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I'm beyond exhausted, we had a crazy weekend full of big announcements and the stomach flu! I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day. I'm catching up on my Embrace the Camera. Jackson's birthday party weekend deserves a little more time to write then I have the energy for tonight.
Embrace the Camera - Day 4 
I took Thursday afternoon {and Friday} off of work so that I could get myself organized before everyone got in town. I love my job, and working, but man was this afternoon nice! I've never taken a day off and not gone anywhere. I took off last Friday, but we drove to Dallas. So this weekend is going to be a little stay-cation:)
Thursday afternoon Jackson and I met my friend and her new baby for coffee. I have never met a girlfriend for coffee - without having a lunch break or meeting to rush off to. It was lovely. The babies were being so good, we decided to do a little shopping. Of course, none of our three strollers were in my car. So I carried Elyse is her infant car seat and pushed Jackson in her stroller. I must say, he looked pretty cute in her pink stroller:)
After shopping I took Jackson to my hairdresser for his first haircut. I've trimmed is bangs a few times. With the party this weekend I was a little hesitant to do it myself. Jackson was super cute and sat still enough for April to snip and trim:)
Then we headed over to my grandma's to show off Jackson's new do. She was having a good day, which made our visit pleasant. Jackson sat on the floor and played with her Mardi Gras beads for a while and made us all laugh!
Jackson always warms our hearts and puts smiles on our faces. I think this picture really capture his our happiness:) It's probably no surprise, but I am seriously loving these Momma and Jackson pictures. 
I've notice that I have a few new followers, which makes me really happy:) I love checking out new blogs and making new friends out in the blog world. If you haven't done so already, please leave me a comment with your blog address!
We have a super busy long weekend ahead of us. My dad gets in tonight, and my sister and the Brummett Bunch are coming tomorrow. We're so blessed to have everyone with us to celebrate Jackson's birthday {a little early} this weekend! I say this now, in hopes that my grandmother will make it through the weekend. She has been battling Stage 4 Ovarian cancer for almost 4 years. We are lucky she's been able to fight for so long, but we know she can't fight much longer.
Besides the Embrace the Camera challenge, I will be taking a blog break to enjoy my family this weekend. Please don't forget to leave me your blog address if you're a new follower {or a lurker}. If you have any questions you'd like me or the Mr. to answer, let me know too!
Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Be careful, Jackson's going to be on party patrol:)
I love following the Sweet T Family, they are just adorable and have great taste! This week they are hosting Embrace the Camera. You can read more about this here. Basically it's a week long challenge to get us out from behind the camera. I'm guilty of taking 4,532,782,999,089 pictures a day of Jackson. But fellow mommas, it's time we get a few shots with us and our little ones!
When our kids are older, they will appreciate seeing old photos for us. Don't you prefer looking laughing at pictures of your parents instead of naked bathtub pictures of yourself?!?
So, go grab your kiddos and your camera! Stephanie, this means you too:)
I have so much to blog about. I have so much catching up to do! Last weekend the Mr., Jackson and I headed to Dallas to see the Brummett Bunch. As always, we had an eventful trip and a wonderful visit.
Momma Brummett and I have been best friends since the third grade - which is like forever and a day ago. Living six hours away from each other isn't easy, but it makes our time together special. For the first time since my wedding night, we got to party like it was 1999 like some mommies without kids for a night:) Our hubbies took us to dinner and the Jimmy Buffet concert. We had a blast!
Click here for more about our weekend!
What doesn't brake you only makes you stronger, right?!? I'm chanting this in my head, over and over again. What doesn't break me, will make me us stronger.
The night that I met my Mr., I knew that I was going to marry him. He literally swept me off my feet. We dated for almost three years before we got married. We had our battles over money and LSU, but overall we had a solid relationship - and a solid foundation to build on.
We fell in love, we got married, next up on the list was to have a baby. Little did we know the strain this would put on our marriage. However, we didn't let infertility break us. It definitely made us stronger. We came together, maybe even more so than before.
As straining and fragile as infertility made us, there was no preparation for what parenthood would be like. Especially after the honeymoon phase of falling in love with your newborn is over. The books don't tell you when the real sleep deprivation kicks in and your hormones are ragging, just how tough maintaining your marriage is.
The things you say in the middle of the night to each other between the wails of a screaming newborn are some of the meanest and most hurtful things. But, we made it through those nights - and have learned to function on a lot less sleep and hold our tongue. Those nights didn't break us, and they certainly made me stronger. We had a weekly date with a marriage counselor for a while just to be sure!
I'm in a constant battle to not let anything break us. And, the breaking points are constantly knocking on the door. Between Mr. transitioning into his new job, fights over to do lists, and a dying grandmother - the knocks are trying to beat down my door. I know that we will overcome this phase and be stronger on the other side. I know we will.
What doesn't brake us can only make us stronger! Please say it with me:)
a BIG thanks to Amber over at Our Journey with Jax for my new, awesome blog design! I have always loved her blog and her cute baby Jackson:) I was surprised to find out that she does a little blog design on the side. I was even more surprised (and thrilled) when she asked if she could design a layout for me. Talk about my lucky day!
Amber was super easy to work with, and didn't mind any of my OCD ways:) She totally got inside my head and designed exactly what I was looking for. The process was super quick and seamless. I can't thank her enough for everything! Be sure to check out her blog. Warning though, you may want to eat up her little man. He is seriously so cute and looks to be the second sweetest Jackson in the world:)
Before I jump ahead to announcing the winner of the $50 Pear Tree Greetings giveaway, I want to thank you all for your advice. If you haven't done so already, you should really go and read all of the comments. They are great!!!
I set the bar too high for my last giveaway winner. Our little man was too tired tonight to pick the winner. So, I had to pick the winner with random.org. Boring, I know!
Drum roll please... Ashley, you are the winner!!! Please email me within the next 48 hours so I can send you the winning details:)
Congrats mommy-to-be!
Hey everyone!
I have lots to blog about - from my new blog design, Jimmy Buffet, and a road trip with a screaming baby to birthday party preparation and a giveaway that ends today!
In the meantime, let me know what you think about our new looks and be sure that you've entered to win our $50 Pear Tree Giveaway.
Happy Monday:)
Wednesday, May 20, 2009.
Flashback to one year ago today, when I almost met my baby way too soon.
I should have known that Jackson was going to be a very busy baby when he tried to come into the world 7 weeks early. I also should have paid closer attention to my body and realized the signs of preterm labor.
I was swelling pretty bad even on my restricted, no sodium diet. My doctor warned me to slow down and take it easy, but I did not listen. I pressured myself to finish the nursery in time to host Mother's Day brunch. I put on a craw fish boil for our entire neighborhood. I worked full-time. I ironed every. piece. of. clothing. in my Mr.'s closet. If you know me, all types of red lights would have been flashing. I'm all about the dry cleaner and never iron!
I hadn't felt right all week. I was going to the doctor on Thursday and planned to let him know. I was 33 weeks and 3 days pregnant. I went to work. I got my hair done. I went home and decided that Mr. and I should walk. Walking made me sleep better, helped with the swelling - and that night, made my cramps and backache better.
During my pregnancy we walked two laps around the block, one mile, each night. But, I convinced Mr. that we needed to walk more. We walked four laps when Mr. made me quit. My stomach and back was cramping so bad. I went inside and took a bath to help, I thought I was having back spasms or something. The thought that I was in labor never crossed my mind.
I was up all night. Moaning, tossing, turning, using the bathroom too many times to count. Again, the signs were all there. I just kept telling myself it was nothing. But, I felt an incredible amount of pressure. Thank goodness I had a doctor's appointment the next day. I told the nurse about the pressure I was feeling and how terrible my night was. She asked my doctor to check me just to make sure nothing was going on.
I'll never forget the look on my doctor's face. I was 3cm dialed and 50% effaced, what?!?. He sat me up and started talking to me about premature babies, the NICU, bed rest and steroid shots that would help Jackson's lung develop.
I was sent home on strict bed rest and had an appointment the next morning. By that morning, I was 4cm dilated and 80% effaced. I spent the weekend in the hospital so they could find monitor me and the baby. I got the shots to help Jackson's lungs and would spend the next two weeks on Procardia every four hours. The contractions never stopped, but they we're strong enough to make me progress.
The weeks ahead of us were intense, trying to cook my baby boy as long as my body would let me. At 35 weeks my placenta was aging and ready to evict Jackson from my uterus. I stopped taking the contraction medication and went back to work. That week was the longest week. To be continued...
I'm kind of a sucker for good design, nice paper and a pretty pattern. I work at an advertising design firm, which means that I'm surrounded by design everyday. From my perfect wedding invitation to Jackson's birth announcement, I've wanted nothing but the best.
I've been brainstorming the perfect design for Jackson's birthday invitation for months now. I knew that I wanted something simple. Something that captured his sweetness and personality. Something that in my mind, was Jackson.
So, on a pretty night about a month ago, the stars aligned. The sun and lighting was perfect. Jackson was in an awesome mood. And I finally saw the invite in my mind. We were actually outside blowing bubbles. Jackson was a sticky mess. I stripped him down to his diaper and we continued to play. Then it hit me, the perfect idea for his invite. I ran inside and grabbed his birthday hat and started shooting away. 
About a hundred pictures later and many hours of searching for a card design, I came up with this. And for me, it is the perfect invitation for my baby's first birthday. 
I'm still not sure how it's possible that my baby is turning one in a few short weeks. Seriously, where did the time go?!?
Over the past year I've learned that there's nothing more breathtaking then breathing in that sweet baby smell. The dishes will wait for me while I stare at my sleeping baby and hold him tight long after I've nursed him to sleep. Some mornings, being to work on time is over-rated. Running back inside for one more kiss and wave bye-bye makes my day. I've learned to slow down and play, laugh, and cuddle - because before I know it, I'll be planning out Jackson's graduation announcement!
In honor of Jackson's first birthday, I'm hosting another giveaway. All you have to do is share with me the best piece of advice you've learned over the past year. Add your comment to this post for a chance to win $50 in stationery from Pear Tree Greetings! One lucky winner will be selected at random! Giveaway will end May 24th, so leave your advice now!
If you haven't checked out Pear Tree Greetings yet, it's a fun, fresh and affordable personalized stationery company that offers birth announcements, kid birthday invitations, note cards and more!
A few months after I went back to work, I hit a breaking point. The point where I realized I needed help and couldn't do it all. There just aren't enough hours in the day to work, play with your baby, be a good wife and keep a clean house. Mr. and I looked at out budget and made some cuts so that we could have a house cleaner twice a month.
This in no way means that I don't have to clean my house anymore, but it helps. Gloria certainly doesn't clean scrub the floors and baseboards so you can eat off of them like I do, but having her allows me to spend more time playing with Jackson.
Now that Jackson is crawling, walking, and putting everything in his mouth, I'm totally OCD about sweeping the floors. It's a constant battle, and I seem to loose every week. But, being a mother has taught me to let go of some of my obsessive behaviors and enjoy life a little more.
Saturday morning was a perfect example of me letting go. Instead of cleaning, I laughed at my baby boy for at least 30 minutes. I got the broom out to sweep up the kitchen after we ate pancakes. Jackson got a hold of the broom and would not give it back. Seriously, he was having too much fun! So, like any good Momma would do - I grabbed the camera and let him bang around and clean the floors himself:) 
Today, May 16th, is a very special day in my heart. Not only is this that I became a big sister, 25 years ago. It is also the day that my best friend delivered her beautiful twin girls two years ago and made me a Godmother.
I don't remember much about becoming a big sister, but there are stories of me trying to sell my baby sister and demanding she be sent back. If I only knew then what I know now, I would have raised my asking price. Just kidding! My sister and I have grown closer each and every year we grow older. I hate that we spent so many years fighting over clothes, instead of seeing the potential of doubling our wardrobe and sharing. Now that we are older and wiser, we appreciate each other for who we are. I have never been so proud of her as I am today. She is a spectacular wife, sister, daughter, friend, and teacher. And I just know that list will grow, and her birthday wish will come true soon:)
Two years ago on this day was when my best friend became a Mother and I will never forget that day. The Brummett Bunch was born and my friend's lifelong dream came true. We were sitting at dinner when my phone rang. The girls were finally here and I couldn't control the tears of joy I had. Since that day, Stephanie has shown me so much about life, patience, love, and being a wife and a mother. There isn't much that can bring this girl down, she is the true definition of Super Mom!
The twins are growing up to be such remarkable little princesses, just like their mommy! It's amazing what all can change in two short years and how much we can grow. Here's to another great year full of dreams coming true!
All my love girls! 
