweet husband came home from work early today. It was a nice surprise. Unfortunately for him I showed up at the house not expecting him and only had 3 McNuggets left in my pack. I don't normal eat in the car on the way home, but I'm kind of glad I did because I didn't have to share all of my food (evil wife laugh inserted here). I did give him the last 3 nuggets and I would have gladly shared my food had I not eaten it on the way... maybe. We all got showered and dressed and decided to take a family outing to Hobby Lobby. Now I don't know about you, but I could spend all of husbands paycheck in that store. Slaten had to have a toy and ended up with a stick with a pointing finger on the end... um yeah. That's probably the weirdest toy he's ever picked out. On the drive home he would point at someone and say, "Now who is that? Daddy. Good job!!!". Future school teacher? Maybe.
We decided to grab something from Walmart to cook for dinner. Are y'all seeing a pattern of Walmart comments in my blog... Maybe I need help... Anyway we went to the Walmart in Gardendale. Holy Mackerel. That place is crowded!! I started to get cart road rage. We ended up with steaks, potatoes, onions, and pasta. It was delish!! Unfortunately I forgot the cookies so I plan on wandering into the kitchen to rummage through the cabinets until I find something sweet and unhealthy. Shouldn't be hard to find in my house.
I need to put the last couple of touches on the boy's Halloween costumes, but felt like I needed to blog at some point since I missed Mommy time today and had no Internet. Slaten is on costume number 2 this year. The first one didn't work out so well... Here is Slaten's Costume Wish list for the year 2010:
A Monster
A Scary Monster
A Dog Monster
A Dragon Monster
Ironman (That's what the kid's at school call him apparently..)
A Ghost with no eye holes ( Yeah.. that one is the one we tried Sunday... it worked about as well as it sounds like it would)
And the costume that he will be wearing tomorrow night is Jack Skelington the Pumpkin King.
I think it's turned out cute. I'm sure nobody will know who he is... But oh well I made it and I will be impressed with myself, so there!
My sweet Cully is on costume number 2 as well. I made him a Sumo Wrestler costume because I found that to be totally appropriate for such a chub chub, but once I put it on him he kind of looked like, well, a baby in a diaper.SIGH. Thankfully my mom is a craft genius and turned his Sumo suit into an adorable Baby Bird. So I've made him a headband of feathers to wear for tomorrow night since we didn't have time to make one last Sunday, but you can see the pictures at the bottom of the blog of the Baby Bird and the no-eyed Ghost.. which ended up being a shirtless Slaten with makeup running down his face with sweat.
So now I must go rescue Cully since Slaten has figured out a new thing to do with his pointing finger toy.. Is it bedtime yet?!?
Baby Bird
Shirtless Ghost Boy
My Halloween Costume
Is this day over yet?
Tuesdays and Thursdays are Slaten's school days. You'd think I'd be use to that since he's been going for 2 months now, but alas I'm not. I set my alarm for 6:45 like every other night before school, but I proceeded to hit the snooze button 4 times which resulted in me waking up in a panic at 7:20. We have to be out the door at 7:50 at the latest. So the running began. I jumped out of bed and flung some clothes on. Then grabbed the kids and dressed them. Today was Farmer's Day at Slaten's school so I had to dress him in his plaid shirt, boots, and cowboy hat. I got him all dressed and started dressing Cullen and then Slaten started whining because his socks felt weird in his boots. So off the boots came and I had to adjust his socks to his liking and put them back on. Then I rushed to the kitchen to find a nutritious breakfast (i.e. fruit snacks and apple juice) and then we took some quick pictures on the porch and then we were off.
Slaten was very excited about Farmer's day. He kept saying, "I look good." "Yeehaw!"
Poor kid's shirt was so wrinkled... that was one of those things I intended to do this morning when I woke up on time... I'm sure his teachers judged me on that one. While in the car line at school Slaten yelled "Yeehaw" out the window every 5 minutes... like I said he was very excited. The other kids starting looking out their car windows like what in the world?!? So I booted Cowboy farmer out of the car and then went to Walmart (I told you I go every Tuesday and Thursday). I got a couple of last minute Halloween things and of course my morning donut. Then me and Cully walked out to get into the car. I got little man all loaded in and opened my coke. Took a long gulp and reached for my donut while simultaneously cranking the car. Did I say cranking? I mean turning the key and nothing happening.... Yeah my battery died. SIGHHHH. I called my mommy because who else would I call when somethings gone wrong, and she sent someone from her work to come and rescue me. A very nice man named Buddy arrived and we spent about 10 minutes trying to figure out how to open the hood. Now I've had this car for the past 3 years. You'd think I'd know how to pop the hood sheesh. We finally got it open and he jumped me off. I made it down to advance where they told me I had a bad battery and then jumped me off so I could make it to my daddy's so he could investigate. Needless to say I am now the proud owner of a new car battery...
Then on the way home both boys fell asleep. One would think that is a good thing, but you think wrong. When the boys fall asleep in the car mommy time ceases to exist. I got us home and put Slaten in his bed. Cully woke up so I spent 20 minutes getting him back to sleep. Then about 15 minutes later Slaten came knocking at my door, "Mommy it's me, Slaten." SIGHHHH. So here we are. All in my bed. Cully's half asleep, I'm typing while laying down/nursing, and Slaten's laying here kicking me in the back while asking every 3 minutes if we can go in the living room and watch Caillou...
So now my mommy time will have to wait until sweet husband gets home because I plan on taking a loonngg hot shower where I may or may not end up sitting in the bottom of the shower and taking a nap. Oh well tomorrow is another day!
Dear Weather,
It's Fall, lay off the dadgum 80 degree weather already would cha?? I dressed my poor babies in long sleeve shirts today only to walk outside into 75 degree weather. Maybe if we had been leaving on time we could have came back in to change, but alas I was running late.. surprise, surprise. So we rolled up our sleeves and hopped in the car.
On the way to school this morning an ambulance passed us, lights going, siren blaring. Slaten said, "What was that?! A Firetruck?!?"
I said, "No, that was an Ambulance."
"What is an Ambulance?"
"An ambulance goes and picks up people who are sick or hurt and takes them to the Hospital."
"I don't want to go to the hospital."
"I don't want to go to the hospital either."
"We got Cully from the hospital mommy."
"Yes, we did."
"I want a brown baby."
"Um........"
After we dropped Slaten off at preschool, Cully and I found ourselves at Walmart. That seems to happen quite a bit. What can I say? They have good donuts early in the morning.. We were back checking out the detergent and a little old lady came up behind me. "I have to see this baby! I saw y'all get out of your car in the parking lot." He sure does get a lot of attention when we're out. I should start charging. $1 to look, $5 to touch his feet. People keep telling me he looks like me and then say, "Oh he's so cute and chubby." Wait! Did you just call me fat?!" I say thank you, but now I'm questioning what they're really trying to say......
Cully fell asleep in the car so I parked it at the park and read some of my book. There was a couple walking and they went and sat on a picnic table. She was pregnant and he sat behind her and massaged her shoulders. I wanted to walk over and ask him if I could have a turn, but I remember how hormonal I was when pregnant and didn't want his wife to beat me. So I sat reading until little chub chub woke up. Then we went up to the swings and took some turns down the slide. Walking back to my car a man was sitting in his beside it. He shouted out the window, "Hey is your name Patti?". I said, "Nope." He said, "Oh you look like somebody I know."
Next time somebody asks me a question like that I'm going to say, "Oh yes I am Patti!" Wonder what they would say next. That could be a fun game!
After the park we picked up Slaten and met Honey at McDonalds. Honey is my mom, for those of you who don't know. We met a little friend of Slaten's while we were there. Her family was talking about Cullen and Slaten shouted across McD's, "You can get one at the hospital." Oh good grannies...
Well y'all be safe out there. The weather is suppose to be bad this evening from what I hear. I better go find my ruby red slippers just in case....
Here's some pictures from the park where we like to play. These aren't from today, but this is pretty much how they look while we're there... maybe different clothes :)
A new baby is such a joy for any new parent. You wait 9 long months for that little bun to bake and then bam it's arrived... okay now what?!?
As soon as that sweet little angel is in it's mother's warm arms a new something starts to grow in a mother. That new something is what I like to call the "Guilt Seed". If you are a mother you know what I'm talking about. You constantly question every decision you make, compare yourself to other mothers around you, and make mistakes right and left. We all have won our share of "Mother of the Year awards".
When I was pregnant with Slaten I had everything mapped out. He would sleep in our room for a few months and then it was straight to his crib. He would never sleep in my bed. He would breastfeed and it would be so easy. When he started eating foods he would only eat good healthy foods. I wasn't going to feed my baby any junk food. When he got old enough to run around he would never run around wild like those other children that were out of control in Walmart.
Well Folks I can tell you... none of that happened. Slaten slept in our room and mostly in our bed until he was 12 months old. He breastfed for 6 weeks and it was such a struggle we all gave up. He won't touch a fruit or veggie and craves junk food. And yes, he has been that child screaming his head off in Walmart (you know the one, you hear the mother threaten the child under her breath as she rushes out the door before anyone she knows comes walking in). But you know what? Despite all of that I'm a good mother! What makes me a good mother is the fact that I love my children unconditionally and I don't care what others think of how I'm raising my children. So there!
When Slaten was 4 months old I had him propped up on the couch while I was video taping his cuteness. I turned to put the camera away and THUMP he was on the floor crying. I didn't know what to do! I knew I had just broken my baby. So I did what any normal mother would do. I jumped up and ran away crying... Yeah I left my baby on the floor and ran to my bedroom.. Luckily Matthew remained calm and picked up my baby and calmed him down. He showed me that I hadn't broken our baby and I was able to calm down myself. I felt like the worst mother on the face of the planet. I was so embarrassed and ashamed that I had allowed that to happen to my baby. Not long after we went to church and a man asked us, "Has he fallen off the bed yet?" I was mortified and thought Oh no he knows what I did. Then he went on to say, "You're not a real parent until your kid falls off the bed." Instantly I felt better. He was right. Things are going to happen sometimes that you can't control and then you realize that you're child is not the first or the last that will have minor mishaps.
When you go on to have another child you feel a lot more confident and relaxed. Just the other day Cullen rolled off the bed, fell off the couch, and pulled a lamp off the table on top of his head. I didn't run away and cry. I just scooped him up, gave him mommy kisses, and went on with my day like nothing happened. Sure he might have been a little black and blue, but he was fine! Cullen started out sleeping in our bed and he's still sleeping in there. I don't feel bad about it either. We all get more sleep that way and it's what is best for my family. I love to see the shocked look on people's faces when I say he's still sleeping in our bed at 10 months old. I'm also still nursing him. I'm proud to be able to say that I've never bought a can of formula for him and I hope to nurse him for 2 more months so I don't ever have to. And I'm sure one day when he's old enough I will be murmuring threats under my breath at him while walking down the Walmart aisle.
I refuse to let the Guilt Seed rule my life. I'm going to remain a confident mommy and I encourage other mommies out there to do the same. Don't worry about what others think. If something works for you and your family do it.. even if it does seem "taboo". Don't compare your children to other children. It will only make life harder for you. Your baby will always be cuter than everyone else's, your toddler will be smarter, and your kid will be better. And you know what you're right! Just like I'm right when saying my kids are cuter, smarter, and better than every single kid in the world :)
I'd love to hear about your mommy mishaps. So feel free to comment!!!
* Side note: some pictures of my cuties
"When I get bigger, I'm going to marry you mommy." Those are the sweet little words I heard this morning when we woke up. I intend on pulling that quote out when he's 16 and brings his first girlfriend home to meet mom and dad. I love that he loves his momma so much. I hope he always does... maybe not want to marry me, but it's sweet now since he's 3. Wonder what Freud would say about that....
We had to watch The Nightmare before Christmas before we could do anything else today. I love that my kid wants to watch movies that I love. If you know Slaten you know that one of his favorite things in this whole world is my hair. So while we're watching the movie he said, "I need your hair and my milk". I hand him my ponytail and he said, "Hair is a great toy." What a weird fetish he's got going on.
Well the kids and I didn't feel like sitting at home today so we got dressed, I threw on a hat because like I said in my previous post it's hard to shower with two little ones, (don't worry I put deo on and brushed my teeth) and we were off! We ventured down to the local McDonalds. I didn't really want it, but I'm convinced that I will find the matching piece to Park Place and I will have my million dollars this time. I didn't win *sigh*. I ended up winning a free burger and fries. Now I have pieces for 2 burgers, 2 fries, 2 mcfurries, and a breakfast sandwich. Just what I need McDonalds.. more fattening food! I'll save those for a rainy day, but before November 15th because after that they're no good.
After we had our nutritious lunch we wandered down to the thrift store. We're trying to find a dresser or something for the bathroom at the new place. I had no luck, but we hit the mark in the toy section. We found a school bus toy for 25 cents. My child loves me so much right now. It's the little things in life. We also found a nice winter coat for $6!! It looks brand new. It has a spot for his headphones for his Ipod which I think is hilarious on a size 4 coat.
We saw my Aunt while we were there. After conversing about preschool and the house we said our goodbyes. As we were wheeling away Slaten said, "I love that lady". Then I had to explain to him who she was again... Slaten tried to talk me into buying a Cinderella power wheel on the way out the door. Granted it was blue so I understand him thinking it could be for a boy, but the image of my son riding around in a blue car with Cinderella's face plastered on the front just couldn't escape my brain. Though it would make really great blackmail pictures for later..(insert evil mommy laugh here) maybe I should have given in.
So I know I've posted three days in a row and that may seem excessive, but this is like a journal for me. I plan on writing quite a bit.. maybe not on the weekends because that's family time, but during the week I will. Now I'm going to think about sneaking cookies before mommy time is over.... Enjoy your weekend!!!!
So in the past couple of months I feel like I've really grown as a person (not just in the waistline and hips). I'm coming to realize what is important in this life and what is simply just not important. It's taking some humbling experiences to learn this, but I feel like it's making me better as a person.
Ten months ago we welcomed our sweet little Cullen and from that point on I became a Stay at home mom. I absolutely love it. It's hard, it's fun, and I love being with my kids 24/7... okay maybe not all the time, but for the most part. Let me tell you about a typical day in the life of this stay at home mom.
At 5:30 my adorable little husband gets ready for work. He tries to be quiet so not to disturb me and Cully, but bless his bones he's not as quiet as he hopes to be. I usually awaken to him jingling change in his pocket or opening drawers. Then after he gets ready he goes and grabs sleeping Slaten and puts him in the bed with me and Cullen so that we can all enjoy a few more Zzzz's. Then every one of us gets a hug and a kiss. I usually sign I love you because I'm simply too sleepy to talk that early in the morning and he shuts the door and goes off to work.
I enjoy a little more sleep, which consists of being kicked in the face, a baby grabbing me to nurse, and having to listen to Slaten talk in his sleep about wanting milk. Then around 8 (sometimes later) we roll out of bed. Not usually my choice, but I have to do what I'm told in this house. We wander into the living room and I fix the boys juice and a morning snack. I would say I cook breakfast, but I don't want to lie.. we usually eat a good healthy breakfast of Debbie cakes or cold cereal. Don't judge me. We watch some cartoons and I check crackbook.. I mean facebook, and then we sit and play. Later we usually read a Bible story and watch more TV. Every now and then I clean up something, but I have to be in a special mood to get that done.
Around noon Cullen starts grazing the floor to see what he can eat and that's my clue that he might be ready for lunch. So I fix us all something to eat. Slaten usually asks for something and then decides he doesn't want it so we talk about how he won't get a snack later and he agrees (later I'll find him sneaking cookies.. never fails). After lunch we read stories and all go to take a nap.
Ah nap... my favorite time of day. That is Mommy time. That's actually what's going on right now as I type. Slaten is sound asleep in his room and after a long battle Cullen is asleep beside me on the bed. I have to be careful not to move because if I do he'll wake up and my peace is over. Sure my behind is numb and I may need to use the bathroom, but those are the sacrifices you make when you want quiet time. In just a little while Slaten will be knocking at my door, "Mommy, it's me Slaten". Then he'll come in and demand that I get him underwear and juice. He'll end up waking Cullen and then mommy time will be over. We'll wander back into the living room where I will probably give in and give him a snack because I'm a sucker and then we'll wait on daddy to get home.
Sounds like an exciting day doesn't it? I'd like to be able to say that I get the whole house clean, my hair and makeup are perfect, and dinner is cooking in the oven when my dear husband gets home, but that's usually never the case. I find that spending time with my little sweeties is much more important than wiping down the walls or showering. It's one of the things I've learned since having children. I'm not June Cleaver and I probably never will be, but my kids are happy and that makes me happy. I may not be able to go shopping every time I want or be able to buy my kids the newest cool toy, but at the end of the day I'm able to tuck my babies into bed, curl up to my wonderful husband, and thank God that I'm able to be with my kids through these precious years because I know I'll miss them when they're back talking teenagers.
So now I'll leave you so that I can enjoy the last few minutes of mommy time. My sanity needs it!
Well here it is folks! What you've all been waiting for.... okay so maybe it's not that exciting, but I jumped on the Blog bandwagon!!!
There are so many things that I want to remember and share with others so I figured this would be the best way to do that. So let me begin with telling you a little about the Hinds Clan.
Let's start with the head of our household, Matthew. I met my handsome husband at the tender age of 4. It was love at first sight.. okay well maybe not love, but I sure did think he was cute. He was 8 years old at the time and he and his brother were good friends with my brother. They took karate together and that is where it all began. In those years we spent our time sliding down stairs in sleeping bags. Oh to be young again. They thought I was annoying and I thought they were the bomb (yeah I just said the bomb, what?). Fast forward to the teenage years. His mother ran into my mom at the grocery store. She mentioned that she thought Matthew and I would be perfect for each other. My mom was kind of like uh.... he's 17 she's 13.. that's a bit like robbing the cradle eh? I thought he was oh so dreamy, but to him I was just a little kid. Two years later we met up at a party and spent the night talking and laying under the stars. It was perfect. Then he NEVER called!! So I wasted a couple of years with someone else and he spent time hanging out with friends. We met up again when I was 16 (and taken), he tried to ask me out, but I shot him down since I was distracted with something else. He still stuck in the back of my mind. The next year he heard that I had broken things off with said distraction and decided to call and ask me out. We went to a 3 door down concert on April 19, 2003 and have been together ever since.
On June 24, 2003 Matthew and I drove his 4x4 Toyota Tacoma out in the woods and watched the sunset. That's when he asked me to be his wife. Okay I know what you're thinking.. rednecks, but hey we live in Alabama for goodness sake! We enjoyed mud ridin'.
I was 17 and madly in love so I said YES! We planned our wedding and got hitched June 26, 2004 in a beautiful ceremony at The Tutwiler Hotel. We honeymooned in Riveria Maya, Mexico and had a blast!
After a couple of years of marriage we decided it was time to expand the Hinds family. Shortly after our 3rd year of marriage we welcomed our first son Slaten Robert Hinds on July 5, 2007. He was perfect!
Slaten... Slaten, Slaten, Slaten. Where do I begin? That 3 year old has more personality in his pinkie finger than most adults. He amazes me everyday with how bright he is. I should make him his own blog and call is Slatenisms... you will read quite a bit of those on here. I never knew how much love I was capable of until I gave birth to that beautiful 6 lb 2 oz bundle of baby. He is in preschool this year and absolutely loves it. His favorite things are hotwheel cars, mustangs, and motorcycles. He can say his ABC's, count to 15, and knows all his colors. He can count items in his head and that just amazes me. Okay I'll quit bragging.... for now ;)
After a while we decided we wanted to add another to mix... what were we thinking?!? Ha just kidding.. sort of. We really thought it would take longer to get pregnant. I have no reason behind that logic, just assumed it would. Well it didn't! One week of trying and boom I was baking a loaf of baby. I had a difficult pregnancy with him. He wanted to come a little early. So we had to slow down my labor starting at 28 weeks. Finally at 37 weeks I was able to quit my meds and 3 days later my sweet little Cullen was born. We weren't ready for him... still aren't.. Yeah he's 10 months old.... Oh well maybe we'll be ready one day haha.
December 18, 2009 my sweet little Cullen Reed Hinds was born. He was a HUGE baby. All 6 lbs of him. He was the cutest newborn I had ever seen and no I'm not bias. Cullen is my little sweetums. He loves his momma more than anything in this world and I intend to keep it that way until he's 45.. then he might can get married.. if I approve. He's over 20 lbs now and quite short. He's a chub chub. He is learning so many new things everyday. He took 6 steps today!! I probably should break out the camcorder. He has big blue eyes and a big toothless grin. He melts my heart. :)
Okay finally there is me..... The nut. I am 24 years old. I'm lucky enough to be a stay at home mom. I LOVE it! I'm also a student. Well at the moment I'm taking a break, but I plan on getting back into it soon. I'm in school to become an Occupational Therapy Assistant. I really want to work with children with disabilities if the Lord wills.
So that's my family! I know I ramble and that my introduction was a little long so wipe the drool off your chin and throw back another coffee, you made it through my first blog!
Baby Bird
Shirtless Ghost Boy
My Halloween Costume
