My turn

So we finally made the trek... Maggie visited her grandparents in Marion for the second time ever. I know, I know, she is almost 6 months old and they only live 2 hours away. Why haven't they seen her more? I could answer that with a list of reasons but deep done there is only one. I worry about her going there. Their lifestyle is vastly different than ours and the one that I was raised in. I am uncomfortable in their world. Bucky and I have been together over 9 years but still I don't feel welcomed in their home. I constantly feel like they are sizing me up and thinking I am a snob. I try my hardest to do things their way while we are there. I eat their food (it has taken the whole 9 years for my stomach to get used to the grease), participate in their activities (I've learned to ride a horse, drive a 4 wheeler, and make church baskets), and breathe their air (smokehouses make less pollution), but still... Well, for the love of my husband, I put my worries aside and we went. However, I am surprised I still have a tongue after all my biting. Quick recap of the events: we arrive- after 2 and half hours in the car seat, she ask us to drive back to Florence and get her some flowers and food (another 1 and half). We arrive a second time, we sit around while she works. Grandma gives Maggie sweet tea to drink! I say please don't. She does it again and ask why- I tell her that I don't want her drinking that stuff, we are a milk, water, juice family for kids. She says that is crazy- gives her more. I am trying not to jump across the room now, so I hit Bucky and he tells her to stop. She finally does. Why does she not respect me enough to quit? His sister pipes up that Landon (her 4 month old) likes it while shoving her finger covered in thousand island dressing in his mouth. That is followed by the statement from his mother- you should feed her grits with lots of butter in them. Bucky and his sister were eathing that stuff by now. AHHHH!! She raised her children, may I please raise mine now?

The Secret is in the Sauce

Being new to blogging I was excited to find this link on Mandy's page. If you post a link to their page on your blog, you can get access to all kinds of contest and stuff! (The cheetah pic to the left) I like the idea that they encourage meeting others through commenting on other peoples post. It is nice to know what those that read your page are thinking. Check it out- they explain things way better than I ever could!

A Better Mother

This week has been rough. After many breakdowns, I have come to terms with many things and think that I can make it another couple days at least. My mom said something the other day that surprised me. She told me she didn't know how I was doing it- working, going to school, Maggie, etc. This came from the lady that was a teacher with 3 kids involved in 3 very different lives. My response to her was that I wasn't doing it all- I was surviving it all. I was being a crummy teacher, student, mother, and wife. (Note- a flood of tears occurred at this point) But, I think I have a handle on that now.

To the title of the post- I got pictures developed the other day. After a month of trying to pick them up- that is a whole other story- I finally sat down to work on Maggie's baby book. Thinking it would only take me a minute to fill in the 4 month page, I was sadly mistaken. I hadn't done anything in her book since her 2 month birthday. I was three months, a whole bunch of first, and a family vacation behind! Now after my hour and half adventure, I feel like a better mother. I have caught the baby book up, up-dated the first year calendar, and fill in the photo album. The little things I don't want to look back on and feel like I missed out because I was too busy doing school work.

After much hassle with Walgreen's- I have some new pictures to post. Dana has gotten so good that Walgreen's accused us of printing professional photos and we had to get a release! Props to Dana- not happy Bucky. Anyway- it is a small price to pay to have a FABULOUS photographer watching our darling.

You can tell the difference in photographer- really good for the above pic (Dana) and OK for this one- me. Ha!

You can tell Maggie is the child of a teacher. 5 months- and got her nose in a book!

We have started baby foods and found that Maggie is not the only one that likes them!

I know- why is the cat on the table? Because I get tired of trying to dead lift 25lbs. of hair off the table while keeping gooey baby hands from touching everything in sight- including the cat. The table gets cleaned afterwards- I promise :)

Master's degree = busy work

I have reached the conclusion that a Master's degree in educational field just means you can survive tons of busy work, poor teaching methods, and horrible disorganization on the part of the university. I can't believe a school that is attended by such a large number of South Carolina teachers would be clueless as to the South Carolina certification requirements. While I am trying to finish up all my course work, I know have the joy of finding out what I need for that! Honestly... Other than that... Maggie still has an ear infection. She went back to the doc today and now has a new type of medicine. Bucky and I had great b-days. It is hard to believe that he is 30! As my sister would say, that is like halfway to dirt! We are headed to Bucky's moms this weekend for an engagment shower friend, so she gets to babysit Saturday night. It is hard to believe the last time she saw Maggie she was only a little over a month old! I promise to do a better job of posting things....