My husband and I are having a baby, but my toddler is too. It’s been fun trying to explain to him that there is a baby in my belly. We’ve read books and looked at drawings of babies in the womb. While he seems to understand that there is a baby in there and that it is growing and that when it gets big enough it will come out, he also thinks there is another baby in his own belly. Continue reading
Oh, I’m sure other women experienced severe hanger in their first pregnancies, but not me. This second one has been different in so many ways. I also need to clarify that I, myself have experienced hanger many times without being pregnant, but this hanger is different. This hanger WAKES you up at 4:30am and forces you to mindlessly chug cinnamon apple sauce out of an old hot-chocolate-stained coffee mug. Then, you lay there and think about how you had a cheeseburger and fries at 8 o’clock last night and there is no way you should physically be this hungry right now. Continue reading
Have a kid, tell everyone you’re going to take them to Disney before they’re three, then take them. That’s the moment you’ll realize how fast time flies. It is insane that we are already here. We are home from Disney with another little Disney freak on the way. The next time Rick and Jack and I are at Disney together will be when Baby Devens is almost three and it will be here before we know it.
I’m always pretty obnoxious about appreciating each little moment, but this pregnancy has made it so much worse. I am not in a hurry at all this go round where as last time, I just couldn’t wait to meet our new baby. I know that our life as we know it will never be the same just as it was with Jack, and I want to savour the time we have before Jack becomes a big brother and Rick and I become equally matched in tiny humans. Continue reading
Right now, an American couple is walking down a cobblestone alley in Rome trying to find their hotel. The sky is clear and the air is crisp. The husband is confidently walking closer and closer towards the Colosseum attempting to locate their hotel. He doesn’t want his wife to know that he doesn’t know where he is going. She knows, buddy. She knows. She doesn’t care though, because they’re in Rome…and BAM! There is the Colosseum, a structure she has only seen in movies and pictures. I know this is happening right now because it is a beautiful cycle the Romans know too well-and it was us about a week and a half ago. I wonder how often Romans get a “Scusa, do you know how to get to…”. Daily? At least weekly I am sure of it. We were so grateful for all the kindness of the Italian people. Not one of them ignored us or turned us away. Somehow, the couple always finds their way back to the hotel. Continue reading
Wow, you guys. I’ve gotten a lot of feed back from my last post, Why You Should Visit Your Confused Loved One-Even If It Makes You Sad. Thank you for sharing 261 times! If it makes just one person decide to go visit their loved one, I will be ecstatic. So, a few people have brought up some questions about HOW to visit your confused one. They’re ready to put on their thoughtful pants and visit, but they aren’t sure what to do once they get there. My friend Makenna Buffington lost her father to Alzheimer’s. She knows first hand how important it is to visit and through her experiences, has given me some great pointers on how to visit someone who is confused. How do you visit? What do you say? What do you not say? How do you connect? What about the awkwardness? Makenna and I have put together some helpful tips through our own personal visits with our family members, while it is aimed towards moderate to severe dementia, these words can serve as a guide for any stage: Continue reading
Every time I write a blog, I get comments about how thoughtful I am or how wise I am for my years. When I post something on Facebook, I get comments like, “Oh, you guys are so much fun!” “Never a dull moment with you!” “Beautiful family!”. The one that makes me most insecure is “Well said” or “Perfectly worded.” Obviously, these things make me feel GREAT! However, they also make me look a little closer at myself and wonder if people see me as a little wiser and considerate than I actually am. Any thing I ever write comes from experiences, and I enjoy looking back on them and finding something meaningful. The thing is, to get to the point where I can evaluate my own behavior to the world around me, I have to mess up-ALOT-first. As my mother can confirm, I am definitely a “learn the hard way” kind of person. Continue reading
I visited my Grandbetty’s old house last week and it brought back a flood of memories (no pun intended). I wrote a blog about my Grandbetty after Alzheimer’s, but most of my memories are of her before. When she knew my name. When she wanted to take a thousand pictures of me by her azalea bushes. When she wanted to feed me, even when I wasn’t hungry. I was with her when she died. I sat with her several times a week for the two years she didn’t know me anymore. She was still the same person, just confused. Sometimes, she would get angry. Not often, but sometimes. If she got angry with me, I would leave the room and collect myself. I wasn’t mad at her, but I was hurt. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know what she was saying. Words hurt. I had to cry a little and then I had to come back-because this was the only time in her entire life when she REALLY needed me. Continue reading
So, remember a week or so ago when I told you about my weird day leading me to my grandparents’ old house and then to their graves? And remember when the really nice people who own it now, Tami and Patrick, invited me to come see it? Well, today was the day! My dad and I, along with my mom and stepdad swung by the old place today where we were graciously welcomed by the “new” homeowners. They’ve actually owned the house for three years now, so while it isn’t new for them anymore, being there without my grandparents was very, very new. The main word that comes to mind when I think of our visit today is closure. I was worried I’d leave their home with sad memories, but instead I felt overjoyed. Let me tell you why…. Continue reading
Today was so weird, ya’ll. I was traveling for work and just wasn’t in the mood. I’d been driving in the middle of nowhere for hours with no cell phone service and limited radio options. Just when I decided to just go home and give up on today, I saw a sign: Americus 10 miles. The town that I practically grew up in. The town where my grandparents used to live. Just ten little miles? I had to go drive by the old house. Continue reading
It’s that time again. Every other year or so, I get back to that scary little area between “normal” and “overweight”. I am short only .2 points from being overweight. Some people’s immediate response to this is, “If you’re overweight then what am I?!” Well…the answer is that you’re probably also overweight. Duh. It’s not my fault. I didn’t make the rules. Usually, I weigh myself weekly. If I’ve gained a few I try to eat right for a few weeks and go back to where I was, but this year. Oh man, ya’ll. This year, I just walk right by that scale on my way to a bubble bath thinking, “I’ll check on that later. I don’t have time.” Continue reading
The Munchkin Nugget 