Last Night

How cute was this NappyTabs routine?  And quite timely seeing as Sam woke up twice last night screaming.  Poor kid is still sore from his 6-month shots.  And I often bust a move like this in the middle of the night.  Hahaha...

And I love seeing Tabatha working it out with that big buddha belly.  So funny.  I took a hip hop class at the Atlanta Ballet years ago and one of the instructors was seriously like 8 months pregnant.  Didn't slow her down ONE bit.

I haven't seen the whole show yet from last night... I'm sure there are other good ones!  Such great talent this year.

Daycare Funnies.

Have I told you guys how much we love Sam's school?  We do.  Everyone there is great and we've been completely happy with them so far.  And Sam has a good ole time, which is most important!  This summer has been pretty low-key... apparently many of the parents of Sam's school buddies are teachers because there are only a few kids in his class during the summer.

So this week we started bringing a "lunch" for Sam.  Yeah, that made me cry.  It's like he's a little boy... eating a lunch?  OMG.  We've been experimenting with solids since he turned 4 months, but are just now trying to establish actual meals.  My goal is to work up to 3 meals a day by 9 months.  He likes most of what we've given him, but he still seems to prefer filling up on milk.  Which is fine for now - that's most important anyway at this point!  So his first lunch at school barely got touched.  But on day 2, we got this note:

So funny.  He must have picked this behavior up from the dogs.  They live in constant fear of someone else taking their food.  Definitely not grazers. 

And then today, we get this...

Hilarious.  So unnecessary - I mean y'all, it was seriously like the smallest scratch ever.  I had to sign off on this "incident report."  But I know they have to do this kind of crap because there are people who will raise all kinds of hell over nothing.  So it is appreciated, sure, but I had a good laugh.  And yes, Sam is recovering quite well - not to worry!!!  ;-)

He also had some special summer helpers along with his main teacher.  A couple are students who are studying teaching or child and family development - all really great girls.  So we made a little goodie basket for them.  Sam loves making prezzies...

It took a lot not to crack open that bag of peanut m&m's.

OK so I've been working on my post of mom and baby's favorites, 3-6 months addition.  Hope to have it up soon!  It's amazing the difference a few months make.  It looks totally different from our 0-3 months favorites!  Stay tuned.

Halfway to ONE!

Hard to believe that in six short months we went from this...

to this...

What a ride it's been so far! 

We were looking at videos from the hospital over the weekend and could not believe how much he has changed.  And gosh, now it's like serious crunch time for first birthday party planning!!!  At least for neurotic party planners, like me.  I was in Hobby Lobby recently and they already had Christmas stuff out.  That's absurd.  BUT, not all bad given that much of it will work for Sam's party theme (artic/winter wonderland) so I can start stocking up now!  Getting anything done with an infant around takes 5x as long.  So the more I can do ahead of time, the better.  More on that to come!  Hope y'all have a great week...

Hey, now...

Not surprisingly, my last post ruffled a few feathers.  Kinda funny though since I'm usually the type to avoid conflict like the plague!  I know not everyone shares my opinion, duh.  (And I completely welcome yours here, so long as you play nice.)  But let me lay out a couple of points in an attempt to answer some concerns and then I'll let it rest...

Several of you mentioned the book may not be right for me, but it is for you (or something to that effect).  Fair enough.  I know plenty of friends that have read it. You all are adults (I assume) and can make your own decisions.  And never have I thought anyone is "bad" for reading it, nor am I "good" for not.  My intent was to share my personal decision and why I made it, not to finger point.  But if my words or anyone else's cause you to give pause, I don't think that's ever a bad thing.  What you ultimately decide is of course up to you.  One of the best lessons I've learned - as an adult, mind you - is that the question isn't always "Is this right or wrong?"  Not everything in life is that black and white.  Often, the better question to ask is, "Is this the wise thing to do?"  Given what I know, where I am, and where I want to go... I have to answer, no.  Reading that book is not the wise thing for me to do.

Stuff like this always brings up accusations of "judgment."  As I said, finger-pointing was not my intention and I don't consider anyone who has read the book to be a bad person or bad Christian.  That's ridiculous and nowhere did I say that.  My statements were simply a profession of what I'm personally doing to guard my heart.  But I have to answer the judgment thing because it's one of THE most misunderstood concepts (or whatever you want to call it) in the Bible.  When it comes to people outside our faith, you're right - it's not our place to judge.  Because, hello... they don't play by our rules so why should we hold those people to them?  But God does call us to hold each other accountable, as Christians.  Though - again, that's not even what I was trying to do here.  I really didn't bring Christianity into my post at all.  But porn is an equal opportunity offender, so I think anyone would be wise to give pause before picking it up - Christian or not.  That's really all I would ask of anyone... just think a moment before diving into this book.  My frustration really is not over people reading the book, but more so the hoopla surrounding it and where that has led (namely young girls picking it up, argh).  My post was about my own decision not to read it - not what any of you should do. 

Thanks, as always, for reading.  I value your opinions and welcome them.  And like I said, I'll put this one to rest and venture back to fluffier subjects like pictures of my friggin cute kid. :-)

What I'm NOT reading this summer...

Bestest did a fun post the other day on random things she doesn't get.  I have a running list too - we all do.  But here's one that has me shaking my head lately... this 50 Shades of Grey shit.  Just so we're clear - no, I haven't read it and I never plan on reading it. 

I fell into the Twilight craze and the Hunger Games craze.  Those were fun reads (and obviously meant for younger audiences).  But this latest obsession women have over this 50 Shades series leaves me baffled.  And today on the radio, they were talking about how teenage girls are getting their hands on this "adult" book and eating it up.  And often putting it into practice.  If that doesn't scare the crap out of you, it should. 

What bugs me is that women flaunt the fact that they've read this book like it's a badge of honor.  There is nothing honorable about it.  It's porn - plain and simple.  "Oh but it's so good - just read it, you'll love it!"  Yeah, I'm sure I would.  I'm sure it's awesome.  Obviously it's appealing or it wouldn't get the attention it has.  I could go on for pages as to why this is so poisonous.  I have a huge issue with pornography in general.  It is a multi-billion dollar industry that is an absolute cancer to our society.  It corrupts people, creates monsters, and destroys marriages.  Don't be fooled into thinking it is harmless.  It is so easy to come by these days.  And easier to get more.  It's not a craving you can ever fully satisfy.  You get a taste.  And you want more.  Watch your step, friends.

You can call me a prude.  I really don't care.  I'm not missing out on anything by not reading this book.  I'm proactively protecting not just my marriage, but my heart.  Everyday I'm faced with temptation - things vying for my heart.  Just as you are.  We are all created with the inherent desire and need to worship something.  If it's not our God, it's something else.   And really, don't even get me started on the damage this is doing to young girls.  It absolutely enrages me to the point of tears. Would reading this silly book destroy me or my marriage?  Yeah, probably not.  But it would surely turn my heart away from where it should be.  And I'm not about to make that gamble.  I'm a big believer in establishing guardrails in your life.  And this is just one I'm not willing to cross.


See my follow-up post here.

Teaser Photo

I mean, seriously...

Me, the hubs, and scientists make friggin' cute babies.

Summer Fun!

Sorry for the lack of posts of late... doing life with my boys and an unusally busy June/July at work make it tough to get on the 'puter.  Sam had a fabulous 4th and I hope y'all did too! 

Sam took an early dip in the pool and while Momma was at the liquor store, he discovered his legs when Daddy had him in the Jumperoo.  So now we are a bouncin' fool!  Hilarious...

He's been in the Jumperoo many times but just figured out he can BOUNCE.  We were cracking up so hard.  So after LOTS of bouncing plus ridiculous amounts of attention from friends we had over yesterday for a BBQ, he was tuckered out come bedtime.   A fantastic 1st Independence Day, indeed.

Have a great weekend, all!  Sam has his 6-month (WHAT?!?!) photo shoot tomorrow with our awesome photographer, so I can't wait to share those with you soon!