First Day of Preschool

Today was Charlotte's first day of preschool, and my first day back teaching preschool. To say I missed it would be a HUGE understatement! I truly feel teaching these amazing little people is my calling. I adore the school I work at, and I'm thrilled that Charlotte is able to attend with me. It's a church preschool so not only is she learning, but she also prays before her meals and does a scripture study everyday. I know not everybody finds that important in regards to their child's education, but that is something I want for my daughter. That's another post for another day though ;) 

We started the day off sleepy. She slept through her morning diaper change and getting dressed! She woke up when Dada came bounding into the room from is run. Haha! I then proceeded to take a bazillion pictures. 

She had a rough time starting the day out, but she warmed up and enjoyed herself as the day went on. My class is so sweet! I'm with Ms. Tina and we have the older fours. (These are the kids who will be starting kindergarten in the Fall.) 

We had a great first day, and I'm excited to see how Charlotte does the rest of the summer. I'll blog more about school at the end of each week so I don't overload y'all with preschool junk ;) 

My baby girl is growing up! It's exciting and heartbreaking. I'm sure all you other Momas know what I'm talking about ;) 

I confess....

I'm copying Raven and doing a confess sesh. I'msorrynotsorry if any of these offend you...

I confess... the term "God awful" really irks my nerves. What is exactly is so awful about God? And why exactly would you associate the word "awful" with God in the first place? 

I confess... it doesn't bother me one bit that people say that sometimes I act like a bitch. One of my fave sayings is "Bitches get shit done" and its true. I don't ever get taken advantage of, and people know I'm going to treat them fairly in return. I'm never un-necissarily bitchy though, only when it's called for. Example: Y'all have all heard of Lizard Lick Towing right? If not, look 'em up. Anyway, so my sophmore year of college 2 of my girlfriends and I were driving to my roommates hometown for her birthday. My friend R was driving her car, when halfway there, her car started to smoke and spit flames on this backwoods highway. Three girls stranded on the highway, 2 hours from anyone willing to come and get us. So we call AAA and they say they're sending a tow truck. Well the company, Lizard Lick, calls us and tells us that there is only room for 2 of us to ride in the truck, and one of us will have to stay behind. On the highway. Alone. At night. Are you effing kidding me?! Well I got on the phone and informed said lady that not only are they NOT leaving one of us on the highway, but that if we don't all fit, then they are more than welcome to have a taxi follow them at their expense to ensure that we all have a safe way back. Otherwise my attorney would have no problem giving them a call in just a few minutes. Do you think any of us got left behind? Nope. Because bitches get shit done.

I confess.... I totally judge people who still go to tanning beds. I know judging is wrong, but I cant help it with this one. I mean really? With all of the sunless options out there, and all the information pertaining to skin damage and CANCER, you're just plain stupid if you continue to risk it. I hope you never get cancer, but if you do, it's on you. I just don't understand....

I confess.... I totally think my kid is cuter than yours, and hers, and theirs. But I'm pretty sure every parent feels this way, so I don't really feel like I need to explain or justify this one ;)

I confess.... I've gained 7 pounds since we moved back home. 7?! I've joined a gym, but Charlotte hates it! She screams, shrieks, cries, and shakes when I drop her off at the childcare, so I just haven't had it in me to go the last few weeks. I know if I stayed consistent she'd warm up, but it's just too hard on my moma heart.

I confess.... I am SO ready to be back into our house, that I just can't stand it. We've got paint, I've started working on furniture pieces, now all that's left if for our tenants to get OUT! 

That's it for today's session of "I confess..." Any confessions y'all wanna share???

Apparently I'm "trashy"

So the other day my sister informed me that a mutual "friend" -and I use the term loosely, of ours thought I was "trashy" for having a baby and not being married. Here's the thing: I WAS married when I was pregnant with and gave birth to Charlotte.

Being in the south, unwed mothers typically get labeled as trashy, or slutty, or any other derogatory term you can think of . It's not right or fair, but it's just the way it is down here.

Back to the point! So this "friend" actually had the nerve to tell my sister, when I was pregnant, that it was trashy that I was pregnant and not married. Except I was married.

My husband and I got engaged in January '11, got orders February '11, decided we'd get married before we PCS'd in April '11, found out we were pregnant mid April '11, and then went from there. We were engaged before I was pregnant, and got married b/c we had planned to, not b/c he knocked me up. There wouldn't be anything wrong if we had gotten married b/c I was pregnant, but that just wasn't the case with us. Our original wedding date was May 12, 2012, so we decided we'd still have our grand wedding on the original date, but still celebrate our court house wedding too.

Our court house wedding wasn't highly advertised b/c we didn't want to take away from the specialness of our wedding. We left our status on FB as "engaged" and I didn't change my last name until after the wedding. The important people in our lives knew, but everybody else just got to assume one or the other, an that was fine by us. We didn't hide the fact we were married, but we didn't make a banner and scream it from the rafters. I mean really, who cares? We didn't think it was that important or relevant.

This "friend" recently announced her own pregnancy, on FB, with 3 of her girlfriends. Not her fiancée, the father of her baby. Oh! And wait! She's not married! Here's the thing, I don't give two craps whether or not someone is married when they have a baby. It doesn't affect that person's ability to be a good parent, and it doesn't mean that the baby will somehow be loved any less. What I do have a problem with is somebody, who isn't exactly the best example of prim and proper, judging me or someone else for something that is none of their damn business. And then they turn around an do the exact same thing they were judging me for.

To the girl who said I was trashy and basically called my baby a bastard: I hope you don't have to deal with the trash talking and backstabbing that you so effortlessly did to me. I also hope you learn to quit judging others. Before you start judging and calling me out on my sins, make sure you're up for sainthood first.

And that's all I got. Sorry for the jumping around in thoughts. Blogging while angry is tricky ;)

Moving is for the birds....

My house is a wreck. I can't find things. There are two men, whom I've never met, who currently have free reign of my house and are putting everything I own into boxes. Oh, and the baby and Joe are here too and while they're both currently napping (must be nice...) before that, we were all just staring at each other b/c what the hell else are we gonna do?

It's awkward being in your own house while there are strange people working in it. What are we supposed to do? Sit ad watch them? Leave? Disappear somewhere in the house? It's just weird and uncomfortable for everyone.

On the bright side, they're nice guys who work quickly and efficiently, and the baby has been a trooper. It could be worse I guess ;)

Wish us luck! It might be a week or so before you hear from me again. But I'll have an Easter, Torchlight Formal, and egg hunt recap. Oh! And I was given an award from the Battalion, as well as Joe. So that was cool, and totally unexpected. I'll have something on that up too, as soon as I get pictures!

Pray for us! We're going to need it! 7 hours in the car with a 15 month old is going to be super fun ;)

Some randoms for your day

It's 10.30am and I'm currently sitting on the couch still wearing my pajamas. We have so much going on in the next week, and my brain has packed up and headed south for the winter. Also known as spring since it is technically March, but it's freezing. So there's that too. Warning: this is going to full of random and useless information.

• The inspector for the moving company came yesterday to assess our house and stuff. He was very nice, and seems squared away so hopefully we'll have a better moving experience than we did when we moved down here. I can believe we're moving next week! I don't think it'll hit me until next week when I'm running around like a crazy person trying to get us packed.

•Tomorrow is the Torchlight Formal, and I am SO excited! This will be our very last military formal, and I'm kind of sad about it. I love getting dressed up and going to these types of things. I rented 2 fabulous designer dresses from Rent The Runway, and those should be arriving today. I'll be sure to post pictures to twitter and write up a post :)

• I'm thinking about opening up an Etsy shop. I have my sewing machine, and lots of ideas, and fabric coming out of my ears. I just don't know of that's something I want to add to my plate.

• I'm worried about not getting my job back once we get back to NC. I was a preschool teacher before we moved, and I loved it! I truly found my calling. The problem is, my school is amazing and everybody wants to work there! I guess it's a good problem to have for the school. Ha! They said if there was an opening, it was mine, but I'm still worried.

• I've since changed out oh my pajamas and am currently wearing a pair of jeans that haven't been worn since my freshman year of college. To say I'm trilled would be an understatement. A gym update is in the works.

And that's it. I'm out of random things to talk about. But get ready for some exciting posts. Torchlight Formal tomorrow, the on post Eggstravaganza with the Easter bunny on Saturday, and then Easter on Sunday! We're gonna be busy this weekend and I'm excited. It'll help keep my mind off of moving.

Co-sleeping and how it's worked for us

I know, I know. Two posts in one day? Wtf dude? Well I don't care. I'm at the gym and the tv's in the cinema room are broken, and I can't schedule posts. If I write them early they'll never actually get posted. So you get them as they come to me. You're welcome :)

I recently saw a girl I went to high school with (who is pregnant with her 3rd) post something on FB about how dangerous and selfish co-sleeping is and how parents who do that should have their kids taken away. She's been a mom awhile, and should know better than to judge another parent's parenting choice, but it irked me and made me feel personally attacked (it wasn't a personal attack, but it still felt that way). So we co-sleep with Charlotte. Yeah I know she's 15 months old and why is she still in our bed?! B/c it works for us.

We had NO plans to co-sleep when she was born. I'm fact, we were so against it that I even judged (only a little bit) people who did. Well that's what I get for being judgy. Keep that in mind non-moms. The second you start to judge things you know nothing about wham! Life happens.

Anyway, back on point. As you know I had to have an emergency c-section with Charlotte. I stress the emergency part b/c a scheduled c-section is completely different than one that's like "oh crap! Baby and mom are not gonna make it! Emergency!" The actual surgery and recovery are totally different. So b/c of this, I couldn't get in and put of bed, I couldn't sit up, hell I could barely breathe without feeling like my insides were going to explode. This is obviously a problem when you have a newborn that needs to be nursed every 2 hours. Co-sleeping became a necessity for us. I could easily roll onto my side and nurse the baby, and I could still doze while doing so and she would immediately go back to sleep. Late night feeding a went from a 2 hour process to a 30 minute process. Sleep=good.

I eventually healed and could get in and out of bed, but she was sleeping though the night with us and I felt better having her right there with us. Joe is ready to kick her out. He's sick of getting kicked in the back, and feeling like he has to sleep on the edge of the bed. I'm totally fine having her stay though. But it's not just about me. I may be the mom and get a majority say since I'm home with her all day, but he's the dad and he's been patient so that means its time. When we move back into our house in NC in June is when she's getting the boot. It's time I think. She's a big girl baby as we like to say. But I am gonna miss my snuggle bunny :(

Co-sleeping gets a bad rap. I realize that it can be dangerous, but not of you're smart about it. She is always between us, never on the side. She never gets covered with the blanket or sheet (she hates being covered anyway so that worked out) we have a snug bottom sheet, and she's never buried beneath a pillow. Oh! And they make these co-sleeping bassinets now that actually go in your bed between you and your spouse. So it can be done. It's not for everyone, but it's also shouldn't be compared to a baby sleeping with a butcher knife like that ad that was in Michigan or Minnesota a year or so ago. I think co-sleeping is the new bottle vs. breast war. We should all support one another as mothers. Just sayin...

Commenting on other blogs

Does anybody else have a problem commenting on other blog posts? Even since I transferred everything over to Bloglovin, I can't comment on anything! Like, it'll let me type out my comment but the second I hit "publish" poof! It's all gone and never publishes! What the hell?! Please somebody tell me that there is a remedy to this!

Oh and turns out I was never using Google Reader in the first place. Go figure :/ So I panicked like everybody else and went through the pain in the ass process of getting everything swapped and downloaded and yadda yadda and I didn't have anything to worry about. Whatevs.

Y'all help a sista out! Why can't I comment on anything?! Ahh!

M-I-C-K-E-Y MOUSE

Last week we got to go see the one and only Mickey Mouse on ice. We had so much fun, and Charlotte had a blast. She was clapping and singing, munching on popcorn, and just really into it. We went b/c one, Mickey is awesome and two, we were celebrating her 15 months birthday. I can't believe she is 15 months old, but that's another post for another day ;) We go to see the cast of Cars, Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy of course, Tinker Bell and her friends, Ariel and her friends, and the whole cast of Toy Story. We were in the second row on the ice, so we were in on all the action. I love doing these types of things with Charlotte, and I'm glad we had the opportunity to go! I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures, my husband is horrible behind the camera haha

Don't you forget about me!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

So as I'm sure y'all have already heard, but Google Reader is going away forever. I'm pretty annoyed by this for a few reasons. One: I don't like change. It freaks me out, and I don't like being forced into it. Two: I was finally starting to get the hang of Google Reader, and now I have to figure out how to use Bloglovin' and Feedly. And three: stupid Google. Why do you have to go and ruin a good thing?!

Anyway, I don't want to lose you! So please go to Bloglovin' and follow me there! I'm using both Bloglovin' and Feedly, so if your having a hard time choosing, just know that they're both good! I prefer Feedly btw ;)

Let's talk about random Twitter followers

So like most other bloggers, I have a Twitter account. (You can follow me @ChickapeasMoma ) I love the Twitter! It's a great way to stay connected and post random thoughts without being that a*hole on Facebook updating your status every 13 seconds.

Here's what I don't like about Twitter: the random creepers who choose to follow you. Don't misunderstand me, I love getting new followers! It's a huge ego boost to know that somebody else is choosing to know what's going on in my life. The internal dialogue in my head usually goes something like this: "oh a new follower! I'm getting popular! They think I'm cool! My blog must not be a complete joke! Etc." Occasionally though, I get a new follower who looks questionable. Tonight for example, I get onto Twitter to check what's going on. Stalk my fave blog girls, see what brilliant and insightful things celebs are tweeting, you know, the usual. And I notice I have a new follower. Woo hoo! A new follower! How exciting! So I click his profile and start checking his info out. I'm thinking he must be a fellow blogger, must be a dad blogger. Um no.

This kid, this child(!), couldn't have been more than 14 years old! I don't know him, I've never met him, and he certainly isn't a fellow parent blogger. His picture is of him with a coy smile, his hand running through his Justin Bieber hair, blue jeans, and oh yeah, no shirt. What the what?! Ugh.

Who is this random kid, why is his shirt off, why is he following me, and why isn't his mom monitoring what he's doing online?! I had no words. Of course I blocked him. I don't want to be put on some FBI watch list, and definitely don't want this rando being able to see the pics I post of my baby.

I'm also a little creeped out. Who just goes around randomly following people on Twitter that they don't know?! It would never occur to me to do something like that. This happens with Facebook all the time too. I get random friend requests from people I don't know in real life, so I deny them. Then I end up getting emails from these denied "friends" wanting to know why I didn't accept their request. Um, b/c I don't know you that's why!

Am I the only one that feels this way? I know blogging and putting my life out there is kind of hypocritical to everything I just said up above, but I still sensor what I post. I don't share where we live, our last name, names of friend's kids, etc.

What do y'all think? Am I being too judgy, cautious?


*And a picture of a laughing bebe with a garden gnome. B/c why not? What's cuter than that?!

We're Moving

Well, it's official. We have orders. Joe is getting out of the Army, and we're moving back home in 2 weeks. Yeah, you read that right. 2 weeks. I'm freaking the freak out. The movers are coming April 5th ad then we're getting the hell outta dodge. I'm scared, excited, nervous, ready? It's going to awesome being back in our own house, close to family, but it's still kinda of, I dunno, disappointing maybe? Joe being in the Army and us moving to Fort Benning has been amazing for our marriage and relationship, and our own little family. I guess I'm just worried we'll regress being back at home. I know things are different, we have a baby for crying out loud! But it's still a mild fear. And I'll admit, I don't do change well. I have a really hard time with it! This is going to be a complete life change for me. I went from being my Air Force Dad's dependent, to my Army husbands. I don't know how to "be" a civilian. I'm going to miss being a part of the small military community. Being one of the few that can say my family is serving our country. I know we can serve in different ways, but this is the only way I have. I'll be an adjustment, but I'm also looking forward to this new adventure for our family!

We'll be living with my in-laws for the first month and half we're back since our tenants lease won't be up until the end of May. I keep telling myself it'll be fine, but I'm still kinda apprehensive. I would feel the same way if we were going to be staying with my family btw. It just goes back to my regression fears. I know it'll be ok though.

So I'll be sure to keep y'all updated on our moving drama, b/c I know there will be drama. There always is ;)

Walk Squeakily & Carry a Big Stick

The weather was GORGEOUS here in GA yesterday. It was 75 degrees, sunny, and a light breeze. Perfect would sum it up pretty well. We were itching to get out of the house and do something, anything outside. Usually we go downtown and put the bebe in the jogging stroller and run, but we decided to switch it up and go to the park.

Flat Rock Park is one of the most beautiful parks I've seen. Lots of woods, walking, biking, and hiking trails, playgrounds spread out and about, and there's a creek that goes through the entire park that you can splash around in. This was our second visit. The first time we went, I was 3 years pregnant and we were trying to walk out that baby of ours. (As y'all know, that didn't work. Ha!)

We decided to get a bottle of wine, and snacks for the bebe, and go hang out by the water and walk around the park. It was wonderfully relaxing. Charlotte found her first stick, and proceeded to play with that for hours. We couldn't go anywhere without her stick in one hand. She's pretty silly :) We walked and explored for awhile, and then splashed around in the water for a bit before we decided to head home. It was a great way to spend a Sunday! In definitely going to miss these little family outings when we move back to NC. They'll be harder to come by with our own families living minutes always ;)